Teasingly, he suckled at her breast, licked her nipple, then looked up into her eyes. As he watched her, he blew a cool breath across her breast, then bit the ripe, erect nipple.
“Ouch!” she squealed. “Guess I deserved that.”
Circling with his tongue, Jake caressed her tender nipple, then sucked hard. Next he turned his attention to her other breast, suckling on it before allowing his tongue to trace its way down her ribcage, eliciting more giggles from her. When his tongue reached her hips, he switched sides and traced his way around the outline of her floral tattoo, before moving down her inner thigh. Beneath him, he could hear her breathing quicken, could detect the sweet aroma of her feminine moistness.
“Hungry again, li’l lady?” he commented as his hand moved to caress her between her thighs. His long, slender fingers found her moist and ready for him. Using his thumb, he rubbed the nub of her clitoris, causing her to arch her back and moan softly.
“Jake,” she purred, reaching out to draw him towards her.
Swiftly he entered her and with a few long hard strokes had taken them both to the pinnacle of orgasm. Nuzzling into her neck and gently delivering kisses across her silky smooth throat, Jake thrust hard and fast. Her orgasm surged through her like a bolt of lightning. With a long, low howl of ecstasy, she lay back as Jake’s own climax shuddered through him. Together they lay entwined in each other’s arms, still intimately connected.
“I can’t think of a better way to start the day,” whispered Lori with a sleepy satiated smile. “That was heavenly, rock star.”
“Why thank you, ma’am,” he said, kissing her on the end of the nose.
He held her close for a few more minutes, then gently slid out of her and rolled over to his side of the huge bed. Staring up at the ceiling, Jake asked, “What did you want to do today?”
“I had no plans,” replied Lori, glancing over at her phone to check the time. “We could go for a walk, explore a bit then grab some lunch.”
“No museums?” he teased, knowing her love for the city’s museums.
“Maybe,” she suggested with a wink.
“I should really go for a run first,” commented Jake. “I’ve not stretched my legs for a few days.”
Sitting up, Lori suggested, “You go for a run while I get showered and dressed then we can go for brunch when you get back and we can take the day from there.”
“Works for me,” agreed Jake, swinging his long legs out of bed. “I’ll not go far. Don’t want to get lost. I’ll be an hour at most.”
Pounding the city streets felt good to Jake. It made a change from running along the sand at home, but he missed the ocean and the seabirds. Using the map application on his phone, he had run a ragged five mile circuit round the hotel. He was breathing hard, sweat pouring down his face, as he turned into the street just a few yards from the hotel entrance. As he approached the main door, he saw a small group of people gathered outside. When they saw him coming, a couple of them shouted his name. Silver Lakers! Forcing a smile and slowing to a gentle jog, Jake tried to catch his breath before he reached them.
“Morning,” he acknowledged as he attempted to enter the building.
“Can we get a photo, Jake?” asked one girl boldly, clutching her phone.
“If you insist, but I’m a sweaty mess,” replied Jake, feeling a little awkward.
“Just the way we like you,” teased another fan.
Blushing, Jake humoured the fans for a few moments, then apologised that he would need to go before he got too cold. Fortunately, the girls were understanding and seemed more than happy to have had their moment or two of his time. With a final wave to them, Jake headed into the warmth of the foyer.
When Jake exited the building with Lori an hour later, the street was empty, much to his relief. While he had been out for his run, he had passed a small Italian restaurant near the British Museum. Ensuring they were walking at a pace Lori was comfortable with, they headed towards the restaurant. As they walked, she enthused about the architecture and heritage that surrounded them. Her enthusiasm and passion began to rub off on him and, as they reached the restaurant, he had to concede that London was a beautiful city.
“Table for two, sir?” asked the waiter as they entered.
“Please,” answered Jake, relieved to be in out of the autumn chill.
“Follow me, please.”
The waiter showed them to a table at the window, rhymed off the day’s specials as he passed them the menus then took their drinks order. Several of the other tables were occupied, mainly with families and, much to Jake’s relief, no one gave them a second glance. They had debated the choice for lunch before both of them opted for risotto. As they ate their meal, Lori asked Jake how he was feeling about the Weigh Station rehearsals.
“I’m not really sure,” he admitted between mouthfuls of rice. “I still find it hard to believe that I’m playing with those guys, even after last year’s tour.”
“Do you think you could carry the full set if it came to that?”
“If I had to,” said Jake quietly. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that though. Now, what do you want to do with the rest of the day?”
With a mischievous giggle, Lori replied, “Well, I did see a sign down the street a bit for the British Museum.”
Laughing, Jake declared, “I knew it! You’re a museum junkie, li’l lady!”
It was drizzling when they left the restaurant to walk to the museum. Holding on tight to Lori’s hand, Jake let her set the pace as they walked the few blocks to the main entrance of the museum on Great Russell Street. When he saw the imposing building with its pillared frontage, Jake had to agree it was impressive.
“Wait till you see inside,” enthused Lori, leading him towards the front steps.
Once inside, they picked up a museum map, but before he could ask what she wanted to see first, Lori was leading the way towards the elevators.
“Ancient Egypt first,” she stated, pressing the call button. “A little research for the After Life project.”
“Have you decided to do it?” asked Jake as they stepped into the spacious elevator, closely followed by half a dozen fellow tourists.
“More or less, if the money adds up.”
“So what are we looking for up here?”
“Shabtis,” replied Lori with a wink.
“What?”
“You’ll see in a minute,” she promised.
A few moments later, they stood admiring a small, intricately carved wooden box from Thebes, dating back to 1290 BC. As Jake gazed at the small painted wooden figures, shabtis, Lori explained that these were placed in the tombs of the Ancient Egyptians to carry out hard physical labour to assist their owners in the afterlife. The wooden carved figurines acted as deputies for their wealthy deceased owners. A spell from the Book of the Dead was used to bring them back to life in the afterlife.
“Very clever, Mz Hyde,” praised Jake, understanding where her train of thought was headed.
“Ellen gave the idea when she told me the song titles from the new album,” explained Lori as they moved on from the exhibit case. “It reminded me of this and the idea’s grown from there.”
“And the spell fits in with her witch image,” mused Jake with a smile. “I like the imagery. Slick.”
Slowly, they meandered their way through the history of Europe and the Middle East, marvelling at the age of some of the exhibits. Knowing Jake’s love of watches, Lori guided them towards a hall dedicated to watches and clocks, some of which dated back to the fifteenth century. As they made their way back towards the Great Court and the coffee shop, Jake had to admit that he was beginning to understand her love of the place.
While Lori sat finishing her coffee, Jake wandered over to explore the gift shop. She smiled at the childlike enthusiasm written all over his face as he explored. He disappeared out her line of sight. Seizing the chance, Lori swiftly fetched two painkillers from her bag, swallowing them with the last of her coffee before
he returned.
In the busy museum gift store, Jake was searching swiftly for a surprise gift for Lori. He wanted to treat her to something special. There were so many things to choose from but he wanted something a little different. Just as he was about to opt for a book, he spotted a display cabinet of jewellery. Two silver bangles caught his eye. Both of them were a Mobius strip geometric design. One had a Buddhist prayer inscribed in it and the other a Shakespearean sonnet. There was also an Egyptian knot bracelet beside them.
“Can I help you, sir?” asked one of the gift shop assistants.
“I’m trying to choose between these three,” replied Jake, still gazing down at the three pieces of jewellery. “The two twisted ones would make a lovely wedding gift for my fiancée but I love the Egyptian knot too.”
“It’s beautiful,” commented the assistant. “It’s based on an ancient belief that protective spells could be placed on the wearer through the knot.”
“Neat idea,” nodded Jake, reaching for his wallet. “What the hell! I’ll take all three, but can you please wrap the knot one separately.”
“Certainly, sir,” she replied, reaching for her keys to unlock the cabinet. “Come over to the counter and I’ll put these through for you."
With one small bag hidden in his inside jacket pocket and the other in his hand, Jake headed back towards the coffee shop. As an afterthought, he’d picked up a book on Ancient Egypt with the shabtis on the cover.
“What have you been buying?” asked Lori as he approached the table.
“A book,” he replied with a wink. “Some inspiration for you. I’ll show you later. Do you feel up to heading up to the Reading Room? I want to see that stone that’s on the shirt you bought me last time you were here.”
“Lead on,” giggled Lori, getting to her feet, “Have I created a museum junkie here?”
“You might have,” acknowledged Jake with a laugh. “This place is fabulous.”
The museum was closing for the night when Lori finally led Jake back down the stone steps and out into the wet October evening. Rain was lashing down so Jake hailed a taxi to take them back to the hotel. As they sat huddled together in the back of the cab, Lori asked if she could see the book.
“Patience, li’l lady,” he teased playfully. “Wait until we’re back at the hotel.”
She pretended to sulk, but couldn’t keep the petted lip up without giggling.
“Are we having dinner with Jethro?”
Jake nodded. “That’s the plan. I said I’d let him know when we were back. Not sure where he’ll want to go.”
“We could just stay in the hotel,” suggested Lori, looking out the window at the rain. “It’s too miserable to trail about looking for a restaurant tonight.”
“Hotel’s fine with me.”
Once back in their room, Lori again asked Jake if she could see the book.
“In a second, li’l lady,” he said as he took off his jacket. “Let me call Jethro first.”
“Then can I see the book?” pleaded Lori.
“If you fetch us drink while I call the boss, then we can look at it together,” promised Jake with a grin.
“Deal.”
While Lori poured them both a drink from the mini bar, Jake called the band’s manager.
The two men chatted for a few minutes, then agreed to meet in the hotel cocktail bar at seven for a pre-dinner drink. The older man promised to reserve them a table at the hotel’s A La Carte restaurant.
Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Jake came over to sit beside his fiancée on the settee. She had her own phone in her hand and was busy scanning through her emails.
“You ready, li’l lady?” he asked, holding up the plastic bag from the gift shop.
Trying not to giggle, Lori nodded.
Jake handed her the bag, then watched as she slid the book out.
“Oh! There’s something else in here!” she cried as she reached into the bag and brought out a square box.
Without saying a word, Jake watched as she opened the box and lifted out the Egyptian knot bangle.
“Jake, this is too much!”
“No, it’s not, li’l lady,” he replied, putting his arm around her shoulder. “The lady in the gift store told me that the Egyptians believed a protective spell could be placed on the person wearing the bangle. Or something like that. I thought you’d like it.”
“It’s gorgeous,” declared Lori, sliding the bangle onto her slender wrist. “Thank you.”
“Glad you like it,” replied Jake, kissing her tenderly. “Now, tell me more about these shabti things.”
♫
For once, Jake was ready and waiting in the hotel foyer when the car arrived to collect him for rehearsals on Monday afternoon. He had debated whether to take his guitar along or not and eventually decided to take two along with him, just in case he needed them. There were nerves fluttering in the pit of his stomach as he sat in the back of the car, looking out at the rain soaked London streets. He was driven across the city to an old warehouse building on an industrial estate.
“Is this the right place?” he asked the driver anxiously, as he climbed out of the car, suspicious of the remote location.
“Yes, sir,” replied the chauffeur. “Weigh Station always rehearse here. It’s out of the way. No distractions.”
“I guess,” conceded Jake as he followed him towards the entrance.
He was surprised when they stepped into the anonymous looking warehouse to find a fully kitted out rehearsal studio and offices. The door to the outside world opened into a small reception area that then led through to a large sumptuous lounge with a glass panelled back wall. Beyond the glass was a huge rehearsal space with a low stage set up, complete with lighting rig. Through the glass, he could see Mikey and Weigh Station’s drummer already on stage. When they saw Jake, they waved for him to come on through.
“Afternoon, Mr Power,” called Mikey as Jake wandered in. “You made it, then?”
“Hi,” said Jake simply as he gazed round. “This is not what I was expecting.”
“We’ve used this place for years,” explained the guitarist. “We bought the original bit to store our stage gear, then bought the adjoining warehouse a few years later and converted it into this. It’s far enough away from everything to afford us a little privacy.”
“Beats Lori’s basement,” laughed Jake, setting down his two guitar cases. “So what’s the plan?”
“We’re still waiting for Steve and Dan to show,” said Mikey. “The set list’s been drawn up. We just need to see how it sounds as we run through it. Check what you can do. What you need to learn. See what Dan can cope with.”
Nodding, Jake said, “Sounds like a plan. Is there somewhere I can go to run through a vocal warm up?”
“Sure. There’s three sound proof rooms through that door,” explained Mikey, pointing to a blue painted door on the far side. “How long do you need?”
“About an hour?”
“Fine. Come back through when you’re ready.”
When Jake emerged from the small rehearsal room, Steve, the band’s bass player, had arrived. There was still no sign of Dan. Several phone messages had been left for him and Jake could sense that the other three members of Weigh Station were growing anxious. While they waited, Mikey talked him through the proposed set list and handed him a soft covered, plastic folder, saying simply, “Lyrics.”
“Thanks,” said Jake, flicking through the pages. “Will we make a start?”
“Yeah,” sighed Steve, glancing at his watch. “Let’s start with Sunset After The Storm. He never could sing it live anyway!”
They had just completed a second run through of the song when the door opened and Dan marched in.
“I thought we said three!” yelled Steve. “Nice of you to finally join us!”
“Appointment over ran,” muttered Dan hoarsely as he walked towards them. “Ah, Mr Power, you made it!”
“Said I’d be here,” said Jake, jum
ping down from the low stage to greet his idol. “How are you doing?”
“We’ll talk later,” replied Dan evasively. “Where are we at with this rehearsal?”
“We just did Sunset,” explained Mikey.
“Ok,” nodded Dan, keeping his eyes on Jake. “Let’s hear Jake sing the rest of the set from the top.”
“The whole set?” Jake asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
“Yup. Need to know you can do it if you have to,” stated Dan bluntly.
Over the next three hours, Jake worked his way through the set list with Weigh Station. There were numerous stops and starts. He messed up the lyrics on a few songs at the first attempt. Standing centre stage, in front of an empty warehouse felt weird and it took him almost an hour to relax into the situation. Throughout the entire session, Dan sat silently watching from the side of the practice stage. Occasionally, he would stop them to suggest they change this or that. Once or twice, he stopped Jake and instructed him to relax, to make the song his own.
Eventually, it was Jake who called a halt.
“If you guys expect me to sing tomorrow, we need to call it a day,” he said, sipping on a bottle of water. “I’m not wanting to push this too hard too fast.”
“Sensible move,” agreed Dan, walking out onto the stage. “Not your normal pace of vocals?”
“It’s just different,” acknowledged Jake, screwing the lid back onto the bottle. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Same as today,” stated Dan. “I’ll maybe duet with you a bit. See what we can work out.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Alright. The car will pick you up at the same time,” said Mikey, glancing at Dan as if to seek approval.
“Can we make it one thirty?” suggested Jake. “Then I can warm up fully beforehand. Buys us back a bit of time.”
“Fine by us,” stated Steve as he sat his bass down on a stand.
“I’ll be here for one thirty,” promised Dan, checking his phone. “I’ve no more appointments until Thursday morning.”
Impossible Depths (Silver Lake series Book 2) Page 42