‘What?’ They shouted in unison and she snickered at them.
‘Kidding. Rest up, we have houses to see tomorrow!’ She sounded excited. Ashley was so lost.
‘Excuse me?’ He waited expectantly with his arms crossed while she got a glass of water from the kitchen.
‘Well, this whole travelling between Erskineville and Riverstone thing is a joke, and they won’t let us have a dog here, and from your descriptions of the house in Riverstone I am not living there, and I refuse to live without you. So I rang the real estate agent and asked her to find us a nice big place that allows dogs, two bedrooms minimum and a yard. She sent through three nice places to look at.’
‘Tomorrow,’ Ashley clarified.
‘That’s the part of this you have a problem with?’ Finn marvelled, looking between them.
‘Oh don’t get on your high horse, you’ll find someone to rent your sister’s house in no time and you’ll love living with me, I promise!’ She was so certain.
‘You really do tell her everything, huh.’ Finn sounded annoyed but when Ashley turned to look at him he seemed resigned and pleased by the turn of events. Not angry at all.
‘You want to live with me,’ Ashley realised, grinning.
‘Of course I do,’ Finn glared at him. ‘I just didn’t want to ask you to live in freakin’ Riverstone!’
‘Great, first appointment is at ten, so make sure you’re up or I’ll come climb in bed with you.’ She left them there, disappearing into her room as if it was all decided. To her it was.
‘She will!’ Dave called out in warning, like maybe they hadn’t believed her.
‘Are you sure she’s safe to live with?’ Finn laughed, moving into the bedroom and heading straight for the ensuite and the shower.
‘You’ll really move in with us? All of us?’
‘It’s like Harriet,’ Finn explained. ‘I know they’re your safety net. Besides, I really like them, and rent’s expensive, especially for places that allow a dog. So yeah, why not? I want to be with you, I don’t care who I have to share you with, as long as I’m with you.’
The man would be the death of him. Ashley grinned and pushed him into the shower fully clothed, stripping him off under the spray and gritting his teeth against the pain, using Finn’s body to distract himself from his hurts.
‘Did you get checked by the paramedics?’ Finn was dark, stroking one of the bruises on his shoulder.
‘Shh, I’m fine. Kiss me better.’
Finn laughed at him but followed orders.
It was still dark when Ashley woke, hot and sweating. For a moment the disorientation weighed heavy, then he realised the source of his discomfort. Finn was curled in against his side, clinging to one of Ashley’s biceps, legs tangled around Ashley’s thigh, head nestled in against the curve of Ashley’s throat. His breath was warm where it washed against Ashley’s skin. In the dark the shadows of Finn’s face were less pronounced, softening the edges. In sleep, there was no sign of the fury that had arrested Zhao.
Ashley tossed the doona aside, tucking it in around Finn instead. He tried to move so he could kiss Finn’s temple but there was an immediate change. Nothing noticeable, had he not been ensnared in Finn’s grasp but skin to skin he felt the tightening of muscle and the shift of bone. Finn’s eyes slid open, just a crack. Checking.
‘Home,’ Ashley reminded him, laying the kiss he’d intended on Finn’s forehead instead. Finn’s eyes slid shut momentarily while he gathered himself and then he relaxed, his smile breathtaking.
‘Why’re you awake?’ There was gravel in his sleepy voice and it went straight to Ashley’s groin.
‘Was hot.’ In more ways than one, apparently.
‘Sorry,’ Finn mumbled, still half asleep and trying to untangle himself from Ashley and the blankets. ‘I didn’t hurt you, did I?’
‘No way.’ Ashley hadn’t given his injuries much thought, but reminded of them he could feel the aches and pains settling deep in his muscles. None of that was Finn’s fault.
‘Liar.’
‘’m not. I’m sore, sure, but you didn’t hurt me.’ Not that Finn couldn’t, but Ashley knew he wouldn’t. It wasn’t in Finn to hurt those he loved.
Even in the dark Ashley could see Finn watching him, taking in the bruises on his skin, the cuts and abrasions.
‘I promise, I’m okay.’ Not fine, because that was clearly not the case, but definitely okay.
Finn pushed him onto his back and rolled over him, pinning him to the bed and taking his mouth in a hungry kiss. Startled, Ashley moaned and his hands grabbed at Finn’s hips while he thrust his tongue further into the wet heat of his lover’s mouth. Finn fumbled down between them and wrapped their cocks in a tight fist. Ashley loved the way his breath hitched and his eyes slid closed. Finn was beautiful, even in the shadows of the morning’s earliest hours.
‘Okay?’ Finn still asked.
Ashley didn’t bother responding with words, reaching down to twine his fingers around Finn’s, stroking them off together in a rushed, frantic mess of disjointed tugs. Ashley was too distracted by the way Finn’s lips parted and his tongue licked at his upper lip to pay attention to rhythm or timing.
When he came, Finn gasped Ashley’s name in a stuttered panic, pressing their foreheads together and struggling for breath. It was the faith inherent in the action that pushed Ashley over the edge, knowing Finn trusted him to cradle him in the night and provide shelter from the storm within. Realising that at some point Finn had opened a window and sealed Ashley inside.
The sweat was cooling on their skin, not to mention the mess between them. Ashley rolled them to the edge of the bed and hauled Finn from the sheets. His arms ached and Finn cupped his cheek, kissing his jaw.
‘Put me down, idiot. You’re injured.’
‘No,’ he refused and proceeded to carry his boyfriend through to the bathroom. He put Finn down in the tub and turned the taps on for the bath instead of the shower, climbing in behind Finn and pulling him back against his chest. The hot water filled the tub surprisingly fast and Finn relaxed into the warmth with a happy sigh.
‘Are you sure about today?’
‘About moving in with you?’
‘More about moving out of your house. And in with us.’ Because Finn hadn’t shared a house with Dave and Freya. Ashley wasn’t convinced he knew what he was agreeing to.
‘Course.’ Finn picked up one of Ashley’s hands and toyed with his fingers, stroking the knuckles and rubbing at his nails. ‘It’s not the first time I’ve lived with people.’
His quiet tone made it clear he wasn’t talking the traditional share housing setup. He wasn’t talking about the reserve either, Ashley knew the differences in his voice by now. Finn meant his time with the ADF.
‘Okay, yeah … you’re gonna be fine,’ Ashley chuckled, squeezing Finn playfully, loving the way he squawked and pretended to try and get away before settling in against him again.
‘Are you sure?’ The genuine concern in his voice was painful to hear.
‘Course.’ Ashley pulled Finn’s hand up to his lips and kissed his fingertips, sucking one into his mouth and nibbling on the soft skin. ‘You belong with me.’
‘Because you love me?’ There was a hint of disbelief in it.
‘More than North and South America,’ Ashley agreed.
‘More than Antarctica?’ He was playing. It was a good sign.
‘Fuck Antarctica. That place is melting anyway.’
Finn laughed, turning to kiss him, splashing water over the sides of the tub.
‘I love you too.’ Which Ashley knew, but it was still awesome to hear.
They pulled up at the home of Chloe and Daniel Jameson in Ashley’s ute. Harriet had been towed back to Riverstone, where she was sleeping safely in the garage. Ashley secretly hoped that was where Harriet would be put to rest, but it had to be Finn’s decision and he thought Finn had made enough big decisions for one day.
It was eerily quiet in th
e front yard, everything perfectly still. The house was surrounded by a small army of cars and a quick scan told Ashley who was there. Hayley, Clay and Joel, because it was Joel’s car, which meant Micah, and Taylor and probably Sietta. Ben was there, and even Nathaniel London, the other third of his dad’s business partnership. Kelly was there, but Brayden’s car was missing which meant he was either on shift or had made Kelly drive. So they were last to arrive.
They went through the side gate to the backyard.
Everyone was there, engrossed in the usual shenanigans. Leila and Micah had set up a screen by hanging a sheet on the pool fence and had a projector playing Jaws while they lazed habitually on their giant swan together.
Sietta and Joel were sitting with Taylor on the lounge, Clay was talking to Daniel in the kitchen, fetching beers. Ben and Nathaniel were talking to Chloe, who was seated at the head of the outdoor table setting, dressed as immaculately as ever in a stunning blue and red sixties halter dress, bright red sunglasses and a pink lip gloss, white wine in hand. Kelly was beside her, but Brayden was missing.
‘Where’re your children?’ Ashley asked suspiciously, looking around and not seeing them. Everyone froze, and then pointed to the house. Curious, Ashley went in and followed the sound of retching.
Brayden was in the toilet, fingers down Jay’s throat while the boy vomited a rainbow of crayon remains down his father’s nice white button down shirt.
‘You look like a unicorn,’ Ashley marvelled, watching Jay vomit another projectile stream that hit Brayden’s cheek and slopped off onto his trousers in slow motion.
‘You look like salami. What the hell?’ Brayden was looking him up and down. Ashley was getting very tired of people doing that.
‘A couple of boats exploded on me, I’m fine.’
‘A couple meaning more than one,’ Brayden clarified.
‘Yes, meaning more than one!’ Ashley snapped at him. ‘I’m not an idiot! I was doing my job, the boats exploded, I saved a kid and caught the bad guy. Say well done or shove your head in the toilet!’
Brayden gaped at him and Jay vomited, right into his open mouth. Ashley retched and fled the room, the sound of Brayden vomiting following him down the hall.
‘Screw you, Ash!’ More vomiting.
‘What was that about?’ Finn looked up at him when he crashed through the screen doors grinning.
‘Oh nothing. Jay ate some crayons again.’
Finn laughed with him. Everyone laughed, except Kelly who sighed dramatically. Chloe patted her hand in sympathy, but made no move to help at all. She’d done her time, she liked to remind everyone. It was Brayden’s turn now.
Emma rounded the corner and Ashley froze, coughing on his startled cry. Taylor turned to look down at her and frowned, no one daring to move.
She was covered head to foot in dark soil. There was a worm in her hair and her white sundress would never be clean again. There were some bougainvillea thorns sticking out of her arms and her knee was bleeding, but she seemed completely oblivious. Her hands were suspiciously behind her back.
‘Princess, were you by any chance playing in the garden?’ Taylor asked her very softly.
‘Uh-huh!’ she nodded, looking terribly excited. That had to be a bad sign. Ashley shifted, trying to see behind her but only caught sight of something filthy and brown, like the rest of her.
‘Did you find something interesting in the garden?’
‘Uh-huh!’ Her eyes were far too bright.
‘Jay told me to go into the garden and eat worms!’ She seemed truly excited about that, apparently missing that it was not a nice thing to say to someone.
‘Oh, honey, Jay was just being mean,’ Kelly tried to reason. As if you could reason with a monster. That was her problem, she was always trying to be reasonable. There was no reasonable where her children were concerned. ‘You’re not actually supposed to eat the worms. You didn’t … did you?’ She should have sounded far more concerned.
‘What does that matter, she can always go vomit with Bray and Jay.’ Clay frowned at Emma, also inching around her trying to get a good look at what she was holding. Something was moving. She must have caught something in the garden … Oh, no.
‘I caught the biggest worm of all!’ Emma squealed excitedly, pulling the thing from behind her and holding it aloft like a prize.
‘SNAKE!’ Everyone screamed, falling back. Only Taylor lunged forward, right as it tried to strike at Emma, snatching it out of her hands and hurling it into the air. Mid-throw it snapped its head around and bit his arm, latching on and Ashley watched in fascination as he tried to shake it off.
‘It bit me!’ He stared at it, horrified where it was hanging from his arm, teeth deep in his skin.
‘It’s still biting you!’ Clay pointed out. ‘Brayden! A snake is biting Taylor!’
‘Get it off!’ Hayley shrieked.
‘Someone grab Emma!’ Kelly was sobbing.
‘WORMY!’ Emma shrieked, lunging after Taylor, trying to block everyone so they wouldn’t hurt her new friend.
Finn lunged into the fray, dodging Emma and expertly snatching the snake up off Taylor’s arm, his hand closing on the animal’s head, holding its mouth shut while it whipped its tail at him. He stood there with the snake squirming wildly, calm as the eye of a storm.
‘Ben, could you grab me a pillowcase?’ He asked, and they all turned to see Ben wander inside and fetch the item from the linen cupboard. He brought it back out and Finn slowly put the animal inside and then tied it off, sitting it in the garden and dusting off his hands.
‘Oh my God!’ Hayley whispered. ‘That was insane.’
‘I’m dying here!’ Taylor glared at them all, exasperated. ‘Will someone please take me to the hospital?’
‘Oh, don’t be so dramatic, you’re not dying,’ Chloe waved a hand at him.
‘Actually, he is. That was a red-bellied black snake, so …’ Finn looked around the table and Clay lunged for his keys, snatched them up and started pushing Taylor to the door. Sietta ran out ahead of them, holding the door open impatiently.
‘I’ll call the hospital and let them know you’re on your way so they get the anti-venom ready,’ Hayley shakily informed them, going inside and screaming at Brayden for being so slow when they needed a doctor.
‘You put Wormy in a bodybag!’ Emma wailed, running over and kicking Finn in the shin. He grabbed at his leg in shock, trying not to laugh and failing, falling onto the couch Taylor had been sitting on and rubbing his leg while Kelly scooped Emma up into her lap, checking she was okay.
‘What do you mean Taylor got bitten by a snake?’ Brayden emerged, covered in rainbow vomit, looking confused and ill.
‘Clay took him to the hospital,’ Joel explained. ‘Sietta went with him.’ He hadn’t bothered to get up from the couch. Ashley thought that was a good sign the man had spent too long around the Jameson’s, but maybe it was a side effect of teaching. Nothing phased the man anymore.
‘Uncle Tay took Wormy off me!’ Emma wailed and Brayden looked at her and then sighed, picking her up and taking her to the bathroom where Jay was apparently in the shower trying to wash the vomit off, something Brayden should consider doing himself. He should hose down the whole family.
‘That was amazing.’ Ashley grabbed Finn’s hands, checking him over but there was not a mark on him. He almost stupidly asked where he had learned to do that, then he remembered and he grinned. It had been awesome, and Finn had simply reacted as if it were an everyday thing.
‘It wasn’t a problem. But someone should call animal control so they can come and get the snake.’
‘I’ll do that,’ Daniel said immediately, wandering into the house with his partners, disappearing into his office. Obviously they had work to do and had been waiting for an excuse to leave.
‘Bloody hell,’ Finn mumbled. Joel snickered and patted him on the back consolingly.
‘You get used to it.’
Ashley went and fetched four beers, hand
ing them to Finn and Joel before taking a long swig. Hayley returned and he offered the fourth to her, surprised when she actually took it.
‘You’re not driving?’ She never drank and drove, even once.
‘Nah, Joe’s getting the guy’s to drop him off here later so he can drive me home.’
‘Who’s Joe?’ Finn asked, frowning.
‘My husband?’
They all squinted at Finn like he should know that. Everyone knew that, right?
‘So, you’re really married?’ Finn seemed confused.
‘Yes, I’m really married,’ Hayley held up her hand with the ring on it to prove it.
‘Huh.’ Finn took a long swig of his beer. ‘I thought that was something Taylor made up to scare Harris off from asking you out.’
‘Harris thinks I’m hot?’ Hayley preened and Joel choked on his beer.
‘So why’s Joe not here?’ Finn queried. ‘Aren’t these family barbeques compulsory or something?’
‘Joe takes Saturday jobs a lot,’ Joel clarified, indicating all of them with a tip of his beer. ‘I can’t imagine why.’
‘Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,’ Chloe snapped from the head of the table, but she was smirking, clearly amused.
‘Joe is smart,’ Joel whispered. ‘How come you’re so good with snakes?’
‘Oh. When I finished school I lived on a game reserve in Zimbabwe for a year,’ Finn explained, the story rolling so easily from him. It was clearly practised. He simply didn’t mention what happened afterward, easy as that. ‘There were lots of snakes.’
‘That’s … awesome!’ Joel blinked. ‘The Africa bit, not the snake bit. I hate snakes.’
‘Don’t we all.’ Brayden came out with a scraggly pair of children at his heels, all of them wet but clean. He dumped Jay unceremoniously in his mother’s lap and settled in a chair with Emma tightly held prisoner.
‘So, we looked at some new houses today,’ Ashley broached the subject.
‘You’re moving in together?’ Joel sat up, startled.
‘Sort of. We’re all moving; Freya, Dave, Finn, Anubis and I,’ Ashley explained. ‘The real estate agent was a friend of Freya’s and she found this amazing cottage out behind this old couple’s house in Roselle. It’s three bedroom, with a little yard, good rent price that’s reduced on the condition we do the yard upkeep.’
Rhino Ash (Saturday Barbies Book 2) Page 27
