Hot Buttered Yum by Kim Law

built
in the back of her eyes, alerting her that if she wasn’t careful, she would
cry.
    She could
remember crying at some point in her life. As a child.
    But not when her
father died.
    Not when she’d
walked away from Charles.
    And not—
    “Are you okay?”
Lucas asked.
    Roni shook her head
from side to side.
    Then she dropped
her shoes to the ground and reached out for him.

Chapter Seven
    Roni stood for
several minutes wrapped in Lucas’s embrace, both of them quiet. The only sounds
were the muted music from indoors and the much louder rush of the ocean from
behind.
    And Lucas’s
breathing.
    It was a steady
in and out. Similar to the strong heartbeat she felt beneath her cheek. She was
thankful he didn’t ask questions. Also thankful he’d somehow known that she’d needed
a shoulder to lean on.
    Since moving to
the island, she’d worked hard to be carefree and untroubled. Not sharing her past
issues with anyone, not even her closest friends. Because she’d
moved on from her previous life. She was making a new life at a place
she loved.
    She’d never told
them the truth about what had brought about the end of her career.
    She had also never
let herself break down on them.
    Yet here she
was, holding tight to Lucas as if he’d been in her life forever and knew just
what she needed.
    Thankfully, the
feeling of crying had passed so she didn’t have to worry about that at least,
but now that the initial swell of emotion was over, she feared Lucas would want
to know more.
    She couldn’t
tell him. She didn’t talk about it.
    Her loss was in
the past. Reliving it would do no good. She simply needed to move on. As she’d always
thought she had. Until she’d spent the afternoon curled in the fetal position
in her bed.
    Her grip
loosened around Lucas’s waist, but she didn’t step back. He pulled slightly
away, though, and looked down into her face. It was a dark night, but lights
from upstairs shone out through the glass doors and leaked between the slats of
the deck, providing enough filtered light so they could see each other.
    “Want to talk
about it?” he asked.
    She shook her
head.
    “Okay,” he said
gently. He didn’t push. She appreciated that. He simply tucked her back against
his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. Then he ran his hands up
and down her back.
    They stood there
with the ocean breeze blowing over them for several more minutes until Roni recognized that she’d moved into holding him simply
for the pleasure of it. It wasn’t right, but he felt so very good pressed
against her. He was strong and hard. Solid.
    And his body was
warm against hers. She’d forgotten to bring a coat with her when she’d walked
over earlier, and now that the sun had dropped, it was chilly.
    They separated
at the same time, as if a thought had been mutually spoken aloud, and Lucas
tucked his fingers into the front pockets of his jeans. He rocked back on his
heels. “So you were just going to sneak out?” he asked.
    She forced a
smile. “I did just sneak out.”
    “Only not quite
unseen.”
    She lifted a
shoulder. “Quit watching me like a hawk and maybe I would have been unseen.”
    He reached a
hand up and brushed a finger along the underside of her jaw. It made her toes
curl into her flip-flops. “I can’t seem to stop watching you.” He said the
words softly.
    His finger was still
on her so she reached up to brush it away, but instead she ended up holding it
in her hand.
    “I’m still not
going to sleep with you,” she informed him. Her tone didn’t sound too convincing,
but she ignored that. His being in the contest was bad
enough, but him knowing when she needed someone? That scared her.
    She would just
have to put her hormones back into hibernation.
    “I think you’re
making a mistake,” he told her.
    Possibly. But
she didn’t think so. “I should go home,” she whispered.
    He nodded. “Then
you need to turn loose of my finger.”
    She jerked her
attention to their hands