by Storm Chase
“I heard that man on the train, the one who was killed, say you had someone eviscerated.”
“That was years ago. Amazing how these stories stick around.”
Pandora was totally taken aback at his calm tone. He was talking about violent death and yet he was totally relaxed. Just thinking about it made her want to shrink away from him but she reminded herself that her only way out was to be nice to him. She also had to understand him.
“How could you do such a thing?” she asked.
“I didn’t!”
She heaved a sigh of relief.
“I hired someone.”
She gasped.
“When I was in Hong Kong, my landlady, Madam Ho, looked after me like a mother,” Xavier explained. “She got me a great Wushu teacher, that’s what they call martial arts there. She also taught me Cantonese, and showed me how to get along with the triad.”
Some mother, Pandora thought. The woman sounded like a gangster herself.
“I was with the triads for almost three years but you can’t really ever be accepted if you’re not Chinese, so I moved on,” Xavier explained. “I was useful to them so they didn’t like me leaving. When Madam Ho refused to tell them where I was, they beat her. She was in her 60s and it was only her will to live that stopped her from dying.”
Pandora gasped. “They beat up an old lady?”
“Sure! They’re not nice people, Panda.”
Privately Pandora was wondering how on earth Xavier could still be remotely human. It seemed that everyone he’d met since he left home was a thug.
“So you took revenge?” Pandora asked him.
“Yup. When I heard what had happened, I found out who’d given the order. There were three of them involved. I took out a contract on them. Two got it right in Hong Kong. The last one ran off to the mainland but I tracked him to Xiamen.”
The scale of his retribution was shattering. “Did it work?” she asked curiously.
“Yup. They left her alone after that.”
“But the triads are still after you?”
Xavier shrugged. “They’ve probably forgotten by now. It’s been a few years. Lots of them are dead now too. But some of the people I worked with more recently are still looking for me. And there are even more who aren’t too happy with some of my past projects.”
It sounded a violent, dark kind of life. Pandora instinctively didn’t want anything to do with it. She wanted to be back home, watching The X Factor, eating a takeaway and painting her toenails. If she really wanted extreme excitement, she could wax her legs.
Xavier was looking worried again. He pulled her into his lap and put his arms around her. “You’ve gone a bit stiff,” he said. “That means you’re upset.”
“I was just thinking about home.”
He cuddled her instantly. “Don’t be frightened, Panda. You’ve got me.”
It was a comforting thought. That expert he’d consulted might have been a scary creep but he had been right about one thing: surrounded by maniacal murderers, she appreciated having Xavier on her side. He might have no morals whatsoever but he was good to her. And from his story, he did have a strong protective feeling for his friends. He could have ignored Madam Ho’s plight, but he hadn’t.
“Have a hot bath,” Xavier was saying into her ear. “You always like that. I put Glamour and OK! on the iPad for you.”
Impulsively she hugged him. “Thanks, Xavier.”
His eyes warmed at her touch. He dipped his head and touched his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, his touch tender. Pandora leaned into him instinctively, kissing him back. The gentle sensuality of the kiss made her pulse soar.
His arms came up, curling around her, one hand tracing her spine, the other running through her hair. It was a sweet touch that set her heart beating wildly. She could feel the breath beginning to catch in her throat.
Take me to bed. The thought ran loud and clear through her mind, and for a moment Pandora thought she’d spoken aloud. Taken aback by the depth of her reaction to the kiss, Pandora suddenly stiffened.
Xavier instantly let her go. “You all right, Panda?” His voice sounded a little hoarse. When Pandora nodded, he grinned. “I love kissing you,” he confided. “You make me feel like champagne and surfing: all bubbles and mind blowing fun.”
The way he spoke as if she were the love of his life, confused her. “Speaking of bubbles-” she mumbled, and beat a hasty retreat.
The bath was a delight. Pandora filled it with hot water, piled in some scented bath salts, and set the jets to Jacuzzi. An hour later, her skin wrinkled like raisins, she staggered out.
Xavier was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with his arms behind his head. Pandora looked at him uncertainly. Then she picked out a T-shirt from the closet, put it on and climbed in next to him. If she was going to talk him into letting her go home, she’d have to be nice to him. Pandora decided she wasn’t going to think about this: she’d do what it took to get back home.
He came back from his thoughts with a start. “Hey Panda, nice bath?”
His arm slid around her, tugging her to his side. She could feel the hard muscles flexing; a contrast to his gentle touch. His amber eyes were smiling at her. When he touched his lips gently against hers, it felt right. Pandora closed her eyes and kissed him. She was instantly transported to the night before. Flashes of memory teased her imagination: Xavier kissing her, running his hands over her body, holding her as he entered her…
Surprised, Pandora pulled back and opened her eyes. For a crazy moment she wondered if he’d slipped her more of the boost. But she dismissed the thought just as quickly as it had entered her mind. She felt fully in control; her mind was working fine.
Xavier looked somewhat taken aback that she’d moved away. He put a hand to his chin and then smiled. “I’ll go shave.” He slid out of bed and seconds later Pandora heard the shower running.
Listening to the running water, Pandora couldn’t decide what she was feeling. Despite everything, she liked Xavier but she wasn’t sure if she could go through with it. A year ago you’d have jumped into bed with him after meeting him at the pub, she told herself. It wasn’t a thought that cheered her up.
Xavier came back, slid under the covers and enveloped her in a hug. He smelled of leather and spice; his body warm against hers. He rubbed his chin against her neck, the skin smooth against hers, “All right now, Panda?”
He’d shaved for her. With a flash of insight Pandora realised he couldn’t tell what she was feeling so he’d analysed her sudden reluctance, jumped to the logical conclusion and fixed it. It was typical of him, she thought. Sweet and totally wrong.
He was looking at her and smiling, his hands running lightly over her back and arms while his erection pushed up against her. He could have threatened or forced her to do anything he wanted, but Pandora knew that one word from her would send him to sleep on the couch. She made up her mind. “Much better,” she said softly. She rubbed her cheek against his chin. “Thanks.”
His eyes half-closed and his arms tightened around her. “Panda,” he said hoarsely. His lips brushed hers hesitantly, a touch so gentle that it set goose bumps of desire rippling over her neck and arms. A second sweet touch lit a fire deep inside her. Pandora sighed and curled her arms around his head, pulling him in closer for a deep lingering kiss.
His lips were warm and firm, his tongue questing delicately, exploring sweetly. She could feel his breath shudder as she kissed him back, sucking his lips softly before she claimed his mouth, her tongue dancing and curling provocatively. As the kiss deepened, she could feel her nipples pucker and the breath catch in her throat.
He broke away, kissing her neck and dropping a line of kisses along her collarbone. His lips were gentle but his passion for her burned each one into her core, fanning the flame of desire into a volcanic heat. When his mouth dipped, his tongue circling the dark pink areola, her breath exploded as she felt a pulse begin to beat in her tight depths.
H
is hands were running over her, stroking, brushing, cupping - setting her body strumming with excited tension. She undulated against him, slowly rubbing her throbbing clit along his rampant shaft. The touch triggered a wave of delicious shivers.
Moaning and quivering with want, Pandora put her arms around his shoulders and tried to pull him inside her. He stiffened his arms, holding himself just out of her reach. When she whimpered and tugged at him unsuccessfully, she could hear his chuckle.
Holding her at bay, he dropped kisses from her breasts down to her stomach, his lingering lips driving her to a fever pitch. He paused briefly to flicker his tongue in her navel and laughed again as her breath exploded from her. Then his mouth was covering her downy mound, his hands cupping her buttocks and lifting her while his tongue teased her most sensitive spot.
She could feel her legs shaking as her body pulsed with desire. The subtle tongue swirled and flickered, each delicate movement triggering waves of ecstasy. She could hear herself moan as she moved against him, her hips trembling uncontrollably.
Her hands were gripping his shoulders, her fingers digging into the hard, smooth muscle as her body took over. Her breaths turned from short hard gasps to long lingering quivering moans. In response, his tongue lapped harder, driving the heat inside her into white heat. She threw back her head and wailed as her body clenched and exploded.
Dimly, she felt him shift his weight. Too taken up by the bliss that flooded her, she lay supine as he leaned over her and rested his cock against her creaming centre. Then the amber eyes were looking into hers, and he was gathering her close.
“Pandora. Sweet Pandora.”
The love in his voice went straight to her heart. She clutched him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, her legs coming up and her ankles crossing in the small of his back. She teased him for a long count of three, looking deep into his eyes before pulling his body against hers.
The feel of his rigid male heat entering her drove her straight back to the edge of ecstasy. She clenched and shuddered, rejoicing in the hardness that impaled her. She lifted her body, rocking gently, and savouring the feel of him.
He was thrusting deep inside her, moaning in her ear and clutching her close to him as he ground against her. The slow, deep movement created a hot friction that drove her to the brink of pleasure again. She hung there, locked in sensual rhythm, until the sound of his short, sharp breaths turning into excited gasps thrust her into another frenzied explosion of exquisite sensation.
Her moans and quivering body took him with her. His arms crushed her to him as he convulsed with her, exploding inside her with sharp shuddering gasps. They lay entwined, their ragged gasps quickly turning into long lingering kisses.
Pandora was conscious of the sweat running off their bodies and of her hair tangling in his hands but most of all, she was knocked sideways by the deep joy that invaded her soul. Xavier was touching her softly, trailing his fingers down the side of her face, breasts and shoulders before kissing her sweetly. His tenderness enveloped her, making her heart sing.
She put her arms around him, holding him tightly, drinking in the feel of him, bathing in his love.
“Happy, Panda?” His voice was a whisper in her ear.
She didn’t have the words to tell him how she felt. “Hmmm.” She dropped a kiss on his jaw.
Xavier sighed happily and lay down next to her. He tugged her into his arms and grinned at her. “I was a bit worried you might not want to sleep with me,” he confessed. “But then I thought, well, she’s wearing my clothes so she must like me.”
“I’m wearing your clothes because I don’t want to be naked,” Pandora pointed out.
He looked surprised. “But Panda, your jeans are hanging up in the cupboard, right next to mine!”
Pandora groaned. “I just assumed they were all yours. I didn’t even think to check!”
He was laughing. “I just brought some essentials because I had no idea when you’d be contacted again. I was kind of hoping they’d wait until I was back home. There’s a whole wardrobe waiting for you, Panda. It’s just like the one you had in London. I gave Ramon pictures and told him to get you everything the same.”
More creepy stalker weirdness. But this time Pandora was grateful. She didn’t really want to go about having to hold up her trousers all the time.
“I bet Ramon didn’t like that,” she murmured.
“Why would he mind?” Xavier asked surprised. “It’s his job!”
“I thought he was a terrorist or something. Not someone who goes shopping,” Pandora explained.
Xavier was laughing. “You are funny! He’s my go-to man. He organises everything so I can concentrate on work.”
“Like what?”
“Food, laundry, that sort of thing.”
“He’s your butler?” Pandora said surprised.
“I guess so,” Xavier said. “I haven’t really thought about it.” He was silent a few minutes. “He’s a bit more than a butler. When I have to move house, I tell him where I want to go and he finds a place and arranges the move.”
Pandora’s heart sank a bit. It sounded like Ramon was important to Xavier’s everyday comfort. She had been hoping his presence was temporary. Typical! She wouldn’t mind Mac being around but Ramon gave her the creeps. “He looks like a thug,” she said.
“Ramon used to be a boxer,” Xavier explained. “He didn’t get very far because his manager was always paying him to take a dive. Ramon quit because he’d much rather work for me. It’s good money and he gets to travel the world.”
Pandora didn’t want to think about Ramon. “Tell me about Hawaii,” she said. “Did you really go diving with sharks there?”
“Yes, and in Sipadan, that’s in Malaysia,” Xavier said snuggling into her. “It’s really amazing, Panda, you have to come with me and try it.” He was burying his face in her hair. “I want to show you all those places I sent you pictures of.”
Pandora hugged him instinctively. In many ways, he was so incredibly sweet. She shouldn’t just get herself out; she should get him away from the people he worked with. Xavier was kind, thoughtful and loving. If he were in a better place, he wouldn’t need to be involved in all those violent things anymore.
A big yawn shuddered through her. She’d think of ways and means in the morning. She snuggled into Xavier, sighed and fell into a dreamless sleep.
It seemed just a few minutes later that she woke up. Xavier was getting out of bed stealthily. It was pitch black outside. She reached out and touched his back. Instantly he turned round and lay down again, wrapping his arms around her.
He was kissing her. “It’s almost four, Panda, I’ve got to get up.”
She yawned sleepily. “How can you be so cheerful so early in the morning?”
“I only sleep about 4 hours a night.” He touched her shoulder. “How do you feel?”
“Okay.”
“Any time you get scared, you come to me, right?”
His concern for her touched her. She sat up and threw her arms around him. “Thanks, Xav.”
He was laughing. “Damn, I should have woken up half an hour ago! Don’t tempt me, Panda. I have to get up.”
“Okay.” She was snuggling back under the covers.
She heard him shower, slip out of the room and then saw a strip of light in the corridor. As she drifted off, she heard a sudden raft of voices. The guns were back.
For a moment Pandora froze. Then she breathed again. She turned round and buried her head under the pillows. She could go back to sleep. Xav would make sure nobody bothered her.
Chapter Eight
When Pandora woke up, the sun was high in the sky. The murmur of voices drifting in with the cigarette smoke told her that the guns were busy next door.
She got up, had a shower and found the jeans in the cupboard that fitted her. It was nice not to have to hold up them up with her hands. She wanted a coffee but she hesitated to leave the bedroom.
You can stay here all d
ay and be a scaredy cat, just like when you hid in the stationery cupboard from Sir Harry, she told herself. Or you can toughen up and go out there and pour yourself a latte. The cowardly part of her suggested that latte wasn’t truly one of life’s necessities. Then she gave herself a mental kick up the arse.
Xav is next door, she reminded herself. You’re perfectly safe because he likes you. Nobody wants to upset a man who can reprogram missile launchers.
Giving herself no more time for thought, she opened the door and peeked at the picture hanging up on the wall. The reflection showed the living room was heaving with guns but they were all intent on their maps. Xavier’s dark blond hair and light skin made him easy to spot among the Africans. He was typing away and talking at the same time.
Hastily Pandora scuttled along the corridor into the kitchen. To her horror, Ramon was there making coffee. He gave her an evil grin and reached for his phone.
“I’ve got something here you’ll love,” he sniggered.
Pandora stood paralysed, not knowing what to do. Xavier’s words floated back to her: see what someone values most and threaten it. Quickly she reviewed what he’d told her about Ramon.
She took a deep breath, straightened her spine and tried to look cool, just like Xavier did when he was talking to the guns. “You’ve got a pretty cushy job travelling with Dragon,” she drawled. “How long do you think you’d keep it if I tell him you’re pestering me?”
Her voice sounded a little too high for her own satisfaction but she could tell by the way his eyes widened that she’d hit her target. However, Ramon lived up to his pugilistic past and fought back.
“You’re purely temporary,” he shrugged.
“Maybe, but at the moment I’m the one whispering in his ear at night,” Pandora countered. “So take your sick video and shove it, okay?”
He opened his mouth, thought for a moment and shut it with a snap.
Gotcha! Pandora thought in triumph.
She wanted to run away but forced herself to stand her ground. She’d act like Ramon was of no consequence. Rootling about in the fridge she found some yoghurt. The little foil covered cup looked pristine but she found herself running her finger over the top. As she could discover no holes, she opened it up and devoured it.