Exiled (10 page)

The recoil was breathtaking. Such exquisite, mind-numbing 
pleasure rocked through her very core. She writhed helplessly, not able to remain still. Her body seemed to have a will of its own and she couldn’t hold it all in.

She couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She wasn’t even aware of Xander lifting her until she realized she was in his arms and he was rocking her back and forth, murmuring to her in a soothing voice.

“Breathe now, Talia,” he said.

He held her tightly, his heat surrounding her. His strength holding her up. Her body was hypersensitive. Each nerve ending was spasming to the point of pain. She shuddered, not even wanting to be touched. She couldn’t bear it right now.

She clung to Xander, holding him tightly as she came down off the highest of highs. The concept of an orgasm wasn’t foreign to her, but holy hell, until experienced, it simply couldn’t be explained.

That had to have been the mother of all orgasms because if women felt like this every time, they’d never do anything but have sex twenty-four hours a day.

Xander chuckled. “I’d ask you if it was good, but I’d say your reaction is evidence enough that it was an enjoyable experience for you.”

“Enjoyable experience?” she croaked. “An enjoyable experience is having afternoon tea with your mother. That was…I can’t even describe it. It was amazing.”

Garon laughed and she looked up, seeking him out. He was standing a short distance away, looking unruffled by it all. But when her gaze tracked lower, she could see that he wasn’t at all unaffected by the experience. He was hard as stone, his erection clearly outlined against the denim of his jeans.

The more she slipped into the postorgasmic phase, the more shy she became. She was stark naked in the lap of the man who’d just gone down on her while another had sucked at her breasts like a man starved.

She buried her face in Xander’s neck, willing the heat in her cheeks to go away.

Xander chuckled again and brushed a kiss across her hair. “So shy. Whatever are we going to do about you, Talia?”

She snuggled farther into his embrace, liking the intimacy of being held so closely. Her orgasm had been shattering, and she was left feeling vulnerable after being stripped so bare.

“Has she been fully covered with sunblock?” Xander asked Garon.

“Yes. Head to toe.”

“Bring the beach umbrella over and set it up so we’re shaded from the sun and then have Wickersham bring us drinks and a snack. I’ll remain here with Talia while she rests for a while. I’ll want her to recover before we go any further today.”

Talia stirred drowsily against Xander as his words sank in. Further? Even as limber and sated as she currently felt, the knowledge that there would be more stirred her blood and fired some vivid fantasies about just what they’d have in store for her next.

Chapter 10

Talia drank sweet juice, snacked on fruit and cheese and dozed on and off in Xander’s arms as the sun rose higher overhead. She was wonderfully content to remain in his arms as he fed her grapes and stroked her hair.

Through her haze, she remembered that it was a phone update on Cristofino that had called him away in the first place. Without moving her cheek from his shoulder, she murmured, “How did the update go?”

His hand continued to trail lazily up and down her arm and he remained silent a moment. Then he sighed. “There is still much arguing and bickering and there are daily protests in the capital and outside the palace gates. There is much unrest and it would seem that the dissatisfaction grows at an alarming rate with each passing day.”

“I hate that,” she said passionately. “I want to be able to go home. I want Mama to be able to go home. She’s been away for so long. It’s all she talks about. But I don’t want her to see Cristofino 
like that. It would break her heart. She wept when she heard the news of your father’s death.”

Xander kissed her forehead. “I want my mother to be able to go home as well.”

Talia lifted her head, pushing herself upward so she could look at him. His gaze was troubled, his lips set into a firm line.

“Where is she, Xander? Or can you say? You haven’t spoken of her. There seems to be no news of her whereabouts. In Paris, the television stations reported that your mother and members of your family were able to escape but that you had remained behind. Is she safe now?”

“I can’t discuss where she is now, only that she is safe and well cared for. We all wait, hoping that our people will not support the rebels’ vision of government. If I return at the wrong moment, it could mean more violence. For now, it is better that I remain in exile. I won’t risk my mother by having her return to an unstable country whose infrastructure is on the verge of collapse.”

Talia lowered her head back down to rest on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Xander. I know your uncle is responsible for much of this. It must pain you that he would betray your father as he did in his bid to seize power.”

“I do not wish to discuss it,” Xander said in a terse tone.

Talia went quiet, not wanting to further upset him. It had been stupid of her to ruin a perfect afternoon by asking him for details that she had no right to know.

After a while, Xander squeezed her to him. “I’m sorry, Talia. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. What occurred in my country is still a fresh wound that will never heal until I’ve rectified the wrongs done to my family. I had no right to vent my ire on you.”

She hugged him to her. “There is no need to apologize. I shouldn’t have pried.”

“Come, let’s go inside. The sun is intense this time of day. Are you rested?”

A tingle of excitement slivered through her veins. What she thought he was asking was whether she was recovered enough to endure more. More what, she wasn’t sure, but she was eager to find out.

“I’m perfectly rested,” she said. “You spoil me so, Xander. All I’ve done since arriving is rest and enjoy the beauty around me.”

He smiled and lowered his mouth to kiss her. “That is good. You are a woman meant to be spoiled.”

He helped her to her feet and then got out of the lounger. They walked up the steps leading to the upper terrace. Outside the doors leading inside, they kicked off their shoes before Xander led her back into the villa.

The cooler air sent a shiver over her skin after her being in the sun for so long. It had been easy to forget that she was naked and had been for the majority of the day. How easily she was already becoming acclimated.

In the middle of the large sitting area was a large, plush-looking cushion.

“Go kneel on the pillow,” Xander directed her.

Her first instinct was to hesitate, to question, but she was fast learning her role. She was also learning that she had no desire to disappoint Xander—or the others. They seemed so eager to please her and in return, Xander had asked only for complete obedience. She intended to give it to him.

She dropped his hand and walked to where the deep-red-colored cushion lay on the floor. It was thoughtful that if he’d expected her to kneel, that he’d provided a barrier to the stone tile of the floor.

She sank to her knees, settling onto the comfortable pillow.

“Up higher,” Xander said from across the room. “Up on your 
knees. Pull your hair back and then place your hands at your sides.”

Gone was the tender, gentle tone of the man who spoke of spoiling her, replaced by the steel thread of command.

She complied, pushing up to her knees so that her bottom no longer rested on the backs of her legs. She pulled her hair over her shoulders, letting it fall down her back and then she placed her hands down at her sides.

“Very nice.”

There was approval in Xander’s voice that gave her satisfaction. She wanted to please him.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Xander take a seat in one of the comfortable leather armchairs a short distance away. She wasn’t certain what exactly was in store for her, but she was hyped on nervous energy and intensely curious.

Her gaze jerked up when she heard footsteps. Garon entered the room. He glanced her way, his heated gaze traveling over her body, but he made no move toward her. Instead he went to sit in one of the chairs by Xander.

A moment later, Nico followed behind and he too gifted her with an appreciative look that curled her toes. But he, like Garon, found a seat to slouch in.

She managed to keep her frown to herself. Was she to be an ornament on display? She hated not knowing.

Several minutes passed. She grew fidgety and flexed her fingers. So okay, she probably wasn’t good submissive material. It wasn’t that she didn’t have what it took to submit or to be obedient. She was just…impatient. And impetuous. She wasn’t used to having to restrain herself or her responses. This all felt extremely alien to her.

Another set of footsteps sounded. She looked up and this time saw Sebastien standing across from her, his eyes gleaming as he 
took in her pose. Instead of going to sit as the others had, he walked toward her.

He stopped right in front of her and reached down to cup her jaw.

“I wonder if you have any idea how you look to me? To them? A beautiful woman, naked, kneeling in submission, awaiting our pleasure. I wonder if you realize how much power 
you
have.”

She raised an eyebrow at his choice of words. Power? She wouldn’t have thought she had any. She’d signed away any power, any choice she had when she’d agreed to this whole arrangement. And yet somehow she thought he was talking about a different kind of power altogether. Feminine power.

He rubbed his thumb over her cheek, still holding her so that she was forced to look up at him. “Tell me, Talia, have you ever seen a man’s cock?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You showered with me. Of course I have.”

“Other than mine,” he said softly.

“I’ve seen…pictures.”

“So you’ve never held one. Never touched one. Never had one in your mouth.”

She blushed and shook her head, not able to speak without squeaking in embarrassment.

He released her jaw and then reached for the zipper of his pants. The sound was loud in the silence, the rasp sending chills over her skin. He unbuttoned his jeans and pushed just enough that they were down around his hips.

“Well, my innocent little virgin. You’re going to learn to suck cock,” he said in a lazy tone. “When I’ve finished, you’ll suck the cocks of every man in this room.”

She watched in fascination as he reached into his underwear and pulled out his penis. It was already hard. Erect and long. Thick. Jutting upward toward his belly.

Yes, she’d seen it in the shower and yes, it had been somewhat 
erect. But not like this. Not so huge and powerful-looking. There was no way she was getting all of that in her mouth.

He fisted the base with one hand and reached for her jaw with his other.

“First and most important rule. No teeth. Tongue and lips only. Use suction but not too much. The idea is to tease and then—”

She rolled her eyes and slid her hand up his leg and gently pushed his hand from the base of his erection. Okay, so she was a virgin. It didn’t make her an idiot. And no, she hadn’t ever sucked cock as he’d so eloquently put it, but this wasn’t rocket science. Instinct made up for a lot and she was certainly intelligent enough and had enough imagination that she could damn well rock his world without any condescending lectures on the proper way to give head.

He broke off with a strangled sound as she grasped his length in her hand and rolled her tongue over the head.

It was a heady sensation to have him in the palm of her hand. He was right. She did have power. She hadn’t imagined it would be so sinfully satisfying.

He let out another gasp that sounded like a cross between a groan and an oath when she carefully sucked the tip into her mouth and glided down his erection, careful to keep her teeth from grazing the sensitive flesh.

She bowed her head, working down as far as she could take him and then rolled her tongue up the length as she retraced the path she’d just taken.

He was hard and hot against her palm. She tightened her hold, instinctively adding pressure. As she balanced the crown of his erection on her tongue, she rolled her hand upward. With her other hand, she reached to cup the heavy weight of his sac.

She pulled her head away, licking the very tip and over the slit before angling her head to look up at him. She smiled innocently. “Am I doing it right?”

His nostrils flared and he thrust his hand into her hair. He closed his fist, pulling it tight against her scalp. “Hell, yes, you little vixen. You’ve definitely got the tease part down. Where the hell did you learn to do that?”

The possessive growl and the hint of jealousy she heard in his voice amused her.

“I didn’t learn anywhere,” she said honestly. “I wanted to touch you. I was curious. I liked the way you felt in my hand and in my mouth. I just did what came natural.”

“By all means continue doing what comes natural,” Sebastien drawled. “I’m going to keep 
my
mouth shut and let you do your thing.”

Her fingers rubbed through the crisp hairs on his balls and at the base of his cock. She loved the contrast of rough and silky smooth.

She flicked her tongue out again to circle the head, inhaling his scent as she tasted him. His hand remained fisted in her hair. His grip didn’t lessen, and when she took him deep, it grew tighter as he held her in place.

His hips surged forward, seeking more depth. At first she fought the invasion, the sensation of so much, so deep, unsettling to her. Her hands flew to his thighs and she tried to push back, but he held her firm.

“Let her go, Bastien.”

Startled, Talia rocked back on her heels when Sebastien released his grip. His cock bobbed, hugely erect, almost angry-looking as he took a step back.

Nico had voiced the command and now from behind her, he framed her face in his hands, caressing and then delving into her hair, almost as if he were petting her.

“You get too carried away,” Nico said in reprimand. “She is new to this. You can’t treat her like someone used to rougher treatment.”