Chapter Twenty-Eight
LAUREN HOVERED IN the doorway to Grey’s cabin with a bottle of the brunette’s favorite scotch and two glasses in her hands.
Grey was lying face-down on the bed, her arms folded up under the pillow her face was buried in, and if it were not for the rhythmic movement of her right foot sliding back and forth across the edge of the mattress, Lauren would have thought she was sleeping.
She had not been surprised when Grey had claimed a headache and disappeared to her cabin as soon as the dessert dishes had been cleared.
To be honest, Lauren was surprised that Grey had not done so earlier.
Grey had put on a brave face and pretended that everything was fine, but Lauren had not missed the way her eyes would cloud over whenever she stopped moving and her mind was allowed to drift to thoughts of Emily.
Staying on deck and pretending to be unaffected by the knowledge that Grey was upset and alone was torture.
She had been beyond grateful when Kim looked pointedly at the salon and told her that they were just going to play a quick game of Go Fish with the boys before calling it a night, and that she was more than welcome to retire for the evening.
Lauren had smiled at her gratefully and had to resist the urge to run as she turned and went in search of Grey.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Grey’s voice was muffled by the pillow, but she knew that Lauren would be able to hear.
“Can I come in?” Lauren waited until she saw Grey nod once before she stepped into the cabin and used her heel to close the door after herself. She padded quickly across the room and sat on the edge of the bed beside Grey. “How’s the head?”
Grey turned her head to look at Lauren, and she smiled when she saw the bottle of scotch in her hand. “Full.”
“I’ll bet.” Lauren watched quietly as Grey sat up and stacked the pillows against the cubbies that made up her headboard.
Grey’s eyes were tired yet grateful when she leaned back against the pillows, and Lauren smiled as she handed her one of the empty glasses. “Thought you could maybe use a drink.”
“You thought right.” Grey sighed and patted the bed beside her. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Lauren slid into the empty spot beside Grey and placed the glass in her hand between her legs so that she could unscrew the cap on the bottle of scotch.
She poured a generous amount of the rich, ocher-colored liquor into each of their glasses before she quickly re-capped the bottle and leaned over to set it onto the floor beside the bed.
Lauren glanced over at Grey as she settled back against the pillows beside her, her body automatically mirroring Grey’s relaxed posture as she stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed them at the ankle.
Grey could feel Lauren’s eyes on her, and her lips curled in a small smile as she reached out for her, taking Lauren’s left hand into her right and twining their fingers together.
She gave Lauren’s hand a light squeeze but said nothing as she sipped at her scotch, and her mind, which had been spinning with memories of Emily, finally going still at the feeling of comfort that flooded through her from Lauren’s touch.
The soft brush of Lauren’s thumb over the back of her hand soothed her and, after a few minutes of sitting together in silence, Grey turned toward Lauren and gave her a small, grateful nod. “Thank you.”
“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.