ALL NIGHT LONG
(Black Halo Unplugged #1)
Madelynne Ellis

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Author’s Note

More from Mischief

About Mischief

Copyright

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Pissed didn’t come close to describing Ash Gore’s mood. Bad enough that the gig was off, courtesy of Xane, their vocalist, throwing a major snit, without the additional annoyance of him walking into the night with a gorgeous girl on his arm. Time was they’d have enjoyed her company together, back before things around here started getting overcomplicated, and considerably less fun.

Not for the first time in recent months, Ash’s thoughts strayed back to simpler times, when being in a band consisted of having a lark with your friends, jamming for hours and wowing the girlies. Ash had always been in with the fans, going out of his way to please them and keep them loyal, even in the days when there were only two or three begging for an autograph post-show.

It was at least partly his efforts that had grown their fanbase into something astronomical. The other band members didn’t give him nearly enough credit for that, or acknowledge exactly how much keeping the ladies sweet lined their own pockets. Everyone knew girls liked to shop, and Ash made sure all their merchandise came in ladies’ versions. Oversized T-shirts were all very nice on hulking blokes, but your average rock chick looked way hotter in a skinny-fit vest.

Not that they’d be selling a whole lot of anything any more unless they sorted out the current shit storm. Ash, the eternal optimist, refused to believe Black Halo was done. Xane would calm down – eventually – and realise he couldn’t live without them. Then they’d get on with making music and touring.

‘Stupid bugger,’ he muttered to himself. He’d thought it pretty dumb of Xane to date a fellow band member given what was at stake. Well, the inevitable split had occurred, hence the current nonsense. He, unlike everyone else, wasn’t the least surprised that Elspeth had run off with Xane’s best friend. She was a prize bitch, and he could say that on good authority as a fellow band member. He wasn’t going to let her topple them though. Hey, if the way forward meant initiating a line-up change, then he’d start interviewing tomorrow morning. And he was only delaying it that long because Xane had bollixed off, and there’d be no reasoning with him until he’d calmed down.

That left Ash with an empty schedule and a whole night to kill. Not his favourite state to be in, since he detested his own company. The only thing that happened when he was alone was that he ended up going over shit that was long past its sell-by date and couldn’t be altered, which in turn made him goddamned miserable.

For once, however, he didn’t feel like searching out some company from among the Black Halo fanbase. After all, he wasn’t suicidal, and, judging by the baying that accompanied their impromptu stage exodus, he’d get torn to pieces if he so much as showed his face.

Next time he saw Xane he was going to thump him just for putting him through this. Inconsiderate bastard.

Having reached the dressing room, Ash kicked the door in lieu of using the handle. It achieved the desired effect, slamming the wood back on its hinges and announcing his presence in a way that couldn’t be ignored. Not that there was anyone around. Going by the silence within, the rest of the band hadn’t made it as far as the dressing room yet. They were probably still in the green room trying to figure out what the hell happened, why it happened and if anyone could do anything about it.

Too late, he wanted to yell at them. Mr Geist has already left the building. The band is about to implode. Warning … warning … five minutes to detonation. ‘BOOM!’ He voiced the last part, causing a scurry of motion somewhere in front of him.

Apparently someone had made it to the dressing room, and his impersonation of a nuclear detonation had given them a fucking heart attack. He detected the ratty gasp and watched the figure spring off the couch.

‘Hi,’ he said, flashing the pretty dark-haired girl his best panty-melting smile. One he freely admitted was copied straight off Xane.

Hey, whatever worked to get him laid. That was his motto.

‘Um …’ The girl stared right at him, her lips slightly parted. He swore he heard her swallow. ‘Yeah … Hi. Sorry, I’m …’ She flicked her microscopic skirt back into place and straightened to her full height, which was still only around his shoulder level. Ash’s attention remained fixed on her stocking-covered legs.

No lies, stockings did things to him that he didn’t try to interpret. To say his heart rate kicked up a gear didn’t begin to cover it. That, and these weren’t just stockings, they were fishnets. Fishnets drove him demented. He liked them even more than the seamed variety women wore with business suits.

Suddenly, his evening seemed to be looking up. ‘Yeah … uh … who are you?’

She swept her gaze across him from boots to waist, then back to his face again, before dishing out a dazzling smile. ‘Ginny.’ She extended her hand.

Polite and concise. He liked it. Ash accepted her hand, out of surprise as much as anything. Normally he skipped introductions unless it was some industry bigwig, as they inevitably seemed to lead to a) a boring life account, b) a whole lot of shite about being his biggest fan, or c) both.

Total bollocks, since his mum was unquestionably his biggest fan. She might not attend gigs but she pampered him like nobody’s business on the rare occasions he made it home.

‘How come you’re in here?’ He had to admit he was intrigued. Normally the crew managed to keep the groupies away from the dressing room. Plus, they ensured that anyone hot and available had on a pink-trimmed backstage pass. This girl didn’t have a pass, or if she did it was damn well hidden.

‘Were you looking for me?’

No, he wasn’t being big-headed, just honest about the way the world worked. Girls only came backstage for one thing.

Xane, crowed the voice in his head. Women always wanted Xane. He scared the hell out of them, but they still creamed their panties if he so much as sneered in their direction.

Ash shut the voice off.

The girl peered up at him, as if she wasn’t entirely sure. ‘Um …’

Ash clocked her gaze shifting from his face to the open doorway.

‘It depends …’

Told you, dumbass, his subconscious cackled. She’s after Mr Geist.

Fuck, it pissed him off that he didn’t come top of the Black Halo popularity chart, despite being the most obliging member of the band. Looking hot wasn’t everything. You had to know how to tickle their fancy too, and it helped if you weren’t a total screw-up. Strange how the latter part never seemed to apply to Xane, who was the most messed-up fucker Ash knew.

‘Depends on what?’

She flicked him another glance, this one rather more assessing than the last, which heated him up around the collar and made him wish his jeans weren’t so damn spray-on tight.

This girl was just his type. Naturally pretty, with eyes like puddles of liquid gold, over which two carefully defined eyebrows formed slightly quizzical arches. And shaped perfectly too, wide across the hips and skinny around the middle, with those stocking-covered legs to top it all off.

He swore, if she was here for Spook, he was totally going to lie about the guy’s sexual preferences, and thank you, God, that Mr Screw-Up Geist was already out of the picture.

Ginny tilted her chin. A playful smile tweaked the corners of her mouth. ‘On whether you’re free right now?’ she said without blushing.

‘I don’t charge.’

Startled, she laughed, covering her beautifully kissable lips with one hand.

Ash watched appreciatively as her mirth reached the centres of her whisky-gold eyes. Yes, he was naughty, but sometimes he just couldn’t resist.

Damn! Was it wrong that he wanted to pin her against a wall and prove that he was everything she was looking for with a bone-melting kiss, prior to slipping her his boner?

Yes, Ash, it totally is. After all, it was just possible that she’d turn out to be the tea lady, making sure they were all set with post-show nibbles. He’d done that once, banged some girl over a desk and then found out that she was the secretary to the chief secretary, and had only stepped into the room to see if the snack selection needed replenishing. Well, he’d had the munchies, just not for bourbons and custard creams.

‘And what is it exactly that you don’t charge for, Mr Gore?’

Ash coaxed her fingers away from her pretty mouth; the anticipation of kissing her now a growing urge. ‘I reckon you can guess.’

‘Maybe, but I’d rather you spelled it out for me. I wouldn’t want to think we were talking at cross purposes.’

Good point. No sense in being misunderstood. Not that he thought it very likely given the way her fingertips were dancing over the side of his throat heading towards his collar bone.

‘A nice …’

Immediately, her fingers fisted around the frayed neckline of his shirt, and her golden eyes lit up.

Ash deliberately paused to further gauge her response, before adding, ‘hard’ and ‘fuck’.

Her breathing hitched and a pink stain spread across her cheeks, but she held his gaze, and he liked her for that.

Her lips parted in order to let her tongue sweep across them, leaving behind the sheen of moisture. ‘And how much do you charge for the second fuck?’

Holy Mary, he was done for! He’d never before been propositioned for round two before he’d even hit first base.

Squealed at.

Proposed to.

But not optioned for a sequel. This girl had balls.

‘I daresay we can reach an accord.’ He leaned into her touch, loving the way it spread warmth through his body, and prompted her to splay her fingers across the front of his T-shirt.

‘Hope so, because I’m looking for someone who can keep me buzzing for the whole night, not just for five minutes.’

Ash tilted his head forward ready to claim her lips. ‘That won’t be a problem.’ He prided himself on his ability to go all night.

Sure, he normally stuck to a kiss, fuck and goodbye routine to keep the drama level set to low, but sharing a whole night with her wouldn’t be a hardship, and it definitely beat spending the night fretting over the backlash the music press would unleash come eight o’clock tomorrow morning.

Those vultures were going to love tearing shreds off them.

‘So pleased to hear it,’ she said, drawing his attention back to her by sliding her hands into his hair. Her lips plastered to his. Ash let her have her way. Allowed her to explore the contours of his face, the four studs set in a line in his left ear, even the calluses on his fingertips, while she devoured his mouth.

This one was going to be a right handful to keep in check. But he was OK with that. Better a woman with some spark than one who hadn’t the faintest clue how to handle him, or who believed that sex was something men were entirely responsible for.

Ash tugged the clip from her hair, releasing her messy ponytail. He liked long hair. Liked the way it framed a woman’s face, and how it tickled his bare skin when he held her tight.

‘You’re totally cool with this?’

‘Um, yeah.’ She was kidding, right? He was always game for an easy lay.

‘Cool, because you’re seriously fucking sexy.’

Her attention transferred to his torso, hands sliding inside his shirt, before moving on to squeeze his arse, then settling on his belt buckle. ‘I want to rub myself all over you. God … those abs …’

Belt opened, her hands were then on his stomach, then pushing inside his underwear to capture his rapidly hardening cock.

Ash thickened immediately. He’d barely touched her and yet she was all but ready to devour him. God, yes! A sound escaped his throat, the sort he had no control over making. She knew just how to squeeze him right to drown out all the crap in his head and make the tension drop out of his limbs.

‘What?’ he asked, realising that she’d stopped and was staring at him. ‘You’re not going to tell me you really shouldn’t be doing this, are you? Or that you’re really a nice girl who normally wouldn’t dream of doing something like this with a guy like me.’

‘Hell, no.’ She squashed her breasts against his torso. ‘I was thinking how fucking gorgeous you look like that with your T-shirt up and your cock out. Lickable,’ she added, swiping her tongue around her lips. Instead of actually licking him, she lifted her top and unhooked the front fastening of her bra. Her breasts spilled free, giving him a rather glorious view for a few brief seconds before she snuggled up tight against his waist and captured his shaft between their soft swell. ‘I love seeing guys get turned on,’ she said. ‘And watching them come. I like it when they get me wet, and then I can rub it into my skin. What do you like?’

‘Girls who know how to fuck.’

She beamed. ‘I think we’re going to get along well.’

He thought so too, so far.

‘Are your nipples pierced? I heard that Xane’s were,’ she asked, while she continued to massage him between her breasts.

‘’fraid not.’ He lifted his shirt to show her.

‘What about ink? Do you have any tats anywhere?’

‘Only one.’ He inched his black jeans a fraction further down his hips to show her the forked-tongued snake slithering over his lower abdominals. It was only a couple of inches long. He’d had it done as a cover-up job for a stupid home-made tattoo.

‘Cute. I like it.’ She traced the shape with one fingertip.

‘What about you?’

‘Well,’ she said, taking hold of his hand. ‘I have a piercing. It’s somewhere intimate. And somewhere you might get wet.’

‘No.’ He coughed in disbelief. ‘You have a clit piercing?’

She nodded.

‘Do I get to see it?’ he asked intrigued.

‘Play nice and I might let you touch it.’

Ash sucked his lip. ‘Now you’re just teasing. Say, you know nimble fingers are good for more than just playing guitar, right?’

‘Yeah?’ She sucked two of his digits into her mouth. ‘Are you going to play me, Ashley Gore?’

‘Nah, I’m going to make you wail the way I do my guitar.’ He captured her butt with his free hand and lifted her against him. She hopped up into his arms, completely willing, and wrapped her legs fast around his waist. ‘Know what my very favourite thing is?’

She shook her head.

Ash kissed the sweet spot on the side of her neck before whispering low into her ear, ‘Licking.’ And he wasn’t talking about playing guitar. Yes, he had an oral fetish, as well as a stocking fetish.

‘Yeah,’ she sighed. ‘Are you going to demonstrate?’

Abso-fucking-lutely. He was looking forward to having her come all over his face. ‘Just as soon as you magic your panties off.’

Eyes alight with mischief, she smiled and snapped her fingers. ‘Poof! And they disappear.’

‘No way!’ Ash’s brows shot into his hairline. ‘You’re bare beneath that skirt?

‘Honey, I’m bare wherever you want me to be.’

Naked in his arms for the rest of the night. But first … he lowered her onto the nearby sofa back, and then dropped to his knees before her and pushed her thighs apart, to find her naked as promised. He wondered if she’d come out like that, or slipped her panties off while she’d been hanging around in here waiting for him. Would he find them wedged into a corner of the sofa later – a nice little souvenir to remember her by? Not that he was in the habit of hanging on to ladies’ underwear, or in fact remembering a whole lot about the women he shagged. Sex was just about satisfying an itch, and sliding inside a pretty girl was significantly more fun than jerking himself off. He didn’t get emotionally attached. He didn’t need that kind of baggage, much preferring to remain a free agent, not beholden to anyone else’s expectations, and luckily for him there was always at least one willing girl at each venue – frequently more – ready to show him a good time.

Relationships … ack … He’d tried it once, and couldn’t honestly recommend it. Xane’s current round of melodrama was persuading him never to try it again. Soulmates – no, thank you. Too much hassle. Why expose himself to that sort of heartache, when he could get laid quite happily without burdening himself with all the complications a girlfriend would cause.

Ash kissed his way up her inner thigh to the slit of her pussy. She’d waxed herself almost bare, just a little landing strip to point him in the right direction.

Like he needed such a thing.

And then there was that intimate piercing – a vertical bar through her clitoral hood, with pretty stones in either end that caught the light. ‘Does this thing give you pleasure?’

‘I’m hoping you’re going to do that.’

Damn, he liked this girl.

She actually whistled through her teeth when he touched her clit with his tongue. ‘Ah, yes,’ she crooned. ‘Just there.’ Her fingers clawed against his scalp, pulling a little too hard but he rolled with the discomfort, confident there’d be a reward for his patience on the horizon.

Besides, he reckoned he could probably get her off in under a minute. It wasn’t difficult to make a girl cream on your tongue if you had the knowhow. Ash, with his years of practice, knew how. The key to it was acknowledging that the build-up was just as important as the final action. Hence he soon moved away from her rapidly hardening bud to suck on the gentle curve of her belly. He touched her in all the places she wasn’t absolutely desperate to feel him, building the anticipation up for when he finally came back to her swollen lips, and that interesting piece of body art.

When he did latch on and suckle her clit, she nearly fell right off the sofa back.

Ash grasped her hips tight. Even if she did topple over backwards, he had no intention of letting up. He was flexible, and he never let a few obstacles get in the way. He stayed put even when she writhed against his face, smearing her juices all across his mouth and chin. Actually, she tasted pretty good.

Time to get his fingers sticky. He slid two inside her, scissored them apart, then gave them a little twist. Her breathing sharpened immediately, while her body jerked as though she were trying to crawl out of his arms. ‘Where’d you think you’re going?’ he asked.

‘Heaven?’

Absolutely, if he had any input.

Ash matched his movements to the frantic roll of her hips, while also using the tip of his tongue to tickle the very pink tip of her clit. ‘Oh, God!’ she squeaked. ‘Oh, God!’

Forget warning tremors. She came hard against his face. Ash sucked and fucked her with his fingers until she was fully spent and his entire world consisted of her taste, her smell, her body pressed fast to his.

‘Whoa,’ she gasped, clinging to him in order to maintain her tenuous balance on the sofa back.

Ash resisted the urge to tip her backwards and dive on top of her.

‘Fuck me.’

It took him a second to realise she meant literally.

‘Please. Coming makes me so bloody horny.’ She wriggled, brushing her curves against him.

Ash rose and backed up a step. ‘Climb down and turn around.’

She hopped giddily off the sofa back, swayed a little as her muscles reawakened, and then draped herself over the leather. ‘This good?’

‘Perfect.’ He snuggled up tight against her naked rear, enjoying a bit of skin-on-skin contact. ‘You’re all wet and slippery. Reckon I could slide right in.’ He did so like to pretend. That was the one niggle about not having a steady relationship. Condoms were a necessity. He never went without. Not that he had any issue with them, or considered their presence detracted from the mood, but occasionally he thought it’d be nice to genuinely feel the silky heat of a woman’s pussy without a rubber barrier in the way.

‘Ash, please – you’re killing me here.’

‘Two ticks, sweetheart.’ He fished a condom out of his pocket and rolled it on, while admiring the way her suspenders framed her pert butt to perfection. They also inspired a dirty little fantasy about burying his cock between her lily-white cheeks. It wasn’t often he went for anal, but once in a while, when presented with a particularly nice derrière, he liked to try his luck. ‘Tell me again what it is you wanted.’

He leaned closer, so he could catch her earlobe between his teeth, while he let his cock ride against her pussy lips.

‘I want you inside me.’

‘How exactly? Here?’ He cupped her sex with his hand. ‘Or here?’ He traced one thumb from the outer to the inner cheek of her arse.

‘Pussy,’ she said without any hesitation.

‘Sure I can’t persuade you otherwise?’ He stroked the tight whorl of muscle guarding her back entrance.

Ginny released a taut breath. ‘You’re hot, but I’m not ready to have your dick in my bum.’

‘Not even with a bit of lube and a lot of gentle persuasion?’

‘Not with a boatful of lube and a fuck load of persuasion.’

Ash gently bit her. ‘I think we just established the cost of round two.’

Chapter Two

Ginny had her limits, and Ash had just hit on one of them. Of course, the guys she normally said no to were nobodies rather than international rock stars she never thought she’d get near. She really prayed her refusal hadn’t scuppered her chances of holding onto him for the night. She seriously doubted that anyone ever said no to him. Well, she was saying it, firmly and decisively. She had a perfectly good place for him to slide his dick that was already hungry to feel him. He didn’t need to go delving around looking for other options.

‘How do you feel about a finger?’ He wriggled his index finger before her nose.

‘Are you trying to compensate for something?’

‘No.’

‘Think you can’t get me off again without resorting to extremes, is that it?’

‘I can get you off.’

‘Then fuck me and prove it.’

Ginny accepted that she might sound a little demanding, but the thing was, orgasms made her horny. She always needed three or four before she felt even remotely sated. Not that she expected him to just deal them out. Sex was a two-way exchange. She merely hoped that Mister Rock Star here lived up to her fantasy expectations of how a hardcore metal head ought to fuck. And that meant them going more than one round before he did the ordinary-Joe routine and passed out.

‘Hm, you might need to talk me through this,’ he teased, like she believed for a second that he needed instructions, given the way he was obligingly massaging her sex with his hard-on.

‘Right there.’ She sighed, arching her body to accept him.

He held off on delivering, and refused to let her push back and envelop him.

‘Now, Ash. Please.’

‘I’m not sure you really want me yet.’

That was the most atrocious lie, and they both knew it. Like she wasn’t already so wet it’d take no effort at all for him to slide deep.

‘If you don’t get inside me soon, I’m going to knock you to the floor and jump you.’

‘You’re going to knock me over? Babe, I’m twice your height. I could probably bench-press you.’

‘I’ll have you know I’ve a black belt.’ He didn’t need to know that she only used it to hold her trousers up.

‘Yeah? Maybe you can show me some moves later. I like watching women exercise.’

He was so close to being inside her now, his nearness was driving her insane.

‘Do it, Ash.’ Fuck, it made her horny just saying his name.

‘Like this?’ He joined them together in one glorious push.

‘Oh, God!’ That felt good. She bit her lip, trying to steady herself, but failing. So, so good!

Ginny liked being ridden hard and she liked things frantic. What surprised her about Ash was that for all the crazy hard pounding he was doing, he wasn’t so lost in himself that he’d forgotten to make it good for her too. Almost the moment they were locked together he wrapped an arm around her and rested one hand against her lower belly. He curled his fingers, so that each thrust drove her swollen clit against them. The very merry buzz that created left her in no doubt that he’d get her off again – with luck, right around the time he came himself. She liked how he used her piercing to ramp things up. Most guys were afraid of touching it. Damn – he was everything she wanted in a lover, sexy, a little rough around the edges, daring and capable of making her so hot she feared she’d explode. Too bad he wasn’t for keeps. For him, she might consider waiving her no-commitment rule.

‘Oh, effin Christ!’

A glass splintered inside Ginny’s ears, wrecking the moment of bliss that was about to happen.

‘Ash, must you? Really?’

Ginny opened her eyes to find Black Halo’s diminutive keyboardist Elspeth Shriik standing in the open doorway, hands planted on her non-existent hips. She lambasted them with a gaze capable of lasering through steel. Holy shit! They were in for a serious rollicking.

Ginny almost caved before Elspeth said another word, but Ash had such a firm grip on her that it prevented any sort of escape.

He gave his band mate a two-fingered salute.

‘No one’s forcing you to watch. Piss off to the hotel and cosy up with your other half.’

‘Don’t you tell me to piss off, Ashley Gore.’

Ginny swore the big bouquet of lilies on the other sofa immediately wilted. The same couldn’t be said for Ash, who nuzzled against her neck as he continued to push inside her.

‘Considering the furore you’ve caused tonight, maybe I should tell you to piss off for good.’

Ginny bit her lips. Things were suddenly so tense, she wasn’t sure this was genuinely fun any more. ‘We could take it elsewhere, Ash.’

‘Yeah,’ Elspeth agreed, having overheard her whisper. ‘You’re not supposed to shag in the dressing room, Ash.’

‘So says the woman who’s screwed Xane so badly he’s walked out.’

OK, this was not good. It was time she staged a retreat. She did not want to be in the centre of an argument, no matter how much fun he was proving to be.

She wriggled, but he still didn’t budge.

‘Did you say he’s shagging?’ Another voice sounded from outside the room. ‘Where? Let me through.’

A kerfuffle involving a lot of shoving broke out in the corridor behind Elspeth. A second or two later, Spook Mortensen, Black Halo’s Swedish rhythm guitarist, appeared in the doorway. He negotiated his way around Elspeth, making minimal contact, then, on seeing Ginny and Ash, broke into an enormous grin. ‘I don’t mind him doing it here.’

‘Me neither.’ The band’s bassist joined him on the sofa.

‘Paul!’ Elspeth chirped, disgust creasing her fey features.

He raised his mile-wide shoulders and offered her an apologetic look. ‘What? I’m a very visual person, and I’ll take any sort of fun over the crap storm that’s going on outside. If we get out of here before midnight it’ll be a miracle.’

‘More like before tomorrow,’ Spook said.

Elspeth pulled at her blonde hair. ‘I still can’t believe you’re going to sit and watch him fuck some tart over a sofa back.’

‘Why not?’ Ash drawled, still holding Ginny close. ‘They normally do.’

‘Hey, less of the “tart”,’ Ginny complained. She might have slightly loose morals but that didn’t necessitate name-calling.

‘I like tarts.’ Ash ran his tongue across the back of her neck. ‘Strawberry, Apple, Raspberry. Treacle’s my favourite. Yummy.’ He smacked his lips together. ‘Just like you. Maybe I could order some and lick it off you.’

‘Sounds sticky.’ She laughed, forgiving him, given the ardour of his wet kisses.

‘I thought you told me you liked getting sticky.’ He sucked over her pulse point, sending a lovely shiver rolling through her body that temporarily made her forget about Elspeth and the two guitarists.

‘Do that again,’ Rock Giant insisted. ‘I think she likes it.’

Heat swept across Ginny’s cheeks. Actually, he was both wrong and right. It wasn’t purely what Ash was doing with his mouth that had her gasping, but the other actions he was performing too. Like how he was working his fingers in a brisk, delightful motion over her excited nub, while he continued to fuck her in a steady rhythm.

‘You don’t mind if they watch, do you?’

Ginny wasn’t particularly shy, nor did she specifically get off on being watched. That wasn’t to say this was a unique experience. She’d been to parties. Sex happened, and sometimes it happened in spaces that weren’t entirely private. Also, enjoying sex as much as she did, she wasn’t entirely a stranger to the idea of enjoying more than one partner, which kind of inevitably led to a certain amount of natural exhibitionism and voyeurism. Having Spook Mortensen and Rock Giant Reed watching her have sex with their band mate was altogether different, though, but not in way that made her consider stopping. Yeah, so her cheeks were flaming, but the attention sure made her feel sexy.

It helped that the two of them were fantastically hot.

Rock Giant got her on a visceral level. It was the pure physicality of the guy – the corded steel of his musculature, coupled with his impressive height. Spook was different again, lithe and efficient, with eyes so blue you could discover whole ocean worlds in their depths. He looked as if he’d stepped straight out of her favourite fantasy novel at the close of an epic battle.

‘You’re disgusting,’ Elspeth huffed at the lack of response, then she turned on her spiked heels and left, slamming the door behind her.

‘Good riddance,’ Ash said.

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. Not that she realised she’d been holding her breath until the inward rush of oxygen filled her chest.

Ash raised another finger at Elspeth as a farewell. ‘Now, where were we?’

As if he could possibly have forgotten. He’d never stopped doing what they were doing, only slowed down a bit.

‘You really don’t mind these two perverts being here, do you? Because I can turf them out.’

‘They’re just watching?’

‘Guys?’

‘I’m good,’ Rock Giant mumbled, raising a hand.

Spook nodded. ‘Me too.’

‘Guess you’re all mine. Suits me.’ He held on tight, while giving a theatrical cackle of glee.

Ginny was relieved to find that Ash didn’t try to stage any more of a performance. He didn’t hurry, or attempt to stretch things out, now they had an audience. In fact, he barely seemed to notice his band mates. For her part, she couldn’t quite ignore them. Knowing they were within arm’s reach set her senses alight. That, coupled with the press of Ash’s fingertips and the rock of his slim hips, meant she hit climax super-fast. He hardly needed to do anything at all and her body was clenching hold of him, while she squeezed out staccato breaths.

Once again, Ash rode the tide with her until she was entirely spent. Ginny flopped forward against the sofa so that her flaming cheek pressed against the cool leather. She stayed there panting for a moment or two. Only when Ash withdrew did she venture a glance at the other two Black Halo guitarists. Rock Giant looked slightly cooked. He picked up the vase of lilies and held them on his lap. ‘Nice one,’ he remarked, giving her thumbs up.

Spook meanwhile wasn’t even looking at her. He appeared to be reviewing something on the screen of his digital camera. ‘Uh,’ Ginny moaned, as realisation hit. ‘Did you just film us?’

‘It’s just a few snapshots. You don’t mind, do you?’ he said, rounding his eyes in an attempt to look innocent.

‘Um.’

Ash didn’t make a remark, which suggested he knew they were recording their antics and didn’t disapprove. When she turned in order to refasten her bra, she found him in the process of disposing of the condom in the waste bin in the corner.

‘OK?’ He zipped up, but not before she’d seen enough to confirm an already nagging suspicion.

‘You didn’t come,’ she whispered, not wanting the other guys to hear.

Ash shrugged, as if that were no big deal. Well, it was to her. She’d never been with a guy who packed up and moved on before he was done, regardless of whether she was satisfied. In other circumstances she’d have offered to go down on him, but he raised his hand towards Spook in a beckoning motion. ‘Show.’

Spook bounded across the room and thrust the camera between them.

‘Not bad,’ Ash commented. ‘Better than the last few.’

Ginny turned away from the crude, if fetching, image of herself and covered her burning cheeks with her hands, not so much out of shame or ordinary embarrassment as at the way she’d been labelled as part of a collection. A collection Ash clearly didn’t hold in any great regard. Not that she’d been under any illusions about what he was like before she’d got into this. The members of Black Halo all had reputations, and even among them Ash was notorious. The guy might as well have had ‘player’ stamped across his forehead in indelible ink. The thing was, that slow-as-molasses dirty smile of his screamed, ‘I know what you want and I know how to give it.’ And she was a sucker for guys like that.

Actually, to hell with it, it wasn’t the slutty label that was bugging her. It was the fact she’d failed him. She hadn’t done enough and he hadn’t got off. She, who prided herself on always giving her partner a good time, even if they were crap in bed – and he wasn’t – had left her rock-star fantasy unsatisfied. She watched him tuck his still raging hard-on back inside his tight pants. What’s more, unless she wanted to make another spectacle of herself, of both of them, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Not a single damn thing.

‘I think we should at least attempt to get to the hotel,’ Ash remarked. ‘I sure as hell don’t want to spend the night in here.’ He crossed the room and snatched the lilies from the vase strategically positioned on Rock Giant’s lap and shoved them into the waste bin. ‘These things stink.’

‘Reckon?’ Rock Giant asked, still clinging to the vase. ‘I mean about leaving. Aren’t we better off holding tight until the crowd thins?’

‘If the crowd thins,’ Spook muttered. He turned off his camera and put it away in its leather case. ‘It’s not like this is a regular gig we’re escaping from. Those beasts are going to camp out there for as long as they think we’re still in the building. In fact, the longer we sit here the bigger the crowd is likely to get.’

Rock Giant looked slightly dubious, but as there were no external windows in the room there was no way of telling what the situation was currently like outside.

‘So we need an escape plan. Anyone have any suggestions?’ Ash collected his jacket off a chair back and shrugged it on.

‘Phone for booze and pizza,’ Rock Giant suggested.

‘Camp out in here and wait for the police to intervene,’ Spook said.

Ash dismissed both ideas with a slash of his head. ‘Stuff that. I’m not sitting around. With a bit of luck Elspeth and Steve have taken the first limo out by now.’

Both Spook and Rock Giant exchanged nonplussed glances, clearly not following Ash’s chain of logic.

Ginny didn’t follow either, but she took the moment of confusion to straighten herself out.

‘This means they’re probably stuck, and the attention of the crowd is on the front of the building.’

‘Yeah? And?’

‘And –’ Ash slapped his forehead. ‘We use the distraction to escape. If we send Ulf and the crew in the second limo, then we can slip away in the roadies’ van.’

‘Brilliant!’ Rock Giant shot upright. A manic grin stretched across his rock-hewn features. ‘Bagsy I’m driving.’

‘If you must.’

‘Yes!’ Rock Giant punched the air. ‘I get to drive the va-an … I get to drive the va-an.’ He clasped an invisible steering wheel and proceeded to zoom around the room. ‘OK, everyone, get your shit together. We’re doing this. Fall in. Fall in.’

Not quite sure if she was included in this escape plan, Ginny watched the guys collect assorted jackets and trinkets from around the room.

‘If we end up in A and E I’m holding you personally responsible,’ Spook muttered to Ash, as he fell into line behind Rock Giant. ‘Last time he drove the bus, we ended up doing a three-sixty-degree roll down an embankment, and I swore I was never getting into another moving vehicle if he was controlling it.’

‘Well, if you’d prefer to drive?’

Abject horror filled Spook’s handsome face. He shook his head. ‘No way. You lot drive on the wrong side of the road.’

‘The left is the right side of the road,’ Rock Giant griped.

‘Yeah, how’d you figure that out? It doesn’t even make sense.’

Rock Giant proceeded to careen around the furniture, over-egging his performance with brake-screeching sound effects. ‘I’ll go get the van keys off Ulf.’

‘Dear God,’ Spook sighed with his head down.

‘It’s OK, baby, I’ll protect you.’ Ash draped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed.

Spook shook him off. ‘Lay off the soppy stuff. I’m not here to provide you with post-coital cuddles. You’re supposed to do that with the girl.’ He headed towards the exit with his long white-blond hair falling around his shoulders and his purple guitar slung across his back. ‘I am so glad I insured my fingers. At least I can live off the proceeds after he mangles us.’

‘Is Rock Giant’s driving really that bad?’ Ginny asked, forcing Ash to remember her presence.

‘It’s atrocious. Let’s pray there aren’t any corners between here and the hotel.’ He extended his hand towards her. ‘Are you prepared to chance it?’

Ginny stared at his hand a moment, not sure how to respond. He was fun, but he’d definitely been odd with her the last few minutes. Then again, maybe he was irked over the fact he hadn’t come. ‘If you still want me?’

‘Why wouldn’t I?’ His brow creased into a frown, which also turned the edges of his mouth down. He clasped her hand and pulled her into his embrace. ‘You promised me a whole night of fun, lady. The night’s barely begun.’

‘Yeah.’ She traced her palms across the surface of his washboard abs. ‘But I wouldn’t want to take up your time if I’m not pleasing you.’ She looked up into his blue-grey eyes fearing the truth she’d see, but there was no hint of disappointment.

‘I’ve no complaints.’

Ginny drew her touch downward, so that her palm skated over the hummock distorting his fly. ‘Sure about that?’

‘Absolutely. Besides, I need to smother you in treacle yet and lick it all off.’ He held her head still as he leaned in to kiss her lips. It wasn’t a frantic sparring of tongues like the previous kisses had been, but more tender, gentler. ‘I’m fine, sugar plum. You don’t need to worry about a thing.’

Ginny wasn’t entirely convinced, but let it ride. His façade of easy charm didn’t entirely mask the sliver of pain in his eyes.

‘Guys.’ Rock Giant’s bellow echoed down the narrow corridor to reach them in the dressing room. ‘We’re set. Hurry it up.’

Ash grabbed her hand. ‘Let’s go.’ He dragged her along the corridor as though a horde of fans were on their tail and he was the security guy detailed to protect her.

Chapter Three

With Rock Giant behind the wheel, they left tyre tracks on the road as they sped out of the building towards the stadium exit. He seemed to have forgotten the fact that he was driving a van loaded with several grand’s worth of the band’s equipment and three passengers.

‘He’s a maniac,’ Ginny bleated to Ash. She thanked God that all the fans were at the front of the building or there might have been a few fatalities as a result of their exit. On the up side, she got to cling onto Ash, whose plan did appear to be working. As they tore across the car park, she caught intermittent glimpses of the two Black Halo limousines. They were completely surrounded by fans who had crossed the security lines and were making movement nearly impossible. A couple of fans had even climbed onto the roof of the front vehicle.

‘I hope you’re stuck there for hours,’ Ash hollered at the front car, which Ginny assumed was carrying Elspeth along with the band’s drummer, Steve Matlock.

‘Oi! Less of that,’ Rock Giant chastened him.

‘Is it normally like this?’ Ginny asked. She knew Black Halo were huge. They were major international stars, but the mayhem outside resembled Beatlemania at its height, not the aftermath of a present-day rock concert. In her experience, and she’d been to several big gigs, people didn’t get this riled up about catching a glimpse of their favourite star, not when they could spend hours at home stalking them on the Internet, and particularly not en masse like this. Sure there were exceptions, but that only accounted for the compulsory bunch of shivering groupies, not this.

Ash was contemplating the outside world with a measure of uncertainty too. ‘It’s often crazy,’ he muttered. ‘But not typically this deranged. Mind you, we do normally stick it out until the end of the show, instead of calling it quits a couple of tracks in.’

He lowered the window and leaned out. ‘Bye, Elspeth.’ He waved at the stranded limo. ‘Stupid bitch.’

Rock Giant slammed on the brakes, bringing the van to a screeching halt just short of a lamppost. He turned to glare at Ash, who ducked back into the vehicle, looking significantly paler.

‘Knock it off with the name-calling or I’ll go park us up beside them.’

Ash shook himself and seemed to settle comfortably inside his own skin again. ‘Oh, come off it,’ he protested, not appearing remotely contrite. ‘She’s properly screwed us over tonight. She deserves a few names hurled at her. Even you have to accept that.’

‘Elspeth isn’t the one who screwed us. Xane’s the one who walked off stage. I can’t believe you’re defending him.’

Xane had walked off stage! Somehow, by hanging around in their dressing room instead of watching the show, she appeared to have missed something major.

‘I’m not defending him. I think he’s a prize dick. I’m just pointing out that Elspeth’s the root cause of this. I know you and her are besties, but even you have to admit she’s a cow on occasion.’

‘That is such shit, Ash.’

‘Uh, drive!’ Spook demanded. He reached across from the passenger seat and put the van into first. ‘Seriously, this is not fucking funny. If we sit here like lemons, they’re going to be all over us.’ A highly likely prospect, since Ash’s yelling had attracted a certain amount of attention.

With a discontented snort, Rock Giant slammed down the accelerator pedal again, causing them to shoot off. As far as Ginny could tell, he favoured an all-or-nothing approach to motion. No pootling allowed. Things weren’t helped by the fact that he ramped the volume on the onboard stereo up to ear-splitting levels, and hammered out the drum rhythm against the wheel. She couldn’t understand the lyrics; they appeared to be in a foreign language, although the vocalist’s death growl made it difficult to say for certain. She thought it might be a song about trolls. Hell, she felt as though she was currently hanging with a bunch of them.

Spook dug a beanie out of the footwell and pulled it down over his ears.

Their escape apparently guaranteed, Ginny settled back against Ash’s side to endure the rest of the ride. Unfortunately, their triumph at escaping the arena proved extremely short-lived. Even Rock Giant’s expert slaloming skills couldn’t get them past the gridlocked lanes of traffic blocking the route to the hotel.

‘All this because Xane has a strop,’ Rock Giant bellowed over the music. He slapped the steering wheel in annoyance. ‘Much as I like driving the van, we should have stayed put. We’re not getting anywhere near the hotel without flying.’ They could see the upper storeys and the lights of the hotel signage up ahead, perhaps three minutes’ walk in a straight line. ‘I wouldn’t mind so much, but I really need to piss and take a shower.’

‘Don’t we know it,’ Ash groaned. ‘I can smell your filthy armpits from here.’

‘You don’t smell so hot yourself, lover boy.’

Ginny disagreed. Ash smelled pretty divine to her, all hot and musky with a hint of something woodsy mixed in. She guessed the latter was the remains of whatever cologne he’d spritzed on before he went on stage. Unless, of course, what she could smell was sex. She had creamed all over him, and neither of them had properly had the opportunity to clean up.

She kept the thought to herself. It’s was kind of fun watching and listening to the guys interact. She reckoned she’d learned more about them in the last five minutes than even their most diehard fans would glean from a thousand interviews. They were close but fractious, and, yeah, there were egos aplenty in play. Oh, and they all had issues, some of them better disguised than others. She’d seen the scars on Spook’s inner arms as he’d held the camera between her and Ash. Rock Giant’s driving was enough to tell her he needed help, and as for Ash … well, she was still working on figuring him out.

‘Where’d Melodrama Boy trot off to anyway?’ Rock Giant yelled over the music.

‘He left with some girl,’ Ash replied, sitting forward in order to make himself heard. ‘I don’t know who she was. I’d never seen her before. Cute though. Nowt like Elspeth.’

‘You mean she had tits,’ said Spook.

‘I wasn’t being that crude.’

Rock Giant grunted. ‘He sounds really fucking heartbroken.’

‘I said we’d talk things over tomorrow.’ Ash sat back again.

‘Is that Xane you’re talking about?’ Ginny asked. ‘I did wonder where he was. I take it he left the building ahead of us, since none of you mentioned him in the escape plans.’

The three guys exchanged wary looks. Rock Giant hit the kill switch on the stereo, flooding the interior with deadly silence. ‘He walked out on us, honey. So don’t get your hopes up about meeting him. Fuck knows where he is, but if he’s at the hotel I’m personally going to skewer him, so he’ll not be up for socialising.’ He jabbed the heel of his hand into the car horn, and in return received a two-fingered salute from the driver of the car in front.

‘Xane and Elspeth split,’ Ash explained. He massaged his brow, but failed to remove the frown lines that had formed there. ‘He walked off, having just announced to the stadium that we’re done.’

‘What?’ Ginny folded her arms tight. ‘You’re serious?’ It seemed almost but not quite too far-fetched to believe. Either Ash had an unbelievable poker face or he was telling the truth. ‘So what does that mean? Are you saying you’ve split up? Aren’t you mid-tour right now?’

‘One more gig,’ they sighed in unison.

Ash snuggled up and rested his head against her shoulder. ‘You see why I need company. According to Xane, we all need to start looking for new jobs.’

‘That’s such bollocks,’ Rock Giant groaned. ‘There’s no way on earth Xane was serious about us actually splitting. He wouldn’t know what the hell to do with himself without us.’

‘Uh, guys,’ Spook piped up. ‘We might want to get out of here.’ He ducked as what looked like a ladies bra hit the windscreen. It caught on the wiper blade and swished across the front of the van a few times before flying loose again. ‘Turn us around.’

‘Yeah, there’s lots of space for that.’

‘Now, Paul. You drive like a fucking demon so make like one.’

Ginny peered out of the side-window, and saw that a group of girls had peeled off from the main crowd and were now jogging towards them. Their movement had in turn attracted the attention of other sections of the mob, causing them to surge forward in order to find out what the excitement was.

Rock Giant attempted to smooth down his spiky hair, but to no avail. He’d already been recognised, and now fingers were pointing and a scream of ‘Rock Giant … Spook’ rolled towards them.

‘Get us out of here now.’ Spook took refuge in the footwell as numerous items of underwear pelted the front of the vehicle, supplemented by an empty drinks can or two.

‘To where?’

‘Who gives a fuck? Anywhere. Just drive.’

‘I’ve got a room,’ Ginny piped up as Rock Giant spun the steering wheel through two full turns and mounted the central reservation in order to perform a U-turn. Well, she did. Admittedly, it wasn’t a great room, but that didn’t seem important right now in comparison to having somewhere to hide.

‘Where?’

‘Left,’ she urged.

Ash slammed against her side as Rock Giant swerved to avoid a group of pedestrians and then hurled them along a narrow side street. The sick scream of grating metal alerted them to the fact that he’d taken part of the adjacent building’s brickwork with them.

Behind them, the crowd swarmed into the space they’d recently vacated. ‘Take another left at the end, and get us onto the main road out of town,’ Ginny yelled. Her heart thumped hard within her chest, making her feel as if she were fleeing on foot. A second sharp turn toppled her over, flat on her back against the seat, with Ash on top.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, clinging to the upholstery. ‘You don’t mind if I just hang out here a moment.’

‘Be my guest.’ Considering the van’s current speed and the hairpin road they appeared to be taking, staying horizontal seemed like the safest option. At least down here she didn’t have to see what was ahead, and, if she was about to die, then lying in Ash Gore’s arms seemed a better place than most to croak.

‘Told you he was a maniac,’ he whispered close to her ear.

‘I think you missed a few eff words off that label.’

‘Are you scared?’

Scared didn’t quite cover it. It was like being on the devil’s own rollercoaster –enthralling, exhilarating and likely to result in lasting trauma. ‘Fucking terrified. If you were a gentleman, you’d help take my mind off it.’

‘I’m only a gentleman on my days off,’ he replied, giving her a broad grin. ‘The rest of the time, I’m an absolute fiend.’ He kissed the side of her neck, just below her ear, and sucked gently, which sent tingles through her body. Ginny groaned involuntarily. ‘Luckily for you, my fiendish self likes nothing better than to entertain pretty ladies.’ He sucked a little harder, escalating the effect on her body.

Fiendish worked for her. His kisses were certainly distracting. Ginny hooked a leg around one of his.

‘Hm, baby,’ he sighed. ‘Does that mean you’re ready for round two?’

If she’d been in a position to do so, she’d have jabbed him hard. As it was, he shifted so that not only was his weight above her but he’d somehow managed to claim one of her wrists too.

‘Are you desperate for more of me?’

‘Not if it involves my arse being violated,’ she retorted. She tested his grip, but there was no give.

Ash gave a theatrical moan of disappointment. ‘Damn. Guess that means I’m going to have to let Paul down again, and he’s been on at me for ever about having a threesome. I hope he’s not just looking to suck my dick.’

Paul? Who was Paul? And when had she said no to a threesome? It took a moment to realise he meant Rock Giant, and even then she struggled to think of him by a name that was so average, so pedestrian. It didn’t seem to fit a guy with gravity-defying spiked hair, tattoos galore and a major speed complex. Then again, she wasn’t sure any name besides the one she knew him by would adequately cover it. Rock Giant just seemed to fit him so well.

‘Why does one have any bearing on the other?’

‘Oh, you know …’ Ash turned his attention to her earlobe, gently teasing it with his lips and teeth. ‘I suppose it doesn’t. Only some girls like the whole two-for-one experience.’

‘Is that what you’re into?’ She found it scarily ease to imagine him getting it on with other members of the band. Even thought it might be quite hot to watch. ‘Do you ever skip the girl and just do one another?’

‘Urgh!’ He pushed up so that he could look at her. ‘What, do you suddenly think I’m gay?’ He pouted, but failed to convince her that he was genuinely offended.

‘I was thinking –’

‘Easy,’ Spook and Rock Giant chipped in.

‘Oi!’ Ash protested.

‘– bi-curious actually. Aren’t all rock stars?’ She flashed him an extra-large grin, amused that she’d managed to needle him so easily. ‘I bet you’ve kissed a guy or two.’

‘Might have done,’ he said snootily. ‘But I never kiss and tell.’

That she did believe. ‘I’ll settle for just the kiss.’

‘Will you now?’ He cocked an eyebrow. ‘Like this.’ He pressed a chaste peck to her cheek. ‘Or maybe like this?’ He pressed another sweet peck against the edge of her smile.

Ginny shook her head.

‘I know. Like this, right?’ The third kiss he pressed against the upper curve of her breast, which made her nipples peak in anticipation of him drawing them into his hot, sexy mouth.

‘Yeah, that’s more or less it.’ She shook free of his hold upon her wrist so that she could tug down the neckline of her top, thus exposing her breast to him. Ginny accepted that she wasn’t overly well endowed, leastways not compared to her buxom roomie, and that this position rendered her somewhat flat-chested, but her nipples were stiff and Ash didn’t seem to mind that she only had bee-stings. He sucked her and caressed her as good as if she’d been bountifully blessed.

From the footwell, Spook crouched watching them with his bright-blue eyes. Slowly, now the speed and direction of the van seemed to have steadied, he dragged his gaze away and returned to his seat.

‘Why Rock Giant? Why not Spook?’

Ash paused to look at her. ‘What?’

‘Or both of them together. Why offer me a threesome when there are four of us sharing for the night?’

His expression transformed into something so smouldering she thought he might catch fire. ‘Spook only watches. He doesn’t do sex.’

Really? ‘No way.’ He couldn’t honestly think she was going to believe that. Black Halo, a bunch of hard-living, hard-drinking metal heads, totally did not have a celibate member among their number. The universe couldn’t possibly sustain such a monumental anomaly.

‘Yes, way.’

‘But … but …’ After lead singer Xane Geist, Spook Mortensen probably attracted the bulk of the group’s attention. He was, after all, cute as goddamned hell, and the fact that he was always so quiet intrigued people. They wanted to learn all about him.

Ash tried to maintain a veil of mystery, but really he was far too open, and everyone knew he was a complete floozy.

‘Bullshit,’ she called.

Ash covered her mouth with his fingers. He gave her a hard glare, before tilting his head towards the front seat, reminding her that Spook was sitting just in front of them and could probably hear their whispers.

‘No. I’m serious. He never does. That’s right, isn’t it, Spook? You make the ladies weep because you don’t put out.’

Spook settled for flashing them a beatific smile, which Ginny took as confirmation.

‘Why?’ She couldn’t understand why such an incredibly hot guy would opt out of the opportunity to shag whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He could have anyone. Women went gaga over the way he petted his guitar. Hell, even straight guys got lovesick over his riffs.

‘He gets his kicks from taking pictures. I’m sure he’ll greatly enjoy your contribution.’

‘It was a good one,’ Spook mumbled.

‘So, what …? Let me get this straight here.’ Ginny pushed up onto her elbows to address Spook. ‘You collect photographs of Ash’s –’

‘– the band’s –’

‘– conquests.’

‘He likes to capture their big O faces.’ Ash made an appropriate open-mouthed expression. ‘Then he puts them in his scrapbooks.’

Ginny’s eyebrows scooted up her forehead in disbelief. Spook Mortensen kept scrapbooks, and not just any scrapbooks but catalogues of the band’s conquests.

‘OK, that’s weird.’

Ash quietened her with another kiss. ‘We all have our kinks. One of my faves is these.’ He twanged one of her suspenders, having somehow managed to slip a hand up her skirt. ‘But they’re not my only fetish. I’m sure you have a few interesting ones too. Well, Spook has his, and Xane, if you ever meet him, has a whole load.’

It sounded a little as if Ash envied that fact.

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