Page 18 of Iris
Chapter Six
Kieron, the guy I’ll be working with for the dance, is the same Kieron from last night's hot dance at the bar. He stands there in a black, skintight (of course it has to be) shirt with the security logo. He wears black pants that hug his thigh muscles. They make me wish I have fangs just to bite into those muscles. I can feel my face heating up as he and the mayor stop in front of us.
His beautiful grey eyes have zeroed in on me at the same time as mine saw him. His lips are curled in such a sexy smirk that, if I were a shifter, I’d probably already be humping his leg. Hell, if Dorian wasn’t right next to me, I’d probably be humping his leg anyway.
“Iris, isn’t that right?” Mayor Schnarl’s voice interrupts my staring contest with Kieron. He’s thrust his hand in front of me, waiting for me to shake it.
“Yes, Mayor Schnarl. I’m Iris. Thank you for thinking of Floriography Flower Shop for the decorations.” His hand is clammy in mine with a slight smell of day old fish sticks.
“Don’t think anything of it!” I try to discreetly wipe my palm on the back of my pants. “Now, I must go handle other business. Dorian, you can take over?” The mayor doesn’t wait for Dorian’s reply before he rushes out of the room.
“Uh, I don’t remember him being such a…” I try to think of the word.
“Douche nozzle.” Igor helpfully supplies the word.
“Yeah, that.” I glance at Dorian to find him sizing up Kieron.
They are looking at each other seriously but no words are said. I keep looking between them to see what is going on but all that happens is Dorian bows his head slightly to Kieron as Kieron grins.
Okay, well. That must be some weird male ritual thing.
“So, who is the other hottie?” Igor has moved in front of me. “He’s another mate, isn’t he?”
“What?” Shaking my head, I pick her up. “He’s not.”
“No, the talking plant is correct.” Kieron’s deep voice is soft, yet it still makes me clench Igor’s pot to stop from dropping her.
“Excuse me?” And there’s my voice going up like a kite.
“I am not a talking plant! I am Igor! The most glorious of all Venus Fly Traps and you will learn to worship me like everyone else!”
I sigh as Igor goes on a tangent directed at Kieron. He just grins widely. Dorian is at my side again, his hand on my lower back.
“I’m sure Kieron didn’t mean to insult you, Igor,” Dorian interrupts her just as she starts in about making him lose his happy stem from his bud, whatever that means. “Right, Kieron?”
Kieron places his hands in his front pockets, rocking back on the heels of his feet. “That’s right. I apologize, Igor. I didn't know what kind of magnificent creature lay before me.” He is looking at me when he says this.
I'm going to melt. Right here. Just become a gooey pile of, well, goo. These two will just stare me into bliss. That’s all they have to do to have my body acting like I'm in heat.
“Flattery will get you everywhere, big guy.” Igor is now flirting.
I moan before placing her on my left hip. “Okay, let’s get this work thing done. Please. There’s only so much I can handle at once.” I look at Dorian. “I’ve got the layout. Igor will be able to help with finding the best places for the plants to go. I still won’t do the coral tree. I think a red banana tree would work in this space. It’s actually a plant, but it can get up to thirty feet high and fifteen feet wide, so it's practically a tree. I have a few babies in my greenhouse. I will work on one for the dance. I’ll bring it a few days before to get it acclimated and rooted into the spot.”
Dorian is typing on his tablet as I talk. He nods. “A red banana tree sounds like it might just work. It’s got the colors we want. I’ll convince the mayor.”
I turn to look up at Kieron, who hasn’t said anything yet. “Now,” my mouth is dry, “what about you?”
His grin is sharp. “Me?” His eyes have darkened.
“Yes, you. What kind of security, er, procedures should I be aware of? What does it have to do with my flowers, anyway?” I glance at Dorian.
“Basically, Mayor Schnarl wants to make sure the humans don’t know about us, and don't notice anything magical. So, Kieron’s job is to basically herd the humans away from this place. He’s supposed to review your plans to make sure they won’t create issues in the humans dance room.”
I blink. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I plan on just using cut flowers in that room. Any live plants will have support to look like they've actually climbed the walls. No magic required. It’ll just use more manpower to get ready.”
“Still,” Kieron speaks up, “I’ll need to work closely with you, Iris.” His voice is practically a purr.
Oh, no. He doesn’t need to work with me at all. That’s easy enough to tell but I'm not saying no. I’m not crazy. There’s a potted plant near one of the windows that looks like it hasn't had care in a few weeks. I wander over to it with Igor on my hip. Some space to breathe sounds wonderful.
