STARSTRUCK
BY
ADALYNN
QUINN
Copyright
All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
Copyright © 2013 by Adalynn Quinn.
Published by Daydream Books. September 2013
Starstruck is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book either are from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, establishments, events, or location is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover created by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations
Chapter One: Anonymous
August 2009
Indi
The warm aquamarine seawater swished around Indi’s ankles as she strolled along the edge of the secluded beach beneath the villa she was renting. Set against the coastline of south-eastern Sicily, the place was finally allowing her to enjoy the peace and anonymity she’d been craving for the past few months. There was only one other building sharing the same area and it appeared to be empty.
Although Indi had just returned from saying goodbye to her two sisters, Sadie and Angel, at the airport after enjoying a week of fun with them, she couldn’t help but feel relieved that they were flying back to London. While Indi did not begrudge the girls accompanying her, she now wanted to enjoy the freedom of three weeks alone. Following the endless police interviews, meetings with the Criminal Prosecution Service and being cross-examined by the opposition’s solicitor, she was all talked out. The stress of appearing in court was finally beginning to dissipate.
With only half an hour of light left, Indi wanted to end the day by taking photographs of the sunset from within the grounds of the villa. Leaving the beach behind her, she made her way back up the spiral staircase from the beach to the pool area. As she moved across the hammock-filled terrace, the maid who came every day to clean the villa appeared in front of her. The woman, who looked to be in her mid-fifties, reminded Indi of the Italian grandmother of one of her school friends, with whom she had stayed during her fifteenth summer.
“Senorita, I’ve put the food in the cucina,” the woman spoke in broken English while pointing towards the lit-up kitchen.
“Thank you, Signora.”
The older woman nodded and left, leaving Indi alone once again within the massive villa and its picturesque surroundings.
Before positioning herself beside the pool, Indi hit ‘Play’ on the remote control of the music player, allowing the divine tones of Xander Keats to serenade her. He was the frontman of Fusion, an indie rock band that had been setting the music arenas of the world alight for the past few years. Despite Indi’s classical music upbringing, the man was her idol, and the main inspiration for her choosing to attend Goldsmiths College, University of London, for her music degree.
The pool’s tiled surroundings were in perfect alignment with the half-disappearing sun, enabling Indi to capture the dramatic yellow, orange and red hues glistening upon the murky sea. To her, sunset was the best part of the day – the time when light and colour merged into the dark and moonlight. The stillness of a slowed-down world had always helped her to unwind after a frantic day at Goldsmiths.
Feeling satisfied with what she had accomplished, Indi began to pack up the camera gear and lenses. As she did so, a shadow moving through the garden of the neighbouring villa caught her attention. She turned her face just as the lights sprung on to reveal a dark-haired man who glanced her way inquisitively, tilting his head in the direction of her blaring music. The intensity of his stare made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Was it too loud? Did he not appreciate the velvety chords of the singer?
Flustered, Indi averted her eyes, but was unable to resist the gravitational pull to move them back straight away. This time the man’s mouth curled into a lazy smile as he nodded an acknowledgement to her before disappearing back under the covered terrace as quickly as he had appeared. The stranger’s presence had been too brief for Indi to make much of an analysis of his appearance, but it was long enough to note his wide shoulders and narrow hips, outlined by the tight T-shirt and low-hung cargo shorts.
Exhaling the breath of air she had not even been aware of holding, Indi couldn’t help thinking the man looked familiar. Heading back inside the villa, she put the camera gear away, and started to assemble a light dinner of cheese and ciabatta while bopping her head in time to the music thumping around the room. Taking her prepared meal out on to the terrace, Indi sank into one of the soft cushioned seats, intent on spending the rest of the evening enjoying the revitalising sea air while finishing the paperback she’d bought at the airport.
The book was one that Indi had not read before, so the next few hours slipped by undisturbed until some loud voices from the neighbouring garden drew her attention from the printed text. This time she saw two beefy men walking by the side of the boundary wall separating the two properties. As Indi looked in their direction, they stopped and scrutinised her for some moments before moving on again.
Frowning, Indi hoped her plans for a secluded holiday were not going to be wrecked by being on full view to her neighbour’s security team; she would have some strong words to say if they intruded on her solitude. Having experienced the loss of all resemblance to control over her privacy for a time, now that it was back in her grasp, Indi was not going to allow anyone to impose on it ever again.
With the two men now out of sight, she became aware of a chill in the air. Marking the place she had reached with her bookmark, Indi closed the paperback and made her way inside the villa. Closing the patio door behind her, she checked that the double bolts had sprung across properly. Since the attempt on her life, she had made a habit of making sure every lock was secure.
The villa had every security installation imaginable. It had come at a higher rental price, but the cost was worthwhile as it had reduced the frequency of Indi’s nightmares. When she had first decided to visit Sicily, the executor of her trust fund had insisted on Indi staying in this particular villa as he knew the owner and wanted to make sure she felt as safe as possible. Not that her tormentor could rock up suddenly at this place – he was safely behind bars.
After checking the doors and windows, Indi punched in the code to set the alarm and moved into the bedroom. Removing her clothing, she then headed into the bathroom for a shower. Washing the sand from her skin, she tried to keep her curls out of the stream of water as much as possible. Afterwards, wrapped in a fluffy towel, Indi cleansed her face before slipping between the crisp, Egyptian cotton sheets covering the iron-framed bed.
***
Getting out of bed after a nightmare-free sleep, Indi was beginning to feel hopeful that she had started to turn a corner when it came to keeping her anxiety in check. Changing into a vibrant pink bikini, she headed out to the pool. She liked the way the colour of the fabric accentuated her tanned skin and contrasted with her blonde curls, which cascaded over her bare shoulders and back.
Every morning Indi aimed to swim thirty lengths before eating breakfast. A toned body had never come easy, but now that she had one, she intended to keep it. Her build was rather curvy, with an ample cleavage, slim waist and wider
hips.
Diving into the deeper end of the large pool, Indi slipped into an easy rhythm of ten-length blocks of her three preferred swimming styles. Towards the end of the final set, she had the idea that she was being watched. Stopping at the edge of the pool to catch her breath, she glanced around, hoping it was just paranoia.
Noticing the stranger from the previous day standing beside the low wall separating the two villas, a sense of fear rose in the pit of Indi’s stomach. He was staring at her. Whenever a man looked at her for too long, the same feeling of anxiety started to bubble inside her. The stalker had made her wary of everyone.
“Is there something you need?” Indi called out, unable to hide the sour scowl from her face as she stared back at the stranger. She remained in the pool, too self-conscious of her bikini to get out and challenge him up close.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to intrude. I was just being neighbourly and saying hello.” The man spoke in a smooth, upper-class English accent. “I’m Xander,” he added as the sides of his mouth lifted into a friendly smile.
Indi felt her heart pound as she continued to glare silently in the guy’s direction, cautious of saying anything. Offering him a slight nod of acknowledgement, she could not bring herself to relax enough to tell him her name. Dread filled her mind that he had probably already noticed she was staying in the villa alone.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable. I’ll leave you to it, but if you need anything, I’m next door,” the man added, casting an understanding glance her way before moving away from the wall.
Indi could not help but experience a twinge of regret as he disappeared. If only she could let go of her anxieties and trust people again. After all, not every man was like the slime ball. Prior to her encounters with Zak Ellis, she would have chatted to her new neighbour with ease. The man had clearly noted her discomfort and been considerate enough to leave her be, and that had to count for something.
***
Over the next few days, Indi would catch the occasional glimpse of her neighbour looking her way whenever they were on the beach at the same time. Although he never actually approached, he always smiled and nodded. His continued willingness to greet her, despite her lukewarm reception to his introduction, flattered the girl’s shattered ego.
Now that her initial fears had lessened, Indi began to notice how amazingly hot he was. She observed the dirty blonde curls falling just below collar length, which framed his square jawbone, and his silver-blue eyes that were piercing, even from a distance. His firm abdominal muscles strained against the various tight T-shirts he wore.
Thoughts of the stranger’s presence continually invaded her head in the days after their first encounter. Something about the way he moved intrigued her; there was a sense of familiarity to it. Indi began to wonder if he was a celebrity, especially since he was constantly accompanied by the two men whom she assumed to be bodyguards. She had got herself into such a tizzy about him watching her in the pool that when she tried to recall his name she just couldn’t.
Chapter Two: Lust
Xander
With each passing day, Xander felt a growing thrill every time he observed his neighbour’s acknowledgements of him from afar. At first it was just a smile, but then a nod accompanied it. The development warmed his heart, even though he’d long forgotten that he even had one. His rough childhood had seen to that.
Gaining confidence from the woman’s responses to him, Xander gave her a short wave when he saw her at the other end of the beach some days after their first meeting. She had glanced up from a book and in his direction as he descended the steps from the villa, intent on swimming in the sea before lunch.
His alluring neighbour waved back; perhaps not a full-on wave, but a definite raise of the hand in his direction, which was progress. His heart fluttered pleasurably, catching him by surprise as a woman had never sparked such a passion within him before.
Even in the dimness of the evening sun when he had first laid eyes on her, Xander could not help but notice the woman’s bronzed, curvaceous form, poured into a blue halter-neck top and white capri pants; her layered, dark blonde curls cascading down her back to her waist. In just one glance, his attention had been captivated wholly.
Xander was not ashamed to admit that he’d been with a fair few stunning women in his time, but nothing came close to the memory of this girl’s body in that outfit. It had given him an instant hard-on. But it wasn’t all about her curves. The way his neighbour’s gaze had met his, almost defiantly, fascinated him. It made up his mind that he was going to have her.
Xander was curious how someone would react to him initially if she didn’t know his identity. Admittedly, this woman’s hesitancy when he first tried to strike up a conversation had postponed any intended seduction that he’d planned when he saw how spooked she was. He had seen the same reaction many times before in the eyes of his sister, Freya, after the discovery that a supposed family friend had been pressurising her into a relationship she didn’t want.
Freya had been at a naïve and impressionable age, living away from the family home in Warwickshire and attending the Royal Academy of Music. Xander remembered how she had worn the same panicked expression for months after the man was sent to prison. The way she jumped at every noise and avoided eye contact with people was a reaction he would never forget, and his neighbour was acting in a similar way.
It made Xander feel angry that a man had obviously put this woman through the same distress that his sister had experienced. He might not be the most loving boyfriend material in the world, but he would never dream of harassing a woman until she was so intimidated that she would do whatever he wanted.
All the lies and deception surrounding the breakdown of his parents’ marriage had left deep emotional scars, setting Xander on the path of keeping everyone at arm’s length, allowing no female to get too close. He was a playboy who did not date the same woman more than twice; they never met his family or entered his home. He would wine and dine them, and then take them to a hotel when he felt the burning need for a quick fuck. Once that purpose had been served, Adam or Hayden always escorted the girls from the suite before they could create a scene after being told to leave.
Xander had never been one for sparing people’s feelings once he’d gotten what he wanted from them. However, this new woman’s look of vulnerability spurred something alien within him. Yes, he wanted to fuck her, but he also felt a deeper interest. It made him want to make sure she did not feel threatened by him, before or after his planned seduction. Friendship first was his plan; to gain his neighbour’s trust while enjoying her company before making any more serious moves. He would just have to enjoy gazing at her steaming hot body until he could finally reap the rewards of his tenacity by burying himself deep into her core.
After waving to the woman, Xander slipped off his T-shirt and waded out into the sea, acting as casually as he could handle. He tried to steal a glance in her direction after removing his top to see if she was watching him still, but she’d already lowered her gaze back to her book once more.
Xander felt a small pang of disappointment that she did not continue to look his way, as his vanity liked the idea of this mysterious woman admiring his body. But it simply made him even more determined to make her talk to him properly, and to provoke the same interest in him as he felt for her. He knew it could only be a holiday acquaintance, but he felt pulled towards knowing her nevertheless. As long as they agreed not to discuss their backgrounds in any depth and to keep an air of anonymity, what was the harm? It wasn’t as if he owed his fiancé any loyalty.
By the time Xander returned from his swim half an hour later, his hot neighbour had gone. Grabbing his wet towel, he headed back up to his villa to make some phone calls before getting ready for an evening out with his two main security details, Hayden and Adam. Since his band’s elevation to rock god stardom, the need for such an entourage had become a constant in Xander’s life, doing everything from deterring scr
eaming teenage girls from loitering outside his hotel suite to keeping the cameras of the paparazzi out of his face.
When Xander strode into the seating area, Hayden had his mobile pressed against his ear and he heard him say, “He just walked in. I’ll update him if you can keep us abreast of the situation.” The security guard’s face contorted into a weary expression as he closed the handset and caught his client’s questioning glance.
“What do I need updating about?” Xander asked, pausing to bundle his towel and T-shirt into a ball, ready to place into the laundry bag for his maid to deal with.
“Poppy has been given fair warning that a story about your pending marriage is to appear in The Daily Globe. It seems someone leaked part of the pre-nuptial,” Hayden replied. Poppy Croft was Fusion’s publicist and all-round media advisor.
“The bastard,” Xander raged as his face began to redden with anger. “He can’t even wait until I’ve been out of the country for less than twenty-four hours before playing dirty.” He knew, deep down in his belly, who would be behind such a disclosure.
John Keats, his father – or the devil, whom Xander and his brothers likened him to – did not approve of the band’s lifestyle of jet-setting around the world playing music, rather than taking on the various responsibilities within the family of companies.
As his oldest son, John viewed Xander as the instigator of the rebellion when he’d allowed Milo and Noah to join his band once they hit eighteen. Xander could hear his father’s lecturing speech even now: “You’re the one who should’ve known better, and discouraged them from getting involved in the hectic touring schedule of a successful rock star.”
Now, after months of avoidance, Xander had conceded to focus on bringing the Keats name to the next generation as soon as possible on the condition that his sisters, Freya and Livvie, were left out of any warped arranged marriage ideas. At least that was how Xander wanted it to appear, because he planned to teach his father a lesson once and for all before the ink on any marriage certificate became binding.
Starstruck (Fusion #1) Page 1
