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.”
“Oh, this old thing?” I say, fluttering my eyelashes in mock coyness. “I did the best I could for today, but I couldn’t find much. But tonight…tonight I’m wearing something just for you. I think you’ll really enjoy it.”
Reese raises one brow. “Reeeally?”
The look he gives me threatens to make me blush. He’s all but licking his lips like a hungry wolf and I’m all but dying to be his next meal.
********
A couple of hours later, as I’m relaxing in the shade, I realize that Reese was right. This isn’t as bad as I thought it might be. As I’ve watched, a couple of the guys seem like they’re just really shy. I can see where that could be a problem for them in real life. But not here.
Most of the others seem well-adjusted, if a little playboy-ish. I think they’re here for the fantasy, like Reese says. But there’s one or two, particularly Nathan and Jeremy, that give me an uneasy feeling. Something about each of them reminds me of watching a predator. And not in a good way. Even though I have nothing to base it on, I get the feeling that they could get a little rough and insistent. Maybe too insistent. It makes me glad that Reese has more or less staked his claim on me. I’d hate to find myself alone with either one of the two. I’m not sure I’d know what to do. At Exotique, we didn’t have to worry about things like this. There was ample security and the creepers were usually weeded out pretty quickly.
My eyes find Reese. He’s embroiled in a conversation about stocks and looking in no hurry to move, so when the breeze picks up and gives me a chill, I decide to head for one of the two raised decks to warm myself in the sun. I choose the one to the right of the bar. The one that Amber is not occupying.
My eyes are closed and my face is tilted to the sun when a shadow falls over me. I smile as I crack my lids. I expect to see Reese hovering above me, but instead, I find Nathan.
“Be careful and don’t burn. It would be a shame to damage one inch of this beautiful skin.” He bends to drag one finger down my thigh as he sits on the end of my lounge chair.