Starstruck (Fusion #1) Read Online Free Page B

she ever imagined that!
    “It’s a quite a turn-on,” Indi heard him add, in the same
seductive tone as he’d used in one of his many music videos that she’d seen. Blinking,
she met his now-lifted gaze. Catching his enigmatic smile, she wondered if she
had imagined what he just said.
    “Shall we head out?” Xander asked with his voice fully in
control, unlike her own.
    Indi nodded, unable to get a simple yes out of her mouth.
Taking a few deep, calming breaths, she wondered whether to offer him a lift
back with her, just to prolong being in his company. Despite herself, she felt
strangely safe with him. His voice and the lyrics of his songs had been such an
intricate piece of her life throughout her troubled teenage years. It made her
feel that he was a returning friend who could be trusted with her deepest
secrets.
    Indi turned to face Xander as they entered the street and
the door of the restaurant closed behind them. “My car is a short walk away. Do
you need a ride back?” 
    He smiled. “That would be helpful, thank you.” Pulling out
his phone, he tapped at the screen before adding, “If you’ll excuse me for a
second, I’ll just send my security a quick message to let them know I’m heading
back.”
    It only took a few seconds for the message to be sent and
then the two of them began to walk up Via della Maestranza towards the Piazza.
It was still quite busy with people milling about, so they took the walk at a
leisurely pace.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Indi noticed Xander sneaking
the occasional sideways glance at her as his hand brushed against hers whenever
the crowd filled out, forcing them closer together as they walked shoulder to
shoulder. At one point, in order to pass through a bottleneck of people
congregated outside a bar, they were forced to move in single file. Not wanting
to get separated from Indi, Xander suggested she walk in front of him. As she
moved ahead, all her senses went into overload as she became copiously aware of
his hand pressing against the small of her bare back as they edged
forward. 
    Being so close to her idol, Indi felt a warm sensation
spread through her body, and the humid evening air only served to increase her
breathing rate further. In the midst of the distraction, she managed to stumble
over a loose stone on the cobbled path and twist her ankle, leaving one of her
shoes in her wake.
    Caught by surprise, Xander’s hands curved around Indi’s body
and lifted her up off the ground before she had a chance to worry about her
dignity. Walking over to a nearby wall that was well away from the milling
crowd, he placed her gently on the ground once more. “Don’t lean on your ankle
yet. Balance against the wall while I go retrieve your shoe,” he instructed
with concern etched on his face.
    Alone, even though Xander remained in her constant eye line,
Indi cursed the indignity of the situation, assuming that he must think her a
clumsy fool. She thought she would die from embarrassment when he lifted her up
in his arms; the effect of his handprints would be invisibly seared on her body
forever.  Seeing him make his way back with her still-intact black patent
in hand, she exhaled a breath of relief that at least she wouldn’t have to walk
the rest of the way back to the car wearing only one shoe.
    Xander placed the shoe on the ground, but did not attempt to
put it back on her foot. Instead, he moved forward until there was barely an
inch between them. Indi instinctively pressed her back against the wall,
noticing for the first time that they were quite alone in the narrow
passageway. Although there were people walking past in the main street some
twenty feet away, they would not notice the couple standing there in the dim
darkness unless they turned fully to look.
    “Are you okay? You gave me a scare,” Xander asked in a
tender tone.
    Leaning in, he touched Indi’s cheek with the back of his
hand and then swept it down the side of her body, skimming electricity