All the Pretty Poses

by M. Leighton

“Liar,” he says with a wicked gleam in his eye.

  I say nothing. I don’t know what to say, other than to beg him to put out the flames that are consuming me right now, which I won’t do.

  “If I pulled them down right now and put my fingers inside you, you’d come, wouldn’t you?”

  I can’t deny it. I probably would.

  “I could make you feel so good, Kennedy,” he says, leaning further into me, “but I won’t. I won’t until you ask me to.”

  I want to scream and moan and beg, but I do none of that. I simply let his eyes eat me up from the inside and I hold my tongue, determined not to give in so easily. This has become more than just me resisting Reese; this has become a battle of wills. He wants to make me beg, but I want to make him work for it.

  “Can you wait that long?” I ask, rotating my hips under him the tiniest bit.

  I know he felt it. I hear the air hiss through his teeth. “I promised you the truth, and the truth is I don’t know how long I can wait.”

  I smile. I can’t help it. I love that he would admit that to me. “Then maybe just a little bit longer,” I say, tugging my ankles free of his grasp to wrap them around his waist.

  I grin at the look of shocked desire on his face. Maybe I really do like to play with fire.

  Lightning fast, Reese reaches forward and grabs my wrists, hauling me up and into his arms. He wraps them around me, holding me close as he picks me up a few inches and then drops me back down on his very noticeable erection.

  “I wouldn’t wait too long. It could get ugly.”

  “Maybe I like ugly. Maybe that’s what I’m into.”

  Leaning forward, Reese licks a path from the V of my shirt neck to my ear. “I’ll give you anything you want. As often as you want it. Ugly, rough, the dirtiest things you can think of. I’d do it all for you, baby. I’d come all over you and then lick it off. On that sexy mouth, on those delectable nipples. In that beautiful ass. So far up inside you, it wouldn’t come out for days.”

  Reese is slowly grinding my hips against his, whispering naughty things in my ear, setting my insides on fire. There’s friction in all the right places—body and mind—winding me up tighter and tighter.

  “Mmm, the things I’d do to you. The places I’d put my fingers, the way I’d slide them in and out. Fast and hard, then slow and easy.” The movement of his body under mine is steadily increasing, making it harder and harder for me to hold out. “The things I’d taste with my tongue. Damn, I can just imagine how sweet and creamy you are, like vanilla. And what that tight little body would feel like wrapped around my cock. Hot. Slick. If I close my eyes I can imagine you sliding down over me right now. So wet. Kennedy?” he whispers.

  “Huh?” I moan, my entire being focused on the place where he’s rubbing against me.

  “I can feel those soaked panties through our clothes. Because you’re close, aren’t you? So close. Maybe if I did this,” he murmurs, reaching between us to scrub the backs of his fingers over my sensitive center, stroking exactly where I need him to, as though there is an X marked there that only he can see. “Let me have it, Kennedy,” he whispers, his lips grazing my ear as he speaks. “I wanna watch you come.”

  With Reese’s eyes riveted on my face, refusing to let me go as he pulses one knuckle against me, I feel my body spiraling out of control. Over and over, he moves his hand until…

  Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!

  My muscles squeeze and I swallow a gulp of air, determined to hold back the sounds of my orgasm. I move against him, unable to remain still any longer. My breath stops and starts, stops and starts and I pant against his neck, my arms gripping his broad shoulders as he rubs me through each wave. As I make my way back down to earth, Reese slows his assault, massaging me gently until my breathing returns to normal.

  “That’s just a taste,” he murmurs, leaning in to nuzzle my throat.

  Oh my god, Reese just watched me have a fully-clothed orgasm in the floor of a gym.

  I can feel my face burst into flames and I hide it in the curve of his shoulder. Reese leans back and reaches up to cup my face. It’s hard to look him in the eye. “Don’t hide that from me. Don’t ever hide that from me.”

  In the sweetest of kisses, Reese covers my lips with his own for a few, too-brief seconds before he wraps his arms around me again and holds me against his chest.

  After a few minutes, when my buttery bones have started to solidify once more, Reese pulls back again. “Bet Brian never gave you a work out like that before, did he?”

  His eyes are sparkling with mischief and, yet again, I have to hold back a smile.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  His eyes narrow and he smacks my butt. Hard. “What was that? I’m sure I didn’t hear that right.”

  I give him my most innocent smile. “Nothing. I didn’t say a single thing.”

  “That’s what I thought,” he says, kissing the end of my nose. “How about some breakfast? I’m starving.”

  “I just bet you are,” I tease, planting my hands on his shoulders and standing, my legs only feeling slightly wobbly. “Come on, let’s go feed the beast.”

  “Oh you already are,” Reese says, reaching for my hand as we make our way from the gym. “Trust me.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN- Reese

  As much as I would’ve liked to have a quiet, intimate breakfast in my room with Kennedy, I figured there was no reason to put myself through that. Her sassy little comments coupled with the images I kept getting of her naked, showering in the room right next door was more than enough to convince me to bring her up on deck for breakfast. In public.

  I smile just thinking about her reaction when I escorted her back to the stateroom next to mine rather than her tiny shared room in crew quarters. “I had Karesh bring your things here.”

  She looked at me with worried eyes. “I don’t want the others to think that I’m—”

  “I don’t care what the others think and neither should you. I want you here. I want you close to me. That’s all that matters. Everyone else can go to hell.”

  She might’ve wanted to argue, but she didn’t, especially when I opened the door to the stateroom and Karesh had made the few other changes I’d asked him to make. Fresh flowers were overflowing a crystal vase that he’d placed on the dresser. Her cosmetics bag was sitting on the vanity. Her robe was draped over the end of the bed, which had been made while we were gone. The curtains over the balcony had been drawn back to display the stunning view. And, most importantly, a tiny coffee table had been placed out there, a private place from which she can sit and enjoy the outdoors as much and as often as she’d like. As thrilled as Karesh said she seemed about just having a window in her other room, I figured a balcony would seal the deal.

  And it did.

  She turned bright eyes and a quietly beaming smile on me. “Thank you. It’s beautiful here.”

  “It doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

  “I’m so tickled, I’m not even going to comment on the quality of that line,” she quipped.

  “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 no
dding. “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 breasts and tie behind her neck. A gold hoop in the center of her sternum gives a teasing glimpse of her cleavage 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 breasts 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 cock 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 naked,” 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 s
lide 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.”