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.
23
“Red Flag Warnings mean hot, dry, and unstable. Just like my ex.”
—It’s science
Iris
Because it was too hot and windy to be outside today, we had a mostly lazy day inside, and it was wonderful. I say mostly lazy day because there was some physical activity done—the naked kind.
It started when I brought up the conversation I had with Patrick last week, just to see what Hector would say.
“I ran into Patrick the other day—the lieutenant I interviewed with you at the lake,” I told him, crossing my arms under my breasts and leaning against the bathroom door while he brushed his teeth. “Funny thing, actually. He mentioned that he’d asked you if I was single, and you’d told him I was seeing someone.”
His eyes made contact with mine, but he said nothing, just continued to brush his teeth.
“Except I wasn’t seeing anyone, so why did you tell him that?” I asked because the nosy person in me wanted to know.
I gave him a moment to finish washing up but stayed grounded in my position in the doorway.
“He gave me a bad vibe, and I didn’t want him asking you out,” he said as if it were just as simple as that. Then he turned to me, so close I could feel his breath on my face. “Maybe deep down, I knew you would be mine eventually, so I didn’t want him to interfere.”
Before I could respond, he kissed me. That kiss led to other things—naked things—and the day progressed happily from there.
Hector watched some baseball on TV while I caught up on my needlepoint. Both of these things were done on the couch, snuggled up next to each other, and I loved every moment of it.
Now, hours later, we were cleaning up the dishes after dinner, and my plan was to finish some laundry and then talk Hector into watching a movie with me in his bed—naked.
We had a nice routine of me washing the dishes and him drying them and putting them away—mostly because he could actually reach all the high cabinets and I couldn’t.
I had just handed him a plate when I noticed he was staring at me.
“What? Do I have bubbles on my face or something?” I asked.
“No,” he replied, a small grin on his face. “Just admiring how fuckable you look right now.”
I snorted in response. I was in an oversized gray T-shirt and cut-off jeans shorts with my hair pulled up into a very messy bun, and I had my glasses on.
“Hector, my glasses are deeply unsexy, and my hair is a hot mess.”
“I happen to like the look,” he said, grinning back at me.
I rolled my eyes and put my hand on my hip, pausing with the dishes. “Don’t tell me you’re into that whole sexy librarian thing.”
“I’m intoyou,” he said, taking a step closer to me and closing the gap between us. “Don’t need a librarian. I got a sexy woman right in front of me. But if you wanna pretend to be a librarian, I’m game for whatever you want.”
I rolled my eyes at his comment, but I was also going to enjoy the comment and run with it. “Oh yeah?” I asked, leaning into his space and putting my chest up against his abs.
“Yeah,” he responded and leaned down to kiss me.
It was a good kiss, too. Soft at first and then more demanding as his mouth moved to take command of mine. He slid his hands into my hair, pulling slightly as he deepened the kiss. My brain began to short-circuit, and he slid his tongue into my mouth as I tasted his minty fresh breath.
