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Authors: Maya Banks

Exiled (8 page)

BOOK: Exiled
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“I’m sorry,” she said huskily. “I’m not being the obedient mistress I promised to be.”

He frowned and moved his hand from her quivering flesh. “Is that what you see yourself as? His mistress?”

Her lips turned down. “I’m not being derogatory or argumentative. I honestly don’t know what I am. No one has told me. I don’t know my place or who I am. It’s…unsettling.”

He tucked a finger under her chin and prodded upward until she was forced to meet his gaze. “Your place is here with him. With us. What you are is cherished.”

Chapter 8

Xander was seated at the table with Garon and Nico awaiting Sebastien and Talia. He checked his watch and frowned. They should already be down.

He glanced up to see Garon and Nico also casting glances toward the doorway from time to time.

And then Sebastien appeared, Talia’s hand curled tightly into his. She looked nervous and uncertain, but there was also a subtle difference in her demeanor this morning.

Either she’d calmed some of her fears with a good night’s sleep or Sebastien had taken the matter in hand.

Garon hadn’t wanted Sebastien to go after Talia so soon after her arrival. He’d reminded Xander that Sebastien was a hard-ass and a rebel at heart and that he tended to do things his way. But Xander knew two things. One, Sebastien was unwaveringly loyal to Xander and two, behind Sebastien’s hard exterior was a man who adored women and would fiercely protect them against all harm.

Talia had already made conquests of Garon and Nico. Sending one of them served no purpose. He needed Sebastien to decide 
what Talia would mean to him, and from the looks of it, Sebastien had already decided.

Xander’s gaze raked up and down her body, appreciative of such natural beauty. Perfection. Garon and Nico stared as well, their eyes gleaming.

She was…stunning. Soft in all the right places. Perfect breasts, high and firm. Nipples that were just the right size. Her hips were rounded and he’d already gotten a prime view, and feel, of her luscious ass.

Her hair hung to her waist in soft waves. Already he imagined it falling down around them both as she sat astride him, taking him into her body. Or spread out on the bed as he thrust into her from above.

He rose and extended his hand. “Good morning, Talia. You look beautiful.”

The blush rose quickly, suffusing her cheeks with color. But she didn’t hesitate. She offered Sebastien a smile and then slipped her hand from his to walk to Xander and take his.

He sat her beside him, ensuring there was a cushion on the chair so the wood wouldn’t be cold on her bare skin. Unable to resist, he lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, holding her hand to his mouth for several long seconds.

“I trust you slept well?”

She nodded. “I did. I was very tired. Thank you for allowing me to sleep in this morning.”

“I think we’ve already covered the fact that I won’t expect you to rise early. Until you are summoned, the mornings are yours to do as you will. If you choose to sleep, that is your choice.”

He dished food onto her plate and he noticed that she waited, hands in her lap. He smiled and reached over to touch her cheek.

“This morning you’ll feed yourself. You were very tired last night, which is why Garon chose to pamper you a bit. At times 
we’ll want to indulge in our whims and feed you by hand. Today you are free to eat by yourself.”

She reached for the fork and began to eat the portion of fruit. It was an exercise in frustration to watch her eat because every bite she took was a sensual experience. And she likely had no idea that she had four men ready to reach across the table, pull her onto it and bury themselves in her body.

At one point, juice spilled down her lip and she licked at it, running her tongue delicately over her bottom lip to wipe it away. Sebastien let out a groan.

“For God’s sake, Xander. Let’s get on with this morning’s lesson already.”

Xander shot him a look of reprimand. Talia looked up, confusion in her eyes.

“Eat,” he said. “Pay Sebastien no mind.”

He glared again at Sebastien and shook his head. Sebastien shrugged.

“Have some class,” Nico muttered.

“But we all know I have none,” Sebastien drawled. “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth like the rest of you. I can’t be expected to live up to your lofty expectations.”

“How about I just beat the shit out of you instead?” Garon proposed.

Sebastien laughed. “You can try.”

Talia was staring at them like they’d both lost their minds. Xander sighed. He doubted they were making a good impression, but then he supposed Talia may as well see what she was in for.

His men bantered and bickered like brothers. In essence they were. All of them. They didn’t share blood, but the bond was there. Unbreakable.

“After breakfast, we’ll take a walk around the villa grounds and down to the beach if you like,” Xander said to Talia.

Her eyes lit up. “I’d like that. It seems so beautiful. The water is so gorgeous it doesn’t even seem real.”

Sebastien looked disgruntled and Xander shot him a warning look. Xander was as impatient as Sebastien to move things forward, but he wanted Talia to relax and lose some of her nervousness with them before they introduced her to their hedonism.

When they finished eating, Xander motioned for Wickersham. A few moments later, he returned carrying a light, floral robe. Xander rose and held the robe open for Talia. She slowly stood and he helped her put it on.

“I don’t want you too exposed to the sun,” he explained. “There are comfortable beach shoes at the patio entrance.”

She smiled and he stood there, unable to speak for several seconds. She was utterly stunning. Her smile lit up the entire room. Beautiful. Adorably shy. And she would be his.

He clenched his fingers into fists to stop the shaking.

“Don’t forget you have an eleven o’clock update on the situation in Cristofino,” Garon reminded.

“I’m unlikely to forget when my home occupies my every thought,” Xander said icily.

He instantly regretted the shortness of his response. Garon was only doing his duty, but the inference that he would be too distracted by Talia’s presence to focus on the turmoil back home was a prick to his pride.

To an outsider he might seem to be a spoiled, bored royal who had summoned an innocent woman to be his plaything while he was in exile. They might consider Talia a frivolity, a passing amusement. A mistress.

Talia was none of those. This wasn’t the way he’d wanted things, but the situation in Cristofino hadn’t shown any improvement and with Talia out of university, Xander knew he had to act fast or risk losing her.

Xander led Talia toward the door leading onto the terrace. 
They stopped for her to slip on the flip-flops and for a moment he stared at the bright pink polish on her toes. For some reason, he loved it. On her it was perfect.

She wore no jewelry. It was a fact he’d noticed when she’d arrived. And it was a matter he definitely wanted to correct. There was nothing more he wanted to do than spoil her endlessly and lavish gifts on her. He wanted to drape her in diamonds and make love to her wearing nothing more than the jewelry he’d given her.

Shaking himself from his fantasies, he stepped onto the terrace. Talia inhaled deeply, closed her eyes and turned her face into the sun. The breeze from the water ruffled her hair and he was captured by how sensual she looked.

When she opened her eyes again, they simmered with pleasure. Warm and vibrant like the rest of her. She smiled at him, warming him to his toes.

“I can’t imagine waking to this every day.”

He smiled back. “And yet our home is an island every bit as beautiful.”

Her expression saddened and the smile disappeared. “But I haven’t been home in four years. And while I was there…I took it for granted, you know? When you live it, were born to it, sometimes you don’t recognize the beauty until you’ve lost it.”

“Very true,” he said quietly.

He too had taken Cristofino for granted. Hadn’t appreciated the beauty of his island home until it was lost to him. When—not if—he regained the throne, he would never make such a mistake again.

“Are things better there, Xander?” she asked anxiously.

They’d just gotten to the steps leading down into the lower garden with the pathway that led to the beach. He paused a moment, not wanting any distraction as they navigated the stone steps. Sometimes they were damp with the ocean mist and as a result could be slick.

He sighed, feeling heartsick and homesick all at the same time. “There is tenuous peace but the battle over government still rages. The majority want and are loyal to the royal family, but the minority is strong and are willing to use violence to achieve their purpose. The very last thing I want is bloodshed. It’s why I agreed to this ‘exile.’ I effectively removed myself from the equation because the alternative is bloodshed for my people. After my father was killed, I knew the country was on the verge of full-scale war.”

“What is to be done then?” she asked, her eyes sad.

“We wait. Quiet dissension. Rebel against the rebels themselves. Those who were unsatisfied with the rule of Cristofino are fast discovering that they have no clear plan of leadership nor are they qualified to govern a people who have no loyalty to them. It is my hope that through peaceable means, I can regain control—and my birthright.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I won’t entertain any other option,” he said quietly. “Though I am here, many that are still in leadership positions are loyal to me. They work within the system to gain support.”

“That could take years,” she said unhappily.

He nodded. “Yes, it could. But the end result would make the wait worth it. I don’t want my country to be a bloodbath. If it comes down to taking by force or me standing down, I’ll stand down because what I will have won will be contaminated by the lives lost and the blood shed.”

She reached for his hand, squeezing it. “You are very noble, Xander. And wise. I too couldn’t bear to see Cristofino turned into a battlefield where our people are pitted against each other in civil war. No one can possibly be hailed a victor in such circumstances.”

Some of the ache in his heart lessened at the shining approval in her eyes. He twined his fingers tighter in hers and then guided her down the steps.

“Take care and stay close. I don’t want you to slip,” he cautioned.

She nestled closer to his side and he automatically put his arm around her, dropping her hand so he could hold her close. She fit like a dream. Soft, curvy. He could feel the lushness of her body through the thin layer of the robe she wore.

Yes, he wouldn’t be able to wait any longer. All plans of a prolonged, staged seduction were out the window. There was no way he could continue to remain in her presence and not want to claim her.

She made an exclamation of wonder when they entered the floral garden. “Xander, it’s beautiful! How do you not spend all your time here? I don’t think I’d ever leave. And, oh look, a hammock!”

She started to pull away but then drew up short and went still. She looked at him with regret as if thinking she’d done something wrong.

He pulled her hand up to kiss the inside of her palm. “Never dim your enthusiasm around me, Talia. I’m not so rigid that you can’t express your enjoyment without having permission.”

She smiled, her eyes lighting up and then she dashed away, throwing herself into the hammock that stood in the corner. She was so exuberant that she nearly flipped right out of it. He made a lunge for her just as she righted herself.

Laughing, she stared up at him, arms thrown over her head, a dreamy look in her eyes as she swayed back and forth in the breeze.

“This is wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I did something so lighthearted and…fun! I was always so busy with Mama and school.”

Xander’s heart twisted. He knew all too well how much time she’d devoted to her mother and to her studies. He knew she’d had next to no social life, which in turns delighted and saddened him. He wanted her to enjoy the things a woman of her age should 
enjoy, and yet the selfish part of himself loved the idea of being the one to provide those things for her. And he was savagely happy that she’d given herself to no one before now.

It wouldn’t have mattered to him if she hadn’t come to him a virgin. He would have wanted her still. But that she was still untouched gave him a measure of satisfaction that couldn’t be described.

“I think I could stay here all day,” she said wistfully.

He smiled and extended his hand to help her out. “I tell you what. Let’s continue our little tour. We’ve yet to dig our toes into the sand. When we return for my call at eleven, I’ll leave you out here in the hammock until I’m finished and summon you back inside.”

She grasped his hand and let him pull her up. “That sounds amazing. Just lying here watching the sky and listening to the waves.”

He took her hand again, liking touching her. He found he couldn’t help himself. When she was close, he had to be touching some part of her.

“You can leave your shoes here if you like,” he said when they reached the drop-off to the sand of the beach.

She shook off the flip-flops and then glanced up at him. “Not going to take off your sandals?”

“I hadn’t thought to, no.”

“Oh, come on. Lighten up,” she teased. “Roll up your pants and we’ll get our feet wet.”

He couldn’t have told her no for any reason. Not when she had finally relaxed and was creeping out of that shell of uncertainty. With an exaggerated, resigned sigh, he reached down to pull the sandals off and then rolled the ends of his trousers up to midcalf.

He reached for her hand again and stepped onto the beach. She made a sound of bliss and immediately dug her toes deeper into the powdery sand. He waited a moment and then tugged her toward the water’s edge, several feet away.

The water slid inward, foaming over the sand before receding, leaving wet, packed-in sand. They moved closer and when the water rushed back at them, Talia let out a squeak and then danced back, dodging the water and leaving him to stand ankle deep.

BOOK: Exiled
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ads

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