Release (36 page)

Both Sunday and Monday passed in a blissful blur.

On
Sunday, Ryann awoke completely entwined in Jeremy’s arms, as if he was afraid
she’d somehow disappear in the middle of the night.  She had taken the
time to look at him, lying there asleep. 

She
was so in love with him.  With that love, came some fear…the fear of
losing him.  But she knew she couldn’t let her fear run her life
anymore.  She had shown great strides when she moved to the City, and
changed jobs.  Now she needed to show her courage in relationships as
well.

He
awoke shortly after, cuddling her, whispering in her ear, “I love you.” 
She
felt
his love...she felt cherished…and in many ways, whole again.

They
had a leisurely late breakfast, and spent the day being lazy, watching
movies…he loved epic movies and she was a big John Hughes fan.  They
snacked on chips and guacamole.

She’d
finally gotten around to talking to him about stepping down from the VC
position at the Institute.

“Why
on earth would you do that?”

He
grabbed her hand while they sat on the sofa.  “When Jack Willis called me
to tell me about Jennifer and your complaint against her, I just got to
thinking.”  He looked at her.  “I don’t want there to ever be
anything getting in our way.  And I definitely don’t want you to be talked
about, or have people wondering about your ability or job.  It just hit me
that I want to make sure that people can see you stand apart from me, and you
can be accepted on your own merits.  I wanted that for you.  Besides,
Luke will be the alternate for now, until they can find a new Vice Chairperson.”

“I
don’t know what to say,” she stammered.  “I mean, this is your family’s
Institute, Jeremy.  You should be there in that position.”

He
was shaking his head before she finished her statement.  “No, baby. 
There is nothing in this world that is more important to me than you.  And
it’s in your best interest for me to step down.  It’s not the end of the
world for me, and I’ll always be connected in some way, shape, or form. 
Maybe I’ll reconsider once your position is secured there, but I would do it
over again in a heartbeat, to make sure your reputation is spotless.”

She
kissed him silly after that, and they’d had a nice make-out session on the
sofa. 

For
dinner, they’d made comfort food...some angel hair pasta with meatballs.

Afterwards,
they’d watched another movie, snuggling on the bed.  When the credits were
rolling, she was wanting him, and she told him so.  He chuckled,
commenting that he loved it when she said things like that.  She made a
note of it.

He
wanted to make love slowly that night.  He seemed to want to take great
care in not being rough. 

“I’m
not made of glass, Jeremy.”

“I
know you’re not...but if I take you slowly, I can watch you lose
control...little by little.” His tongue touched his top lip.  “And make
you beg for it.”  He nipped at her lower lip, while he nestled himself
between her legs.  “I like hearing you beg for it,” he murmured as he
licked his way into her mouth.

He
dipped his thick manhood into her counterpoint lazily, then retreated,
repeating the same movement a few times.  She reached her hands down and
pushed him in deeper, pressing her hands on his ass. 

“Put
your hands above your head,” he breathed in between kisses, until she blew out
a sound of frustration.

“Jeremy...”
she said, exasperated.

“Hmm?” 
He tickled the sides of her breasts with his fingers, lightly drawing circles
with his fingernails.

“I
need to touch you,” she said, with a discontented moan.

“Trust
me, baby.  I’ll let you touch me all you want once I’ve
had
you...now, arms above your head.”

He
groaned and arched into her, as her nails deliberately climbed his body,
lightly scraping along his ass, scratching his back, sifting through his hair
on his scalp, then finally settled on the bed above her head...her eyes took on
a satisfied look. 

“Keep
it up, baby,” he tsked.  “I’m gonna fuck you so slow, you’re gonna be
crazy
for it.”

“I
already am,” she said, wiggling underneath him.

His
hands teased over to her nipples, and his thumbs pressed lightly onto them,
rotating them in circles, causing her to writhe even more.  He obliged her
with another agonizingly slow and measured thrust.  Then another. 
Then another.  All while he administered his thumb’s attentions to the
hard aching points of her breasts.

She
let out a garbled sound.

“What’s
the matter, baby?” he said while biting below her ear.

She
undulated her hips up to meet him, clenching her muscles around him.

“Temptress,”
he hissed.

Her
inner walls clenched around him again.  He stilled his movements.

Both
of their breathing was labored at this point, both fighting for control.

“What
do you need, baby?” his voice rumbled in her ear.

There
was no way she was going to tell him, so ready to win this game that he’d
started.  “Not a thing...” she breathed, raising an eyebrow, licking her
lips.

He
chuckled, and thrust leisurely, but more forcefully into her this time. 
“You don’t need me to go faster?”  He retreated, then did the same move,
adding in a tease of his pelvic bone against her clit, and pinching both her
nipples.

He
was driving her crazy, but she refused to give in.

She
bit at her lip to stay focused, and met his measured and lazy thrusts, “Uh,
uh,” she finally responded.  “I definitely don’t want you to go
faster.  I want you to fuck me slowly, Jeremy,” she teased, lifting her
knees back even farther so that they practically rested on her shoulders.

A
sheen of sweat could be seen on his brow as he fought for control.  “Don’t
try to use reverse psychology on me, Ryann...It’s not going to work,” he
struggled the words out.

That’s
what he said, but she could feel his thrusts becoming more aggressive as his
control began to slip.  She tried not to smile.

She
arched into his fingers rolling her nipples.  “Not so fast, Jeremy,” she
moaned. “Fuck me...slower,” she murmured, leaning up and capturing his lower
lip, biting and sucking at it.

He
was straining at this point, trying to keep his movements as steady as possible,
but she knew she almost had him.

She
reached up to his ear.  “I love the way you fuck me...when you’re inside
of me...inside my...pussy,” she whispered, then sank her teeth into the flesh
of his earlobe.

And
he lost it.

Letting
out an uncontrollable yell, he grabbed her face, and thrust so deep into her
that she screamed.  Then like an animal, began pounding into her
swallowing every scream that ripped from her throat.

“Fuck,
Ryann
,” he growled, all of his muscles taut, reaching his breaking
point, slamming her into the mattress.

Her
screams reached epic levels, and she thrilled to know that he had finally
broken. 
She
had done this to him.

“
God
,
Jeremy!  Yessss!”  Incoherent sounds escaped her as his control
snapped and he drove into her with such force, the bed hit into the wall. 
He bucked into her, nearing his completion as he bore down into her, over and
over.  He dropped his head to her neck, and sucked, then reared back with
a roar and exploded into her, holding her down, pressing her to the bed and
grinding.

It
was the grind that did her in, and she followed right behind him.

…..

They
lay there, slick from sex and sweat, exhausted. 

“You’re
gonna get it for that, you know,” he mumbled into her hair.

She
scratched his back, and smiled.  “I think I
got it
just fine...in
fact, I think it was better than fine.”  She tightened her inner muscles
and squeezed him.

He
groaned.  “I’ve created a monster…”

She
giggled. “Yes, you have.” She nibbled on his neck, gripping at his hair.

He
stayed where he was and moaned, letting her touch him and have her fill. 
They slept like the dead that night.

On
Monday, they decided to do a little work.  She worked on her thesis, then
did some work for the Institute, and he puttered in the woodshop in the
morning, and made phone calls in the afternoon.

By
the evening, they had missed each other so much, they couldn’t wait to see each
other again.

Ryann
had received a call from Paul saying the Institute would reopen the next
day.  The crime scene had been cleaned up, and to his knowledge, they were
still no closer to finding who had stolen the painting.

Jeremy
also got a call, one from the family attorney, and one from his cousin,
Michael.

By
the time he had hung up, she was dying to know what was going on.

“Well,”
he sighed as he sat across from the dinner table, and took a sip of his wine,
“they have no suspects...but apparently from what Mike could glean from the
FBI’s Art Crime Team, they’ve determined that the theft took place during the
event.”

“What?” 
Ryann was stunned.

“The
guard that was tased said it happened during the time of the auction. 
Which may explain why they couldn’t find anything on the cameras.  The
guard posted in the lobby said that Jennifer talked to him for a long time, and
they’re wondering if maybe it happened during that time frame.  They’re
looking at the guest list, and want to interview Jennifer since they know she
left on bad terms, but...wait for it... she hasn’t been able to be
reached.  So....that’s interesting,” he said, deep in thought.

“Well,
she was with Armand.  If she had something to do with it, then...”

“They’ve
cleared Armand.  Jennifer’s certainly vindictive enough to do it...whether
she has the smarts to pull it off is another story.”

Ryann
thought for a moment.  “She knew your family would be hurt by it.”

“She
had to have known we’d have insurance for that kind of thing.  I mean,
yeah the publicity isn’t great, but we’re covered.  We display famous art
every year for the fundraiser gala.”

“There
was nothing on any of the security cameras?”

Jeremy
shook his head, “Nope.  No one coming in or out after the showing was
over.  I assume they’ll start looking at the kitchen staff, or anyone
carrying a bag to hold the canvas.”

“If
she did have something to do with it, could you imagine what this would do to
her father, and his standing in the art world?”

“Yeah,
I know.”

They
ate their meal in silence, both pondering the ramifications.

“So
neither she nor Armand said anything about me to the FBI?  Only to the
police?”

“Well,
Jennifer hasn’t been found since she mentioned you to Michael, and maybe Armand
has changed his mind about his suspicions.  I mean I know he was
questioned by the FBI, but none of them have been trying to find you, so he
must not have mentioned you.”

Jeremy
toyed with his stir fry, then looked up at her again.  “I still don’t want
you anywhere near him.”

She
reached out and took his hand.  “I promised.  Trust me, anyone who
would wholeheartedly pursue me only hours before spending the night with
Jennifer Edwards,
then
say what he did about me to the police, is not
anyone I would be interested in being near.”

“Were
you upset to find out that he was with Jennifer?” he asked casually.

She
smiled at his jealousy, and teased, “I mean
really. 
What does she
have that I don’t have?”

He
continued to glare at her.  “Are you trying to piss me off?”

She
smiled fully at him.  “What would you do if I was?”

He
licked his lips, and looked at her as if she would be the rest of his
dinner.  “You’ll see.”

That
night after dinner, he didn’t even attempt to be gentle with their lovemaking.

He
made her sweat again, claiming her in a position she wasn’t quite ready
for...he sat up on the bed, while she was wrapped around him, her ankles
secured at his back.

She
had to use a lot of leg muscle, and she was panting from the excursion.

“I
need to pick up some more yoga, I think,” she said, resting her forehead on his
chin, “because you definitely give me a workout, Mr. McCallister.”

He
held her bottom securely to him, and her back so she was close to him, and
murmured in her ear, “That might be a good idea, because I plan on giving you a
workout as much as possible.”

She
groaned when he thrust up into her again.

“You
ready to go for a ride, baby?” he asked in a sexy purr.  This time he
thrust a little harder, and she hung on…she wrapped her arms around his neck,
moaning and saying indistinguishable words in his ear, as he brought her closer
and closer.

As
he moved more forcefully, he rolled her to her back, and held her hips up off
the bed to meet his thrusts, so he could drive into her, harder and faster.

She
yelled out.  She loved it when he took her this way...when he didn’t hold
back, and lost all control.

And
he did…but not before he made her lose control first.

…..

Several
minutes later, as they lay in bed regaining their strength, they both realized
their mini vacation was almost over.  They would both be back at work the
next day.

He
held her hand, and brought it to his lips.  “I want to give you
something.”

She
picked her head up off his chest and looked at him.  “You do?” she asked
in a breathy tone.  “You’ve given me so much already.”  Pause. 
“When do I get it?”

He
laughed.  “You’re an impatient little thing.”

She
smiled, and ran her finger over his bottom lip.  “Yes, I am.  That
would be good for you to remember.”