by Dawn Burton
“Yes please, yes please! Oh, Annie, thank fuck we met. I love you.”
“Is that for all things in general or just because you’ve got a man-cave out of it?” she teased.
“All things, I promise. But maybe a little extra bit of thank fuckery for my man-cave. I promise you as many orgasms as I can give you in return, though. Once I’ve had a little play in my man-cave. And set my equipment up. And tested it. And ordered some more bits. And chosen the colour for the walls. Then orgasms, I promise. Or maybe just a little work on the new songs first. And then orgasms. Maybe.”
She swatted at him, smiling, leaning in for a kiss, until their food turned up.
Post-food, they wandered down Trinity Street to the supermarket on the corner, calling in to grab some bits for dinner and the picnic tomorrow, Annie laughing at the domesticity of seeing Taylor pushing the trolley, then him carrying the bags.
As they crossed the road and walked past the Whittle Arch, Taylor suddenly murmured, “Come here,” and leaned in for a kiss. “We’re being snapped by a local photographer. Andy’s a good guy but he’s got us.”
Annie froze and blinked, “So what, you’re using me for a photo opportunity?”
“No! I, erm, oh shit, yes, I think I might be. Fuck, sorry Annie. I didn’t think, I just reacted.”
She smiled and reached up with her free hand to stroke his cheek, freezing the grin into place. “If you ever, ever use me like this again to further your career without getting my consent first, I will pull your balls off with rusty pliers, grind them in the blender and then force-feed them to you in a burger. Do. You. Understand?”
“Yes. I’m really sorry.”
“Good man.”
The photographer crossed the road to them, “Taylor? How are you? And it’s Lady Annabel, isn’t it? I was the photographer at that charity lunch the other month.”
They exchanged pleasantries before walking away, continuing home, with Taylor apologising again as she directed him to put the shopping away in their kitchen.
“Just go and get me a large glass of red wine, pass me that chocolate bar, and then piss off for a bit to give me some peace and quiet.”
“Yes and no. Yes to all of your demands, but I’m going add an extra step after the red wine and chocolate of at least two orgasms before I piss off.”
“Hmmm, ok.” She shrugged and jumped down from the counter and heading upstairs with the chocolate.
Tay walked out to the lobby kitchen and poured her a wine. He looked at the time, 2.30pm. Shit, he had about 30 minutes to put this right before his guitars were going to turn up. He smiled at the challenge; he’d better get going.
He bounded up the stairs, making sure not to spill her wine and put it down on her bedside table. He climbed on the bed, straddling her, nuzzling into her neck as she strained to look past him to read her book, pretending to ignore him.
He kissed every bit of skin he could find, following the contours of her body down over her t-shirt, cupping her breasts and biting at her nipples through the material, slinking down until he pushed his nose under the hem of her t-shirt and started pushing it back up, kissing as he went. He hooked his thumbs under the sides and lifted up, pulling her up into a sitting position to get it off her, trying to be gentle but failing, and just growling in frustration as her limbs and all that bloody hair got in the way. She laughed at him but made no attempt to assist, falling back onto the bed with the t-shirt wrapped over her forehead, holding her wrists in place above her head.
He shrugged, “Hmmm, works for me,” and bent down to start worshipping her beautiful breasts. She sniggered and pulled the t-shirt up and threw it off to the side, her book falling off the bed onto the floor.
“You need to get a bit smoother with your undressing techniques, mister.”
“You need to wear less clothes around me, that’ll help. And shut up, I’m busy feasting on your body so stop distracting me. You need to just lie there and enjoy it.”
“Well, if you were actually doing something, I might have something to enjoy.”
He tried to contain his grin and stopped, looking up at her, her eyes shining with enjoyment at their banter. “Do I have to buy a fucking gag to shut you up?” She made a ‘zip’ movement over her mouth and lay there with her eyebrows raised. “That’s better. Now keep it shut.”
He returned his mouth to her breasts, kissing up and down the valley made by her bra, then pushing her straps down off her shoulders, using his teeth to pull the cups down on each side, exposing her pink nipples nestling into the soft flesh. He tongued each nipple gently, watching as they puckered and grew in front of his eyes, standing erect enough for him to pull into his mouth and suck, then repeat on the other breast. God, he fucking loved her breasts. He pulled at a nipple and let go, watching fascinated as the flesh around the nipple rippled and then settled down into place. He sighed contentedly, then remembered he was supposed to be bringing her to orgasm, not entertaining himself.
He wriggled down, tracing his fingers over the curve of her belly, coming out to the contour of her hips, looping round then coming back down to her belly again. He undid her jeans buttons and pulled them down over her hips along with her knickers. He murmured at her freshly waxed pussy, naked bar the small trimmed strip down the centre of her pelvis, leading him down to her delicious clit, just nestled out of sight in her pink folds, waiting for him to explore and conquer.
He impatiently pulled the jeans, knickers and socks off, then spread her legs, lying between her legs and propping himself up on his elbows, his face centimetres away from her core. He licked her length at first, his fingers gripping her hips to hold her in place as she flinched automatically.
He kissed her hood, gently easing his tongue in to reveal her clit, flattening it to caress the nub, feeling it swell under his touch. He pulled back and plunged his tongue up inside her, pushing her back down as her hips bucked. Pulling out, he kissed all around her entrance, tugging at her labia with his teeth, returning to her clit, to her pussy, tasting her wetness flooding his mouth. He focussed his attention on her clit, flicking at it, and then adding his thumb to the mix to provide the pressure while he carried on licking and nipping at her sensitive skin. He felt her tighten and strain, lifting her hips and then shaking as she shattered under him, screaming out his name.
She grabbed at his hair and pulled him up. He was quickly learning that she needed to be held after coming, to be told it was ok, that he had her, that she was so loved. He kissed her shoulder as she came down, smiling up at him. He bent his head to kiss her.
“Mmm, I can taste myself!” she grinned.
“Then you can tell how sweet and sexy you are. That taste is yours alone, and it will drive me wild every day that I can’t have it. When I come back in June, if you meet me at the airport, I might have to just throw you down on the airport floor and eat you out in front of everyone just to get my fix.”
She burst out laughing, that fucking beautiful belly laugh that was music to his ears, her breasts shaking against his top.
“And as for these! Fuck, these breasts will haunt my dreams, taunting me with their ripeness and their need to be consumed by my mouth and hands at all times.”
He slipped one hand back down to between her legs and bent to take a nipple in his mouth.
“Oh god, Tay, no, I can’t go again. Not yet, it’s too sensit-. Oh! Oh fuck. Yes, Do that again. Oh no, yes, yes, Tay! Taylor! Ahhhhh!”
He kept the pressure on her clit light, circling around the edge, knowing she’d be sensitive, but he increased it on her breast, sucking at her nipple harder and harder until he heard her breathing change, then clamped down on her nipple as he went faster around her clit.
She pulled him up off her breast and bit his shoulder as she came, her cries muffled against his skin, but his shout ringing out into the room.
She relaxed, falling back onto the bed, panting as she smiled.
“Ow,” whined Tay, rubbing his shoulder, “that hurt m
e!”
She leant over and grabbed his ear, pointing at her nipple that was looking very red and swollen. “That fucking hurt! I kind of like it, but it’s right on the line of pleasure pain, ok, so if you’re going to do that, there are going to be consequences. Do you understand?”
He huffed. “You’re awfully bossy today.”
“Deal with it. Right, break me off some chocolate, give me some wine and then fuck off; your job is done, and your services are no longer required.”
He kissed her nose, “I love you, and thank you for my man-cave, and sorry for being a twat, and thank you for letting me make it up to you.”
She waved him away with a smile, her attention already focussed on her book, “Are you still here?”
“Just leaving now, Lady Annabel. I’ll be in the servants’ quarters if you need me; just ring the bell and I’ll come running, m’lady.”
“Hmmm, a bell? Now there’s an idea,” she said thoughtfully.
He bowed deeply and backed out of the room slowly, leaving her to her book.
Chapter Ten
Annie woke the next morning to find Tay awake next to her, a serious look on his face, hands laced behind his head as though he’d been awake for a long time. Things had been fine when they’d come to bed; they’d each spent some time reading or sorting the man-cave, and then he’d proudly shown her how he’d set it up and they locked the bi-fold doors into place so his equipment would be safe, setting a new code on the door to secure it. They’d made a chicken salad for supper, sat in the lobby eating it, then started their own playlist, deciding that either of them could add to it, but if the other really objected, they’d remove it, Annie labelling the playlist ‘The Lady and Tay’. They watched a bit of news before coming to bed, where Annie had received a few more orgasms to add to her tally. But something was obviously wrong now.
He turned to look at her. “Morning beautiful,” he said softly, reaching for her hand. “Annie, can I tell you something, something I’ve never spoken about with anyone, and something I haven’t really acknowledged myself until meeting you, even though I think I’ve always known it. I know you need to get up for the kids, so I’ll be quick”
She sat up frowning, “Of course. But let me just text Nish and she’ll sort them as she’s on duty today…ok, I’m all yours, no rush.”
He sighed. “When I told you about Charlie, I said I lost my best friend.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“I believed it when I said it because I’ve said a hundred times, but something didn’t sit right inside. And then yesterday, I was talking about being left out and being left behind, and it reminded me that sometimes he’d push me over, deliberately trip me up, all the normal sorts of stuff siblings do, but I’d forgotten that side of him.
“And, it wasn’t just when we were kids. He hated that I had guitar lessons and that learning it came naturally for me. He tried them at school as well, but couldn’t get his head round it. When I got a guitar at home, he’d play loud music if I was trying to practice, or knock it over, deliberately loosen the pegs. That sort of annoying big brother thing.
“And then he just kind of muscled-in on the band thing as well. I mean, I didn’t mind because he was my brother, we were friends, but we never officially asked him to be our photographer. He just came to every gig, and that was fine, he helped set up and take down, but when it came to us signing with the record company, obviously he wasn’t part of that, and he went mental, told me I was betraying our family by not including him. But I couldn’t include him. He wasn’t part of the band in that way, so initially we had to use the record company photographers, and it was a bit of a relief to have a break.
“Eventually as we grew bigger and had more clout with them, he put more pressure on me to use him, so I did, and it was fine, he was good at what he did. But he’d take the piss a bit, running up bar bills and trying to charge it to the company, he used our name to get girls for himself, he was obviously sourcing drugs for us and for himself, and he’d use our names to court publicity which none of us were into, and, well, he just became a bit of a loose cannon at times if I’m honest.
“But I know I’m sounding hypocritical; he was doing all this for us, and I took full advantage of what he provided. But sometimes I only did it because it was there. And sometimes I only went partying because he wanted to. But I know that’s just excuses. I could have said no if I’d been stronger, and I might have said no more if he wasn’t my brother.
“I tried to stop, I really did, Annie, and I asked him to leave for a bit so I could stop destroying myself, but he said he’d tell Mum and Dad about my drug use and the girls if I made him leave, so I didn’t, and then it all spiralled downwards. I refused to go out one night, telling everyone I needed a break from the partying, and stayed in my hotel room. He knocked on my door, saying it was ok, he understood, and just wanted to keep me company, so I let him in. He got me in a headlock, forced an E into my mouth, said I’d thank him in the end, and took me out until 5am.
“I feel like I’ve buried all this and apart from acknowledging some of the drug and drink issues with him, I feel like I’ve made myself forget what a nasty piece of work he could be at times, because he’s dead, isn’t he, and you don’t speak ill of the dead. But, I feel like I need you to know, that as well as being my friend, being my brother, he was a fucking shit at times as well, and I need someone to hear that.”
Annie straddled Tay, holding his face and wiping the tears, like he’d wiped hers away yesterday. “I hear you, and that’s ok. Loving someone is acknowledging all parts of them, but that doesn’t mean you have to love all those sides of them.
“It’s ok to love the good bits of your brother, but not accept the bad bits. It’s ok to say to your mum and dad that you loved Charlie, but it’s equally fine for you to say to me, and to anyone else you choose to, that you didn’t love all of him. Neither is a lie, and neither is a reflection on you. He made his choices and you made yours.
“And if swapping good stories about him later is part of letting go of the good bits, maybe you telling me about him is part of you letting go of the bad bits.
“I bet if you called Con right now, he would understand exactly what you mean, and maybe if you swap stories about what a shit he was, you can move on from it and you’ll be able to let go of the good stuff with a clear conscience. Get it all out of your system Tay, good and bad. Let go so you can move forwards.” They locked foreheads. “Do it,” she whispered. “Tell Con what you just told me.”
“I’m scared you’re too clever for me with your fancy way of seeing the truth and your posh voice.”
She shrugged, “Yes, I probably am. So don’t make me go all bossy on your arse again.”
He sighed and reached for his phone. “I’m gonna FaceTime him so you might wanna put some clothes on. He’s not getting a look at my breasts.”
“My breasts, you mean.”
“No,” he looked at her. “They’re mine. No other man’s.”
She pulled a t-shirt on as he called Connor. “He might not answer. Him and Sash might be in the middle of getting it-, ah, Con, mate, how you doing?”
“It’s fucking early, but I’m here for you, man. What’s up? You ok?”
“Yes, I am. I…I...I just needed to tell you. To tell you, erm, I…I.” He could feel the panic rising and looked at Annie.
She held his hand. “Hey, c’mon. It’s ok. You can do this. It’s just me and it’s just Con. He’ll understand. He’ll get it. And then you’ll be free of it. You’re just letting it all go, Tay. You’re letting the hold he had on you go. Leaving it in the past. It’s ok.”
He drew in a shaky breath. “Con. Con, Charlie was…he was…he was my brother, but he was a fucking shit at times and there were points where I fucking hated him. In the autumn before Lizzie, I wanted to stop the drink and drugs and I begged him to stop supplying them. I asked him to leave the tour to help me stop, and he said he’d tell Mum and Dad about the drugs
if I kicked him off. So I didn’t and it got worse, much worse, and then Lizzie happened and then he…happened.” He dropped his head and cried, huge deep sobs. “I loved him and I hated him.”
Annie held him close, taking over the phone. She could see Con trying to say something and she pulled Taylor back off her slightly, “Tay? Tay. TAYLOR. Stop, sweetheart, and listen, just listen to Connor for a minute and then I promise you I’ll hold you all day if you need it. Connor, the Andersons are all getting together this morning to share good times about Charlie and let him go so everyone can move on, but I think Tay’s realised he needs to accept that Charlie wasn’t perfect, that he wasn’t always a good brother or a good friend, and to be true to his memory, he needs to acknowledge all sides of him as part of letting go. I’ve listened but obviously I never knew him, so I suggested you might have something to say.”
“Yes, I do. And it’s this. Taylor, if you fuck up in any way and let this woman in your arms go, I will personally beat your fucking arse. She’s made more progress with you then seven years of therapy have managed to do, and I hope you realise how precious she is. So, about Charlie. You’re right and it’s such a relief not to have to pretend he was a saint. He wasn’t the devil, and when he put his mind to it, he could be such a nice, kind person. Do you remember when that roadie got hurt backstage? Charlie stayed with him, went to hospital, called his family, waited while they arrived, and then he arranged a free photo shoot for them a few weeks later.
