Burn (Page 87)

The shower stopped, which meant Jenner could walk into the parlor in a matter of minutes. It wouldn’t do for her to find him standing over a shiny pile of assorted condoms. He glared at Matt. "What the hell am I supposed to do with these?"

"I understand they go on your …"

This time his look would have cut steel.

Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Hide them or tell me to take them away. Your call, boss."

Cael’s brain knew getting the condoms out of the suite was the right thing to do. He fought another battle with himself, but this time his dick won.

JENNER HAD NEVER BEEN A HUGE FAN of costumes – she avoided Halloween parties like the plague, because Halloween was creepy, and not in a good way – but this party was oddly fun. She’d never dressed up like this before. Her fringed red flapper dress and close-fitting cloche hat were actually cute, and Cael dressed as a gangster was hot, so hot she couldn’t stop looking at him even though she wanted to completely ignore him. Some things were just not going to happen. The black suit, black shirt, and white tie looked good on him; she even liked the hat.

Judging the different costumes of those around them, as they milled about on deck, she decided she and Cael had lucked out. There were outrageous zoot suits in all colors, Gatsby Girl outfits that had a softer appeal than the flapper dresses, and a couple of World War I uniforms. A few of the flapper girl dresses were a virulent shade of yellow that really stood out in the crowd, and Jenner was glad to have a hat, instead of a headband and attached feather that danced in the breeze. There were even a couple of cigarette girls, complete with candy cigarettes in their trays; better them than her.

The music that had been playing all night wasn’t strictly from the twenties, but how many times could you listen to the "Charleston" and "Singin’ in the Rain"? It was all old, though, from the twenties, thirties, and forties. Now that the Charleston lessons were over, a handful of couples were on the dance floor, but she and Cael stood by the rail, where Larkin, dressed in a gangster suit much like Cael’s, though on him the look was more sleazy than dashing, was in Cael’s line of sight.

While Cael watched Larkin, she watched Cael. She was still mad at him, but watching him was still a visceral pleasure. She hadn’t told either Faith or Tiffany what had happened while they were snorkeling, but they weren’t dummies; they knew something had. Tiffany had caught her eye and shrugged. Now that her temper had cooled somewhat – not much, but some – and her humiliation level had dropped a few degrees, Jenner was able to maybe see the morning from a slightly different angle.

She was going to have to make the first move if she wanted this fake relationship to go anywhere real, right? Well, she had, and gotten a breathtaking orgasm as a result, but then Cael had pulled back when any normal man would have been all over her like slick on butter. She didn’t know if she could take another rejection like that, no matter what his reason. If he was being honorable, then that sucked. She needed him to be honorable only if she needed someone else to take care of her, which she didn’t. She was an adult. She could make her own decisions, good or bad, and accept the consequences. On the other hand, while she was willing to step out on a limb, that didn’t mean she was going to set herself up for more rejection. If he didn’t want her …

His body said he did. More accurately, his body said he wanted sex. Maybe he disliked her so much – God, why should he? – that even though he was horny he didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Or maybe he was married, or seriously involved. Tiffany wouldn’t have given her that condom if he was, would she? Maybe. Tiffany had her own rules. But Faith would have had a different outlook, and she hadn’t been at all disapproving.

So, no marriage, no significant other. Either he was brushing her off to protect her from herself, in which case she might kill him because that was the last thing she wanted, or he seriously didn’t want her.

Damn it, how was she supposed to tell the difference?

She gave up trying to make sense of the situation and looked at the rest of the group. Tiffany was as flamboyant as ever, dressed in a black-and-white flapper dress, and didn’t seem to mind the dancing feather on her head. She wore a multitude of long necklaces, and often swung them about as she flirted outrageously with every man in her path. Faith’s Gatsby-style dress was a soft champagne color, as was the matching hat. Ryan, leaning on his cane, was dressed in a military uniform; the sight of him in that costume gave Jenner a moment’s pause. He had the look of a soldier; he might’ve just stepped out of World War I. He was so urbane she hadn’t noticed it before, but there was definitely something military in his posture, despite the cane.

The five of them weren’t hanging out together tonight, as they had the night before. She supposed that would’ve been a pattern, and Cael didn’t like patterns. Apparently there were a lot of things Cael didn’t like.

Larkin was coming in their direction, and as he drew closer Jenner noticed that he was smiling. It wasn’t the tight, false smile she’d seen on him before; this looked like a real smile. Either he’d gotten better at putting on a show, or something had truly amused him. He stopped to greet a couple – the man was in a green zoot suit, the woman wore a classy dress much like Faith’s, only in a soft pearl – and while they were talking, Larkin smiled as if he were very pleased with himself.

The idea of him being pleased with anything sent a shiver up Jenner’s spine.

Linda Vale, wearing a black flapper outfit that was two sizes too big for her thin frame, walked between Larkin and Jenner. It was all Jenner could do not to jump out of her skin.

"There you are," Linda said brightly. She was holding a clipboard, which was not in keeping with her costume. "I’ve been looking for you two." She smiled at Cael. "Very handsome," and then at Jenner, "and you look like a doll!"