“My grandfather is an Marquis. He didn’t approve of my mother’s social-climbing ways, so he cut off my father when he married her against his wishes,” Indi began. “Despite that, my grandparents still maintained a relationship with me and my sisters. Trusts were set up to pay for our education and other things as we grew. Our parents couldn’t access any of the monies, so they relinquished custody before we were ten. When not away at school, we lived with either our grandparents or our uncle and aunt. Last year, after my eighteenth birthday, I gained access to more of my trust, so my parents hired some lowlife to harass me until I gave into their demands.”
Xander could feel his eyes growing larger as Indi progressed with the narrative of her past.
She continued, “Then everything started to spiral; the police became involved, endless CPS paperwork and a court case. They found the lowlife guilty of harassment, but they couldn’t prove my parents had hired him. Yet they managed to charge them both with lesser offences. He got a suspended sentence, but she was put in prison with an additional non-contact order in place.”
“So, they are still roaming free, and all that is protecting you from them giving it another try is some flimsy court order?” Xander remarked. “People break them every day. I should know as I’ve had to bring enough of them against crazy fans over the years. Please let me give you the name of someone who can make sure you’re safe.”
Indi gave him a look of horror. “You mean like a bodyguard? I seriously don’t need one of those. I can go back to leading a perfectly quiet life once the dust settles.”
Xander sighed. He knew that he did not have any right to push his wishes on her, but seeing how traumatised Freya had been from her own case of harassment, he wanted to protect Indi. Standing up, he pulled one of the chairs on her side of the table closer to where she was seated. Clutching at her hand again, he gave her a begging look, which he hoped would work. “Please, Indi, just talk to him. There are plenty of less invasive options than a constant bodyguard, but I seriously want to stress how much I would feel more at ease if you had some layer of protection.”
Indi pouted. As her eyes stared back at him, Xander could see a varying flicker of emotions flash through the greenness.
“Okay, I’m willing to talk to the guy once,” she gave in.
“Thank you.” Xander blew out a breath of relief.
After this holiday was over, he knew he would not be able to see Indi again until he and his siblings had sorted the trust board mess. Until then he needed to know she would be safe.
***
With only a week remaining until Indi flew back to England, Xander decided to surprise her by arranging a first-class cabin on a night train to Florence, leaving that evening. He thought she would enjoy viewing the sculptures and paintings in the Accademia and Uffizi Gallery, given her interest in art, as well as the summer music festival in Scandicci. His bodyguards would accompany them and take a nearby cabin.
Xander had simply told Indi to pack a bag with enough items to clothe her for the next five days, and some comfortable shoes, but nothing more than. The two of them were being picked up in an hour’s time by a taxi that would drop them at Siracusa train station.
He was just leaving the villa to collect Indi when the face of David, his head of security, appeared on his mobile screen. Xander had avoided speaking to him directly since meeting Indi nearly two weeks earlier, knowing the man would go on about the security risk of having a holiday fling with someone he hardly knew. Xander was not ready to confess his deeper dreams of being with Indi long-term to anyone but her.
Her light, unassuming manner had drawn out more secrets about his life than he thought he would have dared tell her. He told her his private thoughts that he never shared with anyone else, along with silly stories from his childhood and carefree days with his friends before the band made it. Indi treated him as simply Xander, the person, rather than Xander Keats, the rock star, allowing her to break through the walls that he’d surrounded himself with for years.
He could not get enough of her. Even in front of his security team, he did not hold back from the occasional handholding or kiss. Such actions from a guy who had never believed in public displays of affection, combined with his other out-of-character behaviour, was what had gotten back to David.
“Are you sure you should be getting involved with a woman who might turn around and sell her story of your holiday romance to the tabloids as soon as it is over?” David judged harshly, after having had to deal with too many kiss-and-tell stories in his client’s past.
Xander had earned himself the reputation for being cold-hearted when it came to women; the revelations of his mother’s affairs had truly scarred him. Yes, he would wine and dine them, even romance them with flowers and chocolates, but once the sexual act had been fulfilled, he just moved on to the next. He could not bear to let anyone come too close emotionally in case he ended up being hurt by them as deeply as his mother had.
Xander bit his tongue to stop himself from making an unkind retort. He understood that David was only trying to make sure he considered all his options, especially since he was not used to him actually allowing himself to care for a woman in the long-term.
“She’s not that kind of person! She clearly has money of her own to be renting such a large villa herself. She knows I’m rich, but hasn’t asked anything about me. She’ll not let me pay for her at all when we go out,” Xander replied smoothly.
“Do you know anything about her, so that we can perhaps get her investigated, so at least I know what I’m dealing with if the case arises?”
“Just that her name is Indi. One of her grandfathers has a title, and the other owned a successful horse-breeding ranch in America.”
He knew David was only doing what he would ordinarily do if Xander let someone new into his life, but it still made him feel dirty and unworthy now that Indi had entrusted him with what her parents had put her through. “Whatever you find, I don’t want to know about it, unless it’s really crucial.” Xander spoke firmly, knowing that he was already half in love with Indi, and he had started conjuring up scenarios that once his obligation to Caitlin was out of the way, he would seek her out and introduce her properly to his life.
“Very well. I hear Caitlin has been threatening to fly out and see you. Be careful she doesn’t discover your little love nest.”
“She would be hard-pressed to, as we’re off to Florence in a couple of hours and there is nothing of Indi’s at my place. I always stay at hers.”
Chapter Seven: Closer
Indi
“Honey, where are you?” Indi could hear Xander calling to her from the lounge.
“In the bedroom, panicking.”
She could hear his laughter coming closer. In just three weeks of them being together, he had become quite used to her freaking out over not finding the right outfit to wear. She would usually try on about three or four things before settling on the first one.
“What is wrong?” he questioned, smiling as he leaned against the doorframe, drinking in the sight of the clothes half in her suitcase and half out.
Indi was still dressed in her underwear; a black lace, all-in-one body. Her hair was tied loosely in a bun, with some of the shorter, wispy curls hanging free, framing her cheeks. “I just don’t know what to wear since you won’t tell me where we’re going!” she cried out dramatically.
Chuckling, Xander moved into the room while Indi continued to lean over the bed, mumbling as she debated which outfits to place in the suitcase. Coming up behind her, he slid his hand suggestively over her bottom. “I would be quite happy if you wore this outfit all day,” he teased.
“Xander!” she chided impatiently.
“Babe, just think summery and comfortable.” He continued to caress her bottom as he stood behind her; his hands gliding up over either side of her hips as he pressed himself against her. She could feel his growing hardness as he leaned over to kiss her neck and nibble her earlobe in a way he knew she loved.
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She let out a whimper, despite her irked patience. “Xander, we don’t have time,” she tried to reason with him.
“The taxi isn’t going to be here for forty-five minutes, and it wouldn’t matter if we kept the driver waiting for a few more minutes after that. I need you now. It’s been ages since we made love,” Xander grumbled, continuing to rub his hardness against her bottom to emphasis his point.
“Ages being all of five or six hours!” she retorted.
“I can’t help it if I want to touch you constantly.”
“I know, darling, I enjoy you wanting to touch me, but can’t we wait till we get there rather than having to rush?”
He sulked. “I suppose.”
“Aw, poor baby, I’ll make it up to you later, you know that.” She turned to face him fully, standing on tiptoe to kiss him as if to seal her promise. “Now let me sort out the rest of my suitcase in peace. Why don’t you go and read the paper, or something.”
“Okay, I’ll call you when the taxi arrives.”
Left alone, Indi managed to finish the task of selecting a few short and long dresses, flat and spiked-heel shoes, and a bathing suit, all neatly placed within her Louis Vuitton luggage. She dressed in a short turquoise one-shoulder dress, embellished with a pattern of six shooting stars drifting down from a central point, made up of beads.
Pulling out the long, extendable handle of the case, Indi dragged it into the foyer and then went into the dining area where Xander was seated at the breakfast bar, reading one of the English papers they had picked up the day before.
“Where is your case, Xander?”
“Over by the sofa. Are we over our panic now?” He left the paper and walked over to embrace her. “You look lovely.” His eyes drifted over the short dress admiringly, as his wandering hands exploring her softness beneath it.
“Yes, the suitcase is packed and ready to go,” Indi replied, dismissing his other remark without a response as she knew it only would encourage him to initiate kissing her again; something she did not want to get into until they were on the train. This caused Xander to frown at her silent rebuttal of his compliment.
“Indi, is something wrong?” He reached for her chin and brought her face up, so her eyes would look at his.
“No, I’m okay, Xander. I simply don’t want to start something that may be interrupted by the taxi arriving, and I don’t like keeping people waiting as I find it rude,” she explained.
Xander raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind; he gets paid extra for just sitting there, and I always tip well.”
“I just don’t like keeping people waiting. It’s discourteous, even if they are being paid for the privilege.” Her tone was sharper this time, irritated by his casual dismissal of her own opinion on the matter.
Xander stiffened but did not reply as the taxi signalled its arrival with a small burst of the horn. Collecting his own suitcase, he followed Indi out into the foyer, where hers was waiting.
Glancing at him over her shoulder as she opened the front door, Indi noticed that he wore a stern expression. Xander stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. She sighed, thinking that the beginning of his surprise would be ruined if he maintained such a stern exterior, just because she had censured him for not considering that another person’s time was just as valuable as his.
There was a stony silence between them throughout the taxi journey. All the time, he wore an unreadable expression. As they drew up outside the train station, Indi could take it no longer. “Xander, are you going to speak to me or shall I just turn the taxi around and go back to the villa while you continue on to wherever we were heading?”
His eyes flashed with dark clouds, disrupting the calm molten silver within them. “I’ll speak to you on the train.” The tone was monotone, but she could tell a storm was brewing.
Indi rolled her eyes in frustration and replied, “Fine.” This was the first time she had refused him anything and his reaction surprised her. He was acting like a spoiled, sulky child. Surely people had said no to him before?
Xander looked at her disdainfully, but said nothing, slipping on his trademark sunglasses before exiting the vehicle. He always wore them whenever they headed out in public to hide the obvious signs of his identity from any potential paparazzi or adoring fans nearby. Xander had been extremely lucky so far, with only one photographer snapping them as they exited a restaurant, but Adam had managed to convince the man to hand over the film in exchange for a sufficient sum of money.
After the driver had helped them to remove their luggage from the boot, Xander and Indi dragged their luggage along silently. Since she had no idea where she was heading, she trailed behind him slightly as her shorter strides were no match for his.
On the busy platform was a sleek train with many carriages. As they walked, Indi noticed first-class signage on the initial few, before second class began. There was a large monitor showing all the trains due in, along with their destinations, so she would be able to work out where they were going once she saw what platform number they were on. Xander was walking towards Adam and Hayden, whom she’d become used to accompanying them on their excursions around the island.
“Hi, again,” Indi said as the two men smiled and nodded at her, before turning their attention back to their employer.
“Have you had the train looked over?” Xander asked.
“Yes, I spoke to the station master, who gave his approval for us to board and check over the rooms beforehand. They were quite pleased to be having such a VIP travelling on their train, so they were glad to oblige,” Adam answered.
While the men were talking, Indi took in her surroundings, noted the platform number, and moved slightly away from them to view the large monitor. So, they were heading to Florence; Xander had chosen well. She had been to Rome and Venice before, but never there. Indi was secretly pleased that he’d taken the time to take her somewhere new and she felt some of her earlier anger dissipate; maybe she had been too harsh.
She was still deep in thought when she felt someone touch the small of her back lightly. At the same time she felt warm breath against her ear as Xander spoke into it. “So you’ve discovered the surprise destination?”
Indi turned around and met his gaze. “Yes, thank you, it’s a perfect choice.”
He smiled slightly and nodded.
“I’m sorry about before,” they both blurted out in unison.
Xander stepped closer and ran his fingers lightly over Indi’s mouth before kissing her hard, which she returned eagerly.
“Come, let’s go board and we can then talk properly,” he said. Separating from her, Xander slid his arm around her waist and guided her back through the crowded platform and on to the train. He showed her into a cabin that seemed to be one of the premier ones. It was decked out to a high level of comfort with large armchairs and a table off to one side.
“We can convert it into two beds for tonight,” he explained as he sat down on one of the large seats. “We’ve got our own attendant in this car, who can serve us drinks and some snacks, or we can go into the restaurant later if you want. I tried to get a cabin with our own bathroom, but it seems they don’t have them on this route.”
Indi smiled coyly as she joined him on the seat, half facing him. “Single beds?”
Xander nodded apologetically. Turning to face her, he took one of her hands in his. “But, I’m sure we can snuggle up together in one for a few hours. And the hotel in Florence certainly has a double.”
“Xander, I don’t mind sleeping in a single if you’re here with me,” she assured him softly, their earlier argument put to the side as she leaned forward to nuzzle against his chest.
“I thought we should talk through this tension before we head off. I want to give you a true idea of what my life is like, which is why I might not always appear to care about other people at the time.”
“Okay.” Indi lifted her head off his chest and turned in her seat, prepared to listen
in earnest to what he had to say.
“I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I lead an opulent lifestyle, but that wasn’t something I attained via music,” Xander explained. “It is something I was born into. My family is beyond wealthy, more than the largest public limited company. As the oldest of five, I’m the one that each of the others turns to in times of crisis. Even though I’m not technically heading up any of the companies owned by my family, I still get daily phone calls for my input from the people who are running them.
“I’m always the one who has to negotiate when our father makes their life difficult. I have more responsibility than one person should have, and that is what makes my time exceedingly precious. At times I take for granted that people will just wait around for me to be ready, and I accept that I come across as pompous, because of this, to people who don’t truly know me.”
Indi gazed at him, her mouth slightly ajar as he spoke. While Xander had already divulged some of the problems with his father, she hadn’t begun to imagine this kind of pressure; the man sounded almost as calculating and uncompromising as her own.
Xander squeezed her hand slightly as he continued, “As I mentioned before, my sister was harassed by a man we knew extremely well. She had a stalker for months beforehand; unbeknown to us, it was him all along. It ended with him kidnapping her. Endless hours of counselling couldn’t help her to come to terms with what happened. Even now, three years later, she still has nightmares. She’s become the shell of the person she once was – now an uncontrollable, anti-authoritarian drug taker. I blame myself; if I had paid more attention, perhaps the kidnapping could have been averted.”
“My goodness, I didn’t realise that had happened,” Indi gasped. A cold shudder went down her back as she realised that her own situation could have easily ended in kidnapping.
“The majority was kept out of the papers at the time and they caught him within a few days of her being taken. He’s been in prison ever since, but he is due to be up for parole in only three years.”
Starstruck (Fusion #1) Page 7
