Release (42 page)

Ryann
swallowed down the lump in her throat. 

He
hesitated again, then began.  “I told her about how you had me completely
in knots.  I knew I was in love with you then, and I knew that you were it
for me.  But I was trying to reconcile all of these new feelings with the
old decisions I’d made for my life when I was younger.”

“What
did your mom say?”

“She
told me that she knew you were the one...at the showing.  That it was time
to man up, and live life fully...as my dad would want me to.”  He looked
at her, and stroked her face.  “I want to start living fully now.  I
don’t want to wait.”

Ryann
smiled a teary smile, and said, “I love you.  Life is so very short, and
the thought of us bouncing back and forth between places… I don’t know. 
Just being able to sleep with you every night in our own place together…sounds
absolutely wonderful.  Let’s start living fully now, Jeremy.  I don’t
want to wait, either.”

He
kissed her passionately, then in an excited tone, he said, “I can’t wait for
you to put your stamp on things.  And I was totally serious about the
third floor.  You can have an art studio, and do whatever you want up
there with the space.”

She
snuggled closer with him.  “Actually, this may work out perfectly… I told
you Ayanna needed a place by the end of the month.  I could rent her the
apartment.  It’ll be perfect for her.”

“Good. 
She’s been going crazy worrying about you.  Everyone has.  I’m sure
your mom has called her by now.”

“What
time is it?”

“About
four in the morning.”

She
yawned, then looked up at him.  “Will you sleep with me?

“Baby,
wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”

She
snuggled into him, and fell fast asleep.

Three weeks later

Ryann
closed the door to the last of the friends who had spent the past couple of
hours hanging out in the living room of the brownstone.  They had all come
over to see her for an impromptu house warming party, but also to see how she
was doing.   

Jonathan
and Ayanna hadn’t talked much, from what she’d observed, but they definitely
looked at each other a lot.  Now that Ayanna was going to be living two
floors down from him, she wondered how their relationship would play out.

Emily
steered clear of Michael, but he still charmed the socks off of all the other
women in the room.  Emily had finally moved into her apartment on the
Upper West Side, and Tiffany decided she was going to be moving back to New
York.  She was staying with Janie, rather than Luke, while she looked for
a place.

One
of the best surprises was the visit from her doctor, Dr. Drew Huntington, who
had been invited by Jeremy. She’d had her final appointment with him a couple
of days before, where she had been given a clean bill of health.  It was
then when Jeremy had asked him to join them for their little gathering. They
were both so grateful to him for the part he played in helping her, that they
wanted to introduce him to all of the people who were important to them. 
Tiffany was babbling like crazy, so Ryann could only assume the man made her
nervous, which put a smile on her face.

Both
Ryann’s and Jeremy’s parents came for a bit, which was perfect timing since
Ryann had finally had an offer on her car from when she’d put it on craigslist
before moving to the City. Tony was delivering it to the buyer for her.

She
had moved in with Jeremy the day after their discussion in the hospital, but
all of her things hadn’t officially been moved over until the day before.
Jeremy had hired a moving company to pack up her things and haul everything
over, and Ayanna was due to move her own stuff into the apartment that next
week.

The
past three weeks had been busy for Ryann.  She’d finally had her closing
on her house in Cranford, she’d been talked to by the FBI, and in the days that
followed, Michael had filled her in on the rest of the details.  It had
been all over the news.  Armand had survived and was facing charges, the
Institute had been closed for a few days after the shooting to clean up the
crime scene.  Ryann had slowly been making her way back to work the week
before, much to Jeremy’s annoyance.  And probably the best news of all, was the
offer that the Institute made her for a permanent position at the end of the
summer because of the incredible job she’d been doing.  Ryann, who was
afraid the offer came as a result of the shooting, had at first declined their
offer, saying they should wait until the end of the summer as planned, but the
board, and Paul, had insisted that they were ready to make the decision. 
She had accepted happily, and handed in her resignation to the Academy the
following day.

She
was finally feeling back to herself.  Aside from the occasional itchiness
in her side, she felt good.  Which was why she had gone out to buy some
new lingerie.  She and Ayanna went and bought some a few days earlier...
and that wasn’t the only stop they’d made, and come hell or high water, Ryann
was determined to get
some
kind of reaction out of Jeremy.

She
was praying that the sexy outfit, as well as what was under it, would spark
their love life again.  Although he had been incredibly sweet and
attentive since the shooting, their sex life had been nearly
non-existent.  A few days earlier, she had asked him about it, and with a
guilty look on his face, he apologized profusely, then touched her gently,
taking his time and bringing her to orgasm…but it wasn’t the same.

She
was missing him.  All of him.  He hadn’t once let her touch him
intimately since the shooting.  He was forever telling her that he didn’t
want to hurt her that she needed to heal, that he didn’t want to be too rough.

Well,
she was done.  And she was planning on pulling out all of the stops. 
She was finally alone with the man she loved, and she was ready for the
seduction to begin.  And if she needed to play dirty, then the dirtier the
better.  Didn’t he teach her that once?

“That
was nice,” she said, as she walked over to hug him.  On her way, she
passed her painting which was sitting on the easel he had made her.  They
had displayed it on one of the foyer tables he had made.  She had given it
to him a few days after the shooting, and they had both shared a beautiful
moment together when she recounted the history of her first painting and the
new significance of this second one.  The moment became even more touching
when he read her message to him on the back of the painting.  He insisted
that it be proudly displayed for all to see as they walked into their home.

“They
all love you,” he said now, holding her.  “They just wanted to make sure
you were doing okay,” he said quietly in her hair, his arms loosely around her.

“I
am
doing okay.  In fact, I’m doing
better
than okay,” she
said, as she ran her finger down his arm.  When she reached his hand, she
lifted it to her lips, then looked him in the eye, while taking his finger and
resting it on her lower lip.

She
grabbed it between her teeth, then sucked it into her mouth. She watched his
reaction as his green eyes flared, darkening with lust.  He hissed
slightly watching her lips. 

Releasing
his finger, and cuddling his palm to her face, she whispered with conviction,
“I’m warning you, Jeremy.   I’m not taking no for an answer. 
You taught me that.”

He
began breathing heavily, “Baby, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s
a shame that’s what you’re afraid of, because that’s the
last
thing I’m
afraid of.”  Pause.  “Do you know what I’m afraid of?”

“What? 
I don’t want you to be afraid…”

“I’m
afraid that you’re never going to want me the same way again.”

“No,
baby!
 No.
  I just…I want to make sure you’re healed.  I
know I can be rough, and…”

“You
are
rough, and that’s the way I want you.  That’s how you were when
I fell in love with you, and I don’t want that to change.  I want
you
,
just as you are.  I trust you completely not to hurt me….so….like I
said.  I’m not taking no for an answer.”

She
stepped away, and slowly peeled off her top to reveal her demi cup bra in
midnight blue.  She hoped that her breasts spilling out of it would
distract him from the mark left on the front and back of her side from the
bullet.  And if Jeremy’s expression was a good indicator, she had succeeded.

“God,
Ryann,” he swallowed, and closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again,
zeroing in on her chest.

When
his eyes reached hers, she chalked up one point for Ryann.

She
tilted her head, and let her finger rest on the top of her breast.  “How
are you feeling, Jeremy?” she purred.

He
whimpered with a chuckle.  “You’re killing me here.”

“I’m
just getting started, big boy.  You better get ready, because there’s a
chance that I might be too rough with
you
.”

She
reached her hand down and rested it on the top of her skirt....then she turned
around and shimmied her ass out of it, letting it fall to the floor, and then
stepped out…allowing him to get a good look at her posterior, in her panties
and heels.

She
looked over her shoulder, and he was no longer smiling.  She knew she
looked good in the matching lace thong with the small teasing bow just at the
small of her back.  He would discover that when it was untied, the thong would
fall off of her.  He would also discover that she did something else…she
had gotten waxed.

She
wiggled her butt while looking over her shoulder.  “I seem to recall a
promise at the fourth of July barbeque that I was going to have a surprise
waiting for me that evening…like being tied up or something.”

He
groaned, “Stop, Ryann.”

She
turned to face him.  “Nope.  Not gonna stop.”  She ran her hands
over the globes of her breasts where they met up in the middle at the clasp,
then unhooked it, keeping herself covered for only a moment.  She unveiled
one breast, then the other… and let the bra drop to the floor.

Now
she stood in the foyer, with nothing on but her thong and heels, waiting for
him to make his move.  Just thinking of herself doing this two months
earlier was laughable, but he had freed her, taught her to be confident in her
sexuality, and she was going to use it to her advantage.

He
glared at her, and she finally saw the look she had been waiting for.  The
look that said he was going to lose control…and he wasn’t going to be gentle.

Score
the second point for Ryann.

He
took a step forward, looking at her breasts, then her lips, then her eyes.
 His own glittered with intent, and the intent said he was about to
conquer his prey.

“I’m
only going to ask this once, Ryann...  Are you sure you’re ready?”

She
nodded, and smiled coyly.

“I
need to hear you say it.”

“Yes.”

He
raised an eyebrow, and his mouth kicked up into a lazy grin, “Yes, sir.”

She
raised her eyebrows as well, remembering that particular fantasy he had
mentioned.  “Yes, sir,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

He
walked the rest of the distance to her, and carefully picked her up, wrapping
her legs around his waist.  With his hands supporting her under her ass,
she linked her arms around his neck, and nibbled on his lips.

“Sir?”
she whispered in between kisses.

He
chuckled, “Yes?”

He
didn’t allow her to talk while he plundered her mouth and began walking them
through the living room and kitchen, up to the bedroom.

When
they arrived to the bedroom, he kicked the door closed behind him, and nuzzled
her neck.  “You were saying?”

She
couldn’t think.  At all.  She was completely consumed by her arousal
that she couldn’t even remember what she was going to ask him down in the
foyer.  Her eyes were glazed over, and she whimpered when he bit down on
her earlobe.

Yes…
Yes… this is what she had been waiting for.

“Please,
Jeremy… Please, don’t make me wait.”

“Tell
me, baby.  Tell me what you need.”

“I
need you…to…I need…” she babbled incoherently while he sucked and bit and
licked his way down her neck.

“Say
it, Ryann.  If we’re going to do this the way I want, you’re going to need
to tell me.  I want you to be absolutely sure,” he said as he nipped at
her bottom lip, capturing it between his teeth.

“I
need you to fuck me,” she whispered.

He
moaned in her mouth, and as if a dam broke, began to kiss her aggressively, his
tongue eating at her lips.  He walked them over to the foot of the bed, and
laid her back down, grinding his jean clad pelvis into her.

“Say
it again,” he demanded.

“Fuck
me, please…sir,” she added with a smile.

He
chuckled.  “God, I love you, and you are seriously about to get fucked,
woman…but you’re going to tell me if I’m hurting…”

She
raised her head and kissed him to shut him up.  She felt alive, really
alive, since the shooting, and she didn’t want to think about it anymore…she
just wanted to feel.

“Jeremy,
fuck me…
now.
”

He
growled, and stood up between her legs, and tore off his jeans and shirt, then
leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth, pulling on it, sucking it, while
his other hand rolled the other between his fingers.

He
switched his mouth to the other breast and said, “I saw a bow on the back of
these things,” he murmured while he stroked her pussy through the
panties.  “I want to see it again.”  He tweaked her nipple, then
leaned up and turned her onto her stomach.

“Mmm,
you have a sweet ass, baby,” he said, and she could feel his breath blow across
her back.

He
untied the bow, and the thong fell open…then he pulled them off of her. 
“The best gift ever,” he said softly.  “Oh, yeah…” he whispered, rubbing
his hand down her cheeks.  “How do you want to be fucked, baby?”

She
squirmed.

He
turned her again so she was on her back, and when his eyes latched onto her
waxed skin, he got on his knees and buried his face into her.  His mouth
nibbled and sucked on the lips of her sex, and he said, “You’ve been planning
this attack, I see.”

“Ahh!”
she cried, as he skated over her clit with his teeth.

He
persisted in bringing her to the brink several times, by biting lightly on her
labia, then tonguing her opening.  He was deep kissing her everywhere, and
each time he would come close to the swollen nub that was screaming for his
mouth, his lips, he would evade her.  At one point, he flattened his
tongue and let it swipe her clit just once, lightly to let her know he knew
exactly what he was doing...torturing her, until she couldn’t take anymore. She
was lifting her hips to meet his mouth, but he still kept control, licking and
nibbling all around, eating her.

Finally,
she gripped her hands in his hair, and pulled him up her body.

“
Now
,
Jeremy!”

He
smiled his dazzling smile.  “Yes, ma’am.”  Then he lifted her legs
back resting them on her shoulders, and thrust into her.

He
closed his eyes, and groaned through gritted teeth.  “I’ve been wanting to
do this for three weeks.”  He pulled out and slammed in again.  “I’ve
missed you.” He surged in and out several times, then leaned down to kiss
her.  While his mouth was on hers, he moaned, “God, I’ve missed you,
baby.  I’m finally home…”

She
held on and moved her hips up to encourage him to keep moving.  “I love
you, Jeremy…I won’t leave you, but you can’t leave me either….not like you did
these last three weeks,” she gasped.