Redemption (Iris Series) (19 page)

“I’m proud to know you, Jonathan White.”

He had an ‘aw shucks’ look about him, and she continued.

“Seriously.  To have had all of that schooling, and then to make a decision like that,
and
to take an enormous cut in pay to teach?  It shows the kind of man you are. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to make.”

He looked touched.  “It was easier than you think.  I had a really hard time with how cavalier investors had become with other people’s money, so I started thinking maybe if people
were taught early on how to manage their money, they could have a fighting chance against the sharks.  So.  That’s that.”   He reached forward and kissed her quickly, then said, “Now let’s talk about happier things, like Day 41.”

She chuckled and leaned back, taking her wineglass to her lips.  Just before she took a sip, she murmured, “I would love to talk about Day 41 and all that comes with it
.  Do you think our hormones can handle it?” She took a sip from her glass, and made a show of licking her lips.

His eyes watched her as they grew darker with lust.

“You know, it’s just hit me that I’ve assumed you’ll want the same thing as me on Day 41, or that you would want to spend the day with me, but I’ve never really asked you,” Jonathan said with a little uncertainty, looking for some reassurance.

“I think it is safe to say I only want to spend Day 41 and
night with you,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “You tell me what you want to do on Day 41, and I’ll tell you how I feel about it.”

He took a slow and deliberate sip from his wineglass while he sat back in his chair, appearing deep in thought.

“I think we should go out to dinner first.  Pick your favorite pizzeria, and we’ll go and have a slice of pizza.  Then after that, no matter where we go,” he leaned forward and put his glass on the table, “I want to spend the rest of Day 41 deep inside you.”  He moved his lips closer to her ear.  “I want to make you scream,” he said in a murmur that dripped of sex.  “I want to tie you down and thoroughly enjoy every nook and cranny of your gorgeous self.  I want to give you so much pleasure that you’ll come several different ways, for hours.” 

She swallowed. 

He looked at her, his eyes glittering, his tone dead serious.  There wasn’t a smile to be seen on his face.  He meant every syllable of what he said. 

“That’s what I
desperately want to do on Day 41.  And I would be deeply honored, when you’ve had enough time to think through your decision, if you would choose me to be the man with whom you broke your fast,” he finished quietly.

His eyes latched onto hers, those baby blues darkened with desire and anticipation, and she swore if he continued talking like that she would explode right there.

She knew her face was flushed and she cleared her throat, blinking back unexpected tears.

“Not only would I love for you to be that man,” she began, “but I’m also looking forward to you being deep inside me and making me scream, showing me a little of that control you keep telling me about,” she smiled softly.  “But most of all,” she reached for his hand, “I can’t wait to be fully connected to you.  In every way.  I probably want that most of all.”

He took her hand and brought it to his mouth, where he proceeded to take her finger and nibble on it, wrapping his lips around it to suck.

“I can’t wait to show you a little of that control I keep talking about either,” he purred after he removed her finger from his mouth.

Her insides were on fire.  “Tell me.  I want you to talk dirty to me,” she said with a come hither smile.

He licked his lips.  “Have you ever been restrained during sex?”

Her eyes widened a little and she felt the butterflies let loose in her stomach.  Ooh, this man was going to be so
good
.  She couldn’t wait for him to have his way with her.

She shook her head no.  “Like I told you, I was usually the one in control of the situations in the bedroom,” she murmured. 

“Not anymore.”

She smiled coquettishly at him, her eyes taking on a slumberous sexy look.  “What are you gonna do to me, JBG?” she asked in a breathy voice.

He gave her a half smile and leaned forward until he was whispering in her ear.  “All you need to know, my little sex goddess, is that your body is going to be worshipped from head to toe.  Front and back.  And you’re gonna lay there, completely at my mercy and take every...bit...of pleasure I give you.”

She was so hot, practically melting into the chair given the level of arousal she had reached.  Her panties were completely drenched, her sex throbbed, and her nipples tingled.  She seriously didn’t know if she could wait 11 more days.

She nuzzled her face against his, groaning slightly.  He chuckled.

“Have I ever told you how much you do it for me, JBG?” she asked, laughing lightly.  “I mean, you seriously make me so fucking hot.”

He smiled against her neck, nibbling slightly, and gripped the skin under her ear with his teeth. 

“That’s very good to know.  And just for the record, you do it for me too.  Now
, I’m going to clean up the dishes then I believe you have some Oreos to feed me.”  He moved back to look at her and kissed her nose. He then got up to take the plates into the kitchen.

She rested her chin in her hand and sighed as she watched him walk away.  What on earth had she done to deserve this man?  If things worked out with him, she would count herself one of the luckiest women in the world.

She followed him into the kitchen where he was rinsing the dishes in the sink.

“So,” she said behind him, “I can’t wait for you to try dessert.”  She went up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissi
ng between his shoulder blades right over where she knew his tattoo was.  He smelled so good, like laundry detergent, subtle cologne, and man.

“I thought we were having Oreos,” he said over his shoulder.

“We are, just not the way you’re used to them,” she smiled.  “Just leave the dishes.  Let’s have dessert and chill on the sofa.”   She stepped back from him.  “Do you want me to put on some coffee?”

“Nope, I’m good.  And my mom taught me that if someone cooks me a meal, then I do the dishes.”  He continued to rinse and load the dishwasher.  The owner before Ryann had updated the kitchen, and Ayanna was eternally grateful to have
all the updated amenities.

“I like your mom,” she murmured, a smile touching her lips.

“Me, too.  She’s a good one.”

“Okay,” she rubbed her hands together.  “So, I wan
ted to try my hand at something and I think it turned out pretty good.”  She reached up in the cupboard and grabbed a plate.

He dried his hands on the dish towel, then turned to her and leaned against the counter.  “I can’t wait,” he smirked.

She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a cake holder with a cover on it.  When she removed the cover, there sat a gigantic homemade Oreo.  Two chewy chocolate, chocolate chip cookies surrounding about an inch of cooled buttercream.

His mouth dropped while he walked over, and then bent to look at it.  “You made this?” he asked incredulously.

She nodded, watching his reaction.

“I deconstructed the Oreo and crushed up the chocolate parts, then added that to my own chocolate batter.  I added my own little twists hence the chocolate chips, and then made my own vanilla cream.”

“God, that looks incredible.”

She smiled and dished it out on the plate.  It was easily big enough for both of them, but she would probably only take a bite and leave the rest for him.

“Come on.  Let’s go eat on the sofa.” 

They made their way to the living room and settled in.  Then she grabbed the giant Oreo-like dessert and held it up to his mouth.

He looked at her intently while he wrapped his hand around hers holding the dessert, and took a bite.

“Oh, wow,” he said after a moment, his mouth full of cookie.  “Man, that’s good,” he mumbled as he chewed. 

There was a dollop of cream on his lip, so Ayanna leaned forward and licked it off.  He captured her lip and delved his tongue into her mouth, sharing the sweetness of the dessert with her.

She moaned as he kissed her, and he nibbled on her lower lip to lick her clean.  He leaned back and
used his other hand to remove his glasses, placing them on the side table. 

His eyes were so sexy.

He directed their hands still holding the cream-filled cookie sandwich to her mouth, rubbing it against her lower lip, leaving the cream resting there until he moved forward to forage her mouth once more. 

Slowly, he began to feast on her mouth, taking his time, angling one way then moving another.  His free hand made its way up to the nape of her neck, gripping at the bottom of her upswept hair and tugging gently to deepen the kiss.  Leisurely, he sampled her taste and then delved in some more.

He was a great kisser, she thought.  So focused on the task at hand.  And the slower and more concentrated he was, the more she got sucked in.  Her eyes were glazing over and she felt drugged, her blood sluggishly moving through her veins.

And all the while, he continued his sweet assault on her senses.  He moved from her lips to her eyelids,
and then from her cheek to her neck, taking small nibbles along the way.

A small sigh caught in the back of her throat as he moved aside the neckline of her button down shirt so his lips could reach the tender flesh where her neck and shoulder met.  He found it, and bit softly causing her heart rate to accelerate and a moan to escape from her lips.

She was seriously losing it.  She reached her own free hand up to his head and anchored her fingers into his hair, then gripped it tightly as she began to lose a little control.  She wanted this man with every fiber of her being, and the fact that she had to wait was killing her.

He pulled away from her lips, but still remained close, then looked at her with a smirk.  She watched as his chest rose and fell from his breathing.

“I don’t know about you, but I know if I don’t stop now, the rest of the night won’t go as you and I think it should.”

She looked back at him with all of the pent up desire she had.

He smiled tenderly, and took a sweet nibble of her lip.

“I know, baby,” he whispered, even though she hadn’t said anything.  Her look had said it all.  “But we’re almost there, Yan.  The final stretch.”

She knew he was right, but it killed her just the same.

In the midst of their make-out session, the dessert in her hand had started slipping from her grasp, so she put it back on the plate and reached around to put it on the end table.  When she turned back around, he took her fingers and licked them clean. 

One at a time. 

Feeling the inside of his warm, silky mouth enveloping her fingers felt wonderful, and she leaned back on the pillow while she allowed him to finish.

When he was done, he said, “Come here.”

She moved over and snuggled into him on his end of the sofa.  He wrapped her in his arms and she sighed contentedly. 

A thought popped into her head.

“When did you first realize you wanted me?” she whispered.  She was glad to have her head on his chest.  She wouldn’t have to look at him for this conversation, and it allowed her to rest her head right over his heartbeat.  She placed her hand next to her face on his chest as she waited for his response.

He snorted.  “I first realized I wanted you when I brought pizza to Ryann the night she moved in, and saw you standing not far from where we’re sitting right now.”

She looked up, shocked.  “What?!”

He sighed then smirked.

“You said you weren’t interested,” she huffed.

“Of course I was interested.  I just wasn’t
interested
interested, if you know what I mean.  Come on, Yan.  You’re gorgeous.  An exotic beauty.  Of course I wanted you.  We’ve already talked about this.  It was your approach that turned me off.”

She settled back down onto his chest thinking
over that bit of information. 

“Huh.”  She took a second to think then she said with a disgruntled tone, “I thought you hated me.  Like, had no interest in me whatsoever.”

“Ryann kept telling me that you weren’t how you first appeared,” he murmured into her hair, which he was stroking with his hand.

“She knows me.  I don’t know why she’s put up with me for so long.”

“There’s nothing to put up with.  You’re an incredible friend to her.  She’s told me multiple times.”

“I just mean she’s watched me in my dating snafus for so long.  I can’t believe it’s taken up ’til now for her to tell me her feelings about it.”

“Maybe you weren’t ready to hear it before now.  If she offered it before, you may not have been able to accept what she had to say.  Weren’t you the one who asked for her opinion?”

She snuggled closer down into his chest.  “True.  She’s intuitive that way.  Sometimes I think she should’ve gone into psychology.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” he said with a note of dryness in his tone.