Page 6 of Iris
I gotta say, I'm not really paying attention to what he is saying. I just want to have that mouth between my legs. Damnit! Focus!
“Err, well.” I gesture at him. “There’s you.” I gesture at myself and shrug. “Then there’s me.” We’ve gotten off topic again.
He tilts his nose up at me. “We will discuss this,” he gestures between us, “momentarily.”
“You just gestured to all of me!” I'm on a roll today with my favorite quotes.
“As I was saying,” it has totally gone over his head, “the dance is on the last day of Spring. The venue has been chosen; it will be in the City Hall itself. The theme is tropical paradise.”
He places the briefcase on the counter, opens it, and pulls out a tablet that he turns on. “It’s a rather large order. I’ve been told that you can grow practically any kind of plant?”
I step back to the counter, trying to fight that pull of magic to touch him, to make him mine.
“Yes, for the most part. Some plants that require a specific environment take more magic. Those can take days to coax into life, sometimes longer. But the last day of spring? That’s next Friday.”
“I know it’s short notice, but the vendor we hired from last year was fired on Tuesday. The mayor was unimpressed with the quality of the flowers they sent as examples.”
He turns the tablet to me. He makes sure our fingers don't touch. Smart man. I want to jump over the counter and ride him like a bull rider. It would probably mean the death of this sleek tablet.
Looking down at the list on the screen, all thoughts of riding the man are forgotten. My brow furrows. They are asking for a lot. Most of my stock will have to go to this, which is fine, but some of the plants they are asking for will take time (which I don’t have a lot of), magic, and sweat.
“I can do it.” I glance at him. “But the coral tree? I won’t do.”
“Why’s that?” He is all business now. “The coral tree is meant to be the main attraction. The centerpiece of the whole dance. Afterward, the tree is meant to be an artistic flare to City Hall. I know it’s a little short notice, but surely you can do it.”
“Dorian,” I practically purr, “do you know anything about coral trees?” Plus ‘a little short notice’ is under exaggerating.
He folds his arms across his chest. “Not much, but I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.” A hint of a smile fights its way across his face.
“The tree species is endangered. They have specific needs. They can only take so much water. If it’s the wrong amount, it will die. The leaves, sure they’re beautiful, but they are poisonous to those who don’t know how to use them.” I'm counting the reasons on my fingers. “This would take me the few weeks that you’renotgiving me to, just get it to be half grown. Even if I agreed to it.”
“So, what you’re saying,” Dorian’s voice is slow as he leans forward. My eyes are glued to his lips. “You won’t accept the job?”
My body is leaning forward toward him as my eyes stick on his lips. They turn up into a smirk.
“Iris?” Dorian sounds amused, but underneath is a heat that goes straight to my core. At least, I’m not the only one this weird thing is happening to. He clears his throat.
“Right. Uh,” I have to rub my cheeks to focus, “I’m not saying I won’t accept it. I’ll be happy to do it. The coral tree just isn’t a good idea. If you hear from someone else that they can do it, they’re lying. Even with my magic supporting it, it requires time to grow properly, and you have to train the right person to take care of it if you want it to live.”
He leans his elbows on the counter as he bends forward to look at me. “I want to hire you. You have the best flower shop in town. At least, according to all the reviews on the town’s website. If we negotiate on the tree, will you take the job?”
Biting my lip, I have to think for a few seconds. That would mean working with him. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, just punishment to my empty pussy that’s probably filled with sawdust at this point.
“Yes,” he grins at me as I speak, “but, I’ll need to know where you want things, help with bringing everything over, taking care of it, etc.”
“Not a problem. I’ll be working hand in hand with you in this. I’ll have another person helping as well to make sure everything in the room is set up safely for our residents. Does tomorrow work to go through the space with me?”
“That should be fine. I can close up early. But, what do you mean by ‘safe’?”
“Right, I didn’t say anything about that. We’ll be setting up wards to make sure most humans go to another room that will be for those who aren’t aware of us. We’ve hired a security company that will make sure there’s no hiccups. Plus, the mayor wants a few guards to make sure no one gets too out of hand. We’re going to have fairy wine. You know how that gets us all worked up.”
Oh, do I know. At least, I do for my family. Any time fairy wine is served, someone ends up causing an explosion in their drunken state because they want to see something blow up. I can only imagine what a bunch of different races would get up to if we are all drunk on fairy wine in close quarters.
“That sounds like a smart idea.”
He smirks. “I thought so. I’ll bring the contract for you to sign later this evening, if that’s alright? I’ll stop here on my way home. I’ll get the conditions of the tree updated and a substitute that the mayor will agree to.”
“Sure, I don’t mind. I’ll be here. I live here.”
