All the Pretty Poses (Pretty #2)(23)
Author: M. Leighton

I’m fuming as Kennedy ends her dance and walks in that loose-limbed way she has off the stage and back through the curtain. I sit silently in my chair, listening to Hemi and Sloane as I seethe, thinking to myself that Sig will keep his mouth shut if he knows what’s good for him.

“I wish I was sexy like that,” Sloane says to Hemi, still talking about Kennedy’s performance.

“You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met, baby. If that had been you up there, dancing in half of a tuxedo, you’d be lying naked on that stage right now. Covered only by me.”

“Good God! Will you two shut the hell up? I was having a damn fine time until my ears started to bleed,” Sig complains.

When I can’t stand it any longer, I jump up out of my seat and onto the stage before the next word is said. I stride across the shiny black surface and duck between the two halves of the heavy curtain in search of Kennedy. Only she isn’t back stage. I stomp around for a minute, looking for her in all the logical places before I take off down the hall to the front of the boat where the crew quarters are located. When I reach her room, I’m still irate as I raise my fist to bang on her door.

CHAPTER TWENTY – Kennedy

I consider not answering the first harsh thumping that I hear, but when the second round of knocks is enough to make the panel rattle on its hinges, I figure I’d better open it before he damages something. The last thing I need is to be blamed for Reese breaking down my flimsy cabin door.

I walk to the door and fling it open, ready to shoot fire at Reese. Right up until I see how irate he looks. That gives me pause.

Grabbing me by my upper arms, Reese hauls me up against his chest and walks me backward into my room, kicking the door shut behind him.

“What the hell was that all about?”

I refuse to shrink from his anger. Instead, I meet it with a calm, matter-of-fact attitude that I don’t really feel, but am glad I could dredge up anyway.

“I danced. I entertained. Just like I was hired to do.”

“I didn’t hire you to flirt with every man on this ship,” Reese spits furiously.

“I thought that was just part of my performance. Like cozying up to you today on deck.”

I know my words strike a chord when I see his eyes flash with a dark light. “Well then I guess I’ll just have to take full advantage of your employment then.”

His quiet yet somehow even angrier voice triggers my own temper again. “Is that why you sent me those lab results? You think working for you should include sleeping with you? If that’s the case, then you can just drop me off at the next port and I’ll find my own way home.”

“I had Karesh give those to you so that you’d feel comfortable about everything when the time comes. As for when you end up in my bed,” he says with emphasis, “you can rest assured that it won’t be because you’re doing your job. You’ll be there because you can’t stand not to feel my hands on you. Because you can’t stand not to have my mouth on you.”

“You’ll be waiting a long time then, because I’m just fine without either of those.”

“Is that right?” Reese asks, a strange look on his face. It only takes me a few seconds to realize what it is. It’s resolve. Reese thinks I’m challenging him. And I can tell by the set of his jaw that he’s more than willing to accept.

His grip tightens around my arms and he swings me around and plasters me up against the door as his body crashes into mine. The action startles me, making me gasp. Reese takes full advantage of my open mouth, covering it with his own.

The instant his tongue touches mine, I lose all ability to think straight. All I can do is feel and taste and remember. The onslaught is so unexpected, so familiar that it takes my senses by storm.

The taste of him hasn’t changed. The scent of him, that clean, manly smell, is still there under the hint of his expensive cologne. And the feel of him…God help me, I’ve never been able to forget the way his body feels against mine. Every hard plane, every rigid muscle is pressed into my soft flesh, warming it. Exciting it.

Reese turns his head to the side, deepening the kiss as he slides his fingers down my arms to intertwine them with mine and raise our clasped hands above my head on the door. He leans further into me, his erection digging into my belly. My head is spinning dizzily as he lowers our hands then releases mine so that he can push my tux jacket from my shoulders.

His lips and tongue dazzle me as his fingers work the tiny buttons of my shirt. I don’t know when I drove my hands into his hair, but I’m suddenly aware of the silky, spiky feel of it, reminding me of passionate kisses just like this so long ago.

The first touch of Reese’s hands against the bare skin of my abdomen nearly shakes me from my thrall, but then they’re sliding around my waist, down to cup my butt and lift me off my feet. Automatically, my legs wind around him, giving us the perfect intimate contact. Reese moans into my mouth, sending a burst of electricity straight to my core.

Pleasure has taken over, pleasure at his kiss, at the little sounds he’s making, at the way he feels against every surface of my body. My head falls back on my shoulders of its own volition, giving Reese full access to my throat. His lips sear a path from my ear to my collarbone and then I’m falling, falling, falling.

I feel the mattress at my back just as Reese parts my shirt and closes his mouth over my nipple. I feel the heat and the moisture of his tongue through the thin material of my bra and I cry out, clasping his head to me as he grinds his hips between my spread legs.

But then, as quickly as it began, it’s over. Reese is lifting his head, staring down into my face. His breathing is as uneven as mine and his eyes are glistening pools in the gorgeous landscape of his face.

“I’ve never forgotten you, Kennedy. I’ve never stopped thinking about you, about us. I want you. And you know that. I promise you,” he says, dipping his head to kiss my chin, “that I’ll make you want to come to me.” He flexes his hips as though thrusting into me even though there are clothes between us. “Just don’t fight it too long.”

Straightening his arms to lift his weight off me, Reese brushes his lips once over mine and once over my still-aching nipple. Then, easing off the bed, he walks across the floor and right out the door, closing it gently behind him.

********

Three days later, we have finally reached our first port—Hawaii. The whole ship is abuzz with excitement and activity.