Hot Buttered Yum (30 page)

“And the first-ever Mr. Yummy Santa goes
to …”

Roni smiled at
the audience from the stage as she waved the white envelope in the air.
According to Kayla, Lucas and Gus had brought in the most money for votes
yet—not counting donations. Roni was nervous for Lucas. People liked Gus. Heck,
she liked Gus. He could take this thing away from Lucas.

After all, his
tree had been way better than Lucas’s. And he’d had a local on his team.

She turned to
the two men and looked at each one of them. Lucas watched her like an animal
ready to strike. Since their silent communication earlier on the beach, they
hadn’t seen each other at all. She’d been rushed off to practice with Coyote
Creek. She’d be playing some of their songs with them this evening. Lucas and
Gus had been immediately surrounded by photographers. The island had drawn
quite a crowd the last few days. Tourism was up, retailers were thrilled, and
all in all, the whole thing had been a success.

Even Kayla was
almost relaxed.

But Roni was
nervous. For Lucas. And for the fact she would be
going to Dallas with him.

For the fact
that it felt like everything she’d ever wanted was within her grasp.

She slipped a
nail under the flap of the envelope and pulled out the card.

“Good luck,
gentleman,” she said into the microphone. Lucas smiled at her. A slow, hot,
naughty smile—filled with love. And she practically swooned.

She turned to
the audience and lifted the card to read it. A smile bloomed across her face
when she saw the name printed there.

“Lucas
Alexander,” she announced.

Shouts went up
and confetti came down, and Kayla hustled a small step stool out to the middle
of the stage. Someone else brought Roni a gold crown—reminiscent of the Burger
King commercials—and a red-and-green sash with “MR. YUMMY SANTA” written across
the front. She got the pleasure of putting it on the winner.

Unable to
contain her joy, she headed over to Lucas where he now waited by the stool. Two
steps up, and she was eye to eye with him. Thanks to her heels.

“Don’t fall,” he
murmured in a low, sexy voice. The microphone picked up his words and the crowd
chuckled. Many of them knew that the two of them were an item, and they were no
doubt waiting to see if anything exciting would happen next.

Not likely. She
was a professional. She wouldn’t be laying a big one on him in front of the crowd,
no matter how badly she might want to.

And she did want
to. It had been over forty-eight hours since they’d been together, after all.

“Congratulations
on becoming our first winner,” she said as she slipped the sash over Lucas’s
once-again-naked chest. She didn’t even let her fingers linger over his hot
skin. How very grown-up of her.

The gleam in his
eye suggested he was thinking he’d won something else, as well.

She went to
place the crown on his head and as she leaned in to get it just right, his eyes
met hers.

“I love you,” he
mouthed.

Her world went
still. She was in front of him so no one could see his mouth, and she felt as
if it were just the two of them in the middle of the whole place. She gave him
a small, secretive smile, letting her own love shine through. She wanted this.
She could do this.

“I love you
too,” she replied just as silently.

Then she
realized her mistake. His gaze fired and then lowered to her lips.

“Don’t,” she said.
The microphone was still in her hand and picked up her whispered word.

“Do,” he replied
salaciously.

The noise level
behind her began to rise.

Before she could
pull away, Lucas had his mouth on hers, and the crowd roared to life.

His big hands
reached out to steady her as he took the kiss deeper, and all she could do was
hang on. Literally. He pulled her from the stool and
wrapped his arms around her and she was left dangling in the air.

Nothing like
being a professional.

When the kiss
finally ended, she couldn’t even be mad about it. The man now wore her
lipstick, so she reached out a thumb and wiped it off his lips. She just shook
her head at his behavior. He put her down, and the two of them turned to the cheering
crowd, arms around each other, and gave an unsteady bow.

Mr. Tolley was
hustled onstage with the oversize check showing Lucas’s award, and Roni took
the moment to escape.

She slipped off
the stage and stood on the sidelines watching. And catching
her breath.

“Pretty hot out
there,” said Jason, contestant number nineteen, the cutie from Iowa with the
dimples and the large hands. He was standing with several other men, all waiting
for their cue to head back to the stage. One last chance for
the crowd to see all twenty-four men in their shirtless glory.

“Thanks, Jason.”
She probably would have blushed, but she was still overheated from Lucas’s kiss.

“Guess he had
something I didn’t, huh?” he teased.

She just smiled
and nodded her head. He had her heart.

After the men
were sent back to the center of the stage, Roni stepped to the podium and
thanked everyone for attending. The place was so noisy,
she doubted any of them could hear her speak.

“Please stick
around,” she yelled into the microphone, “as Coyote Creek is back tonight.
They’ll be here late, so enjoy yourselves. And be sure
to come back next year!”

She waved and
slipped offstage and headed to her dressing room.

The adrenaline
was pumping. She would be at the piano in about thirty minutes, and play for
the same amount of time. And then tomorrow would be her reintroduction to the
world. Kayla had worked her magic and had lined up a piano on a float. Along with several nearby news crews.

This time there
was no nerves, only excitement.

She was ready to
do this.

She was also
ready to see Lucas. She hoped he could manage to get away for a minute before
she had to be back onstage.

She stepped
inside her dressing room and reached into the mini-fridge for a bottle of water.
The door behind her opened and she turned to find the man on her mind. He closed
and locked the door.

“Oh,” she breathed
out the word. “It’s going to be that kind of moment,
is it?”

He nodded and
moved toward her. “It’s going to be that kind of moment.” He reached for the
hem of her dress. She’d changed earlier and now wore the best little black
dress that she owned. “Did I mention that I like it when you wear tight dresses?”
he asked. “All I can think about every time I see you is how I’m going to peel
it from your body.”

This time he
peeled it from the bottom up. He stopped at her waist.

Then his wide hands
covered her rear and she dropped the bottle of water to the floor.

“I’ve missed
you,” she whispered. It felt like it had been days since she’d seen him.

“And I love
you,” he replied.

She reached for
him, wanting his lips on hers, but he pulled back. “Say it,” he demanded.

A grin spread
across her face. “I love you,” she whispered. Goosebumps covered her flesh at
the possessive look the words created.

“And you’re
going to Dallas with me?”

Her heart constricted.
With both fear and excitement. “Yes,” she rushed the
word out. “I’m going to Dallas with you. I want to meet Gracie.”

There was no
more need for words.

Lucas lifted her
to his erection, and then he backed her against a wall.

He pressed into
her. The trunks he wore were flimsy and hid nothing about him. He was hot and
hard and ready to go. And she was only a second or two behind. She pressed her
chest into his, needing his skin on hers, but the top of her dress was in the
way.

“Wait,” she
whispered. She reached behind her to undo the hook at her neck. She shoved the
zipper down as far as she could reach, then yanked the sleeves over her
shoulders and dragged each arm free. All the while, Lucas pushed against her
sex. He rocked into her, his hard length taunting her with what was to come. He
remained covered, and she had on a thong, but he burned so hot against her, it was
almost as if they were already skin to skin.

When her dress bunched
below her breasts, she opened the front clasp of her bra and Lucas swore.

“God, you’re
beautiful.” He shook his head as if in wonder.

She gasped when
he lifted her higher and brought his mouth to her bare nipple.

He pulled her
between his lips. Her legs clamped around his waist and his thickness landed
right where she wanted him. She pressed down, desperate to have him inside her.

“Hurry, Lucas,”
she urged. “I want you.”

She didn’t have
to say anything more. He held her to the wall while he reached into his back
pocket for a condom. “I love you,” she whispered. She planted kisses along his corded
neck and he paused. He slowed as he leaned back and took her in.

His gaze was hot
and needy. Her breasts rose sharply with each breath.

Then he set her
on the ground and an urgent whimper escaped her throat. She reached out for
him. She needed him inside her.

But he had other
needs. He peeled her bra from her shoulders and worked the zipper down until the
top of her dress hung past her waist. Then he worshipped her body with his
hands and mouth. He lavished attention on every square inch from her waist up.
He drove her out of her mind.

When she barely
had the strength to stand, he went to work on the lower half of her dress. He
tugged the zipper over the curve of her rear, and the dress slid soundlessly to
her ankles. She kicked it to the side and he took a step back and simply stared.

She wore a royal-blue
thong and black platform heels, and had a thin silver chain around one slim
ankle. She knew she looked good, but not as good as him. As he studied her, he
shoved his shorts to the floor and her body wept at the sight of all that
strength. He sprang loose of the material and she couldn’t wait any longer. She
reached for him.

He moaned when
her fingers touched his heated skin. The sound made her crazy.

But it was his
eyes that got her. When he looked at her this time, it was love that she saw,
overriding the desire.

She had to trust
that this was right. It had to be.

Without a word,
she dropped to her knees and pulled him between her lips.

He stiffened and
thrust forward on a groan. The power of it was intoxicating.

She sucked him
hard into her mouth, then gentle with long, slow licks, tracing her tongue from
his base to the spot just behind the head. She caressed him with one hand as
she continued teasing his length with her tongue. Then she shifted just to the
right, and closed her mouth around his swollen tip.

His fingers
flexed in his hair.

“Roni,” he
groaned. “Baby, you’ve got to stop. I need to be in you.” He panted as she rode
his long length with her mouth, then finished with,
“We only have a few minutes.”

She’d forgotten
about that. They were in her dressing room.

Hundreds of
people were only a hallway away.

With more than a
bit of regret, she released him. He lifted her and had her
pinned to the wall before she could pull in her next breath, and his mouth
crushed hers.

Hiking one of
her legs around his hip, he rolled on the condom and shoved her panties to the
side. He put himself against her. He felt too large for her body to hold, though
she knew she could take him in. And he looked into her eyes.

It was a look
she wouldn’t mind seeing for the rest of her life.

And then he
pushed.

He entered her
and she lost her breath with the exquisite pleasure of it.

He pulled out
and pushed in again and she felt her body already begin to tighten. She didn’t
need anything extra tonight. She just needed him.

“Fast,” she
whispered.

He grunted and
pushed in again.

And then she wordlessly
slid over the edge as stars exploded behind her eyes.

Her body sang in
his hands. He hit his own release and he closed his mouth, once again, over
hers.

“I love you,” he
mumbled against her lips.

She was out of
words. All she could do was nod.

And pray that she
could keep this.

Lucas stepped away from Roni, both of
them shaken and wearing slightly bemused expressions, and just shook his head.

“I … uh …
didn’t
mean to do
that
,” he murmured.

One shapely brow
rose in front of him as Roni adjusted her panties. “Right.
So you always come into people’s dressing rooms and lock their doors, do you?”

Busted.

He grinned
sheepishly. “Well, I didn’t mean to do …”—he motioned with his hand, waving
it in the air in front of her mostly naked body—“
all
of that. I just intended to get my hands on you for a minute. Kiss
you a time or two.”

Her smile
widened. “You did that.”

She slipped her
arms into her bra and pulled the material around to the front. As the pink of
her nipples peeked through the blue lace, he felt his body stirring again. He
had to get himself under control.

“Damn,” he
muttered as he watched her. They were in a public place. Anyone could come to
her door for any given reason.

Plus, she had to
be back on stage soon.

“I want you
again,” he stated. “I can’t get enough.”

She looked up
from fastening her bra, and matching desire glowed back at him.

“Sorry,” he
finally mumbled. He turned his back to take his eyes off her. They didn’t have
time for a second round.

She laughed.
“You don’t hear me complaining.”

He looked around
the room for a tissue and a trash can, trying to get his mind to focus on
something other than burying himself back inside Roni. It hadn’t occurred to
him as he’d been plowing his way into her that there was no connected bathroom.
She laughed again, and then an arm reached around him, several tissues clutched
between her fingertips.