Ash kissed her way to his mouth and pressed her tongue between his lips. Kissing Noah was like eating a spoonful of her favorite ice cream. There was no hope of putting the container back into the freezer until she was full. Ash slid her tongue along his, nipped it with her teeth, sucked it, pushed it back, pulled it forward. Noah’s hand pressed the back of her head, keeping them together, and as they kissed, his fingers crept farther and farther up her leg. Ash smiled into his mouth as she waited for him to discover she’d taken off her panties before she left the changing room.
Yep, that’s it. His fingers slid over her damp folds and his body went as stiff as his cock. Ash swallowed his moan though didn’t manage to completely muffle it.
“Ash, Ash,” Noah breathed her name against her mouth. “What the fuck are you doing?”
But he didn’t stop her when she unfastened his pants and eased down the zipper.
She didn’t stop him when he pushed his fingers inside her and rubbed her clit with his thumb.
Ash felt herself grow wetter. Her pulse leapt and she dipped her fingers inside his boxers to wrap them around his cock. They struggled to keep silent, the tension on Noah’s face, the tight set of his jaw matched by the way she bit her lip and kept swallowing the moisture flooding her mouth.
“Don’t,” he whispered.
But he didn’t stop her when she pushed down the material of his boxers and took his cock out, wrapping her fist around it to pull the skin up over the rigid core and then back down to expose the dark-red head.
She didn’t stop him when two fingers turned into three and he pushed harder, deeper into her.
His eyelids fluttered as she played with him, running her thumb around the ridge below the crest, pumping him into her palm then squeezing at his root. When she ran a finger over the glistening fluid seeping from his slit and brought her finger to her mouth, his hand faltered. She licked off the pre-cum and Noah shuddered.
“Cinq minutes,” the driver said. “Vous voulez je fais un long detour?”
“Non, merci,” Noah said, and turned to Ash. “We’re nearly there.”
Noah pulled his hand from between her legs, lifted hers from his cock, and with difficulty, persuaded his clearly indignant organ to go back into his boxers.
“What did the driver say?” Ash asked.
Noah grinned. “He asked if we wanted to take the long way round.”
When the cab pulled up outside Hotel Regencia, the driver opened the rear door on her side. Ash climbed out and Noah exited the other side with the box strategically positioned.
“Next time. No box,” the driver whispered, and winked at Ash.
She suspected her face went as pink as her cardigan.
* * * * *
The moment Noah kicked the door of the room shut, he dropped his bag and the box and growled. Ash backed away, but he snatched her wrist and pulled her up close. His hand slithered up her thigh under her dress onto her butt and he groaned. “You little monkey.”
Noah slipped his other hand under her butt and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and pushed her legs toward her shoulders.
“Christ, look at you. All…wet.”
He held her ankles with one hand and with the other unfastened his pants and freed his cock.
“I was a breath away from coming in that cab,” he whispered. “I wanted to yank you onto my lap and thrust into you. And I didn’t give a fuck who’d see us. You’re definitely going to get me arrested.”
His frustrated expression made her grin.
“Oh, you think it’s funny?” he asked.
“The driver whispered to me ‘no box next time’.”
“You like the idea of other people watching us get off? Sorry there was no one near in that park in Greenwich?”
“I don’t know,” Ash blurted. She’d only ever imagined that in erotic dreams. To do it for real seemed a big jump. “Probably not, but I might be persuaded.” She had a feeling she couldn’t deny Noah anything.
“I can’t wait. You drive me fucking insane with need.”
Noah pressed himself home, sinking deeper and deeper until his hips rested against hers. She loved the feel of him so thick and hard inside her, and a tingling lassitude crept through Ash, flooding her veins, seeping into every cell until her entire body felt primed, ready, waiting. His stroke lengthened and he rocked into her, filling her over and over, faster and faster.
“Yes, yes, yes.” She moaned the word as her head fogged with pleasure.
“Ash,” he gasped.
She lifted into him as he drove into her, pulling her faster toward release. Her chest tightened and the muscles of her sex clenched as hot pleasure ripped through her. The wave caught her, wrapped around her and rolled her toward the shore. Ash broke with a keening cry, and as orgasm overwhelmed her, she pulled Noah along too. He cried out as he spurted inside her before sagging bonelessly over her.
His fingers curled around hers and held tight. “Don’t ever leave me.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Dinner and dancing?” Ash brushed her hands down her creased dress as they walked from their room to the elevator.
“You look great,” Noah said.
No, she didn’t. A quick shower had freshened her up, but Noah wanted her in a dress. This was the only one she’d brought, and the iron in the room was useless. Her joking suggestion that she wear the ball gown had been treated with a moment’s serious consideration before he’d shaken his head.
He tugged her over to the reception desk, spoke in French, and the woman went away and came back with a sturdy paper bag emblazoned with the hotel’s name.
“Dinner,” Noah said, and propelled her outside. “Shall we walk?”
When he took her hand, Ash would have gone with him anywhere. She hadn’t realized how much holding hands could mean. He’s mine. She’s mine. We’re together. Ash was waiting for an opportunity to tell him about herself, but it wasn’t something she could just blurt out, and she didn’t want to wreck the evening. Though when was the right time to tell him something so horrible?
“You did put your panties back on, didn’t you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Sure?”
“Want me to show you?”
Noah’s lip twitched. “Go on then.”
Ash lifted her dress to her waist.
Noah yelped and pulled it down. “You’re crazy!”
Ash smirked. “You were the one who wanted to see.”
He slung an arm over her shoulder. “If I ask again, ignore me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Jardin Tino Rossi on Quai St. Bernard. It’s a narrow garden that runs along the Seine with amphitheaters facing the river. Something special happens in them on summer nights. We’ll picnic in the park and then join in.”
A shiver of anxiety trickled down Ash’s spine. “I don’t know if I’m into people watching us,” she whispered. “If you want to, I’ll try, but you have to hide me with your body.”
Noah squeezed her shoulder. “I hope there are lots of people watching. I want them all to see how beautiful you are. In every position.”
Oh God.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “My hands will be all over you.”
Bloody hell.
“And I want yours all over me.” He winked at her.
“I’m not sure I’m brave enough.”
“’Course you are. If I can do it, so can you.”
Shit. “Don’t the police get upset?”
“As long as there’s no trouble, they don’t mind.”
It was no good. She’d have to say something. Being watched by a few people in some enclosed space was one thing. Having sex outside with possibly hundreds watching didn’t appeal. Ash couldn’t believe the police turned a blind eye. There would be mass arrests in London.
“Hear that?” Noah asked.
“Music’s not going to help.”
“We can’t do it without.”
Ash si
ghed when they walked into the park. It was full of people dancing. Fully clothed. The bastard. He’d been winding her up.
“Oh no,” she said, putting as much disappointment into her voice as possible.
Noah laughed. “I’m not fooled. I know what you thought.” He pulled her over to a stone seat at the back of the park near a curving statue that looked like a pretzel. “Let’s see what we’ve got.” He put the bag between them.
Ash’s mouth watered. “I hope it’s bread, cheese and red wine.”
It was. Two baguettes, pats of butter and a wedge of soft cheese with paper plates and napkins, plastic knives and glasses.
Noah unscrewed the wine and poured it. “I didn’t want us to have to take anything back. It can all be dumped.” He held his glass to hers. “Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Noah laughed. “No, thank you.Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“It was more than five,” Ash said. “I counted. It—”
He pushed a chunk of bread in her mouth.
Ash wondered if a meal could be more perfect. Under a warm, summer sky, music in the background, twinkling lights in the trees, stars above and Noah beside her. Ash thought if she died now, she’d had her special moment.
When they were done, Noah stuffed the bag into a nearby bin and returned. Ash’s heart had taken up trampolining. If it bounced any harder on her stomach, she was going to be sick. She didn’t want to wait to say this any longer. What if a meteorite landed and destroyed the city, what if a tidal wave swept down the Seine and they drowned, what if a—?
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“That I love you,” she whispered.
The smile on Noah’s face almost made her cry. They sat and stared at each other as the world faded around them. Oh God, I really do love him. Ash felt Noah clutch her hands, and then there was a tremendous bang. A spilt second to think meteorite before the sky erupted in bursts of light, one explosion chasing another until they joined in a cacophony of sound and garden of color. Noah’s grip tightened and his gaze flickered from side to side as his breathing turned noisy.
“Oh God, God, God,” he gasped.
“Look at me,” Ash said.
He turned to face her.
“I love you,” she said.
“Oh shit. Didn’t know…fireworks.”
“Come and dance.” Ash stood and tugged him to his feet.
“I…can’t.”
The bangs still echoed around them as Ash drew him down to an amphitheater. She could feel him shaking.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered.
“Shhh.” Ash moved into a space, kept tight hold of his hand, found the beat and danced the salsa in front of him. Forward and back, changing her weight, feet together, counting in eight. She never stopped looking into his eyes, willing him to forget the fireworks, because they could make their own fireworks if he joined in.
Noah slid his other hand to her waist and shifted his hips. Ash smiled as he moved with her, smiled harder when he took control, raising his hand to tell her to turn, when to dip. She felt him slide into the arms of the music, letting his body follow the pulse. When Ash shifted her weight and did a Cuban hip swirl, Noah laughed.
“Now you,” Ash told him.
She didn’t expect him to do it but he did. They owned their bit of the dance floor, turning and spinning in each other’s arms. They laughed and smiled and stared at each other as they danced deeper into each other’s hearts. Fire and passion blazed inside them, and when the music ended and Ash heard applause, it was a moment before she realized the crowd was applauding them.
They danced all night. Danced back to the hotel, through reception, in the elevator, down the corridor to their room and finally slumped backward hand in hand onto the bed, exhausted.
“I’m not sure that was such a good idea,” Noah said with a moan. “There isn’t one part of me that doesn’t ache. Only one part aches in a good way.”
“Want a massage?”
“Oh God, are you the perfect woman?”
She stripped off his clothes and straddled him, running her fingers down his spine.
“Ahhhh,” Noah groaned.
She was still working on his back when her mobile started to ring.
Noah groaned. “If you were really perfect, you wouldn’t answer that.”
“At this time of night, it has to be important.” Ash’s heart rate soared as she took the phone from her bag. She almost dropped it when she saw the caller ID. “Oh God.” Ash sat on the bed and swallowed hard.
“What’s wrong?” Noah knelt behind her.
As he put his chin on her shoulder, she pulled away, stood and paced toward the door. “Hello.”
“Ash Elleston?”
“Yes.”
“My name’s Iain Prescott. I’m a doctor at—”
“I recognize the number,” Ash muttered. She’d memorized it years ago, knowing one day she’d get this call and it would finally be over.
Noah sat on the bed, staring at her.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” the doctor said.
Easy to guess that this was the news Ash had been waiting for, but not bad news at all.
“Your mother’s dying. She’s requested you come and see her.”
Shit. It was bad after all. Dying not dead. Fuck.
“I don’t want to,” she blurted.
The doctor cleared his throat. “I understand how you feel, but there’s a problem. Your mother says there was an eighth murder and she’ll tell us where the body is located if you come and say goodbye to her.”
Ash groaned. Goose bumps erupted all over her arms and legs. She wanted to say no, but how could she?
“How much time do I have?” she whispered.
“I don’t expect her to live beyond another twenty-four hours.”
“I’m in Paris.”
“Ah.”
She sagged. What choice did she have? “I’ll come now.”
Ash let the phone drop from her hand. She rubbed her arms but the bumps stayed put.
Noah put his hand on her shoulder. “What’s happened?”
She took a deep breath. “My mother’s very sick and she wants to see me.”
Ash averted her gaze from Noah and began to pack her things.
“You said she was dead.”
“Dead to me.”
Noah followed her ’round as she picked up her clothes. “I don’t understand. Why did you lie?”
Ash glanced around the room and then fastened the straps on her rucksack. “I wanted her to be dead, so I said she was.”
“What about your father? Is he alive?”
Ash didn’t miss the sharp tone in Noah’s voice and flinched.
“No, he’s really dead,” Ash muttered. “He killed himself.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Ash looked up at Noah then and wished she’d told him sooner, wished she had time to explain. “Thank you, but no. You have to stay and take those photographs.”
“Fuck that.”
Ash caught his hand as he reached for his suitcase. “No. You can’t let people down.”
“I want to come with you.”
“I don’t want you to come.”
Noah pulled his hand away and tightened his mouth into a thin line. “Guess that says everything, doesn’t it?”
Ash flinched. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. I wanted to. Meant to. But…” She took a step back and dropped her gaze. “It’s just too much to explain now.”
“Fucking try,” he snapped. “I mean I understand you’re upset about your mother, but you just told me you loved me. I want to be there for you. I can meet her, tell her—”
“No, you can’t.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“You can’t see her. I can’t explain. Not now. Not like this.”
He stamped around the room. “Fuck off then.”
Now Ash was angry too. Bad enough t
hat she had to break the promise she’d made to herself and go to see her mother. She didn’t need Noah making it more difficult. She picked up her rucksack and walked out.
* * * * *
Minutes later, when Noah’s brain kicked back into gear, he began to pack. What the hell had he been thinking, getting angry with her? He suspected Ash had only told him to stay because she knew this was the first job he’d had in months and she didn’t want him to mess it up. There were things more important in life than taking photos of some up-her-own-arse celebrity.
He raced down the stairs. There wouldn’t be a taxi immediately available at this time of night. She’d have to wait. When he couldn’t see her in the lobby, he dropped his case at the desk and dashed through the doors, but there was no sign of her outside. And he hadn’t thought to write down her number, he’d have to contact Dalton to get it. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Back at the desk, as Noah tapped his foot, waiting for the clerk to finish on the phone, he listened.
“She wants to leave as soon as possible… I’d estimate forty minutes from now… Cost is not an issue…” The clerk laughed. “Just a rucksack.”
Noah thought of the box holding the dress, still sitting in the room. Fuck.
“Yes, monsieur?”
A twenty Euro note opened the desk clerk’s mouth again. Ash had hired a private jet to fly her to Castle Donington, an airport near Nottingham. A private jet? How the hell could she afford that?
Noah went back upstairs and flung himself down on the bed.
* * * * *
Within two hours of walking out of the hotel room, Ash’s cab pulled up at the entrance to Rampton Psychiatric Hospital. The trip had cost a fortune, but what choice did she have? Her only regret about the money was having to waste any of it on her mother, but there were no scheduled flights from Paris to the UK before six thirty and no Eurostar either. If there was a family somewhere still grieving a lost child after all this time, then money was irrelevant.
Ash gave her name to the security guard and another guard came to take her to Dr. Prescott’s office. This was the second time she’d been to Rampton. The first time she’d been a child with a different name.
Her heart banged around in her chest as she was ushered into the room. Two men were in there, and Ash instinctively knew one was a policeman. The other stepped forward to shake her hand.
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