Six months to be exact.
But she didn't say that. Instead she said, "When do I get to meet the elusive Eli Crane?"
"Eli is serving overseas for another few years," Reese said. "He's not one to come home often."
"Eli is in the army?" Her voice sounded hollow. Reese hadn't mentioned his brother was in another country. Shouldn't that have been on his short list of things to tell her? Thank goodness she didn't mention that to the media.
"Marines," Tag corrected. "It's who he is." He looked around the room as if assessing. "He doesn't have a lot of tolerance for this world."
"You mean tolerance for Chicago?" Merina asked.
"Tolerance for the hotel business." One of Tag's eyebrows hitched, then dropped. "Eli's sense of duty overwhelms everything else."
"He's the best of all of us," Reese said, and she could tell he meant it. "He gets that streak of dedication from our father."
"Have Big Crane show you his tats sometime," Tag told her, then clapped Reese on the back. "Brother. I'm off. I have a date."
"Should've brought her." Reese's tone was teasing. Tag smiled in challenge.
"Never. Don't want to give 'em the wrong idea." Tag nodded at Merina. "Sis. See you around."
Sis. Merina blinked as Tag turned, tall and broad and, yes, like Tarzan but with a much better vocabulary.
"He doesn't linger with his dates either, I take it," she said to Reese.
He didn't answer, which was an answer in itself.
"Everyone," Reese announced.
He hadn't lifted his voice much, but the crowd stopped and turned to him the moment he spoke. Reese had a commanding nature. He was someone who drew attention. His palm covered her lower back and warmth transferred from his hand to her skin.
"I'll leave you the run of the house," he told their guests. "Tilly and Magda will get you anything you need. Now, if you'll excuse us, my wife and I have a moonlight cruise to take in."
Low murmurs came from the crowd.
"A cruise?" she asked.
"On my yacht. Your bags are already packed and on board," Reese said. "Told you the honeymoon was a surprise. You may want to change out of your gown first. I'm losing the tux."
They headed out of the room, Reese accepting handshakes and Merina narrowly avoiding a cheek kiss from Dice. Then they walked upstairs hand-in-hand, winding around hallways until Reese came to a stop in front of a door. Her basic necessities had been moved in yesterday, and unloaded into his room. Their shared room.
The door they stood outside of now.
He opened the door, revealing the room she'd seen yesterday when she was putting her clothes and her shoes in one of the closets. Hers was the gargantuan one on the right side of the room, Reese's on the left. She'd fit her dresser, a mirror, and an entire wall of shoes in there. It was almost too much. But then, wasn't this all?
"The honeymoon is on your yacht." She'd walked in ahead of him and turned to find him undoing his cuff links.
"I figured a night away from the house would give us some much needed privacy."
"Privacy to make it look like…" Her cheeks grew warm.
He dipped his chin. "Then we'll return to work and life goes back to normal."
Normal. After spending a few days on a cramped boat with the man who made her entire body react like she'd been submerged into a vat of effervescence? She doubted she'd be able to find normal with a map.
"The bonus is on the boat—it'll just be us." He tugged at his bow tie and she froze, anxious to finally see the man out of his tie. "So you won't have to do anything for show."
"No crew?" She had to clear her throat to get the question out when he untied the length of black silk.
"Captain, first mate, and deckhand at your service." Reese left the bow tie dangling and lost the jacket, tossing it haphazardly onto the massive bed. Four fat posts and piles of gold and black bedding stood at the end of the room. Would they share that bed? She assumed they'd have to. The house staff would be suspicious if they didn't.
He crooked a finger for her to come to him.
"What?" It took everything in her not to take a step backward.
"What, what? Come here so I can unzip you."
Oh. Okay, she was being ridiculous. Crane wasn't trying to seduce her. Not even in this luxurious den of sin. That's how she saw it, with its dark wood flooring and rich cedar closets. A bed they could do cartwheels on, Reese's obvious kissing abilities…Yeah, it hadn't taken long for her mind to cannonball into the gutter.
She sashayed—because there was no other way to walk in her floor-length lace-and-satin gown—and turned, having no need to hold her hair up since it was pinned at her nape. Warm fingers brushed there now as he undid the delicate pearl button at the top, then ran his fingers down her bare back before sliding the zipper down. He took his time, pausing at each inch. Her heart thudded as Reese sucked in a deep breath.
"You're truly exquisite, Merina." His low, gravel-laden voice matched her lust-filled thoughts. Being kissed by him was distracting to the nth degree, but being undressed by him? Unparalleled.
"Thank you," she managed.
With the flat of one hand, he touched her shoulder, leaning so close, she could feel the brush of his shirt and the heat radiating off his body. "May I?"
"Crane…"
"The word you're looking for is yes." Those words were murmured against the shell of her ear before he closed his lips over the edge of her lobe.
He was a drug. Her eyes fell closed as she gave herself over to the sensation of Reese's broad palms sliding over the bared skin of her back. His fingers tucked beneath the thin flower-laced straps of the dress, then molded her shoulders, pulling those straps down.
"You're so soft." His voice was filled with wonder. He placed another kiss to her neck.
She didn't know what to do with her hands. They were currently pressed to the front of her gown when what she wanted to do was strip herself bare and turn to accept Reese's mouth on every part of her. But she couldn't do that. Selling part of her soul for the Van Heusen didn't include her body.