Chapter 19
“On a map, Red Flag Warnings are actually pink. Because nothing says ‘run for your life’ like Barbie’s favorite color.”
—It’s science
Iris
“I’m guessing you either won the lottery or you got some last night,” Ben said, smirking at me when I walked into the office this morning.
“Wait…Who got some? What’s happening?” Christine popped up from her desk to see what—and more importantly, who—Ben was talking about.
Ben didn’t say a word. He just nodded in my direction, smiled, and went back to work.
Christine gasped after she took a second to look at me. “You did get laid!”
“Shhh!” I snapped and then lowered my tone. “Don’t yell that! Besides, how do you know I didn’t win the lottery?”
Ben still said nothing, just chuckled while staring at his computer.
Christine, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at me. “If you had won the lottery, you wouldn’t have come back to work,” she explained. “You would have stayed in bed with Hector all morning instead.”
“That’s not true,” I defended just as Leah walked in. “Besides, he had work too.”
Christine snapped her fingers, pointing at me, as Ben laughed even louder. “Ha! Caught you! You did have sex with Hector the Convector!”
Well, crap. I’d walked right into that one.
“Maybe we should call him Hector the Erector now!” Leah joked, causing Christine to laugh and Ben to groan.
“Tell me all the details,” Christine begged as she and Leah produced megawatt smiles.
“Actually, please don’t,” Ben protested.
I shook my head at all three of them, ignoring Christine’s request.
“New controversial topic,” Ben interrupted. “Red Flag Warnings should be red, not pink. Why are they bright pink on our maps when they should be red?”
I could have kissed Ben for bringing this up because he was doing it to help me. This was one of those topics that Christine and Leah were divided on and a hill they would each die on—and Ben knew it.
“Thank you!” Leah said. “It literally says red in the name. Why is it not red? Dumbest thing ever.”
“Because there are too many other warnings and alerts that are red,” Christine countered. “Tornado warnings, heat warnings, flash flood warnings, and hurricane warnings…The list goes on.”
“Then they should switch one of those to pink…since they don’t have red in their name,” Leah rebutted.
While they argued, I slowly crept to the empty desk in the far corner since it was mostly hidden by the large filing cabinets, hoping they would forget I was in the same room with them and not bring Hector back up again.
It wasn’t that I was embarrassed about Hector—quite the opposite. I really liked him, which was why I found myself so protective of him and talking about us, especially since getting Hector to even take a chance on me seemed to ignite some huge internal battle within him.
“Hey!” Christine yelled and then turned her volume down a bit. “You can’t leave yet. We have to talk about you sleeping with Hector!”
Leah gasped. “Oh yes!” she asked excitedly.
I turned back around to face them both. “Doesn’t matter if I did. We’re not talking about it,” I said and then slid behind the corner desk, hoping they would take the hint.
“Fine, but that’s only because I have to go outside because I think one of the sensors is broken,” Christine yelled, clearly disgruntled. “But this conversation is not over—just on pause.”
Knowing Christine and Leah likely would never let this go, I decided to work from one of the private offices today so that I could get the rest of my work done.
Except, it didn’t help. I couldn’t seem to focus on anything but Hector all day.
I thought about our amazing dinner, him holding my hand the whole drive back to his place, and the incredible sex.
I also thought about Hector staying the night at my place tonight.
I hated how much I freaked out the other night in my own space.
I knew I needed to get over that fear, but it wasn’t easy.
My hope was that having Hector there would ease me back in and allow me to have that mental security blanket for a few days to conquer my unease.
If not, I was going to have to reach out to a therapist to get some advice on how to move forward.
By the time five thirty rolled around, I was giddy with excitement at Hector’s impending arrival. He had texted around lunchtime to say he was going to run to his house after work, pick up Sarge, and would meet me at my office.
He arrived just as I walked out of the building, waving to Dorothy. He got out of his car and walked around behind it to greet me.
“Hey,” he said, standing near his trunk as I walked up to him.
I wasn’t sure if he was going to kiss me, hug me, or just stand there.
“How was work?” I asked him.
“It was all right,” he said and then moved his arm to point to the passenger side of the car. “Here, get in. I left it running so we don’t bake Sarge in the car.”
I followed him as he opened the passenger side door to let me in.
“Thanks,” I told him and decided I would be the one to make the first move.
I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. Even though I really wanted more, I knew Dorothy was likely watching us from the front lobby, and I didn’t feel like giving her a show.
I pulled back from the kiss and got into the passenger seat, allowing Hector to close my door. I was immediately assaulted by dog licks and sniffs on my head and face.
I laughed, turning to face him and scratching his head. “Well, hello to you too, Sarge.”
His feet tapped excitedly on the back seat as he panted near my face.
“Leave her alone, Sarge,” Hector said as he slid into his own seat and put his seat belt on.
I did the same as we pulled out of the parking lot.
We decided to grab some takeout for dinner since we had Sarge with us and then made our way back to my place.
Once we got there, Sarge was very excited to check out a new place. The moment we walked into my apartment, he sniffed his way through my space as though he was on the hunt for something amazing.
An hour later, after eating and taking Sarge for a quick walk around the building, we were ready to snuggle up on the couch to watch a movie.
I had an L-shaped couch, and Hector was on the long side with his legs stretched out facing the TV. I sat down next to him, my left arm grazing his slightly before he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in closer, all but fusing me to his right side.
“Thank you,” I told him softly.
He turned his head and looked down at me. “For what?”
“I feel bad making you stay the night because I freaked out being here by myself, but I’m also really glad because you make me feel safe.”
He stared at me for a few moments. “I’m glad I make you feel safer, and I’m happy to do it,” he said, taking his hand that wasn’t wrapped around me and using it to push one of my loose curls back from my face.
“But we’ll get you back to where you feel good to stay here alone if you want.
It’s natural to feel what you’re feeling, so don’t feel guilty about it.
You’re strong and resilient. You’ll get there. ”
God, for a man who was usually a grump and mostly quiet, he always seemed to know the perfect thing to say to me.
Wanting to show my gratitude in something other than words, I leaned over and kissed him. I meant for it to be a simple quick kiss, but as often was the case with Hector, that was impossible. He had this magnetic force that was sometimes overwhelming and beyond my ability to ignore.
As the kiss intensified, Hector’s hands began to roam over my body in soft, slow movements that both tickled and teased my senses.
He broke the kiss first, pulling back just enough to speak, but close enough that I could feel his breath on my lips. “Christ, Iris. I can’t be around you and not touch you.”
“I like when you touch me,” I told him, hoping he’d touch me some more and kiss me again.
He grinned at my response before shaking his head back and forth. “Damn, woman. I got two hard-ons at work today thinking about you. You’re addictive, and I’m not sure I like it. But I also can’t help myself.”
“So, what are you gonna do about it?” I said, getting up from the couch and walking toward my hallway, adding a little sway to my hips in the process.
I turned to look back at him and smiled. “I think I’m ready for bed. What about you?”
The words were no sooner out of my mouth than three raps on the door sounded. I sucked in a startled breath as I stumbled back a step, knocking into the wall behind me.
Sarge barked as Hector popped up from the couch immediately and came to me. “You okay?”
Still catching my breath, all I could do was nod in response for a moment.
“You expecting anyone?” he asked quietly.
“N—No,” I said, stammering over my words as my heart jackhammered inside me. “Sorry for overreacting I just wasn’t expecting that.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “I’ll get the door.”
He walked over to it and looked out the peephole before turning back to me. “It’s your neighbor, Nancy.”
I felt a wave of relief wash over me and also a new wave of embarrassment for how I had reacted.
Sarge came over to my side, half interested in what I was doing and the other half focused on the door Hector was now opening.
“Oh good. You’re still here,” Nancy announced at seeing Hector.
He moved back to let her into my apartment, and Sarge made his way over to her to determine whether she was friend or foe.
“Oh dear. Are you all right?” Nancy asked, looking at me.
Ugh. I really needed to work on getting a more stoic face.
“And who are you, precious hairy beast?” Nancy said, leaning down to pet Sarge, who had since decided she was his new best friend.
“That’s Sarge, Hector’s dog,” I informed her.
“Before I forget, young man,” Nancy said, turning to face Hector. “What are you doing Sunday night? Care to join a bunch of old ladies, plus Iris, in a fun game of cards?”
Hector said nothing at first, but I did briefly see his lip twitch.
“I can’t promise it will be the most exciting night of your life, but I can promise dinner and lots of delicious home-baked goodies,” she said, showing him her biggest smile.
“I’ll check my schedule and let you know,” he said, giving her a very small grin.
“You do that,” she said, pointing to him. “Anyway, I saw you both out walking that cute dog and decided to come over to remind you about card night and see if Hector could join. Plus, I wanted to give you this.”
She handed Hector two books, and even though I couldn’t see my face, I could feel the heat taking over and knew it was likely turning pink.
“These are mine,” Nancy explained. “Iris likes them a lot, and I thought you might enjoy them too. You know—to see what Iris enjoys.”
Oh, dear God, shoot me now.
“Uh, thank you,” Hector replied politely, taking the books from her.
“Okay, you two troublemakers. I’ll let you go for the night,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Behave…or don’t.”
She ended with a cackle as she moved to the door, Sarge following her, likely hoping for one last pet before she left.
Hector let her out and locked up before turning back to me.
“What’s with the books?” he asked, setting them on the kitchen counter as he walked toward me.
I felt my face heat even more because I knew the real reason Nancy had dropped them off.
“Umm…she is a bestselling romance author, and I guess she was just, um, looking to see if you might want to read them. You don’t have to,” I rushed to add, waving my hands in front of my face. “You can just donate them, or I’ll give them to my sister or something.”
“What’s got you all flustered?” he asked me, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
Did he know what kind of stuff was in those books? I doubted he would think this was funny if he knew.
“I’m not flustered,” I lied. “How about we just watch the movie? Or we could just go to bed.”
I hoped my redirect would allow us to move on from this topic and maybe pick up from where we left off when Nancy had arrived.
“I’ll allow that diversion only because I’m good with taking this to the bed, but just so you know, both my sisters and mom read romance books, so I know what’s in them,” he said, walking closer to me and grabbing my hips to pull me into him.
“So, if there’s something in there you enjoy, I’d like to know what it is. ”
Was it hot in here? It was definitely getting hotter in here.
Clearly unaffected by the increasing temperature in the room, Hector just smiled at me and then kissed my lips. It was soft and quick but held so much promise of what was yet to come.
“Let’s go get ready for bed,” he murmured against my lips. “Besides, I’m not sure I gave you enough opportunities last night to be on top. Gotta keep you happy if you’re gonna let me stick around.”
“I think that can be arranged,” I said.
A little shriek left my mouth as he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me back to my bedroom.
Taking his time, he removed his clothes and then mine.
He pulled me onto the bed with him—me on top.
I sat there, straddling his hips and staring down at the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on.
I ran my fingers across his abs and chest hair, enjoying the feel of both—the hard and soft texture creating a gift for my senses.
“What are you thinking about, Iris?” he asked with a grin, running his calloused hands up and down my thighs, triggering goose bumps along the way.
“Give me a new memory in my apartment—a good one—to wash away the bad ones. Make love to me, Hector.”
I didn’t have to ask twice. He gave me not one but two great new memories in my apartment. The first one wore me out in the best way possible, leading to a great night’s sleep snuggled up against him.
The second was the next morning, when Hector woke me with his mouth and tongue all over my body.
I could get used to that.