Page 46 of Iris
He surprises me, though. He raises his hand while staring into my eyes. “It looks like three is the deciding vote. Orgy after the bad guy is caught.” His voice has lowered as he runs his eyes down my face.
“I didn’t have time to raise my hand.” My lips curve. “Having you all in the same room and naked? Sign this girl up.”
“That’s my girl.” Noah sits up slightly, using his elbow to lean on. He kisses me softly. As he pulls away, I try to follow but Dorian’s hands in my hair pulls me up short.
“Hey!” Tipping my head back, I look at Dorian upside down. He just smiles gently.
“It’s only fair we wait, right? It’ll make it all the more special.” His blue eyes are filled with amusement. “The anticipation will be worth it.”
He finishes my hair, using one of the pre-cut ribbons I keep everywhere for the flowers, to tie it at the bottom.
“Fine. I guess I can wait. I’m pretty tired.” I hadn’t noticed until now, the adrenaline and rage having worn off, that I am. I’ve done a bit more magic than normal today to make up for the last week.
“Go to sleep, we’ll be right here.” Dorian moves gently, letting Kieron take his place. “I’ll check on Igor before bed. You guys go ahead and relax.” He presses a chaste kiss to my lips before leaving the room silently.
“Man, that guy is smooth. Always makes my heart skip.” Noah is watching the doorway that Dorian has just left through.
“No, kidding.” I giggle as I settle against Kieron’s chest. “I can’t believe how wonderful each of you is. Thank you for being here.”
“There’s no other place that we’d be. You’re our mate.” Kieron is slowly rubbing my arms, putting me to sleep.
He and Noah begin to talk softly. I’m not really able to tell what about as I fade into sleep, but I feel safe, loved, and warm.
it's the first night in a long time that I don’t have a dream. I just sleep through the night and wake up feeling refreshed the next morning. I'm sprawled across the bed, but the first thing I notice is that I'm alone. The second thing I notice is that it's almost noon. My feet slide onto the floor as I scramble out of the bed.
“Oh no! Late, late, late!” Chanting this, I grab a clean uniform from the closet. As I hop into the skirt, Igor grumbles from the nightstand.
“You’re crazy, you know that? Dorian opened the store for you. He’s actually bringing in a lot of women customers, who are putting in big orders since the cut flowers haven’t been replaced. I think we should use him more often. Maybe he could be the poster boy?”
Dorian has opened up the shop? They let me sleep in. I would have thought I’d be annoyed at that, but it makes me happy. They are helping my business while letting me rest. It isn’t something I’ll let happen often, but this time it's okay.
“Anything happen last night?” My hair is still in the braid that Dorian did for me and I leave it as is. I use a little water from the sink to push down the flyaways with some gel. I don’t bother with any makeup. The guys have seen me without it and don’t care. Their opinions are pretty much all I care about.
“No, it was quiet. The banana trees have no change. So, that could be good. Means they aren’t dead yet.” Her tone is soft but underneath it boils with the same rage I pushed down yesterday. “When we find this person, you’ll let me have my time with them.” She doesn’t ask.
I nod. “I figured you would have the best chance to get the reversal spell from them. As long as you don’t kill them, do whatever it takes to get it.” I finish tucking my shirt in. “Are you coming down to the shop with me?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a little bit.”
She might act like she doesn’t care most of the time, but it's just that, an act. Igor has more heart inside of her than most humans. She felt the pain of our trees when she checked on them. She knows exactly what pain they are going through.
There’s a thermos on the countertop with my name on a post-it. it's still warm when I open it to take a sip. There’s a note next to it. The handwriting is elegant, I would bet that Dorian wrote it.
Iris, don’t worry about the shop. I’m working remotely and watching it for you. Noah has gone to work. Kieron will be back after he’s checked out a few things at City Hall. I’ll see you when you’re awake.
Short, sweet, and to the point. I put the note in my pocket for safekeeping before going into the shop. Igor was right, my shelves are empty of cut flowers, it looks barren. Dorian is standing behind the counter with his laptop open to the right of him while he helps an older woman make an order for delivery in a few days.
I stand back to watch for a few minutes. After the older woman is done, she bats her lashes at him before she leaves the shop. There is another woman behind her, this one is around my age, with big breasts that she advertises with a very low cut shirt.
Dorian’s eyes never wander. He takes her order, shows her flowers on the website, and even avoids her attempts to touch him. When she leaves, she is obviously disappointed, but he still manages to get a rather large office order from her. He turns to me once we’re alone.
I'm stunned again by how beautiful he is. He could easily be one of the models who walk the catwalks in Milan. He has pulled his hair up high in a ponytail. The clothing he is wearing is freshly laundered and pressed. He must have gone home at some point.
“Hi.” His eyes are so bright against the light. “You look well rested.”
I sit the thermos on the counter next to him before I reach up to kiss him. I wonder if that electric feeling I get from them every time we touch will ever go away. I hope not.
“Thank you. For this.” I nod at the thermos but also the shop as a whole. “That’s really sweet of you.”
