Veritas (27 page)

“It’s beautiful,” Lauren said, smiling as she turned to look at Grey.

“It is,” Grey agreed, ignoring the scenery around them as she watched the sails overhead retract with a careful eye in case any of the mechanicals that allowed her to solo-sail the
Veritas
malfunctioned. In reality, the bay was not that much different from any of the others they had visited over the last week, but it felt much more secluded, which was something she always appreciated whenever she visited.

“Is it always like this?” Lauren asked, waving a hand at the empty mooring field.

Grey bounced her head from side to side and shrugged as she powered up the
Veritas’
twin engines. “It depends, really,” she said as she made for the buoy at the southernmost edge of the mooring field. “Most of the time, though, yeah. Hawkshead is too far south for charters to use as a mooring spot on cruises out of Charlotte Amalie, because it’s easier to jump from Saint John to the other islands if you go a little further north, like we did with the Muellers. It’s also too far north to use as an anchorage to dink down to Cruz for customs, so there’s none of that mess to deal with, and it doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic because there aren’t any hotels on the bay.”

“It’s perfect,” Lauren declared, turning back toward the shoreline.

“Yeah,” Grey murmured as she looked at Lauren, her gaze soft behind the reflective lenses of her sunglasses. She stared at Lauren for a few seconds longer before she sighed and turned her attention back to the water in front of the bow. “Absolutely perfect.”

Lauren slipped on her deck shoes when Grey backed the engines down to a crawl as they approached the edge of the mooring field, and then smiled at
Grey as she made for the stairs. “I’ll go tie us off.”

Grey watched her go with a smile, thinking that a string bikini and a pair of Sperry’s had never looked so good together. She slid out of her chair and stood behind the wheel when Lauren knelt at the end of the starboard trampoline with the boat pole in her hand. Grey followed Lauren’s hand signals as they neared the buoy, tapping the throttle with each ‘go-go’ wave of Lauren’s hand and finally throwing the engines into reverse when Lauren held up a fist, bringing the seventy-five foot catamaran to a complete halt.

Once the bow lines were secured to the mooring buoy, Grey turned off the engines and caught Lauren’s eye. “Well done, Ms. Murphy.”

“Thank ya, ma’am,” Lauren drawled, bowing with a flourish. She laughed at the way Grey shook her head at her, and waved a hand beckoningly. “Come on.”

“Down there?” Grey teased, her gaze drifting over Lauren’s shoulder to the water beyond. Her skin itched from the sun and the wind that had battered her on the sail over, and she smiled as an idea for how to remedy that came to mind.

“Yes. Down here.”

“Well, gee, I dunno,” Grey joked as she toed off her shoes and shucked the shorts she had been wearing over her bathing suit. She carefully removed and folded her sunglasses, and stored them in a small cubby at the helm. “What’s in it for me?”

Lauren laughed and shook her head. “What do you want?”

“You.”

“Then come down here,” Lauren repeated, holding her arms out to either side of her in a ‘what are you waiting for’ type of gesture.

Grey climbed onto the side of the bridge and balanced on the small ledge that ran along the outside of the railing. She could see all the way to the sand and coral dotting the bottom of the bay below, and she smiled as she looked back at Lauren. “Okay,” she said as she lifted her arms over her head and dove off the side.

“Damn,” Lauren murmured as she watched Grey’s body arc smoothly through the air, her natural athleticism on display as she sliced into the water, her body in perfect alignment from her fingertips to the tips of her toes. She hurried to the edge and waited for Grey to reappear, and laughed when
Grey’s head finally broke the water. “You’re nuts!”

Grey shrugged, reached behind herself, and tugged at the strings of her bikini top. “Probably.” She tossed the wet top at Lauren and grinned as it landed wetly at her feet. “Come on, Murphy! The water’s great!”

Lauren smiled and cocked her head to the side as she looked down at Grey, who was treading water a few feet away from her. “How great is it?” she asked, toeing off her shoes and flicking them into the center of the trampoline.

“Amazing.”

“Really?” Lauren teased, holding Grey’s gaze as she removed her top. She winked at her as she tossed it over her shoulder, and arched a brow challengingly as she dropped her hands to her hips.

“Is that all you got?” Grey worked her bikini bottoms down her legs and flung them up
onto the boat as well.

Lauren laughed as she shucked the rest of her suit and kicked it aside. “I guess not.”

“Get down here.”

“What’s in it for me?” Lauren teased, putting an extra sway in her hips as she ambled toward the bow of the boat and prepared to jump.

Grey smiled. “Me.”

“I dunno…” Lauren tapped a contemplative finger on her chin.

“Really?” Grey laughed, sending a splash of water in Lauren’s direction.

“Okay, fine.” Lauren winked at Grey as she leapt feet-first off the side. The feeling of the warm water sliding over her skin was refreshing after the morning’s sail, and she laughed when Grey’s hands landed on her waist the moment her head broke the surface. Before she could say anything, Grey’s lips were on hers,
both gentle and demanding, and she sighed as she wrapped her arms around Grey’s neck and yielded to the kiss.

“Glad you decided to join me,” Grey murmured.

Lauren toyed with the short hairs at the back of Grey’s neck. “Me too.”

A small shiver rolled down Grey’s spine at the softness in Lauren’s gaze, and she sighed as she kissed her again. The hand on the back of her neck tightened, holding her in place as Lauren’s mouth slanted over her own, deepening the kiss, and Grey groaned when Lauren edged close enough that their breasts brushed lightly together. “Lauren…”

“Yes?” Lauren hummed, her lips quirking up in a small smile at the feeling of Grey’s hands sliding over her ass.

“If you’re going to keep kissing me like that, we’re going to have to get out of the water.”

“What? You can’t do this and keep your head above water?” Lauren teased, kicking idly to keep afloat as she dropped her right hand between Grey’s legs and gave her a playful squeeze.

Grey laughed and reached down to pull Lauren’s hand away from her. “No. I can’t.”

“Me neither,” Lauren admitted, shaking her head as she pulled her hand from Grey’s grip. “So I guess we should probably stop.”

“Or we can get out of the water.”

Lauren’s eyes flicked toward the dive platform at the stern of the boat. “That works too.”

“Good.” Grey pressed a quick kiss to Lauren’s lips and grinned when she pulled away. “Race you there!”

“Like that’s really fair!” Lauren laughed and started after Grey, not even bothering to try and win despite the fact that she could tell Grey was holding back. She watched Grey flip the swim ladder down once she reached the stern of the boat, and she stopped moving altogether when Grey climbed out of the water, her smooth skin and toned muscles glinting in the sun. The sight of Grey standing on the platform, wet and naked, with a lazy smile quirking her lips waiting for her, spurred Lauren forward, and she closed the final yards separating her from the
Veritas
in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

Grey’s mouth went dry as she watched Lauren emerge from the water. Her eyes were glued to the way rivulets of
water coursed slowly over Lauren’s body, around her breasts and down the plane of her stomach, and she cleared her throat softly when Lauren finally stood in front of her. “God, you’re beautiful.”

“You are too.
” Lauren smiled as she stepped into Grey and ran a light hand over her hip. She leaned in and brushed a soft kiss over Grey’s lips, and her nipples tightened at the way Grey whimpered quietly when she pulled away. “Come on,” she murmured, pressing on Grey’s hip, knowing that they were not going to be able to remain standing on their own much longer.

Grey’s eyes remained locked on Lauren’s as she backed up the stairs to the deck, and she wasted no time pulling Lauren into her once she had cleared the final step. “Kiss me,” she growled, even as she wrapped a hand around Lauren’s neck and claimed her lips in a deep, bruising kiss.

Lauren let Grey direct the kiss as she guided her backwards. She smiled when they bumped into a table, and used her body to pin Grey in place. Lauren nipped at Grey’s lower lip as she ran her right hand up the brunette’s thigh. Grey shifted in front of her, widening her stance, and Lauren hummed as she tickled her fingers up between her legs. She wrapped her left arm around Grey’s waist and held her close as she stroked through the arousal that waited for her. “You feel so good.”

Grey chuckled and leaned her forehead against Lauren’s as she slipped a hand between her legs. “You too,” she murmured, her voice low and rough and dripping of sex as she rubbed firm circles over Lauren’s clit. “So wet.”

“God, Grey,” Lauren groaned, her hips bucking wantonly against Grey’s hand. She dipped her head enough to reclaim Grey’s lips in a kiss that stole the air from her lungs. They worked each other higher and higher, mirroring the other’s touch until it became impossible to tell who was leading and who was following.

“Fuck. So close,” Grey grunted, tearing her mouth away from Lauren’s. She squeezed her eyes shut as she bit down on Lauren’s shoulder, trying to hold herself back, and redoubled her effort to make Lauren come first.

“Come with me,” Lauren pleaded, pressing her lips to Grey’s ear. “Come with me, Grey. Come with…” Her voice trailed off in a silent scream as orgasm ripped through her, the quiet filled by the sound of Grey moaning her name like it alone held the brunette’s salvation. She clung to Grey as their lips crashed together again, tongues sliding sloppily around each other as they rode out their release, and she let out a shaky breath when her orgasm finally eased. “Holy fuck.”

Grey chuckled and buried her face in the crook of Lauren’s neck.
She sighed as she cradled Lauren to her, enjoying the soft press of Lauren’s body against her own. She brushed her lips over the hollow of Lauren’s throat, and smiled as she felt Lauren’s breath catch in response. “Tell me about it.”

The afternoon passed in a blur of tangled limbs and feverish kisses, and the sun was inching toward the western horizon, casting shades of red and gold across the sky when Grey entered the salon later that evening to find Lauren working in the galley. Her lips curled in a soft smile as her eyes swept slowly over Lauren’s body, tracing the long legs that only hours before had been spread invitingly to her, up over the swell of Lauren’s ass and along her spine that was hidden by the thin tank top she was wearing. Lauren’s hair was pulled up in the messy bun Grey adored, and she winced at the sight of several faint purple marks dotting Lauren’s throat.

“Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to come help?” Lauren asked, smiling over her shoulder at Grey.

Grey laughed and padded into the galley to stand behind Lauren. She wrapped her arms around her waist, and hummed softly as she brushed a tender kiss over the darkest of the marks marring her throat. “Sorry about these.”

“Don’t be,” Lauren murmured. “They’re so light that they probably won’t even be noticeable by the time we head back
to Saint Thomas and, for now, I…” She set the knife she had been holding down onto the cutting board beside the Ahi steaks she had been trimming and covered Grey’s hands at her waist with her own. “I like seeing them there.”

“Seriously?”

The obvious surprise in Grey’s tone made Lauren smile. “Yeah. Why not?”

“I dunno.” Grey nuzzled Lauren’s neck. “I guess I just didn’t think that you’d like being marked.”

“I don’t, usually,” Lauren admitted softly. “But I liked seeing them when I looked in the mirror earlier. And I really like the way it feels when you’re kissing them like that…” Her voice trailed off into a low moan at the feeling of Grey’s tongue sweeping lightly over one of the marks.

“I like seeing them on you too,” Grey whispered.

“Yeah.” Lauren sighed and leaned back into Grey, her eyes fluttering closed as she relaxed in the warmth of her gentle embrace. “This is nice.”

“Yeah, it is.” Grey dropped her lips to the curve where Lauren’s neck and shoulder met and
held her tighter. “Very nice,” she muttered, closing her eyes as she inhaled the sweet scent of Lauren’s shampoo.

A warm shiver rolled down Lauren’s spine at the feeling of Grey’s lips against her skin, and she turned carefully in her arms until she was able to wrap her arms around Grey’s neck. Being held felt nic
e, but she wanted to hold, too.

“Can we just stay like this all night?” Grey nuzzled Lauren’s cheek with her nose.

Lauren pressed a soft kiss to Grey’s ear, and her heart swelled with affection for the woman in her arms. “We can certainly try.”