Unpredictable Love (18 page)

“
Your butt. I want to squeeze
it.”

He laughed and moved up until she managed to
satisfy her heart’s desire. Trent’s big hands rested on her thigh.
A slight pressure parted her legs a bit, and he glided his fingers
up slowly, until his thumb came to rest on her center. She gave a
little squeak.

He grinned. “Let’s make up for lost time.”
He stroked her while his hard shaft bumped her thigh. She touched
it, sliding her hand up and down. He grabbed her wrist.

“
Stop, or I’ll come.”

She removed her hand and raised her gaze.
His eyes had darkened with desire. He kissed her then trailed his
lips down her neck, making her shiver. Trent eased one of his
fingers into her. Her eyes drifted shut as the pleasurable ache
inside her grew.

“
Is that good?” he whispered, his
tongue on the shell of her ear.

“
Oh my God,” she uttered, her
vocabulary having gone south.

His knowing chuckle made her smile. Trent
withdrew his hand, parted her knees and knelt between them. He
gripped her face between his hands then smoothed them down over her
skin, past her collarbone, and stopped at her breasts. After a
light massage, his fingers continued downward until his thumbs
rested on her sex.

“
God, Trent. Do it. Take me. I’m dying
here.”

“
I’m not going to rush.”

“
Please!” She arched her back,
pressing herself harder into his hands. When she heard the quiet
rip of the foil, she opened to watch him cover himself. She laid
her head back on the pillow, confident satisfaction would soon be
hers, when she felt the swipe of his tongue on her hot flesh. Heat
zinged through her as tension coiled between her legs.

Her temperature spiked as desire flamed in
her core. In a flash, he had mounted and entered her. He kissed her
roughly as his hips moved. Jory raised her knees, and he filled her
completely. She fastened her mouth on the soft part of his shoulder
and moaned into his skin.

“
Oh, Jory, baby, baby, baby,” he
muttered with each thrust.

Every inch of Jory’s body sizzled as if her
toe was jammed into a light socket. Flames of desire licked her
insides, growing, spiraling until they consumed her. Her muscles
tightened as he pumped into her, muttering endearments in her ear.
Her eyes drifted shut. Magenta flashed across her eyelids as an
incredibly intense orgasm ripped through her. Her hips undulated as
she cried out his name.

Then, pleasure flowed into every cell in her
body, stretching down to her toes, like the waters of a river in
midsummer. She slid her hands under her knees to keep them in
position while Trent continued to move. Sweat dripped down from his
chest to hers.

He groaned her name and trembled for a
moment then stopped. She peered up at him. His eyes were closed,
his face muscles at ease. She studied the strong line of his jaw
and the straight slant of his nose, his lips, so close to hers.
Removing her hand from her knee, she palmed his smooth cheek. He
blinked and smiled down at her.

“
Awesome.” He eased back on his
haunches, pulling out of her. His hands rested on her knees,
closing them. He placed a kiss on each before sliding his palms
down the outside of her thighs to rest on her hips.

Before she found her voice, Trent pushed up
from the bed and headed for the bathroom. She stretched her arms
all the way up and her legs down. A sigh of satisfaction and a grin
greeted the Marine when he padded across the room.

The bed dipped, signaling his return. She
rolled on her side. He faced her, stroking her hair.

“
It’s late.” He sat up.

“
Stay.” She tugged gently on his
wrist.

“
The night?” He raised his
eyebrows.

“
Yes. The night. The
weekend.”

He grinned. “You twisted my arm.”

They snuggled together. Jory snaked her arm
around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Trent pulled
up the covers and switched out the lamp.

“
Come here. Closer,” he
said.

She cuddled into his embrace.

“
Don’t ever leave me,” she
whispered.

“
I won’t.” He kissed her
hair.

“
Promise?”

“
Promise,” he replied.

For the first time, Jory thought maybe
dreams could come true.

****

Jory’s fairytale unfolded that weekend. The
lovers prepared meals together, fed the birds, walked in the woods,
watched movies, and made love. Time stood still for the young
woman. From their “stupid joke” contest while they chopped salad,
to sharing childhood memories, to the heat of their passion between
the sheets, the lovers existed in their own world.

The apartment ceased to be a prison, a
lonely place of banishment. It warmed into a home, tinged with love
and laughter. Trent fit into her life like the last bit of a
thousand-piece puzzle. When he had to leave on Sunday, Jory hopped
in her car and headed for Pine Grove.

Hanging with Nan and Amber, making a big
Sunday night dinner, was far better than sitting alone and moping.
Nan wasn’t home when Jory arrived, so she stretched out on the sofa
to read. Before long, she was asleep with Pookie curled up behind
her knees.

The creaking of the hinges on the front door
woke them. The cat stretched, jumped down, and scampered away. Jory
pushed to a sitting position, yawned, and then smiled at Nan.

“
Where were you?”

“
Dan and I went shopping. There were a
couple of garage sales I couldn’t pass up too.” Her aunt put down
her shopping bag.

“
I made tea, but I’m sure it’s cold by
now.”

“
We can reheat it. What’s
up?”

Jory followed Nan into the kitchen. The
women got busy setting up the beverage. Nan pulled a confection out
of the fridge while Jory fetched plates.

“
These are Laura’s scones. She’s got
those tiny chocolate chips in them. If we heat them just a little
bit in the microwave, the chips melt.”

Nan narrowed her eyes as she stared at her
niece. “You look like the cat who swallowed the canary. What
happened Friday?”

Jory grinned and felt color seep into her
cheeks. “He stayed the weekend.”

“
Yippee! I knew it. I knew it.” Nan
danced a little jig.

The younger woman chuckled. “How did you
know?”

She shrugged. “Just did. Already told Dan to
dust off his tuxedo for the wedding.”

“
What wedding?”

“
Yours and Trent’s,” the older woman
said, beaming.

“
Aren’t you jumping the gun, just a
little bit?”

“
It’ll happen. After what you two have
been through, I have no doubts you’ll survive whatever life throws
at you.”

Jory pulled out her chair and sat down. “You
know, that’s a good point. Hadn’t thought of that. We’ve been
through a whole lot of crap already.”

“
And Trent is still knocking on your
door.” Nan broke off a piece of scone. “Makes me feel real
comfortable about handing you over to him.”

Jory laughed. “You’re such a romantic! We’ve
just started dating.”

Nan made a face and waved her hand. “You two
belong together.”

“
So, you’re predicting marriage from
such an unpredictable love?”

“
I am.”

“
Where’s Amber? I want to tell her
Trent and I are back together.”

“
She’s not here?”

“
Nope. Place was when empty when I
arrived.”

The women pushed up from the table and
climbed the stairs to Amber’s room. Jory cringed when opening the
door, expecting a horrendous mess. But the place was as neat as a
military barracks. The bed was made and everything else was put in
place. The rug had been vacuumed, the old, well-loved stuffed
animals were huddled together on the bed by the pillows. There was
an envelope on the coverlet, addressed to both ladies.

Nan opened it, scanned it, and then handed
it to Jory.

Dear Aunt Nan and Jory,

It looks like Jory is going to be reunited
with Trent. It’s almost the best news I could have received. What’s
better? Troy being offered a job as manager of one of his company’s
stores in Florida. He’s asked me to marry him and move to Orlando.
I jumped at it. Pine Grove is a little too small for me. Okay, a
lot too small. I love Troy. He’s good to me, and I’m excited about
the move.

By the time you read this, we will have been
hitched down at City Hall. I know I used to dream about a huge
wedding, but face it—we just don’t have the money. And that’s
okay.

Besides, I figure Nan can do that for Jory
and Trent. We’ll come up for it. I’d better be the maid of honor! I
hope you’re not hurt by this. I figured I’d take this chance while
it was here. Besides, it’s time Jory got to lead her own life
without worrying about me.

I’m all grown up now. Time for me to leave
home. I love you both so much, you can’t imagine. You’re my family
and will be forever. But we all have to take our own paths, as Nan
once said. And mine is taking me south. I hope you understand. You
two are the best things that have ever happened to me, next to
Troy. Take care.

Love,

Amber

P.S. Thanks for teaching me how to make your
beef stew and mac and cheese, Aunt Nan. Troy thinks I’m an amazing
cook! Won’t he be surprised?

P.P.S. I’ll text you my address as soon as I
get one. Lol!

Stunned into silence, the two women faced
each other.

“
Are you kidding?” Jory said, when she
caught her breath.

“
She’s right, you know.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
You’re not going to have time to ride
herd on her. You’re going to have your own life, a husband, kids, a
career.”

“
I’ll always have time for Cookie.”
Jory’s eyes watered.

Nan hugged her. “Kitten, face it. She had to
leave the nest sometime. Troy seems to be a pretty good guy. Best
she’s ever gone out with.”

“
That’s not saying much.”

Nan smiled. “I like him. Like the way he
treats her. And since he’s getting this promotion, well, he’s
pretty smart and a hard worker.”

“
Just the opposite of my
sister.”

“
Now, now. Don’t be mean.”

“
I can’t believe she just snuck off
and did this.”

“
Took a lot of guts. I’m proud of her.
Yep. She’s finding her own path and making tracks. Gotta give her
credit.”

Jory burst into tears.

“
Come, come, Kitten. She’s not leaving
the planet. You’ll see her. We can all go to Florida, and she’ll
come home for Christmas.”

“
I suppose. But now that I’m living in
Oak Bend, you’ll be alone.”

“
Me? Never. Dan can spend the night,
for a change,” Nan said, wiggling her eyebrows. “And I have
Pookie.”

The cat meowed, right on cue.

“
Stop trying to find excuses. Reach
for the brass ring, honey. It’s your turn.”

The following Friday night, Jory put napkins
under the forks on her small dining table. She’d moved it to the
window, where she and Trent could watch the birds at the feeder.
They had found her at her new address and brought friends.
Goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches, juncos, titmice, and the
occasional Hairy Woodpecker vied for perch space.

She opened the window for fresh air then
stirred the stew. Aunt Nan’s recipe was guaranteed to win hearts.
Her late husband, Ben, had once remarked that it was her stew that
had prompted him to pop the question.

She’d commissioned Laura Daily to bake a
luscious carrot cake for dessert. Jory had taken time for a long,
luxurious bath. She had soaked in bath salts then applied her
special perfume that had first snagged his attention. She slipped
on a cotton, jersey dress in aqua and sandals.

She flipped on the radio as Julian Lennon’s
song came on. Yes, she agreed with him, it was much too late for
goodbyes. Her thoughts turned to Amber. As far as Jory was
concerned, it was too late for goodbye with her sister too. The
journalist wandered to the sliding glass door that led to the deck
and stood, staring at her feathered friends.

Sure, Amber had been a nuisance—plenty of
times. But she had also been Jory’s reason to get out of bed. After
their parents had died, Jory had wanted to hide, disappear under
the covers, and never come out. But she had had Amber to care for.
Her sister had been the motivation for the seventeen-year-old to
pull herself together. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d done it.

She had cared for Amber, made her lunch for
school, walked her to the bus stop, picked her up. She had bought
her clothes, took her to the doctor and dentist, become her
substitute mother, until they moved in with Nan, a year after they
were orphaned. Jory didn’t complain, but she could be heard
carrying on about some stupid thing Amber had done. She had wanted
her sister to be better, be perfect, or at least get close, and got
disgusted when the girl proved to be a mere mortal.

Still, Amber and Jory were a team. The
Walker girls faced the world together. The sudden departure of her
sister left Jory bereft. A slight chill in the air sent a shiver up
her spine. She hadn’t been lonely in years, so she wasn’t used to
the feeling. It surrounded her like a coat of ice. She’d had a
life, and now, she had none. Of course, Amber would say Jory had
had no life. Maybe she was right, but it had been enough.