They drove up to the Inn though it was further away from the street than advertised and they circled a sharp turn that led up a narrow path.
As they arrived at a red neon sign saying 'open' and a lady sitting with headphones on behind the desk inside they looked at each other, a lingering silence that was questioning just how good of an idea it was to go in. The rain poured around them. Drops on the roof of the car began to sound like firecrackers went off in a tunnel.
Ash gave Lola his jacket to hold over her head and they shared a look before they ran from the car and slammed open the door as they tumbled inside.
The lady looked up, slowly and gently as though a couple of strangers hadn't just tumbled into her hallway. She slowly leaned to the side to look past them and watch the pour outside of the Inn.
"You kids don't listen to the news, do ya?" She laughed.
She wiggled her finger in front of Lola and pointed to the den.
"There are towels in there, go grab yourselves some and I'll check ya into a room," she said gravely.
"Thank you," Lola walked off to fetch them some towels. Ash leaned over the counter while she was gone, he watched to make sure she stayed gone and then turned to the desk clerk.
"When she comes back, tell us that there is only one room left with one bed to share. And make it king-sized,"
She looked incredulously at him after hearing his request and, though it wasn't the weirdest one she had heard in her line of work, it was a form of manipulation she wasn't sure she could go along with.
"That sounds a little too psycho for me," she grimaced.
Ash pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and slid it over the dark oak desk. She looked at Benjamin Franklin's face, her tongue slid over her crusty lips and it seemed that you couldn't give a weird request, as long as the right man did the talking.
"We only have queens," she said and snapped the bill up.
"Even better." Ash grinned.
Lola returned with one towel for herself and handed another one to Ash. He reached out, his fingers landing in a gentle caress as he took the towel from her hand. He told her how he was still waiting for the lady to see if they had any free rooms and rubbed the towel in his hair to dry it off.
"I'm sorry but it seems we're full," She squinted her eyes and perked up. Lola's jaw dropped and she wondered if she should ask if they could stay in the hallway until morning, there were chairs and a coffee machine in the lobby which would keep them comfortable enough.
"Or wait, here we go. There is one room left with one queen-sized bed. I hope you're comfortable sharing,"
Lola laughed nervously and shook her head.
"Do you have anything with two beds?" She asked.
"Sorry," the lady pouted.
"But there are no other cars here?" Lola countered.
"Many of our guests come by train and then cabs from the train station. It's because of the shallow parking," she explained. "There ain't enough land around us to build a parking lot,"
Lola looked around at the quaint but not newly renovated Inn.
What other choice did they have?
She gratefully accepted the key and Ash paid for the room.
They walked down the carpeted corridor and up a few steps to get to their room.
"It's really quiet for a packed Inn," Lola argued.
"They're probably asleep, not everyone is on a mission to save their kidnapped husband." Ash reminded.
It looked like the Inn was run by hunters judging by the hung animal heads and the skin carpets in the room.
The canopy bed had heavy red velvet curtains and the bedding was lavish with gold and moss green.
The hardwood floors were warm from floor heaters and the windows gave a clear window of the storm thundering outside.
They took off their jackets and shirts and tossed them on a big rocking chair that was covered in sheep wool. Lola stood in her tank top that fit her body like a second skin but Ash stood in a bare upper body, his jeans hanging low with the black leather belt keeping them up. He started a fire in the brick fireplace and they decided to do what they could to relax while they were there.
Lola sat on the floor in front of the fire, hugging her knees to her chest and playing with the ring on her ginger. After his shower, Ash sat down to join her on the floor. He looked at the distance between them and scooted to the side, gently edging closer.
They looked at the roaring flame, both caught up in their thoughts.
Ash turned his head, catching a glint of Lola's serene face just existing for a peaceful moment.
He had no clue what was happening inside her head but watching her lips relax in a soft natural pout and her eyes narrow as her blonde hair was tied in a high ponytail and fell down her back he saw a strength in her that had come with all the crap she'd been forced through. She had always been tough, laughed through the tears that only ever fell in silence behind closed doors. Not many had seen her pain as Ash had, the truest most raw parts of her that she befriended years ago.
Was that what she saw in the fire?
Were those the memories that she drowned in as the heat warmed her skin?
"You're staring." She stated without taking her eyes off the fire.
He pressed his hands onto the floor and moved closer, watching for a reaction- perhaps a flick of her head or her hand coming up to stop him from getting any closer. Nothing came. Lola's shoulders dropped an inch, barely visible but he was attentive to her body's slightest reaction to him. The heat grew even hotter as the fire painted her silk-soft skin in a glowing hue. She drew a breath that hitched in her throat and licked her drying lips. Ash gently reached out and pinched her chin with a soft pull he turned her head. Lola's eyes immediately softened, as though she drowned in his gaze but knew that she shouldn't. Their face lit up by the fire and the rain slammed against the widows, filling the room with sounds that drowned out the hard beating of their hearts.
Her lips parted as if in response to something he hadn't asked and he leaned in, gently dragging his thumb over her lips.
"You can't," she whispered, her eyes on his lips, sinking into heated darkness.
"Tell me to stop," he said and closed the distance, "Just tell me to stop." His lips pressed against Lola's and they closed their eyes. She squeezed them shut and Ash's hand came around the back of her neck, deepening the kiss as his tongue graced between her lips.
Lola fisted his shirt and pulled herself even closer, her lips parted for Ash to enter and she relinquished control and let him take charge.
The taste of her tongue and her lips and the touch of her body under his hold was a feeling he'd only ever imagined.
His hands roamed down her body to her lower back and he gently leaned her down on the floor, positioning himself on top of her.
Lola's hands were impatiently ripping at his shirt, unbuttoning it down until it slid off his back, exposing his rippling muscles and the glistening skin under the fire.
He slid his hand under her shirt and drew patterns on her skin with his fingers, sending electrical waves up her body. He grabbed her waist and gently spread her legs.
His lips traced a path down her jaw and her neck, working their way up to the spot under her ear where memories lived that until now had been dormant. Ash's lips pressed against the spot that awoke Jax's smell, his touch, his face.
"Wait," she said and pulled her hands back. Panting and consumed by the heat she moaned as his lips moved over her jaw.
"Ash," she moaned and pressed her hips up against him. His hands roamed over her body, over every crevasse and curve, and his lips traced further down her chest leaving marks on her skin like a map.
She closed her eyes and her head fell back. Lola moaned his name and in response his fingers dug into her skin and he pulled her up against him. Their bodies moved as if in a dance, responding perfectly to each grab and pull, in sync as she writhed under his mercy.
Ash moved his hand down her front and in a swift motion he undid her pants and slid his hand between her legs that spread wider for him. She bit down on her lip to keep from moaning too loud and threw her head back against the floor. The fire flickered its big flame and Ash's other hand came up around her neck.
"Be patient with me." Jax's voice rang in her head and she saw his face and the soft gaze in his eyes as he begged.
She heard his voice as though he was in the room with them and remembered the night in the guest room when Jax held her close. The night that he asked her to wait for him, to trust him. The last night they saw each other before the Winter Whimsy- where he was taken when he tried to protect her. Where he kissed Lavina. Reality swarmed in through every knock and cranny of the room and washed over her like an ice bath. The heat washed away leaving a trail of shame and regret.
"Stop!" She said and pushed at his chest.
Ash leaned up, saw the change in her eyes, and heard how her heart was racing faster than before. He sat back up and helped her up. Ash grabbed her shirt from the floor and pulled the sleeves over her arms, helping it on her in silence before taking his own and buttoning it. She removed the messy hairdo and let her hair fall down her shoulder while wiping the beads of sweat from her face.
"I'm sorry," she said and ran a hand over her face.
Lola pressed her legs together and tried to not think of how wet she was after having been teased and touched by her husband's cousin.
"Don't be. You love him," Ash's brows furrowed and he clenched his jaw roughly as he folded up the sleeves of the shirt.
"You'll always love him," he said and looked at the fire while fixing the collar.
"I wish I could tell you that I didn't, that after everything he's done, I'm done with him. But I can't. it wouldn't be fair to either of you if this happened,"
Ash gritted his teeth and clicked his tongue.
"He's your soulmate...no matter what, your heart will always be with him." He wasn't attempting to cover the pain in his voice. The sound of which broke her heart even more.
"Let's survive this first, and then we can talk about where my heart belongs." She said lowly.
The Doe belongs to no one man. That was what all of the stories said.
Perhaps once all was said and done, there wouldn't be a heart left to give. She needed to make sure that Jax made it home and after that, she didn't have any big hopes of making it back herself.