know what? You looked good on the telly.’
Ashley arched an eyebrow at Gina. ‘Did I?’
‘Yeah. You’ve really got… er… that thing.’
‘What thing?’
‘That thing that makes you pop. I’ve shot a lot of actors. Most of them don’t have it. You do. Just saying.’
Ashley was about to simply say thanks when it occurred to her that this particular compliment might be different from the last one. It seemed a bit more… flirty. And this time, she was pretty sure she had Gina’s motivation nailed. She was rather surprised. She’d have never thought Gina would look at her twice. She was very good-looking and in possession of an easy sexiness. Nothing about Ashley was easy.
But… maybe Gina did think this was the end, secretly. And maybe she wanted to feel good before things got bad.
Ashley wondered how she should feel about this. It didn’t take her long to figure it out. She was sort of, well… excited. Because if she was being honest with herself, she’d fancied Gina right from the start. Other emotions had clouded it, made it harder to acknowledge. But what was there to cloud it now? They were alone, in this cupboard, using up what might be the last little bit of life left to them.
So Ashley would use it wisely.
Nineteen
Gina was pretty sure she was hitting on Ashley.
She hadn’t really meant to, it was just happening. Maybe because the Ashley that Gina had started the day with was not the one who was trapped in this cupboard with her. The worst time and place in the world, but Gina couldn’t seem to help it. She wanted Ashley. She was sexy, childlike, hard, soft, sensitive, a brick wall. Gina was into the contradiction that was Ashley Quick. She really couldn’t say if the reverse was true. She was pretty sure that Ashley only saw her as a dumb camera operator.
But then Ashley turned with a very focused look in her eye. ‘Gina,’ Ashley said.
‘Ashley?’ Gina replied with a small grin.
‘I like your arms and your bum,’ Ashley told her.
Gina was thrown pretty hard by that. The only reaction she could find was a nervous chuckle. ‘Yeah?’
‘Yes,’ Ashley said through slight embarrassment. ‘I thought so earlier, but I didn’t think you would end up liking me very much, so I was… I think I attacked you right off the bat to make it easier for myself. That was childish. But I think that things… Well, things have changed. Between us.’
‘I think they have too,’ Gina told her, her head spinning a bit.
‘I’m ready to stop playing games if you are?’ Ashley asked nervously.
Only that wasn’t really what she was asking, Gina could feel it. ‘I’m ready,’ she told Ashley, looking her right in the eye. Ashley nodded, and Gina thought she was going to say something else. That was what Ashley did. She was a talker.
But the answer wasn’t verbal, though it was expressed through Ashley’s mouth. Her very warm, soft mouth. She didn’t kiss the way Gina would have expected. There was nothing aggressive or pushy about it. It was soft, gentle, almost passive, yet… electric. Gina felt the kiss shoot through her entire body, lips to toes and everywhere in between.
Gina reached her hands out and grabbed Ashley by the shirt lapels and pulled her tighter. Ashley got the hint and twisted around to get closer. But they were still sitting side by side, so Gina kept pulling until she’d slid onto her back and Ashley was astride her. That’s when things began to get blurry, hot, sweaty, and so very, very good.
Until a voice said, ‘What the fuck is this?’
Gina and Ashley’s heads swivelled to the door that had opened without either of them noticing. Rick was standing in the doorway, gun in hand as ever. ‘Hi Rick,’ Ashley said, from on top of Gina. ‘Umm, how’re things going out there?’
‘Not as good as in here, obviously,’ Rick noted. For a horrid moment, Gina thought he might be thinking that porn had taught him correctly and that catching two women snogging was some sort of invitation to a three-way. But he didn’t look at all like he was thinking about that. He seemed a bit envious, actually. She understood why in a flash. He was pining for Kara Malone, who was outside and yet still far from his reach, and here Gina was, getting some hot reporter action. It had to sting Mr Big-Shot-With-a-Gun.
‘We were just…’ Gina began but really, what could she say? That she’d