Release (22 page)

“This,” he
hesitated, “is my shop.”  He looked uncertain.  Very unlike the
Jeremy she had seen so far.  Hmm.  Definitely a new side to this
wonderfully faceted man.

“You made all of
this?”  She continued to look around.  “Wow.”  She walked over
to a large, sturdy rectangular table with thick ornate legs, intricate carvings
along its skirt, with a gorgeous mahogany stain. There was a center drawer,
with a beautiful antique pull.  The surface top had a glass like finish to
it.  She looked back at him.  “May I touch it?”

He looked like a
proud father.  “Of course.”

She did. 
It was smooth as glass, and so exquisitely designed and made, that she could
only run her fingers over it in awe.

“It’s
gorgeous.”  She looked back at him so he could see how serious she was.

He walked toward
her and stopped at the table.  “I finished this one for a client last
week.  It’s a desk for his office.”

“You make these
for people?”

“Not all of the
time.  It’s always been a hobby, but I find that it goes nicely with my
day job.  Sometimes clients are looking for a particular piece, and when
that piece isn’t out there, we work something up.  I usually just design
for family or myself, though.”  Pause.  “My dad taught me.  We
used to,” he cleared his throat, “do woodworking together.”

Her eyes
softened as he shared that memory.

“Are those your
pieces in the living room?  The funky chair with the painting on it, end
tables…the night stands in the bedroom?”

He nodded.

“Wow,” she said
again.  “I’m impressed.”  And she was.  They really were
beautiful pieces.  She continued to touch the desk and said, “I could tell
they were custom made, but I thought maybe you bought them through your
business connections.”

“Nope. 
They’re all me,” he shrugged.

“You should be
doing this more.  You’re so talented.”  Then she looked back at him
and grabbed his hand.  She turned it over to run her finger over the
calluses.  “I wondered where these came from.”  Then she leaned down
and kissed his palm.

He took that
palm and cupped her face. 

“They feel
wonderful on my skin…”  She cleared her throat and looked down.

He tilted her
chin up to meet his gaze.  “You know, Ry, you have to be a sensual person
to be a painter...to be able to feel passion when you create something. 
And you’re so damn responsive when I touch you...it’s like an aphrodisiac to
me.  But when you
talk
about it, it makes you blush.” 

He chuckled and
kissed her softly, then whispered, “It’s so fucking adorable, it makes me want
to talk dirty to you all day.  Watch the blood rush to your face. 
Because then I know that you’re really feeling something…”  He leaned down
to her ear.  “Sex should touch all of the senses, don’t you think?” 

He was saying
exactly what she had been thinking the night before.  The rate of her
breathing began to pick up, and her nipples were tightening.  She had
absolutely no control over her body when it came to this man.

She leaned into
him.

“You like it
when I tell you in detail all of the things I want to do you, don’t you?” he
whispered, still kissing her face.

She averted her
eyes, and nodded.

“Tell me. 
I want to hear you say it.”

She looked at
him and rolled her eyes.  “Yes.  Okay?  I love it when you talk
dirty to me.  Now would you stop?” she said, slapping at his arm. 
“God, given your love of words, and all the yapping that you do, maybe
you
should’ve been the English teacher,” she chuckled.

“Maybe,” he
smiled, kissing her mouth, biting at her lower lip.

“You like to
bite a lot, too,” she murmured.

His eyes took on
a glint that she was becoming familiar with. 

“Like I said, I
like using all of the senses.  I want to consume you,” he said, taking
another nip at her lips.  “So I can fully taste you.  And I like the
way you taste.”  His hands were running up and down her spine, ending at
her ass.

He pulled her to
him, and kissed her aggressively, using his whole mouth.  His tongue, his
teeth, his lips.  He had one hand on her ass and the other in her hair,
holding her head to receive his kisses.

“How sore
are
you?” he murmured in between kisses.

She
moaned.  “What are you doing to me, Jeremy?” she whispered.

“Making you
addicted.  Remember?”  He began kissing her neck, while the hand on
her ass moved up to cup her breast.

“I need to go to
work,” she moaned hesitantly.  “And you need to go to Boston.”

“We have plenty
of time.”  He looked at his watch.  “It’s only 6:30,” he said with a
sexy smile.

She tried to
shake the arousal that was engulfing her.  If she gave in to this guy
every time he wanted it, she would never have any control in this…whatever this
thing was.  The problem was, she wanted it just as much as he did, and she
was struggling with showing too much of her desire to him.  She was afraid
that by showing him how much she wanted him, she would be showing him her
vulnerability as well.  She was going to have to reflect on this while he
was gone.

She took a deep
breath, disentangled herself from him, and ran her hand shakily through her
ponytail making sure everything was still in place.

“Take me on a
tour of the rest of the house.”  She reached down and took his hand to
begin walking out of the shop.

He stopped her
and brought her back into his arms for one more kiss.  It was hard, quick,
and aggressive.  When he released her lips, he still held her tightly to
him and said, “I’m letting you say no for now, Ryann.  But I know you want
me, and you know I want you.  One of these days you’re going to stop
letting that brain of yours work overtime, and just let yourself
feel
. 
Be warned, I’m not always going to let you say no.”

He punctuated
that last statement with another kiss, then pulled her out of the shop. 
She had a feeling she didn’t have long to figure herself out.

…..

They spent the
next 20 minutes or so walking through the rest of the brownstone, and it was
just as gorgeous as the first floor and the bedroom.  Old warm charm meets
modern conveniences, with eclectic artwork, and a soothing color palette. 
He had great taste.

At a little
after seven, Jeremy grabbed her bag, put on some black loafers and walked her
out to the waiting car at the curb.

Manny greeted
them, then got behind the wheel to drive them the 10 minutes or so to the
Institute.

The privacy
screen was up, so Jeremy took full advantage and sat close to her on the bench
seat, holding her hand to kiss and play with her fingers.  “I’ll be
thinking of you this week,” he said in between kisses.

She swallowed
and smiled shyly.  “I have a feeling you’ll probably enter into my
thoughts as well.”

He leaned
forward and grabbed her legs to put them on his lap, similar to what he had
done the night before.  But instead of rubbing her feet, he allowed his
hand to reach under the hem of her long skirt and run up her leg.  He
pushed her back down along the seat, and then leaned over her to hover over her
lips.

“Jeremy, what
-?”

“Let’s make sure
that’s the case.”  And just as he said those words, his hand found what it
was looking for, rubbing over her naked thigh and ass cheek, then moving
forward to stroke the back of his hand over her waxed skin covered by the small
front panel of her thong.  She jolted, and her breath hitched.

He looked at
her, while his hand continued stroking her.  He looked at her lips, then
her eyes.  “We only have about eight minutes or so, Ryann.  You’re
going to need to be quiet...you can’t make a sound…you don’t want Manny to
hear.  But you’re going to come for me, I promise you that.”

His hand slipped
under her panties, and found her very wet and very ready for his warm and
calloused fingers.

He let out a
breath and said, “So wet for me…so smooth…I love that you drip for me,” he
said, all while looking at her face.  She was beet red, she was sure, and
then two of his fingers found her opening and slid in, and she was lost. 
She let out a strangled moan, and closed her eyes, trying to control her
breathing.

“Shh,
baby.  Not a sound.”  He wasn’t helping the matter and he knew
it.  His thumb slowly circled her clit, while he finger fucked her. 
He inhaled at her neck.  “You smell so good.”  He nipped at her
there, and continued his sweet torture.

She was trying
to stay quiet, but it wasn’t easy.  She gasped at one point when he rubbed
slow circles over her G-spot with his two fingers.  “God, you’re soaked
for me,” he said again.  “We only have a couple of minutes left, Ryann.
Are you going to come for me?” he whispered.  “Look at me, baby.”

She did, and she
was so close.  His words were pushing her closer.  It was becoming
difficult to stay quiet, so he rested his lips on hers, and whispered,
“Shh.  No making any noise, baby.”

He increased the
pressure of his thumb, and the pumping of his fingers.  She was biting her
lower lip, but she was making soft sounds in the back of her throat, as the
orgasm raced toward her.

“Come now,
Ryann.  I want to see you fly apart.  Look at me.”

She did, and let
out a soft gasp as the orgasm ripped through her, and her walls clenched around
his fingers.  She kept coming and coming, being hit by a multitude of
ripples.

He ate at her
mouth, swallowing her soft sounds, murmuring, “Oh, yeah, baby…so
beautiful.  God, I want you so badly right now.  I don’t know how I’m
going to make it to Saturday.”

She finally came
down from her high, and felt a gorgeous glow about her, like she was sparkling,
light shooting out of her.  She tried to gain her breath, to begin the
slow descent out of the sexual stupor he always seemed to get her into,
mentally preparing herself to get out of the car soon.

In the next
minute, the car pulled up outside the Institute, and Jeremy was still looking
at her as if he was going to swallow her whole.  His eyes were heavy
lidded, and the corner of his mouth ticked up slightly.  He removed his
hand from underneath her skirt, and immediately put his fingers in his mouth to
suck the proof of her orgasm from his fingers.  He licked his lips. 
“Will I enter your thoughts now?” he whispered.

The man was
evil.  Potently dangerous.  She was still coming down from the mind
blowing orgasm he just gave her, and now she had to walk into the lobby as if
nothing had happened.  She knew she was blushing furiously, and her
ponytail was probably a disheveled mess. 

She swallowed,
and sighed, trying to get her thoughts together.  “You’re lucky we’re
here, Jeremy.  If I had more time, you’d be in trouble,” she muttered.

He raised an
eyebrow.  “I’m looking forward to you exacting your revenge this
weekend.”  He helped pull her up, and smiled, kissing her cheek. 
“Have a great week.  I’ll text you later.”

She cleared her
throat, still trying to mentally shake off the last six minutes in the car so
she could focus.  “Ok,” she squeaked out.

He
chuckled.  “Saturday and Sunday you’re mine.  Don’t forget.”  He
kissed her hard, then opened the door and stepped out, only to turn back and
help her out as well.  He didn’t kiss her on the curb, but he did give her
an intense look, and ran his hand down her back as he walked her to the stairs,
and Manny brought over her overnight bag.

“Thanks, Manny,”
she smiled shakily.

“You’re
welcome.  Have a good day, Ryann,” he smiled back.

“You,
too.”  She turned to Jeremy.  He continued to look at her, his eyes looking
a little preoccupied.  “Have a great trip to Boston.  Be safe,” she
said softly, a little flustered.

“I will.” 
It looked like he was about to say something else, but instead, he tapped her
chin with his finger, winked, then turned and got back into the car.  It
didn’t pull away until she turned and walked up the steps.

When she entered
the lobby, her first thought was she needed to get to a bathroom.  The
slick, wet folds of her sex rubbed against each other as she walked, and she
was feeling like she needed to clean up.

Unfortunately,
the first person she saw was MG.  She sighed as she kept walking, ignoring
her.  There was no one else there except security near the entrance, and
Jennifer was leaning against one of the pillars, looking out the front glass
doors.  She was sure that Jennifer saw Jeremy drop her off, so she readied
herself for the conversation to come.

She attempted to
walk by her without incident, but unfortunately it wasn’t in the cards.

“He’s an
incredible kisser, isn’t he?” she said with a smirk on her face, then
sighed.  “Yes, indeed.  Jeremy and I go
way
back, and he
definitely knows how to use his mouth to please a woman.”

Knowing that
both Jennifer and Jeremy had once kissed was enough to make her want to punch
something, but she refused to rise to the bait.  She cocked her head and
looked at her.  “It must make you really sad to know that he’ll never use
it on you again.”

Jennifer’s eyes
glared holes through her.  “Honey, you don’t even know what you’re getting
yourself into.  Jeremy is notorious for changing women every few
weeks.  Once he’s done fucking you, you’ll simply be known as the most
recent flavor of the month.  He
loves
women, and will never settle
for just one.  Especially not one as sweet and pure as you.”

Her eyes mocked
her sympathetically, then she tsked, “Poor thing.  Have you already fallen
for him?”  Pause.  “Enjoy him while you have him.  I give him
another couple of weeks before he tires of you.” 

Ryann was
vibrating with anger, and she could feel her face turning red.  She took a
step forward.  “Once again, Jennifer, I’m going to repeat myself, and I’ll
try to use small words so I don’t have to keep doing this on a daily
basis.  My personal life is off limits to you.  Period.  There
is nothing you have to say that interests me.  As always, it wasn’t nice
talking to you.”  She turned and began walking to the elevator.

“I can’t wait to
tell you ‘I told you so,’” she said after her in a sing songy voice.

Ryann kept
walking, and didn’t show a reaction.  When she was finally inside the
elevator with the door closed, she leaned back onto the wall, and tamped down
the anger.  The woman was an absolute bitch on wheels.  She couldn’t
remember ever having met such a hateful person.  She threw her shoulders
back and blinked back the frustrated tears.  There was no way this
dysfunctional woman was going to ruin her experience here.  She just needed
to keep away from her as much as possible.

The difficult
part was not letting Jennifer’s words about Jeremy feed into her
insecurities.  She was sure there was a small amount of truth in what
Jennifer said.  That’s what was causing her to second guess.  But she
knew she couldn’t think about it at the moment.  She needed to make it
through the day and get her head in the game.

She’d have
plenty of time for the rest of the week to process it.

…..

She had gotten a
text from Ayanna at lunch asking if she wanted to do Thai takeout for
dinner.  She texted back yes, and was looking forward to a girl session
with her.

Even though by
the end of the day she was exhausted, it had been one of her most fulfilling
days.  She had spent most of the day with Paul, and getting to know all of
her new students.  They came from all walks of life, and were all
ages.  She knew the studio classes where the students were able to tap
into their creativity were going to be her favorites.  It was wonderful to
know that a job existed where she didn’t even feel like she was working. 
She had loved it.

She got to her
apartment building around 6:30, and bumped into Jonathan as they were both
picking up their mail.

“Howdy,
stranger,” he said.

“Hey you,” she
said with a smile.  “How are things going?”

“Good...  I
have several consulting jobs set up this summer, so I’m trying to enjoy the
days off while I have ’em.”  Pause.  “I just realized we haven’t
talked about what you’re doing ‘til September.  You working on your thesis
and stuff?”

She
sighed.  She might as well tell him.  After her awesome day at the
Institute, she knew for sure she would be handing in her resignation at the
Academy.

“Well,” she
hesitated.  “Funny you should ask.”  She spent the next couple of
minutes filling him in, and at the end of her speech, he had a bittersweet look
on his face.

“That sounds
totally up your alley.  I guess I should be happy I found you this
apartment, then, otherwise we’d never see each other,” he teased.

“I know. 
Now that I live here, you’re stuck with me,” she said with a smile.  She
heard her text go off.  “Excuse me for a sec.”  It was Ayanna.

AS:
 
Where the hell are u?  Ur doorman said u were here, but we’ve been trying
u on the intercom and ur not answering.

She looked up at
Jonathan with an idea forming in her head.  “Hey, will you do me a
favor?  Can you just run to the entrance for me?  I ordered some Thai
takeout and it’s here, but I just want to get my mail real quick.  I put
it on my card, so you don’t have to pay anything…it’ll be under my name.”

“Sure, I’ll be
right back.”

Ryann smiled as
she saw him turn the corner toward the front entrance.  She took her time
getting her mail wondering how the situation was going to play out. 
Ayanna certainly acted the matchmaker to her.  She figured what was good
for the goose was good for the gander, and all that.

She could hear
them before they approached the mail area.  When they came around the
corner, Jonathan gave Ryann a knowing look, and Ayanna had an overly bright
smile on her face.

“Hey,
girlfriend,” she said.  “Ready to eat?”

She looked
between the two of them trying to decipher the body language. 
“Yup.”  She turned toward Jonathan.  “Thanks for helping out with
that,” she smiled.

“No problem,” he
said dryly.  “I’ll ride up with you guys.”  He walked to the elevator
and held back the doors for them.

Ayanna turned to
him and said, “We have plenty of food.  Would you and your girlfriend like
to join us?”

She asked it
with such a sincere tone, that Ryann could tell Jonathan wasn’t sure how to
take it.  Now it was Ryann’s turn to give him a look.  This one said
Time
to come clean.

“Actually, Emily
isn’t my girlfriend.  She’s my cousin.”

“Oh,” Ayanna
said, not letting on that she knew this bit of info already.  “You didn’t
mention that the other night when we bumped into you.”

“It must’ve just
slipped my mind,” he said looking back at her intensely.

“Hmm.  I
guess so.  Well, regardless, if she’s here, you two are more than welcome
to join us if you’d like to.”  Again, she was so sweet and sincere. 
Not a note of the typical Ayanna sarcasm.  Jonathan looked at her
skeptically, a hint of a smile touching his lips.

“Thanks for the
invite, but Emily’s working late tonight.  She just started with Mitchell,
Horton and Rose and is waiting for her apartment to be ready, so she’s staying
with me for a bit,” he added.  “She’s meeting with her realtor later.”

“Great. 
Well, the offer stands if you change your mind and wanna come down for some
food.  I can promise you that the food from this place is fabulous.”

“Ayanna has her
culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, so since she’s the ‘foodie’, she
always picks the restaurants.”

Jonathan looked
up, surprised and obviously impressed.  “Really?  Wow.  When
were you in Paris?”

The elevator
dinged indicating they had reached Ryann’s floor.

“Oops, here we
are.  We’ll have to finish up this conversation another time.  But it
was good to see you again.  Say hi to Emily for us.”  She smiled and
got off the elevator.

Ryann followed
and looked back at Jonathan, who looked a little thrown.  It was kind of
funny, but she didn’t dare laugh.  “See ya later, buddy.”

He came out of
his stupor and waved, “Yup.  Have fun, you two.”

Ryann met Ayanna
at her door, and giggled.  “I have never seen you that sweet in my life.”

Ayanna smiled
and winked at her.  “I’ve been thinking about our discussion the other
night, and I’m trying not to be so… forward, for lack of a better term. 
Maybe I’ll catch a nice guy like Johnny Be Good if I’m not so slutty.”

Ryann opened the
door and groaned.  “You’re not slutty, Yan.”

She waved her
hand, as if telling her not to bother.  She put down the food on the
coffee table and said, “I just mean that I’m trying to take a look at my
approach, and perhaps alter it a bit.”  Then she turned to her and put her
hands on her hips.  “Speaking of slutty, I am dying to hear about last
night.  I want to know everything, so don’t you dare scrimp on any details.”

Ryann fell back
onto the sofa and let out a wistful sigh.  Ayanna flopped down next to
her.  “Was it as good as I think it was?”

Ryann looked her
dead in the eye.  “Better.  Better than anything I’ve
ever
experienced, Yan.  I’m talking off the charts.”

Ayanna blinked,
then her eyes began to sparkle.  “Holy shit.  Did you…?”  She
let the question hang in the air.

Ryann nodded
slowly.

“I’m talking
about
during.
”

Ryann nodded
again.  “Several times.”

“AHHH!” 
Ayanna let out a scream, and tackled her back on the sofa giving her a huge
hug.  “I’m so happy for you!!”

Ryann
giggled.  She couldn’t have this conversation with anyone other than her
best friend.

“I’m sooo glad
you’re doing this, Ryann!” she squealed.  “You’re having a fucking hot
affair with a gorgeous guy...doesn’t it feel awesome?!”

Ryann continued
laughing and shook her head.  “It’s definitely something.”

“Tell me
everything.”  She settled in and grabbed one of the takeout
containers.  “Wait, we need forks and wine.  Hold that thought. 
I feel like I need popcorn or something,” she muttered as she got up to get the
things they needed.

…..

They spent the
next hour talking, and any time Ryann would digress into some negative or
insecure feelings, Ayanna would pull her back out of it.

“Ry, just
because he’s more experienced than you, doesn’t mean he’s gonna end up being a
douchebag.  Just enjoy each other’s company, and see where it goes. 
But so far, it sounds like it’s off to a great start.  I mean, I think he
really
likes you, Ry.  I can’t believe he’s never brought another woman to his
place.  That’s pretty telling, don’t you think?  And I don’t think
he’d lie about that.  It’s too easy to verify since you know the women in
his family.”

Ryann hoped
so.  She never thought of herself as an insecure woman.  In fact,
she’d prided herself on being a confident and independent one.  After
talking to Ayanna, she was beginning to discover that the area she didn’t feel
confident in was her sexuality.  And knowing that Jeremy was such a sexual
and experienced man, her lack of experience in that department made her feel
inferior to him. 

Well, as Ayanna
pointed out, it didn’t
make
her anything.  She was
allowing
her lack of experience to feed into her insecurities, and only she could stop
it.  However, Ayanna also pointed out, that the more she slept with
Jeremy, the more experienced she would become, and therefore the less insecure
she would be.

This was exactly
why she had needed to talk with her.  She was her biggest champion, and
her best counselor.  After Ryann had told her about her first two days at
the Institute and Jennifer, Ayanna simply reinforced what she’d already said,
but in stronger terms.

“That fucking
bitch.  Listen Ry, you’ve dealt with spoiled mean girls for years,
and
their
rich snobby parents.  You can take this girl.  Just remember
that.  Don’t take her shit.  She’s just jealous because you have what
she wants.”

“I know. 
That’s pretty much what I keep telling myself.  I just have to...get out
of my head,” she said, remembering what Jeremy had said to her that morning
about overthinking things.  She had never thought of herself as
repressed.  She assumed her hesitations came from her insecurities about
Jeremy’s sexual experience, but maybe she just needed to let go some more.

Ayanna left
about an hour later, giving Ryann some much needed time to decompress and think
about some of the work she had to do on her thesis, and for the week.  At
around 10, she started settling in to get ready for bed, when she heard her
text go off. She smiled when she saw it was from Jeremy.

JM: 
What
r u wearing?

She smiled even
bigger and decided to play a little.

RT: 
Nothing.

She waited and
the text came back almost immediately.

JM:
 Mmm. 
Thinking of me, my little sex kitten?

RT: 
 Tsk. 
There’s that presumption again.

JM:
 R u
touching yourself?  If u r, call me.  I want to hear u come.

She blushed
furiously, and rolled her eyes.

RT:
  Is
that all you think about?

JM:
 
Umm.  Yeah?

She giggled.

RT: 
Pervert.

JM:
 Only
with u, baby.  Did u have a good day?

She sighed
wistfully.

RT: 
Yes. 
How was ur flight?

JM:
  All
is good.  I’m going to dream of u tonight, and all of the things I’m going
to do to u this wknd.

She was wet just
thinking about it.

RT: 
I’m
looking forward to it, Mr. McCallister.