All the Pretty Poses
Page 17

“I’m sure I’ll hear about it later.”
She laughed. “Probably.”
Now, I’m waiting for her to arrive at the big table set on the upper deck. Once she realized we’d be having a gourmet breakfast with my clients, she wanted a few extra minutes to make herself “presentable.” So I honored her wishes, as hard as it was to leave her there to get dressed all on her own.
We are just being served coffee, making small talk, when Karesh finds me at the table. “Anything else I can get for you, sir?”
“No. And the arrangements you made for Kennedy were perfect. Thank you.”
He nods. “My pleasure, sir. I’m glad it worked out.”
Jeremy Hobbs, an early-thirties IT guy who made a killing off some malware he developed, speaks up before Karesh can leave. “I think I’d like the beautiful red-head to join me this morning. Will you send her up?”
Karesh glances quickly at me before nodding. “Of course, sir. I’ll let her know.”
“Got tired of that one already, did you, Spencer?” asks Nathan Todd, a young philanthropist that has a few…risqué proclivities that he likes to keep on the down low. And I, of course, can make that happen.
“Amber’s a beautiful woman,” I say, skirting the question. Few clients take the same voyage on the same boat with the same crew, but Nathan is one of those few. He was interested in Amber the last time he was onboard, but she was only interested in entertaining me behind closed doors. And that’s always a choice I leave to each crew member. They’re all tested, as are my clients, in case they decide to take matters further, but what happens during the cruise is always consensual, never expected.
“Holy god, who ordered her?” Nathan says, completely ignoring me as he looks over my shoulder. I turn to see Kennedy walking toward us. She has this sexy, slinky walk that I doubt she’s even aware of, but it’s hot as hell. Still not as hot as her, though. If her walk is attractive, then she herself is jaw-dropping.
Her eyes are practically glowing between her dark lashes and her lips are stained just the right amount of pink. They look like ripe peaches, begging to be tasted. Her hair is piled on top of her head with a few pieces hanging loose, curled and left to dangle to her bare shoulders. She’s wearing a straight, white dress with straps that cross over the tops of her br**sts and tie behind her neck. A gold hoop in the center of her sternum gives a teasing glimpse of her cl**vage and I’d bet my left nut that she’s not wearing a bra.
I hear the scuff of chair legs and I look around to find every man at the table rising when she stops in front of me. She looks around at each of them, nodding and smiling in a blanket gesture before turning those translucent eyes on me.
“Good morning,” she says as though we haven’t spent most of it together already.
“Why don’t you come sit by me, princess?” Eldon Crisp asks.
“Why would she want to sit with you, old man?” Nathan asks. “She needs something a little more exciting.”
“She’d be out of luck with you then,” Jeremy says acerbically before turning to address Kennedy directly, “Sweetheart, I promise I could make this the best month of your life.”
“What the hell, Hobbs? You just asked to have someone brought up!” Eldon gripes.
“I’d gladly trade for this one.”
I clear my throat, suppressing the sudden urge to thump my chest and then beat the shit out of everyone at the table. I have to remind myself that this is, after all, what they’re here for. Only not with Kennedy, but they don’t know that. “Gentlemen, this is Kennedy and she’s joining me for breakfast this morning. And every other morning,” I add sharply, meaningfully.
I can only hope that they get the message loud and clear because something tells me I could very easily get violent over Kennedy. Normally, my clients can have anyone they’re interested in as long as that person is interested as well. I’ve never made someone off limits. Never cared enough to. But this time is different. This person is different. I’d gladly offend one or two or all of them if they so much as breathe in her direction. Offend or tear limb from limb, either way.
Silence falls across the table as I scoot out the empty chair beside me for Kennedy. She smiles up into my face as she gracefully takes her seat. She sits primly on its edge as coffee is poured for her and the first course of fresh tropical fruit is served. As the morning wears on, she eats and chit-chats with my clients as though she has lived her life on a yacht surrounded by the wealthy, rather than roughing it as the hired help on one.
As the dishes are being cleared for the main course to be served, Amber arrives, looking very…voluptuous in a tight, black sheath that hugs every curve and valley. She gives me a brilliant smile, but it falters when she sees Kennedy beside me.
I’m all too familiar with feminine cat fights and how vicious the fairer sex can be toward one another. It’s for that reason that my protective instincts surface and I give Amber a warning look as she takes her seat beside the waiting Jeremy.
Much to my relief, she doesn’t bare her claws and the men seem to behave themselves. No asses will have to be kicked. Of course, the day is young.
When breakfast is over, everyone disperses, either returning to their room or heading to the gym to work out as we all await the readying of the upper deck. The ship’s male staff shuffles out to begin breaking down the table and removing the chairs from the raised dais on which we sat for our morning meal. After that, they’ll dismantle the platform in order to reveal the pool underneath, which will be enjoyed by all throughout the rest of the day.
As they work, I lead Kennedy to the railing along the bow of the ship, the place where I saw her standing the night we left Marina del Ray. I tuck her between me and the railing, pressing my chest into hers, loving the way she fits me so perfectly, the way she sort of melts into me. I’m not even sure she’s aware of it, but I sure as hell am.
“Mr. Spencer, please!” she exclaims softly with mock outrage. “I’m your employee!” She glances over my shoulder to make sure no one can see us. I don’t know who’s back there, nor do I care. My attention is focused squarely on the gorgeous female turning to butter against me.
“Fine, you can have the rest of the day off then,” I say as I dip my head to rub my lips over hers.
“I didn’t work yesterday. Or the day before that. Or—. ”
I silence her arguments by flicking my tongue over the silky inside of her lower lip, my mouth watering at the sweet taste of her.
“I didn’t say anything about this evening. You’re getting paid to dance, so you’ll dance.”
She leans back to look at me, her eyes a mixture of things I couldn’t begin to fathom. “I’m dancing?”
“You’re dancing. But until then, you’re mine,” I tell her, spinning her in my arms to press her front into the V of the railing. “All mine.”
I run my hand around her waist and up between her heavy br**sts to her throat, urging her head back toward me. I lick her from her collarbone to the shell of her ear as I rub my c**k against the top curve of her ass.
“Wear something just for me today. Something you know I’ll love. Will you do that for me?” I ask.
I can hear her accelerated breathing as I drag my hand back down the valley of her cleavage, my wrist skimming over the hard peak of one nipple. “Yes,” comes her breathy reply.
“Just for me,” I repeat.
“Just for you.”
Reluctantly, I release her, backing away. “Why don’t you get changed while I talk to Karesh about arrangements for tonight?”
Kennedy turns to face me, her cheeks flushed, her eyelids at half-mast. “You’re evil. You know that, right?”
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 na**d,” 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.”