His hands roamed her body, appreciating every inch of the girl lying next to him. His fingers slipped under the shirt and up her front, feeling her arms relax around herself.
Jax pressed his lips against her neck, and his tongue slid over the spot under Lola's ear that made her body tingle.
"Good morning," Lola said and smiled.
"I like this shirt on you," Jax said, his voice giving away that he had just woken up.
"Oh yeah?" Lola turned around to face him. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his.
Jax's hand slid down on her lower back and he pulled her in closer.
"You look good. How are you feeling?" Lola asked.
"Like you saved my life." He gazed into her eyes, the dark color twinkling as he watched her.
"Well I did owe you one," she murmured.
He shifted Lola's body so she was positioned under him, and he held his hands pressed against the pillows.
Lola's lips tugged up as they met with Jax's. The heat of their bodies radiated through their skin, and every nerve was pulling, yearning for the person in their grasp.
Jax flipped them around. He pulled her legs around him and positioned her on top as he leaned back against the headboard. Lola felt his hardened length pressing against her wet folds, and she licked her lips in response to the rising heat.
The ache grew, and she leaned down to meet his lips, to feel him and appreciate what she almost lost mere hours ago. Just as she tasted him, unable to pull back, and her hands roamed down his front, Jax grabbed her wrist and, in one swift motion, had her head pulled down to face him up close.
"I need to ask you something," he said. His lips parted and softly brushed against Lola's.
"Do you have to ask me right now?" she moaned.
Frustrated, she tried to pull back, but Jax held her still.
"I do."
She watched as his eyes remained open, but the darkness tinted his iris. Jax's brows fought not to tug down, and he resisted the walls rebuilding around himself. He knew they were not the way to get answers.
"What is it?" Lola asked.
Jax's fingers slid up her back, drawing patterns over her skin. He looked at her in pain over the fact that she hadn't already told him. He had given her multiple attempts to relay the truth but still chose to withhold important details.
Jax began to wonder if trust was the issue or if something else was the cause behind the hidden pieces of information that seemed to come from everyone but Lola.
"The vampires said that they were taking you to someone. Who is it that they answer to?" He felt her body stiffen on top of him.
His eyes flickered over her face to take in every little change.
"Don't lie to me again," he said softly.
Lola's tongue dragged over her lips, not to moisten the dryness from her body heating up but rather to cope with the fear that slowly prevented her from speaking.
Jax removed his hand, and Lola leaned up. She moved one leg to sit on the bed, but Jax pulled her back, pressing her down on top of him.
She sighed. Her shoulders fell, and she knew it was pointless to keep this information to herself any longer. It was only a matter of time before Jax found out, and if it didn't come from her, the damage would be much greater.
"Lucien," she said.
His eyes rounded, and Lola looked at his chest when it felt like he'd stopped breathing. A few locks of her hair fell in front of her eyes, and she pulled them back to see him. Her hand pressed on his chest, and she scanned his eyes for a sign that he'd heard her.
"Lucien?" Jax asked.
A breath puffed out of her when he finally spoke. "Yes, he's their master. He is the one who is searching for me."
Jax leaned in, and one by one, the walls came up. "Lucien is the strongest vampire ever to have been recorded. There are clans with leaders, but none like him. How could you not tell me this until now?"
She heard the betrayal in his voice. Jax was closed off, hiding the pain that his voice relayed.
His body was rock hard. His muscles didn't respond to the calm of his mate's touch or the shame and guilt on her face.
"It was such a small piece of everything else. I didn't think it was important," Lola said.
He searched her eyes in disbelief, knowing full well that this piece of information changed everything. Jax dragged a hand over his face and let out a frustrated sound.
"This changes everything," he said as his head fell back against the board.
He stared up at the ceiling. His hands moved from Lola, and she felt the tension between them.
She moved away from him with no attempt on Jax's part to keep her put, and she sat on the bed.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to lie about anything. I just didn't know to what extent I-"
"Should be honest?" Jax said, finishing her sentence.
Lola's eyes widened.
"That's not what I meant. I've been honest about everything. I have told you everything, and maybe this piece was left out, but only because I didn't think it mattered." Her voice rose slightly and filled the room.
"This matters more than anything else you've said." Jax tossed off the covers and walked a few steps with his hands tugging in his hair.
"Jax." Lola got out of the bed as well and walked over to him.
Jax's hand shot out to stop her, and she looked at it. She saw a blockage from someone who had done everything to be close to her.
"I have had to peel the truth from you ever since the start. If I hadn't then who knows how much you would've said on your own. Is It that you can't be honest with me? Seriously, you're...you're difficult, Lola," she walked up to him but his hands shot out again to keep her at a distance.
"I'm sorry, I just need... I need to think..." he said and looked at her with hooded eyes.
His hand fell, and Lola stepped back. The distance between them felt like an ocean impossible to cross, and the water was edging up to her nose, drowning her from within.
"I understand," she said.
Jax removed his shirt and looked at the chair where Lola's dress hung.
"Are you going to wear this again?" he asked, barely looking at her.
"No," Lola said. She never wanted to see that dress again.
Jax took the dress and shriveled it up in his hands, along with his shirt. He threw the clothes into the trash and removed his pants, putting them in with the other clothes he wanted to set on fire.
Lola watched as the reminder of last night was tied up in a plastic bag.
"I have to take a shower and meet up with Ash. I'll see you later," he said and tossed the bag on the floor before stepping into the bathroom.
His head fell, and a loud sigh left his lips.
"I'm sorry, but I just need to revise the plan we had and change...everything," he said and cast her a dark gaze before he closed the door.
Lola's hand came up to clutch her chest when it felt like the air was disappearing from her lungs. The weight of all her choices crushed her heart.
"You do that," she whispered.
She couldn't stay in Jax's room. The thought of him stepping out of the bathroom and ignoring her was enough to drive her out. She opened the door and looked around to see if the hallway was clear. Lola scurried down the hall to the guest room and turned the handle. She was grateful that Melissa had chosen to stay over, and all she wanted was to get into the bed and lay next to her best friend. She stepped into the guest room and looked around at the chair and the bed. The lack of clothes and the neatly made bed indicated that nobody had slept there last night. Stress filled her body when she couldn't see any sign of Melissa, and she walked out into the hallway. The shirt slowly slid up as she walked down to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
A door opened behind her behind her. She heard a giggle and turned her head.
Melissa stepped out. Around her body hung a dress shirt. It was way too big and fell like a dress to her knees.
"Mell?" Lola asked.
Melissa's head whipped around and met Lola's gaze with shock. Lola looked behind her. He had his hand around her waist and wore only a pair of boxers. She quickly pulled her gaze away when she saw more than she had wished.
"Lola," Melissa gasped.
Ash smirked. He looked down at Melissa and roughly grabbed her face as he pressed his lips against hers.
"Last night was fun," he whispered huskily.