All Fired Up (23 page)

Ginny caught hold of his hand and rubbed her fingertips over the hard ridges she found there, then lifted them to her lips and kissed each one.

‘It was serious, Ginny. I told you, I proposed and she turned me down and ended our relationship there and then with some garbled explanation that never made sense.’ He grasped Ginny’s hand tight. ‘It wasn’t as if I’d sprung it on her out of the blue. We were settled, we had plans, we were fully committed.’

‘Your houseful of books and children. I remember.’ He’d told her that back in Antwerp. ‘So why do you think now that Iain was involved in her change of heart?’

‘I don’t know. Just little things I can’t pinpoint. Some things she said when she broke it off that I never really understood, and I was too bowled over to unravel at the time. And other stuff, like how he acted as if it was no big deal we’d broken up, yet he knew how besotted I was with her. Hell, he was with me when I bought the ring.’

‘That’s just evidence of him being a narcissistic wanker, not proof that he had a hand in it.’

‘I know.’ He scratched the back of his head. ‘As I said, it’s all instinct, not concrete evidence.’

Ginny gently cupped his face and kissed both his cheeks before seeking his mouth and teasing his lower lip. He kissed her back, sliding his arms inside the leather jacket to embrace her and pull her closer, needing the reassurance of her presence and the more solid contact.

‘Is the breakup what led to you meeting Spook?’ she asked, when a whistle from a passing drunk pulled them apart.

‘Yeah. I ended up hooked on depression meds.’ She was learning all his secrets tonight. ‘The campus doctor used to dish them out like Smarties. They switched off my brain but did fuck-all for my heart. Took a while to realise I was better off without them.’

‘Let me guess. Spook helped get you clean after he talked you off that bridge?’

‘You’ve an unreasonably high opinion of him, you know,’ he said, smoothing a stray wisp of her hair behind her ear. ‘Actually, it was the Liddell boys that got me clean.’

Ginny frowned at him, obviously not knowing who he meant.

‘Xane and his cousin Ric,’ he explained. ‘I’m not sure their methods were really of benefit long term, but I guess they achieved the required goal.’

‘Xane’s responsible for you substituting pill-popping for sex?’

‘That’s not quite how it was … I don’t know … I guess.’

‘I’m guessing cousin Ric is another total floozy, then,’ she said.

The description startled yet another laugh from him. Oh, dear, exhaustion was setting in. Next thing he’d be rolling around hysterical because she’d belched or something.

‘Is he as hot as Xane?’

‘I guess. They have certain similarities. Your mate Dani’s met him, maybe you should ask her. I don’t make a point checking out guys.’

‘If we all end up together in the same place again, I will.’ She gave him a penetrating stare, right into the centres of his eyes, getting him to focus and sober up. ‘I still don’t understand why Iain would want to destroy your happiness. I mean, you’ve given him a huge break. He’s drumming for a band at the top of their game, and it’s thanks to you.’

‘But it’s not his band, Ginny. He’s not the top dog, and his position is far from secure.’

‘If he was nicer it might have been.’

‘It’s not what he wants.’ He slashed the air with his hand. ‘Iain would rather see Black Halo fail. He’s got it into his head that I’m the key to his success and that he can only achieve what he wants if I’m fully committed. The only way to ensure that is to break up the band. We’re already shaky, it wouldn’t take much, and if Xane flipped and went AWOL for any reason, that would be it. As for why he’d try to break us up: simple, you’re an unacceptable distraction, the same as Connie was.’

‘I won’t let Iain scare me away. I won’t let him take you from me either.’

‘I keep seeing his hands all over you,’ he confessed.

Ginny grabbed his hands and placed them against her body. ‘Then chase him off. Put your mark all over me.’

‘I might get us arrested if I do that here.’

‘Danger Mouse would do it,’ she coaxed.

‘Danger Mouse never had sex.’

‘Not on screen, maybe. Wasn’t he based on James Bond? I bet he was at it constantly when he wasn’t being watched.’ She leaned in and teased the line of studs in his ear. ‘Ash, we’re not being watched.’

T
he tickle of Ash’s eyelashes against the curve of her belly roused Ginny from sleep shortly after noon later that day. They’d checked into a hotel in Karlstad as the sun was rising. Dani hadn’t answered when Ash had tried to reach Xane through her, using Ginny’s phone. Unsurprisingly, he had once more mislaid his own. He planned to try again later, but in the meantime he left a voice message asking Xane to call him. Of course, that all relied on Xane and Dani having successfully patched things up, something Ginny couldn’t be entirely certain of, given Luthor had also been in Halmstad.

Boy, was dating a member of Black Halo complex.

‘Morning,’ Ash said, grinning up at her from inside the cave he’d made with the duvet.

‘I’m not convinced it is yet.’ There were still cobwebs in her brain, and the bed was warm and snuggly with him there beside her … well, kind of on top of her actually. He was hunched on all fours across her lower body. Also, she wasn’t yet ready to face reality. Yesterday had been hell, and today, once it got going, wasn’t likely to be much better. They’d talked over numerous suspicions on the train from Gothenburg and all the ways in which they might handle things without bringing another media storm down upon the band, but they hadn’t arrived at an ideal solution. Ash was insistent that he wanted to talk to the guys, particularly Xane and Spook, before they did anything. He was also adamant that she wasn’t to go anywhere near Iain.

Ginny contained a shudder.
Urgh
! To think he’d touched her, although if any residue had remained of that moment Ash had thoroughly removed it. Not only had he fucked her on the railway station platform, he’d pushed her in the shower the moment they got into the hotel room and scrubbed every inch of her skin before making love to her again.

‘Beep … beep,’ Ash chirped in imitation of an alarm clock, except her alarm clock had never kissed her before. ‘We’re going to miss breakfast if we’re not in the dining room soon.’

‘Don’t need any.’ She’d rather stay put and catch another few winks.

‘Don’t need … don’t need breakfast!’ He spluttered in outrage. ‘That’s preposterous. Breakfast’s the most important meal of the day.’

If you were Ash Gore, international rock superstar and bottomless pit, maybe. Ginny hardly ever ate it, and, even when she did, it rarely consisted of more than fruit juice and maybe a croissant. Most days a strong cup of tar-like coffee saw her through to lunch.

‘Plus, we’re in a hotel, and hotel breakfast is the best bit about staying in them. They’ll have eggs and salmon and bacon and hash browns and muffins, and all those funny little cheeses in different wrappers that taste exactly the same, and yogurt. I bet you eat yogurt. And oatmeal porridge. And we’re in Sweden so they’ll probably have that
Filmjölk
loaf stuff that Spook sometimes makes.’

Ginny hoped he didn’t plan to eat all of that, because surely he wouldn’t be able to move afterwards, and she rather liked the way he moved, especially when he was inside her.

‘Ginny,’ he pleaded, smooching kisses across her tummy. ‘You don’t want to be responsible for me starving, do you?’ He cocked his head to one side like a patient spaniel. ‘’Cause you know if that happens I’ll have to eat you.’

A sleepy grin stretched across her face. ‘That doesn’t sound so bad.’ She knew what he could do with his tongue, and an alarm clock that not only gave kisses but supplied orgasms sounded pretty awesome to her.

‘Hm – that wasn’t supposed to be an incentive to dawdle in bed.’

Yeah, well, he really needed to work on his lines then. ‘But Ash, you’re the ultimate incentive to stay in bed. I can’t see why I’d ever want to get up.’

Ash propped himself up on his elbows looking mildly vexed. ‘I’m not just a bedroom accessory, you know.’

‘Nope,’ she agreed. ‘You perform equally well in the bathroom, the lounge, kitchen and on the stairs. Also in broom closets, dressing rooms, tents and out of doors. Not to mention railway platforms.’

‘Dining rooms,’ he suggested, grinning cheekily at her. ‘That’s where I perform at my absolute best.’

There wasn’t a dining room in her flat and she’d never seen the inside of his house – she didn’t know if he owned one – so she wasn’t in a position to contradict him. ‘Ash Gore,’ she said instead, ‘are you suggesting I should leap out of bed and take you down to breakfast so that you can shag me amidst the toast, waffles and croissants?’ It was almost worth it, except she was sure he’d get distracted by the food.

‘I could butter you up and spread you with marmalade first.’

She socked him with the pillow. ‘Sounds sticky.’

‘Oh, I know lots of ways to make you sticky.’ He suddenly scrambled up the bed, and sat upright astride her with the duvet pulled around his shoulders like a cape.

Now she was very awake. Funny how the sight of two taut penny-shaped nipples and the neat furrowed rows of his abs could instantly rouse her from sleep. OK, she was lying; it wasn’t really his abs that had caught her attention at all, but the curved beast rubbing up against them, looking all pink and eager and rather yummy.

She knew what she wanted for breakfast, but it wasn’t food, at least not in the traditional sense.

‘You know, I might have found my appetite.’ Unable to resist, she stroked the ridges of his hips, hoping he’d take the hint, shuffle up further – actually lean right over and cling to the headboard – while she put her tongue to work. She was sure she’d never wanted to lick a man as much as she enjoyed licking him, and not just in the obvious places either.

‘Oh, have you?’ Ash shimmied his butt up, but not so far that she could reach him. He watched her expression as he took possession of her breasts, one in either hand, and squashed them as close together as they would go.

‘Yeah, right,’ she laughed. Unlike her friend Dani, she wasn’t overly endowed in that department. Her dainty little lady bumps didn’t even require a bra most of the time. ‘I’m not exactly built for that.’

‘I think you’re perfectly built.’ To her astonishment he managed to form enough of a cleavage to bury his cock in. ‘Mmm,’ he crooned, driving back and forth within the space. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve done this. Maybe breakfast can wait a while after all.’

Ginny slapped his thigh. ‘Excuse me, and what am I supposed to do while you’re contemplating pearl necklaces?’

He rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, making her groan. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Sleep, maybe, or you could ogle my gorgeous body or something.’

‘Gorgeous, eh?’ She resisted the urge to point out that the mottling around his chin caused by his repeated sickness yesterday had faded to a dull yellow, making him look as if he’d dipped his chin in custard. She didn’t really want to distract him so much that he felt the need of a mirror. Anyway, aside from that very minor flaw, he was gorgeous, totally bleedin’ ridiculously gorgeous. Looking at him never got old.

‘I think you’re secretly enjoying this,’ he pronounced about two seconds later. ‘I mean, just look at how hard your nipples have got.’

That was due to his pinching, not the other thing. Although she quite enjoyed the way the tip of his cock kept peeping out.

‘They’re like ruddy towers.’ He arched his back and bent almost double in order to suck one of her nipples into his mouth.

‘Aah!’ Ginny sighed, liking that a little too much. She might not be big-breasted but that didn’t make her nipples any less sensitive. She continued to moan as sparks of electricity crackled between her synapses, and arousal pooled between her thighs.

‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like to put this somewhere warmer?’

‘It’s kind of cosy here.’

‘Yes, but …’

He released her nipple in order to drop a kiss upon her nose. His eyes were bright cornflower blue as he peeped down at her. ‘I want to do too many things all at once. I want to give you this necklace, smear myself all over you, and I want to claim your pussy, thrust into you so hard and deep I’m in fear of getting lost in there. Bang you on your back, and all fours, and up against the door, and over the table, and with your sexy butt in the air and me standing behind you. I want you every way possible, but even with my legendary stamina I’m not sure I’ll manage it. You turn me on too much, Ginny bear.’

Ginny bear?
She liked that better than being Penfold.

‘While doing a handstand?’ she suggested, a possibility he’d missed.

‘If I could hold a handstand long enough, absolutely.’

‘How long do you normally manage?’

He pursed his lips, considering. ‘About five seconds.’

‘Yeah,’ she said winking at him. ‘We’ll have to work on that. Maybe just stick to horizontal for now.’ She pushed on his hips, determined to coax him to where she wanted to feel him. Ash moved, but not in the right direction. Instead, he came up the bed, cock pointing right at her. Ginny captured him in her mouth and let him dictate for a few strokes, while his knuckles whitened against the headboard.

‘Too good,’ he groaned, breathing hard and withdrawing.

Ginny pushed up onto her elbows as he moved down her body, painting her with a line of pre-come as he lingered over her and kissed her breasts again. When his hips drew into alignment with her own, she clasped his butt with both hands and pulled him down so that his cock nuzzled against her pussy lips, giving her an incredible buzz.

He felt smooth and she wanted him closer.

‘Tease,’ she complained, trying to coax him into filling her up by curving her fingers and digging her nails into his arse.

‘Baby, you love it.’

‘I love it more when you come into the cave, instead of lurking by the entrance.’

‘Hm,’ he crooned, right into her ear. ‘I don’t think you do.’ He kissed her neck and along her collar bone. When she wriggled, he squeezed his hands between her cheeks and the bed so that he could dictate her movement with his grasp on her arse.