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Oh yeah, she was. All. The. Time.
Gertrude leaned back, placing both hands atop the cane head. “What scares you?”
“I didn’t say I was scared,” Courtney answered reflexively.
“Then what makes you feel guilty?”
“I don’t . . .” She couldn’t even finish that lie.
“Do you feel guilty because you want a man that isn’t your late husband?”
Instinctively, she shook her head then stopped. “Maybe. It’s just that . . . I wanted Kyle, my husband. He was so handsome, and our sex life was . . . it was good.” They’d both been happy, satisfied. “I wanted him, I just . . . I never felt this way about him.
“What way?”
“Like I need him.” Oh God, that was it, wasn’t it? She’d wanted Kyle, she’d enjoyed Kyle, but she’d never hungered for Kyle the way she did after just a few short days in Seth’s presence.
Gertrude shrugged. “Maybe because you didn’t.”
Courtney sat up straighter. “But I did. I did want him.”
The older woman nodded. “I want a lot of things, but they’re not necessary for my survival.”
Courtney scoffed. “And you think Seth, specifically sex with Seth, is necessary for my survival?”
“Could be,” Gertrude answered as if they were discussing the weather or what they should have for dinner instead of a major step in Courtney’s life. “To truly survive, to thrive and live, a woman needs happiness. Orgasms.”
Courtney gasped at the older woman’s blunt speech.
“And honey, that man looks like he could give you some orgasms.” She raised a blue-tinted eyebrow.
Courtney turned to look over her shoulder. Seth was walking across the deck. His hair was damp with sweat, and his discarded t-shirt was slung over his shoulder, leaving his damp chest exposed. Courtney’s mouth watered at the sight, and the space between her thighs grew warm.
Gertrude leaned across the table. “I think you’re ready, Corey.”
* * *
Seth followed Zack onto the small boat that would take them, Ashley, and Courtney to a sandbar in the middle of the ocean where they could interact with stingrays. He hoped Courtney didn’t mind him and Zack tagging along. The last time he and Zack had discussed their plans for the day, they hadn’t involved feeding stingrays or lunching on Starfish beach. Apparently though, Zack and Ashley hadn’t gotten enough of each other’s company all night long, and now Seth and Zack were crashing the girls’ excursion.
“Are you sure they don’t mind?” he asked for the hundredth time. Courtney had been acting strange ever since he spotted her at breakfast with the older woman who’d pinched his ass at the pool two days ago. When he’d approached the table, Courtney’s face had turned several shades of red. Then the older woman had stood from the table, patted Courtney’s hand, winked, and left after giving Seth a light tap on the ass with the penis end of her cane.
Courtney and Ashley were already seated on a padded bench along one side of the boat. They’d been smart enough to board early and get a spot with some shade. When Ashley saw them, her blue eyes widened and she waved them over. Zack needed no further coaxing and hurried to the empty seat beside the blonde. Seth watched Courtney, trying to gauge her reaction to their presence. She smiled as Zack sat beside Ashley, causing her to slide closer to Courtney. Then she turned her head and caught him standing in the middle of the boat like an idiot. She raised one of her dark brows, then cocked her head. Did he confuse her as much as she confused him? He didn’t want to make her feel uncertain, but he did find comfort in the possibility that he wasn’t the only one wondering what the hell was going on between them. He’d promised to just be friends, and he could keep that promise. But the more time he spent with Courtney, the more he thought she might want something more.
“Is this seat taken?” he asked, stopping in front of her and gesturing to the scant unoccupied section of cushion.
She shook her head. “I was wondering if you were going to come over or just stand in the middle of the boat staring.”
He winked. “Was I that obvious?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re what? Six-two, six-three? You tend to take up some space.” The way her gaze roamed over him as she spoke made him think she didn’t mind the amount of space he took up.
“I’m six-two,” he confirmed for her. “Which is why I’m not sure I’m going to fit in that very tiny space you have left.” He turned, scanning the boat for another available seat.
Taking his hand, she tugged him around and down to the seat beside her. “We’ll manage.” She shifted to make room for him.
On the other side of her Ashley scooted closer to Zack, practically sitting in his lap. Seth wouldn’t mind having a lap full of Courtney, but he’d probably end up embarrassing himself. When he shifted into the corner and stretched his arm across the railing behind her, she settled into his side. If someone were watching, they might mistake the two of them for a couple instead of practical strangers that had sworn to be nothing else.
He leaned down and, with his mouth only a breath from her ear, asked, “Are you comfortable?”
