Page 3 of Full Mountie

Hugh doesn’t share my concern about mixing business and pleasure, though.

He never has.

Didn’t care that he burned me a decade ago.

Doesn’t care now that he’s playing with fire again.

Fucking Hugh. Tall, dark, and arrogant. He’s a sexual pyromaniac, and since I’ve refused to even talk to him outside of work, he’s turned to Beth.

I grind my teeth, but I can’t make a scene. Not here.

“Ready to go?” he asks her, and she brushes past me, her fingers sweeping across my arm just below where I’ve rolled up my shirt sleeves.

“Definitely.” She casts one last, quick glance back at me. “See you tomorrow, Lachlan.”

I cross my arms as I give her a curt nod, and I watch them head across the lawn towards Spark Street.

I can’t follow them.

I won’t follow them.

My radio crackles to life.

Fucking hell. The reality is, if I had half a chance to sneak along behind and spy on their date, I probably would.

I rub my hand across the muscles of my forearm before I press the talk button. I can still feel her touch there. But duty calls. “This is Ross, go ahead.”

2

Hugh

Iunbuttonmy suit jacket and loosen my tie as we navigate around the tourists taking pictures in front of Parliament. Heading out after work was Beth’s idea—and it took me long enough to get her to say yes that I wasn’t going to argue.

“Where are we heading?” she asks as we stop at the street that separates Parliament Hill from the rest of downtown Ottawa.

“There’s a cocktail bar a few blocks from here I’ve heard good things about.”

Her face lights up. “Intermezzo? I’ve been meaning to go there!”

I know she has. I saw her reading a newspaper article about it a few days ago, and when she agreed to go out with me, the first thing I did was call and reserve a booth.

There’s nothing I like more than a first date. The potential is huge, and the expectations are low. Let’s be honest—most people think first dates are utter shit.

Then I come along.

It’s cocky to say that I give a good first date, but I’m cocky—and first dates aren’t the only thing I’m good at giving.

First dates are foreplay.

I’ve spent my entire adult life in unapologetic pursuit of giving good foreplay. Flirting, first dates, second dates, second base, third base—a personal favourite—I love everything about the build-up towards sex.

There’s a lot you can learn about a sexual partner through foreplay. How they like to flirt and talk and touch is all good intel when it comes to finally getting them naked and in your bed.

And that’s what this date is all about—getting Beth Evans naked. Not tonight—foreplay takes time—but soon. My bed, her bed, Lachlan’s desk when he’s away…I’m easy about where we eventually fuck.

But seducing a woman like Beth is a long game. For a bunch of reasons, like she deserves to be wooed, and her standards are justifiably high. But the most important reason is she’s clearly in love with Lachlan.

Sure, I should probably feel bad about poaching her, but I don’t. Just because she’s got a flame for Lachlan doesn’t mean I can’t treat her right while she’s waiting for him to unfuck himself and his precious feelings.

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