A/N – okay, so I said it would be a day or so before I could update and it turned into a week and a day but in my defense, I did write three chapters for "Solving the Cancer Enigma", have a 55h work week and I am leaving for Australia in three days, so lots to do!

Thank you for following the story and for feeding my writing addiction with your sweet reviews!

Anywho, I hope it was worth the wait!

Chapter 11

Emily's POV

Once I saw Katie join Cook, I set out to find Naomi who had disappeared somewhere with Effy a while ago. The island wasn't that big and I knew which direction they were headed in, having snuck a peek or two in Naomi's direction whenever Katie was busy giving Cook a hard time. I knew she was angry with me and I couldn't blame her. The ecstasy of the early morning hours was long gone and I was desperate for another fix. I was kicking myself for allowing Katie to eradicate the confidence I had gained from spending the night with Naomi and I was pretty sure Naomi hated me about as much as I hated myself.

I found Effy sitting at the edge of a grass slope overlooking the coastline, her head buried in a drawing. The little cove we had anchored in was hidden by a steep dune and Effy had been completely hidden from sight from the picnic-grounds. I had walked almost all the way around the old excavation site before seeing her sitting in the distance. There had been no sign of Naomi though but as I approached Effy, I saw her sitting on a large rock a bit further away, her feet dangling in the water and her back turned to us. She looked deep in thought and since she wasn't too happy with me at the moment, I was reluctant to climb out to join her. Instead, I slipped down into the grass next to Effy.

Despite having seen some of Effy's drawings earlier during the week, the sheer beauty of her work left me breathless. I hadn't even noticed that she had brought paper and pencils with her but I was both thankful and glad that she had. The coastline in the distance comprised of a tall ridge covered in light-green grass with large, grey cliffs at its base, the blue waves breaking and crashing into them with force creating clouds of white foam. Naomi was sitting in Effy's line of sight and she had included her in the drawing, depicting a young woman dangling her feet in the water, looking out towards the ridge, her back to the beholder. Of course I knew it was Naomi since I saw her sitting there, in the exact position Effy had drawn her in but I would like to think that even if I hadn't, it would have been evident anyway. It was captivating and truly, truly beautiful.

"Have you been drawing long?", I asked curiously.

"No", Effy answered without taking her eyes of the drawing, her hand moving in fluid motion. "On and off for about one year."

I nodded, even more impressed by her than before. "What made you start?"

She shrugged but I noticed her calm exterior falter momentarily, bona fide pain displayed in her blue eyes before regaining control and the indifferent expression I had gotten so used to. I had picked up on it though but decided not to push it since Effy seemed to fight hard to keep the truth hidden.

"It's beautiful, the best one I've seen you do so far." Effy gave me a genuine smile that quickly turned into a knowing smirk.

"That's just because it features your little crush out there", she said and nodded towards Naomi. I felt my face redden and looked away.

"Is it really that obvious?" I hadn't forgotten our little 'heart-to-heart' on the beach yesterday where Effy had made it clear that she saw right through me, passing through my increasingly pronounced 'gay' on the way.

"Only if you pay attention to detail." Effy shrugged and turned her attention back to the drawing.

I sighed loudly. "And I suppose you are prone to that, what with the level of detail in your drawings…" She nodded and smiled again.

"Nobody will care, you know." I frowned at her at first, not understanding what she was referring to and having a hard time accepting it was my crush on Naomi. Because from the look of Naomi's face today at least one person minded quite a bit. "Well, maybe aside from your sister", she concluded somberly.

Not knowing how to respond, I simply sat there in silence and watched Effy put the final touches on her drawing. Satisfied, she smiled at me and got to her feet. She turned to leave but changed her mind and dropped to her knees beside me in a graceful, fluid motion. God, even the way she sits down is a display of beauty!

I turned to face her and was met by a serious and earnest look in Effy's sapphire eyes. "Life is short and love is rare, Emily. You'd best remember that." With that, she rose and left me staring after her as she walked back towards the campsite. Who said anything about love? This wasn't love. Was it?

Naomi's POV

My terrible mood had lightened as I enjoyed the serenity of my favorite spot on the island and perhaps in the whole world. I hadn't been here since last autumn when Cook and I came for one last visit before I went off to Uni and I was happy to feel it work its magic on me. I was lost in thought, staring at my feet tracing circles in the water when a shadow suddenly towered above me, my heart skipping when I saw bright, red hair reflected in the water.

She sat down next to me without saying a word. For the second time within a span of less than twelve hours, I found myself waiting in silence for Emily Fitch to apologize to me and hoping this wasn't going to turn into a trend. I figured I might as well spend my time enjoying the view and I wasn't referring to the coastline. She was still only wearing her bikini and that same top but it had unfortunately dried, leaving more to my imagination than I was hoping for. She was however, a breathtaking sight, her red hair ruffled and slick from the saltwater and her increasingly tanned skin complimenting her dark eyes wondrously. Remember that you are still upset with her!

"How's your face?", she finally said, surprising me by not starting with an apology like I was expecting her to.

"Fine." I raised my eyes to regard the horizon as opposed to Emily's clear reflection in the water. The sun was bearing down on us and I started moving my feet through the water again, cooling myself slightly. Emily's toes only just touched the water and I couldn't help but laugh as I saw her try and fail to imitate me.

"Stop it!" Emily giggled, shoving me softly and almost pushing me off the rock. "It's not funny, not everyone can have perfect legs like you!" I smiled at the compliment and looked sideways at her, my stomach fluttering as I saw her grinning back at me. Christ, I'm easily charmed today.

"I'm very upset with you, you know." I couldn't stop smiling though, making it hard for Emily to take me seriously and she started to giggle again.

"Yeah, I can see that!" She laughed and it was the most adorable thing I had ever heard. Fuck it.

I gave her a sideways smirk, took off my shirt and pushed myself off the cliff and into the water. I knew the water was deep enough since I had practiced diving headfirst here with Cook a couple of years ago. Breaking the surface, I wiped water from my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair, securing it behind my ears. I looked expectantly at Emily who was still sitting on the rock. "Well?"

The surprised expression on her face converted into a grin as she quickly pulled off her shirt, revealing extraordinary abs that were remarkably enough still visible despite her sitting position. I felt a new wave of appreciation for her body and more than a little pride in knowing that I had my hands and lips on it mere hours ago. Emily got to her feet and took a couple of steps backwards and I lost sight of her. I swam backwards with a couple of strokes, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Suddenly, she came running towards the edge of the rocks and jumped headfirst into the water in a perfect arch. She's perfect and I'm an idiot.

She surfaced behind me, the perfect dive naturally taking her a good few meters into the ocean. Her red hair glistened when she turned and swam back towards me, a mischievous expression on her face. I started moving backwards towards the rocks, my eyes never leaving hers. Emily took a few quick, strong strokes and closed the distance between us before I reached the rocks.

When she reached me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself into me, eliminating any remaining space between our bodies. Her lips hungrily sought mine and there was no innocence lost between us this time. I took control and spun her around in the water before deepening the kiss. I sensed her body's reaction to the touch of my tongue on hers and felt it spur me on once again. I knew of a little pocked between the large rocks where the underwater boulder had been flattened and smoothed by millennia of crashing waves. I maneuvered Emily there and pushed her up against the rock behind her, my mind flashing to earlier this morning when I had fought the strong desire ravish her up against the door. With that image in mind and feeling Emily wrap her legs around my waist, her mouth hungry and never leaving mine, I let go of any lingering irritation and lost myself in her completely.

Emily's POV

Naomi was more aggressive than this morning, her hands impatiently seeking my breasts, her thumbs roughly and quickly flicking my nipples, causing bursts of heat to spread throughout me. I tipped my head back and bit my lip to suppress a moan from escaping as her right hand moved down my waistline before settling on my butt, grabbing it, effectively pulling me towards her. My legs were still wrapped around her waist and when she pulled me towards her, a particularly sensitive spot between my thighs brushed up against her stomach. I cursed my bikini for quenching the sensation but quickly forgot as Naomi pushed me harder up against the rock, essentially lifting me halfway out of the water. Her lips traced hot kisses down my neckline before pushing my bikini-top aside, her mouth settling on a nipple. New thrusts of pleasure shot through me, resonating between my thighs and causing me to involuntarily grind against her stomach. Her mouth lifted from my breast and I bent my head back down towards her, our lips meeting each other halfway as she pushed herself up towards me. My legs slipped and I slid down the face of the rock, scraping my back but not caring enough to register the pain. Standing on the flattened boulder, the water almost reached my collarbone, leaving my chest inaccessible to Naomi's mouth. I took advantage of her moment of hesitation and turned the tables on her, switching places and pressing her against the rock.

The extra inches she had on me resulted in the water leaving her chest bare for exploration using both hands and lips, and I intended to take full advantage of it. I was venturing into unknown territory as my fingertips gently began to trace the shape of her breasts. I tried desperately to divert enough blood to my brain in order to remember what she had done to me that had made me scream out in pleasure. I didn't have to do much it seemed, as Naomi lost her patience with me and pulled my head roughly towards her for a hungry kiss. I stopped thinking and simply allowed my instincts to take over, brushing against her breasts with my palms before slipping one hand under her top, my thumb finding and flicking her hard nipple. Naomi's lips abruptly let go of mine as she tilted her head back and gasped. Realizing I was doing something right, my other hand slipped under her bikini, matching and pacing the strokes of each nipple.

I took advantage of her exposed neckline and left an openmouthed kiss on her sensitive pulse point, sucking down hard and causing her to let out another, louder gasp. She found the knot around my neck holding my bikini together and untied it. It was thankfully still tied around my back, otherwise it would have drifted off into the ocean without either of us noticing since we were both too caught up in exploring each other's naked skin.

I pulled her down for a kiss, her hands eagerly finding my bare breasts, once again sending bursts of pleasure coursing through me. I ripped myself away from her lips and started tracing frantic kisses down her neck, stopping briefly to suck on her pulse point before continuing my downward path. Finding a hard nipple, I took it in my mouth and bit down gently before circling it with my tongue. It had the desired effect as Naomi finally let out a loud moan and lifted a hand to my head, pressing it closer to her chest.

Naomi's POV

Feeling Emily's lips close around my nipple was the last straw. I was desperate for a release, this morning's built up sexual tension only adding to the throbbing sensation between my thighs. Being in the water, I knew mere friction from grinding our bodies incessantly together would never be enough, even despite the enormous amount of excitement currently building up in the both of us. I really had no idea of whether Emily had any experience with women but she certainly seemed to know what to do to drive me to the brink of insanity. Everything she was doing was making it harder and harder to breathe and near impossible to focus on paying her the right amount of attention.

I made a quick decision and took hold of her arms, reluctantly removing them and her mouth from my chest. She looked up at me in surprise and a slight frown appeared on her exquisite face. I smiled and bent my head to kiss her sweetly before turning it into a passionate and all-consuming moment. I slipped a hand around her waist and pulled her toward me, my back still up against the rock. Our bodies were pressing hard against each other while I kissed Emily with more desire and honesty than ever before. I savored every taste, every burst of energy the movement of her lips, tongue or hands caused, taking my sweet time before moving forward.

With one hand still around her waist, I pushed her away slightly, allowing for some space between us. Emily tried to move back in but I gently stopped her by placing my palm on her stomach, taking a minute to relish in the sensation of her tight abs. Without ever breaking our kiss, I moved my hand down along her abs and slipped it into her bikini-bottoms, causing her to jolt and moan into my mouth. Despite standing chest high in the cool ocean water, she felt warm and moist against my hand. I was greedy and eager and feeling her grab hold of my neck and hair only made it worse. I repeated this morning's movements by slipping a finger down each side of her clit, catching it between them but whatever patience I had left in me disappeared when Emily decided to copy me, slipping a hand into my bikini. She broke our kiss and attacked my neck and chest with burning, hungry kisses, making me forget what I should really be focusing on – her.

At this point it hardly mattered that I finally noticed that Emily might not have had much prior experience with women, because everything she was doing was still absolute heaven. She copied me at first before deciding to experiment, ever attentive and observing my every reaction, almost as if she were trying to make one of those IKEA-instruction manuals of my body and how to make it tick. Regardless, it was working and I could only pray that she never show that manual to anyone and that she would be using it in the future, preferably often. I felt unmistakable tension building as she increased the pace she was massaging my sensitive clit with and nearly lost it when I felt her other hand move up the inside of my thigh. She pushed the fabric of my bikini aside and slid a single finger inside me and my head flew back in a silent scream. I grabbed hold of her neck with both arms, finally giving up on focusing on her for now and pulled her in for a wet kiss. She smirked and the pure sensuality of her happily obliging me almost pushed me over the top. My toes started to tingle but I forced the sensation away, wanting to, no needing to prolong this moment just a little more. Turns out I really, really shouldn't have.

"Naomi! Naomi!", Mum's inquisitive calls brought Emily's wonderful movements to an abrupt end. We were somewhat hidden from sight in the little pocket but if Mum decided to walk all the way out to the edge of the rocks, she would catch us. Since our shirts were scrambled on the rock above our heads, I knew it was only a matter of time before that scenario became reality. I pushed Emily away, slightly more aggressively than I had intended and quickly adjusted my bikini. Emily followed my lead and turned away to tie the knot behind her neck again. That's when I noticed the red marks on her back and I gasped loudly.

"Emily, what the fuck, you're bleeding!", I whispered in shock as she turned around. I was horrified, realizing that she must have scraped it while I was pressing her against the rock. She turned around and merely shrugged, a smirk spreading across her exquisite face as she looked at me.

She closed the distance between us and surprised me with a kiss. I heard Mum's voice getting closer and really needed to push Emily away but I just couldn't bring myself to. She finally broke away and locked eyes with me, a knowing smile covering her lips.

"Guess I'm not the only one who cares what some people think."

Poor girls, they really can't seem to catch a break! Although, Naomi is still acting way out of character, apparently caring what Gina might think and giving Emily a free-pass for being a coward for the second time…

As I mentioned, I will be leaving for Sydney soon and don't know when I will have time to write another chapter but I hope you will stick with the story and with me in the mean time!