Unbroken (18 page)

For Britney there was no pain, only a
satisfying fullness that left her wanting more as her body welcomed the pleasurable, yet unfamiliar intrusion.  She grasped his shoulders, urging him on, feeling her muscles stretch and expand to accommodate him.  It was an indescribable feeling, like nothing she’d ever felt before.

With Britney’s encouragement, Jake slipped
his hands beneath her hips, tilting her upward and pressing forward until he was fully sheathed within her depths.  They fit together perfectly, as if they’d been made for each other.

Lifting her hips, Britney drew up her legs, wrapping them around Jake
’s waist, her heels pressing against his taut buttocks as she pulled him even closer.  When he began to move, she moved with him, arching her pelvis to match his powerful thrusts until they moved together seamlessly.  The rest of the world seemed to fade, then disappear altogether as Jake took her on a journey to paradise.

When
Britney awoke the following morning, she blinked and attempted to focus, noting that the darkness had faded and the room was now bathed in the soft glow of the early morning sun.  She stretched, feeling a delightful languidness in her body and limbs and then turned her head to the side.  Jake was lying next to her, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and even.

She rolled onto her side,
propping herself up on her elbow, content to simply watch him as he slept.  He was so beautiful, both inside and out.  But for the time being, her attention was focused solely upon his external beauty.  She started at the top, her eyes traveling slowly over the stray lock of hair that had fallen across his smooth brow, and then moving downward to the thick, dark eyelashes that rested lightly against the tops of his cheeks.  Her eyes traced the slope of his nose and then lingered upon his mouth and the sensual curve of his lips.  Remembering how they’d felt upon hers, and then, how amazing it had felt as they’d roamed leisurely across her naked body, she couldn’t help but smile. 

As her gaze traveled lower, to his naked chest, her eyes skimmed appreciatively along the contours of his muscled abs.
Holy smokes!  Jake was gorgeous, but Jake without a shirt on, oh wow, that was something else entirely.  She could literally feel her mouth begin to water as she looked at him.  Unfortunately her leisurely perusal could go no farther, however, as the sheet covered everything below his waist.

“Is it my turn yet?” Jake asked,
watching Britney from beneath his lashes.

Britney’s eyes flew back up to his face.  “How long have you been awake?” she gasped, feeling her cheeks flame.

“Not long,” Jake replied with a lighthearted chuckle.

Britney smiled back
, despite her embarrassment.  “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” she admitted.

“
No need to apologize,” he said with a sexy little smile, “I’m certainly not complaining.  But turnabout is fair play you know.” 

She grinned, loving his playfulness.
  “Jake,” she said after a moment, her expression serious now.  “I just wanted to say thank you… for last night.  For… everything.”

He
understood what she meant.  Shaking his head, he reached out, brushing his thumb lightly along her cheek.  “You don’t need to thank me, Britney.”

“I know,
” she replied, smiling softly.  “But I wanted to say it anyway.”

He smiled back. 
“So, no regrets then?”

“Not a single one,” she
declared, thinking not of the future, but only of the here and now.  “You?”

“
I do have
one
, actually.” 

Jake looked uncomfortable all of the sudden, causing Britney to tense
in nervous apprehension.  “One?”

“I didn’t use a condom
,” he said hesitantly. 

“Oh.”  She relaxed and felt her heart start beating again.

“Don’t worry, I’m clean as a whistle, but-”

“
It’s alright,” she interrupted.  “I’ve been on the pill since I was eighteen.  Leaving for college, I figured I’d better start taking it, just in case.”

Jake
nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.  He wasn’t usually so careless.  However, last night had been different, nothing at all like the sexual encounters of his past.

“So, no regrets, then?” she asked, repeating
his earlier question, her tone lighthearted now.

Moving his hand to the back of her neck, Jake smiled and slowly drew her toward him. 
“Not a single one,” he murmured softly.

“So, what do
you have planned for the day?” Britney asked as she handed Jake a cup of coffee.  After spending another hour in bed, they’d finally made it downstairs at half past ten.

Before Jake could answer, the sound of footsteps coming from the hallway drew his attention.

“Yoo-hoo, anybody home?”

They both turned toward the sound of Rosemary’s voice. 
Surprisingly, neither of them had heard her come in.

“We’re i
n here,” Jake called back.

Britney
took an immediate step backward, increasing the space between her and Jake to an innocuous distance.  When he eyed her curiously, she pointed in the direction of Rosemary’s voice and silently shook her head.

Jake nodded in understanding.  “Hey, Aunt Rose,” he called, as she walked into the kitchen a few seconds later.

“Hey, darlin.   I’ve got the cooler out in the truck,” she said, placing two large grocery bags onto the counter.  “Run fetch it for me, will you?”

“Sure thing.”

“Hello, Britney,” she said cheerfully, glancing up from the groceries as Jake made his way out of the kitchen.

“Hi, Rosemary.”

Rosemary’s eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline as her gaze suddenly focused on Britney.  “Well good gracious, look at you,” she exclaimed.

Britney realized that this was the first time Rosemary had ever seen her wi
th her hair down and without her glasses.

“
Why you’re just as pretty as a picture this morning,” she continued, eyeing Britney from head to toe.

“Oh,
um, thanks,” Britney replied a bit awkwardly.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without your glasses,” Rosemary commented, moving toward her.

“I guess I must have left them in the office,” she fibbed.

“Just look at th
ose eyes.”

Britney smiled shyly.  “Can I get you some coffee?” she asked, hoping to distract Rosemary from the perusal of her face.

“Sure, hon.  I’d love a cup.”

Britney turned toward the coffeepot. 
She noticed the bakery box then, sitting at the opposite end of the counter.  Oh crap, she thought, hoping that Rosemary hadn’t noticed it as well.

Filling Rosemary’s cup, she handed it to
her and then grabbed a dishtowel from next to the sink.  Walking over to where the grocery bags sat atop the island, she casually tossed the towel over the box.  “Sit and enjoy your coffee,” she told Rosemary, motioning for her to take a seat.  “I’ll get this stuff put away.”

“You know, hon,” Rosemary said as she settled into her chair.  “With eyes like those you should really think about getting contacts.”

“Yeah, um, I guess I could,” Britney replied, then quickly turned her attention to unloading the groceries.

Jake reentered the kitchen a few minutes later, hefting the large cooler.  Setting it next to the massive, double-wide refrigerator, he quickly unloaded the contents and placed them into the freezer.

“Jake, honey,” Rosemary began
, glancing in his direction.  “Have you got any plans this afternoon?”

He closed the lid on the cooler and looked up.  “No.  Not really.  Why?”

“Well, if you’re not busy, I was hoping that you might be able to drive over to Hailey with me this afternoon.” 

“What’s in Hailey?” he
asked.

“
You know that old Victorian B & B on Fowler Street?”

He
shook his head.  He wasn’t familiar with the place.

“Well, anyhow, the owners are ready to retire
and they’ve already sold the place.  And since it’s not going to be used as a bed and breakfast anymore, they’re auctioning off most of the furnishings and some of the other household items later today.”

“Ah.
  And is there anything in particular that you’re interested in acquiring?”

Rosemary nodded.  “I could
really use a couple more antique dressers for the upstairs bedrooms, and maybe a new chair for the front parlor.”

“I see
.”

“So?  What do you say?  Will you go with me?”

“Sure,” Jake agreed.  “We can take my truck.  That way, if you decide to buy something we can haul it back with us.”

Rosemary’
s face lit up.  “Thanks, sweetie.  I knew I could count on you.” 

“Maybe
Britney would like to go too,” he said, turning toward her.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Impose?  Don’t be silly, dear,” Rosemary said.  “I’d love for you to come along.  The more the merrier I always say.”

“Well, I do like antiques.”

“That settles it then,” Rosemary said, setting down her coffee cup and rising to her feet.  “You’re coming with us.”

“Alright then.  I’d love to go.”

“Marvelous.  Why don’t you two pick me up around one o’clock.  That should give us plenty of time to get there before the auction starts.”

“We’ll be there,” Jake replied.

“Okay, I’m off then.  I’ve got a few errands to run, so I’ll see you two later.”

When Jake and Britney arrived at Rosemary’s, she was ready to go and waiting for them out front.  As she walked toward Jake’s truck, Britney hopped out and got into the back seat so that Rosemary could sit in the passenger seat next to Jake.

The two hour drive passed by quickly as they kept up a lively conversation and before long they were nearing the Hailey city limits.

“Do you think there will be a big turnout for the auction?” Britney asked Rosemary, as they drove into town.

Rosemary nodded.  “I would expect so.  Folks around here love a good auction.”

“I think you may be right,” Jake commented, eyeing the number of cars parked along the street leading up to the B & B.

“Take a left at the stop sign,” Rosemary directed.  “We can park in the Methodist Church parking lot and then walk over to the house.  It’s only a block or so.”

“You got it.”

As Jake pulled into the church lot, they saw a teenage boy seated in a lawn chair next to a sign stating that the church would be collecting a five dollar parking fee per vehicle to raise money for their children’s preschool program.  “Here’s a hundred,” Jake said, handing him the bill.  “Keep the change.”

“Thank you, sir,” the boy said, smiling
in appreciation.  “Pastor Tom will surely appreciate your generosity.”

Walking along the tree-lined residential street a few minutes later, Britney glanced around and adjusted her sunglasses on her nose.  It was a warm, sunny day and she was glad that she’d chosen to wear one of her new short-sleeved tops. 

“There it is, just ahead,” Rosemary said, pointing to a three-story light blue house with cream-colored trim.  As they approached, Britney could see numerous items set out on display tables in t
he front yard and at least thirty to forty people milling about.  She felt a moment of unease, but managed to fight through it.

“Hey folks,” a man
dressed in chinos and a white button down shirt addressed them as they made their way up the front walk.  “Feel free to take a look around outside and in the house as well.  Each item up for auction will have a red tag displaying the lot number,” he continued.  “If you’re interested in bidding today you can get yourself a numbered paddle at the sign up table just around back.  Auction starts at four o’clock sharp.”

“Let’s take a look inside first,” Jake suggested.

As Rosemary headed to the upstairs bedrooms, Jake and Britney leisurely perused some of the items up for bids in the first floor rooms.  In addition to the people outside, there were at least another twenty to thirty individuals wandering throughout the house.  Jake got a couple of double takes, but so far no one had approached him.

“See anything you like?”
Britney asked after a while.

Jake shook his head.  “Nah, this stuff’s not really my style.  How about you?”

“There are certainly some beautiful pieces, but most of it’s not really my taste either,” Britney admitted.  “However, I do like that little clock over there.”  She motioned to a nearby side table that held a lovely antique, glass-domed skeleton clock.

Jake eyed the piece appreciatively.  “Are you a clock collector?”

“No, not really.  My father was though,” she said, moving to take a closer look at the clock.  “He had a small collection, mostly skeleton clocks like this one.  He loved all of the exposed gears, wheels and springs.”  She smiled thinking about it.  “You’d be amazed at how intricate some of them are.”  The one she was looking at now showed the inner workings of the clock framed by a beautiful cathedral.  The detail was breathtaking and would surely make a wonderful addition to her father’s collection.

“
Did you keep them?”

“Yes, I
have them displayed in my condo.  I couldn’t bear to part with them.”

“And
what about this one?  Would you like to add this little beauty to the collection?” Jake asked, bending down to get a better look.

“
As a matter of fact, I think I would.”  The clock looked to be mid to late nineteenth century, probably English.  “It’s really beautiful.  I know my dad would have loved it.”  She doubted that it would come cheap, but in an auction one never knew.