Chapter 5 Thoughts and Desire

Ash found himself thinking about Selina Covell as was becoming a habit. She was an intriguing woman with a strong sense of self and the most eye opening view of the world. He remembered the kiss they'd shared yesterday, the was she'd melted against him, her lips turning pliant, if he'd wanted he could have had her as it was he was quite eager to kiss her again.

His phone rang and he forced himself to reach for it, the tip of his finger grabbing at the phone until he'd pulled it towards himself,smiling when he saw who the caller was he picked the call and was greeted by his brother's cheerful voice

"So the rumor is you're on holiday but I know that is not true so spill" laughing he leaned against the chair properly

"What makes you say that" he asked and Gabriel snorted

"You're my family and I know my you, there's no way you can tell me that just after your talk with our parents you decided to take a trip" He hummed in assent, Gabriel was right,he was a strategist and he liked to make plans, he would never have left home if it weren't for his mother

"You're right. I am here to find a wife" he answered, the silence that followed the admission did not surprise him, Gabriel was very aware of the duty they had to the throne and country

"Well at least you were not forced to marry Alina" Gabriel joked and he laughed. He'd forgotten about Alina, she was the daughter of their father's trusted friend, who was also a member of the Lords, and while her father was a cunning but compassionate man he seemed to have raised a daughter who'd inherited only his cunning. Alina wanted the prestige that came with royalty and she had long been weaving dreams of martial bliss in one of their arms, it didn't really matter who but she would be pleased if she'd gotten her clutches in him.

"So am I"

"So how's the picking"

"Gabriel , I came to find a wife not fruits "

"And women are the most delicate of fruits, if you want I can setup an audition for you" his brother offered,pulling the phone away from his ear Ash stared at it incredulous

"Gabe I think I will find a wife the old fashioned way" he mused, sniffing in mock affront Gabriel replied

"Fine but don't run to me later,"

" I promise I won't" he replied dryly

" Leaving the boring topic of wife finding–"

" You do know that the day for your nuptial bliss is any moment form now" he asked " I promise you brother that I will escape for us both" Gabriel muttered

" Do try to hurry back home I miss your insufferable hide" he murmured

" I miss you too" he said. He and Gabriel had always been close as children it had driven their parents mad until Gabriel had learned to make friends, Ash hadn't bothered, and so till this day Gabe was his only true friend.

" And try to relax while you're there " he pleaded

"I will try" , he conceded. They did the familiar dance and he dropped the call twirling the phone in his hand, his thoughts went to Selina, he wondered what she was doing and if she was looking forward to their meeting as much as he was.

Two minutes later he made another call.

Once he was done he got into the shower and then he took time to pick out an outfit,he didn't want to look too stiff neither did he want to look extravagant,once he'd settled on what he wanted he sighed and got to work. Properly dressed,he picked his car keys and left the hotel room,gave a curt nod to the door man and walked towards his car juggling his keys. He was excited to hear her play again. She was gifted in a way that touched him deeply and he was a bit surprised that she was stuck at Riverdale.

Traffic was a nightmare and he almost didn't arrive in time but he managed to get in and slid into his seat,while apologizing to his neighbors. He searched for her and caught a glimpse of blond hair and smiled The crowd was settled comfortably, and the hush of the theatre was accompanied by the slide of the violin,music after music played different instruments mixing together yet her haunting notes were all he heard and at the end of that symphony he was quite enamoured with Selina Covell perhaps even more than he'd been when they first met.

He found his way backstage,and found her by her snow white hair that glittered in the gleam of the fluorescent bulbs as she chatted animatedly with a little boy and another woman,he drew closer to trio, watching her interact with the boy

"You enjoyed the show " she asked petting the child's hair and he nodded vigorously

"It was the best I want to play the piano like mum" he offered and Selina smiled

" I'm sure you will, you've been getting better" she said making the boy grin widely

"Hope I'm not interrupting" he murmured placing a hand on her back,she turned to him with a smile

"Ash,you came" "Of course, I said I would" he answered and she smiled

"Ash these are my friends, Debra and her son Brian. Debra,Brian this is Ash."

"Nice to meet you, " he offered and the lady smiled, the boy looked to Selina

" Your bestest friends" he corrected, she smiled and ruffled his hair

" Of course buddy my bestest" then he turned back to him

"You're the bloke aunt Sel was talking about"the child said,Selina flushed a bright red, while his mother scowled

"What? She was talking about him,she even had goo goo eyes and everything" he said affronted,his mother could only sigh, Ash grinned widely,and Selina seemed to try her best not to meet his gaze "I apologize for my son,"Debra offered

" Selina we'll see you tomorrow"she added hugging her. Selina bent to hug the little boy

" I think I'm going to have to change my bestest friend" she said wryly,before he could protest he was carted away by his mother

"goo goo eyes huh"he mumbled and she groaned, her cheeks turning pink

"Please forget he said anything"she pleaded. He grinned

" I'm not sure I can" he said crowding her " But I can promise to try on one condition" he said , she swallowed, licking her lips

" What is the condition" she asked

"Let me take you to dinner"he said. She nodded her cheeks flushed

" I thought I was already a sure thing but fine,let me pack my things"she replied,he watched her go grinning, goo goo eyes were good,there were very good.

*******************

Selina watched Ash with a sort of awe as he tucked into the fourth serving of pie, she had not had much of male presence in her life but she wasn't naive, she was aware that men were ravenous.

She couldn't remember her birth father's eating habits, but though her foster father and brother ate moderately. There was Brian who ate like a horse but he was a child and had faster metabolism, then there were men like Mr.Potter, the manager at Riverdale, who had big guts and bigger bodies. Surprisingly enough there was Ash with his lean body and sinew of muscles, she had to wonder where all the food he ate went.

After taking her from the theatre he had asked where she wanted to go. She had immediately thought of the little diner that she ate in a few years ago, and though he didn't seem the type to wait at a diner he hadn't balked at the experience either.

They made small talk about the day and a few other things while he had proceeded to wolfed down meal after meal

" Haven't you eaten all day" she queried and he grinned

"I find the food delicious plus I am truly hungry" he said returning to the food

"Which means you haven't eaten all day, were you waiting for our dinner plans" she asked and he grinned

" You could say that" She sipped her tea watching him,as he cleaned his plate and leaned into the chair ,taking his cup, he downed the coffee and called for another,her nose wrinkled,he noticed, grinning

"Not a fan of coffee"

"Why would I indulge in something that leaves me a wired as a junkie" he nodded in understanding.

"It keeps me active when I have to do an all nighters," she nodded. she knew Debra was also a fan of the black brew despite her many attempt to dissuaded her.

"You've never told me what kind of work you do" she asked softly leaning towards him

"I work administration" he answered,it was vague and his gaze shifty so she took it to mean that he wasn't ready to talk about it so she let it be asking him of his childhood. Then somehow they wind up discussing geography

"Well ,the land is as bare as a sheet of paper. Lot's of desert area but it has the most beautiful views, to the south east we have a bit of the tropical forests,to the North east we have lovely mountain ranges,a river flows just beneath and some time from the capital you can see the peaks lightened with soft colours of gold and blue"

"That must be so beautiful."

" It is, you could come visit, the sunset are better gold and bronze and you can see the land for miles around you"

"That would be nice but I don't think I will" she replied, he nodded. Shifting to another topic she said

"So, I have read a bit on the revolution . It was a very tense affair,and I was never able to understand it ,we know that England's influence was strong in the country and rebellion were successfully subdued until-" she paused and he took over "- 1802.Well dissent was easy to sow within the British soldiers ,most of the soldiers were not receiving adequate pay from the crown,those who were injured had no suitable income and the rest were tired of conquering land for their kingdoms" " considering that Callum Law was a fluent speaker he was able to rally people to his side."

"But Callum couldn't really provide them the means for a livelihood-" she murmured outward

"Well,there were certain rumors that Callum was related to gentry back in England, he had married the daughter of a Duke that was related to the king,she died,he inherited a large sum from her father and moved to the continents managing his businesses until a point where he was self-sufficient to manage without the duchy"

"And I am assuming he then went to visit Agryll" she whispered and he nodded a smile playing on his lips

"Yes. He lived there for a few years and with the experience he had from the navy and his charisma he got people behind him,four years of revolt and a royal marriage later and the country was born"

"That is quite a story"

"History usually is," he looked at his watch then around them,she did too and many of the customer were gone. They had been talking for over an hour now, a testament to how easy he was to talk to. She sent a sympathetic smile to the waitress as Ash paid their bill and escorted her out of the diner. Shivering slightly at the persistent cold she had to fight to hold in the sigh that crossed her lips when he pulled her into his arms.He les her to the car , opening the door for her, they drove home playing old classic music their taste in music ran the same vein. Was there anyway this man could get less perfect. She watched him from the side of her eye, as he parked the car at her apartment building, she was nervous all of a sudden,she wanted him to stay but wasn't quite sure how to go about it. He seemed to hesitate before opening the door, " I'll take you up stairs" he offered, she nodded in silent agreement and followed him. The building was quite most people on their night shifts or in bed. He walked her to her door the sound of their breathing the only sound to be heard

" I had a lovely night" she murmured

" So did I" he answered. She paused,opened her mouth only to close it again, beyond frustrated with herself she tossed all caution to the wind and pressed a kiss to his lips. He froze but that didn't stop her, she coaxed his lips with hers she wasn't sure who deepened the kiss first,but the pressure of his lips on hers surprised her only briefly before she threw away caution and dove into it with passion. He smoothed her wind blown hair and ploughed his tongue into her mouth ,she had been kissed before but this kiss stunned her setting her heart to racing and causing a flutter in her belly. When he pulled away they were both breathless

" You need to tell me to stop, if you're not ready I need you to tell me to stop" he said hoarsely

" I don't want you to stop" she replied

" I don't want to hurt you" he said , she smiled " You won't, I don't plan on letting you" He huffed in laughter, tasting her lips again

" I think you need to open the door" he growled, she moaned searching blindly for her keys as he spread kisses over her neck, she found the keys clutching them tightly

" I need to open the door" she gasped , he hummed and pulled away slightly, she reached for the doors struggling to open it amidst the sensation, that ploughed through her , once the door cracked open they fell through it. Ash reached for her steadying her, she abandoned her violin case as he pushed her against the door, as it clicked shut, his mouth never leaving hers.

" You taste perfect" he muttered and she smiled

" So do you" he pulled away,their breathing harsh and watched her eyes hooded with arousal.

" Take off your clothes" he ordered, she gulped pausing slightly before reaching to do what he'd ordered. She pulled down her zipper,and let the dress pool at her feet, , then she reached for her bra and panties soon she was standing bare in front of him, he swallowed,and if possible his eyes became even more molten

"I want you to touch yourself" he ordered hoarsely, she groaned, and proceeded to do just that.