Redemption (Iris Series) Read online

  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, kissing 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 wanted 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 fa
r 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.

  Ayanna picked up her head to look at him then raised her eyebrow.

  He cleared his throat. “When I made those comments about your clothes at the fourth of July barbeque, and she called me out on it. She was right,” he said quietly.

  “About what?” she asked equally as quiet, still looking at him.

  “About how I wanted you and how I loved looking at you. I just hated seeing other men looking at you.”

  “Why didn’t you ask me out?” she asked quietly.

  He took a long time in answering.

  “Don’t get upset when I say this, because I’ll explain what I mean in a sec. But when I first met you, you reminded me of my ex.”

  She stilled. He continued.

  “You’re physically beautiful, charming, confident...and when you came onto me, I don’t know, I think it just made me think of her. That’s my only explanation. Because logically, what normal hot-blooded man wouldn’t take you up on an offer like that?” he murmured.

  “A man who’s interested in more than just a good time,” she said quietly. “Which is exactly why I wanted you even more after you said no. I knew you were different. And even though I hadn’t thought it all through in my head yet, I was definitely looking for different.”

  He gripped her hair and pulled her head back.

  “I’m really glad I came down to apologize to you last Monday.” He leaned down to kiss her lightly. He leaned back up. “Have I thanked you for accepting my apology?”

  “No thanks needed, champ,” she murmured. “Now, come back here.”

  He chuckled and kept his hand in her hair so he could control the pace of the kiss. He went at it slowly, teasing her. Rubbing his lips over hers, then catching her lower lip with his teeth and sucking on it.

  She kept trying to crawl up closer to him so she could be flush with his body, but he wouldn’t let her, holding her exactly where she was resting on his chest.

  She let out a frustrated sound, and he swore.

  “Yan, if I let you do what you want to do right now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself. If I feel your whole body pressed on mine, I’m gonna lose it,” he said, trying to control his breathing.

  His muscles felt tense under his button down shirt. She could tell his control was slipping.

  “Let’s watch a movie. Maybe that will help.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

  “The only TV I have is in my bedroom,” she smiled. “We can crawl into my bed and watch one. Is that what you want?”

  “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” He reached the hand that wasn’t in her hair up to his face and scrubbed at it. “I think I should probably go. It’s getting harder as each day passes. If you know what I mean.”

  She groaned at his joke. “I don’t want you to go,” she said, disgruntled.

  “I don’t want to go either. But I think it may be wise.”

  He was still gripping her hair, controlling his breathing, and his body was tense like a taut wire.

  He took one last breath and kissed her hard, then started to get up. She disentangled herself from him and allowed him to get up off the sofa. She remained seated, trying to get her own emotions in check.

  She felt like crying.

  “Hey,” he said, kneeling in front of her and holding her face. “It’s all gonna work out. Tomorrow will be the ten day countdown,” he said quietly.

  “I want you so fucking badly, it hurts, Jon.”

  He gave her an understanding look. “Trust me, babe. I know.”

  Then he leaned in and kissed her so aggressively, it took her breath away. He was plundering her mouth with his tongue, changing the angle of the kiss over and over.

  And then it was done.

  He got up and cracked his neck on both sides. Then he looked at her with such lust in his eyes, she totally thought he was going to jump her.

  “I need to go. We’ll see each other at the precinct tomorrow for the class then we’ll have dinner with everyone which will make it easier.” He paused. “Then it’ll only be nine days. We can do this. We can do this,” he kept muttering to himself.

  She covered her mouth to stop the half laugh, half sob from escaping her lips. He was so fucking adorable in the midst of his pep talk to himself. And she knew exactly how he felt.

  Ayanna got up and wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. His erection was poking into her stomach, and his jaw was so tight it looked like it could crush glass.

  He didn’t put his arms around her, but just rested his hands on her shoulders. He looked like he was in so much pain.

  “You know,” she started quietly, “you’ve helped me when I’ve needed to decompress. I could help you.”

  She looked into his eyes with all of the love she felt for him and waited for him to respond. There was nothing in the world she would rather do at that moment then put his beautiful cock in to her mouth, and give him a little slice of heaven.

  He looked a little crazed at that moment and quickly stepped back from her, running his hands through his hair.

  “No. I think that may really be against the rules—”

  “Jon, we make the rules.”

  “—and I want you to succeed, babe. And if you help me at all, it’s done. I won’t be going back to my place. I’ll be fucking you until you can’t walk for a week. If I let you touch me,” he swallowed, “it would be it for me.”

  She nodded, sizzling from his words, and feeling a little rejected even though she knew he was right.

  “Okay,” she said, sounding so sad.

  He smiled sweetly at her. “It’s okay, honey. Come on. We’re almost there.”

  “Yeah, but what’s the point of all this misery?” she whined. “I think I’ve come to enough realizations and I feel like now these last ten days are just gonna be torture, not necessarily about reflection.”

  He chuckled. “Shh.” He walked over to her and stroked her cheek, then ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “You said 40 days. We said 40 days. That’s what we’re gonna do. Even if it kills us,” he smirked then he turned serious. “You would be really disappointed if we didn’t wait, you know that.”

  “I know!” she growled. “Why do you have to be so fucking mature about this, Jonathan?!”

  He chuckled again. “Thank you for an incredible dinner, baby. It was awesome.”

  She let go of a frustrated deep sigh. “You’re welcome,” she grumbled. “Take
the rest of the cookie. I made it for you, after all.”

  He grabbed his glasses off the table as she took the cookie and stomped into the kitchen to wrap it up. He followed her, a light smile touching his lips. Once the cookie was wrapped, she turned and handed it to him.

  “Thank you,” he murmured.

  She had to get herself in check. She didn’t want him to think she was pissed at him. She wasn’t. She was just pissed. Period.

  Just before she could apologize, he pinned her with his eyes.

  “I’m gonna call you in five minutes.”

  She blinked at his knowing look. Oh, boy. Did that mean—?

  “Be ready, Ayanna. I think we both need to decompress tonight. Together.”

  And with that, he turned and left the apartment.

  Holy shit.

  If he was going to give her some stupendous phone sex, she was not going to miss it. She put away the food in record time then ran to the bedroom, nearly tripping in her haste.

  Just as she got there, her phone rang and she answered it on the first ring.

  She was out of breath.

  “Hey,” she breathed.

  “As far as I’m concerned, this falls within the rules. If we’re not in the same room with each other, then I think it’s okay.”

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night, JBG, I’m all for it.”

  “Oh, I’m gonna be sleeping like a baby tonight, gorgeous. And so are you. Are you naked yet?”

  She laughed, giddy with anticipation. “Not yet, but I’m getting there.”

  She put the phone on speaker and stripped quickly.

  “What room are you in?”

  “The bedroom.”

  “Go back to the living room.”

  “Why?”

  “Go back to the living room and lie on the sofa. I wanna picture you there. Right where I wanted to tear your clothes off and ravish your body 15 minutes ago.” His voice sounded so husky and sexy. She ran to oblige.

  Her heart was fluttering as she made her way to the living room.

  “Turn off all the lights when you’re in there. Once you’re on the sofa, spread your legs nice and wide, but don’t touch yourself yet,” he warned in a steely voice over the speakerphone.