The Last Kiss

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Dawn was quicky approaching, and the earth was starting to warm to the soft touches of the sun rising. The carriage had made great time but the sun would be breaking the horizon soon and that was something Ashton couldn’t risk. He had longed to see such a pleasant view but it simply wasn’t meant to be. Now he would take his pleasures in other things, such as the lovely woman lightly dozing across from him. Of course, now was not the time to be thinking of his own pleasures. If he was correct, the coach should be coming to a stop shortly, as his driver already knew that daylight was something to avoid, no matter what.

True enough the carriage’s pace began to slow until it came to a complete stop. As the carriage door was opened, Lindsey opened her eyes and stifled a yawn. Ashton stepped out then turned back and looked at Lindsey.

“Wait here for a moment while I procure the rooms,” he said.

Giving a faint nod Lindsey stretched her arms up as much as she could. All her muscles ached from their long journey, she would indeed be very sore later. Leaning back again she filled her lungs then released with a heavy sigh. Today would be a long day for her, most likely the longest in her life. She could only hope that the message Ashton had received would indeed prove correct. Matter fact, their plan centered on the fact that Robert would be long away from his home in order to work.

Popping his head in through the window, Ashton asked, “are you ready?”

“Hm, oh, yes I’m ready,” as she took his hand and stepped down, “more than ready to stretch my legs.”

Entering the door, she saw that it was still very quite inside. Most normal people wouldn’t think of being up at such a ghastly hour. Even the innkeeper was half asleep and only partly dressed. She would guess that the rest of the inn was still fast asleep, including the staff.

“This way, my lord,” the portly man said.

As he made his way across the room with only a dimly lit lantern, Lindsey was a bit confused as the main stairs were right near the check-in counter but followed anyhow. The man’s maze took them down a flight of stairs and into a passage way that was very narrow. There the light was a bit brighter, due to the fact that the walls were so close it reflected more. Toward the end of the passage the man paused to open a door and allowed Ashton to step inside first.

The chamber was well lit and well furnished, shockingly so. Lindsey had expected some sort of storage room or something along those lines but instead she had entered a room of elegance. Although there were no windows, the candles that had been scattered around proved to be more than enough lighting. Stepping inside, the innkeeper closed the door behind her. She half expected to hear the clasp of the lock fall but instead she heard the raspy sliding sound of the keeper’s slippers.

Looking over the furnishings of the room, she would guess that Ashton was a regular guest at this inn. How else would there be such a room, with such lavish furnishings? The chairs were well covered in heavy material, meaning expensive, as was the bedding.

Instead of just a simple flee infested bed with a shredded rag for a blanket and a half-broken chair in front of an uneven writing desk and a well-worn wardrobe, this room was decked out in some of the finest she had seen. Not only was there a writing desk that looked well balanced on all for legs, but also a sitting area. She was very much in awe of it all and guessed that Ashton had made certain that anywhere he would stay was perfect for him, which meant he had bought everything for the room.

Stepping out of what one might guess a dressing room, Ashton asked, “will this do for you? Or would you prefer another room?”

“No, this room will do nicely. Although I think this is the first time in all my life I’ve seen a four-poster bed at an inn,” she teased.

“Yes I can see your point but as you well know I can’t just stay anywhere when I travel,” he smiled. “Just to my liking, I had everything imported in and set up for just my personal use.”

“So I can tell,” she said as she touched one of the fabrics that hung from the bedpost. “Do you always get your way,” she asked as she turned to face him?

Seeing that she was still teasing him, he said, “almost.”

“Hm, it must be nice,”

“Indeed it is,” he replied as he sat down in one of the plush chairs.

“How?” she quizzed.

“How do I always get what I want or how did I convince the keeper to let me have this,” he said, motioning with his hand?

“The room for starters.”

“The innkeeper wife was very ill when I happened along one night. She had just given birth to their child and was losing a lot of blood. I explained that I could save her life and did, that child is now one and five. In return he gave me a safe comfortable place to stay when needed,” pausing for a moment he continued, “as for the other, I can’t say. Perhaps luck?”

“Luck, indeed,” she smiled. “Although that was very kind of you to help the woman. Not only for her sake but for her child’s as well.”

Taking a seat in one of the chairs that faced Ashton, she wasn’t sure if she should express to him her doubts or keep them to herself.

“Ash-“ she began then fell silent, not sure if she should let the flood of emotions spill free.

Looking to her face, she could feel his heat within her eyes as she said, “shall we rest?”

“That would be a good idea,” he said but didn’t move just yet.

Standing Lindsey moved into the somewhat small dressing room and began to work at the buttons on her dress. While securing the room Ashton had also had the few bags they had prepared before leaving brought to the room. With all the buttons undone, the dress barely hung against her body, she opened one of the bags and found her nightgown. Slipping the dress over her hips it fell to the floor, she slid the gown over her hair, letting it fall around her body. Taking the gown from the floor she laid it across the back of the chair and walked back into the other room.

“Shall we?” she asked.

Looking up, Ashton’s body almost betrayed him at the sight of Lindsey. It took all the control he could muster to keep himself from becoming as hard with need. This was something no other woman had been able to do in all his time on earth. Reminding himself that tonight was not the night for such activities and that the both of them needed their rest so they would be prepared for the following evening. Tonight would seem almost equally as hard to keep a restrain as it would keeping himself restrained if Robert had happened to return home. His body grew tense but not with the need of sexual pleasure but the need to do bodily harm. Aw, that was it, in order to control his want toward Lindsey he would try and keep his focus on the one man he hated the most.

The one thing he knew was that right now he didn’t need to complicate things further for Lindsey, she was stressed enough and there was no way he was going to add to that. No, seducing her right now would be a horrible mistake, most likely for them both. With a soft sigh he began to push off his boots but had already decided that his trousers would have to remain on, even if it proved to be the most uncomfortable way of sleeping. This was sure to be a trail of endurance, not only for his lust for Lindsey but for his sanity as well. For he was so in love with her that if something were to happen he would go mad.

Walking over to one side of the bed, Ashton unfastened the buttons on his shirt, having already untied his cravat and tossing it aside, then removed his cufflinks. Setting them on the side table he pulled the blankets of the bed up enough for him to slide underneath. Watching Ashton’s moves, Lindsey walked over to the bed after she realized that Ashton was going to use this time for sleep. In a way she had hoped that he would make love to her but it was probably for the best that they did use this time for rest and decided to climb in bed. Laying on her side, she wiggled until her body was against Ashton. He sighed heavily, tonight was sure to test any and all bounds of his control.

It had almost proven too much for him to withstand but after he laid his arm around her, tucking her closely to him, he kissed the nap of her neck and relaxed. Only a moment later did he heard the heavy breathing of her finally in a deep sleep. With a sigh, he hugged her closely then fell asleep himself.



A scratch at the door awoke Ashton, gently slipping his arm off of Lindsey, he climbed out of bed to answer the door. Moving across the room without making a sound, Ashton could feel that the earth had cooled and it was probably after nightfall. Opening the door, he saw the innkeeper’s son who informed him that it was indeed after sundown and his carriage and horses would be ready shortly. After thanking the boy, he closed the door then turned around to make his way back to the bed to awake Lindsey.

“Who was at the door?” a groggy voice broke the thick silence.

“That was the innkeeper’s son. He said everything is almost ready for us to depart,” Ashton stated as he lit a candle.

Lindsey turned over in the bed and mumbled, it was still too soon to be getting up but she knew that she must. For some reason her head was filled with fog and thoughts seemed to be lost within it. She hoped that not getting enough sleep along with worry was the cause of this lack of wits and would clear up when she was more awake. Heaven above knew she needed all her wits, strength and sharp eyes if she was to get her children back. Forcing herself out of bed she sat up slowly, testing how steady she was going to be. She surely didn’t want to stumble to the floor just because she wasn’t sensible enough to make sure her head wasn’t spinning.

Without reading her mind, Ashton sensed that something wasn’t just so with Lindsey. The voices of the doctors and his servants cluttered his mind with reminders of what could be causing Lindsey to be out of sorts. Appearing as nothing was out of the ordinary he exchanged his shirt for a fresh one while keeping a keen eye on Lindsey. He watched closely as she sat at the edge of the bed for a few moments then moved to the dressing room and began dressing herself. Luckily for him, his body didn’t betray him as it had before they went to bed.

“Care for some help with those buttons?” He asked.

Turning her back to him and pulling her hair up, Ashton took that as a yes and began to fasten the buttons. He might have been wrong about his body, for each time a new button was fastened the tips of his fingers would gently sweep across her silky skin. It had almost proven too much but he rushed along after giving himself a mental shake, reminding himself that now was not the time for such thoughts.

Finishing with the last button and stepping away, Ashton asked, “would you care for a bite to eat while the carriage is being loaded?”

Facing the small looking glass, her hands entangled in her hair and her mouth full with hair pins, she nodded. The expression on Lindsey’s face of complete frustration as she battled with the hair pins and her hair almost caused to Ashton laugh. It was such a simple task or maybe not as he watched her twist various strands of hair. In all his years he had never seen a woman do her hair, it almost seemed so human-like.

Turning away, Ashton walked over to the bedside table and began to work with his cufflinks. How was he going broach the subject of her coming into his world? It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t be able to do her own hair but she would miss so many other humanly tasks and joys. Would she be willing to give all that up to be with him? Glancing back he saw that she had just finished placing the last hair pin and he wondered if he should even attempt to steal those things from her.

Besides, things were about to get a bit harder for her to give up, as he knew that once her children were back with her she would never want to turn loose again. Not that he would ask her to do such a thing but he knew she wouldn’t be able to play with them in the park, watch them swim in a near-by pond or other simple pleasures. His heart grew heavy as the one thing he wanted and thought he had found was slowly slipping through his fingers once more. That wasn’t entirely true, they could be together even if he didn’t bring her across but they wouldn’t be able to be fully linked together.

Lindsey’s voice brought Ashton back from his thoughts, “are you ready?”

“Hm?” Ashton looked up, “yes, your right we should be on our way.”

Ashton pulled open the door allowing Lindsey to pass as she did she turned and asked, “what were you thinking of?”

With a bright smile he replied, “just wool-gathering, my dear.”

Nodding her head she turned back around and lead the way down the passage. Reaching the top of the stairs Lindsey paused letting Ashton come to a stop beside her. Looking around the room they saw that it was a bit crowded but not overly so. Stepping a bit further into the room, they were quickly greeted by the innkeeper and informed them that he had a private table already set up and awaiting.

Making their way around the walls, they were able to avoid any contact with the other patrons. Pushing open a door they entered a small room with very little decor, just the table and two chairs awaited inside. The room was dimly lit with a small candelabra that sat in the center of the table, giving just enough light for their meal.

Giving a small nod to the innkeeper, the chubby old man bobbed and closed the door behind him. Pulling the chair out for Lindsey then taking a seat for himself. Ashton poured each of them a glass of wine that had been iced in a small bucket toward one side of their table. Settling in they quickly ate their meal without even the slightest of conversation. The clicking of the silverware on the plates was the only noise to be heard. Only once did the innkeeper’s wife pop her head in to ensure that everything was to their liking before she disappeared just as quickly.
As soon as they had taken their last bites a scratch came at the door just it swung open.

“Sir, everything is ready and awaiting,” the footman informed them.

Looking over at Lindsey, Ashton asked, “shall we be on our way?”

As she took the napkin from her lap and dabbed the edges of her mouth she nodded, she pushed her chair back and stood. Laying the napkin down at the side of her plate she fell in behind Ashton as he made his way through the crowd.

The carriage awaited them outside, as they stepped outside the door the footman quickly opened the door causing the steps to fall into place and offered his hand to assist Lindsey. Seeing the look on Ashton’s face, the footman lowered his hand but kept his position of holding the door open.

Extending his hand for Lindsey he offered to hand her up into the carriage, “may I?”

Taking his hand, she paused taking a moment to glanced up at the sky seeing the dark skies without any moon but filled with fast rolling clouds. She entered the carriage finding once again her place on the seat that was directly behind the driver. With Ashton right behind her, he slid in and took his seat across from Lindsey with the door securely closed behind him.

“Comfy?”

“As comfortable as one could expect,” she responded.

“Yes, I do suppose it’s the best one could expect.”

She mumbled in agreement.

Tapping the top of the carriage with his knuckles, “drive on,” Ashton said with a slightly raised voice.

Without further notice the carriage jumped forward and once again they were well on their way.

Brushing aside the curtain, Lindsey asked, “do you think the weather will hold?”

Peering out his own window for a moment, he said, “I don’t think we have any worries of being caught in the rain.”

“Indeed, that would spoil our plans, would it not?”

“Only a pinch more trouble but nothing to spoil, my dear. Everything is under control and you needn’t worry. The only think you should concern yourself with now is how much you plan to spoil your children,” he smiled.

He wished he could put more faith into his words but truth was, he himself was worried that some detail hadn’t been taken care of. The main detail that came rushing to the front of all others was Robert, he was very unpredictable and could prove dangerous. Making a mental note, Ashton decided it might be best to have someone circle back and keep an eye on Robert.

Reaching over, Ashton grasped one of Lindsey’s hands and brushed a soft kiss on her skin, “I promise that in a month’s time you won’t even recall having this uncertainty. You’ll be too busy chasing about with your children.”

“Thank you so much. I don’t think I would have ever made it this far without your help.”

She leaned forward she cupped his jaw with her hand and pressed a gentle kiss on Ashton’s cheek then whispered into his ear, “this has meant so much to me, more than you shall ever know.”

As she began to remove her hand Ashton seized the moment to grasp it and pulled her closer to him.

Wrapping his arms around her, whispering to her, “you mean more to me than you shall ever know.”

Before she could respond he lowered his head and kissed the fullness of her lips as he shifted her body so she was sitting on his lap.

“So much more,” he whispering against her lips then deepened the kiss.

Now was not the time, he kept repeating in his head but his heart and other aspects of him wanted to ignore the fact. Sliding one of his hands down the length of Lindsey’s dress he soon found the hem and slipped his hand under it. Their kiss had gone from that of a teasing kiss to one filled with ripe passions and lusty desires. Letting his hand follow the curves of Lindsey’s calf moving to the top part of her stocking-clad knee only stopping when he reached the garters that held the stockings. His blood rushed through his veins with thrill and excitement as he slid his thumb back and forth under the garter.

Shifting Lindsey’s body so that her back pressed against his chest Ashton wrapped one arm under hers with his hand laid flat against her stomach. Lindsey’s skin felt like silk to the touch, urging and tempting him even further. If only now where the time.

Now wasn’t the time for him to feast on the pleasures of her body but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a taste of passion. Removing his thumb from under the laces of the garter, Ashton gently slid his hand further up until he found the slit in the fabric of her drawers. Reaching past the fabric he found the treasure he had been looking for. Rubbing his hand through the curls, taking his other hand from Lindsey’s belly slipping it under the fabric of her bodice and found the hard peek of her breast.

Unable to resist temptation any longer he parted the folds of Lindsey’s womanhood searching for the tiny bud that lay below. Massaging both the pert nipple and the pearl between Lindsey’s thighs, he could feel her body grown tense with hunger. With each stroke of his finger tips Lindsey’s body responded as she pressed herself harder against him. Grinding her bottom against his lap forced his body to spring to attention.

Lindsey was enchanted in a world of ecstacy as Ashton planted kisses on her neck and nibbled on her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Reaching up, she entwined her fingers in Ashton’s hair as her breathing became erratic trying to muffle moans of pleasure. She arched away from his chest but his grip on her breast held her steady on his lap. Taking one hand from his mangled hair she slid it between them and began to stroke the evidence of his excitement.

Not able to endure any more torture he abruptly forced her up, “lay back against the seat,” he groaned.

Doing as he bid, she laid against the seat, her skirts lay about her in disarray. Ashton wasted no time he knelt on the floor, stretching up he placed his hand at the back of her neck pulling her forward just enough to steal a kiss. Moving his kisses down her neck, she began to relax once more but it was to be short-lived. His hand rested once more on the bare skin of her breast, kneading it firmly, brushing his thumb over her erect nipple.

Tilting his head up, Ashton looked deep into the Lindsey’s foggy eyes and smiled. Before Lindsey could even wonder what wild thoughts were racing through Ashton’s mind, he raised her skirts. Running his hands up her thighs he didn’t stop until he got to the top of her drawers, pulled them down and tossed them aside. Kissing the creaming skin on the inner thigh, Ashton worked his way up until he was at the joining of Lindsey’s legs. Rubbing his hand over the outer folds, Lindsey’s body reacted as she opened for him.

Slowly sinking one finger within Lindsey, she moaned as her body stretched and became use to the feeling of him. Gently stroking her from within with his finger, Ashton stroked the hard bud with his tongue causing Lindsey to moan even more. With each flick of his tongue, each stroke of his finger it took Lindsey to even higher planes of pleasure. She shook deep within as the pleasure built into a volcano about to erupt. The heat rose from her inner core until she couldn’t take anymore and exploded. Slumping back against the cushion, she fought hard to regain control over her breath.

“That my sweet, was more than I could have asked for,” Ashton said as he gently kissed Lindsey’s inner thigh again.

She, however, wasn’t able to speak just yet but instead mumbled, “mmm,uh huh,” then leaned forward and kissed Ashton.