Indi turned to face Xander as they entered the street and the door of the restaurant closed behind them. “My car is a short walk away. Do you need a ride back?”
He smiled. “That would be helpful, thank you.” Pulling out his phone, he tapped at the screen before adding, “If you’ll excuse me for a second, I’ll just send my security a quick message to let them know I’m heading back.”
It only took a few seconds for the message to be sent and then the two of them began to walk up Via della Maestranza towards the Piazza. It was still quite busy with people milling about, so they took the walk at a leisurely pace.
Out of the corner of her eye, Indi noticed Xander sneaking the occasional sideways glance at her as his hand brushed against hers whenever the crowd filled out, forcing them closer together as they walked shoulder to shoulder. At one point, in order to pass through a bottleneck of people congregated outside a bar, they were forced to move in single file. Not wanting to get separated from Indi, Xander suggested she walk in front of him. As she moved ahead, all her senses went into overload as she became copiously aware of his hand pressing against the small of her bare back as they edged forward.
Being so close to her idol, Indi felt a warm sensation spread through her body, and the humid evening air only served to increase her breathing rate further. In the midst of the distraction, she managed to stumble over a loose stone on the cobbled path and twist her ankle, leaving one of her shoes in her wake.
Caught by surprise, Xander’s hands curved around Indi’s body and lifted her up off the ground before she had a chance to worry about her dignity. Walking over to a nearby wall that was well away from the milling crowd, he placed her gently on the ground once more. “Don’t lean on your ankle yet. Balance against the wall while I go retrieve your shoe,” he instructed with concern etched on his face.
Alone, even though Xander remained in her constant eye line, Indi cursed the indignity of the situation, assuming that he must think her a clumsy fool. She thought she would die from embarrassment when he lifted her up in his arms; the effect of his handprints would be invisibly seared on her body forever. Seeing him make his way back with her still-intact black patent in hand, she exhaled a breath of relief that at least she wouldn’t have to walk the rest of the way back to the car wearing only one shoe.
Xander placed the shoe on the ground, but did not attempt to put it back on her foot. Instead, he moved forward until there was barely an inch between them. Indi instinctively pressed her back against the wall, noticing for the first time that they were quite alone in the narrow passageway. Although there were people walking past in the main street some twenty feet away, they would not notice the couple standing there in the dim darkness unless they turned fully to look.
“Are you okay? You gave me a scare,” Xander asked in a tender tone.
Leaning in, he touched Indi’s cheek with the back of his hand and then swept it down the side of her body, skimming electricity over her ribcage and hip, before gripping the top of her injured leg and curving it gently around his muscular thigh. Xander then removed the weight of her body off it as he tilted his head downwards and buried his head into the curve of her neck. His lips moved to her ear lobe, sucking while his other hand rested on the other side of her head. Indi could hear his breath coming in shallow pants.
“God, Indi. I hope you aren’t seeing anyone because I can’t keep my hands off you!”
Letting out a loud exhalation of air, she closed her eyes and immersed herself in the pleasure of the man’s tongue and lips teasing her ear lobe sensually. Was this actually happening, she wondered, feeling dazed by the evening’s events.
When Xander suddenly stopped, Indi opened her eyes to find his face on a level with her own. Moving the hand that had been resting beside her head, his fingertips traced the outline of her mouth. All the while his silver-blue eyes watched her closely, as if mesmerised by the low whimpering she was occasionally emitting as he ground his hardening erection against her hotly. “Tell me you want this as much as I do,” he said with desperation rippling through his voice.
“Yes, yes,” she answered as his mouth finally descended roughly on hers.
Xander’s hands moved up her thighs to grip the underside of her buttocks and shift her weight evenly between the wall that her back was pressed against and his flexed arm muscles. The friction of his hardness pressing against the thin material of the G-string covering her intimate folds increased the desire that pooled between her legs.
Sweeping his tongue around her mouth in animalistic fashion, Xander pulled away suddenly. “I should get you home,” he said softly with a frown on his face.
Indi immediately mourned the loss of his touch, but tolerated it as she did not want to be holed up in an Italian prison for public indecency, even if Xander’s kisses were intoxicating. “Okay,” she answered, trying to hide the disappointed bite from her voice as she spoke.
Xander knelt down and felt her ankle gently with the tips of his fingers. “Does that hurt?”
Indi shook her head. “Not at all.”
“Okay, let’s see if it can take some weight,” he suggested, and reaching for her shoe, he sheathed her bare foot into it. Standing up, Xander held out his hand to Indi in case she felt her ankle give way again as he watched her place her foot tentatively on the ground. “Think you can walk?”
“Yes, it feels okay now,” Indi reassured as she paced slowly in front of him.
“Sure? I’ll carry you to the car if necessary.”
Although an excuse to be in his arms again appealed enormously, Indi wanted to retain some remnant of dignity that evening, so she nodded. “Honestly, I’m sure.”
Brushing any lingering dust from the knees of his trousers, Xander wrapped an arm around Indi’s waist and pulled her into his side, so that she could use him as a leaning post as they walked. When they finally arrived back at Largo Porta Marina, she pointed out the car that she had rented for the next couple of weeks; an Audi. It had been more expensive than some of the more basic rentals on offer, but she drove the same model back in England and didn’t want to sacrifice on comfort if she was going to be driving around the island by herself.
“Hand me your keys and I’ll drive. I want you to rest your ankle as much as possible before tomorrow,” said Xander, speaking so authoritatively that his suggestion almost sounded like an order.
Indi quirked a brow, feeling irritated at being bossed about while also being turned on by the sexy look on the man’s face, as if he was daring her to disobey. “Why, what is happening tomorrow?”
“You and I are having lunch on the beach. I've got a proposition that I want to discuss with you in private,” Xander stated matter-of-factly, but his expression was soft as he tucked a stray curl of Indi’s behind her ear. “I was kind of hoping to continue what happened earlier in the alley, if you have no objection?”
“Okay,” she managed to squeak in a high-pitched voice. Rummaging through her bag, she handed him the key fob to her rental vehicle.
Settling into the passenger side of the car, Indi had to subtly pinch herself that the man of many of her dreams was about to drive her home because he was concerned for her welfare. It gave her a strange fuzzy feeling inside. To be cared for by someone she barely knew was alien to her senses. Except for her sisters and a few other relatives, most of her family only pretended to be bothered if it involved some personal gain; her parents being the worst culprits. She shook her head in a bid to rid her mind of the negativity they always brought to her mood whenever she thought of them.
Catching Xander looking at her oddly, she heard him ask, “Did you hear what I said?”
“Sorry, I just spaced out. Was just thinking of something I forgot to do,” she fibbed. “What did I miss?”
He grinned. “I was just asking if you had any dislikes food-wise as I will get my cook to rustle up some bruschetta, antipasti meats, olives and maybe a light white wine to wash it down with.”
“No, th
at all sounds really great.”
Checking the mirrors, Xander reversed the Audi out of the parking space and headed in the direction of the villa.
“So, is drawing just a hobby or have you held an exhibition?” Indi enquired as they made their way out of Siracusa and towards Plemmirio Nature Reserve, where their villas were located. Aware of the prestigious career that the man’s mother had maintained as a sculptor and painter, she thought that perhaps he might have gained some of her talent in that department.
“Up until now it has been just a hobby, but I was offered the chance to do an exhibition by a family friend who runs a gallery in New York,” Xander replied. “I don’t know how well you follow Fusion, but we’ve just completed a US and European tour, so with nine months free, it seems a perfect time as any to dip my toe into the art world.”
“What style do you work with?”
“Graphite pencil, mostly. I like the variety of using soft or hard pigment strengths to show true light and shadow. I take black and white photographs, and capture the subjects on a larger scale. Most of my canvases are pretty vast in size; probably sixty inches across.”
Indi smiled. “You sound like one of my friends who trained as a commercial illustrator. She talks a lot about all the different techniques she uses in her everyday work,” she said with a hint of teasing in her voice.
“Ha, I just happen to take my drawing extremely seriously.” Xander smiled warmly as he stole a glance her way before turning his eye back on the road ahead. “I’m sure you take your photography just as seriously, no?”
“I do, but it isn’t my main academic focus.”
“Oh, what is then?”
“Well, having completed most of my grades in cello and music theory, I’m just about to start my second year of a music degree at Goldsmiths,” Indi explained. “Once that is complete, I hope to do a Masters at Royal College.”
“It sounds like you’ll be more qualified as a musician than me by then.”
“You never studied music academically before turning professional?”
Pulling the car into her driveway, Xander answered, “No, not as a degree. My father has never approved of my music or artistic tendencies, so I had to adhere to his rules of taking more constructive business qualifications until I turned twenty-one and my trust fund left his control,” he added, switching off the engine.
Furrowing her brow at the bitterness with which he spoke about his parent, Indi remarked, “Ah, power and control – traits my own father seems to have in common with yours.”
Their eyes locked briefly in common understanding of the pain and disappointment that both had experienced in the past. Breaking the moment, Xander handed her the key fob. “Now, are you going to allow me the pleasure of carrying you in my arms one last time this evening, so I can sleep restfully tonight, knowing your ankle has received my best attention?” he asked.
Blushing, Indi replied, “If you insist, but, truly, it’s fine now.”
“I do insist,” Xander responded as he exited the vehicle, shutting the driver’s door behind him.
Sighing in defeat, Indi released her seatbelt and waited for him to walk around to her side of the car. Opening her door, Xander scooped her up in his arms effortlessly and carried her down the small footpath to the front door of her villa. Setting her down on her two feet once again, he reached up to trace the outline of her jaw and cheek with his hand. “Well, goodnight. I’ll set up lunch for twelve-thirty on the beach.”
Grinning, she responded softly, her eyes locking with his for a second, “Yes, that’s fine. Goodnight.”
Xander smiled briefly and then turned to make his way back to his own villa, through a side gate just beyond where they had been standing. Indi stood still and watched his retreating figure for a few more seconds before she could bring herself to look away, shaking her head in disbelief that she had just spent the evening with her idol.
Chapter Four: Rules
Xander
Arriving back at his villa, Xander found Adam and Hayden sitting in the lounge, watching an Italian film. Getting up from the sofa, Adam walked over to greet him. “Xander, you were gone longer than we anticipated. Was everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, Adam. I apologise if I concerned you unduly.”
“I must insist that in future you keep your phone on at all times when you’re not with us.”
Xander remembered how he had turned off his mobile straight after sending a message to Adam that he’d left the restaurant. Giving the two men a remorseful expression, he gave in. “Very well, gentleman. It won’t happen again.”
Feigning fatigue, Xander disappeared off to the privacy of his rooms. His erection from earlier was still pressing subtly against the material of his trousers. Once alone, he could resist the temptation to touch himself no longer as images of Indi in her tight yellow dress flickered through his mind like the beginning of a movie reel.
Suppressing a cry at the sensitivity of his shaft, even through the fabric, he strode towards the adjoining shower room. Hastily unbuckling his suit trousers, Xander allowed them to drop to the floor before pulling down his boxers, exposing the rock-hard erection beneath. Removing the rest of his clothing eagerly, he stepped into the double shower cubicle and allowed the warm water to gush over his flushed flesh for a few moments before grasping his hard-on once more.
With his left hand resting on the tiled wall, Xander gripped his engorged shaft with the right, and began rubbing the flesh up and down, slowly at first and then at a faster pace as his fantasy of stripping Indi out of her yellow dress began to manifest itself into a more detailed, believable dream.
He pictured himself pushing a naked Indi roughly against the wall, her back towards him as his mouth explored the curve of her neck. His hands caressed her outer thighs and buttocks as he ground his groin against her cheeks, wanting her to be in no doubt of how hard he was for her.
In his fantasy, Xander undid the belt and zip of his trousers one-handed, allowing them to slide down around his ankles. Desperate to bury himself inside Indi’s tight wetness, he had barely freed his unrelenting erection from his boxers before his hands were gliding between her exposed folds and slipping two digits into her core.
The woman’s hips pushed hard against his rotating fingers demanding further attention. “Oh, feeling greedy, are we?” he teased, his excited breath coming in pulses against her ear. “Do you want more?”
“Yes, yes, more,” Indi moaned as she arched her back and wiggled her bum against him.
“Tell me exactly what you want me to do.”
“I want you to fuck me hard,” she cried out, as her body started to shudder with the inducement of pleasure as his fingers glided rhythmically inside her while his thumb rubbed her clit.
Xander’s fantasy continued in this vein as he continued to slide his fisted hand up and down his erection, trying to keep his groans of pleasure to a muffled volume. As he floated up to the dizzy heights of his euphoria, the dream moved on to him plunging into Indi’s dewy folds. His hands held on to her hips as he pounded away into her tightness; his aching balls slapping against her repeatedly as he pulled in and out with every powerful thrust.
Both came with such ferocity that neither of them could contain their roar of ecstasy. By that time the real Xander was too far gone to care who heard him. With his lust satisfied for now, he stayed under the cascade of water. Lathering up his body with soap, he cleaned away the remnants of his juices from his skin and thought about the plans he wanted to put in place tomorrow.
***
Xander slept remarkably well, considering all the nervous excitement and anticipation fluttering up and down inside his stomach. He had never felt so motivated over a woman in a long time, if ever, and he was determined to make it impossible for Indi to refuse his proposition of spending the rest of her holiday with him.
All morning, he avoided his usual catch-up calls from David, who headed up security for Fusion, assuming his bodyguards woul
d have updated him on Xander’s refusal to let them accompany him for dinner the previous night. The bodyguard issue had been a burden on his privacy even before he started the band, but it was considered a necessity for his family’s safety, going back years before he had even been born due to his father having several unsavoury business associates.
David was one of his closest friends, as well as his cousin. Being an ex-army officer, trained as a parachute reconnaissance officer and weapons intelligence analyst, he was well placed to protect his interests. Xander expected the man to lecture him over the recent security lapse, but he was determined to put it off until later in the day.
Xander was dressed in a pair of stone-coloured Marc Jacobs cargo shorts and a striped, crewneck D&G T-shirt that rippled tightly over his washboard stomach and broad shoulders. To keep his body trim he had a regular gym routine, which he followed each morning, but while on holiday he’d relaxed it to just a half-hour swim in the pool or the sea.
Xander had arranged for a basket of Italian meats, antipasti, olives and breads, and a bottle of his favourite white wine to be prepared by his cook. He also planned to take a blanket on which he could lie upon the rocks with Indi. Adam and Hayden were to keep out of sight in the villa grounds, under strict instructions not to disturb him on the beach. His aim was to alleviate any discomfort that Indi might feel over being scrutinised by his ‘people’ over lunch.
He began to lay out the contents of the basket on the blanket to distract his mind from the nervous nausea that was burning the back of his throat as the meeting time drew near. Normally, Xander only experienced that level of nerves just before a concert, so for a woman to induce such an effect caught him off guard. He had always kept his emotions under a tight rein, but this woman was getting under his skin and he hardly knew what to make of it.
Checking his watch, he noticed that it was a couple of minutes past the arranged meeting time of 12.30pm. Heart in mouth, he began to pace up and down outside the gate of Indi’s villa garden, which led on to her part of the beach. He started to wonder if she had been scared off by his forwardness. When she finally emerged a few minutes later, a sense of relief overwhelmed him.
Starstruck (Fusion #1) Page 3
