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He liked where he thought she was heading. If she was about to go back on the little agreement they’d made and say they could be more than friends, he was one hundred percent on board.
“If you want to hook up with someone while we’re on the cruise, you can do that,” she finished.
Whoa. What? He’d been expecting her to say the old woman had been right and she was ready to bang his brains out. He hadn’t expected her to tell him to have sex with someone else. How the hell had he misread everything going on between them?
“Is this because you don’t want to hang out with me and you want me to find someone else?” That had to be the reason. Why else would she be shoving him off to hang out with someone else? Unless. “Or is there someone you’d rather hang out with? Are you wanting to hook up with someone and can’t because of me?” If so, he was cock-blocking that shit without hesitation.
“What? No. I haven’t even talked to anyone else. Hooking up, having sex, none of that was on my radar when I agreed to this cruise.”
“And now?”
Her gaze jerked to the side.
Cupping her chin, he tilted her face until her blue-eyed gaze melted with his. “And now?”
Instead of answering right away, she swallowed. “Earlier, during the picture. Was that because of me?”
“Was what because of you?”
She let out a little huff. “Your hard-on.” Two pink flags tinged her cheeks.
He couldn’t help but smile at her discomfort. Not that he wanted her upset, but she was so damn cute.
Deciding to end her misery, he told her, “Of course it was, Courtney. Who else would have caused that reaction?”
She tried to turn her head away again, but he held firm. “There are a lot of really beautiful women on the ship. I just thought maybe one of them had caught your eye.”
He glanced around the beach, noting that she was right, even just on this excursion there were beautiful, sexy women. But there was only one Courtney, and she was the beautiful, sexy woman who’d caught more than just his eye, she’d held his attention.
“I’m not interested in any other woman on this cruise. I haven’t been since that first day when I saw you and Ashley on the deck.”
“I wasn’t nice to you then,” she whispered.
He had to smile. “You weren’t nice to me in the bar either,” he reminded her.
Her mouth dropped open on a gasp. Her small hand shoved against his chest. “You called me a cat lady.”
Yeah, he’d done that, but he hadn’t known her then. “Was I wrong?”
“I don’t even have a pet,” she mumbled. But he knew even if she did, she’d have a dog. It was one of the many things she’d told him as they lay side by side on the lounger the night before.
“If I promise not to call you a cat lady, will you promise to never ask if I’m interested in someone else?”
Damn if she didn’t pull that lip between her teeth again. Every time she did he just wanted to nibble on the damn thing himself. Instead, he rubbed his thumb across it until she opened her mouth and released it.
“Never?”
He nodded.
“That’s a long time.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of longing in her quiet voice. Did she want him to want her and never choose someone else? If anyone else had asked that of him, he would’ve laughed, but somehow the thought of only wanting Courtney for the rest of forever didn’t sound so bad to him.
He shrugged. “I don’t have any other plans.”
A small chuckle jerked her body, causing her breasts to sway almost dangerously in her top. He’d never wished so adamantly for a string to snap. But not here. There were too many people here. He wanted to get Courtney back to the ship, get her in his cabin, and untie every string on her suit like opening his most anticipated gift on Christmas. He was certain Courtney would be better than anything he’d ever found under a tree.
Unable to resist touching her, he ran a finger up her arm, over her shoulder and across her collar bone, watching as goosebumps dotted her skin. Slowly, her nipples pressed against her top, becoming more and more pronounced under his gaze. If they weren’t on this crowded beach with other tourists, he’d bend his head and suck her nipples into his mouth one by one. When she realized what held his attention, she shifted, crossing her arms over her chest and hiding her breasts from his view.
