by Maya Banks
“Because they are in large part responsible for enforcing my expectations.”
She peeked nervously at where they’d taken seats across from and catty-corner to where Xander sat in the armchair with her draped across his body. If what he was saying was what she thought he was saying…holy hell.
“It’s really not complicated,” Xander said calmly. “You’ll take direction from me—and them as an extension of me. You’ll never have to wonder whether you’re performing to expectation because there will always be someone to guide you. You’ll be apprised of some things from the start. The important things. The rest you’ll learn as you go. I’ve already stated this isn’t some sort of BDSM arrangement where we keep you tethered and crop you every time you step out of line.”
At that, Nico frowned, his brows drawing together as if he found the very idea repugnant.
“And what are these things?” she asked, impatient to get to the point.
Xander drew in a breath. Good Lord, but he looked like he was readying himself to deliver a speech. Were there that many rules?
His hand slid up her leg, underneath her skirt and she froze as he rubbed lightly just over her hip where her panty line rested.
“Each morning you’ll be awakened by one of my men. They’ll bring what you’ll be expected to wear, if anything for that day.”
She frowned again. “What? I don’t understand.”
He didn’t look pleased by her interruption.
“Perhaps the first thing we should get out of the way is that you are to be completely obedient to me, which means that you are to listen while I give you instructions, and you aren’t to interrupt. When I am finished conveying my message, should you still not fully understand what it is I’m demanding of you, then you can ask for clarification.”
She licked her lips nervously. She was already making a mess of this. This so wasn’t something she could pull off. She may not be the type of woman who was ballsy and took her place in the world and damn anyone who tried to hold her back, but she was strong willed. She knew her own mind and she wasn’t used to having to take orders from anyone. For too long, she had been the decision maker in her life and her mother’s. It was she who told others what to do, what she wanted, how she wanted her mother cared for. And now she was expected to become a meek, biddable… mistress?
“I would love to know what you’re thinking,” Xander murmured. “Your eyes are so expressive.”
“No, you don’t,” she muttered.
His eyebrows lifted and she heard Sebastien chuckle from across the room.
“Now if you’ll allow me to get back to the things I was saying,” he said. “In answer to your unspoken question, yes, there will be days I prefer you to wear nothing at all. You have a beautiful body, Talia. One I can’t wait to avail myself of. Not only do I want to touch you, taste you…fuck you…I want to look at what is mine and appreciate your beauty.”
She had no idea what to say to that whatsoever. She was too bombarded by the unnerving sensation of imagining his mouth on her skin. His hands. His cock deep inside her body. Her eyes closed until they were half lidded and a light shiver rolled over her shoulders.
Xander pressed his mouth to her bare shoulder. “That’s right, Talia,” he murmured against her skin. “Everything you’re imagining and more. I promise you.”
She was mesmerized by the husky tone of his voice. She was entranced by the experience of being in this man’s arms while three men sat mere feet away, listening, participating, determining her fate.
It was surreal. A dream she was sure she would awaken from. It was such a far cry from what she’d been doing just weeks earlier before the royal summons had upended her carefully ordered life.
Fantasy? Fairy tale?
She hadn’t yet decided. On the surface it seemed every girl’s dream. Being whisked away by a handsome prince. Pampered, spoiled, catered to.
But there was so much more. It dipped into that murky gray area where she was no longer sure where she stood or if she would lose a part of herself in the process.
“I know enough about you to know you aren’t a morning person, so I won’t expect you to awaken early.”
She cocked her head, narrowing her eyes. He only laughed. “There’s much I know of you, Talia. Never doubt that.”
Okay, so maybe they’d get into that later. She didn’t want to distract him from the rules because it seemed more important she figure out her place, her role, here in this island paradise before she demanded to know just how careful an eye he’d kept on her in the last four years.
“You’ll breakfast with one of the others, unless I decide otherwise. I’ll join you for lunch and dinner. But you’ll never eat alone, unless you wish it and then only if I grant you permission. If I’m unable to eat with you, one of them will attend you,” he said, gesturing toward Garon, Sebastien and Nico.
She bit her lip again and glanced sideways toward the men who lounged casually as if this sort of thing was nothing new to them at all.
“Do I obey them as well?” she asked softly.
Xander eyed her seriously. “They attend me. They have strict instructions where you are concerned. They are to grant your wishes as long as they fall in line with what I would approve. If you have need of something, you only have to ask. They won’t issue you orders that don’t come from me, so if you’re asking if you are to obey them, then yes, only because if they give you an instruction, it will have come from me. However, they are not your masters. I am. They aid me—and you.”
She nodded her understanding, though she was doubtful. They all looked so…powerful. Not subordinate. Not even a little bit. She simply couldn’t imagine them indulging her whims. They looked more like they’d give her an order to drop to her knees and suck their cocks.
Her face flamed with sudden heat. Her thoughts were completely out of control. Where in the world had that come from?
But then maybe it wasn’t completely insane. Xander himself had said that they—all of them—would be having sex with her.
“There will be times when you are free to do as you wish, but I’ll expect one of my men to accompany you. There are safety and security concerns so there is no need to be chafed or feel as though you are constantly on a figurative leash. There is the beach to explore, a pool to enjoy. I have a garden and there is a trail that leads to a waterfall, though I’d prefer you to be driven because it’s quite a walk and it can be treacherous at times.”
Again she nodded, some of her tension lessening. It didn’t seem as though he was going to be completely unreasonable and keep her under lock and key twenty-four hours a day.
“But when I require your presence, you’ll be with me. My expectations aren’t hard and perhaps the easiest way to put this and shorten a lengthy explanation is to simply say that my expectations will change from day to day and you’re to obey me without hesitation and make yourself available to me at all times. You’ll find I’m not an unreasonable man. There is nothing that will please me more than to see you happy and satisfied. I expect in the beginning that we’ll have a learning period where we become acquainted and at ease with one another. But I’m not a patient man. I’ve waited long enough to have you here and in my bed. I’m not going to wait any longer.”
Her heart thudded harder. For a moment, she forgot the presence of the other men as she studied his implacable features. Waited long enough? What did he mean?
She licked her lips, wanting to ask just that, but then she saw Garon move from the corner of her eye and she bit back the question. It seemed too personal to bring up in front of others, and she didn’t want to anger him by prying.
But it was a question that burned in the back of her mind, one that she knew she wanted the answer to. Because he acted as though he’d been interested in her as far back as…when her mother had become ill? Had it been longer? She could only remember ever being in his presence any extended period of time once before that day he’d arrived at her home—a day that ha
As one of her many jobs she’d taken on to help pay for her mother’s medical care, she’d taken a position in the palace, assisting the gardener.
One afternoon, she’d been charged with taking fresh floral arrangements into the palace rooms. It was a chore usually done by the gardener’s son, but he’d been away on an important errand and so Talia had been given strict instructions on which rooms the flowers went into and the precise times when the chambers would be vacant.
The biggest rule for any of the palace workers was to be invisible at all times. They worked behind the scenes making sure all was perfect without ever gaining notice. To do so would risk immediate termination by the palace majordomo who oversaw all the palace employees.
Talia had been understandably nervous but also giddy with excitement to see into many of the rooms she’d only imagined. All her time was spent outdoors on the grounds or in the queen’s private garden—a gift to her from her husband who knew of her love of flowers.
She’d just taken one of the arrangements into the king’s suite of offices when the king himself, accompanied by his son and a group of foreign diplomats, had entered. She’d been so startled that she’d knocked over the enormous vase, spilling water and flowers all over the antique desk that had no doubt been in the royal family for generations.
She’d been so horrified that she’d immediately burst into tears. And even more horrified when Xander had rushed to help her clean up the mess. The king had whisked the group of men into one of the adjoining rooms, leaving Talia to clean up while Xander carefully picked up the pieces of the broken vase.
And then the palace majordomo had swept in, angry and apologetic to the prince, assuring him that Talia would be terminated at once.
What had happened next had shocked her so much that she hadn’t been able to utter a single word.
Xander had actually scowled at the man and informed him that it was Xander himself who’d knocked over the vase and that Talia had rushed to help him clean the mess so that his father’s meeting wouldn’t be interrupted. He’d suggested that Talia be commended for her quick thinking and that under no circumstances would her position be terminated. The last had come out sounding almost like a threat and the majordomo must have taken it as one, because he’d paled and then immediately issued an apology to Talia for misunderstanding the situation.
As soon as the majordomo left to summon more help to make sure the desk suffered no damage from the water and to get someone to finish clearing away the mess, Talia had stared openmouthed at him.
“Why did you do that?” she whispered.
The prince stared back at her, warmth in his eyes. “It was a mistake. Surely you didn’t purposely dump flowers all over my father’s desk.”
She shook her head vigorously. “N-no, of course not. I was told no one would be here. I was just startled.”
The prince smiled. “There you have it. No harm done. Now perhaps you should make your escape before Philippe returns. I’ll make certain that he takes no action against you.”
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Then she had fled from the office, deeply shaken by her encounter with the prince. But she’d also fallen a little in love with him that day. A fact made even more so the day he’d come to her house to take charge of her mother’s care and in effect, Talia’s entire life.
Perhaps the seeds had been sown even then. Had he planned even then for this day? For this eventuality? Had he decided she’d be his so long ago?
His what was the main question, however. Lover? Mistress? Whore?
And did it matter?
She owed him more than she could ever repay. Six months of her life was nothing compared to all he’d given her.
But what worried her more than what she would be expected to do while she was here was that when she left, she’d leave her heart behind.
Chapter 4
“How long are you going to let her hide up in your room?” Sebastien drawled.
Xander turned from his view of the ocean, accepting the drink that Nico had poured. He sipped, savoring the flavor on his tongue before swallowing. Then he eyed his friend.
“Are you questioning my handling of her?”
“Oh, don’t get all princely on me,” Sebastien said in mock disgust. “You’ve been so impatient to get her here so it surprises me that you haven’t gone and hauled her out. From the way you were looking at her when she arrived, I half expected you to have her between your knees sucking your cock before all the introductions were made.”
Xander flinched at the crudeness but couldn’t say a whole lot since Sebastien wasn’t too far off the mark.
Garon frowned, though, and looked as though he would reprimand Sebastien for his lack of tact.
“Think about it from her perspective,” Nico said, before either Xander or Garon responded. “Her entire life has been upended in short order. She’s an innocent. God only knows what she was told by the representative you sent to fetch her. You told him to be quite blunt about what she was getting into. Now she’s here and she’s been told she’s going to be having sex not only with the prince but three other men she’s never met before in her life. She’s young. Cut her some slack. She’s probably terrified. Hell, Garon likely scared the wits out of her just by looking at her.”
Garon’s eyebrows drew together. “What the hell did I do?”
Sebastien snorted. “You’re a big, mean-looking bastard. You don’t have to do anything.”
Xander smiled at Nico’s defense of Talia and ignored the banter between Sebastien and Garon. Nico would be a great protector. She already had an ally in him. Which was good. Xander wanted only the best for her. He was glad that the loyalty Nico gave to him unwaveringly had already been transferred to Talia. Sebastien and Garon would follow suit. He was certain of it.
“Has Wickersham been up to inquire as to her eating preferences?” he asked Garon.
Garon nodded. “He came down half an hour ago.”
“Good. She should have had time to settle in, collect her thoughts. Perhaps decided whether or not I’m the devil in disguise.”
Sebastien snickered and Nico rolled his eyes.
“We’ve discussed this in great detail so I see no need to rehash it all over again,” Xander said as he stared at the three men with whom he would share Talia’s body. “I don’t want her any more frightened than she already is. She is to be pampered and cared for. Even when you are indulging in her body and commanding her to pleasure you, you are to make sure she is receiving pleasure in equal measure.”
“Good God,” Sebastien muttered. “Enough with the sex lectures. You’re starting to make me feel like some randy teenager about to make it for the first time with my dream woman.”
“He’s telling you that you better damn well respect her,” Garon said gruffly. “You can be an irreverent asshole at times, Bastien. If she’s on her knees in front of you, then count yourself fortunate and treat her like the treasure she is.”
Xander smiled. Conquest number two and she’d only been here mere hours. He set his drink down and glanced up at the clock. “Perhaps I should go up and see about her. Dinner will be ready within the hour. I’ll see all of you then.”
He strode from the room, eagerness quickening his step as he mounted the staircase leading up to the second level. His suite encompassed a large portion of the upper story, but Garon, Sebastien and Nico all had rooms that boxed his in. They were his friends, yes, but foremost, they had devoted their lives to his protection.
The villa was heavily fortified, surrounded and monitored by military loyal to the royal family. But they remained an invisible force. He knew they were there, but they were rarely seen. Garon took reports from them and conveyed any concerns to Xander. Only he, Sebastien and Nico resided in Xander’s inner sanctum. Only they shared in his hedonistic lifestyle. To the rest of the world, he was the model of propriety.
He paused at the heavy double wooden doors that led into his bedroom. He considered knocking, but then shook off the notion that he should somehow start his time with Talia by being…soft.
This was his room. It and she belonged to him.
He pushed open the doors and strode in, his gaze seeking her out. She wasn’t in the sitting room that overlooked the expansive terrace he often ate his breakfast on. The view of the ocean was fantastic from there and he enjoyed the cooler morning air.
When he entered the bedroom, he glanced first in the direction of the huge bathroom but heard no sound that indicated she was there. As he moved farther inside, he found her standing to the right, staring out of the huge picture window to the ocean below.
Her suitcase was still unopened and perched by the bed—his bed—and she was still wearing the clothing she’d arrived in. She looked deep in thought—she hadn’t heard him come in. And her shoulders were tense as if she fretted over something. He frowned and cleared his throat.
She swiveled immediately, her eyes widening. In fright? Alarm? Or was it just uncertainty that made them seem too large for her face.
“It’s been well over an hour, Talia. Why haven’t you unpacked? Or changed? Dinner will be served soon.”
The words came out more clipped than he intended. It wasn’t his intention to reprimand her. He merely wanted to know why she’d done nothing since she’d gone up to the bedroom.
She swallowed nervously and then stared around the room as if she were lost. “I—I…” She trailed off and then directed her gaze downward, her shoulders drooping.
His frown deepening, he crossed the short distance between them and slid his hands up her arms to her shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Is something the matter? Is the room not to your liking?”
She gave a halfhearted laugh. “Oh no, it’s perfect. Everything’s perfect. I can’t imagine a more perfect place in the entire world. It’s just that I wasn’t sure…that is I’m just a little overwhelmed. This is obviously your room and given our previous conversation, I realize that I’m not likely to have a room of my own.”
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