“Shh,” cautioned Lori, as the guys clattered noisily into the sun room. “The kids are asleep.”
Scooping his sleeping daughter into his arms, Grey apologised, “I hope she didn’t hurt you lying on you like that, Lori.”
“She’s fine,” assured Lori then, winking at him, added, “Wrong leg.”
“Right, I’m off,” he said quietly. “I’ll catch up over the weekend or early next week.”
With the bass player and his daughter gone, Gary debated over wakening Scott.
“Just leave him,” whispered Jake, passing him a blanket to cover the sleeping photographer. “He’ll be fine there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Let him sleep,” replied Lori as she switched off the DVD. “We’ll drop him off tomorrow or he can stay on here.”
“If you’re sure.”
“We’re sure,” added Jake. “Better leave his luggage though.”
Nodding, Gary headed back through the house towards the front door. Carefully Lori pulled the French doors to the sun room over and turned off the lights. She left a small table lamp lit, just in case their unscheduled guest wakened during the night. While Jake went out to get the bags from Gary, she fetched them a glass of wine. There was an open bottle of Pinot Grigio in the refrigerator with enough left in it for two glasses. Lori had just set the glasses down on the coffee table in the lounge when Jake came back in. Having deposited Scott’s bags outside the sunroom, he wandered through to join her on the couch.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he sighed, putting his arm around her and hugging her tight. “It’s good to be home.”
“It’s nice to have you back for a while,” she purred, snuggling in closer to him. “You are home to stay for a while, aren’t you?”
“Yup,” replied Jake. “No shows until July. Just writing, writing, rehearsal and recording until then. At least that’s the current plan.”
“No overseas trips?”
“Not until the end of the year. We may go to Canada in August for a few days, but nothing’s confirmed.”
“Best news I’ve heard for a while,” sighed Lori with a contented smile.
Still cuddled up together on the couch, sipping their wine, Jake asked Lori about her own work commitments for the coming months. While she had been confined to the house in the early part of the year, she had completed all the projects she had committed to. For the last couple of weeks, she had turned her focus to a new set of jewellery designs for her LH range. The first two limited edition collections had sold out, largely due to the clever marketing strategy adopted by Lin, her designer friend from college.
“So what’s next?” asked Jake curiously.
“I’ve to talk to Jason next week,” she replied, finishing the last mouthful of her wine. “He mentioned that he had two, maybe three, commissions that he wanted to discuss. He’s also approached me about keeping my calendar free to do the artwork for the next Silver Lake album.”
“Do you think you can schedule a couple of weeks for a vacation?” Jake asked hopefully. “It would be good to go somewhere hot and sunny to just chill.”
“Vacation? Not honeymoon?” she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
“That’s up to you, li’l lady. Have you given much thought to our wedding?”
Looking sheepish, Lori whispered, “Not much.”
“No rush,” assured Jake, kissing her gently. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for bed. It’s been a long day.”
Before Lori could reply, Jake scooped her up into his arms and carried her down the hall to their bedroom. Gently he laid her down in the centre of the large, soft, white bed. Straddling her swiftly, he bent to kiss her, his hair falling around her face. Playfully he bit her lower lip, then kissed her hard, almost forcefully. Still exploring her mouth teasingly with his tongue, Jake balanced himself on his knees and one hand while he unfastened her jeans. He slid his warm hand down inside her lace panties, tenderly exploring her feminine moistness with his long slender fingers. Under his caress, Lori moaned softly, arching her back to meet his touch.
“Hungry are we?” whispered Jake.
Slowly he withdrew his hand, then roughly pulled her jeans and underwear off, tossing them onto the floor. Lifting her like a doll, Jake slipped her T-shirt over her head, then expertly removed her white lacy bra. The sight of her naked before him was almost too much for him as his erection strained against the confines of his own jeans.
“Two can play at this game,” taunted Lori, reaching up to unfasten his shirt buttons.
With her fiancé’s shirt discarded on the bed, she reached to unbuckle his belt. Her fingers fumbled slightly and Jake brushed her aside, unfastening the buckle himself before sliding his jeans and boxers off in one well-practiced manoeuvre.
“Not the only one who’s hungry,” purred Lori as she ran her finger lightly down the length of his erect manhood.
“Ravenous,” he declared as he entered her with one firm thrust.
With a low, throaty growl, Lori succumbed to the urgency, feeling her own orgasm build as Jake moved rhythmically inside her. Each stroke teased her to a higher level of ecstasy. Unable to hold back his own climax, Jake brought her to their mutual point of orgasm in two hard deep strokes. Lori gasped as she spiralled into a sexual paradise for those few wonderful moments. With a final gentle stroke, Jake withdrew from her and rolled off to lie beside her.
“Naughty Mz Hyde,” he commented with a mischievous grin.
“Likewise, rock star,” she countered, rolling onto her right side to face him. “Told you I’d missed you.”
“Maybe I should go away more often if this is the welcome home I get,” suggested Jake, running his finger down the long, fresh scar on her thigh.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Please.”
“Sh. That’s your artwork. Your story, li’l lady,” soothed Jake, his voice husky with emotion. “Your recovery roadmap.”
“I know, but…”
“No buts, Lori,” Jake interrupted as he sat up and bent over her. Slowly he kissed her naked hip bone, then delicately ran his tongue along the length of the older silvery scar. When he reached the knotted puckered end of it, he delivered feathery kisses to the various other smaller, ragged scars that surrounded it before licking the fresher surgical scars. “I love every bit of you. Every last mark, every freckle and every scar no matter the size. Remember that.”
“I’ll try,” she promised, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Come here. Time to get some sleep,” said Jake, lying back down and pulling her into his embrace.
♫
Aromas of fresh coffee stirred Lori from slumber early the next morning. Lying curled up beside Jake, she listened carefully and could hear their house guest moving around in the kitchen. A glance at the clock told her it only six fifteen. Knowing that Scott was awake and in unfamiliar surroundings, Lori decided that she couldn’t leave him alone in her kitchen. As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed and pulled on her pyjamas. Tip-toeing, she left Jake snoring soundly.
When she opened the kitchen door, she startled the young filmmaker.
“Morning,” greeted Lori with a sleepy smile. “Did you sleep well?”
“Oh, Lori, I am SO sorry,” apologised Scott. He was standing beside the sink in his T-shirt and boxer shorts, his usually neat dark hair sticking out like a scarecrow’s. “Gary should’ve wakened me.”
“Nonsense,” she stated as she opened the refrigerator to fetch some orange juice. “You were dead to the world.”
Nodding, Scott admitted, “That’s one comfy couch. I slept like a baby. Thanks.”
“You were snoring when we turned out the lights,” she teased.
He blushed bright red, the scarlet flush disappearing down beyond the neckline of his crumpled T-shirt.
“Sorry.”
“Stop apologising,” she giggled. “And pour me a coffee.”
Laughter and the smell of bacon r
oused Jake a couple of hours later. Remembering their house guest, he jumped in the shower, then pulled on some jeans before going through to the kitchen. Scott and Lori were sitting at the kitchen table with a map of the area spread out in front of them.
“Geography class?” enquired Jake, glancing down at the map.
“Morning,” said Lori, smiling at her fiancé. “Scott was asking about places to use for a video shoot. He’s looking for a deserted beach location with an access road.”
“No shortage of sand around here,” agreed Jake. “What are you filming?”
“Jason wants me to take one of his new acts, Time March, out. Their first release is called “Sands of Time”. Low budget affair so the beach seemed like an easy location choice,” Scott explained. “It was only a thought.”
“Hold that thought,” said Lori, folding away the map. “Let me show you something.”
She excused herself from the table and went to fetch her laptop from the study. While it was powering up, she explained that she had worked on the artwork for the band and that beach theme might not link in with the existing approved visuals. It took her a minute or two to find the folder she was searching for but, when Scott finally saw the proofs for the band’s album and single “Sands of Time”, he realised that Lori was right. The artwork was themed around ancient Egypt and the band’s logo incorporated a broken hour glass running with blood red sand.
“Beach is definitely out,” he declared with a sigh of defeat. “Shit!”
“Sorry, Scott,” apologised Lori, closing over her laptop. “What about trying to find somewhere with pillars at the entrance that you could perhaps mock up as an Egyptian temple?”
“Perhaps,” he muttered, then changing the subject asked, “Would you mind if I took a shower before I call a taxi to take me out to the hotel?”
“Not at all,” answered Lori. “You know where the bathroom is. You’ll get clean towels in the cupboard behind the door. When you’re ready, I’ll run you out to the hotel.”
“Thanks.”
While Lori drove Scott out to the hotel to meet up with Gary, Jake wandered down into the basement studio to start work. He had the beginnings of a new song running through his head, a melody line that had haunted him ever since he stepped into the shower that morning. He had been keen to get it recorded before he forgot it and was silently relieved when Lori offered to drive Scott out to the hotel and equally relieved when she said she was going to the outlets on her way home.
As he plugged his guitar into his favoured practice amp and set up his laptop to record the melody, Jake switched off all thoughts of the rest of the world, solely focussed on his music. Once he had recorded the melody line and checked the file had saved properly, he replayed the track he had recorded the night before with Grey. Listening to it again, he could hear another dimension to it and he began to work out another variation of it – a darker more tortured soundscape. As Jake played it over, the lyrics began to unfold in his mind. His notebook lay on the floor beside his guitar case. He reached for it and began to scribble down the words. The song’s theme had shown itself at last. He just hoped that Grey agreed with his ideas. Words tumbled out onto the page telling a tortured tale of drowning that fitted in with the dark heavy piece of music.
Time lost all meaning to Jake as he played and wrote, played then re-wrote. Totally immersed in his music, the morning moved on to afternoon. Undisturbed, he barely moved from the chair he had seated himself on.
Weekend shoppers crowded the outlet stores by the time Lori pulled into the Seaside parking lot. Seeing so many people milling about almost made her turn back, but there were a few things she wanted to pick up, including some more baby items for Maddy. Once she had made her first purchase, Lori began to feel more in the mood to shop. The Osh Kosh children’s wear store was having a big sale in their babywear department, but she was unsure what else Maddy needed. Still in the store, Lori took out her phone and dialled her friend’s number.
“Hi, Lori,” came her friend’s voice on the second ring.
“Morning. You ok today?” asked Lori brightly.
“Same as yesterday,” replied Maddy sounding tired. “Still having runs of contractions then they just stop. I called the hospital but they said that was normal. No need to go in yet.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Maddy with a sigh. “I just want this over and done with now. I can’t breathe properly. I can’t get comfortable in any position. I ache all over. The skin on my stomach is so tight it feels like it could burst. It hurts to do everything.”
“Just another day or two to go,” assured Lori softly, empathising with her friend’s discomfort. “I was calling to check what else you needed for the meatballs. I’m at the outlets just now.”
“Honey, I’ve no idea,” sighed Maddy. “I’ve vests and all-in-one suits for newborns and small babies. I’ve got a couple of blankets and things. Till they are here, I’ve no idea about colours.”
“Ok,” sighed Lori, casually browsing through the sale rail in front of her. “I’ll see what jumps out at me.”
“Don’t spend too much, please,” said her friend. “You’ve bought us a lot already.”
“I’ll behave,” promised Lori. “I’d better go. I’ll call you tomorrow about lunch.”
“Let’s skip lunch,” replied Maddy wearily. “I just can’t be bothered with anything this weekend. I’m sorry. Do you mind?”
“It’s ok. I understand. If you change your mind, you know where I am.”
“Thanks, Lori. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye for now.”
Something about the tone of her friend’s voice worried her. Lori just hoped it was only tiredness and pre-birth nerves. Slipping her phone back into her bag, she turned her attention to the rack in front of her. It only took her a few minutes to select an armful of tiny clothes in various sizes all gender neutral colours. On her way to the cash desk, she picked up a couple of packets of tiny socks as an afterthought. As she was paying for the items, the cashier asked if she had seen the baby blankets that were on special. When Lori commented that she hadn’t, the cashier called to one of the other assistants to bring over a couple of white ones to let her see them. They were soft Microfleece with a rainbow embroidered on one corner.
“I’ll take two,” said Lori smiling as she felt how soft they were. “My friend’s having twins.”
“Lord, that’ll be hard work,” declared the cashier, ringing up the sale. “When’s she due?”
“She’s going into hospital on Monday.”
“Wish her good luck from me.”
“Thanks,” said Lori, signing the credit card receipt.
With her baby purchases made, Lori only had two more stores to visit on her way back to the car. She picked up some new jeans for Jake in the Levi’s outlet as an afterthought. By the time she reached the car, she was laden with bags. The traffic on the way back into town was light and it only took her fifteen minutes to reach the house. When she turned off the engine, she could hear Jake’s guitar echoing out from the basement. The sound of his music made her smile. She never tired of listening to him play.
Dumping the bags in the hallway, Lori went straight into the kitchen to make a sandwich. For a moment she thought about preparing one for Jake, but decided he might not thank her for interrupting him. Over the months they had devised a simple system. If the door to the basement was open, then he could be interrupted; if it was closed then he wanted to be left undisturbed. The door was tightly shut.
Sandwich in hand, Lori wandered through to the study to check her emails. It was still early afternoon and, satisfied that none of the mails needed her immediate attention, she decided to take her sketchpad outside and sit in the sun for a while. Pad and pencils in hand, Lori headed out onto the sun deck. It was warm for April and, as she took a seat at the large wooden picnic table, she relaxed in the spring warmth. While she stared at the blank page, she caught sigh
t of her butterfly tattoo. Gently running her fingers over it, Lori began to wonder if she should design another one for herself or perhaps one for Jake. Over the months she had thought about getting a second design done, but had never really made her mind up. Part of her wanted to disguise the scarring on her thigh, but she was reluctant to draw attention to that part of her body. It told her story just as it was she supposed.
Allowing her mind to wander, she casually began to draw a treble clef design with a Celtic/tribal twist to it. Soon she was lost in adding shading and detail to the detail. When it was completed to her satisfaction, she turned the page and began to draw an impish fairy with delicate wings. As the design emerged from the page, Lori shaded the fairy’s dress in purples then added pink and silvery hues to her wings. Totally absorbed in the drawing, she never noticed that the music had stopped until Jake appeared behind her.
“Having fun, li’l lady?” he whispered in her ear, making her jump.
“Jeez,” she squealed. “You gave me a fright!”
Jake laughed as he admired the design she was working on. “That’s cute,” he commented. “Nice lines.”
“Just a bit of fun,” said Lori, turning the page back to the treble clef. “As was this?”
“Nice,” he said. “Are you planning a second visit to Danny?”
“Maybe,” she replied with a smile.
Danny was the tattoo artist who had inked her butterfly design and all of Jake’s artwork.
“What’s the plan for the rest of the day?” asked Jake, still admiring the treble clef.
“No plans. You?”
“Gary called. I was going to show him my apartment,” said Jake, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. “Feel up to a walk into town? We could go to dinner too?”
“Is Gary going to rent your old place?”
“Maybe. He’s here indefinitely this time and staying at the hotel’s no fun. I offered him the apartment so he wants to take a look,” Jake explained. “I said I’d meet him outside The Turtle at five.”
“A walk sounds good, if we take it slowly,” said Lori. “When do you want to leave?”
Impossible Depths (Silver Lake series Book 2) Page 2
