Hi, first of all, I'm so sorry for the delay with this chapter. Homework and things got in the way so I ended up behind with my updates. I hope you can forgive me and that you enjoy the chapter! Thanks for the reviews too, please keep them coming!

X =D

Disclaimer – I don't own Ashes to Ashes. =D

Chapter 7 – Regret and Ruin


Alex felt Gene's tongue lightly press against her lips, her stomach stirring with lust as she parted her lips to allow him entrance, his hands wandering down to firmly cup her arse. An illicit moan escaped from her throat, causing Gene's grip to tighten as though he was desperately trying to clutch at the last of his self-control. It was so much more than either of them could have dreamt, so much better than any fantasy or daydream. This was real, and both felt as though they'd drifted off to a place where nothing mattered but each other. And it was perfect.


Alex gently pulled her head back, instantly missing the glorious feeling of his lips on hers and warm breath against her tongue. Finding herself incapable of speech, there was quiet for a few moments. Their heavy, heated breathing punctuated the silence as she traced her eyes over his face, feeling the tell-tale feel of a smile creeping across her lips. "Gene," she breathed, leaning closer again. Her heart was racing with excitement as she failed to cease smiling. She felt like a small child after just receiving the birthday present they had always asked for, and she didn't want to ever let go of him.

Gene gave a low growl, his right hand slipping down from her backside to her thigh as he traced patterns through the denim of her jeans with his fingertips, delighting in the feel of her heavy breath across his face and soft, warm body pressed up against his. "Zip it, Bols," he told her gruffly before lowering his lips to her neck, pressing a trail of gentle, but heated kisses from there to the corner of her mouth. Lingering there for a moment, Gene closed his eyes and savoured the feel of her in his arms, straddling his lap as her lips hovered a few excruciating millimetres from his own. He had never been a big believer in life after death, but if this wasn't heaven, then nothing was. She was gorgeous, and he had her folded perfectly into his arms, as though their bodies had been made to mould together.

Without breaking the stunned, reverent silence that still hung over the room, Gene pressed his lips to hers again and was surprised when she responded with no reservations. This was no gentle, sensual kiss like the first one. Her mouth moved almost viciously against his, coaxing several lion-like growls to leap from deep in his chest as she wrapped the front of his shirt around her hand and pulled him down on top of her, lips never leaving his. He didn't think he had ever had anyone kiss him like this, but then, he was sure that no-one else could ever compare. In that moment, Gene was so sure that he never wanted to hold anyone else in his arms again. There was no other body that could make him feel the way he did when she pressed hers up against him; there was no other smile that could make him feel so ridiculously happy when he saw it. There was simply no other woman who could compare to Alex, and deep down, Gene knew that he had been aware of that from the day she first waltzed into his life.

A battle of tongues ensued as Alex ran one hand through his hair, dishevelling the blonde locks as another slipped up underneath his shirt to trace the firm plains of his broad shoulders and chest, cool fingertips dancing over his warm skin. The whole weight of him should have been enough to crush her, but she didn't care. Hooking a leg around his waist, she pulled him closer, moaning into his mouth as he bit down on her bottom lip and sent her senses absolutely wild. She was sure that no other man had ever made her feel this wanted; there was no other kiss that had made her feel so achingly desperate for more.

"Gene," she gasped, pulling her head back as she took deep, sharp breaths, her chest heaving up and down against his.

A smirk played its way across Gene's lips as he looked down at her, his whole body responding to the sight of her brightened eyes, swollen lips and heaving chest. "Thought I told yer t' zip it," he murmured teasingly, his hand coming up to caress the side of her face. The dim light in the room cast shadows across the two of them, illuminating her cheekbones and the line of his jaw. Brushing his thumb lightly over the smooth flesh of her lips, Gene smiled back at her and bent his head to nip the sensitive skin of her neck gently between his teeth. She gasped again, leg tightening around his waist as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to hold on to some semblance of reality. The electric charge between them was buzzing as a feeling of uncontrollable ecstasy coursed through both their veins, igniting their desires.


Gene continued his administrations to her neck, his teeth biting down on the soft flesh there and tongue flicking out to smooth over the small red mark he had left. The smell coming from her skin was divine and Gene could feel his arousal growing as she murmured and moaned, making his best fantasies look like the pale dream of a young boy. But he could also feel the haze of alcohol clouding his brain, the half empty bottle of Vodka sitting forgotten on the coffee table. "Want you..." Alex whimpered as he moved his mouth lower, nose pushing against the opening of her blouse. The two words only served to stimulate him further, but there was something inside him that was saying no. The drunken slur to her words was enough to prove that they were both well over the limit, and who said that she wouldn't regret this in the morning? The small, vulnerable part of his brain told him that he'd much rather her regret just a kiss, than them sleeping together. He didn't think he could take the pain of her rejection if she woke up beside him, horrified.

"Bols," he whispered, lifting his mouth away from her skin to meet her intoxicated gaze. "Not tonight." It took more effort than he had ever used in his life to force those two words out, but he knew he was doing the right thing. He was Gene Hunt, after all. He always did the right thing, the honourable thing. And if there was anyone's honour that he cared about more than his own, then it was hers.

The sexy smile instantly dropped from her lips as she frowned, not knowing whether to look hurt or confused. "Gene...Don't you want...?" A sinking feeling suddenly began to creep into her stomach, making her feel like the bottom had just fallen out of her world. Did he not want her? Not even after everything? Not even after that amazing kiss they had just shared?

Gene groaned as he sat up, lifting his weight from on top of her and running a hand through his already dishevelled hair. "It's not that, Bolly," he told her quietly as she sat up too, a mixture of hurt and abandonment shining in the depths of her pupils. He looked over at her, stomach stirring at the sight of her messy curls and crumpled clothing. He remembered the feel of her lips against his and body under his hands... Oh he wanted it alright.

"You don't want me?" she asked outright, the pain of rejection seeping through into her voice as he tried to deny the glimmer of tears beginning to show in her eyes. He didn't want to admit that the idea of him ever not wanting her was absurd. He always had wanted her, and somehow, he knew that he always would.

Without saying a word, Gene moved back across the sofa to cup her face gently between his so usually rough hands, his determined gaze locked onto hers. Rubbing his thumb against her cheek, Gene kissed her softly, a feather light kiss that if someone had been watching and blinked, they would have missed it. "I want to, Bols," he murmured, resting his forehead against hers as his low, warm breath brushed across her face and he tried to stay in control. "Believe me..."

"Then why not tonight?" Alex asked quietly, glancing down at his lips as she longed for the feel of them again. The sudden, serious change in the mood had done something to sober her slipping speech pattern and she wondered what on earth was going on. He had made it quite clear that he did want her; she had felt that after pulling him down on top of her... So why had he closed up all of a sudden?

"Because I want us t' be sober. I want t' remember it."

Those two simple sentences were like Cupid's arrows through her heart, and in that moment Alex knew she was lost. The gentle longing in his voice as he said it, the respect and honesty that shined in his eyes as he gazed at her. "Gene – " She opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her with another kiss, this one a little more demanding than the last, almost desperate as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I don't want yer t' regret anything, Alex," Gene murmured as he pulled back, the sound of her real name sending a shiver of delight down her spine. "Can yer not wait for a good thing, Bols?" he added jokingly, causing a smile to spread across her face.

"Not usually, no," she replied, her fingertips brushing lightly over the satisfied pout on his lips. "But I'll make an exception...on one condition."

"What's that then?" Gene asked, his forehead resting against hers once more as their warm breath intermingled, the tips of their noses brushing intimately together.

"You come to bed with me, rather than sleeping on the sofa," she whispered, her moist lips glimmering in the mellow lighting as she gave him a familiar, sultry smile.

"Agreed." His reply was barely more than a whisper as he slipped his free arm under her legs. Lifting her up off the sofa, Gene stood up and carried her through to the bedroom, his darkened eyes never leaving her face.

Alex laughed softly as he set her down gently on top of the covers and she gazed up at him, smiling as though she hadn't a trouble in the world. "Anyone would think you were trying to ruin me, Mr Hunt."

He smiled, but there was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. "Not tonight," he told her as he swiftly removed his belt and tie before climbing into the bed next to her, his hand reaching out to flick off the light. He sighed gently and said it again, feeling her shift closer to him. "Not tonight."


They lay in silence for a while, just revelling in the feel of being able to lie side by side, though not actually touching. Eventually, the peaceful silence was broken as Alex moved up closer to him and pressed her head against his chest, their knees brushing and Alex's hand reaching up to rest gently on his upper arm. "Gene," she whispered, his name sounding like a prayer in the darkness. He glanced down at her, just making out her face in the pitch black of the room as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her even closer. Neither of them wanted to be alone that night.

"What, Bols?"

She smiled against his shoulder and breathed him in, heart thudding against her chest once again as she felt him press his lips to her forehead. "Just so you know, I wouldn't regret it... And you wouldn't be ruining me..."


Well, that's all for now, folks! *Crosses fingers* I hope you're not too mad at me for not letting 'it' happen, but I promise it will, eventually! I hope you liked the chapter and it was okay. Please review, they make my day! Hell, they make my week!

X =D