Release (37 page)

He
nibbled at her fingers.  “Would you like it now?”

Her
eyes lit up.  “Well, duh.”

He
smiled, and got up.  “Come on, then.”

They
walked stark naked downstairs to the kitchen, and he led them into the
woodshop.   He walked her over to his worktable, where something
about a foot to a foot and a half high sat on his table covered in a small
tarp.

She
was so stunned.  “You…you made me something?”

He
looked at her excitement, and touched her cheek with the back of his hand. He
nodded slowly.

“Take
the tarp off.”

She
swallowed, then moved forward and removed the tarp.

There
on the table, was an easel.  It was the type of easel that one would
display a finished painting on, and would rest on a table top.  It was
beautifully carved with a fleur de lis on each foot, and stained in a gorgeous
walnut.

She
covered her mouth, and looked at him in silence.  She reached up on her
toes to capture his mouth.

Then
she pulled back and looked at it again.  “It’s so beautiful, Jeremy. 
Did you know the fleur de lis is based off of the iris flower?”

He
smiled and nodded.

She
let go of a shaky and teary smile.  “I absolutely love it.  Thank you
so much for this…I…I love it.  I can’t wait to use it,” she said clapping
her hands like a little kid, already knowing what painting would find its home
on this special gift.

She
ran her fingers over the carving, then asked, “Do you know much about the iris
flower?  You know, like where the name comes from, and all of that?”

“No.”

“Iris
was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow.  She delivered messages
of love to the gods and humans between heaven and earth in the form of a
rainbow.”  Ryann smiled up at him.

“Because
the iris flower is available in so many colors, some believe that’s where its
name originated…naming it after the goddess.  And the goddess was
sometimes referred to as the eye of heaven, which is why the color of our eye
may be called an iris.”

He
nodded, taking it all in.  “That is seriously cool.  How did you know
all that?”

“I’ve
always loved the look of the flower, and after I taught some Greek mythology
and found out a little about the history of the word, I loved it even more.”

He
was quiet for a moment, so she took a second to appreciate his gift to
her.  He rested his hand on her neck, then picked her up, taking her from
the room.  As he carried her up the stairs, she buried her nose in his
neck, inhaling his scent.

When
they got to the room, he put her down on the bed, and began kissing her
neck.  “When I brought you that iris when you first moved in…it was like
Iris delivering my message of love to you.”

At
that moment, she remembered Brent’s white iris.  He had delivered a message
of love to her too.  A very young man’s love, still undeveloped, still
innocent, and still so wonderful.

But
Jeremy’s was a different kind.  It was the love of the man she had waited
for, a man she didn’t know existed.  He gave her a love that allowed her
to be free, to release herself from…herself.

He
looked up at her.  “I may not have realized it back then, but that’s what
it was, baby.  It was my message of love to you.”  He
swallowed.  “I love you, Ryann...sometimes so much, it...takes my breath away.”

He
touched her so deeply with his words.  “I love you, too, baby…so much…so
much.”

She began to kiss him, and they didn’t go to sleep for a
long time.  Not until they touched and worshipped each other, body and
soul, and took great pleasure in delivering their mutual messages of love to
one another.

The next morning, Manny drove Ryann to the Institute,
with Jeremy joining her for the ride.

They
had decided that they would spend the next few nights at Ryann’s place, and
then she would spend the weekend at his.  She had asked him to leave the
easel at his place, already thinking through her plans for it.

“I
think we should do a big barbeque at my place this Saturday for the
fourth.  I’ll grill up some steaks, and get some sides from a local
place.  Then we can all watch the fireworks on the roof of the
brownstone.”

She
looked at him with an excited smile.  “Yay!  I love that idea,” she
clapped.

“And
I want you to invite your mom and Tony,” he said with a look, waiting for her
reaction.

She
blinked, and a warm feeling bloomed in her heart.  “You want my mom to
come?”

“Yes. 
I want our families to get to know each other.”

She
launched herself at him and gave him a huge kiss.

“Ok,”
she breathed, and gave him a dazzling smile.  “I know she would love to
meet you.”

He
raised an eyebrow, while holding her close to him.  “Well, I figured I
needed to do some smooth talking, so her only experience of me isn’t her memory
of your visit last Friday night.”

She
reached her hand out and held his.  “She was the one who made me wonder if
I’d misunderstood what I’d seen between you and Tiffany.  My mom’s a big
believer in risking all for passion and love...she basically told me I needed
to come back and talk to you.”

Jeremy
waited a beat, then said, “I have a confession to make…I’m in love with your
mother.”

She
let go of a loud laugh.  “She’s going to be in love with you, too. 
I’ll call her today.  Can I invite Ayanna, too?”

“Absolutely. 
And Jonathan and Emily.  Let’s have a big blow out.  I feel like
celebrating.  I apparently turn into a mush ball when I fall in
love.  Who knew?” he said drolly.

She
let out a small girlish shriek.   “Ooh…I’m so excited!  This is
gonna be so much fun!  And you’ll invite your whole family, too, and Luke
and Tiffany?  Let’s have a big party!”

He
chuckled, “You’re so fucking adorable…come here.”  He hauled her closer,
and kissed her soundly on the mouth.  “I can’t wait to have you all to
myself tonight, but alas, it’ll have to wait…we’re here.”

The
car was slowing to the curb.

She
smiled, and kissed him again.  She hesitated, then said quietly, “I love
you.”

His
eyes looked at her tenderly.  “Say it again,” he demanded.

She
smiled, “I love you.”

He
took a cleansing breath, then said, “I love you, too….we’re such dorks...now
get out of here.  The sooner you get out, the sooner we see each other
again.  Manny will be here to pick you up at five,” he said with a soft
smile touching his lips.

“I
can take the subway…”

“No,
Manny will come get you.  Just...humor me, ok?”

She
looked at him, and acquiesced.  “Ok.  Have a good day, sweetie.”

He
pulled her back quickly and kissed her hard on the mouth.  “I
am
your sweetie…and don’t you forget it.”

She
rolled her eyes, and broke away from him.  “Bossy…” she muttered under her
breath, then got out of the car, and started her day.

…..

All
day, everyone was talking about the stolen painting.  Jack Willis called a
faculty meeting before classes started, to make sure they all cooperated with
the FBI if they happened to come by and question those at the Institute. 
But basically, everyone was to go about their day, business as usual.

Paul
had heard through the grapevine that Jeremy had stepped down as VC from the
board, and started grilling Ryann.

“Come
on, hon.  Inquiring minds wanna know!”

She
giggled at his dramatics.  “There’s nothing to tell!  He wanted to
step down.  That’s all.”

“Are
ya two…doin’ ok?  I noticed ya left a little upset on Friday night…with
Armand, I might add.”  He looked strangely disappointed in her.

“Jeremy
and I had a misunderstanding, and Armand got me a cab so I could go home. 
There is nothing, nor will there ever be anything, with Armand.  Jeremy
and I have talked…and are better than ever…”  She tried not to sigh like a
schoolgirl.  She snapped out of it, and said, “So you don’t have to worry
about us, Dad,” she smiled.

“Well,
that’s
a load off my mind!  I was hopin’ everything was
alright.  Ya shoulda seen Hurricane Jeremy when he couldn’t find ya after
ya left.  He looks fierce when he’s pissed.”  Paul punctuated that
with an appreciative wiggle of his eyebrow.

“Hey…hands
off, buddy.  He’s mine,” she pointed her finger at him, and smirked. She
paused, then cleared her throat.  “Was he really upset?”

Paul
looked at her sweetly.  “Yeah, hon.  He was really upset.  I
think it’s safe to say that he has some pretty powerful feelings for ya…and if
I had to guess, ya probably feel the same way.”  He winked at her. 

She
took a deep breath, and said, “I want to paint something during my lunch breaks
this week.  And I would love your feedback.  Can you help me out?”

“Of
course!  What are ya gonna paint?”

Her
eyes twinkled, and she started telling him her plan.

…..

Manny
was there at five o’clock on the dot.  She smiled brilliantly at him
having had a wonderful day, and gave him a hug as he stood there, the car door
open for her.    He laughed, flustered.

“Well,”
he chuckled, “Umm, hello Ryann.”

“Hi,
Manny.  Thanks for coming to get me,” she said breezily, as she got into
the car.

“You’re
welcome.”  He closed the door, and hopped around the car to the driver’s
seat.

When
they pulled away, she thought about the great day she had had.  Her
classes went well, she started her painting, and she had called her mom,
Ayanna, and Jonathan to invite them to the barbeque on Saturday.  All in
all, it was a perfect day, and now she got to spend the rest of it with the man
she loved.  Life didn’t get better than this, she thought.

Manny
interrupted her musings.  “We’ll pick up Mr. McCallister first, then he
asked that we swing by a grocery store to pick up some food.  He said you
needed some?”

“Ah,
I forgot I didn’t have any food at the apartment.  There’s a market right
on my block.  You can take us to my place, and I’ll run down to get some.”

He
seemed hesitant.  “We’ll talk to Mr. McCallister.”

She
rolled her eyes.  “Yes.  We will…where is Jeremy, by the way?”

“At
his gallery.  We should be there shortly.”

She
leaned back, and enjoyed the ride.

When
they arrived at the M Gallery, she felt flutters in her stomach.  This is
where they met.  Well, technically they met on the street outside the
Holland Tunnel.  But this is where the attraction flourished.

He
appeared in the doorway, and Manny was already out his door to open Jeremy’s.

When
Jeremy scooted into the back with Ryann, he smiled lazily at her, wound his
hand into her hair, and pulled her forward to meet his lips.  “I’ve missed
you today,” then he reached over to raise the privacy screen, and swooped down
to kiss her.

Manny
got in the car to drive them away, but she didn’t even notice.  She was
too consumed by the sexy man, who couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

His
tongue plundered her mouth, while his hand held her head captive.  She
could barely catch her breath, or calm her heart rate, especially as his hand
found her nipple through her shirt, and began playing with it.

She
whimpered, and he finally tore his lips from hers.  “Oh, what I want to do
to you…I can’t wait to get to your place.”

She
raised her eyebrow and said in a low, breathy voice, “You’re not even gonna
feed me first?”

“I’ll
give you anything you want to eat, just as long as I get to eat what
I
want to eat,” he said huskily.

She
smirked, and whispered against his mouth, “You’re an adolescent.”

He
took her hand and pressed it to the juncture of his legs.  “Trust me,
baby…I’m all man.”

She
groaned at his joke.  “Definitely an adolescent.”

He
bit at her lower lip.  “We’ll see if I can change your mind.”

Manny’s
voice filled the space.  “Excuse me, sir.  What would you like to do
for dinner?”

Ryann
interjected.  “I told him he could just drop us off at my place, and I can
run down to the market on my street to get some food.”

“He’ll
take us there first, then take us to your place.”

“Jeremy,
I’m happy to walk down and get some food.”

“Manny? 
You can take us to the market on Ryann’s street, then we’ll head to her place.”

“Yes,
sir.”

She
huffed.  “I’m perfectly capable of going to get us some food.”

“Of
course you are, but why do it by yourself when we can both do it, and get a
ride back?”

She
sat there quietly.

“What’s
wrong?  What did I do?”

She
looked at him, her arms crossed over her chest.  “I feel like you do so
much for me.”

He
leaned forward, and put his finger under her chin.  “I do just as much for
you as you do for me.  In fact, you do more, because anyone who can love
me like you do deserves to be treated like a queen.”

She
rolled her eyes, “Would you stop.”

He
held her face more firmly, and pulled her closer.  “There is nothing that
I would rather do in this world than to do things for you, take care of you,
make you happy…what’s wrong with that?”

Her
eyes glittered, touched by his words, then she sighed.  “There’s
nothing
wrong with that.  But I want to do things for you, too.”

“I
can think of something you can do for me,” he said with a lecherous grin.

“Like
I said, adolescent.”

“I
was going to say make dinner,” he said with an innocent look.

“Uh,
huh.”

Just
then, they pulled up to the market, and she put her hand up.  “I’ll get
the food.  Stay where you are.”  And with that, she hopped out of the
car.

He
allowed her that small victory, but rolled down the window, and watched her the
whole time she was in the store.  When she came out, both he and Manny got
out to help with the bags.

When
they were in the car, he tried to look in one of them, but she slapped his hand
away.  “Hey!  Get outta there.  This is
my
surprise.”

He
raised an eyebrow, and she gave him a saucy wink.  He looked at her and
licked his lips.  “Well who am I to stand in the way of your surprise?”

She
leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss.  “Come on, big boy.  We’re
here.”

…..

While
Jeremy was opening the wine, she changed into a pair of yoga pants and fitted
t-shirt, and threw her hair into a topknot.  She started the dinner, and
he went and changed too, into a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt.  He
came up behind her and hugged her, kissing her neck.

“What
are we having?”

She
smiled, while she stirred what was in the pot.

“Smells
good, whatever it is…”

“Tri-color pasta
with some veggies thrown in…peppers, celery, carrots, onions, olives, 
zucchini…with some olive oil and spices...do you want a green salad too?”

“I
don’t need one.  The pasta will be enough.  What can I do?”

She
smiled and leaned back to kiss him.  “Sit there at the dining table, and
look pretty.”

“That
should be you.”

For
some reason, she blushed.  She was still getting used to his mushy
behavior.  “I’ll take some wine, if you wouldn’t mind pouring me a glass.”

“Absolutely.”

An
hour later or so, dinner complete, they sat on the living room sofa talking
politics.  They discovered that he was a fiscal conservative, but a social
liberal, whereas she was a flaming liberal, through and through. 

They
both liked
The Rachel Maddow Show,
and agreed on many of the same
issues.

They
both believed in God, and grew up going to church.

They
both liked to eat... she was borderline vegetarian, he was a carnivore.

They
both exercised regularly.

They
both grew up with pets... him a dog, her a cat.

He
went to private school, she went to public.

He
loved chocolate, she loved strawberries.

Which
led to the surprise she’d bought him at the market.  She told him to stay
where he was, while she went into the kitchen to get the strawberries, hot
fudge, and whipped cream.  She made one big bowl for both of them, and
swore she would run it off the next morning.

When
she walked out with the bowl, he moaned as he saw what was in it, and she came
forward with the dessert.

His
eyes took on a predatory glint. “You know what would make this even better?”

“No,
but somehow I think you’re going to tell me.”

“Take
off your yoga pants and panties, and put on a pair of those fuck me
shoes...that would make this dessert just about perfect,” he murmured, then
touched his lip with his tongue.

A
wave of arousal hit her with such force, she almost stumbled while walking to
him.  She stopped, gave him a sultry look, and put the bowl down on the
coffee table.  

Then
she slowly hooked her thumbs in her waistband, and pulled the yoga pants down
her legs, and stepped out.

Her
panties followed the yoga pants to the floor next.  She removed the clip
from her hair, and shook her hair out down past her shoulders.

His
eyes were nearly black with desire as he watched her strip.

She
turned and walked with a little swing to her hips and went to her bedroom to
get a pair of black pumps, then in a moment of inspiration, she removed her
shirt and bra, as well, and walked back into the living room wearing her
pumps.  And nothing else.