Chapter Twenty-One
AFTER RECEIVING MOORING instructions from the Bitter End harbormaster, Grey clipped the radio back into place and turned around in her seat to look for Lauren, who had spent the majority of the morning camped out on the starboard dive platform with Reid while Kim and Will attended to the older boys, whose stomachs did not appreciate the gentle pitch and roll of the boat as they sailed.
Grey had watched off and on during the trip as Lauren taught Reid how to cast a fishing line that was rigged with only a light casting weight, nothing heavy enough to get caught in their wake and pull the rod out of his hands, and he was now casting and reeling-in his line like a pro.
Though she hated to break up his fun, Grey needed Lauren’s help to get them hooked up to their assigned mooring ball in the harbor, and she sighed as she slid out of her chair. “Lauren!”
Lauren looked up to where Grey was standing on the bridge, and shielded her eyes from the sun with left hand even as she fisted her right around one of the straps that ran along the back of the lifejacket Reid was wearing so that she had a good hold on him. “Yeah?”
“Harbormaster just gave me our mooring assignment. I’m going to need your help.”
“Got it,” Lauren hollered back as she turned to Reid, who was still casting and reeling-in his line with a wide smile on his face.
“Hey, buddy. I gotta go help Grey, so we’re going to have to stop fishing for a little bit.
Do you want to go up to the bridge with Grey, or do you want to go inside and try to find your mom? ”
Reid frowned thoughtfully as he spun the handle on his reel, his eyes glued to the water as he looked for his bright yellow casting weight. “Can I go up with Grey?” he finally asked once the weight was snug against the tip top of the pole.
“Of course you can.” Lauren smiled and took the pole out of his hand.
She looked up at Grey, who was still watching them from the bridge, and pointed first at Reid and then at her, the unspoken message clearly received when Grey nodded and waved him up.
“I’ll put this away someplace safe,” she told Reid, “and you head on up to Grey.”
Lauren followed Reid up onto the deck and waited until he was working his way up the stairs before she started toward the forward storage compartments for the boat pole she would need to capture the buoy attached to the mooring ball.
She set the pole down on the trampoline and hurried to ready the port and starboard bow lines that she would use to tie off with.
She worked quickly and efficiently, her every movement so fluid and natural that, to anyone who did not know better, she looked like she had done this particular task every day for years.
She glanced up at the bridge when she finished readying the lines, and her stomach fluttered at the appreciative tilt of Grey’s lips.
It was patently unfair that she should be so affected by just a look, and she sighed as she turned away.
Head in the game, Murph, she lectured herself as she crouched on the end walkway that cut between the trampolines at the bow of the boat.
She sat back on her heels and let her gaze slide over the bustling harbor as Grey motored toward their assigned buoy.
A resort ran along the eastern half of the beach, the red tile roofs of its buildings standing out against the lush green foliage of the island, and she counted twenty pyramid-shaped roofs poking through the treetops higher up in the hills.
There was a short dock that jutted out from the western edge of the resort that had space for a handful of boats, but mooring balls seemed to be the preferred anchoring choice.
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, impossibly 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.”