Come Undone

by Madelynne Ellis

  Dani gnawed her thumbnail, envisaging fraught talks with her mum in the not too distant future. She dearly hoped they could negotiate a pathway of acceptance, because the thought of a future in which they were totally estranged tore open a hole in her chest.

  Dani’s heart sped a little as the door swooshed open, but it was a group of businessmen, not Xane. They occupied a table further along the carriage. A sales rep came on board next, followed by a student with a free travel pass, a girl with a pink-and-black-checked shirt. She slid into the window seat on the opposite side of the aisle to Dani, turned her head towards the window and cranked up the volume on her MP3 player so the tinny sound made a persistent hum.

  Dani checked the time and the seat reservation numbers again. Where was Xane?

  Her heart fluttered as the train pulled away from the station. What had happened? Why wasn’t he here? Had his flight been delayed, and if so, what did she do at the other end of the train journey? Waiting for him to catch up seemed to be the only option. It wasn’t as if she knew how to find Ric, and even if she did make her way to his private island, he might not believe her story.

  ‘Hi, I’m your rock-star cousin’s girlfriend, and he told me to meet him here before he flew to another country.’ That was more likely to induce mirth than convince someone to let you stay at their house for the night.

  ‘Can you watch my case?’ she asked the student. ‘I need to go and see if my friend’s got on the train.’

  ‘Huh? Sure.’ The girl waved vaguely at her.

  As first class occupied the rear of the train, Dani set off towards the front. If she walked the entire length of the train, she’d definitely find him – if he was on board.

  ‘Going somewhere?’ Xane asked, emerging from the WC as she negotiated the doors between her carriage and the next. A jolt of exaltation and relief rolled through Dani’s tensed body as she drank in the sight of him: leather jacket with the collar turned up, boots and black jeans that were glued to him like a second skin. Dani crushed him in her embrace, wrapping her arms tight around his middle, while he was still in the act of removing his sunglasses. ‘Xane, thank God. I thought you weren’t here.’

  ‘Hey,’ he soothed, returning her hug. ‘I’m here. What’s the panic? No one’s harassed you, have they?’

  ‘Nobody’s noticed me at all,’ she replied, lifting her chin to look up into his face. He’d removed the remaining contact lens, so that he stared back at her with those beautiful rain-washed, silver-grey eyes. The bruising had now come out around his eye, but even with that blemish he remained breathtaking. Looking at him, knowing that he was hers, that he’d made an actual commitment of sorts to her, just blew her mind.

  She strained upwards on tiptoes to reach his lips.

  ‘Did you miss me?’ he asked, grinning.

  ‘Enormously.’

  ‘Me too.’

  His lips brushed softly against hers, teased her with feather-light touches, until she was forced to take charge and demand more of him by threading her fingers through his long hair and pulling him closer until their tongues danced together.

  Xane was all raw power compared to her but, when he yielded, he yielded good. His body seemed to fold around her, so that the height difference didn’t matter. His touches skimmed over her curves, awakening surface tingles and deeper cravings.

  He turned her and trapped her between the curved carriage wall and the solid mass of his body. His palms covered the small of her back, his fingers stretched across her ass, and he thrust one thigh between her legs.

  Xane had a way of kissing her that took away all her restraints. She crooned as he tempted her with fleeting touches on her arms and breasts, encouraged her with the heat of his thighs and loins. If the door slid open, what did it matter? It was probably just the sway of the train. All right, and if one or two people brushed past, that was OK too. They weren’t being indecent, only affectionate. Folks could look the other way. It wasn’t as if kissing in public was banned.

  ‘Tickets from Exeter.’

  They broke apart awkwardly.

  Dani shrank against the wall, her cheeks burning, while Xane tried to fit a hand into his front pocket, struggling because of the bulge behind his fly. With a bit of wriggling, he managed to draw things forth.

  ‘And the lady’s.’

  Dani sheepishly avoided making eye contact with the inspector as he tore the corner of her ticket and handed it back to her.

  ‘Perhaps you two would like to find your seats. You’re blocking the aisle standing out here.’

  ‘We’ll do that,’ she agreed, and tugged Xane into the carriage proper.

  The girl in the checked shirt flicked them an idle glance as they slipped into their seats, then sat bolt upright a second later and stared with her mouth hanging open. ‘Zzzayn,’ she burbled, tugging the headphones from her ears, her gaze locked unblinkingly on Xane.

  Goddammit, was there a woman in existence who didn’t know who he was, and didn’t want to have his babies? They were supposed to be incognito, but no doubt the whole Twitterverse would know their exact location within minutes.

  Xane squeezed her thigh. ‘It’s fine. Let me handle it.’

  ‘Shh!’ he said, winking at the girl. He stretched across the aisle to talk to her. ‘Hi there.’

  ‘Hey,’ she replied, in an equally conspiratorial whisper. ‘Are you?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he confirmed, which had her mouth falling open again. ‘Are you listening to anything good?’

  She offered him one earplug so that he could hear.

  ‘Bohemian Night Witch?’ He nodded along to the beat. ‘Yeah, they’re not bad. They warmed up for us one time at Sheffield.’

  ‘I was there. They weren’t as good as you guys, but then you’re the best,’ she gushed, the volume of her voice rapidly rising. She half rose out of her seat, then, realising she was drawing attention, sat down again. ‘I’m gutted you guys have split. It sucks so bad. Is your voice really that busted?’

  ‘There’s nothing wr–’

  ‘He needs to rest it,’ Dani butted in, cutting off Xane’s denial. ‘He’s just a bit husky. It’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t use it too much.’

  ‘Ah, right,’ said the girl nodding. ‘That’s good. It’s just the article I read said you wouldn’t sing again.’

  ‘That’s such shit,’ Xane blabbed, clearly unhappy about the story that’d been put out.

  Dani squeezed his knee. Better that story than the one about him and Steve fighting over her. ‘He just needs rest. Like he’s not supposed to be talking.’

  ‘Oh. Oh, all right. I won’t disturb you. I want you to recover, especially if it means you’re getting back together.’

  ‘I don’t kn–’

  Dani dug her nails into his thigh to warn him off suggesting anything to the contrary. The girl put her headphones back on and settled against the window again, grinning maniacally. To Dani’s relief, she didn’t try to renew the conversation, nor did she suddenly dig out a phone and start texting.

  Xane pursed his lips but remained silent. He lifted her hand off his thigh and held it as stations and minutes slowly rolled by. Twilight settled over the countryside, then the outside vanished altogether and was replaced by a reflection of the carriage interior. Xane curved his body towards her and settled his head against her shoulder. He gave an expressive yawn and closed his eyes.

  ‘Tired?’

  He smiled and snuggled a bit closer, pulling his jacket, which he’d taken off, over them like a blanket. A moment later, he slid one hand under her skirt hem and up her thigh.

  Dani squeezed her legs together. ‘What are you doing?’ she hissed, throwing a glance at the girl, who appeared to have fallen asleep.

  ‘Warming my hands up.’ He wormed his way a little higher, until his index finger brushed the front of her panties.

  ‘They seem plenty warm enough to me.’

  ‘I’m bored, Dani. Wanna play a game with me?’

  ‘Wh
at sort of game?’ she asked, already predicting the answer. An ordinary person would have produced magnetic Snakes and Ladders or a crossword book, but not Xane. No, he had wicked and dirty ingrained into his psyche, and both traits sat tauntingly on his crooked lips.

  ‘A kinky sex game, of course.’

  ‘We’re on a train,’ she reminded him. And while the carriage wasn’t busy, nor was it empty. ‘There’s probably CCTV.’ Not that that ever stopped him.

  ‘No one is going to see anything. I’m not suggesting you get your tits out.’

  ‘I’m not really sure what it is you are suggesting. Does this game of yours have a name?’

  He thoughtfully ticked his tongue against the ring in his bottom lip. ‘Yeah, it’s called Come Quietly. Although I suppose it should really be called Come Silently, since that’s the goal and the only rule.’

  ‘Xane.’

  ‘Open your legs a bit. Give me some room. And don’t tell me we shouldn’t again, because we absolutely should.’

  Dani adjusted her position very slightly, allowing her thighs to slide apart enough for him to wriggle a couple of fingers into her heat. It was hard not to hiss with pleasure, purely from having him touch her there. When it came to knowing precisely where to press, Xane seemed to have her cracked. He knew the exact rhythm, the exact pressure to use too.

  Dani turned away from the aisle and Xane. While she was just about managing to stay silent by biting her lips and screwing up her face, it had to be apparent from her expression exactly what they were up to. The only problem with facing the window was that she could then see her own reflection.

  ‘Here,’ Xane said, taking hold of her hand. ‘Let me give you something to hold onto.’

  She ought not to have been surprised at what he slid into her palm, except that she hadn’t even been aware of him unzipping.

  ‘This is insane.’

  ‘Yeah – but we’re both jittery as hell. It’ll do us good to chill out.’

  Except that what he was doing wasn’t chilling her out, it was flame-grilling her. Her cheeks were already scarlet. She could see her heightened colour even in her reflection in the darkened window.

  ‘Relax, Dani.’ The flat of his index finger worked her clit. ‘And come for me. Is that the spot?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Just there. Like this?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Her breathing grew ragged. She tried to focus on him and his pleasure, working his length with the palm of her hand and the tip of her thumb. Xane’s head still rested against her shoulder, his breath puffing gently against her neck, steadier than hers but still scalding.

  ‘I so, so need to get into you, the moment we get to Ric’s.’

  ‘Won’t that be a bit weird, doing it on his doorstep?’

  Xane gave a snort of laughter, which caused the girl across the aisle to stir. She rubbed her nose, then slid back into her snooze again, her mouth slightly open.

  ‘There are plenty of good places before we reach his doorstep, lots of convenient nooks and grottos.’ His lips traced the pulse point in her neck. ‘I already knew a few of them, but Ric showed me some others the last shoot I did with him.’

  ‘He’s your cousin. Isn’t it a bit weird stripping off for him?’

  ‘Being naked doesn’t bother me.’

  Yes, but he hadn’t only been naked in those pictures she’d seen. He’d been doing other things. Intimate things. Stuff not generally considered as being for public consumption. Acts like the one he had her currently engaged in.

  What was she doing? She was Daniella Fosbrook – quiet, thoughtful and studious. Not the sort of woman who performed lewd acts in public.

  Leastways she hadn’t been until she’d met Xane.

  He was dangerous. He could persuade her to do almost anything simply by suggesting it. If she wasn’t careful, he’d have her posing with him for his cousin, which certainly wouldn’t help convince her mum that Xane was really a very nice man, and worthy of her affections.

  ‘I want more than your hands on me.’

  If she bent down with her head under the jacket on his knee it was going to be so bloody obvious what they were doing.’

  ‘I want to get inside you.’

  They entered a tunnel, which amplified all the noises within the carriage, making her breath sound like a whistle.

  ‘We can’t. Not here.’

  But he was already putting a condom on one-handed under his coat. ‘One, two, three, you lift up and I’ll slide along.’

  What was the penalty for public indecency?

  Xane counted. She lifted exactly as instructed and settled back down on his knee. His cock jerked against her rear, poking at the wrong entrance as he hugged her to his lap. Dani wriggled, trying to manoeuvre him into the right place. This might be asking for trouble, but there was no denying she was turned on. Her nipples were like two buttons distorting the line of her dress.

  ‘Lift again,’ he insisted. The inch or two of space gave him the room he needed to line them up. Dani sank down onto him with a welcoming groan.

  ‘That’s better, isn’t it?’ His tongue flicked against the back of her neck. ‘You don’t need to move much, just rock a little. Squeeze me with your – yeah, like that.’ She tightened her inner muscles around him and used the natural sway of the train to guide their movement, all the while clutching his jacket tight to her lap.

  They were going to get into so much trouble if the ticket inspector came along again. But oh, boy, did it feel good, and the naughtiness of the act did lend it extra spice.

  Xane proved far better at staying silent than she. Dani couldn’t help making noises; quiet little sobs of pleasure kept escaping her lips, no matter how hard she tried to keep them sealed.

  She bowed her head against the rear of the seat in front, which was luckily unoccupied, and used it for leverage. Mmm, he knew how to do her good.

  She was sobbing against her arm, failing to entirely muffle her cries, when the girl opposite interrupted again.

  ‘Jesus!’ she exclaimed. ‘Are you guys fucking?’

  Mortified, Dani froze.

  ‘Absolutely not.’ Xane lied so smoothly, she could almost have believed him if it weren’t for the fact that his cock was filling her pussy.

  ‘How come she’s on your lap, then, if she’s not polishing your knob?’

  Was it very impolite of her to want to yell at the nosy bitch to piss off?

  ‘Eeww, that’s kind of dir–’ her twisted expression transformed mid-thought into a beaming smile ‘–ty. Hot. It’s kind of hot, actually. Can I join in?’

  ‘No,’ Dani squeaked in surprise from between her tightly clenched teeth. ‘And for Pete’s sake keep your voice down.’ The table full of businessmen had gone awfully quiet all of a sudden.

  Behind her, Xane shook with laughter. His breath blasted the bare expanse of Dani’s shoulders where her sundress didn’t cover. She was glad he found it so uproariously funny, because it was his fault they were in this pickle. Dani lifted herself, intending to end this and maybe save a bit of dignity, but Xane wrapped his arms tight around her middle, holding her firmly in place.

  ‘I’m gonna film you. I’ll get so many hits from this,’ remarked their observer. She jigged on the spot as she reached into a pocket for her phone.

  ‘No,’ both Dani and Xane said at once. ‘No, don’t.’

  The girl frowned, clearly unhappy over their objection. ‘Well, I’m gonna. You can’t stop me. This is a public place. And if I can’t join in, then …’

  ‘I’ll pay you,’ Xane interjected. ‘Five grand if you pretend you can’t see anything.’

  ‘Xane,’ Dani protested.

  ‘Two grand,’ countered the girl. ‘But I also get to blow you once she’s come.’

  Dani nearly choked, and she didn’t like the way Xane’s cock flexed in approval at the notion, even if his actual response proved more diplomatic.

  ‘Well –’

  ‘Laura.’

  ‘�
�� that’s a very kind offer but, you see, I can’t accept, because this is my girlfriend, and I’m actually quite keen to keep her.’

  ‘I could be your girlfriend. I’m up for wild stuff.’

  ‘Yeah, but I’m happy with the one I’ve got.’

  Her face crumpled.

  ‘I tell you what, why don’t you come over here for a minute?’

  ‘Why?’ she asked warily.

  Dani wondered the same.

  ‘Well, a blowjob is definitely out, but you don’t mind me kissing her, do you, Dani?’ He pressed a kiss to her back between her shoulder blades. ‘Just a little one, seeing as she’s doing us such a big favour in not drawing attention to things.’

  ‘I guess.’

  Before Dani had a chance to blink, Laura was across the aisle and kneeling on what had been Xane’s seat. ‘You’re really gonna give me two grand and a proper kiss?’

  Xane jigged his hips to set Dani moving again, while he slid his hand into the girl’s hair and drew her to him. ‘No getting greedy,’ he warned. ‘One’s your lot.’

  Dani knew just how addictive his kisses could be. She watched as Xane’s lips met Laura’s, felt the thrill of contact run through his body and further stiffen his cock. He’d stopped trying to hide what they were about. There wasn’t anyone else directly overlooking them. The group of suits were situated further down the carriage, and, if they were listening in, Xane no longer seemed to care. So the rocking motion of their hips had picked up pace.

  True to his word, Laura only got one kiss, though it was a long sumptuous affair, definitely deep, and definitely involving tongues. The girl whimpered and flopped into the seat beside them when Xane finally broke it off. She watched them fuck, her eyes glazed, as her imagination strung events together in a slightly different way from reality. However, having her there did screen them a little from the aisle.

  Laura put her hand on Xane’s stomach as he drew near to release.