Veritas

by Duncan, MJ

  The feeling of the boat’s engines reversing, slowing the Veritas to a crawl before Grey eased the throttle forward again, drew Lauren’s attention back to her task, and she licked her lips as she surveyed the water in front of her. She picked up the boat pole as she edged closer to the edge of the trampoline, searching for the pick-up buoy. She spotted it a few feet away, and waved her left hand over her shoulder in a small ‘go-go’ motion as she adjusted her grip on the boat pole. When the buoy was just below the bow, she held up a fist to tell Grey to stop as she snagged the buoy and hauled it onto the trampoline. She quickly slipped the port-side bow line through the pivot and tied it off to its cleat before doing the same with the starboard line, and she turned around to give Grey a thumbs up when she was done.

  The sight of Reid jumping up and down and cheering her efforts made her laugh, but her laughter died in her throat when her eyes landed on Grey. Butterflies once again took flight in her stomach at the small smile Grey was giving her, and she sucked in a deep breath as she held her gaze.

  Grey was vaguely aware of the bouncing bundle of energy beside her as she stared at Lauren, but the majority of her focus was directed toward the woman below. The air between them sparked with electricity, warm and alluring, and Grey knew that she was being sucked into a rip current of emotions that were bound to overwhelm her in the end. And, as she watched the wind tug at the loose curls that had fallen from Lauren’s ponytail, she was surprised to realize that she was perfectly okay with that.

  “Nicely done, Ms. Murphy,” Grey called out, her smile widening at the way Lauren ducked her head in either thanks or embarrassment at the praise.

  “Yay!” Reid yelled, his little arms thrown victoriously in the air. He grinned as he looked up at Grey and added, “Can I go fish more now?”

  Grey ruffled his hair and nodded. “‘Course you can, buddy.”

  Reid bounded down the stairs to the back deck, and Grey hurried after him, a soft smile tugging at her lips when her eyes again locked onto Lauren’s as she wound her way down the stairs. They were drawn to one another like magnets, and Grey felt a thrill shoot through her at the feeling of Lauren’s hand reaching back to tickle her thigh as she joined her on the deck.

  Though her eyes were trained on Reid, who was already down on the dive platform with the fishing pole she had stashed near the stairs earlier, Lauren was still achingly aware of Grey’s presence as the brunette sidled in behind her. She had caught Grey watching her several times while they sailed up the coast of Virgin Gorda, and while she had enjoyed spending time with Reid, she had wished that she could be up at the helm with Grey instead. But, now that they were finally close enough to touch, she was glad that circumstances had kept them apart. The urge to touch Grey was so strong that it took all of her willpower to try resist it, and she knew that, if she were given the opportunity to actually put her hands on Grey’s body that she would not want to stop.

  Grey was fighting a similar impulse, but she rolled her eyes as she gave in to it, reaching out to wrap a light hand around Lauren’s hip. Reid was distracted with his casting and, even if somebody were to come out onto deck from the salon, her body was shielding the touch. She gave Lauren’s side a quick squeeze and smiled at the way Lauren leaned back into her. “Hi.”

  “Hello.” Lauren glanced over her left shoulder at Grey, and smiled at the way Grey’s thumb dipped beneath the hem of her t-shirt to rub soft strokes against her side. “Can I help you with something?”

  “I wish,” Grey muttered as she let her pinky trail along the waistband of Lauren’s shorts.

  “Grey…” Lauren warned, but whatever she was about to say next was interrupted by Will calling to Reid as he ambled out onto the deck.

  “I know,” Grey grumbled, letting her hand drop as she discreetly moved away from Lauren. She forced herself to smile as she looked at Will. “How’re Max and Peyton doing?”

  “Better,” Will said, smiling gratefully at both Lauren and Grey. “Thank you for keeping an eye on Reid for us so we could deal with them.”

  “It wasn’t a problem at all,” Lauren assured him. “He was great.”

  “Daddy! Watch this!” Reid yelled as he scrambled to his feet and lifted his little fishing pole above his left shoulder. He reared back and then flicked the pole forward, and whooped in excitement when his casting weight went flying out into the harbor. “Did you see that?!”

  “Good job, Reid!” Will cheered. He looked over at Lauren and Grey and added, “Kim and the older boys are napping inside, so I’ll take over with this guy for a bit.”

  “Sounds good.” Grey watched him head down the steps to the dive platform to stand by his son, and pushed her sunglasses up onto her head as she turned toward Lauren. “Looks like we are relieved of Reid-duty.”

  “I heard. I’m just going to head into the galley—” Lauren hooked a thumb over her shoulder, “—and make something for all of us to snack on before I get working on dinner prep.”

  “You want some help?”

  The throaty timbre of Grey’s voice made Lauren’s mouth go dry, and she nodded jerkily as she turned on her heel to make her way inside. The salon was silent, so much so that Lauren could hear the soft pad of Grey’s shoes on the hardwood behind her. The quiet fall of each footstep, rubber landing in near silence against the polished wood floor, drove Lauren’s anticipation higher with each step she took until she was aware of nothing but Grey. She braced a hand on the edge of the counter at the feeling of Grey’s fingers sliding around her waist, and closed her eyes when Grey pressed up against her back.

  “What do you want me to help with?” Grey asked in a low whisper as she brushed her lips over Lauren’s ear.

  “Jesus,” Lauren breathed, her eyes fluttering shut at the feeling of Grey’s hips rolling against her ass.

  Grey smiled and flicked her tongue over the shell of Lauren’s ear. “You want me to talk to you about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?”

  Lauren laughed and shook her head. “No.”

  “Good, because I don’t really know that speech.” Grey dropped her mouth to Lauren’s pulse point and began teasing the sensitive spot with gentle licks and sucks. “I know that you like this, though.”

  “I do,” Lauren admitted, leaning her head back against Grey’s shoulder as the brunette’s mouth continued to work its magic. “We should probably go downstairs.”

  Grey hummed and blew softly against the slightly pinked skin she had been teasing. “I thought we were waiting until we’re alone?” she asked, even as she allowed Lauren to pull her toward the stairs.

  “We are.” The hold on her waist loosened as Lauren descended the stairs, and she used the opportunity to turn and face Grey once she had reached the short hall between their cabins. “I just really want to kiss you,” she whispered huskily as she wrapped her arms around Grey’s neck.

  “I like kissing.” Grey grabbed onto Lauren’s hips and pushed her back against the closed door to her cabin. She leaned in and let her mouth hover above Lauren’s, letting the anticipation build. The feeling of warm breath dancing across her lips made her pulse race, and she groaned as she finally surrendered to her desire to capture Lauren’s lips with her own.

  The kiss was slow, deep, and hungry, a desperate combination of lips and teeth and tongue that left no question as to where things between them were headed. Lauren sank back into the door, a ragged sigh escaping her at the feeling of a toned thigh slipping purposefully between her legs. Strong hands sliding heavily up her sides sent a shiver cascading down her spine, and her eyes rolled back in her head when Grey’s fingers wrapped around her wrists and lifted her hands up over her head, pinning them to the door. Her heart jumped into her throat when Grey’s fingers threaded through her own, and she moaned when Grey’s hips began thrusting lightly against her. It would be so easy to let things go further, to reach down and open the door, spilling them into the cabin where she could lose herself in everything that was Grey Wells. The idea was tempting, imp
ossibly so, considering the way her hips were now rolling to meet each of Grey’s thrusts, and Lauren groaned when it all suddenly disappeared. She blinked in confusion as she opened her eyes to find Grey smiling at her. “What…?”

  Grey shook her head and brushed a chaste kiss over Lauren’s lips. “We should probably stop.”

  Lauren knew in the back of her list-filled mind that Grey was right, but she still asked, “Why?”

  “Because—” Grey slipped her hands from Lauren’s and let them drop to the redhead’s hips, “—if we don’t stop this now, I won’t want to. And,” she added, tilting her head toward the salon, “we are not alone.”

  Understanding dawned on Lauren’s face, hard and more than just a little frustrated. “Fuck.”

  Grey chuckled and canted her hips into Lauren one more time. “Can we make cookies?”

  Lauren frowned. “I…you…what?”

  “Cookies,” Grey repeated, her eyes wide and entirely too innocent for the things they had just been doing. “For snack?”

  “You know what, Wells…” Lauren shook her head as her voice trailed off. “You suck.”

  “I do,” Grey agreed, stroking her hands over Lauren’s hips as she leaned in to press a quick kiss across her lips. “And many other things, as well. And I can’t wait to do it all to you, but we really do not have the time right now.”

  “You are enjoying this way too much,” Lauren grumbled, her tone annoyed, but it was softened by the amused smile that was starting to tug the corners of her lips.

  “Maybe a little,” Grey admitted with a laugh. “So…cookies?”

  Lauren threw her arms in the air in defeat and shrugged. “Sure. Why not? Let’s go make cookies.”

  Chapter 22

  Later that night, after the dinner dishes had been cleared and the Muellers had all disappeared to their cabins to try and make up for the sleep they did not get the night before, Grey found Lauren lying on her back on the starboard trampoline at the front of the boat. Lauren’s hands were folded behind her head, her long legs stretched out in front of her and crossed at the ankle, and her eyes were trained on the stars overhead. She looked relaxed and at ease with the world, like the breeze blowing out of the east that tickled her toes and snaked over her body did so at her behest.

  “Are you going to stand there and stare at me all night, or are you going to come out here?” Lauren asked, her voice soft and amused as she finally turned her head enough to look at Grey.

  Grey smiled and shrugged. “Both options have their merits.”

  “Yeah, well,” Lauren drawled, looking back up at the sky, “just lemme know what you decide.”

  There was an aloofness to Lauren’s tone that made Grey’s stomach drop, and she frowned as she stepped onto the trampoline. The fabric dipped slightly beneath her feet, each step rippling outward and making Lauren bounce with her progress. Despite this, Lauren gave no indication that she felt Grey’s approach, and Grey sighed as she lowered herself onto the mat beside her. “Are you mad about earlier?” she asked as she lay down beside Lauren, mirroring her posture as she folded her hands behind her head and looked up at the sky.

  “No, I’m not mad.” Lauren offered her a small smile as she pulled her right hand out from beneath her head and slipped it into Grey’s left. Their fingers threaded together as if it were the most natural thing in the world and not the first time they had actually held hands, and Lauren’s smile softened as she gave Grey’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Really. I’m not mad. I was the one who said I wanted to kiss you in the first place. Just…you do realize that I was not actually challenging you to a duel to see who could tease the other into complete insanity first, right? It was just sass.”

  “I like your sass,” Grey murmured. “And I know you weren’t throwing down a challenge this morning. I just…I meant what I said. If we were going to keep kissing like that, I would not have wanted to stop; and I don’t want to be worried about somebody walking in on us, or needing something from us, or whatever. But, at the same time—” she blew out a loud breath, “—I really just want to kiss you and touch you and…” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged, letting the silence finish the thought for her.

  “Me too.” Lauren looked down at their joined hands and slowly stroked her thumb over the side of Grey’s index finger.

  “So, what do you want to do?” Grey asked as she watched Lauren study their hands. “Because, I gotta tell you, that feels really good.”

  Lauren looked up at Grey, and her breath caught in her throat at the look of blatant desire that was staring back at her. Whatever it was between them, it was too strong for her to resist, and she wordlessly released Grey’s hand and rolled onto her side so that she was lying half on top of her. The thought of possibly being discovered fled her mind completely as she stared down at Grey, and she smiled as she dipped her head to capture her lips in a searing kiss. “I want to do this.”

  “Me too,” Grey whispered, stroking her hands over Lauren’s back. She rolled her right leg out to the side as she drew Lauren down into her, and she sighed at the feeling of Lauren’s leg slipping between her own. “Kiss me.”

  Lauren’s nipples hardened at the plea, and she groaned as she claimed Grey’s lips in a series of slow, deep, heavy kisses that stole the air from both of their lungs. “Goddamn,” Lauren whispered when she finally pulled back far enough to draw a proper breath.

  “Tell me about it,” Grey muttered, smiling against Lauren’s lips.

  “Maybe later.” Lauren relaxed and settled fully atop Grey, letting the brunette take her full weight. She smiled as she threaded her fingers through Grey’s hair, giving the short strands a gentle tug as she lowered her mouth to kiss her again.

  The longer they kissed, the more their hands began to wander, fingertips digging lightly into heated flesh. Grey moaned softly at the first gentle thrust of Lauren’s hips against her, and wasted no time matching her rhythm. She dropped her left hand to Lauren’s ass, encouraging her to thrust harder, while she slid her right up over Lauren’s ribs to her breast. She gave her captured prize a gentle squeeze, and smiled at the way Lauren gasped softly in response.

  Lauren shuddered at the feeling of Grey’s thumb stroking almost lazily back and forth across her nipple and swallowed thickly as she pulled back far enough to look into her eyes. She could feel the heat of Grey’s arousal against her leg, and she wanted to feel that warmth against her skin. Around her fingers. On her tongue. “Grey?”

  “Hmm?” Grey smiled up at Lauren as she gave her nipple a quick tweak.

  “Shit,” Lauren grunted, her hips bucking into Grey at the rougher touch. “Do you want to take this inside?”

  “God yes,” Grey breathed, lifting her head to suck at the spot on Lauren’s neck that had driven her crazy that afternoon.

  “Fuck,” Lauren hissed, biting her lip to try and muffle the sound as her head dropped to Grey’s shoulder. A none-too-gentle nip made her squirm, though whether it was to escape Grey’s mouth, she was not sure. “I’m not kidding, Grey,” she warned. “You keep doing that and we won’t make it inside.”

  Grey chuckled. “If we were alone, I’d love nothing more than to have you right here. Your skin glowing in the moonlight, the breeze off the water tickling every beautiful inch of you as I made you come over and over and over again.”

  Oh, yes please, Lauren thought, her hips jerking forward into Grey as a fresh wave of arousal crashed between her legs. “Grey…”

  “Hmm?” Grey teased, flicking the tip of her tongue over the edge of Lauren’s jaw.

  Lauren’s hips bucked again, and she groaned as she pushed herself up to her feet. Grey looked absolutely luscious laid out against the white trampoline, dark hair mussed from where her fingers had been twisted in it and her sun-bronzed skin standing in stark relief to the pale fabric. Yeah, when they were alone, they would definitely act out the little scenario Grey had just painted in her mind, but for now…“Bed.”

  “Aye, aye,” Gre
y said, smiling as she took Lauren’s outstretched hand and pulled herself to her feet.

  Chapter 23

  Lauren felt like a teenager sneaking around under the nose of an unsuspecting parent as she and Grey tiptoed through the salon and down the stairs to the brunette’s cabin. The light from Grey’s en suite spilled into the room, providing more than enough light to see while still leaving shadows to soften any perceived imperfections. She watched Grey close the door behind them, effectively shuttering them from the world, and felt her heart swoop up into her throat as Grey turned toward her.

  The sound of the lock engaging was like a starter’s pistol, and Lauren wasted no time reacting to it. Want like she had never experienced before burned in her veins as she closed the distance between them, her eyes darting over Grey’s face as she slipped her right hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a deep, probing kiss that was surprisingly gentle in its ferocity.

  Grey sank into the kiss, her hands reaching for the hem of Lauren’s shirt and ripping it off up over her head. She made quick work of Lauren’s bra as well, and smiled as she tossed it over her shoulder. “Much better,” she murmured as her covered Lauren’s breasts with her hands. She ran the pads of her thumbs over swollen nipples, and hummed softly at the way Lauren arched into the touch.

  “You too,” Lauren muttered, sucking Grey’s lower lip between her teeth and biting down gently on it as she reached for her shirt. She soothed the bite with the flat of her tongue as her fingers dragged it up over lusciously defined abs. She pulled back just far enough to yank Grey’s shirt off, and her mouth went dry as her eyes swept over Grey’s body. “Fuck,” she breathed, licking her lips as her eyes locked onto Grey’s. The brunette’s eyes were dark as pitch in the dim light, and Lauren felt herself clench at the promise that was burning in their obsidian depths.