All Night Long
Authors: Madelynne Ellis
ALL NIGHT LONG
(Black Halo Unplugged #1)
Madelynne Ellis
Table of Contents
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.