Page 5 of Iris
it's the book Sage said I would like. I'm mortified as I look down at his hand holding it. The cover has four men behind a woman in a field of lavender. They are shirtless while she is wearing a light purple shirt and panties made out of flowers. I grab it from him but it falls between us, opening to the middle of the book, onto the counter.
“Sorry about that!” Noah and I reach for the book at the same time.
Our hands brush together as we both touch the book. A tingle starts at my hand as some words from the book catch my attention for a brief moment. The page has one of the male characters talking to the female. Turns out they are different types of shifters. The girl is making fun of one of the guys about his coffee making skills on the page it's opened up to.
That strange sensation in my hand started to travel upward. It feels like some kind of magic. That’s when I notice Noah hasn’t moved his hand away yet. In fact, he is leaning closer to me. My body sways toward his as I narrow my gaze on his lips.
His tongue licks his lower lip as the distance between us closes. I just close my eyes, anticipating the kiss when there’s the sound of glass shattering onto the hardwood floors. I jump back, clutching a hand over my heart.
Oh. My. Moon Goddess. What was just about to happen? I wouldn’t complain about kissing Noah. No way. He is my crush! But he’d been about to kiss me, too! As my eyes fly to Noah’s face, I can tell he is just as shocked as I am.
His pupils are dilated, his wings fluttering nervously behind him, and he is looking me up and down. “Iris?”
I fight an inner battle not to purr out loud in response to his gruff voice. “Yeah?”
He moves, looking to go around the counter when Igor decides to join in on the conversation.
“Hey, love birds!” She is enjoying this way too much. “Sorry to burst the rosy bubble of lust, but Iris, we have a customer about to come in from a city car. This must be the person who sent that email, Iris. Look alive, you panting messes of hormones!”
“Right. I have to go.” Noah seems back to his regular self as he backs towards the shop door. “Iris.” He makes sure we make eye contact. “I’ll see you.”
And just like that, he is gone. What just happened? There’s some kind of spell; I know I felt it. I just can’t identify what it was since my magic is in plants. I’ll have to figure it out later because I have a customer to focus on.
“Oh, this one should be totallyyyy your type!” Igor is staring out the window as our customer walks to the door.
The vampire who walks in is hard to put words to. Beautiful wouldn’t even begin to cover it. His skin is so pale, like it doesn’t have any pigmentation to it. He’s wearing black slacks with a black button up shirt that is, you guessed it, black but it contains intricate designs the color of a clear sky. He has brown leather gloves over his hands. A large briefcase is at his side. I’ve seen him around town on occasion, but I’ve never really paid any attention to him because I’ve been so crazy busy.
My eyes slowly roam over his face. He has an oval face with a strong jaw. I linger on his lips for several heartbeats. He has permanently pouty lips that any woman would kill to have and strong cheekbones with no signs of any kind of scruff.
What takes away my breath is his hair and eyes. His hair is long as it falls over one shoulder in a low ponytail. it's white, no trace of color, just white. And his eyes. How could I have missed those? I have to clutch the countertop as he walks up to me. They are the color of his designs on his vest. A clear, bright, blue that makes them stand out, drawing my focus.
I remember reading an article during science in high school, when we were going over chromosomes and genes that help decide what color our skin, our eyes, and hair is. It takes a few more seconds to remember what the condition is called where no color is produced by our cells. He would have been sensitive to UV light as a human before he’d been turned, I could only imagine how bad it's now that he is a vampire. I wonder if he sparkles in a sick thought.
The man stops at the counter, looking down at the open book briefly before looking up at me with a raised eyebrow as the corner of his mouth twitches like he is holding back a smile.
“Miss Iris?”
I snap out of my musings. “Yeah, I’m Iris, the owner of the shop. I know the email that was sent a few days ago mentioned a large event that needed flowers. I’m assuming that’s what you’re here about?” I offer my hand to him. “You work for the town?”
“Yes, I’m the event coordinator for our city. I’m Dorian. I wanted to talk to you about hiring you to do all the flowers for The Silver Springs Hop Dance.” He grips my hand in his.
The world tilts as sudden heat floods my pussy, and I have to clench my legs together. My hand tightens around his as whatever happened with Noah, begins to happen with Dorian now.
Judging by his expression, he appears to be having the same response, or at least similar. His clear blue eyes look at me like I'm the lollipop this time. A quick glance down, I can see a nice tent appearing within his pants. I have the urge to press against him, run my hands under his pants, jerk them down, and suck his cock.
Woah, there. I’m as kinky as the next girl, but that was intense for literally just having met the man.
That thought helps me take a step back behind the counter, pulling my hand from his with only slight resistance. This is all a little overwhelming. I need to figure out what is going on, but first I need to conclude the actual business this man has come to do.
Now that we aren’t touching, Dorian has taken a step back as well. His shoulders are still tense. I bite my lower lip, worrying it as I wait for him to speak.
“I’m not sure what that was.” He clears his throat. “We can discuss it later. I’d like to continue with our talk about the dance.”
A dull ache in my chest starts, but I ignore it.
“Yeah, of course! I mean, why would we talk about the fact that we touched and suddenly wanted to be in each other's pants? It wasn’t strange or anything. You aren’t even my type and I’m sure I’m not yours!” Annnnddd now I'm babbling and insulting a customer. Smooth Iris. Smooth.
“Excuse me?” Dorian’s lip lifts in a silent snarl. “How do you know you’re not my type?” He looks offended and pissed at the same time. “I’m not your type?”
