Redemption (Iris Series) (51 page)

Jonathan cleared his throat, while both Ryann and Ayanna looked at Jeremy with a look that said,
See?

He didn’t say anything but just shook his head in wonder.  Ayanna noted, however, that he didn’t look discomfited by the knowledge of a Luke and Janie pairing.  He actually looked pretty calm, happy almost.  She wondered how Michael would feel if anything ever happened between his sister and best friend.

Ayanna turned to Jonathan and took his hand.  “Let’s look around.”

“You got it, babe.”

“Do you have any suggestions where to start?” Ayanna asked Ryann. 

“Nope.  It’s all great.  Just enjoy,” Ryann beamed.

“Okie dokie.  We’ll catch you later.”  They said goodbye to Ryann and Jeremy, and started to meander through the gallery-like lobby.

Ryann was right.  All of the pieces were wonderful.  They held hands as they strolled through the room, and were looking at the sculptures when Emily came up behind them and surprised them.

“Hey!” Ayanna exclaimed and hugged her.  She looked beautiful with her hair down wearing a fuchsia colored cocktail dress fitted to her compact body.  Her brown bedroom eyes were left uncovered from her normal eyewear, making their almond shape stand out even more.

Emily held on tight while they hugged.

“How are you?  I was wondering how you would be feeling today.  I’m sorry I couldn’t stay to see you at the hospital.  I know I said that on the phone, but -”

“Please, Em.  Don’t worry about it.  Everything is good.  I’m fine.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Yan.  When Jon called, I couldn’t believe it.”  Em was still holding her, her arms loosely around her.

Ayanna saw a lanky man with glasses standing behind her. 

“Guys, this is Ollie.  Ollie, this is Ayanna.  And this is my cousin, Jonathan.”

They made their introductions.

“Ollie is the one who I called when we were trying to see who sent you the email,” Em said to Ayanna.

She
knew
she recognized the name, and she then thanked him profusely for his help, as did Jonathan. 

“So it looks like you got paid for that work after all, huh, Ollie?  She actually agreed to a date!” Ayanna laughed.

He blushed, but then shrugged. 

Emily chuckled and shook her head.  “Trust me, don’t let Ollie’s look deceive you.  He’s tenacious.  Wouldn’t take no for an answer.”  Emily looked at him and rolled her eyes.  “Right, Ol?”

He shrugged again.  “What can I say?”

“Any
who, we’re gonna walk around.  Did you find anything you like yet?”

“Yeah, lots of great stuff!  We’ve seen most of the paintings, so now we’re looking at the sculptures.”

“Awesome.  Can we join you?”

“Of course,” Jon said.

“Did you see Drew, by the way?”

“No.  Is he here?” Ayanna asked.  She wondered if Tiffany was there yet.

“Yeah, I saw him talking to Ryann and Jeremy a minute ago.”

“Is Tiffany here yet?”

“Not sure.  I haven’t seen her,” Em said giving Ayanna a knowing look as they started to walk through the exhibit.  About two minutes into their tour they were interrupted.

“Well, looky here!”

They all turned to see Detective Michael Callahan stroll up, dressed to kill in a black pinstripe suit, with a buxom blonde in a sexy red dress on his arm.

Ayanna noticed Emily tense then relax a moment later while she gave the couple standing before her a smirk.

“Yan, honey.  How ya doin’?  You look great!  Beautiful sari.”  True to Michael’s personality, he came over and wrapped his arms around Ayanna giving her an enormous hug then spinning her around so he could check her out.

Ayanna chuckled.  This man was definitely a toucher.

“Good, good.  How are
you
?”

“Great,” he smiled.  Ayanna doubted there was ever a time the detective
wasn’t
great.  Positivity and fun seemed to roll off of him.  He reached out and slapped Jonathan on the back then turned to Ollie and Emily.

“Hey, I’m Mike,” he said to Ollie, shaking his hand.

Without missing a beat he turned to Emily last. 

“Counselor,” he purred, then took his time pressing his body fully to hers before she had a chance to balk or move away.  With his arms still loosely around her, he looked huge next to her given their height difference.

“I almost didn’t recognize you all prettied up without your glasses,” Michael said to Emily then ran his finger down her nose, tweaking it.  “I’m sorry we missed each other at the hospital the other night.  You left before I got a chance to see you.  I was hoping we were going to be able to set a date for our rematch.”

“Yeah, so sorry I missed you.”  Anyone listening to her could hear the sarcasm.  She made no secret that she didn’t care for him holding her so closely.  She started to extricate herself from his arms.  The blonde stepped forward to speed the process along.

The bombshell cleared her throat.  “Are you going to introduce us, Mike?”

“Of course, babe.  I’m sorry.”  He disentangled himself from Emily and reached back for the woman.  “Everyone, this is Candy Lane.”

They all blinked and Ayanna could’ve sworn she heard Emily inwardly groan.

He mad
e the rest of the introductions and all Ayanna could think was there was no way that was her real name.  Mike was smiling in a way that said he knew what everyone was thinking and that he found it
very
amusing.

Sh
e could hear Jonathan chuckling and then he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.  “We were just walking around and I see a piece over there that I want to show Yan.  Can we catch up with you guys later?”

“Yeah, we’ll see you around,” Mike said with
sexy smile.  “I have to exchange calendars and numbers with the counselor anyway.”

Ayanna could hear Emily begin to protest as Jon pulled her away and began walking toward the back of the lobby.

“What’s wrong?”

“I want you to myself, that’s all.  And that was a shit storm waiting to happen,” he smirked.  “Emily’s gonna kill me leaving her like that,” he muttered.

“He reminds me a little of your brother.”

“Michael?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded as they continued walking.  “Yup.  I can see that,” he smiled. 

Ayanna laughed, then said, “Was there really a piece you wanted me to see?”

“Actually, yeah.  Come here.”

He led her to the back, and as they wound their way there, she began to see a sculpture emerge through the people that immediately drew her in.  And she knew in that moment she was going to buy it.  It didn’t have a title, just the student artist’s name next to it.  However, anyone who observed it would feel what it was expressing. 

The piece at first glance looked like a tree trunk, twisted two or three times at the base in a gnarly and angry construction.  However at the top of the piece, the torso of a body burst forth from the trunk, the head directed up to the heavens in a moment of escape, finally reaching freedom.

Redemption
, Ayanna thought.
 

As she continued to study the piece, she noted that the knotted and deformed base was made up of scrap metal and wood, giving it an unsettled feel, like it was in pain.  The torso coming out of the top, however, was still constructed in metal and wood, but was smoothed over with an assortment of beautiful jewels and buttons, flowers and coins.  It was a gorgeous piece.  A mixture of hard and soft, rustic and refined, primitive and sophisticated.  Pain and beauty. 

They’d been looking at the piece for only a minute, but Ayanna knew it spoke to her on many levels.  She turned to Jonathan.

“I want this,” Ayanna breathed.

“You need to get this,” he nodded, his eyes sparkling.  “As soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect.”

“I love it,” she murmured, studying the piece more in depth.  “It’s so cool looking.  I love all of the different objects that make up the whole thing.  The sharp and jagged wood and metal at the base of the tree trunk, but the more ‘pretty’ objects at the top.”  What a perfect representation of her life, she thought.  “I love it,” she said again.

He took her hand.  “Let’s go make it happen.”

She nodded, still looking at the piece.

“And then,” he began, pulling her close, “let’s start saying our goodbyes.”

She looked up at him and smiled knowingly. 

“I wanna get you home,” he said, his voice husky.

She agreed one hundred and fifty percent.  She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips.  “You got it, champ.”

Slowly, Jonathan took the piece of organza in his hand and unwrapped the sari from around her waist and shoulders.  The feel of the silk, and the softness of his fingers as he unzipped and peeled the ensemble away from her caused goose bumps to rise on her arms.

The magnitude of what she was feeling at the moment was nearly overwhelming.  Ayanna reached her hands out to hold onto his arms, steadying herself.  Since the fire, she had wanted him with an intensity that shook her, and although her mind had been willing over the last 48 hours, she knew neither of them had been ready for the physical culmination of their realizations and feelings after the tragedy of the last few days.

Until tonight.

They had spent the first few minutes after getting to his place dressing the bed in silk sheets.  And now, he looked down at her with heat and love, lust and concern, tenderness and hope.  Unwinding the rest of the sari from her body, she was finally left standing before him, stripped of everything and waiting for his next move.

She couldn’t wait for it.  She needed him and reached out to wrap her arms around his waist and pull herself into him.  She could feel the sigh rumble through his chest as he tightly embraced her.

They were both quiet, clinging to each other as if they were afraid the other would be taken away if they didn’t.

Ayanna tried to lighten the mood.  “You still have your clothes on, big boy,” she muttered into his shirt.  Her hands began to wander and pull the dress shirt from his slacks.

“Mm.  I may need some help,” he smiled flirtily down at her.

“I can definitely help with that.” 

She took her time unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off his shoulders.  Once he took off his undershirt, she allowed herself some time to appreciate his pecs. “You are a fine specimen of a man, Johnny Be Good,” she whispered, her breath tickling at the hair on his chest.  Her fingers skittered over his torso, massaging his muscles there.

He plowed his own fingers through her hair at the nape of her neck and held her still while he inhaled her scent, leaning down to nibble at her mouth and settle his lips softly on hers.  He hesitated.

“What is it, champ?” she whispered.

He shook his head, seeming to need a moment to form his thoughts.

Another moment passed and he finally spoke.

“On Wednesday.”

She nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“I don’t want to lose you,” he finally whispered.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat.  “I don’t want to lose you either.”  She swallowed again.  “I want you.  More than any human being in this world, Jon.  So much that it scares me at times.”

He nodded.  “I know the feeling.  I love you, Yan.”  His hands were massaging the base of her neck sifting through her hair.  “I want you so much,” he whispered, then leaned down and kissed her.

As if a match had been lit, the two of them immediately held on to each other, desperately needing to express that desire which they had banked since the fire.  She began tearing at his belt buckle and undoing his pants while he consumed her mouth with his lips and tongue.

He stepped away for a moment to let his pants drop, and he flipped off his shoes and socks.  Then he wrapped his arms around her, pressing their bodies close until they felt like they were melded together.

“I need you now, Yanna. 
Now.
”  He backed her up gently toward the bed and she fell onto it.  Within a split second he was on her, settling between her legs and letting out a groan.  “You really did look like a goddess tonight.  All I’ve been thinking about since you walked out of your bedroom is how crazy I was going to feel all night thinking about getting inside you.  Claim you.  I need to make you mine.”

“I
am
yours.” Their hands were roaming all over.  He plucked her nipple and she pulled her knees back preparing for him.  “I want to make you mine, too.”  She was reaching her hand in between them grabbing for him.

He needed no more encouragement.  Teasing her opening with his cock, he slowly penetrated her, pushing himself deep inside.  She let out a contented sigh.

“
God
.  I feel so complete when you’re inside me.”