She ran a hand through her hair and stared at her reflection. As she took in her flushed cheeks, a rush of satisfaction gripped her. Had she ever experienced anything as erotic? Her head spun. God, they hadn’t even touched. She drew her hands over her face. Fuck…

Hesitantly, she opened the bathroom door.

In the middle of the room, Tilly stood before the muted television in her slip, her arms crossed, biting her nails. Her eyes were wide, expression panic-stricken.

Kate wet her lips. “Til, it’s okay…”

Her expression crumbled. “It’s not okay. It’s so far from okay. I’m getting married.”

Kate’s gaze dropped to the ground.

Tilly shifted. “I don’t know why I did that. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just…I thought that maybe we could move past this if we just got it out of our systems…just once.”

The breath caught in Kate’s throat. Her eyes snapped up. She would never have considered a thought like that could cross Tilly’s mind let alone impassion her so much that it could drive her to act on it. She’d underestimated Tilly’s courage, and the realization made her head spin.

Kate shook her head. “But I don’t want to get you out of my system.” The words were pulled from her throat. “And it wouldn’t work. I am telling you now that if it happened once, it wouldn’t work.” Not with us. Not with me.

Meaning turned behind Kate’s gaze. Tilly’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what I want.”

That wasn’t true—they both knew exactly what Tilly wanted. Therein lay the problem.

Tilly’s gaze was hot enough to light Kate on fire. “Kate, you’re the only one I’ve ever…”

The broken sentence left Kate aching to know what Tilly had intended to say. Out of their control, the bond between them fizzed and crackled, like a short circuit in high-tension wires. It didn’t help that Tilly was gazing at her like all she wanted was for Kate to close the space between them and silence the insatiable need that had been clawing at them for months.

Across the room, Tilly pressed a hand to each of her cheeks. “I feel like I’m losing myself to something I don’t understand.”

Kate stiffened. Was Tilly really attracted to her? Or did she just like the safety and familiarity that Kate offered? Did her body inflame at the sight of Kate’s nakedness? It had interested her—that had been plain as day—but had the sight of Kate’s skin made Tilly pulse with arousal the way green eyes focused on her breasts had made Kate throb? Or did she just like that Kate felt like home?

Kate swallowed, hard. “In the elevator, you said that you think about us.” She paused. “Do you like the thought of my hands on your body? Touching you? Is that something you think about?”

Tilly’s cheeks reddened. She drew a shaky breath.

“When we were in the bathroom…did you come in there because you wanted me to touch you?”