With a laugh, Emilio followed along, and five minutes later they were in Emilio’s truck and headed toward his house. The air was crisp and cold with snow in the forecast for later in the night. Emilio reached for one of Rayne’s hands and gave it a squeeze. “I know you were nervous, but you were wonderful tonight. I have to say that dancing with you on that stage in front of the whole town had been a fantasy of mine since we were teenagers.”
“I’m glad I could help turn your fantasy into reality. I’ll be happy to do that with any other fantasies you might have as well,” Rayne said with a playful leer.
“That’s a tempting offer.” Emilio gave him a sidelong glance. “We can discuss it at the house, once we’re sitting in front of the fire with a nice hot toddy.”
“Are you planning to get me tipsy and take advantage of me?” Rayne clutched an imaginary string of pearls, but the gesture was spoiled by his mischievous grin. “I hope?”
Emilio laughed. “Why, Mr. Sadler, are you inviting me to unwrap your package?”
“I’m inviting you to unwrap my package, jingle my bells, stuff my stocking, or anything else you’d like to do under the mistletoe,” Rayne said, delighted by the teasing. He’d been careful not to push for more than Emilio seemed comfortable with, but maybe Emilio was ready to move beyond steamy kisses.
“My, my, it sounds like I might get lucky for Christmas.” Emilio lifted Rayne’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “You’re tempting me beyond reason, you know.”
Rayne squeezed Emilio’s fingers. “I’m certainly trying.”
“You’re succeeding.” Emilio shook his head, but he was smiling. “Let’s get home and change, and we can see how things go. We wouldn’t want to shock Santa, now would we?”
“I wouldn’t mind landing on the naughty list this year,” Rayne said, but he gave Emilio’s hand a squeeze and released it. As much as he wanted to whisk Emilio off to bed, he was determined to proceed at Emilio’s pace, no matter how many cold showers it took.
“Maybe we both will,” Emilio said teasingly.
They encountered snow when they were almost to Emilio’s house, and Emilio laughed as he got out of the truck. He scooped up a handful of the fluffy white snow and tossed it at Rayne. “Too bad we’re not dressed for a snowball fight, eh?”
“Hey!” Rayne laughed as the snow splattered on his wool coat. “Two can play that game.” He scraped up some snow, packed it into a small ball, and lobbed it at Emilio.
Emilio ducked before charging around the truck. He tumbled Rayne down onto the white covered ground and then leaned in close. “How about a snow-covered kiss?”
“That’s one way to warm me up,” Rayne murmured, winding his arms around Emilio’s shoulders. Flakes of snow caught in Emilio’s hair, glistening in the dark strands like diamonds, and Emilio’s eyes were soft. Rayne wanted to lose himself in them.
“Let’s get you toasty.” Emilio captured Rayne’s mouth in a passionate kiss.
Rayne parted his lips with a low moan and tightened his arms around Emilio. He didn’t care how cold it was, not when he had Emilio’s warm weight pressing on him.
Emilio took the invitation, deepening the kiss, plundering Rayne’s mouth until they were both breathless. Then he lifted his head. “Let’s take this inside,” he said. “We’ll be more comfortable.”
“Are you going to help me get out of my wet clothes?” Rayne asked, waggling his eyebrows at Emilio.
Emilio got to his feet and then held out a hand to help Rayne up. “Oh, yes. And maybe into something hot and Latin.”
Rayne clasped Emilio’s hand and stood up. “Are you sure you’re ready to take that step?” he asked, keeping hold of Emilio’s chilly fingers as he searched Emilio’s face for any sign of doubt or reservations.
“That will depend on a couple of things.” Emilio pulled Rayne toward the house. “There’s something I need to ask you first.”
Rayne’s stomach clenched with apprehension as he followed Emilio inside, but he welcomed the warmth that enveloped him as soon as the front door was closed behind them. He couldn’t guess what Emilio wanted to talk about, unless he needed more reassurance that Rayne intended to remain in Holiday Pines.
“You can ask me anything you want,” Rayne said as he shrugged out of his coat.
“Soon.” Once they were out of their coats, Emilio coaxed Rayne toward the back of the house. “Do you want to change first? Or shall we have that hot toddy, a little talk, and see where that takes us?”
“Let’s get changed first,” Rayne said. “If we’re going to drink and talk, we might as well be comfortable.”
“All right.” Emilio sent Rayne off to the downstairs bathroom with his bag.
By the time Rayne had changed into a pair of old, faded jeans and a red sweater and returned to the family room, Emilio was already there, wearing sweatpants and a dark sweatshirt, his feet bare and a soft smile on his face. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, and he was holding two mugs. “I hope Irish coffee will do. I figure we can sit on the floor in front of the fire, if you’d like.”
Rayne accepted a mug and took a sip, relishing the warmth of both the coffee and the alcohol pooling in his stomach. “Sounds good to me.”
Emilio led the way around the seating group, and Rayne saw he’d spread out thick comforter onto the rug, and there were several fleecy blankets piled nearby. It was becoming obvious that Emilio must have arranged some of this beforehand.
