Veritas

by Duncan, MJ

  “You’re welcome.” Lauren gave Grey’s hand a gentle squeeze. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I will be.” Grey looked down at their hands that were resting on the warm skin of Lauren’s thigh and sighed. Though Lauren had said that she did not mind, Grey still felt bad that she was spending her vacation dealing with all of her drama. “I am sorry about all this.”

  “Oh, Grey.” Lauren set her glass onto a shelf behind her head and ran her fingers down the curve of Grey’s jaw. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

  Grey closed her eyes and leaned into Lauren’s hand, unable to resist the warmth of her touch. “I miss her.”

  “I know.” Lauren’s lips ticked up in a small smile as she cradled Grey’s jaw in her hand and smoothed her thumb over Grey’s cheek. “I know you do. It’s okay.”

  “How are you so cool with all this?” Grey asked, blinking her eyes open to look at Lauren, whose eyes were overflowing with understanding.

  “What else can I be?” Lauren shook her head as she saw Grey preparing to argue, and slid her hand down to press her index finger against Grey’s lips to silence her. “I mean, seriously. You have every right to mourn, and there is no time limit on something like that. Emily is a part of you. She is a big, wonderful part of your life that helped you become the woman you are now, and it’s okay for you miss her. You should miss her.”

  Grey pressed a kiss to the finger against her lips and sighed when Lauren pulled it away. “You are too understanding.”

  “I’m not,” Lauren assured her. She smiled sadly and brushed her lips across Grey’s forehead, steeling herself to say the words she knew she needed to say. “You are an amazing woman, Grey, and I have really enjoyed everything that we’ve done together, but if you’re not okay with this anymore, if it’s something that is going to cause you too much stress or heartache, we can stop.”

  “It’s not that.” Grey shook her head. “It’s not you…”

  “It’s me,” Lauren finished with a wry grin. “Yeah. I’ve heard that one before.”

  “No.” Grey shook her head again and chugged what was left of the scotch in her glass, the alcohol warming her belly and strengthening her resolve. She set the empty tumbler down on the shelf beside Lauren’s and turned into her, bracing her left hand on the bed beside Lauren’s hip so that she was hovering in front of her. “That’s not what I meant,” she whispered, holding Lauren’s gaze. Her eyes dropped to Lauren’s lips and then back up to her eyes, and she smiled. “I miss her. But I also don’t want to stop doing what we’re doing, either.”

  Lauren’s eyes danced over Grey’s face as she tried to gauge the truthfulness in her words. “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah.” Grey nodded and leaned in closer until their lips were only a hair’s breadth apart. “I’m sure.”

  Lauren knew that she should call an end to whatever this was, but there was something about Grey that called to her, and her pulse began to race as she realized that, right or wrong, she just could not resist Grey Wells. “This is probably a really bad idea.”

  Grey grinned and pressed the softest of kisses to Lauren’s lips, the caress a defiant confirmation of the fact that she knew Lauren was right, and that she did not care. “Do you want to stop?”

  “No.” Lauren reached up and wrapped her right hand around the back of Grey’s neck, holding her in place. She knew that it was the absolute wrong thing to say, but she did not care. For the first time in her life, she was going to do the reckless thing. The stupid thing. She wanted Grey. And, judging by the swirling desire burning in Grey’s eyes, Grey wanted her too. And, for now, that was enough. “I don’t want to stop.”

  “Good.” Grey kissed Lauren again. It started out as just a simple clasping of lips, a chaste confirmation that this was what they both wanted, but it did not take long at all for it to become something more as that indefinable spark that drew them together flared.

  A shiver rolled down Lauren’s spine at the feeling of Grey’s hands slipping beneath her shirt, long, strong fingers digging possessively into her sides, and she took advantage of their positioning to help Grey out of her shirt and bra. The rest of Grey’s clothes hit the floor not even a minute later, and Lauren smiled as she twisted her hips and forced Grey to roll onto her back.

  Grey smiled as she relaxed back onto the bed, enjoying the sight of Lauren hovering above her. “Yes?”

  Lauren’s eyes dragged over Grey’s lean, tan body, tracing the subtle lines of toned muscle and soft, feminine curves. Her heart thudded heavily in her throat as an unexpected feeling of tenderness swept through her the moment their eyes met, and she shook her head as she dipped down to capture Grey’s lips in a kiss that was so much softer than the ones they had been trading only moments before.

  The quiet affection in Lauren’s kiss made Grey’s heart flutter up into her throat, and she melted into it, meeting each languid swipe of Lauren’s tongue with one of her own. She undressed Lauren with little thought as to what she was doing as her fingers slid over warm, soft skin, drawing little gasps and soft groans from Lauren’s lips, and she sighed when she was eventually rewarded with the soft press of Lauren’s body against her own. “Lauren…”

  “Let me,” Lauren whispered, dragging the tip of her nose over Grey’s cheek as she stared into Grey’s eyes.

  The gentle warmth burning in Lauren’s gaze took Grey’s breath away. “Okay.”

  “Thank you.” Lauren pressed a soft kiss to the left corner of Grey’s lips, and then the right, before claiming them again completely.

  Grey wrapped her hands around Lauren’s hips as they kissed slowly, each lingering connection bleeding into the next until it became impossible to identify where one kiss ended and the next began. She held Lauren to her, delighting in the soft, electric pulse that would shoot through her body every time their nipples grazed together. Her breath caught in her throat at the feeling of Lauren’s fingers dragging lightly down her arms, and she moaned softly when Lauren’s hands wrapped lightly around her wrists and guided her arms up over her head.

  “Okay?” Lauren asked softly as she threaded their fingers together, pinning Grey’s hands to the sheets beside her head.

  “God, yes.” Grey squeezed Lauren’s hands and nodded, surprising herself at how badly she wanted to give up the control she usually held in an iron fist. She sank into the bed as their kisses grew impossibly slower, their bodies settling into a gentle rocking motion that began and ended with a gentle squeeze of their joined hands.

  Fiery kisses blazed a lazy trail down her throat, and Grey let out a shuddering breath when Lauren’s fingers slipped from her own to drag lightly down her arms as Lauren languorously mapped the plane of her chest with her mouth. The feeling of Lauren’s lips covering her breasts with the same reverent attention made Grey’s eyes roll back in her head, and her heart stopped beating for an infinite second when a lingering kiss was pressed to the valley between her breasts, shattering what was left of her heart and somehow managing to fit those broken pieces back together at the same time. “Lauren…”

  The desperation in Grey’s voice made Lauren freeze, and she picked up her head to really look at her. Grey’s lips were pressed tight together and turned down at the corners, and Lauren’s stomach twisted as she thought that she had done something wrong. Grey had such a good heart, even broken as it was, that she just… God, what had she been thinking? Of course it was too much. She rocked back up so that she could look Grey in the eye. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” Grey whispered, shaking her head. “I just…I need you closer.”

  Lauren nodded and settled onto the bed so that she was draped over Grey’s right side. “Better?”

  “Much.” Grey laid her right hand into her left above her head, leaving herself open for Lauren’s touch. Her heart beat a disjointed rhythm as Lauren hesitated for a moment, but it settled once again when Lauren relaxed against her. “Please don’t stop.”

  The openness in Gre
y’s gaze assured Lauren that she truly did want to continue, and she licked her lips as she leaned in to kiss her again.

  Grey sighed as Lauren’s right hand began to slide over her body, touching, teasing, caressing. Her eyes rolled back in her head at the feeling of Lauren’s fingers spiraling slowly around her breasts in swooping circles and lazy figure-eights, every touch so achingly tender and unhurried, like the bounds of time and the universe had no bearing on them in this moment. It was both liberating and terrifying how free Grey felt under Lauren’s hand, and she sighed against Lauren’s lips as that blissful touch eventually dipped lower, ghosting over her stomach and down over her hips to dance along her inner thigh. “Lauren…”

  “I’m here.” Lauren brushed a gentle kiss over Grey’s lips. She watched Grey’s face intently as she slid her hand higher, dipping her fingers into the slick warmth that waited for her, and her throat grew tight at the way Grey smiled and whimpered at the touch. Lauren kept her touch light as her fingers skated through swollen folds, stroking and rubbing, up and down and back again, over and over, every pass as unhurried and gentle as the one before.

  “God, Lauren,” Grey sighed, her eyes rolling back in her head as Lauren’s fingers skated higher to rub broad, light circles over her clit. Each circuit sent sparks of desire through her, and she reached up with her left hand, blindly seeking something to hold onto. She sighed when her fingertips ghosted across Lauren’s, and she tangled their fingers together, using that hold as an anchor as she began to feel like she was floating away. A gentle, reassuring squeeze of her hand made Grey’s heart skip a beat, and she sighed as she threaded the fingers of her right hand through Lauren’s hair, pulling her down and claiming her lips in a kiss that was soft and deep and pure surrender.

  Lauren smiled when the kiss broke and rested her forehead against Grey’s. The warmth staring back at her took her breath away, and she bit her lip as she eased her middle finger lower. “You are beautiful.” She pressed firmly against the sensitive ring of muscle, teasing it with a couple feinting thrusts before finally slipping inside. “So beautiful,” she breathed, her pulse jumping at the flash of ecstasy that bolted through Grey’s eyes at her first careful thrust.

  “More,” Grey rasped, tugging imploringly at Lauren’s hair.

  “Trust me,” Lauren replied softly as she continued to thrust into Grey with just the one finger.

  “I do,” Grey whimpered, arching her back off the mattress as she rolled her hips against Lauren’s hand. “Please.”

  Unable to resist the blatant need in Grey’s voice, Lauren sighed and nodded, adding a second finger on her next thrust. She watched Grey’s face with unabashed affection as she resumed her languid pace, wanting nothing more than to extend this moment for as long as possible. When the walls around her fingers began to flutter, she curled her fingers and dragged them over hidden ridges, making Grey’s hips twitch. “Just let go, baby,” she murmured encouragingly, the endearment slipping out so naturally that she did not even notice.

  Grey moaned and squeezed her eyes shut, focusing the entirety of her attention on the heat building low in her hips. She clutched Lauren to her as her climax began to crest, and she let out a quiet gasp when it crashed through her in gentle waves.

  “I’ve got you,” Lauren promised, the words falling lightly against Grey’s lips as the brunette trembled and shook in her arms. She sighed when Grey’s body went lax beneath her, Grey’s grip on her slackening as her entire body sank back into the bed, and carefully pulled her fingers free.

  Grey could feel Lauren’s eyes on her as she drifted, her mind and her body content to savor the blissful afterglow of her release. She stroked her fingers through Lauren’s hair as she kissed her lazily, their tongues dancing together in the space between their parted lips. Grey held Lauren tighter and kissed her harder whenever she thought that Lauren was going to pull away, afraid that, when the moment ended, the lightness she felt suffusing her body would disappear as well.

  Eventually, they did break apart, and Grey held her breath as she looked up at Lauren. She looked like an angel, pale skin glowing in the light of the moon that spilled through the windows along the outer hull, and Grey’s breath caught in her throat at the tenderness that she could see lighting Lauren’s eyes.

  “You okay?” Lauren asked softly.

  Grey nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Good.”

  Grey yawned widely, the day catching up to her in a rush, and rolled her eyes as she muttered, “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” Lauren said as she snuggled into Grey’s side. “Sleep. Rest.”

  Grey frowned and ran a single finger up Lauren’s spine. “What about you?”

  Lauren shook her head. “Later.” She brushed the lightest of kisses over the point of Grey’s cheek, and smiled at the way the furrows in Grey’s forehead deepened. “I promise.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I am.” Lauren smiled and nodded reassuringly as she traced the line of Grey’s jaw with her fingertips. She could not resist leaning in to steal one last kiss, and she sighed against Grey’s lips when it eventually broke. “Sweet dreams.”

  Grey lifted her chin to kiss Lauren again quickly, and smiled as she pulled away. “You too,” she whispered as she rolled onto her side, her right hand grabbing hold of Lauren’s and pulling it over her stomach. It was not often that she allowed herself to be held like this, but as Lauren’s body pressed up against her back and molded to her own, Grey felt safer than she had in years.

  Lauren knew the moment sleep claimed Grey completely, and she sighed softly as she pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder.

  “What are we doing?” she wondered quietly. Grey shifted in front of her, drawing their joined hands up to rest between her breasts, and Lauren closed her eyes as she held Grey tighter. Whatever it was they were doing, it was too late for her to even consider stopping now.

  Chapter 29

  Lauren squeezed her eyes shut against the sunlight streaming into the cabin and buried her face in a pillow. Her limbs felt heavy with sleep and her muscles sore as she stretched, pointing her toes and arching her back as she tried to wake up. She groaned as she smoothed a hand over the bed beside her, and was surprised to find it empty. It was then that the sunlight filling the room actually registered with her tired brain, and she frowned as she pushed herself up onto her forearms to look at the clock above the bed.

  It was already after eight o’clock.

  “Fuck,” she hissed as she slammed her forehead back onto the bed. She had slept through breakfast.

  She turned her head to the side and looked at the spot where Grey had laid the night before, idly wondering why in the hell Grey had not woken her up. Her gaze landed on a folded note sitting proudly on Grey’s pillow, and she smiled as she reached for it. There was a grinning narwhal drawn on the front flap, its pale blue body a perfect complement to its rainbow-colored horn, and Lauren’s smile widened as she opened the note to see what Grey had written on the inside.

  Good morning, beautiful. You looked so peaceful sleeping that I just didn’t have the heart to wake you. Don’t worry about breakfast—I took care of it. Cheerios for everybody!

  Just kidding… I’m going to make pancakes. There will be a plate keeping warm in the oven for you whenever you’re ready.

  ~G

  Lauren sighed and reread the note, both loving and hating the way her heart fluttered at the words written in Grey’s tidy scrawl. The unease that had settled in her stomach the night before returned as she ran the pad of her index finger over the G at the bottom of the page, and her pulse sped as she remembered the way Grey had looked when she came undone beneath her. Even now, hours later and alone in Grey’s bed, the memory filled her with such affection for the brunette that she knew her decision to give in to her desire for Grey was the only one she could have possibly made.

  Though, she was sure, it would end up to be precisely the wrong one when it was time for her to return to her life in
New York.

  She rolled out of bed and slipped into her clothes from the night before, making sure to take Grey’s note with her as she ducked across the hall to her cabin to shower and dress for the day. Once she was presentable, Lauren made her way up to the salon. She smiled and waved at the twins, who were sprawled across the couch with their tablets playing Minecraft, and nodded hello to Kim, who was sitting at one of the barstools. Grey was standing beside the sink, leaning against the counter and chatting with Kim, and Lauren’s breath caught in her throat at the smile Grey shot her. “Good morning,” she murmured, a light blush creeping up her neck at the feeling of Kim’s eyes on her.

  “Hey sleepyhead,” Grey teased.

  Lauren rolled her eyes as she brushed past Grey to get to the coffee machine. “Yeah. I know. Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Kim said, brushing off the apology with a wave of her hand. “We managed just fine on our own.”

  “Grey makes awesome chocolate chip pancakes!” Max and Peyton chimed in.

  Lauren arched a brow and looked at Grey, who was grinning proudly and giving the boys two thumbs up for their support. “Good to know. Maybe I’ll let her wake up early every morning to cook and I’ll just sleep in.”

  “Yeah, nice try,” Grey retorted, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she turned back to Lauren. The urge to take Lauren into her arms and kiss her good morning was nearly overwhelming, and she cleared her throat softly as she jammed her hands into her pockets. “Pancakes are the extent of my culinary prowess when it comes to breakfast food.”

  “Damn,” Lauren muttered, just loud enough for Grey and Kim to hear. She laughed along with them as she prepped her coffee, busying her hands with the simple task so that she did not reach for Grey. Beyond the fact that she did not know how the Muellers would react to the idea of her and Grey being together, she found the idea of flaunting it to be entirely unprofessional. But that did not stop her fingers from itching to take Grey’s hands into her own.