“No,” whispered Stephanie, her throat suddenly tight. She gazed at the stunning woman in front of her, shaking her head slightly as all her fear faded to nothing and was replaced by pure desire, hot and all-consuming, coursing through her body with a strength that left her aching. For all her talk about needing things to go slow, the feel of Lou’s warm hand in hers sent all ideas of slow out the window.

“I don’t. I don’t need sex with a stranger to figure out what I can cope with…to figure out what I want. I know what I want. I want…you.”

Lou gave a small groan, and a thrill shot through Stephanie at the sound. Her breath caught as Lou slowly, cautiously, reached out a hand and, with shaking fingertips, stroked Stephanie’s face in a lazy, languorous line from her eyebrow, down her cheek to her lips. There was a discreet cough behind them. They both turned in a daze to find the barwoman leaning on her elbows next to them.

“Sorry, guys, I can tell you two know each other, but rules are rules—no touchy stuff at the bar, okay?”

Lou laughed, blushing, and dropped her hand. “Sorry…completely forgot where we were.”

The barwoman winked and moved away.

Stephanie waited for Lou to meet her gaze again. She trembled from that merest of touches along her face, and all sorts of crazy thoughts rampaged through her brain. All sorts of good thoughts and nothing negative or scary or damaging. It was as if that brief touch of Lou’s fingertips had somehow opened a floodgate, and she was having a very hard time fighting the urge to grab Lou and…do things to her.

And then, as if in slow motion, Lou stood, took hold of Stephanie’s hand, and pulled her to her feet. She led her away from the bar and into the main room. Stephanie didn’t resist. She didn’t see anyone else, didn’t hear any sounds; all her senses were targeted only at Lou leading her to a space on the wall. Lou turned, placed a hand gently on Stephanie’s hip and eased her back against the cool brick, never taking her gaze off her. Stephanie pressed back as Lou moved closer. Her heart hammered under her ribs, and her body thrummed with an anticipation she’d never known before.

“I know we said slow,” said Lou. “But all I want to do right now is kiss you, and I think you want that too, but if—”

Stephanie stopped her words with a gentle finger on Lou’s lips. Even just that simple touch sent exquisite pulses of want shimmering through her body. The heat of Lou’s hand searing through her jeans and the soft whisper of her words were a heady mix of nerves that made Stephanie tingle. Lou was pushing her own boundaries here, and although it was taking a lot, Stephanie loved that Lou was willing to try so hard for her.