I loved writing this chapter – smut and shopping. Enjoy. (time 8.15 - have edited slightly. No stockings anymore, just shoes.)
"Where are we going" asked Alex, hanging on tight to her polystyrene cup of take-away tea as Gene fishtailed round a sharp corner. Thankfully she'd had the foresight to ask for a lid at the sandwich bar when she'd bought it, together with two bacon rolls.
"Gene! You don't have drive as though you're in a car chase every time you get behind then wheel of this damn car!"
He laughed at her, his face lit up with boyish glee "That sounded ever so slightly like nagging to me, Alex. I know I don't have to drive like this. I want to drive like this! No point having a car this bloody fantastic and driving it like a milk float."
He slammed his hand down hard on the horn at a pedestrian who had the temerity to think about crossing the road in front of him, flicking an obscene gesture at the man for good measure.
"Gene! That was a priest!" exclaimed Alex.
"And?" He shrugged, screaming round another corner. "I'm not Catholic and I'm probably going to Hell already. Giving a priest the finger won't make much difference to my eternal soul."
Alex shook her head, laughing in disbelief. "You still haven't told me where we're going."
"Well, I started to, but you got all uptight about my driving. We're off to Bermondsey to see Fat Freddie."
"Fat Freddie? I thought he was a character from the Italian Job?"
"That's Camp Freddie, you philistine." huffed Gene "Typical bloody female. You can remember all sorts of useless nonsense about the right shade of blue your blouse has to be to match your shoes, but nothing at all about decent films."
"OK. When it's on at Christmas, I promise I'll watch it and try and remember every bit of it, just for you. Who is Fat Freddie then?"
"Fat Freddie is in the antiques and second-hand furniture trade. He's got a warehouse full of stuff. He keeps an ear out for any information of interest to us, and in return, we turn a blind eye to the fact that he flogs dodgy fake furniture to dozy foreign tourists, from his shops in Portobello and Islington."
He drew to a halt outside a faceless warehouse on an industrial estate full of similarly indistinguishable premises.
"So, why are we here?" Alex was still none the wiser.
Gene reached into the pocket of his coat and drew out a tightly rolled wad of notes. Alex raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Had a win yesterday. Long shot, 25 to 1. Wasn't sure if it would even last the distance, but the bugger came in first."
"Why bet on it if you knew it was such a risk?" Alex was as mystified as ever by Gene's method of choosing horses.
He grinned. "The name. I never pick a horse by its name but this one was too good to pass up."
"What was it called? Money for Nothing" teased Alex.
"Nope. Bollinger Girl." He handed her the wad of cash. "You wanted furniture, well there's the money. I'll talk to Freddie about who's up to no good, while you choose what you need for the house."
He went to get out of the car and stopped, realizing that Alex hadn't moved and was looking at him sternly.
He sighed. "OK. We'll both talk to Freddie and then I'll come and chose the damn furniture with you."
Alex grinned wickedly "I don't know why you get so worried about this living together thing, Gene. You're learning ever so quickly."
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In the end, Gene's entire contribution, was to stretch himself out full-length, on all the sofas in the warehouse, testing each one for comfort. He lay down on one covered in swirly, orange draylon, the colour so bright that it made Alex's eyeballs wince in pain.
"This one?...Nope, too hard." He swung himself up again, and tried the one next to it
"Too lumpy"
Alex tried hard to ignore him.
"Too soft"
She gritted her teeth and concentrated on what Freddie was saying about getting any soft furnishings she chose dry-cleaned before he delivered them.
"Christ! That stinks! Don't choose that one Bols, it smells like something died in it."
"Too short"
God, give me strength, fumed Alex. I swear he's doing it on purpose.
"I've found one!" She made her way over to where he lay flat out, a satisfied smirk on his face. "This one's just right, Bolly. Very comfy"
Alex sighed. "Lovely Gene. I'm very pleased for you. However there's just the tiny matter of it being utterly, utterly vile." She leaned down and stage-whispered in his ear "Get up Goldilocks. Go and find another one"
"Well if you're gonna be fussy, I'll leave you to it. I'll be over here if you need me, eating my porridge" He huffed off, pulling his coat around him.
Alex ignored him, concentrating instead on choosing a dining table. Finding one that she liked, she wrote "Drake/Hunt" on one of the brown luggage labels that Freddie had given her, and tied it round one of the table legs.
She moved on slowly through the warehouse, ignoring the cold, choosing chairs, curtains, lamps, rugs, cushions, more china from cupboards stacked full of it, beautiful old embroidered linen sheets. Pretty soon she ran out of luggage labels and had to go ask for some more. Freddie's warehouse was an Aladdin's cave and Alex was in her element. She was amazed at how inexpensive things were, compared to the prices they'd fetch in 2008.
Near the china cupboards, she found an battered wooden trunk full of what appeared to be lengths of old material. Unfolding them out over the floor, she discovered two large flags, tattered and faded with time. She remembered an Sunday Supplement interiors page she'd seen once, a long before she'd arrived in the 80's, featuring someone who'd used flags. Paul Smith, that was it. Well if he can do it, so can I, mused Alex. I'm ahead of my time as usual.
Freddie sidled over to her. "Got them from an old Colonel's house. They're regimental colours. Over a hundred and fifty years old. Lord knows how he came by them. Those two are from one of the Foot Regiments that fought at Waterloo."
He sucked his teeth, pensively. "You want them? Shall I put them with all the other stuff?" he asked her, pulling his heavy coat round him and shivering. Fat Freddie had turned out to be anything but fat. He was as skinny as a whippet with big soulful brown eyes that only added to the kicked dog impression. Perfect for luring gullible tourists into think they were getting something priceless for next to nothing.
"Don't mess DI Drake about, Freddie" Gene had warned. "She's shacked up wi' me now and I won't be best pleased if you palm her off with junk."
Freddie had hurriedly assured Gene that he wouldn't do that, adding that Alex could chose whatever she wanted, and he was true to his word, showing her everything that she asked about, often disappearing off to find her a better example of a particular item. It would seem that nothing was too much trouble when you went shopping with the Gene Genie.
Alex looked at the Colours, one was a Union flag with the regimental arms worked across the middle of it, and the other one was white, boarded with gold, a huge lion rampant embroidered across it in red, crowned with a golden coronet. Perfect for the Manc Lion, she decided, with a smile of satisfaction.
"Yes please Freddie. I'll take the trunk as well. I can put the TV on it" She moved further on. "Are these patchwork quilts?" She began to sort through them "Oh, they're gorgeous! I'll have them too."
An hour and a half later, Alex was almost finished. She stood in front of the sofa that she'd finally chosen, an old fashioned Chesterfield design, high-backed with curving arms and beautifully carved wooden legs. The cream brocade covering it was worn and thin in some places, but that only added to its charm, decided Alex.
Detracting from it threadbare charms somewhat,was the snoring form that presently covered most it. It must be comfortable then, she mused if Gene had managed to fall asleep on it despite the freezing temperature of the warehouse and the shouts of Freddie's men, unloading a van at the entrance. She studied Gene for a moment and then with a mischievous grin, wrote "Drake" on another luggage label, tying it through the top button hole of his coat. He stirred grumpily, turning over on his side.
Freddie appeared beside her, calculator in hand, and grinned when he saw the label. "All done? You've got 'im well sorted then. Never thought I'd see the day, myself."
Alex rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I think I have. You can never tell with him though. He turns feral in an instant."
Gene opened one eye and glared at them. "I am awake, you know. I can hear what you're saying."
"Good. Then you'll know it's nearly time for you to get up and drive me back to the station."
Gene stood up and stretched to his full height, yawning hugely. His breath misted in the freezing air. He put Alex in mind of a big cat preparing to go on the prowl.
"Jesus, it's bloody parky in here, Freddie. I'm dying of hypothermia. You got a kettle in your office? I need a cuppa. Might have to put a drop of something stronger in it. Got any whisky?" Freddie gave him a resigned nod and Gene grinned triumphantly. "On second thoughts, forget the poxy tea."
Whilst Gene took himself off to raid his alcohol supply, Freddie totalled up the money, knocked off twenty percent "as it's for Mr Hunt" and arranged with Alex to have everything delivered to the house on Saturday, just before lunchtime.
By the time they left, Gene had finished off nearly half of Freddie's single malt. Alex drove and Gene sat in the passenger seat, his stockinged-feet resting on the hot-air vents to warm them up.
"I think I've got bloody frostbite, Bolly. If I lose my toes, it'll be your fault for taking so damn long. How much money you got left then?"
"Enough to buy everyone a round or two and something to eat at Luigi's." admitted Alex "I got rather carried away."
"You are joking?" spluttered Gene "How can you have spent that much money!"
Alex looked at him smugly. "It's your own fault. You shouldn't have gone to sleep. You know I'm a woman with very expensive tastes. Anyway I got twenty percent off."
"So you would've actually spent even more if Freddie hadn't given you a "copper's nark discount!" He glanced sideways at her sternly "I'm not very pleased with you at the moment Little Miss Spendthrift. You will make this up to me later,Bolly. I'll make certain of that." He gave her a wolfish grin, leaving her in no doubt as to how the evening would progress when he finally got her home.
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Gene and Alex left Luigi's early, for the second night running. As soon as they'd finished eating, he'd leaned over and whispered in her ear .
"Give it half an hour and then I'm taking you home. We can use the excuse that we've got the Hearing at the Yard tomorrow morning."
"We should really get an early night then, shouldn't we" agreed Alex, looking up at him through her lashes, bottom lip caught between her teeth. Underneath the table, her hand stroked up his thigh, her fingers tracing small, teasing circles. Gene stifled a small groan.
"Make that twenty minutes, Bolly. I can't wait longer than that."
In the end, Gene could only manage to spend fifteen minutes more in the company of his raucous CID team, before hustling Alex out of the door and into the car.
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When they reached the house, he led her downstairs into the darkened kitchen, switching on one small table lamp to softly illuminate the part of the room where the sofa was. He made her stand in front of it, just far enough away so that she couldn't reach out and touch him, and then sat down to face her.
"So" she asked huskily, "How do you want me to make up for being so extravagant. For displeasing you." His eyes roved across her body and he grinned at her lasciviously, pleased that she was playing along.
"I think that I want you to obey me, Bolly. You're going to do exactly what I say."
Alex felt herself tremble with desire. She spent her days at work giving orders and being in charge, doing her best never to let any of the men that she worked with glimpse even a hint of weakness and so she loved it when Gene did this to her. It was almost unbearably sexy to be told what to do, to be dominated by him.
"Strip" he ordered, softly "Take off all your clothes so I can see every inch of you."
Alex did as she was told, slowly unbuttoning her shirt, slipping off her skirt and removing her underwear
"Leave them" he told her, huskily as she went to take her high heels off.
She stood facing him quietly as she waited for his next instruction. His gaze raked her from head to foot, and Alex shivered under the heat of his intense scrutiny. He smiled to himself in satisfaction, before getting up and standing in front of her. His hands moved over her skin, possessively curving their way across her breasts and stomach, slipping down to cup the cheeks of her arse. His attitude was one of total ownership, his touch so self-assured. An image of Gene doing the same thing to the stripper in the Royal Oak flashed before her eyes and Alex found herself letting out a groan of desire at the thought of it, as his strong hands assessed her body, preparing her for whatever he told her to do.
His fingers stroked their way between her legs. She felt them brush against her just for an instant, releasing the hot wetness that pooled there, before he moved away. He picked up one of the wooden kitchen chairs and placed it just behind her.
"Sit down"
She obeyed and he reached forward and slowly spread her legs wide open, returning to sit of the sofa, leaning back against the cushions, totally in charge.
"Touch yourself Alex. I want to watch." His voice was low, rough with desire "Make yourself come"
Alex's breath caught in her throat. She didn't take her eyes from his as she raised her hand to her lips. Slowly she licked her middle finger and ran it down her body, lightly skimming her breasts, already swollen and taut with desire. She eased her fingers between her legs, parting her flesh, curling them inside herself, her thumb pushing down on her clit, gently at first, tiny fluttering strokes that made her tingle all over.
"God, you look so good" murmured Gene. He was watching her intently, his pupils hugely dilated. "Lick you fingers. Taste yourself."
Not stopping what she was doing, Alex dipped the fingers of her other hand into the juices that slicked the tops of her thighs. She lifted them back up to her mouth, sucking them slowly, tasting the sharp muskiness of her own body.
She heard Gene groan, the sound wrenched from his throat. "Christ, you look so fucking horny" He shifted in his seat, his arousal plain to see through the material of his suit trousers. "Keep going."
With her other hand she teased her breasts, taking her each of her nipples in turn between her thumb and finger, rolling and pinching them hard. "Ohhh" Alex breathed, arching her back as the sharp ache from her breasts was matched by the insistent pulse that beat between her legs.
She hitched herself forward on the seat, leaning back as far as the hard, high back of the chair would allow, angling her hips upwards so that Gene could see all of her. She moved her fingers harder now, pushing them further in, her thumb moving faster over her swollen clit. She could feel the hot oily wetness dripping down her thighs as she moved her fingers in and out. Her breath came in panting gasps. "Jesus……. Ohhh!" Alex drew her lower lip between her teeth, moaning and whimpering as an intense pleasure began to flood through her body. She was so near to coming, feeling herself beginning to pulse against her fingers.
She looked at Gene, he was still leaning back on the sofa, but he'd undone his trousers now and as he watched her, he stroked the length of his swollen cock with one hand, working himself slowly, his eyes heavy-lidded with desire.
Without warning he leaned forward, grabbing her round the waist and pulling her onto his lap. He slid into her easily, his hands on her hips, working her body over his, urging into her hard as she came, throwing her head back with a howl. "Oh God!... Gene… Oh! " Her whole body shook and she fell forward onto him, resting her head on his shoulder. He stopped moving and sat very still, his cock still buried deep within her.
"I've not finished with you yet , Alex" he growled, still completely in control, his hands around her waist once more, lifting her off him. He slid her onto the floor in front of him and she slumped there, still shaking and panting. Realising what he wanted her to do, she looked up at him, without saying a word, knowing that he loved this, loved the sight his "posh, mouthy tart" kneeling in front of him, silent and subjugated, waiting to do his bidding.
"Suck me" he ordered "All of me. Make me come. I want you to swallow every last drop"
His eyes blazed with lust and his breathing was ragged as Alex did she was told, reaching underneath him and curling her hand around his balls, feeling them hot and heavy in the palm of her hand, squeezing them gently as she lowered her mouth onto him. She eased him into her mouth slowly, flicking her tongue over the head of his shaft, curling it down the length of him.
Gene shifted his body, swinging one leg over her shoulder, holding her tightly in place. His hand reached out to tangle in her hair, guiding her hot mouth up and down the length of him, as she sucked him, tasting their combined juices, taking him as deep into her mouth as she could, her lips stretched around his straining flesh. Her fingers stroked the soft skin behind his balls, teasing him lightly. She moaned in delight as she felt him shudder, his fingers tightening in her hair, his hips thrusting up, pushing into her mouth.
"Christ!" she heard him gasp, harshly "Fucking hell." His cock swelled and jerked as he came hard in her mouth. Alex sucked him as he pulsed and spilled over her tongue, swallowing each hot thrust, groaning with pleasure, the aftershocks of her own orgasm still rippling faintly through her.
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Alex laid her head on his thigh, still kneeling on the floor between his legs. Gene's hand stroked her hair gently, she could feel his fingers trembling as he recovered. He fought to regain his breath, struggling to speak. "Alex…… Alex?" he leaned down to kiss her neck and the line of her jaw. "Alex. I left my cigarettes upstairs in my coat pocket. Go and get them."
Alex shook her head "No. Can't move. My legs won't work." She reached up and tugged down the soft woollen throw from the back of the sofa and wrapped it round her. "Need to stay here for a bit."
"You promised you'd do what I said" Gene's tone was wheedling "Go and get them, Bolly. I need a smoke"
"I'm not playing any more, Gene" she laughed. "You want them, you get them."
He pulled her up beside him on the sofa, tucking the throw round her. "Bugger. I knew it was too good to last. Worth a try though."
