Page 45 of Scotch & Shortbread

“It is where my love of writing began, though,” she said through a yawn. “Thanks for a great evening,” she said quietly, and Alex was surprised when she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek in the darkness. Chaste as it was, it made his blood stir, but he quickly tamped it down.

“Goodnight, lass,” he said and she rolled away from him. He lay there for a few minutes not liking the gap between them. It was chilly in his room. The lass would get cold if she wasn’t already. Against his better judgement, he wrapped an arm around her and tugged her curvy body to him. Christ, if it was wrong, he didn’t want to be right. She sighed contentedly as she nestled against him, pulling his arm tighter around her.

28

Red Lace

Quinnawokewithasmile on her face. It was Christmas Eve. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she’d be in a beautiful log cabin with Mean Hot Cop on Christmas Eve. Rolling over in the bed with a delicious stretch, she was disappointed to discover that Alex wasn't there. She hoped it wasn’t an attempt to avoid her. Maybe he’d woken up early and didn’t want to disturb her. Ooh, or maybe he was making her breakfast in bed. She almost laughed out loud at the thought because she knew better. There was no way Alex would do that, but it was a fun thought.

Not wanting to waste a minute of the day, she hopped out of bed and headed to the kitchen. To her disappointment, Alex was nowhere to be found, and Bear was gone too. Quinn checked the counter for a note, but this time, there wasn’t one. She sighed, supposing Alex was probably out trying to shovel snow again or working out—or doing anything to avoid her.

There was a roaring fire in the fireplace though, and the cabin was surprisingly hot for a change. Well, if he was going to get his exercise in, she could get hers in too. She headed for the bathroom and changed into her bra and underwear. The hot air was perfect for a yoga practice.

She briefly contemplated her attire in the bathroom mirror. If Alex came back in, he may get the wrong idea, but she wasn't going to wear bulky clothes for hot yoga and she'd likely be done before he came back anyway. He seemed to need his alone time. She straightened her bra strap, and the devilish thought occurred to her. Would it be so bad if Alex did come back to the cabin before she was done?

She moved the chairs away from the fireplace, laid a towel down on the deep red Persian area rug, and found her yoga playlist on her phone. The acoustic music was calming as she lay on her back on the floor and began to breathe deeply. The heat of the fireplace was so perfect for hot yoga. Lifting her backside high in the air, she pressed her hands and feet down moving into a down dog. The pose felt divine on her body, and she began flowing through several poses deepening her breath and feeling her muscles release. In no time, her mind and body were one, where time and place ceased to exist.

Standing tall on one leg while lifting her other leg behind her, her hands tipping to the floor, she moved into a standing split, feeling the stretch. The heat from the fireplace warmed her muscles and helped her extend her leg up in the air. Focused on her breathing and holding the pose, she didn’t notice Alex come in.

Bear woke Alex, needing to go outside, and Alex was glad for a reason to detangle his body from Quinn’s. When he’d awoken, he became enticingly aware of her body snuggled up to his side. Fuck, it felt so good, and just like yesterday morning, his erection was like a lead pipe. Bear nudged at him again, and he sighed getting himself out of the bed.

The snow had stopped when he’d taken Bear out, so he worked on shovelling while his pup bounded around. It started to whip up again though, so Alex decided to head in. He closed the door shaking off the snow before he pulled off his hood, and that was when he saw her. Jesus Christ. What the hell was she doing? Mother of Mary and what the fuck was she wearing?

Alex stood mesmerized as she lowered her leg and brought herself into a down dog. She breathed deeply and lifted one leg high in the air in a split. Her red lace panties pulled as she stretched her leg up. He could almost see her…Christ. Lowering the perfect curvy leg, she swooped her arms up and she stood. His eyes landed on her barely contained mouth-watering breasts as she stretched her arms overhead. Good God, the lass was hot as hell.

“Oh, you’re back.” She grinned brightly as she grabbed a towel and patted it to her rosy-cheeked face.

“Where are yer clothes?” His voice was tight, and he didn’t trust himself to move. He’d have her bent over that settee in a heartbeat.

Quinn was oblivious to the dangerous temptation she’d become. “It was so warm in here. I decided to do hot yoga. The less clothes the better. In fact, hot yoga is best practiced naked,” she stated matter-of-factly. “The heat of the fire was so perfect. My practice was excellent today. I’ve never been able to get my leg so high in split,” she said excitedly. “Did you see?” Quinn started to bend over again to show Alex her achievement like it wasn’t an open fucking invitation to do all the things he wanted to do to her.

“I dinnae want to see,” he bellowed, angry that he couldn’t seem to control himself.

She flinched, bristling, and he could see she finally recognized something was amiss.

For a moment, she looked like a kicked puppy, and he felt a stab of guilt. Fuck, the problem was he did want to see and touch and taste and… God help him. He was about to apologize when she straightened her spine, her gaze narrowing on him. The little lass looked completely pissed off and painfully fucking hot all at the same time. She strode towards him, cool, calculated, and sexy as hell. Alex stood stone still except for the tick in his jaw.

Standing before him, she was brimstone and hellfire. Her big eyes were blazing.

“Does my body offend you?” She didn’t mince words.

“Quinn, I— No, no, of course not.” Alex suddenly felt like an arse.

“Good. After all, I believe you told me rather clearly yesterday that you weren’t attracted to me, so I shouldn’t think seeing me in my bra and panties would be a problem.” Her smile was cool and calculated. “Sergeant Mackenzie.” She raised her brow to him challengingly.

And there it was. There was zero doubt. Quinn West knew damn well that he’d lied through his fucking teeth when he said he wasn’t attracted to her—when he said he wouldn’t sleep with her if she begged.Fuck.

Alex could barely breathe, never mind speak. When he didn’t say a word, she turned her heel and sauntered to the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower,” she said.

As she walked with perfectly rounded hips swaying, she reached behind her, unclasped her bra, and let it slide off onto the floor.

Jesus Christ. Alex’s cock proudly saluted her, making it impossible to ignore the lust that was torching his body and clouding his mind. If an avalanche came through the door, he still wouldn’t be able to tear his gaze away from her.

Then she stopped in her tracks, slipping her thumbs into the waistband of her red lace panties and bent over as she pulled them down over her perfect ass and down her shapely legs until she flicked them aside with a toe and carried on into the bathroom without looking back.

Alex watched her, spellbound. Desire drowning him. Holy fuck.

Trying to pull it together, he stood for a time not sure what to think anymore. On the spectrum of being immune to not, the scale had completely tipped to not. Not immune. Not even a little. The reality was he was lucky if he could hang onto a thread of discipline when it came to Quinn West. How the hell had that happened? She was beyond what he ever knew he wanted or needed. He couldn’t possibly deny the chemistry that sizzled wildly between them. There was no doubt that he wanted her with his every fibre, but did it change the situation?

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