Read Redemption (Iris Series) for Free Online

to give her the ‘come on’ look.
    She let out a bark of laughter and continued.  “You don’t think I could be a nun?”
    “Well, except for the poverty, chastity, and obedience thing, you might do just fine.”
    Her eyes were twinkling.  “I could probably handle the poverty thing, having lived hand to mouth my entire adult life, but the obedience thing would be a deal breaker.  And the chastity thing.”  She muttered, “Yeah, this chastity thing is definitely not easy.”
    “Explain what the hell you’re talking about, please.”  He was pinching the bridge of his nose.
    She took a deep breath and began her explanation matter of factly.  “Ryann and I have been best friends since we were 10.  She knows me better than anyone in the world.  So, lately we’ve had a few talks and I’ve been reflecting a bit.  And ,” she took a deep breath, “I’ve decided to take a break from sexual activities, shall we say, so that I can focus on myself for a while, figure out who I am, and what I want out of a meaningful relationship.  The ‘no sex’ thing will help me do that.”  
    She couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking.  His only response was to reach for his wine and drain the glass. 
    She chuckled.  This was going to be fun.  “So, you see?  You really are safe from my sluttiness.”
    He scratched his head.  “What brought this decision on?”
    She decided to go with honesty.  “You, actually.”
    “Well, you really know how to stroke a guy’s ego, Yan.”
    She did a slight double take.  That was the first time he’d called her by the nickname.  Warmth spread through her and she smiled wickedly, enjoying their banter.
    “I haven’t given up sex because you turned me off of it.  I’ve given up sex because your reaction to me, or lack thereof, caused me to pause and think through my approach.  And how I come across to men.”
    “Explain.”
    “You’re not anything like the men I usually go after.”
    “What does that have to do with anything?”
    “The first night we met, I made my interest known.  I usually don’t hit on guys like you.”
    “So why did you?”
    She hesitated then said, “You were different.”
    “In what way?”
    “You’re a good guy.”
    “Do you usually date criminals?” he asked dryly.
    “Some of ’em probably were,” she muttered.  “As much as I hate to admit it, most of them were chosen to piss off my parents.  Men who are easily controlled, who don’t have a lot of goals, and are around only for a good time.  Just short blips on the radar.”
    “I would think any daughter who brought home guys like that would piss off her parents.”
    She nodded.  “Well it did.  And before that I found other ways to...make them aware of me.  I started young,” her eyes losing their spark as she recalled the many years she’d wasted trying to get her parents’ attention.
    She could tell the conversation was headed in a direction that neither of them might be ready for.  Then he surprised her when he said seriously, “Do you want to talk?  I’m happy to listen, if you want to.”
    She blinked and looked at him, a little stunned.  This is how she knew he was a good guy. 
    “You might be the first man in my life who has asked me if I want to talk . And isn’t that a telling statement,” she muttered.  “Hence, the reason for this little experiment.”  She twirled her finger around the rim of her wine glass.  “I’m not going to bore you with all of the details, but suffice it to say my parents let me know early on that they had certain expectations of me, and I wasn’t living up to who they wanted me to be. Mainly, I wasn’t focusing my energies in the career direction they felt was acceptable.  What I wanted and what my passions were didn’t matter.  So as a result, I kinda spent my childhood doing whatever I could to piss them off, and then as I got older I pissed them off in other ways.”  She was remembering right before