Chapter 22
“Love makes your pupils dilate and your brain shut off.”
—It’s science
Iris
A breeze hit my face, akin to what a hairdryer would feel like. Even though it was early evening, it was still hot, and that breeze did nothing to cool me off.
I spent approximately ten minutes after Hector left sitting on the porch before I realized all I was doing was worrying about him since he seemed so stressed when he left.
I knew it had to do with Chantal Simpleton’s body found at the lake. I hated that this case—a case that likely wouldn’t exist without me—was stressing him out. And that was stressing me out, so I decided to take Sarge for a walk to help me clear my head.
Hector lived so close to one of my favorite spots—the Wash Wetlands park area.
It was a little oasis in the desert. Literally.
It was a small wetland full of lush plants and bright colors.
It was one of those things that you wouldn’t think existed in the desert, but it did, and I was grateful for it because my soul needed it today.
I sat on a rock near a stream contemplating the entirety of my existence and the situation I was in, all while Sarge sniffed every square inch of the area around me.
There was a narrow trail for people to walk or run on, but Sarge was mostly oblivious to the people, preferring to investigate other critters nearby.
“Iris, is that you?” I heard, looking up to see a man about my age. “It’s Lt. Patrick Michaels…You interviewed me at the lake.”
Oh yes, now I remembered.
“Oh, yeah, hi,” I said to him, turning to shake his hand, which prompted Sarge to want to go and sniff our newcomer.
“I like your dog,” he said to me, leaning down to give Sarge some head scratches.
“Oh, he’s not mine. He’s actually Hector Madeira’s.”
He stared at me briefly for a moment before speaking. “You walk his dog from time to time or something, or are you dating?”
I knew it was a simple question, but for some reason it felt more personal than that.
“Um, no, I’m not a dog walker,” I explained. “We’re seeing each other, yes, and I’m staying with him right now, so I decided to bring Sarge down for a walk.”
His face went from curiosity to smiling, and then he shook his head and chuckled.
“What?” I asked, not sure why that was funny.
“I’m a little embarrassed to tell you, but that first day we met, I asked Hector if he knew whether you were single,” he told me, and I thought back to Christine’s comments about her catching Patrick staring at my butt that day.
“Hector told me you weren’t single, but he didn’t tell me that he was the one you were dating. Now I kind of feel like an idiot.”
Hector told him what?
That timeline didn’t match. We didn’t even talk before that day at the lake and for the next week after. Why did Hector tell him we were dating?
“Don’t feel like an idiot,” I told him. “I’m flattered you even asked.”
“Well, tell Hector I said hi. Good seeing you again,” he said and then made his way along the trail.
Shortly after Patrick left, Sarge found a frog and was having fun following it along the path and getting excited every time it jumped. His amazement at the little things had me realizing that sometimes joy hides in plain sight, waiting for us to slow down enough to see it.
Much to Sarge’s disappointment, we hopped back into the car for the short drive back to the cabin. I had wanted to make sure we were home before Hector returned, just in case things didn’t go well for him. Maybe I just needed to offer Hector some joy in plain sight, too, when he got home.
Sarge and I were only home for about fifteen minutes when Hector walked through the door. Sarge greeted him with copious amounts of sniffing and licks before I decided it was my turn.
His head tilted up to me after having bent down to scratch Sarge’s head, and I could see the stress lines and exhaustion all over his face. I closed the gap between us and wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tight.
“You okay?” he asked me, ever the concerned protector.
“You’re my safe space, Hector, and I’m happy to be yours too. If you need to rant, I want you to feel comfortable doing that with me. If you need a hug, advice, or if you need me in other ways, I’m here for that too.”
He didn’t say anything to me, just stared deeply into my eyes. It was moments like this when I wished he had a super readable face like I did. I would love to know the thoughts swirling deep in those dark eyes.
“You don’t need to solve every problem or make sense of everything right away. Sometimes it’s just better to take a breath and enjoy what’s in front of you.”
“You’re right in front of me,” he replied.
I guess now was the time to try my new tactic. I lowered myself onto my knees in front of him.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m about to take some of your stress away by providing you with some joy,” I told him as I stared up at him, my hands going to the waistband of his pants.
“Iris, you take my stress away just by being here,” he said, but I saw the heat in his eyes. “You don’t need to do that.”
See? Good guy.
“I know I don’t, but I want to.”
His non response was my cue to continue—or at least that was how I was taking it.
I slowly unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, allowing him the time to stop this if he wasn’t feeling up to it. Instead, his gaze only intensified.
“Sarge, bed,” Hector commanded, and Sarge listened, albeit reluctantly, as he whined the whole way over to his bed.
I pulled the front of his pants and underwear down just enough to free his now growing cock.
The man didn’t shave his chest, but down here, he groomed to perfection.
I ran my fingers over the tip softly before grabbing the rest of him in my fist and stroking him as I looked up.
His eyes were sparkling with heat, but I could tell he was trying to control himself and let me be in charge and lead the way.
I was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I seized my opportunity. Tilting my head forward, I took him into my mouth. I slowly made my way down as far as I could before coming back up.
I had no idea what he liked, but I figured this could be a fun way to find out. Clearly I wasn’t doing a bad job, because his groans were definitely sending me a message of satisfaction.
“God, your mouth feels so good, Iris,” he announced in his husky voice.
His praise made me suck him in even harder. I felt his hands move to my scalp, and he began moving my hair away from my face. I glanced up at him, and his gaze was on me. The deep hunger was clear, but I could tell he was still holding back.
I removed my mouth with a pop as I released him. Then I licked my lips and stared back at him.
“Tell me how you like it?” I asked him.
“Exactly as you are,” he replied, but I sensed he was just saying that to appease me.
“Show me, please,” I urged.
I saw him fighting the battle mentally and decided to put him back in my mouth while I waited for him to make his decision. I put my lips around the head and sucked lightly while circling my tongue on the tip.
Welp, that did it.
Something in him snapped, because his hands were now firmly around the sides of my head and he was guiding me to take him deeper.
I did, making sure to take my time with my tongue as I moved up and down.
When he hit the back of my throat, I swallowed, effectively squeezing him and drawing out more gratification from him as he tightened his hold on me.
“Jesus, Iris,” he breathed out.
Hector was making so many pleasurable noises that it gave me confidence to try new things. His pleasure was driving up my lust as well, and I could feel myself getting wet between my legs.
To ease my growing need, I moved my legs back and forth while continuing to take him in my mouth. He noticed my movements and pulled my head back so that I released him. In the next moment, I was lifted to a standing position.
“Hector, what are you—I wasn’t done,” I practically whined.
“Babe, as much as I want to come down the back of your throat, I’d rather be in that tight pussy, having it milk me while I make you scream my name.” His words alone sent a tingle through my belly and my legs.
“Bedroom,” he said, and he didn’t have to tell me twice.
I turned and took off as fast as my legs would take me.
He followed just as quickly behind me, because I no sooner got next to his bed and turned around when he grabbed the sides of my head and captured my mouth in a fevered kiss. His tongue found mine with desperate need. The kiss was rough and real and everything I wanted in that moment.
He lifted me and slid me back so my legs were hanging off the bed and I was on my back. He worked at stripping himself of his shirt, leaving only his black boxer briefs on. They may still be on, but there was no denying what was inside as I stared at the rock-hard bulge fully outlined inside them.
He leaned forward and helped rid me of my own clothes and then his before returning his mouth to mine. He poured everything into that kiss and I never wanted something to last forever like I did this moment.
“Fuck, you have the most perfect body,” he said, staring at me dreamily. “It’s like you were made for me, Iris. Everything I had on my wish list for a perfect woman is right here in front of me.”
When he said stuff like that, I just melted.
The next moment, his mouth was on me, sucking on the bundle of nerves between my legs while his fingers dipped inside and stroked me.
His rough beard scratched all the right places, and then his soft tongue soothed.
The juxtaposition of those sensations increased my hunger for more.
Maybe it was because I was already worked up from earlier, or maybe it was what he’d said to me, but I could already feel that my orgasm was close.
Hector scooted me back farther onto the bed and positioned himself on top. I was so excited for what was about to happen that I didn’t care that I wasn’t the one on top. I just looked up and admired the sexy man above me.
He joined our hands and lifted them over my head, staring down at me as if he couldn’t believe this was real.
“Just so you know, you’re my safe space too,” he said to me, taking one of his hands and cupping my cheek.
“I’m very aware that this is not a level playing field.
You are so far out of my league, it’s not even funny, but I’m not letting go now.
You’re mine now. You make me a better person.
You’ve brought me a sense of redemption and atonement I never thought I would get.
You taught me that I not only deserve those, but that I can be the man you deserve. ”
Dear God, did he just say that?
“I’m yours?” I asked playfully, checking to see if I’d misheard him.
“Yeah, you are. I fought being with you for too long. But now that I’ve had perfection, there’s no going back.”
“I love that you think I’m perfect, Hector, but you’re putting me up on a pedestal. I could gain or lose weight. My body could change.”
He put his finger to my lips to quiet me.
“Iris, yeah, your body is a big part of what attracts me to you, but it’s not everything.
Your personality is the opposite of mine.
You’re sunshine to my firestorm. You put a light back inside me.
A light that I thought was burned out for good—and so did my family.
You brought me out of my shell. You bring me a joy I haven’t had in decades.
I don’t care if you get fatter, skinnier, lose hair, get stretch marks…
You will always be the perfect woman for me. ”
Oh. My. God. Was it hot in here?
“I love knowing other men overlooked you.”
“You like knowing other people didn’t want to have sex with me?” I asked, not sure I’d heard him correctly.
“No. I like knowing that other people missed out on what’s now mine. And I’m gonna revel in the fact that I won out in the end because I get to have the most beautiful woman underneath me.”
When he said stuff like that, my heart just turned to mush.
This time, I put my finger to his mouth. “Shut up and fuck me,” I said, kissing him fiercely.
He buried himself inside me a fraction of a second later. I gasped and bucked my hips as euphoric sensations coursed through my body.
He drove into me at a fevered pace, and I’d never felt anything better.
Unintelligible noises were all that could be heard, along with the slick sounds of him thrusting back and forth inside me.
“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Iris. The best goddamn thing ever.”
At his rough voice, I detonated. My orgasm rushed through me, and I could feel the pleasure all over my body. I yelled his name, but my mind was blank.
I knew he followed shortly behind me, but I was in an entirely different universe, on another wavelength.
After my breathing and heart rate stabilized enough to at least reach semi-normal levels, I lay there thinking about the man next to me.
The way he made me feel was different, special. Every time he looked at me, it made my heart swell against my rib cage. He didn’t have to speak. His touch, his gestures, spoke volumes.
I was falling for this man, hard and fast, and I realized I didn’t care.
He was everything I had ever hoped for in a man—steadfast, respectful, loyal…
and he worshipped me. I knew he thought he wasn’t good enough for me because of his past, but I saw it differently than he did.
He wanted redemption but felt he didn’t deserve it, which only made me fall deeper for this handsome man in front of me.
I knew I would spend as much time as I could making him realize he was worthy.