“Yeah?” Kate gasped.

“Yes.”

She tugged.

As Tilly pushed the sleeves down, the dress fell over Tilly’s slim hips to the floor. Kate dropped her gaze between them.

No slip. Underwear. White lace. Legs that went on forever. Pale skin, flat belly. A purple scar, no longer than an inch, that dipped from the crease of her belly button. Kate’s throat tightened.

“This is the body that God gave me,” Tilly said.

Kate’s eyes snapped up. “And you were given a beautiful body,” she avowed. The chain of Tilly’s crucifix was rough against her tongue as she sucked at the dip of Tilly’s collarbone. “God, Tilly, you’re so beautiful.”

“Really?” High-pitched, breathy.

“Are you kidding me?” Her hands warmed over Tilly’s ribcage, the plane of her belly, the jut of her hip. “I’ve been dying to see you like this since we were sixteen.”

Tilly gasped as Kate toyed with the lace band of her underwear.

All the years of pining and here they were, her heartbeat firing against Tilly’s fingers as they worked frantically to unbutton Kate’s shirt. Fourth button was enough, Kate decided, reaching down to yank it over her head as Tilly’s hands shot to the button of Kate’s jeans. “Help me,” she rasped, hooded eyes locked on the swell of Kate’s breasts.

Pushing Tilly’s hands away, she pulled at the zipper and shoved denim to her ankles. Tilly’s eyes grew wide. Unabashedly, Kate flicked the clasp of her own bra and let it fall. Taking Tilly’s hands in hers, she slid them up her sides until Tilly’s touch found purchase.

Her eyes snapped shut.

“You’re so soft,” Tilly whispered, her touch growing deliberate.

Kate cradled Tilly’s face in her hands and tilted her head into the kiss. Her fingers threaded through the fine silk of Tilly’s long hair, body pulsing with promise as Tilly’s tongue slipped against hers. Groaning, she stepped out of her jeans.

Kate linked Tilly’s arms around her neck and walked her backward, her fingertips slipping under the band of Tilly’s bra. As Tilly whispered her name, the blinds rustled loudly in a gust of wind. Kate yanked the covers back and gently, pushing at Tilly’s shoulders, urged her to lie down.

Straddling Tilly, Kate painted kisses over her chest to the line of her bra. Tilly’s fingertips whispered up and down her spine as Kate kissed through thin lace, and lower, over the two matching scars on either side of her abdomen.

Seemingly too far gone to entertain modesty, Tilly closed her eyes and drifted her hands up Kate’s sides to feel the fullness of her body. “I know how two women make love,” she whispered.

Kate groaned, her chest growing tight at Tilly’s show of determination. “Yeah?” Her tongue traced the curve of Tilly’s ribcage. “You do?”

Hand raking into Kate’s hair, Tilly gasped. “Yes.”

Kate’s mouth drifted lower. There were so many things to show her. So many beautiful, intimate things for them to share. Slowly. Slowly. She pulled back slightly, and suddenly, at the sight of the dark patch on Tilly’s underwear, her heart skipped a beat. At the pull of want, her eyes slipped closed.