but we’ll cope. I bet there’s not many times when everyone is in the same place.’
‘It’s not the number of people that’s the issue. I don’t want to listen to Ash fucking groupies every night. You’ve no idea what it’s like. It’s so-o not pretty when he turfs them out afterwards.’ He gave her a hard and very serious look. ‘I trust your friend Ginny realises there’s nothing more than a good time on offer.’
‘She does.’
‘Good. I wish the rest of his hook-ups were that bright. Most of them are convinced they’re the one, and he’s going to magically settle down and have babies.’
‘I can’t see Ash with a baby.’ She squinted, trying to picture him bare-chested with a newborn tucked against his body instead of his guitar. It didn’t work. ‘Maybe he can be persuaded to party elsewhere.’
‘What – like throw him a mattress in the back of the equipment van and let him hang out there?’
‘Harsh.’
‘Yeah, but if they see where he’s planning on banging them maybe they won’t get so fanciful in their ideas.’
‘Can I get fanciful?’ she asked, sliding her arms around his waist. The bonus of him thinking about Ash was that he wasn’t thinking about Steve, which in turn ought to make it easier for her to get him to focus on her.
‘You don’t need to get fanciful, I’m yours already.’
She’d never get tired of hearing him say it, even if it wasn’t entirely true. ‘Can we explore?’ She’d never got to do any normal childhood things like staying in a holiday home. ‘I want to choose a bed.’
Xane gave her a gentle push towards the stairs. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Can’t we nab the double?’
He shook his head. ‘The double’s normally assigned on a rota, but I suspect Elspeth’s going to lay claim to it, and frankly I don’t feel like arguing. If she’s got a room to hide in that I don’t have to go near, then all the better.’
To be fair, Dani couldn’t argue with that logic either. She didn’t particularly relish the thought of spending six months cooped up with his ex-girlfriend any more than he did. ‘OK, so if Elspeth has the bedroom, won’t that make it difficult for Ash to entertain anyway? I mean, he can hardly have an orgy in a bunk bed.’
‘Knowing Ash he’d use someone else’s bed.’
She frowned and wondered again if Ginny really did know what she was getting herself into. Xane made him sound like a diabolical slut. She prayed, for Ginny’s sake, he was exaggerating.
The sleeping quarters occupied the middle section of the upper floor. ‘Top or bottom?’ Dani asked. There were three bunks on each side.
Xane immediately vaulted up onto the middle bunk on the righthand side. ‘Neither.’ He turned onto his back and wriggled a little to test out the mattress. ‘Not bad. Not bad at all. Come on up.’
She ought to have known he’d opt for the middle. After all, he’d spent numerous nights in the centre of a three-way. She shoved the thought of him sandwiched between Elspeth and Steve to the back of her head. It was only her guess that they’d engaged in that sort of sex anyway. Xane had never explicitly said that the three of them had shared a bed at the same time.
Xane rolled onto his side to look at her. ‘Which one do you want?’
All the bunks were identically made up with the same smart black and white coverings, so the only actual difference was the positioning. ‘This one.’ She opted for the bunk directly below Xane’s. Kneeling to crawl into bed seemed less hassle than having to scurry up and down a ladder. She didn’t possess Xane’s height or agility to be able to easily hop up into even the middle bunk.
Dani crawled into her new home and stretched out, getting herself acquainted with the space. A shelf ran along the entire length of the back wall. She also had her own TV/DVD combo set into the wall at her feet, and there seemed to be a multitude of odd little cubbyholes too.
A line of switches sat directly above her head. Dani tested one at random and the lights dimmed. The second closed the curtains, concealing her from the rest of the room.
Xane stuck his head under the curtains. ‘I hope you’re not intentionally shutting me out.’ He crawled in beside her and stretched out on his side.
‘Just testing things out.’ She flicked a few more switches on and off.
‘There wasn’t any of this stuff on the old bus. I guess it’s a welcome improvement, even if we do have to share with Ash. These bunks are easily a foot and a half wider than the old ones. Want to know how I can tell?’ He kissed his index finger and pressed it to the tip of her nose. ‘Because we’re not squashed together like sardines. In the past, we’d have had to be like this if we’d wanted to lie down together.’ He rolled on top of her, with his knees tucked tight against her sides and his body hunched low as though there were no headspace at all above him.
‘Cosy,’ she said, putting her arms around him too. ‘I might be mistaken, but I seem to recall you saying something about my knickers coming off.’
Xane lifted himself on his elbows a little so that they weren’t pressed quite so tightly together. ‘I did, didn’t I.’
‘You did.’
‘Did I cite a reason?’ he teased.
As if he didn’t know. ‘I think you were planning a bit of a workout.’
‘I think I’d need gym clothes for that, wouldn’t I? Not your panties.’
Dani slapped him on the shoulder. ‘Stop it.’
‘Don’t you like my teasing?’ He arched his body at that exact moment so that the swell of his erection pressed tight against the apex of her thighs.
‘Mm,’ she groaned.
‘Is this the “mmm” bit?’ He rolled his hips again, thus teasing her in exactly the right spot. ‘I’ve really fucking missed you, have I mentioned that yet? I wanted your arms around me so much.’ He explored the side of her jaw, nipped her earlobe, then trailed kisses down to the pulse point in her throat.
‘I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.’ She sought a route inside his shirt, clawed at the skin of his back until he growled and pulled away.
Xane breathed out jerkily. His hot hands slid down to her waist, and a second later he had her jeans around her knees. ‘I do like these knickers,’ he said, twanging the side elastic of her bit of Black Halo merchandise. ‘Although I like them down here best, where they can be all pretty but not get in the way.’ They followed her jeans down to her knees.
It wasn’t so long ago Dani had balked at the mere thought of being this exposed, but when Xane crouched over her, looking at her, she knew he wasn’t seeing her hundreds of scars, only the prize awaiting him between her thighs.
‘You smell so sweet.’ He stuck out his tongue, and her body wept in anticipation. He didn’t make her wait too long. His tongue tickled
