All the Pretty Poses (18 page)

I wink at her. “Oh, you have no idea.”

It’s harder than I ever thought it would be
to turn and walk away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT- Kennedy

As I sift through all the beautiful clothes
that are now tucked safely into the drawers and hanging in the
closet of my new room, I rack my brain for something that Reese
might like.

“I can’t very well go up there naked,” I say
to the empty room, giggling at the thought of what his reaction
might be. My laughter dies when I think of all the other eyes that
would see, though. An exhibitionist, I’m not.

I’m still struggling to come up with just the
right thing to wear when I come across a plain gray sweatshirt. It
reminds me of something Reese told me years and years ago. If he
sees me in this, he’ll remember that he told me and know that I had
him in mind when I dressed. But it’s not appropriate for a day by
the pool. No, it’ll have to wait for tonight. And so will
Reese.

With an excited smile in place, I pick out a
suit and cover-up combo that shows off my curves in just the right
way and complements my coloring. Although it won’t be as much for
Reese as tonight’s outfit will be, knowing that he’ll be thinking
of taking it off me makes me certain he’ll love it just the
same.

I slide my feet into a pair of strappy gold
sandals and grab some sunglasses and sunblock before perching on
the edge of the bed to call Karesh. Reese isn’t the only one who
needs help with arrangements sometimes.

Twenty-five minutes later, I’m making my way
across the polished wood of the upper deck toward what looks like a
party that’s erupted in the short time I was gone. Three of the
four men that I met at breakfast are scattered around the pool area
and two men that I’ve never seen before are in the hot tub with two
girls that I’ve not yet met. Jeremy, the last of the four men that
attended breakfast, is rubbing oil on a scantily-clad Amber up on
the small sun deck to the left of the bar.

Music is playing in the background and
talking, laughing and splashing can be heard from nearly every
direction. I can finally see what it is that these men pay for.
It’s like living a dream for a few weeks—an endless parade of
bright sun, vast sea, bottomless drinks, and beautiful women. The
fun never ends and I have no doubt that there is much more
entertainment aboard than just dancing. Here, there is the distinct
possibility of getting laid in a judgment-free, disease-free,
consequence-free environment.

I don’t even realize I’ve stopped at the edge
of the shade to stare at the scene until Reese appears at my right.
“Is something the matter?”

For some reason I feel like crying. It’s
ridiculous, I know, but the urge is there nonetheless.

“So this is what they pay for. This is how
you make your money. Providing a few weeks of hedonism to a bunch
of bored, horny men with too much money and too much time.”

“I sell the fantasy, Kennedy. It’s just like
in my clubs, only to the next level. These men are here to enjoy
great views and great food while they watch beautiful women dance
for them, have beautiful women flirt with them. They’re basically
here to feel better about themselves. They pay me to make their
fantasy a reality, to some degree. They eat, they drink, they get
to be the men they are in their own heads and then they go back to
their boring lives. End of story. Don’t confuse this for something
it’s not.”

“It just seems so…sordid.”

“It’s not. It’s exactly what it looks like.
It’s men paying for the attention of beautiful women.”

“But some of them end up having sex.”

“Yes some of them will get a little more than
just flirtation, but that’s up to them.”

“It’s like a high-end escort service.”

“You make it sound like I’m a pimp.”

“Are you?” I ask, meeting his eyes
directly.

“No, Kennedy. I’m not. I make money paying
beautiful women to do very little. Much less than what they’d have
to do at any other job in the world. For the most part, all they
have to do is show up and smile. Some dance, some sing, some give
massages, some serve meals in extravagant dresses. It’s just
another job. Just like the one you took. I hired you to dance and
serve my clients and that’s what you’ve done.”

“I have yet to serve one client,” I reply
dubiously.

Reese grins. “That’s because I don’t want to
have to decapitate someone this early into the trip.”

I try to smile, but my mind is still racing
back to the scene before me. And Reese’s role in it.

“Do you…have you…
been with…
most of
these girls?” I can’t even look him in the eye as I ask the
question, but I have to ask it.

“Does it matter? You’ve seen my labs.”

I turn my astonished eyes up to his. “Of
course it matters!”

“Well, it shouldn’t. You’re the only one I’m
interested in spending time with.
Any kind
of time
with.”

I never even thought to ask if this whole
little…
thing
would be monogamous. I just assumed.

“Come on,” Reese says, sliding his fingers
down my arm to intertwine them with mine. “Let me buy you a
drink.”

“It’s not even lunch time.”

“Around here, time means very little. You do
what you feel like doing,
when
you feel like doing it.”

“What if I feel like going back to my
room?”

“Then you should expect some company.”

He tugs on my hand again. “Come on. Let me
show you how ridiculous this all is.”

Reluctantly, I let him lead me out into the
sunshine. “Oh, I get the ridiculous part just fine,” I mutter
dryly.

I hear Reese laugh before he bends to whisper
in my ear, “Shhh, don’t tell them. They have no idea.” He stops
about halfway to the pool and turns me toward him. His eyes rake me
from head to toe and a slow, sexy smile creeps across his face. “By
the way, I love the outfit.”

“Oh, this old thing?” I say, fluttering my
eyelashes in mock coyness. “I did the best I could for today, but I
couldn’t find much. But tonight…tonight I’m wearing something just
for you. I think you’ll really enjoy it.”

Reese raises one brow. “Reeeally?”

The look he gives me threatens to make me
blush. He’s all but licking his lips like a hungry wolf and I’m all
but dying to be his next meal.

********

A couple of hours later, as I’m relaxing in
the shade, I realize that Reese was right. This isn’t as bad as I
thought it might be. As I’ve watched, a couple of the guys seem
like they’re just really shy. I can see where that could be a
problem for them in real life. But not here.

Most of the others seem well-adjusted, if a
little playboy-ish. I think they’re here for the fantasy, like
Reese says. But there’s one or two, particularly Nathan and Jeremy,
that give me an uneasy feeling. Something about each of them
reminds me of watching a predator. And not in a good way. Even
though I have nothing to base it on, I get the feeling that they
could get a little rough and insistent. Maybe
too
insistent.
It makes me glad that Reese has more or less staked his claim on
me. I’d hate to find myself alone with either one of the two. I’m
not sure I’d know what to do. At
Exotique
, we didn’t have to
worry about things like this. There was ample security and the
creepers were usually weeded out pretty quickly.

My eyes find Reese. He’s embroiled in a
conversation about stocks and looking in no hurry to move, so when
the breeze picks up and gives me a chill, I decide to head for one
of the two raised decks to warm myself in the sun. I choose the one
to the right of the bar. The one that Amber is
not
occupying.

My eyes are closed and my face is tilted to
the sun when a shadow falls over me. I smile as I crack my lids. I
expect to see Reese hovering above me, but instead, I find
Nathan.

“Be careful and don’t burn. It would be a
shame to damage one inch of this beautiful skin.” He bends to drag
one finger down my thigh as he sits on the end of my lounge
chair.

I scoot up into a sitting position, giving
him what I hope is a frosty smile. “Thank you for your concern, but
I’ll be fine. I’m careful. Very careful,” I say, emphasizing my
last words in case my uninterested smile didn’t give him the
message.

“Reese always keeps the good ones to himself.
Why is that?”

I don’t know how to answer that. The only
thing I can think of is that I might die if he touches me again.
There’s nothing overtly bothersome about him. I mean he’s not ugly
with his dark-blond hair and almond-shaped, green eyes, but there
is
something about him that makes my skin crawl.

Everything that happens next happens so fast,
I struggle to take it all in. Nathan is there, sitting next to me
one minute and the next minute he’s gone. In one quick jerk, Reese
grabs him by the back of his shirt, hauls him up and flings him
away, sending him careening into two empty chairs as he tries to
right himself.

Nathan’s expression is comical as his arms
flail and he sputters, “What the hell, man?”

Reese’s face is positively thunderous. His
lips are thin and tight, his fingers are curled into big fists and
every muscle in his tall, lean body is stiff as a board. “I told
you she’s
my
guest.”

“I thought it was the girl’s choice. Isn’t
that what you’ve always said? Isn’t that your ‘
policy
’?” he
asks snidely, making air quotes.

“It is my
policy,
except with her.
She’s mine. You don’t touch her, you don’t speak to her. You don’t
even
look
at her. You stay the hell away or I’ll throw your
ass into the middle of the pacific and you can swim to Fiji.”

Nathan’s face blazes bright red as he
straightens his shirt and tries to regain some of his scattered
composure. “That’s all you had to say, Spencer. Jesus.”

Casting a nasty look over his shoulder, first
at Reese then at me, Nathan makes his way off the sundeck and then
off the upper deck entirely. I assume he’s on his way to his room
where he can lick his wounds in private.

Reese looks around at all the eyes fastened
on him before he reaches for my hand. Without hesitation, I slip my
fingers into his and he pulls me to my feet. His eyes are nearly
black with anger and desire and something primitively possessive as
he looks down at me.

“Did I mention that you’re off the clock
today?” he asks.

“Yes,” I breathe cautiously.

“Good.” With that, he bends his head and
gives me a kiss that curls my toes and sears me all the way to my
soul. When he’s done, he lifts his head, winks at me, brushes his
lips over mine again and then turns to our cluster of onlookers.
“Any questions?” he asks loudly.

Heads shake all over the deck. Some of the
men raise their hands in the universal hands-off gesture. Others
simply look away like they don’t want to rouse his ire again.

I know I should be insulted. I’ve just been
publicly claimed. But I’m not. It’s obvious that Reese has never
claimed another girl, at least not like this, and it gives me hope
that maybe, just maybe, he really
does
have feelings for
me.

“Come on,” Reese says, taking my hand. “I’ll
get Arnold, the captain, to stop us for a couple of hours so we can
ride the jet skis.”

And, just like that, it’s over. He’s back to
Reese. Calm Reese. Charming Reese. Like nothing ever happened.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur, in a
dream-like state of pure happiness. Reese takes me jet skiing out
in the pacific. He teases and flirts with me, stopping regularly to
pull my vehicle in close enough to his that he can kiss me. And not
just light pecks, but
real
kisses, kisses that leave me
breathless and wanting.

When dinner rolls around, he’s even his
charming self around his clients, the clients whom he has blatantly
ignored for the majority of the day. It puts me at ease, but I can
tell that Nathan is still sore. I can see it in the dirty looks he
keeps giving Reese when Reese isn’t paying attention. Otherwise, he
seems to have moved on. He requested the company of a beautiful
platinum-haired server to whom I have yet to be formally
introduced. He turns on the charm for her, just as the rest of the
men turn on the charm for their chosen company, leaving me to revel
in the way that Reese seems to need to touch me all the time.

Every few minutes, whether he’s talking to
someone else or drinking his wine and listening, he will brush my
hand or touch my hair or bump my leg with his under the table. And
every time I look at him, no matter what he’s doing, he’ll glance
in my direction. Sometimes he winks, sometimes he smiles and
sometimes he just watches me in a way that makes my heart soften
like cream cheese on a hot stove.

All in all, it’s been one of the best days
I’ve had in a long time, despite the questionable run-in with
Nathan. Our easy rapport has made me anticipate my dance tonight
even more. I hope he’s pleased that I remember something so small
from so long ago.

When he drops me off at my room to get ready,
he wraps his long fingers around my neck, pushing my hair back over
my shoulders before he bends to kiss my pulse. When I feel his
tongue sneak out to flicker over it, my arms break out in
chills.

“I want you so much I can barely think
straight,” he moans against my skin. “Remember that when you dance
tonight. Remember that you’re dancing for me. And no one else.”

“Yes,” I manage to croak, digging my fingers
into his thick biceps to keep from dragging him into my room. “And
you
remember that this dance is specifically for you.
Just…remember.”

Reese lifts his head, a question burning in
his eyes. I smile pluckily, reach around to swat him on the butt
and then turn to go into my room. It isn’t until my door is closed
and I’m leaning against it that I hear his long exhalation. I grin
with the knowledge that he’s suffering every bit as much as I am.
But maybe not much longer. Maybe.