“Are you dressed yet?” Jules hollered from the living room.
She heard the fabric tear as she pulled off the third dress she’d tried on. She tugged it over her head and threw it in the corner of the room. “Shit.”
“That didn’t sound good.” Jules stepped into the bedroom. She looked perfect in a black cocktail dress with her hair bouncing around her shoulders. Red pumps and a red clutch purse rounded out the ensemble.
“That was the third one. I have nothing to wear. I’m not going.” She sank down on the end of her bed.
“Oh shut up.”
“What?” While her friend always spoke her mind, she’d never told her to shut up before.
“You heard me. This is your big night. Put on the black slinky one you wore on the cruise, fix your hair and let’s go before we’re late.”
“I said, I’m not going.” Charley’s stomach was in knots. She was probably going to vomit at any moment. She would not be bullied.
“You are going. You, Drew and I are going to get into the car in ten minutes and go to your beautiful show.” Jules came and sat next to her. Her voice softened. “Look, you have done nothing but work on making those pictures perfect for the past three months. At times, I thought you were working yourself sick. It’s a big night. I know you’re tired and nervous, but we are going. Drew came down from New Jersey for this and frankly, I’m not missing my best friend’s first real show.
“So pick your perky little ass up off the bed and put on the slinky black dress, or I’m going to drag you out of here in your lacy bra and panties.”
Charley looked down at her underwear and back at Jules, who did not look as if she was joking. “Fine. I’ll be right out. Apologize to Drew for me.”
“No need. He’s a very patient man.” Jules winked and left the bedroom.
As promised, ten minutes later they were in the car. Charley’s stomach rolled and churned with every stop and start of the SUV. Each time they rounded a corner, she was sure she would have to scream at Drew to pull over or lose her lunch in the back of Jules’ vehicle. Somehow, magically, she made it to the gallery without losing her stomach contents. The car was taken away by a young man in a red jacket. She quietly followed Drew and Jules inside the glass doors.
Her parents rushed over to meet her. Her father smiled but her mother had a sour look on her face. Charley’s stomach flipped again.
“I don’t understand half of these pictures,” Beverly said.
“It’s a great show, little girl. I’m very proud of you,” Jack said.
“Thank you both for coming.” It was the first time either one had shown any interest in her work.
“I still don’t know what some of the pictures are supposed to be,” her mother continued.
Her father snapped at his wife. “That’s not the point, Beverly.”
Charley said, “Some of them are a bit abstract, Mom.”
“I think it all looks great.” He was talking to her mother and not her, which was good since his voice pitched with anger.
An instant later, they were bickering between themselves.
The gallery owner Frederique Manard whisked her away and after that there was no time to think about anything.
He was only a few inches taller than her and wore a perfectly tailored black, pin-striped suit. His shoes were polished to a gleam and his light salmon shirt didn’t show a single crease. “This is a singular event, Miss Ballantine. I can’t tell you how many compliments your work is getting. I’ve already had two offers on the shadowy deck and one on the eagle in flight. Several people are talking about the icebergs, the whales and the glacier but I’m holding off on taking bids, since there is so much interest. We’ll wait until the end of the night and drive the price up.”
She felt clumsy next to his perfect grooming. “Wow, I had no idea this would be so…big.”
“You’re photographs are amazing. You must know that.” He watched her as if waiting for a response. When she was silent on the subject, he smiled showing perfect white teeth that must have been caps or veneers.
Finally, she managed to mumble a thank-you.
“Leave everything to me, and we will both do well tonight, Miss Ballantine. When is your next trip? I’m already anticipating your second show being even bigger than this one.”
“I don’t know.”
He stared at her as if he expected her to say more.
Her heart was pounding. The white walls began to close in. “Soon.”
That seemed to appease Mr. Manard. “I’m sure some of the buyers will want to meet you. Go get yourself a glass of champagne and mingle. You really should be very proud of your accomplishment.”
She didn’t know about being proud or the mingling, but the champagne was a good idea. She’d seen a table where a bar was set up when they arrived and turned to find it.
“I’d like to know the answer to that last question too, Charley.” Kyle held two glasses of champagne. He passed one toward her.
Instinctively, she took it. “You’re here.”
“Did you think I would miss your show?” He looked perfectly at ease in a gray double-breasted suit, blue shirt and tie. He might have just stepped out of a men’s magazine. There was no sign of his uniform. He was just a well-dressed man out for the evening.
Her heart had lodged itself in her throat. It was impossible, but he was even more attractive off the ship than he had been onboard. She had to swallow twice before she could get her throat to open up for speech. “How did you know about my show?”
He frowned and closed the gap between them. “Not because you told me or even took one of my phone calls. We can both attest to that.”
She turned away. He had called more than a dozen times in the last three months. She guessed he tried to reach her whenever the ship was in a US port. It would have only made her feel worse to talk to him. Though in retrospect, she wasn’t sure she could actually feel any worse. Still, she had listened to each message over and over again, addicted to the sound of his voice.
She straightened her shoulders. “If you’re so angry, why did you come?”
He ran his fingers along the curve of her upper arm. “For the same reason I chased you down a dock in Seattle and called you twenty times since then.”
She ignored what he was obviously trying to tell her. It would kill her to hear him say those words. “How did you know?”
One side of his mouth turned up in a half smile. “Jules told me about it.”
She looked around the room and found Jules standing with Drew in a corner. They admired the close-up she’d taken of Kyle the first time she saw him. She had struggled with whether or not to display the intimate smile he’d given her through the lens. In the end, the photo had been too beautiful not to share. Though, it was also the only photograph that was not for sale. She couldn’t bear for someone else to have him.
Looking at it now, even with the real man standing so close, the memory of that moment sent chills down her spine.
Kyle stepped behind her and spoke low in her ear. “When I couldn’t reach you, I called her. She told me about the show, and I made some arrangements.”
Just his voice and breath on her lobe had her body shaking with desire. She turned, unable to endure two of him at once. She looked up into eyes she never thought she’d see in person again. Tears blurred her sight. He took his cocktail napkin and dabbed them out of the corners. “Don’t you dare cry unless it’s with the joy of seeing me again.”
That made her laugh so hard she snorted and people turned to look. Her cheeks warmed and she covered her mouth. “What arrangements?”
He smiled. “See, now that’s a sensible question.”
“Is there a sensible answer?”
He smiled and looked around the room. “This is quite a show, Charley. I’m impressed with what you saw. I’ve seen those sights dozens of times but you see things differently. You see things with an artist’s eye. Amazing.”
“You’re n
ot going to tell me?” Her stomach was churning again and her heart pounded.
“I want the answer to my question first and I had the impression you didn’t want to talk about your next trip at the moment.”
“I haven’t made any decisions yet.”
She could see his eyes shut in her peripheral vision. What was he thinking?
“God, you smell good,” he said.
He smelled amazing too and he looked even better, but she was making an effort not to look as if she was some oversexed teenager. This was her first professional showing. It was the night that could make or break her career.
He took her hand. “Come on. I saw that your parents are here. Introduce me.”
If anything was going to chase him away, this was the moment. She nodded and walked across to where her parents were staring sour-faced at the whale’s eye. She took a deep breath. “Mom, Dad, this is my friend, Kyle.”
She probably should have given him a better title, but she hadn’t had time to think of anything.
Her father held out his hand and began barraging Kyle with questions. Her mother narrowed her eyes and said nothing, which was probably a blessing. Though, Charley knew it wouldn’t last.
Kyle handled the interrogation splendidly, answering every question and never allowing the older man to ignite his temper.
When they finally managed to get away from them, he smiled at her in a way that made her think he might drag her out of the gallery like a caveman. She might have let him.
“That was interesting,” he said.
“I’m sorry. They can be…”
“Don’t finish the sentence. I’m not interested in your parents. I’m only interested in you.”
She thought her heart might burst. Her chest ached with the tenderness of the declaration. She almost forgot about the show and the room full of people.
Smiling, he pulled her deeper into the crowd and stood by her the entire night while she mingled and did an impression of a successful artist. All the while, she wondered if he tasted the same as he had three months earlier. It was the longest evening of her life.
In the end, Mr. Manard had been right, every picture sold and the icebergs had gone for an outrageous amount.
A dozen or more attendees were still milling around negotiating for prices and asking if more work would be available and when. Frederique Manard was in his element. Charley watched from the back corner of the room.
Kyle’s fingers slid up her arm, from her wrist to the inside of her elbow. “Come with me.”
Without thinking, she followed him out a back door, down a hall and out another door that led to an alley between two buildings. “What are we doing here, K—?”
His body pressed her against the wall as his mouth consumed his name. Her pussy ached and she couldn’t help pressing her hips forward against him. His cock jutted between them. With his tongue plundering her mouth, she had no opportunity to tell him that she had a condo fifteen minutes away. Even if the opportunity had presented itself, she wasn’t sure she would have told him. There was something about the possibility that at any moment someone could come into that alley and find them. She should have been mortified by the idea, but she was excited and turned on.
He tugged her formfitting dress up until she could feel the stucco wall’s roughness on her ass. His fingers found her thong and he pulled the tiny triangle aside and dipped one finger between her folds. His mouth was on her ear, teasing and nibbling the lobe. Every touch had her gasping for more.
She had never done anything so crazy in her life. It had never even occurred to her until the cruise that it might be exciting to have sex anyplace but a bedroom. Now she found herself wondering how far she might be willing to go.
His finger worked her clit expertly. Every rub drew a cry from her lips. His body moved up and down hers, rubbing against her nipples and heightening her pleasure. The hard wall scratched her skin, but even that added to her pleasure.
“Kyle, I’m going to come.”
He covered her mouth with his to muffle the sound of her cry as her pussy pulsed and her body stiffened in his hands. The waves of orgasm crashed around her. Her ears rang with the blood flooding her head. Kyle’s hand cupped her pussy, pressing tight as the sensation passed and liquid flowed down her thighs.
“Charley, you feel so good.”
She had to gasp for air. Her body shook, but he held her tight.
“I missed you, Kyle.” As soon as she said it, she wished she could take the words back.
He immediately stilled and the kisses he was raining down on her neck stopped. “Then why didn’t you answer the phone?”
She suddenly felt very exposed and tugged her dress down over her hips. “Why didn’t you ask me to stay with you three months ago?”
In spite of the anger she saw in his eyes, he put two fingers in his mouth and licked her juices off the digits. He leaned in so that his mouth hovered over hers. “You never gave me the chance. You threw me out of your room that last night and ran away in the morning as if the ship were on fire.”
The back door opened and Mr. Manard poked his head out. “There you are. The buyer of the icebergs wants to meet you, if you have a few minutes.”
Kyle blocked most of her body from the door. She cleared her throat. “I’ll be there in just a minute.”
The door closed and Kyle took a step back. If he was angry with her, she couldn’t tell. He smoothed his hand over her hair and straightened the top of her dress where it had gone far enough to the right so that her lace bra was exposed. He smiled down at her. “You may need a quick stop in the ladies’ room.”
“Will you wait for me?” She hated the frightened shake she heard in her voice.
The smile that lit his face made it worth the embarrassment. “I’ve waited this long, what’s another few minutes?”
The woman who looked back at her from the mirror in the bathroom was a complete stranger to her. She looked thoroughly ravaged and of course, she was. Her pupils were dilated, her cheeks shone bright pink and her mascara had run. It took her a few minutes to make herself look presentable.
Thirty minutes later, the wealthy buyer had asked and been granted a private showing before her next collection went public. The collector really loved her work. It was heady to have someone gush over her art that way.
It was past one in the morning by the time she and Mr. Manard walked out the front door of the gallery.
“Can I drop you home?” Manard asked.
Kyle pushed away from the front of the building where he’d been leaning and waiting. “The lady has a ride.”
“Thank you. I’m fine,” she said.
The gallery owner looked from Kyle to her and back again. “Are you sure?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
“I’ll call you with the final numbers tomorrow.”
“That would be great.”
He looked once more at Kyle and then walked to the sports car parked a hundred feet down the street.
“Where are Drew and Jules?”
“They left a long time ago. I told them I’d get you home.” He walked to the door of a silver rental car and opened the passenger side for her.
She got in and watched as he walked around the front of the car. He moved gracefully and purposely. His body was still a fascination for her.
He got in. “Congratulations, Charley. You’re a big success.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you were here.”
His warm smile had her wishing she lived even closer to the gallery.
“I am too,” he said.
Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot of her condo building. He walked quietly beside her to the elevator. They hadn’t talked in the car, though he had taken her hand in his and gently rubbed the knuckles as if they were an old couple who had been doing that for decades.
As soon as she let them inside her home, she asked, “What arrangements did you make before you came here?”
&nbs
p; He smiled and looked around the living room touching things as he went. The small kitchen and dining room both opened up to the larger space. Everything was modern but airy in a Floridian way.
“When are you taking your next trip?”
She leaned against the back of the leather couch. “I don’t know. The cruise line has offered me another contract, but I haven’t decided if I’m going to take it or not.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” He faced her and leaned against the island countertop.
Her heart was pounding. A few hours ago, she thought she’d never see him again and now she was confronted with telling him her fears. “I didn’t think I could stand going on another cruise.”
“Why? Didn’t you enjoy cruising?” He pushed off the white counter and walked across to stand directly in front of her.
“You know why.” She had to swallow hard to keep from crying.
“Say it, Charley.” His eyes were completely magnetic.
She couldn’t look away. “Because of you. Because if I took another trip, you wouldn’t be on it, and that would break my heart.”
He crushed her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her, while she wept into his jacket.
It took her a few minutes to stop her tears enough to push him away and look him in the face. “Now you.”
He smiled. “Captain Cristou recommended me for a captaincy. It’s a smaller ship that mostly cruises the Caribbean and Mexico.”
“That’s great. Congratulations. When do you leave?” She was at once excited for him and depressed that he was leaving again.
“I haven’t accepted the contract yet.”
“Why on earth not?”
“I’ve waited this long to get my own ship, I can wait a few years longer if it means I have a chance to be with you.”
“I don’t understand. How can you…”
“When are you planning your next trip, Charley?”
Then it hit her. He was going to postpone his career to be with her. He was giving up his dreams of being the captain of a cruise ship so that he could follow her around taking pictures. Was that even possible?
“What are you asking me, Kyle?”
Alaskan Exposure Page 18