All the Pretty Poses (7 page)

“I knew I liked that guy,” Reese mumbles,
sending me a wink that curls my toes. Silently, I curse each tiny
digit for not being stronger. “What are you thinking when you do
that?”

“Do what?”

“Pucker your lips and frown like that. I
noticed you doing it yesterday at Malcolm’s.”

His question takes me by surprise, giving way
to me answering more honestly than I should. “I don’t know about
yesterday, but I was just cursing my toes.”

“For what?”

I don’t answer, but I feel my cheeks sting in
embarrassment.

You walked right into that one, dumb
ass!

“So is this how it’s going to be for three
months?”

I turn to give him my full attention and my
most serious expression. “Yes. It is.”

“You know it doesn’t have to be.”

“Oh, yes it does.”

“Why?”

“I told you I’m not interested in anything
but you getting me an audition with Altman. I’ll hold up my end of
the bargain, but that doesn’t include answering your
questions.”

“Why are you being like this?”

This irritates me, so I slap my hands down on
my thighs. “Because we had our shot, Reese, and it didn’t work out.
End of story. This…this…arrangement is only temporary. It’s serving
a purpose for both of us. Nothing more.”

He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes.
His face is set in a pensive expression. He’s not angry or
offended, just thoughtful.

“I’ll change your mind, Kennedy. One way or
the other.”

My stomach twists into a knot. I can only
imagine how persuasive Reese can be. But still, I don’t give in. I
can’t. “You might as well save your energy. It won’t work.”

After a long pause, he speaks again. “You
were right,” he says enigmatically.

“About what?”

Reese gives me his brightest smile. “I have
changed.”

When he doesn’t continue, I ask, “What’s that
supposed to mean?”

There’s still a sexy, devastating curve to
his lips. “You’ll see.”

I let the silence stretch between us, mainly
because arguing with Reese is turning out to be a lesson in
futility.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN- Reese

I drive onto the tarmac of the private
airstrip that I use for the jet I timeshare. A guy from the service
is waiting beside the extended steps of the craft. I know that he’s
from the service I use because he’s dressed entirely in white. From
his button-up shirt and blazer to his sharply-creased slacks and
spotless shoes, everything is white.

When I pull to a stop near him, he moves to
open the door for Kennedy. After she’s on her feet, he scrambles
around to my side. I step out and hand him my keys along with a
folded bill. He takes them with a silent nod and I reach for
Kennedy. I put my hand on the small of her back and lead her to the
retractable stairs. I feel her flinch at my touch, but she doesn’t
move away. I suppress a smile. I know she still reacts to me. I
don’t have to feel it beneath my fingertips to know it. But damn,
how I want to.

As the attendant loads our bags from the
trunk into the luggage compartment of the jet, Kennedy and I make
our way into the main cabin area. Hemi, Sloane and Sig are already
on board. I’m not surprised when Kennedy takes one of the empty
chairs rather than sitting on the other empty couch. It’s the only
way she can ensure that I don’t sit beside her. Close enough to
touch. And that’s fine with me. The time is coming when she won’t
be able to so easily avoid me. And, although I’m not a patient man,
for this, I can wait. For
her,
I can wait. In fact, that
might make the end result even sweeter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN- Kennedy

I get situated in the plush, ivory-leather
chair, setting my purse at my feet and crossing my legs before I
glance around at my flight companions. From the corner of my eye, I
see Reese sink into the thick cushions of a loveseat and throw one
arm along the back. I make a point not to look directly at him. I’m
discovering the less I can do that, the better off I am.

“Kennedy, this is Hemi, my brother, and his
girlfriend, Sloane. The gentleman to the left is her brother, Sig.”
I give each person he mentions a smile and I get one from each of
them in return.

I finally get to meet Hemi. Although Reese
talked about him some when we were kids, Hemi didn’t visit his
uncle much and I never got to meet him. I would’ve remembered that
because He. Is. Gorgeous. Just like his brother. There is no
denying that they are related. They both have the same dark hair,
the same skin tone, the same stunning smile, only Hemi’s eyes
appear to be a different, darker shade of blue, like navy almost.
One dark brow is pierced and I can see a tattoo of some sort
peeking out from beneath the bottom edge of his t-shirt sleeve. He
has bad boy written all over him, and it’s no wonder Sloane fell
for him, especially when he turns his eyes back to her. They fairly
glow with his adoration, something else I can easily see. Sloane is
beautiful in a young, fresh way. And she obviously worships the
ground Hemi walks on. I can’t help the little ribbon of jealousy
that works its way through me. They have what every girl dreams
of.

Until she gets her heart broken and realizes
that, in the absence of that kind of true and perfect love, there
is only devastation, on one end or the other. Having experienced
that once is enough to deter me from ever looking for it again.

I turn my eyes and my smile to Sig. He’s
extremely handsome as well, with his dark hair and chocolate eyes
so much like his sister’s. Only he’s all man, hard where she is
soft. Even sitting, I can see that he’s enormous. I’d guess when he
stands that he’s at least six feet five inches of hard muscle and
cute, sexy grin.

All in all, I feel old and ugly by
comparison, which does nothing for my confidence or my mood. I can
feel myself withdrawing almost immediately.

“Kennedy and I grew up together,” Reese tells
the group.

“We won’t hold that against you, Kennedy,”
Sig says with a flirtatious wink. He swivels his chair to face me
more fully and raises one dark brow as his eyes flicker over me.
“And will you be joining us on the boat?”

“I will. I’ll be working, though.”

“Doing what?”

“I guess I’ll be your…entertainment,” I
explain, trying not to let that make me feel like the hired trash.
Consciously, I lift my chin and keep my smile in place, reminding
myself that I have nothing to be ashamed of. I dance for a living.
At least I’m working toward my dream. Some of us just have to take
the long, hard road. That’s all.

“Oh, really?” Sig asks, interest evident in
his tone. “And just how will you be entertaining us?” The look of
appreciation in his eye makes me feel less self-conscious, and his
friendly, harmlessly flirtatious nature puts me right at ease. I
like him instantly.

“I’m a dancer.”

Sig leans up, very openly interested now.
“God, that Reese is a lucky bastard.”

“And why is that?”

“He gets all the hot women around here.”

“Oh, it’s not like that. We…uh…we’re just old
friends. And I actually work for him in one of his clubs.”

“Which one?”

“
Exotique
.”

Sig’s mouth drops open a little bit. “Holy
shit! You’re that hottie from the other night, aren’t you? With the
shirt and the hat? Dayum, you were amazing!”

I can’t help but blush at his enthusiastic
and appreciative response. “Thank you. But I won’t
only
be
dancing. I’ll be doing some serving as well, from what I
understand.”

I look to Reese for confirmation and am taken
aback by the look of anger and irritation on his face.

“I haven’t decided exactly what you’ll be
doing yet,” he says tightly.

After a short, tense silence, Sig speaks
again and I look back at him, ignoring Reese and his fuming. “Well,
if you have down time, maybe you could teach me a few moves. You
know, some private instruction.”

The grin that Sig gives me makes his pick-up
line more adorably charming than offensive, so I laugh. “I don’t
give
those
kinds of dances.”

“Well, that’s a damn shame. But if you ever
change your mind, I’d be happy to lend you my lap or help you with
your costumes. You know, whatever you need. I’m a public servant at
heart.”

His wide, voracious smile draws another laugh
from me. “I get the impression that you’re quite incorrigible.”

“If that’s code for strong, protective, and
handsome as hell, then you couldn’t be more right.”

And so it goes with Sig. He has an answer for
everything and a totally charming way of turning all my comments
into sexual innuendos, which is both flattering and
entertaining.

He stimulates my laugh more than anyone or
anything has in years. Enjoying his company and his audacious
flirting is easy as pie, especially considering how virtually
any
interaction with Reese keeps me torn up in one way or
another. It’s no hardship on my part to let Sig dominate my time
and attention during the flight to the west coast.

But every time I sneak a glance at Reese,
which happens more often than I’d like or than I intend, I can’t
stop the equal parts of pleasure and pain that course through me.
At times, it’s like nothing has changed.

But everything has.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN- Reese

When another flight attendant makes her way
to me, I find it hard to keep my short temper in check.

“Would you like something else to drink, Mr.
Spencer?” she asks quietly.

“Not right now,” is my clipped reply.

She leans forward ever so slightly and drops
her voice a little lower. “Is there anything else I could get you
or do for you?”

I take my eyes off Kennedy’s profile long
enough to give the attendant my full attention. This one has flown
with me before. The jet is part of a timeshare between me, my
father and two other business associates with frequent travel
needs. The company that we use for flight crew knows that I have
specific requirements of the female attendants. My clientele like
all their staffing encounters to be visually pleasurable and the
company we use has always been accommodating. They are screened
thoroughly and regularly, just like all my club employees are, and
these women are young, beautiful and, occasionally, very willing to
go…above and beyond. Like this one.

I see the heat in her dark blue eyes. I see
the way she wets her lips and squeezes her breasts together for
maximum cleavage. She’s just as appealing as any girl I’d hire if I
had my pick. But not today. Today she’s just annoying. Today she’s
not what I want. Today she’s just not Kennedy.

“As…enjoyable as that sounds, I think I’m set
for the flight,” I tell her kindly.

She nods and straightens before moving back
through the cabin to ask the others if they’d like something to eat
or drink. My eyes shift to Kennedy again and I see that she’s
watching me. She’s not smiling at something Sig said or talking to
him like she’s known
him
forever. No, this time
I’ve
got her full attention. And she’s not laughing.

I give her a small nod before I turn my
attention to the view outside the window. I don’t even bother to
hide the smile that I suddenly feel like wearing.

Damn her, two can play that game.

I let my irritation dissolve into calm
determination. If there’s one thing that life has taught me, it’s
to never give up. If things aren’t going my way, I do something to
shift the tide. If the first answer is no, I keep trying until I
get the right one. And if something gets in my way, I’ve learned to
move it
out
of my way. Kennedy may not admit that she’ll be
mine again yet, but she will. I’ll see to it.

My cruise assistant, Karesh, is waiting for
us with the limo at the airport. He is capable, reliable and a
stickler for the details, which is a combination that I consider
mandatory for someone in his position. He knows how I like things
and he makes sure they are prepared in such a way, down to the
letter.

We quietly discuss all the arrangements as
everyone else chats on the way to Marina del Rey. He’s already
arranged for the smaller boat that will ferry us from there to
where the yacht is moored out in the deeper waters.

When the driver pulls up beside the dock, I
can see that the ferrying boat is already taking our luggage out to
the yacht.

Hemi comes to stand beside me, slapping me on
the back as he points out toward the yacht where it floats out in
the bay. “Is that the new yacht, bro?”

“No, the new one is registered in the
Caribbean. This is the second one I bought.”

Sloane steps up to stand beside Hemi, winding
her arms around his waist. After a few seconds she looks out in the
direction of the yacht, too. “Ohmigod, is that it? Is that the boat
we’ll be going to Hawaii on?” Her voice is dripping with
excitement.

“Yep, that’s it,” he tells her. She turns
shining eyes up at him and he gives her a quick kiss.

“This is gonna be awesome, baby!” she
beams.

He nods and kisses her forehead, the moment
turning suddenly intimate. I clear my throat and take a few steps
away. With perfect timing, the ferrying boat returns from the yacht
to retrieve us. I give my hands one loud slap. “Let’s load up so we
can get going,” I tell them, anxious to be on our way.

Karesh ushers Hemi, Sloane and Sig down the
dock to where the smaller boat waits. I look back for Kennedy who
is trailing behind. She’s walking slowly, staring out at the
horizon with a frown on her face.

“Is something wrong?” I ask.

She says nothing at first, simply continues
to stare. Finally, she turns cloudy eyes to me. “That is
your
boat? The one I’ll be spending the summer on?”