Redemption (Iris Series)

by Lynn, Rebecca

  “Listen, Robert. I’ve gotta go. We’ve had a good relationship for the last couple of years. Let’s not mess that up, okay?”

  “I have a proposition for you,” he said, his voice low, his eyes taking on a sheen of lust.

  “I’m not interested, thanks.” She turned to leave again and he held her back by the arm.

  “Just hear me out.”

  She looked down at his hand and said in a controlled voice. “You need to remove your hand from my arm. Now.”

  “How would you like to be head chef? Because we can definitely arrange that.” His voice was filled with promise.

  Yeah, and she knew exactly what he wanted in return.

  “Thanks, but no thanks. And I’m not going to say it again, Robert.” She began to raise her voice. “Take your hand off my arm.” When he didn’t, but stepped forward, she jerked her arm out from his grasp and started for the door.

  “Wait!” He gripped her arm harder this time. That was going to leave a mark, she thought. “Let’s talk this through, sweetie.” One hand had her arm in a vice and his other hand reached up to the back of her neck, pulling her roughly toward him.

  She didn’t wait a second longer, and pulled her hand back only to bring it forward again to wack him hard in the nose. Blood spurt everywhere.

  “Ahh, you fucking bitch!” He was momentarily startled and grabbed his nose. Then his face contorted in fury and he grabbed so hard for her tank top, that it not only pulled off her shoulder, but the elastic strap dug brutally into her neck, and the stretched neckline ended up below her bra cups.

  Ayanna was so shocked, she didn’t even think. She just screamed, “Get off me, you fucking asshole!” then kneed him as hard as she could in his balls. She was breathing so heavily, she didn’t even hear the feet running toward the office.

  “Ahh…” he screamed, falling over and writhing in pain on the floor, “I’m gonna fucking kill you!” he spewed.

  She leaned down to his face, trying to catch her breath and calm herself, but it was no use. The adrenaline was pumping.

  “What was that?! You’re gonna fucking kill me, is that what you said?! You’ve got to be the stupidest man this side of the Mississippi.” She stuck her finger in his face and screamed, “You better pray I don’t press charges, you dickwad, because then I would own you and your precious restaurant. Then where would you be, you stupid asshole?!”

  “Ayanna?!”

  She turned abruptly to see Jonathan at the door to the office, as well as Harry the bartender, and Catherine. She was sure she looked crazed, but she couldn’t seem to stop her racing heart.

  Jonathan rushed over to her, running his hands up and down her arms, then holding her face and moving it side to side, apparently looking for injuries. He helped to straighten her tank top, his eyes looking wild as they lasered into hers. When he saw the blood, he growled.

  “Where are you hurt?” he rushed out. “There’s blood—”

  “It’s his. It’s his.” She leaned down putting her hands on her legs and gulped huge breaths.

  “Sit down.” He pulled over the chair in front of the desk and pushed her gently into it, putting her head between her legs. Then he turned to the crumpled man on the floor.

  Without saying a word, he slammed his fist into Robert’s face. Ayanna looked up just as Jonathan said, “We should’ve let her finish beating the shit out of you, asswipe. Fuck,” Jon swore, working through his own adrenaline. He ran his hand through his hair.

  “Yan, are you okay?” Harry asked. “I’ve called the cops. They’re on the way.”

  Catherine was at her side, stroking her neck. “You’ve got a mark here. Did he put his hands around your neck?” she asked incredulously.

  “You called the cops?” Ayanna groaned.

  “Of course!” Harry exclaimed. “This needs to be reported.”

  “The restaurant,” she paused. “Guys, this isn’t gonna be good for you guys.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Did he choke you?” Catherine asked again, inspecting her neck.

  “No, just pulled on my tank top and the elastic scraped there.”

  “God, Yan. I’m so glad we were still here,” Catherine said, as she looked over at the man who was her employer. “Robert, how could you do this?” she asked in a furious whisper.

  Robert was semi-conscious in the corner, still moaning in pain and now immobile since Jonathan had taken his belt off and secured Robert’s hands behind his back.

  Ayanna almost laughed. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Jon—”

  He glared at her. “I do. This asshole just assaulted you. Let him be uncomfortable.”

  He walked back over to her and kneeled down to examine her again, his hands holding her face. She could feel them shaking as if he was trying to maintain control. “I would ask what the fuck just happened, but I think I can put two and two together,” he said in a steady voice, even though he looked like he was about to lose it.

  “Well, you are the mathematician, champ,” she said, her voice shaky. The adrenaline rush now over, she was beginning to crash leaving her feeling woozy.

  “Natalie told me he’s been saying inappropriate things to her for the last couple of months,” Catherine said, referring to one of the waitresses. “She only confided in me a couple of days ago.”

  “I don’t think she’s the only one,” Harry interjected.

  Both Catherine and Ayanna looked at him.

  He shrugged. “I hear the girls talking sometimes. I was actually coming back to check on you,” he said to Ayanna. “I saw you walk back here, and when your friend knocked on the glass and said he was looking for you, I thought it would be good if we both headed back. We started running just about the time you called him a fucking asshole,” he smirked.

  She smiled wearily. “Thanks, Harry.” She turned to Jon who had let go of her face, but was still hovering close, looking at her neck and arms which were red. “And thank you,” she whispered to Jon.

  Catherine had gotten up and gone to the hallway to leave them alone.

  “What are you thanking me for? You were doing just fine without my help. Maybe you should be teaching that self-defense class on Monday.” He still looked like he was about to lose it. She couldn’t describe how good it felt to have him there with her, and when she saw him at the door moments earlier it was like watching her champion charge in on a white horse.

  “Thanks for rushing in just the same.”

  “You didn’t answer either of my texts, and I wasn’t sure if I was in a dead zone. I figured since I found a parking spot in front, I’d knock just to make sure you knew I was here.” He looked up at Harry who was talking to Catherine in the hall outside the door. “I must’ve looked trustworthy because he let me in.”

  Ayanna chuckled and suddenly felt exhausted. “More likely he thought you were hot. Harry’s very gay.”

  Jon blinked then smirked. “Well, I suppose there’s that, too.” Then he rested his forehead on hers. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you didn’t take the subway tonight.”

  She smiled. “Ditto.”

  There was a small commotion near the doorway and Ayanna realized that the cavalry had arrived.

  She sighed. Oh, well. Let the games begin.

  ……

  By the time Ayanna and Jonathan pulled into the apartment complex garage, it was well past 2:30am. It would have been even later had Ayanna not opted out of going to the emergency room.

  Ayanna had slept during the short drive and when they pulled into the spot, Jonathan reached over and touched her face, waking her.

  “Hey. Wake up, babe.”

  There was that endearment again. It made her feel warm inside.

  “Hey,” she said back, groggily.

  “Do you think you can make it inside?” he whispered.

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  He told her to wait until he walked around the car to help her out. He then grabbed her satchel and kept his arm around he
r as they walked to the elevator quietly.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m great. You should see the other guy,” she quipped in a tired voice.

  He chuckled.

  “I can’t wait to go to bed. I’m so fuckin’ tired. I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck,” she mumbled.

  “We’re almost there.”

  They entered the elevator and silently rode it to the 5th floor. When they got to her door, he took her keys and let them into her apartment.

  “I’m okay. I’ve got it from here. I promise.”

  “Shut up and let me just make sure you get to your room, okay?”

  She sighed and they walked into the bedroom.

  If Ayanna wasn’t dead on her feet, she’d probably be focusing on the fact that the man of her dreams was standing next to her bed at the moment.

  “Do you need to use the bathroom, or anything?”

  “Yeah. Then I’m just gonna strip and drop into bed. No need to stay for that, JBG,” she smiled tiredly. “You’ve done enough. Thanks for everything, but I’m good. Now go home and get some sleep.” She sat on the bed and took off her sandals.

  Just then she was overcome with a fit of giggles. “This may be the first time a guy has put me to bed for the purpose of sleeping.” She ended her giggles with a long sigh then looked up at Jon who was looking strangely at her.

  “Alright champ. Time to go. I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

  He cleared his throat. “Actually, you don’t. I texted Ryann, even though I know she won’t see it until the morning, and I gave her a heads up on what happened. I asked her to call Janie to see if she could come over in the afternoon so you can get some more shut eye.”

  Ayanna didn’t know if she should be pissed or not. Before she could decide how she felt about his meddling, he said, “And before you get pissed, I thought it was the right thing to do, so deal with it. You need to sleep and recover a little. And when you talk to Janie, you’re gonna need all of your wits about you, so…that’s that.”

  “You know, I’ve been taking care of myself for a very long time, and as much as you may think I need you to take control of things, I don’t.”

  “Really? You think Janie showing up seven hours from now after a man mauled you tonight would be helpful?” he glared. “I asked that she come over closer to 1ish. You said she didn’t have any catering gigs this weekend, so…I’m sure Ryann or Janie will call and confirm the time.”

  She sighed. “What if she already had plans? What—?”

  “Are we seriously going to argue about this right now? It’s 2:30 in the fahcking morning, Yan.” She could tell he was getting upset because the Boston was coming out in his pronunciation.

  He was right. Why was she arguing? He had done it out of concern for her and she was being bitchy.

  She sighed again. “Sorry. Thank you for thinking of it. It will be nice to sleep. I’m just not used to someone taking control of my shit,” she mumbled.

  “Yeah, well. You need to give up a little of that control once in a while, let someone else take care of things,” he said with intensity.

  She looked up and there was that inscrutable look again. She was very aware of the fact that they were in her bedroom, and what she wanted most was to ask him to stay.

  “Alright. Well, like I said I can take it from here, champ. Unless you plan on watching me strip.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

  He glared then said, “Go use the bathroom. I’ll get your bed ready. Do you want any water, or anything?”

  He was so sweet and at the same time, sounded completely disgruntled. “No,” she said, “I’m good.”

  She walked into the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth and use the toilet, then entered her bedroom again. He was standing next to her bed waiting for her. She raised an eyebrow.

  “I really can take it from here, you know.”

  “Get under the covers.”

  “I,” she stuttered, “listen, I’m good. I got this, okay?” She wasn’t about to strip down in front of him.

  He looked at her, his mouth set in a grim line. “Alright,” he sighed. “Go to bed, little sex goddess. You know how to find me if you need me.” Then, he left her bedroom and closed her door.

  Well. That was abrupt.

  Little sex goddess? Maybe when she wasn’t so tired she’d analyze that a little. But since she was, she stripped down to the skin, climbed between her sheets, and was asleep by the time her head hit the pillow.

  Chapter 8

  “...the kitchen might be your domain, babe, but the bedroom’s mine...” he whispered.

  He had her wrists bound to the headboard of her iron bed with his belt, her arms high above her.

  She struggled slightly, a little panicked. Jonathan’s face hovered over her, but it kept morphing into Robert’s.

  “You little bitch. You’ll see how it feels to be humiliated. Always waving your ass in front of my face. You know you want it.”

  Robert began undoing his pants while standing next to the bed, sneering down at her with lust and contempt.

  Ayanna growled, “Don’t you fucking touch me!”

  “Oh, I’m gonna do more than that. I’m gonna claim that sweet cunt of yours and make it sing.” He reached forward and began gouging his large fingers into her.

  “Get off me!” she screamed. “Motherfucker! Don’t touch me!” She kicked her feet out, trying to knock him over.

  “Whatsamatter, little lady?” he tsked. “No one here to save you this time?”

  She grunted and swore, as she kicked and turned with all of her might.

  “Shh, baby. It’s okay,” he crooned. Robert’s mouth was moving, but it was Jonathan’s voice coming out of him.

  “Ayanna, wake up baby. It’s just a dream. Wake up.”

  She awoke with a jolt to find Jonathan leaning over her, sitting next to her on her bed and stroking her face. She was completely strangled by her sheets, having wrapped herself in them during her struggle to get out of the nightmare.

  She was so confused. “Jonathan?” she asked, trying to catch her breath. “What...are you...?” she stammered. “Am I dreaming right now?”

  “No. I didn’t leave. I was sleeping on the sofa.” He continued to calm her with his hand on her face. “Are you okay? Do you need some water or anything?”

  “Why are you here?” She was still confused. She grabbed at her sheet to make sure she was covered, just as he turned on the bedside light. He wasn’t wearing his glasses. His eyes looked tired, but they were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  “I wanted to make sure you slept okay. Now, I’m glad I stayed.” He looked at the sheet covering her breasts, her shoulders still bare. Then he swallowed. “Do you want some water?” he asked again, finally moving his eyes to hers.

  She lay there, stunned. He was there. He hadn’t left. And he was shirtless, wearing only his shorts that he had on the evening before...and if he continued touching her face like that, she wouldn’t want to go back to sleep. Rather, she’d want to be doing something else entirely.

  And it was only Day 28.

  “Umm, yeah. Can you—? I just need to get a robe, or something.”

  “I’ll get the water,” he said as he got up.

  “I can get it, if you just—”

  “I’m getting the water, Ayanna. Now would you shut up, please? Stay there. I’ll be right back.”

  As soon as he walked out, she noted the tattoo on his back. A phoenix rising from the ashes done in black ink. It was gorgeous and sexy, and rested perfectly between his shoulder blades.

  JBG just kept surprising her.

  She ran to her dresser to get a nightie and threw it on quickly. By the time he came back with a glass of water, she was back in bed a little more covered.

  He hesitated at the door, noting the change in her appearance. He swallowed again, then walked forward with the water and handed it to her. “Here.” He sat on the bed and looked at her chest briefly, t
hen evaded her eyes.

  She realized as she drank the water that she probably didn’t look any more covered. She never wore anything to bed, so her nightie collection was basically chosen for allure. Her nipples stood erect against the lace of the top. She hadn’t meant to make this worse, but as he sat there quietly, she began to wonder if she had.

  She cleared her throat and put the glass down on the nightstand. “Obviously, I didn’t know you were here. As you can see, I usually sleep au naturale and I wasn’t expecting you to come crashing into my bedroom at,” she looked at the clock, “4:30 in the morning. I thought it might help if I put something on,” she muttered.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard you yelling.”

  “It was just a nightmare. No biggie. I still can’t believe you stayed,” she said looking at him. “That was completely unnecessary, but...nice.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “The dream?”

  He nodded.

  “No.” Especially not the part where you bind me to the bed with your belt, she thought. Her nipples began to tingle. “It was just some residual stress from the night.”

  “You need to get more rest. Lay down. I’ll sit here until you’re asleep, then I’ll head back to the sofa.”

  She knew then that Day 28 was going to be another momentous day. Because Day 28 was now going to be known as the day she fell head over heels in love with Jonathan White.

  “You really don’t need to stay,” she said in a small voice.

  “I want to, Yan. Now, shut up and go to sleep.”

  She smiled at his disgruntled remark and snuggled back down into the sheets. He turned off the light and she moved around trying to get comfortable while he sat on the bed next to her.

  She looked over her shoulder at him in the predawn light. “Do you want to lie down? I promise I won’t touch you. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable the sofa is. Do you even fit on it?”

  “I’ll make do,” he said, the struggle in his voice evident.

  “Seriously, champ. You’re safe, I promise. I’ll stay on my side, you stay on yours. I won’t mess things up. I’m determined to make it to Day 41.”