He ought to have run with Ginny when she’d fled. If he had, he’d have been naked in heaven right now. Instead, he was stuck here sweating like a horny teenager, and it was going to take more than a quick bit of knuckle-shuffling to calm him down. In fact, surreptitiously sliding his hand beneath the covers and wrapping his fist around his shaft didn’t ease a goddamn thing. It made him ache all the harder.
Stroking simply made him groan.
Ginny – he needed Ginny. She’d know how to soothe his pains. She always knew exactly how to make things right for him, which perhaps was why he was in such a state of shock now. There was no way on earth she hadn’t known what condition she was leaving him in when she bolted. Nor had he any clue when he might see her again. Being on tour made it more difficult to sneak off than he’d ever anticipated, and this tour was far harder work than any past series of gigs. Iain wasn’t quite turning out to be the miracle cure he’d hoped for. He refused to blend his image with that of the band, and his main agenda seemed to be to get laid. That was fine, except he wanted Ash to party with him. He, of course, only wanted to party with Ginny.
Ash closed his eyes and pushed thoughts of Iain to the back of his mind. It was just weird ruminating about him while he was frantically working his fist. Normally, thinking about his mates quickly sapped his libido. Tonight, nothing seemed to work. He tried visualising hideous crimes, followed by deadly boring meetings with music execs, but no, his body still craved release.
He wondered if this was how Xane felt when he couldn’t feed his addiction. Xane seemed to require sex in the same way other people needed air. Without it, he couldn’t function. No doubt he was having a glorious time at the moment, cosied up in some hotel room having his mind blown by his girlfriend Dani.
Damn! He really, really ought to have followed Ginny to her hotel. Sure, a question or two might have arisen, but that didn’t mean he had to spill the details. He could lie if he needed to, or at least bend the truth a bit. Make out that it was some random woman he’d picked up. They were used to him pulling that sort of stunt.
Spook would see through him, but Spook knew the truth anyway.
God, he needed to come, right now. He worked his fist faster, while groaning into the pillow. Maybe if he did this a couple of dozen times he’d end up exhausted enough to sleep. Coming once wasn’t going to give him enough of a high by itself. Ginny had spoiled him. She turned him inside out with her kisses and the way she swayed her hips. Ginny could probably make him come just by looking at him.
His tongue formed her name, which he crooned in time to the lift of his hips.
Faster … faster …
surely release wasn’t so far away.
Something hard hit the outside of his bunk curtains, startling him into awareness of his surroundings and the noise he was making.
‘For fuck’s sake,’ Rock Giant grumbled. ‘We’re trying to sleep here. Either take it to the bathroom or groan silently.’
Iain leaned down from the bunk above and inched open Ash’s curtain. ‘Are you actually wanking? If you’re that horny, why don’t we take it outside? There’s a nice little vigil going on out there. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to have your company.’
Ash groaned and turned onto his side facing the wall. ‘A little privacy here, please.’
‘I never had you pinned as a masochist.’
He wasn’t. It wasn’t as if he got off on suffering, but nor was he going to head outside in search of contentment. He’d learned his lesson; emotionless sex didn’t work for him. In fact, the prospect of sticking his dick into some random woman’s mouth or pussy revolted him. He didn’t want to seek his kicks in that way any more. He needed a real connection in order to get off. Meeting Ginny had taught him that.
Ginny … Ginny … Ginny … she was the only woman for him.
‘Come on, Ash. What do you say?’
‘I’m going to sleep now,’ he muttered, earning himself a curse.
Except of course, there was no way in hell he was getting to sleep, not given the way his cock was hugging his stomach. He was so needy, it was almost impossible not to touch it, then again contact hurt too.
‘Ash!’ Rock Giant bellowed. ‘It’s bad enough listening to Xane and Dani canoodling most nights. I don’t need you standing in for them on the one night I’ve a chance of dropping off to something other than the sound of someone coming.’
‘All right, I’m outta here.’ Ash rolled out of his bunk and dropped to the floor, where he gingerly adjusted the waistband of his lounge pants to stop them pinching. Iain peered down at him expectantly, obviously hoping they were about to embark on a nocturnal wander. In order to quash that idea once and for all, Ash turned instead towards the back of the bus, where there was a small lounge area. It’d barely been used so far. Mostly they tended to congregate in the kitchen or the mini recording studio.
The scent of carpet adhesive wafted up his nostrils as he entered. It was gloomy within. Someone had gone to the effort of drawing the curtains over the multitude of windows. Ash blinked as his eyes adjusted to the change in light, and realised with a sigh that the space was already occupied. Spook sat in one corner of the long leather couch that wrapped around the edge of the room below the windows.
‘Sorry.’ He backtracked a pace. ‘Did you come in here to escape my groans?’
Spook shook himself out of his apparent repose. He was wearing jeans and a loose shirt. His bare toes were curled against the leather cushion. ‘I hadn’t noticed you were groaning. What’s up, bellyache?’
Ash pursed his lips. ‘Something else. I’ll go somewhere else.’
‘Oh, that sort of up.’ Spook’s gaze flicked down to Ash’s groin then back to his face. ‘It’s nothing I haven’t seen a hundred times before. Come in if you like.’
‘Still trying to sleep here,’ Rock Giant complained. ‘Shut the frickin’ door.’
Ash shuffled forward and closed the door behind him. He tucked himself up at the opposite end of the sofa to Spook and grabbed a cushion to hide what was going on inside his pants. It didn’t look as if he’d be getting any sort of relief any time soon.
‘Got interrupted, huh?’
Ash nodded, while he valiantly resisted the urge to hump the cushion.
Spook just rolled his eyes. ‘For God’s sake, why didn’t you go after her? I saw her outside. She was obviously hoping you would.’
‘Dunno. I guess my brain wasn’t engaged.’
‘Is it ever?’
He shrugged. Occasionally it was. More, recently, than it had been for some years.
Spook continued to pull ‘you’re a stupid shmuck’ faces at him, while shaking his head so that his long hair fell forward and shadowed his face. ‘Why not go now?’
‘Because I don’t know where she is.’ Ash shuffled around, trying to get comfortable. It wasn’t easy with a stick in his pants. ‘And if I head out Iain’s going to follow me. He’s a friend, but I’m not having him play gooseberry.’
‘I’m sure I could distract him for you.’
‘The glee you said that with makes me think that’s not such a good plan.’
Spook shot him a look of absolute innocence.
‘That façade doesn’t work on me. I was there the time you chained Rock Giant to those railings. Plus, I know how much of a kick you get out of playing hard to get.’
His friend leaned forward. ‘I don’t play at being hard to get, Ashley. I am hard to get.’ He sniffed. ‘The band needs a few contrasts. I’m the counterbalance to all the super sluts.’
‘Did you just call me a slut?’
‘Would you rather I used the term Lothario?’
Ash stuck his tongue out at him. ‘I’m reformed, and so is Xane.’
‘Yeah.’ Spook gave another of those telling eye-rolls. ‘Course you both are. Well,
you
might be. Nothing on earth will ever reform Xane.’
‘Wha – t! Are you saying that he and Dani aren’t going to last?’
‘I’m saying nothing will reform him, and I doubt she’s got the stamina to keep him satisfied all by herself. I don’t think any single human being has. Anyway, getting back to your dilemma, do you want me to detain Iain?’
Ash gave the proposition a moment’s thought. He did want to go to Ginny, but sneaking away now would result in a serious grilling tomorrow from one or another member of the band, and likely a lot of ribbing too. The best plan was to sit tight and do yogic breathing exercises or something. Flat on his back was the best position for that. Ash stretched along the length of the sofa, pointed his toes and pulled all his muscles tight before attempting to relax them one by one. It didn’t achieve a goddamned thing, other than drawing attention to his dick. ‘I couldn’t go out sporting this anyway,’ he said. ‘One, I wouldn’t get my trousers on, and two, I’d probably be arrested for indecency. The last thing I need is a night in the cells being some guy’s bubba.’
Spook chuckled. ‘Reckon that’d shrink your problem fast.’
Ash threw a cushion at him, which Spook caught and sent hurtling back at him immediately. It landed square on his loins, making him yelp. He rubbed his wound better with the spongy missile. ‘That hurt, fucker!’
‘You started it.’ Spook smiled at him showing an awful lot of teeth. ‘Remind me not to lean against that cushion in future, at least not until it’s been through a hot wash.’
Ash contemplated beating him around the head with it, but he knew he’d come off worse. Spook fought dirty, and he always took advantage of his opponent’s weaknesses. Frankly, one blow to his cock was all he could take.
Blow!
What he wouldn’t give to be sliding himself into Ginny’s heavenly mouth right now. And to think, he’d never really liked blowjobs before he’d met her.
‘We could put on a movie,’ Spook suggested. Ash glanced across at him to find his friend regarding him as if there were some interesting factoid about him that he’d hitherto not noticed.
‘No. I’m good.’ Porn wasn’t going to do it for him, and even the latest blockbuster wasn’t going to cut it as a distraction. He made a second attempt at the relaxation exercise, this time incorporating a visualisation. Alas, the only visual he summoned with any clarity was of Ginny in those tiny shorts, and how bloody glorious it had looked when he’d pushed his cock through the side leg of them and into her hungry cunt.
Uh-huh!
His cock nodded in agreement. That was totally hot.
‘Ash, you do know you don’t have to be shy? It’s not as if I haven’t seen you come before like a zillion times.’
But only when there’d been a woman in the room. ‘I am not sitting here wanking while you watch.’
‘Sure?’ Spook drew his fingers through his long hair, tugging it back off his face. He gathered it at the back of his head before releasing the blond strands again. ‘Suit yourself, but don’t blame me later when you still can’t walk straight and it aches.’
‘At least mine remembers how to rise.’
His friend gave a deep, weary sigh. ‘Don’t try and make this about me. I get plenty hard when something actually turns me on.’
‘Then how come I’ve never seen it?’
‘Because you don’t do it for me, dumbo.’
Ash faked a sniffle, and wiped away fake tears. ‘But … but …’ he mumbled, before bursting into laughter. ‘I totally thought we were going to be life partners and everything. You’re telling me you’re not going to come over and stroke my dick?’
‘Ashley, I am never going to stroke your dick. Think I’ll happily stick to taking photos of it.’
‘You don’t do that either.’
‘I’m pretty sure it’s starred in a few of them. Do I need to provide evidence?’
A swift shake of his head conveyed Ash’s thoughts about that. Mention of photographs did give him an idea, though. What if he showed Ginny just what she’d done to him? Maybe she’d take pity on him and … actually, he didn’t know. Other than talk to him, there wasn’t a lot she could do.
‘Phone sex,’ he blurted, sitting abruptly at the lightbulb idea. Ash reached for his phone, then realised he was wearing pocketless lounge pants, and a dismayed croak rose from his throat. ‘Where’s my phone?’ The damn things seemed to magically materialise legs and walk off. Most likely it was still in the pocket of the leathers he’d shucked off, but if he went back into the bunk room to look, Rock Giant would probably throw a brick at his head.
‘Ahem,’ Spook coughed. He held his phone aloft between his thumb and forefingers.
Thank you, Jesus!
Knowing how bad he was with his possessions, Ash had persuaded Spook to store Ginny’s number too. ‘Gimme,’ he insisted, reaching for the lifeline.
Spook pulled it close to his body. ‘As if I’m going to let you molest it. Man, I know where your hands have been.’
Ash was about to ask why Spook had bothered waving it about if he wasn’t going to allow him to use it, when his friend hit dial and raised the handset to his ear.
‘Ginny? Hi, it’s Spook,’ he said, grinning ear to ear. ‘Yeah, he’s fine. A little worked up. You know how it is. Nothing a bedtime story won’t fix. No, I can’t put him on. He’s not touching my phone unless he bleaches his hands.’
Ash pouted. He wished he could hear both sides of the conversation, not only what Spook was saying. Ginny’s soft purr in his ear would go a long way to easing his frustration.
‘No, right at the minute, he’s just about restraining himself.’
The bastard was grinning at him like the cat that got the cream.
‘I’m sure a few words from you could change that.’
What the hell? ‘What are you doing?’
‘Talking to Ginny. OK, yeah,’ Spook said into the phone. ‘Of course I can relay a message. It’ll be a pleasure.’
Ash repositioned himself upright, because the frankly malevolent glee in Spook’s eyes suggested a prone position wasn’t a good idea at the moment. ‘What the fuck are you up to?’
‘I just said. I’m talking to your lady.’
‘Well, stop talking to her and tell me what she’s saying.’
Two ticks, Spook signalled, holding up a couple of fingers.
Ash clenched his fists and waited, while his cock continued to strain the elastic of his waistband. Damn thing wanted out, and he was increasingly tempted to set it free. He repositioned the cushion before him, hoping that since Spook was distracted by his phone conversation he wouldn’t notice if he rocked his hips a bit.