Hot Dish (Lost and Found Book 4), page 1
HOT DISH
by Elizabeth Lynx
Hot Dish
Copyright © 2020 by Elizabeth Lynx.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information contact:
lynxelizabeth1@gmail.com
http://www.elizabeth-lynx.com
Book and Cover design by Elizabeth Lynx
Photography by Anetta
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ELIZABETH LYNX BOOKS
HOT DISH
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PROLGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
FIND ELIZABETH LYNX
ELIZABETH LYNX BOOKS
Pick and choose which funny, sexy Elizabeth Lynx book scratches your reading itch.
KINDLE UNLIMITED: Cabin Fever * Living Hell * Burning Love * Lost & Found Box Set * Dating Disaster with a Billionaire
ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS: Cabin Fever * Idol * Burning Love * Rules of Payne
SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE: Hot Dish * Living Hell * The Attraction File * Happy New You
SUPER WEALTHY/BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: Dating Disaster with a Billionaire * Surprising the Billionaire with a Baby * Hot Dish * One Wild Ride * Royal Disgrace * Mogul
OFFICE ROMANCE: Surprising the Billionaire with a Baby * The Attraction File * Mogul * Rules of Payne
SINGLE PARENT ROMANCE: Dirty Secret * The Spy Ring * Burning Love * Surprising the Billionaire with a Baby
MISTAKEN IDENTITY: Dating Disaster with a Billionaire * Surprising the Billionaire with a Baby * Idol * The Spy Ring * Royal Disgrace
ACCIDENTAL MARRIAGE/FAKE FIANCEE: The Spy Ring * Living Hell
CELEBRITY ROMANCE: Dating Disaster with a Billionaire * Idol * Star * Living Hell * Royal Disgrace
PLAYBOY: Mogul * The Attraction File
SMALL TOWN ROMANCE: Dating Disaster with a Billionaire * Surprising the Billionaire with a Baby * Idol * Star * Mogul * Cabin Fever * Living Hell * Burning Love * Hot Dish
BIG CITY ROMANCE: Royal Disgrace * Dirty Secret * Happy New You * Rules of Payne * The Attraction File * One Wild Ride * The Spy Ring
SERIES BOX SET: Cake Love * Price of Fame * Lost & Found
HOT DISH
EVER BEEN RESCUED FROM a cave full of bears by a hot billionaire? I was, and let me tell you, it’s not as sexy as it sounds.
Chloe Angrov had one thing going for her: she liked to bake. And she was good at it. Having just opened her own bakery in her tiny mountain town, she knew people would flock to it as they always loved her baked treats.
But no one came.
What’s a bakery owner to do? Give up? Never. She didn’t run when her hero, the man who rescued her from bears, broke her heart. And she wouldn’t walk away now. Not even when that hero moved in down the block and seemed to be the only person enjoying her cookies.
Konrad Love was a big-city billionaire. His life was filled with excess, women, and flashy everything. Then he stumbled into a cave and helped the young woman out. Talk about an ego boost. Only it wasn’t. Not when he ended up peeing on the bear. And a few other things he did that he wanted to forget.
Now he was the laughingstock of that small town and hated by the feisty woman who saw his backside. After buying the town’s rundown inn and deciding to fix it up, he realized he didn’t know how to hammer a nail. He had to prove to her, to the town, he wasn’t crazy.
How’s the town billionaire supposed to mend a broken building while winning over the woman who hates his guts?
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PROLGUE
Konrad
“IT’S BEAR FOOD NOW,” I said to the redhead as I grabbed her shoulder before she stepped back into the cave.
“But . . . my trail mix.” She frowned, and there were tears streaming down her face.
A few of the men I had hired to help me find these women showed up from my radio call to them. Jason was good at tracking, and Tom used to be an Army Ranger. Jason guided the redhead away as she sniffled her goodbyes to her snack food. Tom guided the woman with a short, black bob, who also looked like she was in desperate need of a nap.
I was left with the brunette who was limping. I think she mentioned her name was Chloe. My sister Bea mentioned a Chloe when she told me about the lost women.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
She raised her vivid blue eyes to me, and I felt something hit my chest. The woman was beautiful. Even with her long, auburn braid in disarray and filled with twigs, there was something about her that struck me in all the right places.
Huh. That’s never happened before.
I had been with women who were beautiful, but it usually made my dick stand to attention, not my heart.
I shrugged it off and focused on the task at hand.
“Of course. I may have been stuck in a cave with a bear for a few days, but I haven’t forgotten how to walk—” She took one step forward and fell flat on her face.
Chloe moaned. I fell to my knees and brushed some of her stray strands of hair back from her face. She smelled of sweat and lavender.
“Is anything hurt?” I scanned her body and face, but I didn’t see blood. Cupping her chin, I pulled down her lower lip.
Electricity ran down my hand and straight to my cock. Of course, it picked now to stir.
She pushed my hand away and frowned. “I’m not a horse. It’s my ankle. I must have twisted it.”
I wanted to make sure nothing was broken. “Is it okay if I touch it?” I asked, not making the same mistake I just did with her mouth.
She nodded, and I quickly untied her boot and gently removed her thick gray sock. Her ankle was swollen, and as I applied pressure, she winced.
“It may be twisted. I better carry you just in case.”
Her gorgeous blue eyes widened. “What? You can’t carry me. I’m not a baby.”
I smirked. She was cute. “You certainly aren’t.” My eyes dipped to her chest.
Ogling an injured woman outside a bear cave wasn’t my finest move. I tried to play it off but only made it worse by continuing to lower my gaze down her body. In a span of a few seconds I went from being a little inappropriate to being down right sleazy.
Good going, Konrad.
Maybe if I made it into a joke, I wouldn’t seem so creepy. I chuckled.
Nope. That didn’t work. If anything, it just added more awkwardness to the whole situation.
She snatched the sock from my hand and groaned as she put it back on, followed by her boot. I tried to help, but she batted my hand away. I tucked my arms under hers to help lift her, but she pushed me away again. With much struggle, she stood, favoring her good leg.
“Like I said, I can walk.” She hobbled away and mumbled, “The last thing I want is to be manhandled by some perv in the middle of the woods.”
Perfect. I came here to help, and she’d forever see me as Creepy Konrad. At least it was just her. It wasn’t as if I embarrassed myself in front of everyone who was here.
“I’m sorry.” I stumbled after her, almost twisting my ankle in the process. “That was weird, and I didn’t mean—”
A loud growl echoed from behind us, and we froze. Without any thought, I reached for Chloe and pulled her behind me as I turned.
There was a large but rather thin bear about fifteen feet away. He was close enough that I wrinkled my nose at his pungent scent. My eyes scanned the ground for anything that could be used to help keep the bear back.
Only twigs and old, dried leaves. Nothing of any use.
What had Jason told me about scaring bears? Did he mention something about peeing?
“I need to piss on that bear,” I stage-whispered to Chloe.
I didn’t have time to worry if that was what he told me to do. I quickly unbuttoned my jeans and began to tug them down along with my black boxer briefs.
“What? What the hell is peeing on a bear going to do? We need to roll up in a ball. Play dead.” I looked back and saw Chloe’s eyes widen as I pushed down my jeans.
I turned back and started to tug my jeans over my boots—which, I admit, wasn’t the wisest move, but I didn’t have time to untie my boots.
“I think that only works in movies. The pee shows the bear this is your territory. Some prim
“You think?” Chloe pushed her hands on her hips.
It was too late for her to talk me out of it as the bear moved, and with one pant leg still on, I grabbed my dick. The first shot of golden urine made its way toward the bear. I was too far away to hit the bear, but that wasn’t the point. It was to mark my territory.
The bear sniffed the air and twisted its head. He, she, I didn’t understand enough about bears to know if it was male or female, but whatever sex it was, it was confused.
Maybe that was why I needed to pee at the bear. Not about marking my territory, but it caused confusion. I wished I remembered exactly what Jason had said. Either way, I thought it was working.
In that moment, I thought I had won. “I am beating the bear. Not physically beating but psychologically. That’s what makes humans the dominant species on this planet—”
Wait, no, I was wrong. Horribly, tragically mistaken. My urinating dick only made the situation worse. The bear growled even louder and took one enormous step forward.
“That didn’t work at all.” I quickly reached down for my jeans, which were now hanging from my boot, but the bear moved closer, so I turned and picked up Chloe. I threw her over my shoulder and ran. Some pee ran down my leg, and the running was awkward with the jeans trailing behind me and Chloe in my arms, but I didn’t care. It was survival time.
“Holy crap, let me down.”
“No . . . you . . . have a . . . hurt— God, this is tough,” I wheezed, trying to shake the jeans off while running from a bear and talking all at the same time.
“So let me down.”
Chloe weighed a lot more than I anticipated; luckily, I had managed to lose my jeans and boxer briefs in our epic escape. My legs were free, and I picked up my pace, which caused Chloe to bounce against my back.
“I think I’m going to be sick. Oh no, here comes that trail mix.”
I felt the hot puke run down my back. Again, the moment was about survival. I only hoped the smell of her trail mix puke would scare away the bear better than my piss did.
“Is the bear . . . following— Jesus, I need to do . . . more cardio.”
“Ugh, I can’t see. I’m lifting my head, but everything is a blur because you won’t let me down.”
I ignored her request and tightened my grip on her thighs. Even with all that was going on, I noticed how firm they were. Now wasn’t the time for those types of thoughts. It only caused blood to run to my cock, which made running more painful.
“The bear is gone.”
“Really?”
She groaned and shifted. “I don’t know, but I just want you to let go of me. I’m sure we’re far enough away—”
I stopped. Not because I believed her. Not because I was achingly tired and knew I’d be in so much pain tomorrow that I’d need a crane to get me out of bed.
I stopped because we had come to a clearing. And in that clearing were a few cars, the men I had hired, Chloe’s friends, the sheriff, and a few others I didn’t recognize.
They were staring at us, and I remembered I didn’t have any pants on. Gently, I lowered Chloe. She tried to stand but didn’t have solid footing. I reached for her, but she raised her arms and said, “I’d rather fall into poison ivy and have the bear give me a few swipes than let you touch me again.”
She lowered her gaze and took a moment to stare at my cock. Her lips twitched, as did my dick.
She leaned over and whispered, “You might want to cover yourself.”
My hands flew to cup my groin, and she leaned to the side, looking past me. “Look at that. Your peeing tricked worked. The bear is gone, and we are safe. Thanks for the rescue.”
Chloe turned and limped toward the cars, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to get her out of my mind again.
ONE
Chloe
Eighteen Months Later
“OMG! BEARS. SO CUTE.” Lana bent over and peered into the display case, pointing to the brown and black iced cookies I had on display.
“All my baked goods tell a story. You already know the bears story since you were there.” I pointed to the variety of cookies, freshly made donuts, and muffins I had for sale in my brand-new bakery.
My friends nodded in agreement. It was opening day, and Lana showed up to support me. My other friend and sole employee, Kris, was helping behind the counter.
They were loyal, and we’d gone through much together. And the bear incident a year and a half ago was a prime example.
Lana straightened. “If only the bears in that cave were sweet and tasty like these cookies, instead of smelly and scary.”
Kris’s red ponytail swayed as she shook her head. “Let’s not talk about it, all right? Every time it’s brought up, I always seem to have dreams about bears.”
“Like me with spiders . . .. If I see a spider, then I will dream about spiders that night,” Lana added.
“You want the cookie?” I ignored my friends and got down to business because it had been anything but business today.
Opening day and there had only been two customers. You’d think in a small town where the only other bakery was a forty-five-minute drive to another town would have a line out the door. But as I discovered today, baked goods weren’t big here in Fire Lake, Maine.
Lana gnawed on her lower lip. “Uh, sure. I’ll take it home to eat later.”
I nodded. “I get it. You’ve stuffed your face today with baked goods to support your friend. You can only take so much sweet goodness. I appreciate all that you’ve done, Lana. You too, Kris.”
I felt grateful to have friends who supported me. Taking the bear cookie out of the case, I wrapped it up and placed it in a cute bag that had Chloe’s Bakery on the front.
All the money I had spent on the adorable pale pink, lavender, and gold logo. It was everywhere. On the paper napkins and embossed on our wooden counter. I decorated the place in pink with golden accents. Like the small golden vases that each held little twigs of lavender and a pink carnation dotting the bakery’s round, bistro-style tables.
This place was my dream come true. After the bear scare a year and a half ago, I realized at twenty-eight that I was too young not to follow my dreams. I had always wanted to be a baker, but when a plane crash killed my parents eleven years ago, it was tough enough for my older brother Mica to help take care of Ellie and me. We didn’t have enough money to send me to pastry school. Then when Ellie got pregnant almost four years ago but died several months after the baby was born, we both had to raise a baby girl.
Pastry school never happened, but it didn’t stop me from baking my heart out. And when I applied for a small business loan—with the help of my sister-in-law, Bea—I got the money to see my dream come true.
“I’m surprised you don’t have penis cookies.” Lana smirked and winked at Kris, who giggled.
“It’s been a year and a half. Let it go.”
My cheeks warmed, and I hoped my friends didn’t notice. Remembering being rescued and all the craziness that happened, the thing I couldn’t stop picturing was my rescuer’s cock.
“I’ll let it go when you let it go. It may have happened early last year, but you still bring him up a lot.”
I took a rag and wiped away nonexistent crumbs off the counter. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lana. I just bring up the bear rescue from time to time because it pops in my head. An acceptable and normal amount, nothing out of the ordinary.”
“I have to side with Lana . . . You do talk about Konrad a lot.”
My jaw tightened as I thought about him. I felt bad that I gave him a rough time while he rescued me. It turned out I had sprained my ankle outside the bear's cave. If he hadn’t picked me up and ran, that bear may have hurt me.
