Was he flirting with me? "I'll make you a special batch of reindeer heads."
He grinned. "I'd love that." He licked his lips and took another sip of the orange punch Jax had ladled into a cup for him. "Are they easy to make?"
While I detailed every step of how to make gingerbread, a couple swaggered to the table. Hart took a step toward me, and I backed up into the crowd on the dance floor. Thankfully, no one bumped into me.
Hart stepped forward again and grabbed my hip before I took another step back. "Dance with me."
I blinked at him, completely forgetting where I'd left off with my explanation. Stirring the mixture? Pouring the batter? "Me?"
"Yes." The corner of his mouth turned up in a wicked smirk. "You're the hottest omega at this party, by far."
His finger brushed against my lips, distorting yet another, "Me?"
"You." He stepped closer into my personal space, and we swayed to the upbeat dance music. "Unless you're here with someone?" He glanced back at the empty refreshment table with a hesitant look.
"No. No one."
His confident smile returned. "Good." He winked. "You were telling me about gingerbread." He was the next-tallest person in the room, only a few inches shorter than I and almost as broad.He was all muscle and speed if he'd won the Santas' time trial. Why was he wasting his time dancing with me?
"It's the most boring thing ever." I shook my head too fast, and my hat fell into my eyes. "Let's talk about something else."
"It's not." He tucked my hat around the little rat again and trailed his finger down my cheek. "But we can talk about whatever. I could listen to your voice all night long."
Yep, definitely flirting, especially with the way his gaze flicked down my body and back up. The only thing missing was an added, "If you know what I mean."
My ass knew exactly what he meant. Slick dampened my underwear.
The beat of the music shifted from upbeat to slow, and a gorgeous piano melody played. Hart drifted his free hand up my chest to rest on my shoulder. "Is this okay?"
I nodded, too scared to breathe, certain I would wake up. I'd dreamed of this moment, when I could hold Hart against me and gaze down at him with all the appreciation and desire I'd felt since the first moment he'd stepped foot in Silver and Gold's Bakery.
It was just a silly crush, and on a Comet, the meanest of the reindeer shifters. Their ancestor wouldn't let the first Rudolph play any reindeer games. I thought I'd hidden my feelings well, but now, with his hips swaying, the fabric of our costumes brushing against my hard cock, they were impossible to ignore. My dragon recognized Hart as someone precious.
"Mate,"my dragon insisted, not for the first time. I shook my head to dislodge the voice from my thoughts.
Hart pressed closer and froze. His eyes widened, and he grinned. "Wanna go somewhere quiet?"
"Uh …" I should have offered to take him back to my place, but I couldn't find the words in my overheated brain.
Hart hookedhis fingers in mine and tugged me toward the closest interior door. I drank the rest of my water along the way and carefully laid the glass bottle in the bin by the door before Hart pulled me through it.
He shot his crumpled paper cup into the bin before flipping the switch for the auxiliary lights. A dim purple glow lit the rows of lockers. Someone had taped jack-o'-lantern banners together along the walls above them, enough to go around the entire room. Decorations hung from the ceiling. A black cat arched its back above us, and a witch stirred a cauldron in the far corner.
"I doubt anyone will be working out during the party." Hart pushed me up against two unused lockers. The latches dug into my back, but that wasn't the only reason I couldn't catch my breath. The fire in Hart's eyes sucked all the oxygen from the room. My knees buckled, and I braced my hands against the cool metal behind me.
He reached for my face, and I almost smashed my nose against his palm when I tried to lean into his touch. I'd misjudged. He wasn't reaching for my face; he wanted my hat. Carefully extricating the rat from my hair, he set both props on the bench behind us.
"I've wanted to do this since the first time I met you," he whispered.
He toed my legs apart so he could stand between them, and the pressure of his body against mine held me up. He ran his hands up my white chef's coat and into my thick silver hair. With a tug, he tilted my chin down and pressed his lips to mine.
"This can't be real," I murmured against his lips. "Did you lose a bet or something?"
He frowned up at me. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."
"Why else would you want to be with me?"
He tipped his chin to the side, and his scowl deepened. "Why wouldn't I want to be with you? You're the prettiest omega in the village."
