Then Sawyer laughed, and Gemma turned to look at him. But it was almost as if she’d never seen him before. He had to be the most attractive person she’d ever seen. His smooth tanned skin, the hard contours of his chest, the strong line of his jaw, even the way his blond hair just touched the nape of his neck.

Her whole body tingled as intense heat spread through her. A kind of primal lust that started in her belly traveled down her thighs.

Gemma wanted nothing more in the world than to touch him and kiss him and taste him. Her hands trembled at the thought of it, and she licked her lips.

“You okay, Gemma?” Penn asked, barely breaking the trance that Gemma was under.

“What?” Gemma asked.

She blinked, trying to clear her head, but all her thoughts still involved kissing Sawyer and ripping off his shirt. He was so close to her that she could nearly do it, and that was when Gemma realized she’d somehow moved closer to him. She was nearly touching him, the smooth, warm skin of his arm.

“Gemma,” Penn repeated, her tone harder this time. “Are you enjoying the movie?”

“Uh, yeah.” Using all her willpower, Gemma forced herself to scoot away from Sawyer. To be on the safe side, she tucked both her hands underneath her so she was sitting on them. “It’s a good movie.”

The next few minutes seemed to stretch on for hours. All Gemma could think about was Sawyer. He was so gorgeous and so close, and she was certain that she’d never wanted anyone more. She tried to think of Alex, but just then she could barely even remember his face, let alone how she felt about him.

Without warning, Penn leaned over and started kissing Sawyer. And not just a gentle peck on the lips. Penn climbed over, straddling him between her legs, as she kissed him deeply. She pushed her body against him, and he moaned.

“Holy crap,” Gemma muttered to herself, and then stood up.

Watching Penn make out with Sawyer was messing with her head. It somehow managed to both increase her lust and repulse her at the same time.

Fortunately, the logical part of her won out, and she backed away from the couch.

“I think I’m going to go for a swim,” Gemma said, and for some reason she was nearly shouting.

“I’ll join you,” Thea said, jumping to her feet.

Lexi was still on the floor, but she’d turned around to watch Penn and Sawyer make out, which Gemma thought was rather creepy.

Thea walked with Gemma through the house and out the back door. As soon as Gemma felt the ocean breeze, she felt like she could think again. The bizarre lust had retreated, leaving behind confusion and shame as she tried to make sense of her feelings.