by Duncan, MJ
Lauren eyed the bright red snorkel in Grey’s hands warily. “It’s clean, right?” she asked as Grey clipped it onto the strap of her mask.
“Yes, it’s clean.” Grey rolled her eyes as she gave the snorkel a light tug to make sure it was on tight. “All of this is my personal gear. I never lend it out to guests, and I can swear to you that you’re not going to catch any communicable diseases from using it.”
“If I get sick…”
“You are more than welcome to kick my ass. And if I get sick from using it after you…”
Lauren laughed and shook her head. “You won’t.”
“Well then, yay everybody for being disease-free,” Grey drawled. She winked at Lauren as she pulled her mask on, and then picked up her fins. “Do you have any questions?”
“Nope. I’m good.” Lauren picked up the remaining fins from the table and looked out at the rocks behind Grey. “Let’s go.”
Once they were both in the water and Grey was sure that Lauren’s equipment was fitted properly, she slipped her snorkel into her mouth and started toward the Indians.
They swam side-by-side through a gap between two of the jutting rocks, and Grey smiled when Lauren grabbed her arm and pointed at a burst of purple coral with the most excited look on her face. Grey followed Lauren around the gardens, occasionally touching Lauren’s arm to get her attention when they happened upon something she thought Lauren would like. Though she had swam at this particular spot more times than she could count over the years, Lauren’s excitement over every reef fish or different grouping of coral made Grey feel like she was seeing all for the first time as well.
Sunlight cut through the water in golden rays, making the coral lining the walls of the shallow pool practically glow, and Grey was only dimly aware of the fact that she had all but stopped swimming just to watch Lauren. She smiled sheepishly when Lauren turned toward her, one hand held out in a ‘what are you doing?’ type of gesture, and shook her head as she hurried to catch up.
She had no idea what she was doing. She just knew that she did not want to stop.
They explored the gardens for a couple hours, eventually meeting up with the Muellers. The boys had fun showing off their skills, and Grey found herself laughing more than she had in longer than she could remember. It was the perfect morning, just sun and fun and the water she loved, and Grey’s smile was as wide as everyone else’s when she finally climbed back onto the Veritas.
“That was incredible,” Lauren enthused as she wrapped a towel around her waist.
“Yeah.” Grey watched a drop of water make its way slowly down Lauren’s stomach, and she smiled as she looked up into Lauren’s eyes. Her breath felt light in her chest when their gazes locked, and she nodded slowly. “Absolutely incredible.”
Chapter 14
Grey’s face was a mask of concentration as she backed the Veritas toward its assigned berth in Soper’s Hole Marina. The marina was situated on the northern edge of Frenchman’s Cay, a small island connected to Tortola’s West End by a sandbar and a small bridge, and at one time the sheltered bay served as Blackbeard’s base of operations. The village itself was small, and the buildings overlooking the harbor were painted in a rainbow of bright, pastel colors. Like Sandy Spit, this was a stop she usually worked into most of her charters—it was a great location to give her guests a taste of the islands, and it also gave them a place to stretch their legs after being cooped up on the boat.
She inched the Veritas closer to the dock in small bursts, revving the cat’s twin engines to guide them slowly into the slip. Her brow was furrowed as she focused on the distance between the rear dive platforms and the dock, and she bumped the throttle forward just enough to bring the boat to a stop as she watched Lauren leap onto the dock with the stern line grasped firmly in her hand. Lauren was pulling the starboard line tight when Grey hopped down beside her, port line in hand. Once she had looped the line around a cleat, they pulled together guiding the boat back until the bumpers were snug against the dock.
When they were done, Grey turned to Lauren and offered her a small smile. “Nicely done.”
Lauren grinned and gave Grey a purposefully awful salute. “Thank you, Cap’n.”
“That is the worst salute I have ever seen,” Grey chuckled, shaking her head.
“Are we good to go into town now?” Kim called out, interrupting whatever retort Lauren looked ready to hurl in Grey’s direction.
“Absolutely.” Grey waved the Muellers down. She and Lauren helped the boys make the short hop onto the dock and, once they were all assembled, she pulled a key from her pocket. It was attached to a bright red foam keychain that would float if accidentally dropped into the water, and she smiled as she handed it to Kim. “This is a key to the salon doors, just in case either of us aren’t here when you guys get back.”
Kim nodded and slipped the key into her purse. “Any suggestions for where we should go?”
“The shops are all fun to poke around in.” Grey shrugged and hooked a thumb toward the bright buildings behind her that fronted the wide boardwalk. “And Pusser’s Landing is good for dinner. Downstairs is more laid back than up, and there’s usually some kind of live entertainment, so if the boys are still wiggly they would be able to get up and move around without disturbing anyone.”
“Oh, I think that’s where we’ll be then.” Kim looked at her boys, who were already running down the dock toward town, eager to explore, and shook her head as she slipped her hand into Will’s. “Here’s to hoping they can run off some of that energy.” She smiled affectionately at her children’s backs, and sighed as she looked back at Grey and Lauren. “Enjoy your night. We’ll see you guys later.”
Grey waited until the Muellers were on their way before she hopped back onto the boat, and she looked over her shoulder at Lauren as she climbed the steps to the back deck. “Are there any provisions we need to stock up on since we’re here?”
“I don’t think so.” Lauren shook her head as she followed Grey into the salon. “I mean, we pretty much have everything I’ll need for the rest of the trip, unless you can think of something.”
“Not really. I do want to offload our trash and top off the water and fuel, though.”
“Okay. So, what do you need me to do?”
“Nothing. I’m just going hook up the water, and then I’ll call down to the harbormaster’s office for a trash pickup. There’s not that much, but I’m not in the mood to haul it all over to the dumpster myself.”
“Works for me.” Lauren pursed her lips thoughtfully and added, “What about the fuel?”
“The dock’s on the other side of the harbor—” Grey waved a hand in the general direction of the refueling station, “—so we’ll just hit it in the morning. We actually have more than enough gas to finish this cruise, I just always fill up whenever I can.”
Lauren nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Yeah.” Grey ran a hand through her hair and looked around the salon. Her eyes drifted to the spot in the galley where they had been standing the day before when she had almost kissed Lauren, and her pulse spiked at the memory of it. Somehow, in a span of only four days, she had gone from wanting to fire Lauren, to wanting to kiss her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as that truth began to truly sink in.
She was genuinely attracted to Lauren. For the first time in three years, she wanted another woman in a way that had nothing to do with forgetting her pain and everything to do with simple desire. She did not want to let go of the hurt and sorrow she had worn like armor these last few years. She did not want to forget Emily. But she was finally ready to admit to herself that letting go of the hurt and pain she had worn like armor for so long did not mean that she was forgetting Emily. It simply meant that she was moving on.
Grey could not ignore the way her stomach fluttered when she turned to look at Lauren, and she sighed. She would never forget Emily, could never possibly forget her, but she wanted this. And, even though Lauren had been the one to
pull away, Grey knew that she had not imagined the spark she felt between them. Two weeks was not enough time for anything serious to develop, but maybe, just maybe, it was enough time for her to learn to live again.
“I…” Grey cleared her throat softly and gave Lauren a small smile. She tried to ignore the way her heart was racing, but she could hear the way it made her voice tremble ever so slightly. “After the trash gets picked up, would you want to maybe go over to Pusser’s for some diner? Take advantage of your night off?
Grey’s smile was soft and hopeful, and Lauren found herself returning it as she nodded. “That sounds great.” She looked down at herself and sighed. Though they were clean, her shorts and shirt were not exactly appropriate for going out. “Would I have time to shower?”
“Of course.” Grey’s breath caught as Lauren’s eyes turned back to her, sweeping slowly up her body in a deliberate once-over. It was not the first time she had caught Lauren looking at her like that, but it was the first time she was willing to acknowledge what it did to her. She arched a brow when Lauren’s eyes landed on hers, looking darker than usual and somewhat embarrassed at having been caught, and added, “I’ll probably grab one too after I get the trash unloaded, so take as long as you want. The Muellers have a key, we’re not in a rush.”
Lauren nodded once. “All right.” She licked her lips as she held Grey’s gaze, and then smiled shyly as she finally looked away and disappeared down the stairs to her cabin.
Grey stared at the empty stairway for a moment, feeling the way her heart fluttered with anticipation in her chest, and shook her head as she pulled her phone from her pocket to call the harbormaster.
Chapter 15
Grey kept stealing glances at Lauren as she led the way to the stairs that led to the second floor dining room above the bar at Pusser’s Landing. Lauren’s flowing ankle-length skirt sat low on her hips and swished seductively around her legs as she walked, and her teal tank hugged her lithe torso to perfection, but it was her hair that had Grey so captivated. From the moment Lauren had set foot aboard the Veritas, her hair had always been up, but tonight she had opted to leave it down. Her curls were soft around her face and tickled the backs of her shoulders, and Grey’s fingers itched to comb through the fiery tresses.
The curls seemed to take on a life of their own, bouncing lightly with every step, and Grey was so captivated by it that she flat-out missed the first stair and ended up lunging for the handrail to keep her feet. “Shit,” she hissed under her breath as she skipped quickly up a handful of steps before resuming a more relaxed pace.
Lauren chuckled at the way Grey tried to act like nothing had happened. “Looks like my clumsiness is rubbing off,” she teased, her eyes glued to Grey’s ass. Grey had changed into a pair of cream-colored linen slacks that hugged her backside to delicious perfection, and Lauren was completely hypnotized by the flex of taut muscles beneath the fabric.
Grey glanced over her shoulder at Lauren, and her pulse jumped at the hungry look darkening Lauren’s eyes. “No knives for either of us tonight, I guess.”
A light blush tinted Lauren’s cheeks when she realized that she had been caught staring, and she cleared her throat softly as she shook her head. “Kids menu for everyone, then.”
“Dear god, no,” Grey chuckled. She led Lauren over to the hostess’ station, and smiled as she held up two fingers. “Two, please.” She glanced back at Lauren as the hostess gathered their menus and added, “But, I mean, if you want fish sticks and stuff…”
“Yeah, no. I think I’ll risk the knives.” Lauren fell into step beside Grey as they followed the hostess to their table, her eyes sweeping over the half-empty dining room. They were led to a small table that was pushed up against the balcony railing, and she nodded appreciatively at the view of the marina below. “Wow.”
Grey smiled and gallantly pulled Lauren’s chair out for her. “Not a bad view, eh?”
“Not at…” Lauren’s voice trailed off as she looked over at Grey, who was bent slightly at the waist as she held onto the chair, making the open collar of her pale blue camp shirt flare, giving Lauren the barest peek of black lace against the supple swell of her breasts. She cleared her throat softly and smoothed her skirt over the backs of her legs as she hurried to sit. “Um, not a bad view at all,” she finished lamely, licking her lips nervously as she looked back out over the water and offered up a silent prayer that Grey had not noticed her staring. The knowing look Grey gave her as she sat down across the table told Lauren that she had not been so lucky, and she hid her face behind her menu the moment the hostess handed it to her.
“The specials tonight, which you’ll find in your menu, are the Caribbean lobster and the pineapple curry shrimp,” the hostess recited in a bored tone as she handed a menu to Grey. “Your server, Jameson, will be with you shortly. Enjoy.”
“Thank you,” Grey murmured. Once the hostess left, she chuckled and opened her own menu, even though she already knew what she was going to order. She had not intended to give Lauren a little show when she pulled her chair out for her, but she was both amused and flattered by Lauren’s reaction. “See anything that looks good?”
Lauren let her menu fall and shrugged, refusing to rise to playful twinkle in Grey’s eyes. “I don’t know. The lobster?”
“Not worth it.” Grey shook her head. “I mean, it may be because I grew up in New England and everything, but the lobster here in the islands just isn’t that great. Their shrimp curry is pretty good though.”
“What are you getting?” Lauren asked, her forehead furrowing thoughtfully as she looked back down at her menu.
“Conch fritters and the jerk chicken salad.”
Lauren chuckled at how quickly Grey responded, and looked up at her through her lashes. “I take it that’s what you order every time you come here?”
“Pretty much,” Grey admitted with a grin. “No matter what you order, though, you gotta have a Painkiller to drink.”
“I do, huh?” Lauren flipped to the front of her menu where the restaurant’s drinks were listed. The Painkiller was at the top of the mixed drinks menu, obviously the house special—a blend of dark rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, orange juice, and nutmeg. Lauren nodded as she flipped back to the entrees. “Sounds good.”
“It is,” Grey assured her with as smile, her attention shifting from Lauren to the waiter who stopped beside their table.
“Welcome to Pusser’s Landing. My name is Jameson, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?”
“Two Painkillers,” Grey ordered for them both. “And can we get an order of conch fritters?”
Jameson nodded as he scribbled their order on his notepad. “Of course. Would you like to order your entrees now as well?”
Lauren shook her head and did not bother to look up as she said, “I need another minute.”
“Not a problem,” Jameson assured her with a smile as he backed away to place their drink order and appetizer orders.
Grey rested her elbows on the edge of the table and perched her chin on her folded hands. Not wanting to make Lauren feel self-conscious, she pretended to look out over the harbor even though she was really watching Lauren read through the menu out of the corner of her eye. It was like watching a silent play. Lauren would silently mouth an occasional word or phrase that caught her attention, and then her forehead would either crinkle in disgust, or a look of pure surprise would light her face as she nodded in agreement with what she was reading. The longer Grey watched Lauren, the more she wished she knew which of the restaurant’s dishes elicited each reaction, and she felt almost disappointed when Lauren finished reading and set the folded menu onto the table beside her.
Island service is habitually slow, and tonight was no different, so by the time Jameson returned with their drinks, Lauren had long since finished studying the menu. She waved a hand at Grey to go ahead and order first as she skimmed the menu one last time, before going ahead and ordering the j
erk chicken salad as well. She smiled at the surprised look Grey gave her as their waiter disappeared. “I just figured that it has to be good if you order it every time.”
“No, it is. I was just thinking that you’d want something more island-y.”
“The menu has burgers on it, Grey,” Lauren said, her voice tinged with laughter. “I don’t think a chain restaurant whose menu consists of burgers, pub grub, and Anglicized fish dishes is the place to expect quality Caribbean fare.”
“Not really, no,” Grey agreed, chuckling as she reached for her drink. “We’ll have a few days off before the next cruise because it’s only a five-day charter. I’ll take you to a couple of local spots on Saint Thomas that have some awesome island food. Sound good?”
Lauren smiled and reached out to run a finger around the rim of her glass, catching a few flecks of nutmeg on the pad of her index finger. “That sounds great.” She put her finger in her mouth, curious as to whether or not the bar used freshly ground nutmeg on the drinks. She was pleased to see that they did, and she hummed approvingly as she wiped her finger dry on her napkin. “Is there a reason the next charter is only five days?”
It was clear from the look on Lauren’s face that she had not meant for the whole sucking-her-finger-clean thing to be a tease, that it was just a matter of her tasting an ingredient in the drink, but knowing that did not lessen Grey’s reaction to it. Her mouth was suddenly dry—impossibly, been-walking-through-a-desert-for-weeks-with-nothing-to-drink dry—and she could swear that a heater somewhere nearby had been turned on high. Her expression must have shown some of her discomfort because Lauren was looking at her inquiringly, and she shook her head as she took a generous swallow of her drink, hoping that the blended ice would help keep her face from flushing. “What?”
