A/N: This might be my favorite chapter of the entire story. It's at the very least the most fun imo. I hope you enjoy! Lots of sexual tension here.

*Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.


Chapter 9 -

Dinner at the Allen house had never been so awkward. Barry couldn't stop glancing towards the stairs. Nora kept gauging her son's movements, hoping he'd explain himself eventually, and maybe even diagnose Iris' sudden sickness. Henry just focused on eating, even though he was well aware of the tension at the table and some sort of shift between Barry and Iris, even though he hadn't seen them together and was in fact late to the dinner table.

"Are you enjoying your dinner, honey?" Nora asked her son, patting her husband's hand when he moved to open his mouth and compliment her cooking for the third time.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's great, Mom. You're a good cook." He forced a smile and looked back up the stairs, his spoonful of mashed potatoes nearly missing his mouth in the process.

She cleared her throat and dabbed her lips with her napkin after finishing her last bite. She was about to suggest what was probably all in their minds, but her son spoke up first.

"I think I'm going to go check on Iris. Make sure that she's all right."

Nora's eyes widened slightly. She'd expected him to ask if that was a good idea, not be so firm about it.

"Uh… Yeah, I'm sure she'd appreciate tha-" she tried, but Barry was gone before she could finish her sentence.

"Thanks for dinner, Mom. It was delicious," he called back and then took the stairs two at a time until he reached the landing at the top.

Henry pursed his lips after finally finishing his plate.

"Do you think…maybe…something happened between the two of them today?"

Nora glanced at him and then rolled her eyes, beginning to clear the table and then heading for the kitchen sink.

"Don't be ridiculous, Henry." She lowered her voice and smiled to herself. "Something definitely happened."

After reaching the top of the steps, Barry headed down the hall and stopped at the first bedroom on the left. His old bedroom. Iris' current bedroom. And the place Iris was currently residing so that she didn't have to face his parents after kissing him.

Because that had to be the reason she was hiding out, right? She couldn't actually be sick. She'd kissed him back after he kissed her, after she kissed him!

Suddenly, it no longer mattered what he thought of her as a person. It almost felt like this had caused a clean slate, and he could look at her differently now. In fact, he was looking at her differently. He was looking at her as someone he was incredibly attracted to who had just proved she was attracted to him also. And she was less than a foot away from him, or at least the door she was behind was.

His libido had shot into high gear. Knowing she felt the same…

Calm down, cowboy. Your parents are right downstairs.

He brushed that thought aside. He'd deal with the possibility of them knowing his intentions later.

Slowly, he took the remaining steps to the door and realized as he raised his hand to knock that his fingers were trembling. That shook him to the core. He'd never been this sexually attracted to someone in all his life.

"Calm down, Allen," he muttered to himself. "You're not a teenager, for God's sake."

He knocked lightly.

"Who is it?" Iris answered immediately in her normal voice, then must've realized her error, because she forced a cough and repeated in a sickly sounding tone. "Who is it?"

He smirked, amused.

"It's Barry."

She gasped, then hurried towards the door to lock it. The click amused him further.

"Did you just lock yourself in?"

"Yes, I did."

"Who are you more afraid of, me or yourself?"

Silence.

"If your parents sent you up to check on me, you can tell them-"

"I came up here all by myself."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Open the door, and you'll find out."

"Barry," she cautioned.

"Iris," he teased, a chuckle to his voice.

She groaned and leaned her head against the door. She could feel herself melting in her panties.

"Let me in," he requested. "Please."

"Cocky bastard," she muttered under her breath. But she sighed and took a step back to slowly open the door. "Okay, now you see me. What do you have to say?"

Barry was riveted. Her hair was swept up in a high bun and she was snuggled into a white robe probably left in the closet by his mother. Her dress was laying on the bed behind her and her shoes were on the floor by the nightstand. Her eyes were stunning.

"Barry?"

He shook himself out of the reverie he'd found himself and smiled.

"Can I come in?"

She sighed. "I suppose you won't leave until I let you."

"Nope," he popped the 'p'.

She took another step back, opened the door wider and let him in, closing the door behind him.

"So, what now? You have my attention. I don't know how long you'll have it, but-"

He pinned her to the bare wall behind her.

"About that kiss…"

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted. She could feel her heartbeat racing in her ears as he continued to lower his eyes to her lips and then back to her eyes with more lust than she thought she'd ever seen in a man's eyes. At least towards her.

"Y-You're not getting another one!"

She pressed her hands to his chest, which proved to be a big mistake, as the feel of his skin beneath nothing but a white t-shirt turned out to be a major turn-on for her.

"Oh, I'm not, am I?" he smirked.

"Uh-uh." She switched her hands to his arms to try to push them down from either side of her head, but she accidentally brushed his biceps and started to melt again. Could this man pick her up on the way to the-

Stop it, Iris.

She kept her hands steady on the tops of his arms. That seemed safe.

"That was a one-time thing. After hearing about your relationship with Linda all day-"

"Past relationship."

"Past. Right. Anyway, I was just curious what it would be like to kiss you."

"You wanted to know how I taste," he started to lean in, and she started to crumble but she kept her grip on him so he was just out of reach of her lips.

"And I found out. And it's over now."

"It doesn't have to be."

"Barry," she whined.

He chuckled darkly, and easily moved her hands to around his neck, where her fingers curled into the collar of his shirt. Then he closed the distance between them and inhaled her quickening breaths as he kissed her without warning.

"Mm!" She sounded surprised and even resistant, but then his tongue started tangling with hers, and she lost all resistance, pulling him closer and wrapping one leg around his calf. Her robe started to part and his hand moved down her body till it cupped her melting heat just beneath the robe, and she broke apart to lean her head back and moan.

"Shh," he teased, running his finger over her lips. "My parents will hear you."

"Your parents…" Her eyes flashed open. "Oh, my God! Your parents!"

Taking him off guard, she ducked under his arm and went to stand on the other side of the room.

"I don't like you," she said adamantly.

He chuckled and started advancing on her again.

"And you don't like me," she reminded him.

"I like this part of you." He smirked.

"What? So, I'm just some sort of sex object to you?" she asked, getting genuinely offended.

"And exactly what am I to you at this very moment?"

Her lips parted, and then she paused. Okay, he had a point.

"What are you suggesting? That we just have sex all week and barely tolerate each other in front of others? I think they're getting sick of us fighting."

"Then don't fight with me."

"What are you suggesting, we get along?"

"I know it sounds crazy…" He started advancing on her again, slowly this time. "But if the idea of kissing me enticed you instead of making you want to vomit, there's some part of you that doesn't hate me as much as you thought."

She frowned. "No."

"No?"

"It was mere curiosity. That's it. Now that I've been satiated-"

"But have you been? I heard you and Linda talking. You want to know if I'm any good in bed."

"Barry."

"We could find out."

"Barry!" she squealed.

He stopped. "Or I could leave."

"Leave. Please."

"For one more kiss?" he asked.

"What? No!"

"Pretty, pretty please?" He pouted.

She shook her head in disbelief.

"That isn't a no."

"B-"

And he kissed her again, wrapping his hand around her neck and pulling her close. She moaned quietly and daintily touched his shoulder with one hand.

"Touch me," he whispered into her mouth.

"Oh, my God." Her eyes rolled back, but she moved her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. This time she made no attempt to get away but kissed him passionately instead.

It was until his hand was on her bathrobe that she managed to snap out of the daze he'd put her under.

"No, no." She breathed heavily. "Enough," she rasped.

Reluctantly, he released her, even though her body seemed to not want to release him at first.

"All right," he said. "For tonight."

He gave her his bedroom eyes and headed out of the room, shooting her one more look in the dark hallway before leaving completely.

Iris heard him talking to his parents then, saying something about how she was feeling all right but would just need the rest of the night to feel more like herself again.

"How decent of him," she muttered to herself, turning back against the door and bringing a finger to her lips to touch where his had been. "Damn it all to hell," she muttered. "I want him."

Iris waited until Henry and Nora had closed the door behind them to sit on the porch swing. She wanted some breathing room and to not have to give an explanation before heading to the bathroom for a shower. There was just something about having the house all to herself that made her feel self about ignoring her feelings – or indulging in them.

Tiptoeing with a handful of pjs and toiletries, she made her way to the bathroom, then closed the door behind her and locked it for good measure. Setting her items down, she untied her bathrobe and let it pool on the floor, then turned to look at herself in the mirror.

It was only a face mirror, so she couldn't even see below her collarbone, but she saw enough.

She saw sweat dotting her brow. She saw that her lips were still somewhat swollen from Barry's kisses. She felt blush in her cheeks and a stickiness on her skin. And every time she closed her eyes, all her make outs with Barry were re-played beneath her eye lids. So much so that she thought she might go mad.

Finally, she opened her eyes, washed her face with cold water, and turned on the shower.

Once under the hot water, she let herself forget about everything that had happened and just focus on how good it felt to have a hot shower after a long, complicated day.

But that didn't last, because the longer she stayed in there, the more she imagined Barry's hands where the water was. On her breasts, between her legs, hitting the small of her back.

She pressed her hand to the wall of the shower and moaned quietly before dragging her own fingers down her slick body until her hand covered her drenched pussy, and she slipped two fingers inside.

When she found her clit, she rubbed hard in circles, imagining Barry's tongue there. She quickened the pace and imagined him flicking his tongue and sucking. She rolled her eyes back, the pleasure almost unbearable.

Breathing heavily her hand against the wall turned into a claw, and soon it was clutching her breast, twisting her nipples into rock-hard peaks. She licked her lips as the water cascades over her face and massaged her breasts further.

"Barry," she moaned breathlessly. "Oh, God, Barry."

She pressed her back to the wall of the shower, not even aware that for a single moment she had to adjust to the cold tile. She was on fire, her whole body throbbing with want and need.

Finally, she arched, curling her toes and gripping her tangled hair. She let out a pleasurable gasp and nearly folded over where she stood in the shower. She tried to touch her clit again, tried to get that pleasure back, but she was too sensitive. So, she retrieved the soap, shampoo and conditioner provided and proceeded to wash herself down.

By the time she'd finished her shower and turned off the water, she felt like a new person. She dried herself off, got into her pjs, and quickly brushed her hair. The mirror was fogged up, but there was a small section where she could see her eyes. They seemed to be judging her, or at the very least saying 'I told you so.'

Iris cleared her throat and looked away.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, and then walked into the hallway.