Veritas (31 page)

“So close,” Lauren rasped as she clung to Grey.

“What do you need?”

“You. Just you,” Lauren sighed, fighting to keep her eyes open as her rising pleasure began to crest.

“You have me.” Grey pressed a hard, desperate kiss to Lauren’s lips. “You have me.” She took a deep breath and groaned. “Shit. Lauren, I’m…” Her voice trailed off into a deep, keening moan as her climax overwhelmed her. She tried to
keep looking at Lauren, but her eyes snapped shut as her body shook and trembled, though the feeling of being tied to Lauren remained.

Lauren used her hold on the back of Grey’s neck to pull the brunette down into her, their heated kiss muffling the sound of the moan that escaped her as she followed Grey over that blissful edge.

Grey awoke slowly the next morning, and rolled onto her side to look at Lauren, who was stretched out on her stomach beside her, one fist tucked beneath her chin as she dreamed. Her eyes roamed slowly over Lauren’s face as memories from the night before washed over her, filling her with a feeling of warm contentment. Her heart fluttered as she remembered the passion that had filled Lauren’s kisses once they had finally made their way back inside, every press of lips searing its way to her soul with the unspoken emotion that had burned like wildfire between them on the trampolines. Her skin broke out into small goosebumps at the memory of Lauren’s hands, so strong and sure against her hips, guiding her back onto the bed. The entire night had been so much more than just sex, and a small, sad smile lifted Grey’s lips as she reached out to tenderly brush a stray curl away from the corner of Lauren’s mouth.

“I wish we could just stay here forever,” Grey whispered as her eyes lingered on the soft curve of Lauren’s lips.

The hushed confession lingered in the air, an unrealistic longing that Grey knew would never be realized, and she sighed as she lightly traced the ridge of Lauren’s knuckles with her index finger. The physical connection eased the ache that had built in her chest, and so she did it again. And again. Bumping down over each knuckle and then skating lightly along the smooth skin behind them. Her breathing slowed to match the progress of her touch, measured and even, in and out, until she was able to convince herself that this was enough. That these last few days, this moment, and the next too-short cruise were more than she had ever expected to experience again, and that she would be fine.

She knew that it was a lie, but it gave her comfort anyway.

Eventually Lauren began to stir, and Grey dropped her hand to the mattress as hazel eyes soft with sleep slowly opened. “Good morning.”

Lauren reached out and covered Grey’s hand with her own. “Good morning to you, too,” she whispered. She rubbed her thumb over the back of Grey’s hand and smiled. “Last night…”

Grey smiled and leaned in to nuzzle Lauren’s cheek with her nose. “I know,” she murmured as she finally closed the distance between them and captured Lauren’s lips in a sweet kiss.

“Yeah.” Lauren rolled onto her back and hummed approvingly at the way Grey moved with her, the brunette’s right leg slipping between her own as she settled on top her. Grey’s lips were so soft and gentle against her own that Lauren felt her heart skip a beat, and she sighed as she melted into it.

Grey knew that they were on a tight schedule, that the cleaning crew she employed would be at the dock in Charlotte Amalie ready to prepare the
Veritas
for its next charter at noon, but that knowledge meant very little when Lauren was so warm and naked beneath her. She wanted nothing more than to steal a few more moments of happiness, and she had no trouble ignoring her responsibilities as she began thrusting her hips gently into Lauren, painting her thigh with the sweet essence of the redhead’s desire. Their kisses grew deeper as they moved together, and Grey smiled at Lauren when she pulled back to look at her. “Okay?”

“Mmm, yes.” Lauren held Grey’s gaze as she ran her hands down the length of
Grey’s arms to tangle their fingers together beside her head.

“Good,” Grey murmured, giving Lauren’s hands a gentle squeeze. She rested her forehead against Lauren’s as they resumed their slow dance, their hips rolling and grinding together as they stared unblinkingly into each other’s eyes. The raw emotion burning in Lauren’s gaze stole the breath from Grey’s lungs, and she whimp
ered as she pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “Lauren…”

Lauren moaned, her hold on Grey’s hands tightening as the speed and force of their thrusts increased. She would have gladly stayed in this moment forever—pinned beneath Grey and staring up into eyes so dark that only the merest ring of brown was visible—but her body had other ideas. “No,” she groaned as she felt her orgasm begin to crest.

“Yes,” Grey rasped, pressing her forehead harder against Lauren’s as she ground their hips together. “God yes. Please, baby.”

“Oh, Grey…” Lauren’s voice trailed off into a moan as she rocked against Grey’s thigh. “You?”

Grey gritted her teeth and nodded. She stared imploringly into Lauren’s eyes as their hips rotated together, and she finally let the breath she had been holding go when she felt Lauren begin to pulse against her thigh. A low moan rumbled deep in her throat as her own release swept through her, and she smiled against Lauren’s lips as they clung to each other, their gazes locked as ecstasy flared like fireworks in their eyes.

“My god,” Lauren sighed when Grey collapsed on top of her.

Grey chuckled and flicked her tongue across the hollow of Lauren’s throat. “Yeah.”

“I think I’m ready to go back to sleep,” Lauren teased as she pressed her lips to the top of Grey’s head.

“Can’t.” Grey shook her head and pushed herself back up to look at Lauren. “We need to head back to Saint Thomas.”

“I know.” Lauren smoothed a hand over Grey’s jaw and sighed. She was not ready for her final cruise aboard the
Veritas
to begin. She was not ready for this to end. “What do we need to do today?”

“More of this,” Grey said, kissing Lauren softly. She smiled and nuzzled Lauren’s cheek affectionately.

“I like this,” Lauren whispered.

“Me too.” Grey sighed and kissed Lauren again. No matter how much she liked it, however, the reality of their situation could not be pushed aside any longer. In an ideal world, they would stay holed up in one secluded bay after another, hiding from the world and losing themselves in
each other, but she had long ago been forced to come to terms with the fact that hers was not an ideal world. “But, we also need to do some grocery shopping to restock the pantry and the liquor cabinet for the next cruise. I figure we can hit the farmer’s market tomorrow morning like we did before the Muellers’ cruise, that way everything is as fresh as possible, and then we’ll be ready to shove off as soon as the guests arrive tomorrow morning. Do you have a general idea of what you’ll need?”

Lauren nodded. She had received menu questionnaires—allergies, preferences, likes and dislikes—when she accepted the position aboard the
Veritas
, and had already planned out the menus for each of the cruises. The Muellers were the more difficult to plan for, with having small children and the family planning on eating almost every meal aboard the boat, but their next charter was a trio of married couples who wanted to spend their days on the water and their evenings in various ports exploring the local nightlife. That meant she only had to really plan for breakfast and lunch, with enough supplies for a few dinners just in case the guests decided to dine on the
Veritas
before they headed into town for the night. “Yeah.”

“Good.” Grey smiled and brushed one last kiss across Lauren’s lips before forcing herself to roll off of her. “So, you ready?”

No
, Lauren thought, even as she said, “When you are, Captain Wells.”

Lauren jolted awake the next morning to the sound of Grey’s alarm clock going off, and groaned as she pulled her pillow over her head to try and block out the noise. Her head was pounding, and her mouth tasted like something had crawled into it and died while she slept. “Fucking vodka.”

After running errands the day before, they had gone to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant not far from the marina that was popular with the locals for its roti—curried vegetables and meat wrapped in a thin dough. The food had been good, but the band playing was better, and somehow ‘a quick dinner out’ turned into dancing and shots.

Lots and lots of shots.

Grey cracked an eye open and grunted as she slapped at her alarm. She ran her tongue over the top of her mouth and grimaced. “What did we drink?”

“Too much,” Lauren grunted.

“Yeah, got that,” Grey muttered, scrubbing a hand over her face.

Lauren peeked out at Grey from beneath her pillow, and saw that Grey looked as rough as she felt. They probably should have skipped that last round of Lemon Drops. “God, I hate vodka.”

Grey chuckled as she flopped back onto the bed and curled up against Lauren’s side. She wrapped an arm around Lauren’s waist, and closed her eyes as she pressed a lingering kiss to her shoulder. “I think this is the tequila’s fault.”

“I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree.” Lauren pushed the heel of her hand against her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. She relaxed into Grey, relishing the warmth of the brunette’s skin against her own as Grey’s fingers began scratching lightly across her stomach. She was so comfortable that she was close to drifting off to sleep again when the alarm blared back to life.

“Sorry,” Grey whispered as she released her hold on Lauren to slap at the alarm again. “I hate to say it, but we need to get up.”

“I know,” Lauren grumbled as she rolled onto her back. Her head throbbed at the movement, and she groaned as she forced herself to climb out of bed. “Oh, this is gonna suck.”

“Tell me about it,” Grey said as she rolled to her feet. She ran a hand through her hair as she looked at Lauren, and smiled in spite of her hangover. “I had fun last night.”

“Me too.” Lauren stepped over their clothes that had been strewn across the floor in their haste to get each other naked the night before, and slipped into Grey’s waiting arms at the foot of the bed. “No vodka next time, though.”

“Deal,” Grey murmured, even though they both knew that there would not be a ‘next time’. She pressed a chaste kiss to Lauren’s cheek and sighed. “If you get the Tylenol out of the medicine cabinet, I’ll go grab us a couple bottles of water from the fridge.”

“Sounds good.”

“You wanna just pick up some breakfast on our way to the farmer’s market?” Grey asked as she started for the door.

Lauren’s eyes swept over Grey’s naked body and she smiled in spite of her pounding headache. “If I wasn’t so hung-over right now, I’d have you for breakfast.”

“Promises, promises,” Grey chuckled, her gaze trailing lazily over Lauren’s body.

Lauren laughed and shrugged. “Sorry?”

“No you’re not.” Grey waved a hand at the bathroom. “You can have first shower.”

“We can always shower together,” Lauren offered as she started for the en suite. “I’m too hung over to do more than just shower, but…”

Grey nodded. She did not have the energy to do more than simply shower either, but she would never pass up the opportunity to spend more time with Lauren. “I’ll meet you in there.”

Lauren was just climbing into the shower when Grey returned with the bottles of water, and Grey smiled when she spotted three Tylenol laid out on the counter for her. She swallowed the pills dry and chased them down with half of one of the bottles of water before opening the shower door and climbing into the stall with Lauren. “Hey, sexy.”

“Hey, yourself,” Lauren said as she watched Grey climb into the shower. She smiled at the way Grey’s hands slid over her sides, and groaned when
Grey’s mouth dropped to her clavicle. “We’re just showering,” she reminded Grey when dull teeth nipped at her skin.

“I know.” Grey soothed the spot with her tongue and stood up to look Lauren in the eye as she reached for a bottle of shampoo. She poured a generous amount into her left hand and brushed a soft kiss across Lauren’s lips as she started rubbing the soap into
her hair.

The feeling of Grey’s fingers massaging her scalp was heavenly, and Lauren moaned softly as she reached out and held onto Grey’s hips for balance. “God, that feels good.”

“Good.” Grey smiled as she watched Lauren’s eyes flutter shut, her face a mask of absolute pleasure as she began to lightly sway with her touch. She took her time massaging the vanilla-scented shampoo into Lauren’s hair, scratching her nails over her scalp and rubbing her thumbs lightly over Lauren’s temples. She kissed Lauren once she was done, using that pressure to guide her back beneath the spray. Grey smiled against Lauren’s lips as she smoothed the bubbles from her hair, and sighed when she pulled away.