Chapter Four
Loralei
"You're the town librarian?" Ash asks, grinning at me from the opposite end of the couch where he's sprawled with his hands on his stomach and his feet on the coffee table.
The plate of cheese and fruit is all but gone between us.
The cabin is nice and toasty. Unfortunately, it's also still storming outside. It hasn't let up at all.
"Yes. I have been for the last four years."
One dark brow arches. "There's no way you're old enough to have been the librarian that long."
"I'm twenty-seven."
"Really? I thought you were twenty-one or twenty-two."
"Nope. Twenty-seven."
"And already lording over the literary scene in town," he murmurs. "Impressive."
"Book nerds start early," I say with a shrug.
He just chuckles in response, stretching his arms over his head. His t-shirt rides up, exposing a strip of skin right above his waistband. Jeez. Do his abs have abs? And am I allowed to ask if I can lick them? Probably not, right? "What's your favorite thing to read?"
"Romance."
The way he smiles at me makes my heart flip. "Yeah? What kind?"
"Just romance," I mumble, avoiding his gaze. There's no way I'm telling him that I read filth of the highest order. Some things, rockstars do not need to know.
"Uh-huh."
"Do you read?"
"I used to," he says. "When I was younger, I read all the damn time."
"You don't anymore? Why not?"
"No time." He sighs, his shoulders drooping. "I have no fucking time for anything anymore."
I stare at him for a moment, noticing the weary look on his face. He doesn't just look tired. He looks exhausted, the bone-deep kind that slowly erodes at your soul until there's nothing left to give.
Is that why he's here? Because he has nothing left to give? Because everyone always wants something from him and this is the only way he can get five minutes of peace?
I reach out instinctively, placing my hand over his.
He blinks, his gaze meeting mine. "I'm sorry," I whisper.
"I can't even imagine how exhausting it is to do what you do every day, to always have people who want things or need things, or to always have somewhere to be or something that needs your attention. "
"I chose it," he says, one corner of his lips lifted in a sardonic smile.
"Doesn't mean it isn't allowed to be heavy sometimes, Ash," I murmur. "Or that you aren't allowed to be human or need a break. People can only carry so much, you know."
He tilts his head, eyeing me silently. "I appreciate that, baby. More than you know."
I smile, settling back against the sofa. But when I go to pull my hand from his, he flips his over, catching my wrist.
"Tell me something else about you," he says.
"What do you want to know?"
"Is your man going to worry about you being gone for so long?"
A loud laugh erupts from my lips before I can stop it. "I'd have to have a man in order for him to worry about me. The only people likely to notice me missing are probably still…you know what? Nevermind."
"No, tell me."
"Arguing over a possessed vibrator," I whisper, staring at a loose thread on the sofa.
Ash chokes on a laugh. "Come again?"
I just had to say that, didn't I?
"My friend owns a spicy bookstore. They also have a selection of vibrators," I quickly explain, stumbling over the word. "We're pretty sure one of them is possessed."
He stares at me with wide eyes.
"It's a whole thing. Don't ask," I say, waving him off. Are my cheeks actually as red as they feel right now, or is that just my imagination?
"Oh, I'm asking." His eyes crinkle at the corners. "Please, tell me more about the possessed vibrator."
"You're never going to forget this, are you?"
"Absolutely not. Why is it possessed?"
"Because the only settings it has are destruction, annihilation, can't-walk-for-a-week, and call-an-ambulance. It also spins and pulsates. And, allegedly, it lights up. But we can't find that feature. You don't decide what setting you want. The vibrator basically decides for you."
He's wheezing now, his fingers laced through mine. His index taps along my knuckles like he's playing some melody only he hears. It's surprisingly soothing. "Please tell me that you haven't tried this thing."
"Me? God no. It's like a foot and a half long. Orgasms are supposed to be little deaths, not actual permanent ones." I blink wide eyes at him. "We decided to give it away."
"So…you want someone else to die, huh?"
"What? No!" I cry. "It'll be a shelf piece for someone. Join the mailing list, win a possessed cock to show off to your friends." I slap my free hand over my mouth. "Um, I meant vibrator."
Ash grins at me, his eyes light. "I'm so fucking glad I almost ran you over today, Loralei. This is the most interesting conversation I've had in months."
"We're done talking about this. Tell me something about you," I say quickly, pretty sure I'm going to turn into a freaking volcano if I get any redder.
Maybe this is why I don't date. When I do finally start talking, it's never about anything appropriate.
Why in the world did I bring up that vibrator?
"Me?" He pretends to think about it. "I think you're cute as hell when you're embarrassed. And you're fucking adorable when you're rambling about plastic cocks."
"Silicone."
"My mistake. Silicone," he corrects, grinning. "You're fucking adorable when you're rambling about silicone cocks."
"You're not making me feel any less embarrassed, Ash."
"Wasn't trying to," he whispers, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "You just came alive for me. I like it."
I swallow hard, pretty sure he can hear my heart beating because it's so freaking loud. And then I realize that's because rain is no longer hitting the roof. "It stopped raining."
"What?" His brows furrow.
"It's not raining." I scurry up from the couch and rush to the windows, peering out. If I don't, I might actually throw myself at him. "Ash! It's not raining!"
Maybe it's my imagination, but I think he mutters a curse behind me before I hear him shuffling around. A second later, he steps up beside me, so close his arm brushes against mine.
"Huh," he mutters. "Guess it's not."
My heart plummets a little. "I guess, um…can you give me a ride? I would walk to my car, but…" I trail off, figuring he doesn't need me to remind him that there's currently half of a tree sitting on it. He saw it with his own eyes.
"No."
I blink at him, shocked.
"I mean, why don't you stay here for right now, and let me go check things out first? Once I know if we can even get through, I'll report back," he says.
"Okay…" I say slowly.
"If we can't get through, I'll try to get signal to call out to get someone out here to clear us a path." He saunters toward the table by the door, shoving his feet into his shoes. "Wait here for me."
"Okay," I say again. "Be careful."
He turns to me, his eyes lingering on my face. "Always, baby."
I swear, every damn time he calls me that, my heart does a flip and my uterus starts singing hymnals. That's probably not normal, right?
Somehow, I doubt it.
"Dammit," I groan fifteen minutes later, dropping my phone onto my lap when it fails to pick up a signal for the fifth time in a row. At this point, I might as well face facts. We're in a dead zone.
"Still no service?" Ash asks, ducking through the front door. His gaze comes to me, droplets of water running down the side of his face. He lifts a hand, wiping them away.
"You're back!" I cry, bolting to my feet to face him. I try to tell myself I'm only relieved he's back because that means I'm one step closer to getting out of here, but that's a lie. I was worried about him. I think…well, hell. I think I even missed him.
What the fuck is even happening? If you'd have asked me yesterday, I'd have said it was impossible to miss someone you met only hours ago. Ash has me reevaluating that belief.
He has me reevaluating a lot right now, actually.
"I have bad news."
"Please don't tell me that my car is a lost cause," I plead, though I'm pretty sure that ship sailed even before the tree landed on it. I'm going to need a new car. It's probably for the best, but…damn.
"No idea," he says with a shrug. "I didn't make it that far. There's a tree down half a mile up the path leading out of here."
I gape at him in shock. "Seriously?"
"Yep. We're not getting out of here until tomorrow at the earliest." He holds up my tote bag.
"I tried to get a signal to call out, but couldn't do that, either.
I'll have to walk out tomorrow to call for help.
I did find this on the floorboard of the SUV, though.
Figured you might need it." He drops it onto the table beside the door.
I plop back down onto the couch, burying my face in my hands. "This is a disaster."
"Damn. Am I really that bad?"
"What? No, of course not. I just…" I huff out a breath. "I feel bad for intruding, that's all."
"Loralei." He stomps toward me and then crouches at my feet, prying my hands away from my face.
Once I meet his gaze, his lips quirk slightly.
"You aren't intruding. The cabin has two bedrooms, so there's plenty of room here for both of us.
We'll ride it out for the night, and then I'll walk out tomorrow to call for rescue. It'll be fine."
"I still feel bad," I whisper.
"Yeah, well, don't," he says, tipping my face back. "That'll only piss me off. You aren't bad company. Stop acting like you are, okay?"
I bite my lip and then nod. "Okay."
He stares at me for a long moment, like he's checking to make sure I mean it, and then he relaxes slightly, his fingers brushing my cheek.
I don't mean to do it, but I lean into his touch anyway.
And maybe it's my imagination, but I swear his eyes darken a little, his gaze dropping to my lips. Does he want to kiss me?
God, I want him to, so freaking badly I'm ready to crawl out of my skin.
Instead, I pull back, pulling a little space between us.
Do not throw yourself at him, Loralei. Do not.
It's going to be a long night.