July 19

Minett, Muskoka

It's a slow, hot day at the marina. There isn't a hint of wind today, and the sun is beating down on us.

I've already stripped to my shorts, in a vain attempt to find relief from the sweltering heat.

Elle's washing boats in her bathing suit, and, even from here, I can see the sweat glistening on her body, her skin pinkening under the sun, which means she's forgotten to reapply her sunblock. Again.

I finish stacking the full propane tanks in the large cage and lock it, walking through the shop to drop the keys with Hunter. "I'm going to grab a quick swim. It's like a damn inferno out there." I use my t-shirt hanging on the back of the desk chair to wipe the sweat from my face and neck before Hunter gives me a thumbs up from his phone call.

I check the temperature on the old thermometer as I walk by, it's thirty-four degrees celsius today. There is absolutely no wind, and no relief from the heat.

Stopping to lean against the trailered boat Elle's standing on, I watch as she rinses the suds from the now sparkling white deck after hours of scrubbing. When it had arrived, it was stained, dusty, moldy, and rusty watermarks had streaked the sides from the metal fixtures.

"Feel like grabbing a swim?" Elle jumps at the sound of my voice, and I smile up at her sheepishly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Give me a minute to pack this stuff up." She packs her cleaning supplies into a box, then hands it down to me, going back for the scrub brush and large microfiber towels she's used, passing those down too.

I store the lot of it back in the mechanic's bay, nodding to our mechanic, Dan, on the way by. He usually works shifts at the other two marina locations, but he's been hanging here for the past couple weeks. I'm not so fond of the guy, something about him gives me the creeps. He's a rough, crude, townie brawler, always bragging about his tattoos and local boxing or mixed martial arts league fights.

Mostly, I just hate the way he looks at Elle.

When I walk back down the dock, Elle is swinging her legs over the boat's side, shimmying towards the small stepladder. It's the tallest one we have, and still, it's a big stretch for her to climb down. I step forward and grab her hips, lifting her down and setting her on her feet.

Her sweet smile makes my heart skip a beat, and she turns her face up to mine, expectantly. I can't resist, pressing my lips to hers for a quick kiss, nudging her towards the water. I dive straight in and nearly weep in pleasure. It's probably ten degrees colder in the water, and it feels like heaven.

Floating on my back, drifting back towards the dock in the waves, I turn my head to watch Elle dip her toes, painted bright red today, into the water. The habit makes me smile every time. Even her toes can drive me crazy. She sits on the edge of the dock, ready to slide in. I grab her ankle, stopping her.

Near the dock, it's shallow enough for me to stand on the slippery, rocky bottom. I find my footing and pull her into my arms, lifting her off the dock. I glide slowly through the water to duck behind the shelter of one of the parked boats. I feel the sigh of pleasure roll through her as the cool water rises to her shoulders.

She leans back in my arms to dip her hair in the water. A smile spreads over her face as she closes her eyes in bliss. I'm more focused on her chest, that's now arched up towards my face as she leans back. My throat goes dry, and I swallow convulsively. She is so beautiful, and she doesn't even know the effect her body has on me. Every casual move from her might as well be a carefully crafted seduction.

Her arms wind their way around my neck, sliding up my biceps and shoulders first as she pulls herself upright. I wrap one of my arms around her back, pulling her tightly against me. Her legs wrap around my waist as she leans into me, into a sweet, deep kiss.

As soon as her lips touch mine, tongue seeking, sliding, I groan. I feel like I could live on her soft touches and smooth kisses alone. Her innocent curiosity drives me crazy, and it's getting harder and harder to pump the brakes each time she pushes me further. The only relief I can find is when I finally leave her in the early mornings for a cold shower or when I satisfy my desperate need alone.

I don't know how much more of this self-inflicted torture I can stand. Elle's confidence is growing, her curiosity along with it. I want her to stay like this, as long as possible—sweet, innocent, not tainted by expectation, or my dark desire.

For now, she is the purest source of happiness and love in my life, and I'll hold on desperately to that, for as long as she'll let me.

I pull away, breaking the kiss but softening the abrupt gesture by scattering kisses along her cheek, down her jaw and neck, to the slightly ticklish spot under her ear, pleased when her laughter bubbles out.

I walk us back to the dock, lifting her out and setting her ass on the wood before pulling myself up and out. As she leans against me, I can't help but notice the difference in our coloring. All summer long, she pinkens, then returns to her pale ivory coloring. Eventually, she might earn herself a light golden tan, but I'm not counting on it. My own skin, on the other hand, has darkened easily over the summer. My darker, olive-toned complexion lends itself to tanning evenly in the summer, with only minimal sun protection.

Elle makes me use at least thirty, though, which seems excessive, but she promises me I'll regret using low SPF protection in the long run, so I listen. Plus, if I let her tell me what lotion to use, it usually means she'll apply it for me.

As my eyes roam her body, I frown at the pink tint of her shoulders as we dry off in the sunshine. "You're burning again, Elle. Where's the lotion?"

"I left it in my bag in the office." She moves to stand, but I put my hand on her shoulder, "I'll get it."

When I walk back to her, she's piled her hair prettily on the top of her head into a giant knot. It makes her neck look so much more tempting this way, and I can see myself kissing, biting, marking the skin there.

I already see the small fading marks on her skin, reminders of the nights we've spent kissing, with her falling asleep in my arms.

I've spent nearly every night with her the past week, creeping in after dark and sneaking out before first light. Something's shifted between us since our trip, and I'm beyond pleased she's happy to let me stay with her so often. For the first time in a long time, I might understand what peace feels like, at least when I'm with her.

I pull Elle to her feet, turn her around, and squeeze some lotion into my hands, handing her the bottle.

I take my time applying the lotion to her neck, shoulders, back, sliding my hands under the straps of her bikini, dipping my fingertips into the back of her bikini bottoms, brushing the soft pale skin beneath. She jolts a little, but leans back into my chest as she applies lotion to the front of her body. I find myself wishing she'd let me do that too. I remind myself we're at work, and that only moments ago, I was thinking I need to stop torturing myself with temptation. Dammit, get a grip, Grey, I shake myself mentally.

When I have no excuse to continue touching her, I pull my hands back. She turns and gestures for me to do the same, applying sun lotion to my back. I drop to my knees so she can reach my shoulders and neck as well.

We haven't had any customers in an hour, and I'm restless. Hunter is stuck doing paperwork and making appointments for launches of weekender boat traffic, and Dan is leaning on the gas pump at the end of the dock, watching us. Watching Elle.

"Can I get some of that lotion over here, Elle?" He winks at her. "Could sure use some help to rub it in too; you wouldn't want me to miss a spot and burn, would you?."

I throw the bottle over to him, probably harder than necessary, but his tone sets my teeth on edge. "Think you can manage on your own." I definitely don't like the look he sends Elle, and she steps a little closer to me, clearly not liking it either.

He snags the bottle out of the air with a smirk.

"Sometimes, he gives me the creeps. I like working with John a lot better." Elle's uncertain comment makes me grind my teeth. Yeah, me too, I think. I definitely prefer the grandfatherly mechanic over this clown, no doubt about it.

Watching him watch her, I decide to put some more space between them for the moment. I grab Elle's hand and tug her through the shop to my car, which I keep parked here all the time.

"What are we doing?" Elle winces as she steps on a rock in her bare feet, so I toss her over my shoulder as we walk through the parking lot. I grin when she squeals in surprise, laughing.

I start to sit her down on the leather seat, and she jumps, climbing back into my arms. "Seat's hot." She grins sheepishly at me, rubbing the right cheek of her ass that had touched the hot leather.

I slide in first, with her on my lap, protected by my wet bathing suit, and I immediately feel bad as the heat scorches through the wet fabric. "Better?" She nods. I roll the windows down to let the barely cooler air in from outside.

"Time for your first driving lesson, Elle." I fire up the truck, grinning at her in the rearview mirror.

"Really?" Her excitement is visible, so I laugh. "Yes, really. We'll tick that box, something you've never done before. Since I've never tried to teach anyone to drive, it counts as something new for both of us." I just pray silently that this won't be a total disaster.

I take a few moments to explain the clutch, the gear shifter by the wheel, the dash. I reverse from my parking spot, driving a few loops of the big square lot showing Elle how everything works.

Today, I guess I'll start by letting her steer, but keep control of the pedals and clutch myself.

Her excitement is all but rolling off of her as she grips the steering wheel in her hands. I reposition them to the ten and two recommended placements as I recall from my own driving lessons.

I ease off the clutch, guiding her to shift gears before I pump the gas slightly, starting at a slow speed. Elle's line of sight is right in front of my truck's nose, so I reach up, tipping her chin up until she's looking to the horizon. "Always look where you want to go, not where you're at."

It was the first, only, and best advice my dad gave me when I started. When he was still acting like a dad who cared. But like everything else, he'd bailed on teaching me to drive too. I had my uncle to thank for that, just like I had my uncle and cousins to thank for helping me rebuild my car. Sometimes I wonder how my dad can be so different from his brother, sometimes I fantasize that my uncle could be my dad instead.

We drive like this, slowly, letting her get accustomed to steering, rolling around the parking lot. I show her how to do tighter turns, signal left and right. I'm reminded of the summers I spent teaching her how to boat. The first time she'd parked, the first time she'd driven with someone wakeboarding behind us, the first time I'd shown her how to tow another boat.

Boating and driving don't seem to come intuitively to her, but she'll be fine if she practices. I'm glad to have yet another excuse to be near her.

When we pull back into the parking spot fifteen minutes later, she's radiant with her happiness. I show her the parking brake, put the shifter into neutral, and turn the car off.

"Thank you Greyson, will you teach me more, another time?"

Laughing, I nod. "Sure, Elle. Don't tell anyone though, it's not exactly legal. You won't start classroom lessons till the autumn, I guess."

"I already did the classroom lessons, just waiting to do the test the day after my birthday, two at the latest." But still, she mimes a zipper closing her lips together, a mischievous look in her eyes. She shifts on my lap, so she's facing me, one leg on either side of my thighs.

Shit. This might not have been the smartest move, there's literally nowhere for me to pull away. Elle's arms wrap around my neck, and she leans into me again. Her hips hover over mine, but I grab them in my hands, making sure she doesn't close that gap between us. I don't think I'll be able to stop her if she does. That might just be game-fucking-over.

Her lips find mine, and her tongue instantly slides across my bottom lip. I drop my head back on the seat rest, surrendering to her. Her sweet desire slices through me as her hands slide into my hair, tugging gently to change the angle. I moan, desperate for her to continue, but also needing her to stop, soon.

Still, I do nothing to stop the sweet torture.

She deepens the kiss, pressing closer. My fingers bite into her bikini-clad hips hard. My blood is boiling, and when she slides her lips from mine to kiss a trail across my cheekbone, down my jaw to my neck, I take a few deep breaths, struggling to regain my slipping control.

Then, she bites me, nipping sharply and soothing the spot with her tongue—my already shaky control snaps. I release my hold on her hips, fisting my hands in her hair, dragging her lips back to mine. I kiss her as I've never let myself kiss her before, it's hungry, desperate, claiming. It's a dark, hard kiss. She moans into my mouth, letting me know she loves it.

Her hips settle closer to mine, and I flex up to meet her. I swallow her shocked gasp as she feels for the first time the effect she has on me. Just a few more moments, I promise myself.

Elle holds onto me, riding the storm of my desire and need for her. She pushes her hips firmly down onto me and bites my bottom lip, pulling at my hair, and I fucking love it. I push her back against the steering wheel and scrape my teeth down her neck, sucking hard on the sensitive skin, nipping, soothing, and stroking. I kiss a trail down to just above the fabric of her bikini top, running my nose against the edge of the material when a loud noise snaps me out of my desire induced madness.

Her shoulder blade is pressing the horn on the steering wheel.

Dropping my head to her chest, I try to catch my breath, to calm myself. After a moment, I start to laugh. Saved by the fucking bell. Or horn if I'm being literal.

I gently kiss Elle before I open the door and step out, dropping her back to the ground. Her pout is the sweetest thing I've ever seen. I tuck my keys into the sun visor, then follow her.

"I'm not sure I like it that you keep deciding when enough is enough. I, for one, was having a perfectly nice time."

Elle's sassy, bossy side makes an appearance in her state of frustration. I bite my lip, so I don't laugh again. "Nice? Isn't nice a word you'd use to describe time spent with your friend or brother?"

"Fine, I was having an incredible time, Greyson. Until. You. Stopped." She crosses her arms over her chest, tipping one hip to the side as she stands, looking up at me. I wish I could drag her back into my truck.

"I was having an incredible time too, Elle. I had to stop, though, we're at work, and I was about to lose it." Hell, I still might. I need to dive into the water again and cool down.

Elle turns back towards the marina, walking ahead of me carefully in her bare feet. Sighing, because I'm not sure I should touch her again, but knowing the stones will hurt her feet, I catch up to her and turn, boosting her up onto my back, walking across the pavement. Her lips press softly to my neck, and I shiver a little but shake my head to clear it.

I need to get a little physical distance from her; the temptation is too strong a pull. I mentally plan the next weeks with as many group activities as possible.

- - -

I love watching Elle and Greyson's relationship unfold. They both have their personal issues, their own challenges, but somehow, things appear to be working between them. I'd love to hear what you think of the two of them together? 

Are you team Elle and Greyson? Or do you have eyes for someone else in the story?

Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you loved it, consider voting! 

Xx Toria