Veritas (23 page)

“Oh my god,” Lauren muttered as she rubbed her hand over her forehead.

Grey cleared her throat loudly and nodded. “I…uh…got it. Thanks.”

Kim grinned. “See you two later!”

Lauren and Grey watched Kim jog up the stairs with matching dumbstruck expressions on their faces and, once Kim had disappeared from sight, Lauren turned to look at Grey. “Did she really just do that?”

“She did.”

“Wow.”

Grey nodded. “Yeah.” She laughed and shook her head. The whole thing was utterly insane, but she had to admit that she greatly appreciated Kim’s not-so-subtle-suggestion. “So, since we have been effectively relieved of duty for most of the day, what do you say we finish exploring these caves and then head on back to the boat for a bit?”

Lauren looked around the grotto and smiled. “We can explore on the way back to the boat. Once you’ve seen one rock grotto, you’ve seen them all…right?”

“Pretty much,” Grey agreed with a chuckle. She tipped her head at the triangular opening that led them back toward the beach where their dinghy was moored, and waved for Lauren to go first. “After you, milady.”

“Oh my god.”

Lauren chuckled and pinched the sensitive skin of Grey’s throat between her teeth. The tender emotion that had flowed between them ebbed as they made their way out of The Baths, morphing with every stolen kiss and knowing smirk into something that was much easier to understand. Desire. Pure, wanton, naked desire. “Yes?”

Grey bit the inside of her cheek and tried to focus on maintaining a straight course toward the
Veritas
, which was increasingly difficult with the way Lauren’s fingers were tweaking and rolling her nipple. Lauren pinched harder, and Grey groaned as she reflexively jerked the rudder to the left before quickly correcting it.

“Are you having issues?” Lauren smiled as she brushed her lips higher, fluttering her tongue over the sweet spot below Grey’s ear before raking her teeth over the
line of Grey’s jaw. “We seem to be swerving all over the place…”

“Tell me about it,” Grey laughed. She used her free hand to pull Lauren’s from her breast, and smiled as she pressed a wet kiss to the center of
her palm. “You do realize that once we get back on the
Veritas,
you are mine, right?”

“Is that so?”

“It is.” Grey flicked her tongue along the seam between Lauren’s index and middle fingers. “I have a bet to pay up on, and the egregious sin of leaving you alone in bed this morning to make up for.”

“Oh.” Lauren licked her lips as an expectant shiver rolled down her spine and curled low in her hips. “Really?”

“Really.” Grey gave Lauren a thorough once over as she killed the engine to let the dinghy drift the final few yards to the
Veritas’
stern, and smirked at the sight of Lauren’s nipples straining against the flimsy fabric of her bikini. “We do have the boat to ourselves for the next few hours, after all.”

Lauren laughed and shook her head in amusement even as her stomach fluttered with anticipation. “Few hours, huh? Somebody’s feeling ambitious.”

“You have no idea.” Grey winked at Lauren as she dropped her hand and edged toward the bow of the dinghy to soften their landing. She tied the bow line to a cleat by the dive platform, and tipped her head toward the
Veritas
. “Well…shall we?”

“I guess,” Lauren replied with a dramatic sigh as
she made the small hop onto the yacht. She smiled over her shoulder at Grey as she started up the stairs. “I mean, there’s really nothing
else
to do…”

Grey laughed and hurried after Lauren, easily catching up to her by the time she had reached the back deck. She wrapped her arms around Lauren’s waist from behind, and pressed her lips to the curve where
Lauren’s neck and shoulder met. “You don’t want this?”

“I never said
that
.” Lauren relaxed back into Grey, and sighed when Grey’s fingers began slowly massaging her stomach. “That feels good,” she breathed.

“You know what would feel even better?” Grey brushed her lips over the shell of Lauren’s ear and chuckled at the way Lauren groaned.

“Hmm?”

“You…coming against my tongue,” Grey answered in a low, seductive purr.

Just the idea of it made Lauren clench, and she groaned as she spun in Grey’s arms. The playfulness in Grey’s eyes had turned darker, hungrier, and Lauren surged forward with a whimper to crush their lips together. Her hips jerked forward at the feeling of Grey’s hands sliding up her spine, and she moaned against Grey’s lips when the brunette’s nimble fingers made quick work of the ties holding her top on. “Bed?”

Grey shook her head and pulled back just far enough to look Lauren in the eye. “Trust me?”

“Of course.” The answer was given without thought, and Lauren’s eyes widened as Grey tugged her toward the stairs to the bridge.

Grey’s heart thudded heavily in her chest at the way Lauren followed her without question, one arm demurely covering her naked chest as she climbed the stairs after her. She stopped beside the sunbathing mat that took up the front half of th
e bridge, and smiled reassuringly at Lauren as she took her back into her arms. “Okay?”

Instead of answering, Lauren simply smiled and used her right hand to guide Grey’s left to her breast. She gave Grey’s hand a light squeeze, and sighed when Grey picked up the motion.

“Good?”

“So good.” Lauren smiled and flicked her tongue
over Grey’s lips as she pulled Grey’s top off. “Much better.”

Grey laughed and pressed a hard kiss to Lauren’s lips as she dropped her hands to the clasp on Lauren’s shorts. Topless was definitely a step in the right direction, but she wanted more.

Desire, hot and slick crashed between Lauren’s legs at the feeling of the wind sweeping over her skin when she kicked her shorts and bikini bottoms aside. She had not expected to be so aroused by the feeling of the sun and the air on her body, warming and caressing areas that were usually hidden behind layers of clothing. It was freeing and invigorating, and she felt herself grow even wetter when Grey guided her down onto the sunbathing mat. Lauren settled back onto the mat, her legs falling half open as she looked up at Grey. The brunette was an absolute vision, all sun-kissed skin and taut, sinewy muscle, and she licked her lips as she watched Grey’s fingers curl around the snap on her boardshorts.

Knowing that she had Lauren’s full attention, Grey undressed slowly, pushing her shorts and bikini bottoms down over her hips inch by teasing inch until gravity took over and carried them to the ground.
Her eyes roamed over Lauren’s body as she crawled onto the mat, sliding her knees between Lauren’s legs as she held herself up on half-extended arms so that their nipples raked lightly together. She dipped her head like she was going to kiss Lauren but pulled away at the last second, and chuckled at the disgruntled huff that tumbled from Lauren’s lips. “Yes?”

“Just kiss me.” Lauren wrapped her right hand around the back of Grey’s neck and
drew her down into her. The kiss was deep and hungry, a toe-curling mix of tongues and teeth and unrestrained desire, and she groaned when it eventually broke. “Fuck, Grey.”

“Maybe later,” Grey murmured. She used her chin to turn Lauren’s head to the side, and brushed her lips over the shell of Lauren’s ear. “You are so fucking sexy.”

Lauren bit her lip and moaned.

Grey hummed and nuzzled Lauren’s ear as she nipped at her earlobe. “I am going to make you scream,” she promised in a husky whisper before she moved lo
wer, wrapping her mouth around Lauren’s pulse point and sucking against it hard enough to leave a mark.

Lauren threaded the fingers of her right hand through Grey’s hair when the brunette’s mouth descended upon her breast. Every lick, nip, and suck made her clit jump, and she sighed as she closed her eyes and surrendered herself to Grey’s touch.

Pleasant sparks shot down Grey’s spine at the feeling of Lauren’s fingers scratching her scalp. She hummed as she sucked hard on Lauren’s left nipple, and pulled her head back to stretch the bud to its limit before letting it fall from her lips. “Gorgeous,” she muttered under her breath as she blew lightly over the swollen nub. She looked up at Lauren through her lashes as she began moving lower, and froze for a moment at the look of absolute ecstasy that was painted across the redhead’s features.

It was so different from the look of
tender understanding Lauren had worn the night before, and a gentle affection bloomed in Grey’s chest as she pressed a soft kiss to Lauren’s belly before she dragged her teeth over a protruding hipbone. She watched Lauren’s face as she kissed her way lower, and she was not sure which of them moaned louder at the first slow swipe of her tongue through her. Grey cradled Lauren’s hips in her hands, holding loosely when she lapped lightly at Lauren’s clit and tightening her grip when she ran her tongue in bold, heavy strokes through swollen folds. She purposefully kept her touch varied and her tempo unpredictable, so that it was impossible for Lauren to find any kind of rhythm that might hasten her release.

She wanted this to last.

The irregularity of Grey’s touch had Lauren bucking against her mouth as she sought that perfect combination of speed and force and friction that would send her flying. Her every attempt failed miserably, however, and she groaned as she lifted herself up enough to look down her body at Grey. Grey’s lips were curled in a smile as she teased her with quick, light flicks, and Lauren bit her lip as she reached down to thread her fingers through Grey’s hair. Her eyes fluttered closed when Grey’s tongue dragged heavily over her clit, and she let out a shaky breath as she forced them back open. “God.”

“Yes?” Grey’s smile widened at the way Lauren’s eyelids fluttered when she circled her opening with her tongue. She dug her fingers into Lauren’s hips as she pushed inside, wiggling the tip of her tongue against clinging velvet, and hummed when she pulled out.

Lauren whimpered at the loss, and dropped her head back to the mat. “Don’t stop,” she begged as she lifted herself toward Grey’s mouth. “God, please don’t stop.”

More than happy to oblige, Grey slid her hands lower, cupping Lauren’s ass in her palms and lifting the redhead’s throbbing center to her mouth.
The keening moan that was all but shouted at the heavens when she resumed fucking Lauren with her tongue made Grey clench, and she tightened her hold on Lauren’s ass as pushed as deep inside her as she possibly could. She fucked her slowly, firmly, drawing out each short thrust until Lauren writhed against her.

White heat, soft and powerful, spread through Lauren’s body, thrumming with the promise of ecstasy. She rocked her hips desperately against Grey’s mouth as her climax began to crest, the muscles of her lower abdomen tightening until there was nothing left to do but snap. She cried out as she came, her body freezing for an extended heartbeat before relaxing and succumbing to the waves of pleasure that were coursing through her.

And then, just when her orgasm began to ease, Grey’s tongue curled and twisted inside her, and a second orgasm, more powerful than her first, slammed into her. Lauren screamed, unable to hold back as every synapse in her body exploded in a burst of overwhelming pleasure.

Grey eased Lauren through the length of her release and, when the last spasm left Lauren gasping and completely relaxed in her hands, she
gently lowered her to the mat and kissed her way back up Lauren’s body. She smiled at the look of pure contentment that lit Lauren’s face as she captured her lips in a slow, deep kiss, letting Lauren taste herself on her tongue.

Lauren moaned softly and stroked her hands up and down Grey’s sides as they kissed, basking in the pleasant buzz that was still thrumming in her veins. “Oh wow,” she breathed when the kiss finally broke.

“Told you I was going to make you scream,” Grey murmured as she nuzzled Lauren’s cheek.

“You did.” Lauren dragged her nails up Grey’s stomach, and smiled at the way Grey’s hips jerked forward. “I want to taste you.”

Grey groaned. “Please.”

“Good,” Lauren muttered, her nipples tightening at the unfettered need in Grey’s voice. She reached down to grab onto Grey’s hips, and stroked her thumbs over the smooth skin before she gave them a tug. “Up.”

What Lauren meant was clear, and Grey’s pulse pounded forcefully between her legs as she crawled slowly up Lauren’s body until she was kneeling above her mouth. She reached down with her right hand and tangled her fingers in Lauren’s hair as the redhead’s hands rubbed broad, soft circles over her ass, and she could not contain the moan that escaped her when Lauren’s tongue finally slid through her.

Lauren smiled at the sight of Grey above her, back straight, chin dropped to her chest as she held her gaze. Grey’s skin seemed to glow in the sunlight, and Lauren ran her hands over every inch that she could reach as
Grey’s hips began rolling against her mouth. The feeling of Grey’s thighs against her cheeks was electric, the taste of her intoxicating, and Lauren strained to get as close to her as possible.