She saw his hand was curled tight.
“I can still flex them, but, there’s a firework extravaganza going on in there and shooting up my arm.”
Ginny twisted her head to get a clearer look at him. There was a slight glossy sheen to his eyes, but a smile stretched across his face, not a grimace. “I suppose there’s no sense in suggesting some painkillers might help.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Hm. I guess I’ll have to rethink what I was going to cook tonight. I’m not seeing you wielding chopsticks.”
“I can play that,” he joked, and gave her a demo. “In all seriousness, though, I’ve never figured out how to hold those things properly, and I’d prefer my food hot when it reaches my mouth. But Chinese food does sound yum. I don’t suppose you could let me cop out and use a fork.”
“Suppose,” she conceded.
He squeezed her tight. “You’re too good for me. Tomorrow, I’ll ensure you have extra, extra pretty nails, and maybe I’ll cook again.”
He let out an enormous yawn. “Do you mind if I lie down for a bit?”
“Go ahead. I’ll wake you when it’s ready.”
***
In the end, Ginny ate alone and stowed the leftovers. When she’d attempted to rouse Ash, he’d grunted at her, but failed to stir, and it seemed better to allow him to sleep if that’s what his body needed to recuperate. Food could wait. He’d inevitably want an enormous breakfast anyway. She crept into bed alongside him, and spooned against his back in the wee hours of the morning, having flicked channels on the TV for a while, and dozed over a book. It wasn’t long afterwards, that he sat bolt upright in fear, with sweat beading on his skin.
“We didn’t use any condoms!”
“Huh?” she remarked sleepily, squinting at him in the gloom. “I thought you had a nightmare.”
“In the hot tub, we didn’t use anything.”
“Ash, I’m on the pill,” she said, drawing him back down onto the pillows, and hiking the duvet up around his ears again. “Did you forget?”
“Still.”
“Relax Ash. There’s nothing to worry about. You haven’t just created a little Ash.”
He blinked at her. “You’re sure?”
“Pretty sure. Nothing’s a hundred per cent reliable.”
He nodded and kissed her brow. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s true. We should go back to sleep.”
Good plan, she was all onboard with that one. Only a few minutes later, he disturbed her again. He was lying on his back staring up at the ceiling. “Do you want kids?” he asked.
It wasn’t something they’d ever directly discussed, but it wasn’t difficult to infer his feelings about the subject. Having a whole brood of them was part of the fantasy future he’d imagined having with Connie.
“Not right now,” she yawned.
“I didn’t mean this minute. I meant once we’re hitched.”
“Maybe then, yes,” she agreed, while alarm bells rang inside her head, and her heart started pumping like she’d just done a two-hour workout session in the gym. She bit her tongue and kept her eyes tightly closed, praying he didn’t turn that odd little statement into a formal proposal. If he did that, then there’d be no more delaying that huge heart to heart they still needed to have. She knew continuing to put it off was a risk, but these last few days, he’d been doing so well, and she hadn’t wanted to knock the wind out of his sails or risk their relationship. Truthfully, she’d expected more forward motion by now on those aspects of her past that required attention. She’d have to call again tomorrow and check that the nudging had taken place.
She turned onto her side, facing away from him, but Ash snuggled up to her back. “I love you, Penfold. I didn’t ever think I’d feel like this again, but you made it happen.”
“I’ve barely done anything.” Was the second part in reference to love, or were they talking about his future with the band? “Didn’t I mention I’d rather be Jeopardy Mouse?”
“But D.M. and Jeopardy Mouse always fight, whereas Danger Mouse and Penfold are a team.”
“She’s sexier.”
“Yeah, I know… I know, but—”
“One without the other is like strawberries without fish fingers and custard—”
“—fish paste and broccoli,” he corrected her. “You’re mixing your fandoms.”
“Yeah, well none of those things actually go with one another.”
“Have you tried them?”
He had to be joking. “Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.”
Ash released a huge sigh, of what sounded like relief. “Phew, that sorts breakfast out, then. I was really struggling with what I ought to offer. I didn’t want to serve you plain old eggs again. The omelettes were super messy and Spook’s back tomorrow. I might not have minded the idea of him murderlizing me a couple of days ago, but I’d rather he didn’t now.”
“Actually, I prefer my strawberries with cream.”
Ash settled himself more comfortably again. “No probs, I can fold the fish paste and broccoli into it.”
Bleurk…bleurk…bleurk! Never mind Spook ending him. If Ash served up that crap, she’d do it herself.
-16-
The pair of them slept late the next morning, curled up together like conjoined twins. Ash got them hooked together again at the first opportunity. There was nothing so pleasing as a bit of morning glory when you had a willing partner to hand.
“You’ve been getting ahead with your rewards,” Ginny mused, pouring over her chart as they ate brunch, standing in the kitchen, taking turns to dip strawberries into the sugar bowl and feed them to one another. The cream he’d been certain he’d seen in the fridge, seemed to have magically disappeared when he went searching for it today, along with anything containing even a hint of fish, and the head of broccoli that had definitely been in the veg drawer.
“So, tell me what I need to do to get things evened out.”
She released the corner of the chart, so that it rolled up. “First up, help get the place straightened out.”
Ash glanced around. “What’s up with it?”
“It’s a tip, that’s what. We should dust and push the hoover ’round.”
Not so that he could see. It wasn’t messy. They’d been tidying away after themselves, and conscientiously washing and drying the dishes. He definitely didn’t think hoovering was necessary. Spook had a housekeeper who dealt with that sort of crap.
“Don’t you think that’s overkill?”
“I think when you’re staying somewhere for free it’s only right to maintain it to the standard it was when you arrived.”
Christ! That was taking things a bit far. Had she met Spook? She did realise he was anally obsessive when it came to tidiness. “I think we should go over to the studio again, or I could give your nails a fresh manicure.”
“That would be pointless before the housework.”
“Come on, Ginny. Who wants to be scrubbing floors and fluffing cushions when we could be—”
“Could be what?”
“—sploshing,” he said, lobbing a strawberry at her. “Where did you hide the cream? I want to splatter it all over you, and lick it off.” He opened the fridge and raked around inside it. The fresh cream still proved elusive, but he did locate a can of the squirty variety. He snapped off the top, and turned towards her grinning maniacally. “Come to Ash, little Ginny Bear. You know you totally want a cream-filled brassiere.”
“Ash, don’t you dare! Seriously, no, no…” She raised her hands towards him, then took off like a gazelle towards the lounge. Ash wheeled between the bits of furniture giving chase, ducking whenever she lobbed a cushion, and spraying cream whenever she got close. There were blobs of it in her hair, and down her back by the time he cornered her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Ash,” she pleaded, between giggles. “Don’t.” Slowly, she retreated backward up the stairs.
Ash lunged and grabbed her ankle, then squirted cream up her
skirt.
“Aw! No, you fucker, no!” She drummed her hand against his back, but he held on tight and refused to let go, so that they toppled against the stairs, whereupon he crawled up over her, and sprayed a smile onto her face.
“You’re an idiot,” she complained.
He licked off the cream, then delved his tongue inside her mouth and kissed her until she was clawing at his shirt trying to pull it from him. Ash reared back and let her undo his fly. The primary effect of the G-plan so far hadn’t been so much on his motor functioning as on his libido. After his diagnosis, he’d somehow fallen asleep, but now he’d woken again, and the world was full of bright colours and possibilities, and Ginny. She was his constant, the one piece of perfection in an ever-swirling landscape. She had his back, and his front, and…her hand around his cock. He shuddered. Oh man, that was good!
Also, he was actually serious about the covering her tits in cream thing. Maybe even in more than one variety of it. For now, he settled with easing down the lacy cups of her bra and drawing circles around her nipples with the cream, then sucking each of them clean. When she gasped and grumbled, he wrote ‘I love you,’ across the flat of her belly, which he then amended to ‘I love licking you.’ Well, it was true. All of her. Every inch. Fact was, he couldn’t get enough of her
“I’m going to smell like someone’s hurled over me,” she complained.
“Nah, I’m cleaning you, aren’t I? Where else needs a bit of tongue action?” He circled around her nipples again, paying particular attention to their crinkled peaks.
“If you spray that anywhere near my cunt, I’m going to hurt you.”
“You wouldn’t hurt little old me,” he claimed, while inching up her skirt. He laughed when she kicked and attempted to bat him away. “Ash, I’m serious. Spray my tits all you like, but cream doesn’t belong anywhere near my genitals.”
“Ooh! That was a very proper statement. Genitals,” he faked a nasal upper-class sneer. “Ashley, you’re just so despicably dirty and uncouth, I don’t know how I ever condescend to being with you.” He switched voices. “It’s ’cause you likes the way I nails your ripe puss, ma’am, that’s how. You love it when I screw you until you squeal, and your pussy tugs at me ’cause it can’t get enough. Them posh boys don’t know how to doos you rough.” He raised his head, so that they were facing again, him on top gazing down in the golden pools of her eyes. Her staring back at him in open-mouthed wonder. “What do you say to me spilling some pearls over you instead?”
“Savage,” she rasped, but there was a twinkle in her eyes.
Ash moved up the stairs, so that he was straddling her shoulders. “Just give him a little suck first.”
Like the blindingly good sidekick she was, Ginny dutifully opened her mouth and let him slide inside. Oh yeah, she knew how to treat him right. She knew exactly how to make this dirty little act feel good. Not too much, though, he didn’t want things getting out of hand, and that meant beating a fast retreat from the warm cavern of her mouth the moment the surging sensation started in his balls.
She hissed as he withdrew. Ash dropped down a step, while Ginny slid upwards one. She pulled out her legs from underneath him and stretched them out wide, then fingered the jewel resting against her clit as she watched him give his forearm a vigorous work out.
“You’ll tell me when the moment’s right for you, won’t you?”
“Why would I do that?”
She knew the answer, knew without question that his aim was that they would come together, even though they weren’t physically joined. “Watch, listen for the cues.”
Ah, his Ginny. She did like to set challenges for him. “I know you can hold out until the right moment. Don’t stop touching yourself, though. I like watching you. I like the blush in your cheeks.”
Was he blushing? He supposed he very well might be. She didn’t need to worry about him shirking, though. His rekindled zest for life wouldn’t allow him to falter. Pretty soon, he had the shakes as the battle between a rising need to come and his determination to come with Ginny waged inside of him.
“You’re so pretty. It makes me want to rub up against you, and lick you all over.”
If she did either of those things right now, she’d destroy his control.
“Wanna come inside?”
Did he fucking ever!
She tugged him down towards her, hand clasped in the front of his T-shirt.
“You’re gonna undo me.”
“That kind of was the plan.”
Their lips met, other parts locked together too.
“Let go, Ash.” She nipped his earlobe.
“Not until you do too.”
Her back arched, and a long moan escaped her throat. Seemed his lady was already a step ahead of him. That was good; he’d been walking a razor’s edge for an eternity already. All he needed to do was unclench his fists, relax a few of the tautly pulled muscles… Then he was sailing right alongside her.
They were still panting and wiping the sweat from their respective brows when Xane and Spook arrived home.
“Damn, damn… Great timing guys,” he muttered to himself. Ash straightened up onto his knees and attempted to hike up his jeans, only for Ginny to drag them down again. “Babe, neither of them is going to appreciate the first view of the place being one of my arse.”
“If they’re focused on your buns, they’re not looking at me, or scowling over the mess we’ve made, or did you forget you squirted cream everywhere.”
Ash lowered his head and drew his tongue across the still plumped folds of her slit. “Nah, I ain’t forgotten.” He raised his head again, having got more of a taste of himself than he’d anticipated. He was still getting used to this sex without condoms thing. It was kind of messy. “Think we should hide?”
She nodded. “Let’s.”
They both scampered up the rest of the stairs on all fours and dived into the book nook, giggling like idiots.
Ash had just managed to pull his jeans up when Spook appeared at the top of the stairs. “Sorry about the mess,” he called, hoping that the pre-emptive apology would save him a verbal bollocking. “We’ll tidy it up right away.”
“Okay.” Rather than linger, or even throw them a scornful gaze, Spook headed straight for his room. He went inside and closed the door behind him.
“Shit!” Ash scooped his hand back through his hair. Things looked more serious than he’d anticipated. “Good to see you too, dude.”
“Does that mean he’s mega pissed off at us?” Ginny asked.
“It’s nothing to do with either of you.” Xane arrived at the top of the stairs, holding the can of cream that Ash had abandoned halfway down. He squirted a line of it along his finger and sucked it off.
“Did something go wrong?” If there’d been some sort of fuck up, that would explain Spook’s mood. “Is it just the two of you back home? Where’s everyone else?” His heart started performing a strange sort of giddy-up racing. Something terrible had clearly gone down. Why else would the two of them come home alone?
“The trip was fine. The rest of the guys decided to go sightseeing, or shopping or something in Mariefred. Not sure what the appeal was for Dani and Luthor, but Paul wanted any excuse to be able to hire a boat as Spook won’t let him anywhere near the helm of his.
“And Spook?” Ash turned his head towards the closed door again.
“Has lady trouble.”
“Spook does?” Ginny blurted. Then clamped her hands over her mouth. “Sorry, just wasn’t what I expected you to say. Are you saying he’s dating someone?”
Xane raised both brows. “I’m not sure I’d go so far as claiming that, but there’s definite interest in both directions, which is why he’s struggling to say no to her. She’s also the reason, incidentally, why we’re now planning on going back to England to record instead of doing it here. He doesn’t want her here. Too much temptation.”
“Sorry,” Ash shook his head. “I’m not following. Who are we talking
about? Is this someone I know?”
Xane ushered him towards the stairs, away from Ginny, and presumably out of hearing range of Spook’s room. Rather than stop in the lounge, they headed outside onto the grass. “It’s someone you’ve met. Allegra Hutton, she remastered Within You for us. Spook and I bumped into her again at the music awards in July. I guess you were out of action then, so you missed the details. She’s also the sound engineer Graham’s hired to come out here to work on the new album.”
Ash shook his head, unable to recall her in any significant way. They’d all been pretty out of it back when they’d remastered Within You. It’d had been right after Steve’s death, and right after he’d met Ginny.
“His type?” he asked, not that he had an actual clue what constituted Spook’s type. He watched over the rest of them, took photographs that he mounted in his scrapbooks. He never expressed an opinion on women or the sort of relationship he might enjoy if he didn’t take being celibate to such an extreme.
“Oh yeah,” Xane confirmed. “She’s most definitely that. Reckon she’d even be good for him, if he’d give her a decent chance to let him.”
“Which I’m guessing he’s not, as he’s upstairs brooding.”
You couldn’t see Spook’s room from this side of the house, but Ash could picture his friend wearing out his shoe leather pacing.
“She’s pushy, is the thing. He doesn’t know when to give in, and she’s not so good at staging a tactical retreat. They’ll get there in the end, I’m sure.”
“Do you mean as far as going on a date, or shagging?” This was more than a turn up for the books. Ash stuck his fingers in his ears and gave them a wiggle to make sure his hearing was actually working.
“I think that depends on what you constitute as sex,” Xane mused.
Ash tended to think of it in terms of orgasms and cocks dipping inside pussies, but accepted it might also include butt sex and titty-wanking, and oral kind of counted too. Of course, he gathered other people had somewhat broader definitions that included stuff he considered foreplay, like a good foot-rub, or tying one another up and torturing them with feathers, or licking food off one another.
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