Page 48 of Full Mountie

His eyes are bright and his lips are set into a firm line.

Without a word, he stalks in and cups my face in his hands, crushing his mouth to mine.

Oh.

His tongue sweeps past my lips, claiming me in a ruthless, brutish way that—heaven help me—is totally hot.

I open for him, pliant even as my heart pounds in my chest. His kiss fills an emptiness inside me.I’ve missed you, I try to show him.

I should be thinking about the other man in my apartment. About boundaries and asking first before you just take things.

But he’s taking with such…ferocity. Such perfect, demanding confidence. My body responds without hesitation because when it comes to Lachlan staking a claim on me, it’s open season. No limits.

And yet somewhere behind me, there’s Hugh.

This is so complicated, and I didn’t want to do complicated, but I want this. I want Lachlan. And I want Hugh.

And, if it’s not asking too much, I want them both to be okay with that.

He kisses me until I feel full and floaty, and when he finally stops, he still holds my face against his, his thumb rubbing my cheek as we breathe hard together.

My head spins as he lifts his gaze and stares past me. “There,” he growls at Hugh. “Now we’re even.”

I stagger back against the wall, bracing my hands wide to keep from falling over. “Even? For what?”

Hugh laughs. At least he’s not offended. I give him a confused look. “He’s talking about our first kiss, beautiful.”

Our first kiss.

Outside my apartment, just downstairs. When Lachlan watched from across the street…

I glance back and forth between the two of them, then narrow my gaze at Hugh. “You knew he was there? When you were kissing me?”

I don’t know how I feel about that.

Hugh shrugged. He’s looking at Lachlan now, and a different kind of zinging is happening. “Yeah.”

I glare at him. Okay, the kissing good-times buzz is wearing off fast. “Well, that was mean.”

I want them to both be okay with the kissing, but we need to discuss it first. Enough of this brutish assumption, no matter how deliciously hot it is.

Hugh seems to think otherwise. “Nah. He liked it.”

I swivel my head toward Lachlan. A muscle twitches in his cheek.

“Is that true?” Now the buzz is coming back. Warmer, and in my chest this time. I press my hand there and do another look at both of them. But we just need to clear up one more thing before I get too excited. “Wait… Am I some kind of pawn here?”

Lachlan jerks his head toward me, his eyes wide and filled with alarm. “No.”

I hold his gaze. The pieces are falling into place. “You like kissing me, then?”

He gives me a tense smile. “God, yes.”

“And you like watching me kiss Hugh…?”

He nods. Still tense.

“And you like kissing him, too…”

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