All the Pretty Poses (9 page)

But there’s no ignoring Reese when he wants
to be noticed. He leans into me ever-so-slightly, imprinting the
firm muscles of his chest, the flat plane of his belly and the hard
length of his thighs on every surface of my back side that he
touches.

“
This
is the most incredible view in
the entire world,” he whispers, his inflection matching the
pressure of his body, making me think he’s referring to me rather
than the natural wonders surrounding us.

“I’m sure you’re accustomed to beautiful
scenery like this.”

“I’ve seen some of God’s most stunning
creations, but this one has always been special to me.”

I don’t dare let him lull me with his
charming ways. That ended badly once and he still has yet to even
explain it, much less apologize for it.

Not that there’s anything he could say to
make what happened okay.

My thoughts trigger a burst of anger. I spin
inside his arms, pushing away from the rail until he gives and
steps back. “Well, this is a first for me, so I’d like to enjoy it
while I’m allowed up here, if you don’t mind.”

With that, I march right back the way I came,
circling to the other end of the deck rather than going back
inside. I half expect Reese to follow me, but the next voice I hear
belongs to Sig.

“I don’t know what’s more beautiful—this view
or you.”

I turn to find him standing behind me, hands
in the pockets of his black slacks, dark hair blowing in the
breeze. His grin is as playful and light as ever, immediately
putting me as ease.

“Wow, you get many girls with lines like
that?” I ask with a smile of my own.

“This is the first chance I’ve had to try
that one out. How’s it working so far?”

I hold out my hand and see-saw it back and
forth. “Meh.”

“Then tell me, O Aloof One, how does a guy
like me impress a woman like you?”

“Why would you want to?”

“Because you’re gorgeous and mysterious and
you dance like you’re dancing just for me. You fascinate me. Do I
need to go on?”

I’m very flattered and I don’t really know
what to say, but, as usual, the stand-offish Kennedy who learned to
function in self-preservation mode from a very early age rises up.
“I dance like that for everyone. It’s my job.”

Rather than being offended or acting like a
typical man with wounded pride, Sig grins. “Hell, I know that, but
you don’t have to ruin it for me. I’m a man. A big one. With a big
ego. Let me think it’s all for me, woman,” he teases.

I laugh. “Fine, fine. It was all for
you.”

He nods and grins at me. “That’s a little
more like it.”

Sig moves in closer to me, staring down into
my eyes for a few seconds before he turns to stand at my side,
offering me his arm. “Shall we?”

With an exaggerated shake of my head and roll
of my eyes, I curl my hand under his elbow and let him lead me
through another door that empties into the rotunda and main dining
area. The first thing I see when I step over the threshold is
Reese, standing at the other end of the room, talking with Brian
and glaring at me.

Even in his aggravation, just the sight of
him is enough to make my stomach flip over. He’s so gorgeous, still
so much the guy who turned my heart and my world upside down—dark
hair that curls just a little around his collar, glittering eyes
that see right through me, a jaw that makes my fingers itch to
stroke it. And his lips…I’ve always thought Reese’s mouth was the
most perfect God ever created. Turns out it’s part angelic, part
evil. The evil part being the one that made me promises that he
never intended to keep, of course.

As always when I get enthralled with the
Reese that I loved so long ago, the hurt girl resurfaces to prevent
me from making the same mistake twice. It’s her that gives him a
frosty smile and turns her attention to Sig at my side. My grin
gets deeper and more genuine, however, when, from the corner of my
eye, I see Reese’s expression turn thunderous.

It makes me want to giggle.

Take
that,
you
egomaniac!

My mood going into the dining room is
generally lighter, even more so when I realize there are no seat
assignments and I can sit wherever I want, which just so happens to
be sandwiched between Sloane, who I really like, and Sig, who
evidently really likes me.

The meal is delicious and the company
delightful. Although Reese responds to comments and comports
himself in a polite enough way, I can practically feel the tension
humming just beneath his unaffected façade. As much as I hate to
admit it, it thrills me.

He’s made it known that he wants me, that he
intends to have me. And I have made it known that I intend to make
sure that doesn’t happen. We are admittedly engaged in a battle of
wills. But something deep inside me realizes that this is only the
beginning, that Reese has yet to really even exert himself, and
that when he does, this battle is going to become much more
difficult for me. And much more dangerous.

But that’s partly what makes it so thrilling.
Somewhere in the back of my mind and the bottom of my heart, I
wonder if I’m really strong enough to resist. Or if I even really
want to. I wonder if there’s a part of me that wants to get back
what we had all those years ago, when love was still young and
fresh and perfect and unscathed, to get that back even for a
moment. Or a month. Or a summer. If that would even be
possible.

On one level, I seriously doubt it. But on
another level, I believe I’m strong enough to test those waters
without crumbling into a thousand pieces when things don’t work
out. I’ve already given Reese those tender parts of myself. What’s
left now is harder, harsher. Stronger.

It’s the rise of one dark brow that jolts me
from my silent reverie. Reese is watching me. And I, lost in
thought, have obviously been watching him.

Hurriedly, I turn my attention to Sig at my
side, laughing at whatever he’s laughing at, but having no clue
what we’re even talking about. Without looking back at him, I can
almost feel Reese’s amusement. His amusement and his predatory
eyes.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN- Reese

I’ve kept a loose eye on Kennedy the entire
evening. I’ve watched her flirt with Sig. I’ve watched her interact
with Sloane and Hemi. I’ve watched her try her damnedest not to
look at me and try her best to ignore me.

And, best of all, I’ve watched her fail.

I’ve seen the little glances my way. I’ve
observed the way she tucks her hair behind her ear when I speak and
I’ve seen the way she smoothes the chills on her arms when our eyes
meet. I can feel her attraction to me like the humidity in the air.
It makes me want to strip her bare, to lay her on the table and
lick the moisture from her skin while everyone else watches. And
wants her. Yet can’t have.

While it frustrates me that she’s hell bent
on resisting me, it also excites me to some degree. The feeling of
conquest when she
does
give in—which she will, I have no
question—will be even greater. And my baser instincts thrill at the
notion of that.

So, in the end, I grit my teeth and bear it
because I’m smart enough and strategic enough to let her have this
time before I really start working on her. I’m content to let her
think she’s winning. Until I’m ready to win. And then it’s game
over. Simple as that.

After a glass of brandy in the lounge, the
excitement of the day starts to wear on everyone. One by one, they
all start to make their excuses and head for bed, Kennedy
included.

Of course, Sig offers to walk her to her
cabin. It sets my teeth on edge, but I smile and nod my goodnight
to them anyway. As I watch her walk out of the room, head high,
shoulders square, Sig’s hand on the small of her back, I get a pang
of…something. Something I felt a long time ago…for a girl I met in
the woods.

Several minutes after they’re gone, minutes
during which I can’t get that gnawing sensation to leave my gut, I
get up and make my way down the stairs and down the hall to the bow
of the ship where Kennedy’s room is.

As I walk, I find myself imagining Sig
threading his fingers into Kennedy’s hair, kissing those
sexy-as-hell lips, pushing her back into the darkness of her room.
My steps get heavier. I get angrier the closer I get to her closed
door. My chest is tight and my pulse is pounding as my body
prepares for me to beat the shit out of my brother’s future in-law
if he has made the grave mistake of being in Kennedy’s room.

Bang, bang, bang,
I thump on Kennedy’s
door. I’m aware of how furious and aggressive the knock sounds.
When I left the lounge, this was not how I pictured things going,
but damn if she hasn’t managed to piss me off anyway.

When Kennedy answers the door, barely
cracking it to peek out, I struggle to keep my sudden rage in
check.

“Are you alone?” I ask gruffly.

Kennedy frowns. “Of course,” she replies as
if I’m being ridiculous. I don’t let her see the way my lungs
deflate as I release the breath I was holding.

“Can I come in?”

She eyes me suspiciously for a few seconds
before she nods once and steps back to let me in.

In the low light, I can see that she’s
already changed clothes. Now she’s wearing some tiny little cut-off
sweat pants and a worn gray tee shirt that says
Exotique
across the front. It draws my eye to the lush curves underneath and
I clench my fists to keep from pulling her into my arms and letting
the feel of her skin soothe my irritation.

“What do you want, Reese?” she asks as she
sits on the edge of her bed, crossing her arms over her chest.

As agitated as I am, I can still find room to
tease her. “Now
that’s
a loaded question if I’ve ever heard
one.”

She gives me a withering look, but I can tell
by the way she’s flicking her fingernails, something she did when
we were younger when she got nervous, that she’s not as immune to
my presence as she’d have me think.

Her next words surprise me. “Why did you give
me this room, Reese?”

“Why not?”

“Because no other room is this nice.”

“You haven’t seen the staterooms then.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Is it so wrong that I’d want you to be
comfortable? To have a little extra space and a window?”

“It is if you’re expecting something in
return.”

“I told you what I want, Kennedy.”

“And I told you that it’s not going to
happen.”

I can tell my smile surprises her. “God, I
love how feisty you are. You’ve changed a lot, haven’t you?”

She raises her chin a notch. “I’ve had
to.”

I can’t keep myself from moving closer. I
don’t want to. Waiting one second longer to put my hands on her is
just too much. I have to touch her.

Kennedy doesn’t move until I stop right in
front of her, my knees brushing hers where she sits on the bed. She
tilts her head back to maintain contact, but otherwise, she doesn’t
move a muscle. I’m not even sure she’s breathing. I’m not even sure
I’m
breathing.

I reach down and push one long, silky strand
of hair over her shoulder, my fingertips grazing her neck. I feel
her twitch, like she got a jolt of the electricity that seems to
always be moving between us.

“But some things never change, do they?” I
ask her softly, feeling more and more like that nineteen year old
kid the longer I’m around her.

Kennedy’s eyes freeze over. “That’s where
you’re wrong. Everything changes, Reese. Everything.”

I give her a wry smile. “You’re probably
right. But that doesn’t mean everything changes for the worse. Some
things only get better.”

“But most don’t.”

“That’s not true. And especially in our
case.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Yes, I can. You can try to pretend that you
don’t feel it, but I know you do. There’s something between us,
Kennedy. There always has been.”

“You’re mistaken,” she says boldly, but I
hear the tremor in her voice. I see the forced bravado in her
eyes.

“I’m not. Never about this. About us. I know
you think you should resist it, that this is a road you don’t want
to travel, but trust me, you would enjoy it.”

“There’s more to life than pleasure, Reese.”
Kennedy stands, her body sliding up against mine in a way that
makes me ache to toss her onto the bed and tear her tattered little
t-shirt off. “And I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could pick you
up and throw you.”

“Maybe you will. If you’d just be a little
more open to me, you’d see that I’m right.”

“Maybe I don’t want to.”

“But you do. And you will. I’ll prove
it.”

“Prove what?” she asks.

I don’t answer her. I simply smile as I bend
forward to brush her lips with mine. It’s a small taste that only
makes me want more. But the shiver I feel run through her at the
contact makes it easier to pull away. It just reiterates what I
already know in my gut—eventually she’ll be mine. She’ll come to
me. And I’ll be waiting.

“Here’s your schedule. You might need it.” I
give her the piece of paper that I brought for her and I turn to
go. I leave the room, leave her standing.

Leave her wanting.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN- Kennedy

“So are you gonna tell me what’s going on
with you and Prince Charming?” Brian doesn’t even pause as he leans
into my leg to stretch it.

“What are you talking about?”

He rolls his brown eyes at me. “Oh come on!
You didn’t think I’d notice?”

“Notice what?”

“The way he looks at you…and the way you try
not
to look at him. Girl, you don’t have to play Snow White
with me.”

“I’m not playing anything with anybody.”

“And why not? This is a fantasy cruise. Don’t
you want a little fantasy for yourself?”