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Avel scowled at him but refused to rise to his insult. He focused on Holly as she handed around squashy bags with tubes on the ends. She was the reason he was here, to soak up some of her goodness and kindness.

“Don’t test the icing bags yet,” Holly said. “Watch while I ice this cake, so you know how to use them.”

He watched as she expertly swirled candy-pink icing on top of her cake.

“Stick with something easy. Start from the outside edge of the cupcake and swirl it around the outer rim before moving in. Bring the icing bag up slowly until you get to the peak in the center. Pinch off your icing, and there you have it. The perfect iced cupcake.”

There were murmurs of appreciation as everyone admired Holly’s handiwork.

The cupcake did look delicious, as did Holly. Her cheeks were dusted with flour, and there was an excited twinkle in her eyes. She loved doing this. And Avel loved to see how passionate she was about sharing her knowledge and bringing others into her sweet-filled world.

“I’ve got you all one cupcake to practice on. By the time you’re finished with that, your cakes should be cool enough to decorate. Then you can take them home and enjoy.”

Holly went along the row, handing out cakes. As she walked back, she stopped by Avel. “Everything okay here?”

“I can handle a bit of icing.” He grabbed the icing bag and squeezed. A jet of pink icing shot out and splattered across Holly’s chest.

She gasped and backed away.

“Crap. Sorry.” Avel reached over and tried to brush the icing off, only succeeding in smearing it all over her.

Holly grabbed his hand and pushed it away. “Really, it’s fine.” Her cheeks were flushed scarlet as she scrubbed icing off her chest with a cloth.

Avel grimaced and looked at the bag in his hand. “I don’t know my own strength.”

Holly chuckled. “It’s okay. You need to hold the bag gently, a bit like a puppy, firmly but not so tight you’re going to do damage. Twist at the top and push down slowly to ease the icing out. If you do it too fast, you’ll get another explosion.”

Avel watched, desire running through him as Holly licked the icing off her fingers.

She nodded at the cake he was neglecting. “Ready to get started?”

“Oh, sure.” He glanced along the row and saw the others were well on their way to finishing icing their own cakes. He grabbed the bag and gave it a squeeze. A blob of pink icing flopped onto his cupcake.

“Almost.” Holly stood behind him, wrapped her arms around him, and covered his hands with hers. “Follow my lead. Twist the top and push down gently with your hand.” Her warm fingers guided his, and he watched in astonishment as a smooth stream of icing snaked out of the tube and covered his cake.

“That’s impressive,” he said.

Holly’s laugh juddered through him, and his arousal stirred as her body heat mingled with his.

“I’ve had a lot of practice. I love icing.”

He loved icing too if it meant Holly got up close and personal to teach him a lesson. Her body fit so neatly with his. She barely came up to his chest, but her curves melded into his back as if they were designed to fit each other perfectly.

He was glad of the apron to cover his growing erection as her softness made him lean back against her.

Holly cleared her throat and stepped away. “You try on your own.”

Avel turned and saw the blush on Holly’s cheeks. She’d felt it too. She was into him.

Something cold and sticky landed on Avel’s cheek. He swiped his hand across his face, and it came away with pink icing. He looked around the group and saw the Draxdan grinning at him.

“Sorry, buddy. These icing bags are tricky.”

Avel’s eyes narrowed. “Sure they are.” He roughly twisted his own icing bag, pointed it at the Draxdan and let loose. Icing splattered across the table and landed on the Draxdan’s head.

“What the hell?” The Draxdan’s smile vanished.

“As you said, these icing bags are tricky.”