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Chapter 4

Iris pulled the covers over her head as the alarm went off the next morning. She had barely slept and didn't want to get up at all and was dreading facing Severus again. The thought of him made her blush when she remembered the way she'd responded. Oh what was I doing, she berated herself for the hundredth time.

His touch was electric but his kiss was positively scorching. She fought off the tingling as she recalled each detail of it and had to shake her head to clear the recollection.

Just great! What am I going to do? Should I bring it up or pretend it didn't happen? If I bring it up it will look like I've been stressing out over it, which I have but he doesn't need to know that. If I pretend it didn't happen he'll think I'm bitchy. I can live with bitchy, she finally reasoned as she dragged herself out of bed. Now for the clothes issue. I need to be the image of anti-sexy.

Severus was sitting in the chair he'd been in all night. He couldn't sleep after the incident so he'd just sat there, reliving it time after time, kicking himself time after time. What the hell was I thinking?

She'd looked so sexy and smart in deep concentration as she mixed up those complicated potions he'd just lost himself.

Iris had tasted incredibly sweet, her lips were so soft and she'd been more responsive than he'd expected. She'd thrown her arms around him and kissed him back. The second his lips touched hers he'd been expecting a slap or a shove. Not that he'd blame her. They hadn't exactly been friendly since meeting.

That was another thing that was bothering him. She truly seemed to hate him. Normally he wouldn't care; he was not a people person and care less what people thought of him. But her opinion seemed to be important, no matter how much he tried to talk himself out of it.

He was man enough to admit that if he were interested in a relationship, someone like Iris would be absolutely ideal. She was smart, independent, quick witted, and had the same interests as he did. She was also stubborn, difficult, and challenging which he also found he enjoyed. He reveled in getting under her skin and sparring with her had become a form of entertainment.

As it was though he had no interest whatsoever in a relationship. With anyone. He didn't believe in that fairy tale crap.

The knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts and he felt a lead weight drop in his stomach. How do I act? Just follow her lead. Let her set the temperament, he thought as he made his way to the door.

"Good morning!" Iris said in a falsely bright tone when the door swung open.

Snape's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he answered "Morning."

Iris waited for him to step out of the way but he was just standing there staring at her. He looks like hell, she noticed.

"Shall we get started?" She said as she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Certainly." He said as he snapped out of it and stepped out of her way. What is she doing? She looks downright frumpy, he thought as he took in her baggy attire. Her black pants were extremely loose and her green turtleneck sweater was so big it almost went to her knees, even her sleek black hair was covered in an oversized hat. In fact the only area of skin you could even see was her hands, cheeks, and chin. She's doing that deliberately.

She watched him shut the door and the click of the lock seemed deafening in the tense silence of the room. She swallowed hard when he turned back and met her eyes. Iris was determined to not mention yesterday though.

"After you." She told him.

Snape turned on his heal and led the way upstairs with her trailing behind him.

"Do you want to do the same as yesterday?" He questioned when they reached his lab.

Iris looked up quickly in shock at his question, her thought immediately jumping to the kiss.

"No!" She answered indignantly.

Severus raised his eyebrows at her again and said "how do you want to do it then?"

Iris continued to look at him in confusion while she tried to sort out what he'd said. "Do what exactly Snape?" She demanded.

"Work on the potions. Do you want to divide them up like we did yesterday?" He explained in exasperation.

"Yes. That will work great." She said as she blushed hotly.

Severus watched her cheeks pink and felt triumphant. Good, he thought as he put the signs together. The baggy clothes, the fake pleasantness, the tension between us. Yep. She's bothered too.

"Good. Well I'll just continue working on my list from yesterday then." He said as he retreated to the corner.

Iris watched him for a moment, grateful that he had ignored her blunder, before she turned and went to the station she'd been at yesterday.

She began working diligently on the potions. After about twenty minutes the silence was pressing in on her and she felt even more tense than she had when she'd walked in.

The way he had his tables set up had them facing each other and she could hear him breathing, which was distracting her.

"Can we turn on the Wireless?" She asked him.

Severus looked up at her with a startled expression. "What?" He was concentrating so hard he hadn't heard her and was oblivious to her uncomfortable state.

"Can I turn on the Wireless?" She repeated.

"Go ahead." He said as he rolled his eyes and turned back to his solution.

Iris waved her wand and music began filling the room. There. That should help, she thought.

She grabbed her list to begin the next potion, pushing her sleeves up for tenth time. Ok wearing these clothes may not have been the best idea. The sleeves are so in the way and I can barely see through the brim of my hat, she thought.

Iris glanced at Severus to see if he was paying attention to her but he was completely engrossed in mixing in his ingredients. She slipped the hat off so her hair tumbled freely down her back and tugged the turtleneck over her head.

Severus caught the movement out of his peripheral vision and looked up to see what the heck she was doing now. His breath lodged in his throat as he saw her stripping off that cursed sweater. She was standing there in a tight white tank top that showed off a lot of cleavage and he swallowed as he felt himself harden again. Damn her, he raged internally.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and went back to the potion. The moment he looked at it he knew something was wrong. It was an acid green color when it should have been deep purple. I must have added in the porcupine quill before I took if off the fire.

"Shit!" He said angrily as his cauldron melted and the solution began leaking everywhere. He felt angry red boils sprouting all over his hands as the potion touched him. With a wave a wand he got rid of the offensive liquid. That hasn't happened since school, he thought with embarrassment.

Iris rushed over to him when she heard his expletive and noticed his cauldron smoking before it melted. The red boils springing up on his hands looked painful as the swelled.

"Do you have any Boil Cure Potion?" She asked urgently.

"It's in the lavatory." He answered.

"Come on." She ordered as she grabbed his arm and led him to the bathroom.

She quickly found the antidote in his medicine chest and pushed him against the sink so she could stand in front of him. She grabbed the rag from the shower and poured some of the solution onto it before pressing it down directly to the boils on his hands.

Severus watched her concentrate on his wounds and found that he was hit with the insane urge to kiss her again. It's much to close in here. There's not enough space, that's the only reason why, he reasoned as he distracted himself by looking at her hands.

But in looking at her hands he quickly noticed that he was allowed a healthy glimpse of the top of her breasts. The way she was bending over tending to him had left a gape in her tank top and he decided to focus on the ceiling instead. Well most of the time anyway, he was a normal healthy man after all.

Iris tried to focus all her attention on fixing his hands but it was so hard when the bathroom felt like it was shrinking every moment they were in there. It was too close for comfort and she found herself hit with the urge to throw her arms around him and kiss him senseless. She managed to distract herself by naming off potion ingredients alphabetically until she was finished.

"All done. You better wash your hands to get the antidote off." She instructed in a forced cheery tone.

Severus turned around and did as he was told, deliberately taking as long as he could. When he turned around again he found her watching him with startling intensity and he knew that she was struggling with the attraction the same way he was, causing the urge to grab her come back full force.