All Night Long

by Madelynne Ellis

  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.