Redemption (Iris Series) (46 page)

Jon squeezed her hand.  “I’m excited for you.  I want things to be good between you and your parents.”

“I know.  We’ll get there,” she said while crossing her fingers.

They found a comfortable silence and decided to listen to some music, making the three and half hour drive go quickly.  When they pulled into the garage of their apartment complex, Ayanna was glad to be home. She needed to get her brain in work mode, preparing for the wedding event that was on Sunday.

They went in and unpacked and when she mentioned she needed to go to the laundry room in the basement of the complex, he informed her that he had a washer and dryer in his unit and that she would be doing her laundry there.  And they did, ordering pizza for dinner and just chilling out.  Afterwards, they did a little work on their computers, and Ayanna contacted Janie about work then called Ryann to fill her in on the last few days.  Jon spent time prepping for school.

At the end of the night, they decided to sleep at Ayanna’s, so went back downstairs to her place. 

“We could’ve just slept at your
place, you know.”

“Yeah, but you have these silk sheets.  These things are sinful.”

“I guess I know what gift I’m going to get you,” she smirked.

“Speaking of gifts,” he began, then took Ayanna’s hand and walked her into the bedroom.  “Sit there and wait.”

“For what?”

“Just wait.  I’ll be right back.”

He disappeared into the living room then came back with the bag he had brought down from his place.  He reached inside and pulled out another bag, the one he had from the errand he ran the night before in Boston.

“Where have you been hiding that, champ?”  All she could think about was his mom referring to him as a sneaky little bastard.  She chuckled.

“So, you know that we’re going to the student art show at the Institute next Friday.”

“Yeah?”

“And Ry sent that email out that it’s a dressy affair.”

“Uh huh.”

“I wanted to give this to you now so you’d have the week to alter it if you needed to.”

He took a beautifully wrapped box out of the bag and put it on her lap.  She looked up into his baby blues with surprise and excitement, noting the anticipation in his face.

She unwrapped the gift, lifted the top off the box, and sat there stunned.

Inside the box w
as a sari.  A gorgeous shimmery purple silk sari, with deep lavender and pink embroidered roses peppered throughout the fabric and edged in deep plum velvet.

Ayanna’s hand went to her mouth then she swallowed down the lump in her throat.  She’d never been given a sari before other than the one that had been left to her by Ammie.  She was so touched, she honestly didn’t know what to say.

“Jon,” she whispered looking at him.  Tears were hovering at the surface.  “What did you do?”

“Do you like it?” A tentative smile touched his lips.

“I’m speechless,” she said quietly.

“Take it out.  Let’s see how it looks.”  He helped her take it out.  “I’ve been secretly taking pictures of you on my phone because I wanted the woman at the shop to see your size and skin coloring.”

Sneaky little bastard indeed.

She held up the fabric and fell in love.  “It looks like the size is perfect.”

“Try it on.”

She playfully snatched it away and shook her head.

“Nope.  This one is gonna be a surprise, champ.  I don’t want you to see me in it until Friday night.  Get outta here and give me five minutes.  I want to see what it looks like.”

“You’re seriously not gonna let me see this on you?”  His hands were on his hips.

“Nope,” she said again.  “Get outta here.”  She pushed him out of the room and closed the door, him grumbling the whole time not getting his fashion show. 

She immediately tore off her tank top and lounge pants and began draping the sari over her.  By the time she was done
putting on the two piece ensemble, she stood in front of her full length mirror, her breath catching in her throat.

“How does it look?” Jonathan was yelling from the other side of her bedroom door.

She couldn’t speak.  He had once told her she looked like an ancient sex goddess when she had answered the door.  He wasn’t going to be able to control himself when he saw her in this get up.  It fit perfectly and barely needed to be altered. 

The three quarter length sleeves were
purple silk edged in plum.  The neckline plunged, but the wrap of lavender and pink colored organza overlay hid it when draped over her shoulder.  The see through material gave tantalizing peeks of flesh around her midriff showing glimpses of her tattoo, and added to the allure of the outfit. 

She
did
look like an ancient sex goddess.

“Does it fit okay?”  He was still yelling from the other side.  When she remained quiet for a few seconds, he yelled, “Hello?  Anybody home in there?”

“Stop your yappin’ out there, JBG.  You’ll see it on Friday!” she yelled back with a giddy smile and twirled in front of the mirror.  And boy, she couldn’t wait.  Until then, he deserved an appropriate thank you.

She quickly undressed and placed the sari back in the box.  Rather than putting any clothes back on, she remained completely naked, a plan of seduction forming in her head.  She ran into the bathroom then came out a moment later shaking her hair and fluffing it up so it fell in sexy tousled layers.  She took a deep breath then opened the bedroom door.

He was leaning against the hallway wall, his arms crossed in front of him, staring off into space.  As soon as the door opened, however, his eyes caught hers then took a leisurely stroll down her body, heating a little more with each inch they touched.  

He began to walk toward her.

“Do you like it?”  His voice was husky.

She took his face in her hands and traced his lips with her finger.  “It’s beyond beautiful.  Truly.” She paused.  “I
love
it.  Other than my grandmother leaving her sari to me, you’re the first person who’s ever given me one.”

“Really?”  He was genuinely surprised.  He began to smile, his hands roaming around her waist, stroking up and down her ribcage.  She stretched into him like a cat.

“Really. You definitely get a gold star on this one, Johnny Be Good.” She wound her arms around his neck, pressing her nakedness onto him, loving the feel of his t-shirt and sweats
against her skin. Her nipples tightened. “How will I ever thank you?” she whispered against his lips then nipped at his lower one with her teeth.

He took it from there and wrapped her completely in his arms, turning her playful kiss into a more aggressive one, practically lifting her off of her feet while doing so.

“Do you still have your period?” he murmured while kissing her.

“Almost done. Practically non-existent at the moment. Let’s have shower sex,” she moaned in the midst of his onslaught on her mouth.

“Oh…you just made me a very happy man, Ms. Sarin.” He pressed his erection into her, his hands holding her ass tightly so he could grind into her. He quickly and easily lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around him and they stumbled into the bathroom laughing. He put her down to strip and she turned on the water.

“It’s gonna be a tight fit in here. You alright with that, big boy?” She
gave him an exaggerated wink at the double entendre.

“I love tight fits, baby. The tighter the better.”

They stepped into the stall and got under the stream of hot water, getting soaked. They began enjoying each other, kissing, touching, and taking their time exploring the other’s body.

He soaped up his hands and played with her nipples. She purred.

She soaped up her hands and played with his cock. He hissed.

He pushed her against the wall and leaned down to capture her nipple in his mouth, using his teeth. She gasped and held his head so he wouldn’t stop. He sucked. Hard, and her gasp turned into a loud groan, yelling for him to fuck her.

His own groan followed, yelling that she was an impatient little thing. He acquiesced though, grumbling playfully as if it were a chore, and lifted her around the waist to press her firmly against the wall. He sank his teeth into her neck, sucking and licking.

She let out a long drawn out moan, her neck muscles going weak causing her head to fall back on the tile wall behind her. Moments later, she came around him, the feeling of her release spurring him on. His hips pistoned faster and faster until he found his own relief and a roar emitted from his throat.

They stayed like that for several moments, each trying to gain their breaths and find their bearings until finally he unhooked his arms and helped her slide down the wall to her feet.

“I love you,” she kept whispering over and over.  She grabbed his face and kissed him vehemently.  “I love you so fucking much, JBG.”

He leaned into her, kissing her back with a smile.  “Mm.  I love you so fucking much, and I apparently need to buy you more saris.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

They cleaned each other under the stream of the shower head and then he got out first so she could wash her hair.  By the time she was done and she had dried her hair, he was already in bed with his laptop.  When he saw her, he put it away and patted the bed next to him.

She crawled in.  “Tell me more about your tattoo,” she said referring to the giant phoenix rising out of the ashes on his back.

“What do you want to know?”

“You said it represented new beginnings.”  She let that statement hang until he picked it up and continued.

“I got it after I left Wall Street.  It seemed an appropriate image for how I felt at the time.”

“Reborn?”

He made an affirmative sound in his throat.

“I like it.”

“I like
yours
.  You never told me what it meant.  It’s so pretty.  Is it just decorative, or do the symbols mean something?  I can’t tell if it’s a language.”

“I got it when I went to Europe.  Sinhala is the language most people speak in Sri Lanka.  It’s the Sinhalese word for ‘redemption.’  At the time I went to Paris, I was feeling, I don’t know, rescued from my past.  The culinary training was the culmination of a lot of hard work and
made me feel redeemed me in many ways.”  She paused then spoke after a moment.  “The ironic part is I think it’s taken on a whole new meaning now.  With me finding myself, and you, and now this potential new beginning with my parents, I’m experiencing redemption on multiple levels.”

“Yeah, you are,” he murmured.  “It’s like your subconscious knew what you were looking for.  I love when things like that happen, when another meaning to a situation unexpectedly pops up and takes it to a whole
other place.”  He kissed her on the nose.

She nodded and snuggled deeper into his side thinking of her tattoo.  She had always loved it, but now she loved it for so many more reasons.

He played with her hair and she breathed his scent deeply, feeling a contentment come over her.

Smiling and wrapped in each other’s arms, they fell asleep.

Wednesday and the launch of
Chez Catherine’s
came quickly.  Ayanna had spent the weekend after the Boston trip on a wedding event with Janie, and the beginning of the week working on her blog and various marketing ideas.  Jonathan had been busy meeting with clients and had spent most of Tuesday at the Academy getting ready for the school year.  They had both decided they would go to
Chez Catherine’s
together another time, allowing Ayanna, Janie, and her mom to have a night out for the soft opening.

She was a little nervous, but she was hopeful.  Janie knew the history with Ayanna and her mom, and was wonderful with people so Ayanna knew Janie would be great at keeping the conversation going if it got stilted.  And if Ayanna was going to be honest, her mom was really good with people too.  Maybe this could be a night of no pressure, a time to see each other in a different light.

Ayanna had talked to Ryann about potentially joining them, but she was so swamped with getting ready for the student art showing that Friday, they agreed they would just see each other in a couple of days.

As she was finishing up getting ready, Ayanna inspected herself in the mirror.  She wore her hair up in an artfully sexy topknot and had on a chic turquoise sundress.  Along with her bag and wrap, she was good to go.  When she walked into the living room where Jonathan was on his laptop, she heard a low whistle.

“Mm.”  He licked his lips and watched her with a gleam in his eye.  He twirled his finger indicating he wanted her to turn around for him.  She did.

“When are you gonna be home?”

She chuckled.  “Why, JBG?”

“Because I wanna know how long I have to wait before I can peel you out of that dress.”

She sauntered over to him, moved the laptop off of his lap, and straddled him on the sofa.  Taking his face in her hands, she gave him a long sultry kiss.  His arms wrapped around her as he held her hips tightly to him, gyrating his own hips into her.