Redemption (Iris Series) Read online

  She wanted to dance and spin and clap her hands, but she refrained. Could he possibly be interested in her? The real her?

  She reached up her hand to cup his face and said, “You’re a good man, Jonathan White. Will you be my friend? My very first guy friend?”

  His mouth kicked up into a lazy smile and he squeezed her fingers. “I’d be honored to be your very first guy friend. Will you be mine?”

  “Your very first guy friend?” Her eyes were twinkling, and a smile played on her lips.

  He rolled his eyes with a smirk. “My friend. Will you be my friend?”

  She nodded, her eyes going soft. She needed to get him out of here, especially if she was going to survive the rest of Day 24 without screwing this up. Literally and figuratively.

  She let go of a breath and said, “You got it, champ.” And he was, she thought. He was her champion. She told him so.

  “Hmm. I like that. Being your champ, I mean,” he said thoughtfully.

  She playfully pushed him back and opened the fridge, retrieving the box of pizzas. “Alright. Well, be a champ now and get this the hell away from me, would ya? If I’m going to abstain from sex and pizza, I’m gonna need this,” and you, she thought, “far away from me.”

  “What does the pizza have to do with sex, again?”

  “The two go together. Both decisions were made at the same time so pizza and fucking are forever linked in my head now.”

  He cleared his throat as he took the box from her hands and took a peek inside. “Mmm. These look good,” he said dramatically. “Let me just get them away from you.”

  She growled and turned him toward the door. “Don’t say I never gave you anything. And don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”

  “You’re in an awful hurry to get rid of me,” he said over his shoulder as she pushed him to the door.

  “I’ve had a very long day and I need some time to decompress.”

  He turned abruptly, his eyes glittering. “You know,” he said huskily, stepping toward her and leaning up against the wall, “maybe since you’ve done some good focusing without sex for 24 days now, you should give up B.O.B. for the remaining 16.”

  She blinked. He must’ve read her mind because as soon as she was sure he was gone, she was thinking she might run to the store down the block to get some batteries. That was definitely how she needed to decompress. And she was planning on screaming his name while she did it.

  “You must be out of your ever lovin’ mind. Listen, champ. I’ve given up sex, I’ve given up pizza. There is no way in hell I’m giving up B.O.B.”

  He stepped closer still, licking his lips, completely ignoring her question. “Is that how you plan on decompressing tonight?”

  She gave him a sultry look and stepped closer. “Are you going to make me wait 16 days to find out if you really want to tear my clothes off?” And if his balls ached because he wanted to fuck her so badly, then it served him right for toying with her.

  “Yup, so tough,” he said, not caring one bit. “Now, answer my question,” he whispered, his eyes gleaming.

  “Yes, as a matter fact.” She spoke slowly in a sexy whisper, savoring each word. “That’s exactly how I plan on decompressing tonight, Jon.”

  Take that, Johnny Be Good.

  He didn’t even blink, but with his voice still husky, his eyes zeroed in on her mouth and he whispered. “Can I watch?” She blinked in shock, as a rush of arousal dampened her panties. “Excuse me?”

  He smiled and swirled his tongue around his teeth, then smacked his lips. He was truly enjoying himself. “You should see your face, Yan. It’s priceless.”

  He reached for the doorknob and she stopped him with, “You’re an ass, you know that?”

  He turned back to her, his hand still on the doorknob. “You’re just pissed because you can’t have sex for 16 more days, and you’re used to men who bend at your will.” He paused and nailed her with his look. “You think you have me all figured out, with your cutesy little nickname and all that. But you might just learn that I’m not the Johnny Be Good you think I am.”

  His eyes gleamed with promise and he walked into the hallway.

  Before closing the door, he left with a parting shot. “Have fun decompressing.”

  Chapter 5

  “Touch your nipples,” Jon purred.

  He sat on the ottoman opposite the foot of her bed while she lay sprawled out on her silk blue sheets, her legs spread wide. She was drenched, arousal dripping its way from her core to the lips of her sex. The sheen of sweat she felt beading on her chest only added to the musky smell of the room. This man was killing her.

  “I want to watch you touch them, Ayanna. Do it,” he demanded softly.

  She whimpered with pleasure, as her hands skated up her body to cup her breasts. Then her finger and thumb from each hand lightly plucked at her nipples.

  “That’s it. Pinch them a little,” he whispered, leaning forward.

  She did and then started gyrating her hips a little to ease some of the tension.

  “You want me to touch that sweet smooth pussy of yours, don’t you, Ayanna?” His voice took on a gravelly quality. It sounded so rough, like how she knew his hands would feel on her skin if he would only touch her. But he didn’t. He just sat where he was and tortured her with his words.

  He finally got up from the ottoman and sat on the foot of the bed, watching her, looking at her glistening sex that screamed for him to fuck her. “Keep one hand teasing your nipple and glide your other hand down between your legs. Nice and slow.”

  Her breathing was erratic. No man had ever ordered her in the bedroom. She was always the one in control. She worked hard to choose bedmates who would do what she wanted so they could scratch the itch.

  Jonathan wouldn’t allow her to take control. He demanded, and she acquiesced. It was wonderful. And so fucking hot.

  She continued pinching at her nipple and slowly moved her hand down her body, until her fingers reached her slick throbbing sex.

  “Dip your finger inside. Get it nice and wet, baby.” His eyes were locked on hers, burning with bridled lust.

  She did as he asked, then moaned. It felt so good. She just needed to ease some of the pressure. “Jon,” she breathed. “I need more.”

  “Rub your finger lightly over your clit,” he continued purring.

  She pulled her finger out of the heated dewy opening and ran it lightly up her folds to the pulsing bundle of nerves at the top of her sex. She gasped and moved her hips up to reach her hand.

  “Do you know how good you smell right now? Your musky sweet scent? I can’t wait to fuck you raw, Ayanna. I’m gonna make you scream. Again and again, baby,” he growled, his voice sounding like good whiskey. “How many days do we have left before I get to tie you to my bed and go down on you? When can I put my tongue on you and eat you whole, suck on that little nub and drink all of that sweet essence into my mouth? How many more days, Yan?” he whispered.

  He continued his torment by leaning his face in near her hand between her legs. “Tell me how it feels,” he demanded softly.

  “It feels so goooood,” she moaned, raising her hips up off the bed.

  “Are you close, baby? Do you want to come?” he teased, licking his lips.

  “Please Jon, I need you to touch me,” she breathed. Her hands became more insistent, one was on her sex, the other rolling her nipple. She was nearly to the breaking point, making incoherent sounds of pleasure.

  She could feel his breath on her hand between her legs, while she brought herself closer and closer to the brink. Then, he abruptly moved up the side of the bed and leaned over her face.

  “Open your eyes, Ayanna.”

  He was beeping at her.

  She pried open her eyes, her slumberous gaze latching onto the phone near her head which was pinging madly as a text message came through.

  She was breathing heavily as if she’d just gone through a hard workout, her body stretched like a
bow on the verge of release. She pressed her hand to her clit and ground into it trying to relieve the tension throbbing there. A moment later she gasped as she exploded into an earth shattering climax and allowed the undulating waves of sharp pulsations to carry her to completion.

  She lay there for several moments catching her breath, coming down off of her high.

  It was Friday morning and that had been the third night in a row she’d had the dream. Some variations of it were different each time, but it was always basically the same.

  Erotic dreams of Jonathan watching her, directing her, telling her what he wanted her to do to her own body to bring herself relief, all the while promising her his own sweet delights at the end of the 40 days.

  She sighed and finally reached over to look at the text.

  Speak of the devil. She hadn’t spoken to him since that night he came and took the pizzas. And here he was now, reaching out to her.

  JW: Hey. Haven’t heard from u in a while. U decompressed yet?

  Not even close, champ.

  AS: Nice and relaxed, thank u very much.

  She smiled to herself. At the moment she was, but boy it barely took the edge off.

  JW: Day 27. Only 13 to go.

  Annoyed, she texted back.

  AS: Thanks for the newsflash.

  She got up to use the bathroom and her phone pinged a minute later.

  JW: Snarky start to Day 27. Maybe ur not as relaxed as you think.

  No, duh. I need you to fuck me 10 ways ‘til Sunday, Johnny Boy. Then maybe I’ll be close.

  AS: Was there a reason for ur text, or did u just want to know if I was still master of my domain?

  She threw out the obscure Seinfeld reference, waiting to see if he was also a fan of the infamous episode where all of the characters had a contest to see who could go the longest without pleasuring themselves. Whoever won the contest was dubbed master of their domain.

  Her phone pinged.

  JW: Which one r u? Kramer? I think he failed first.

  She smiled. Asshole.

  AS: What. Do. U. Want. Mr. White?

  She walked into the kitchen to start the coffee and grabbed a box of cereal.

  JW: U need furniture. I can get a truck. This is what guy friends do, btw. We do manly things.

  She stopped in her tracks and rubbed her hand over her heart. This man could make her burn with anger, lust until her heart pounded out of her chest, then melt her into a puddle of mush on the floor all within the span of 60 seconds.

  She looked at the clock. Almost 10am. She didn’t need to be at the restaurant until 4pm, so they could feasibly get to the IKEA in Brooklyn and pick up a few things. Like a sofa and a chair. She already had her eye on some. It would be nice to have something to sit on other than the floor and her bed. Plus, Janie was coming over the next morning to discuss their venture together since she didn’t have any catering gigs set up for the weekend. Having a place to sit would be good.

  AS: How’d u get ur hands on that, slick?

  She poured her cereal and milk and waited for his response while standing at the counter and eating. Instead, the phone rang.

  “Hey,” she answered around the cereal in her mouth.

  “From a colleague of mine at the school. I asked if I could borrow it sometime, and he said whenever. Do you have plans today? What time do you have to be at work?”

  “Four. It’s awfully nice of you to offer and set this all up, Johnny Be Good. Have you been missing me, or something?”

  “Or something,” he muttered.

  “What was that?”

  “So, whattaya think? Today or one of your days off? When are your days off?”

  She thought for a moment as she chewed. “Sunday and Monday, but today would be great. We’d have to leave, like, now though.”

  “I’ll be there in a sec,” And with that, he disconnected.

  She stared at the phone then took the next minute to gulp down the rest of her breakfast. She hadn’t even had her coffee yet and was naked as a jaybird. She needed to put some clothes on before he came knockin’ on her door. She always slept in the buff. She loved the feel of the sheets on her skin and didn’t like to feel hindered by clothes in bed.

  Just as she was walking out of the kitchen, she heard the knock on her door. She looked down at her body and a mischievous thought popped into her head. Why not give him something to dream about, too. It would serve him right.

  She grabbed her grandmother’s sari and wrapped it around her body, displaying enough skin so he would know there was nothing on underneath it. Sorry, Ammie. She walked barefoot to the door and looked out the peephole, clutching the deep gold and purple silk fabric between her breasts.

  Sure enough, there he stood, leaning against the opposite wall waiting for her.

  She opened the door and stepped back.

  He stood stunned and motionless except for his eyes, which ate her up from the red painted toe nails of her feet, to the sexy and sleepy tousled hair on her head.

  Watching his eyes, she began to second guess her decision. He looked like he wanted to unwrap her like a gift on Christmas morning. And, shit, she was only on Day 27.

  “This is what you get when you show up only minutes after I’ve gotten out of bed. I’ve barely finished my breakfast and you’re here already. Did you call me from the hallway, or something?” She swallowed, now feeling shame because he wasn’t saying anything. She was never flustered around men. Period. “I’m not exactly dressed for visitors. Come on in. I’ll be ready in a minute.”

  She backed up so he could enter and he stalked in slowly and closed the door. She was snagged within his stare and stumbled a bit on the fabric draped on the floor. She glanced down and gathered it into her hand so she could walk trip free to her bedroom.

  As she turned to walk away, she could feel his hand on the fabric, prohibiting her from moving. Holding the fabric at her side, he lifted it, letting the sensual fabric drape on his hand.

  “This is your grandmother’s,” he murmured.

  She swallowed. “Kiri Amma,” she whispered. “I called her Ammie.”

  He looked at her with the dawn of realization in his eyes. “Isn’t that your food blog’s name?”

  She nodded. “The Yummy Ammie. It’s named in honor of her.”

  His eyes were glittering. “You look like an ancient sex goddess answering the door.” He dragged his eyes up to hers.

  “Sorry.” He always made her feel like she needed to apologize. Ridiculous.

  “For what?” he asked quietly. “Any time you want to answer the door looking like that when I’m on the other side, don’t let me stop you,” he said, his voice husky.

  She swallowed and nearly melted into the floor from his hot look.

  “Let me go get dressed.” She tugged the fabric out of his hand, but he held on.

  “Thirteen days, Yan. Can you do it?”

  God, he made her so hot. This plan of answering the door half naked totally backfired. She wanted to give him something to dream about, and all she did was fuel her own.

  “I totally got this, Johnny Be Good,” she said with false bravado. “I’d be happy to get dressed, if you’ll let go of my sari.”

  She looked at him, flushed and waiting.

  His eyes were gleaming and his jaw was clenched. He looked down at his hand holding the fabric, then loosened his grip. “Fine. Go get some clothes on, would ya?”

  “I would if you’d let me leave,” she muttered. She turned away from him and he smacked her ass just before she was out of his reach.

  “Hey!”

  He shrugged with a smirk. “It’s what guy friends do.”

  She huffed and walked away into her bedroom, closing the door. She let the sari fall from her heated body and quickly grabbed underwear and jeans. She was definitely getting the vibe from him. In fact if she was right, she had been getting the vibe from him during their last few encounters. But he obviously wanted to respect her decision about the 40
day time limit.

  At least, she hoped she was reading the vibe right. Her man “radar” had always worked. It was Ryann who couldn’t flirt worth a shit. Ayanna was always the one who knew her way around a guy. But the one standing in her living room had her running in circles. She didn’t know if she was coming or going.

  And she’d rather be coming, that was for sure.

  She threw on some skinny jeans, a pink t-shirt, and some flip flops. The she threw her hair into a topknot and ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth then splash water on her face.

  When she got back to the living room, she’d only been gone four minutes.

  He looked at his watch and raised his eyebrow. “Wow. The sex goddess is apparently not as high maintenance as I thought.”

  She gave him a dirty look. “Where’s the truck? Do we have to go pick it up?”

  “Yeah, it’s at my friend’s in Brooklyn,” he said, the enigmatic smile still playing on his lips.

  She ignored the smile. “Perfect. Because I want to go to IKEA and there’s one in Brooklyn on Beard Street.

  “Let’s go.”

  “You want some coffee?”

  “No.”

  “Let me just grab a ‘to-go’ cup and we can be on our way.”

  ……

  They hopped on the subway to his friend’s, and once they were settled next to each other in the subway car, he looked down at her.

  “So, what are you gonna get today?”

  “Really, the only things I need at the moment are a sofa and chair, and maybe some kitchen stuff. I’ve already got a big ottoman in my bedroom which I’m gonna use for a coffee table.” It’s the one you sit on and direct me from. She quickly wiped away the thought of the sex dream from her brain. “I’ve been looking online, and I already know which sofa and chair I want, so it’ll be a short trip. Thanks again for doing this, Johnny Be Good,” she said with a smile and bumped her shoulder with his.

  “No prob. I wasn’t doing much today, so I thought I’d check in.”

  “What do you do during the summers off from teaching?”