Billie stepped closer, her breath warm against Debra’s temple. “A woman who remembers her worth.”
The robe slid open, but Billie’s hands didn’t roam. Still, the space between them vibrated with the promise of touch.
“Relax,” Billie murmured.
Debra did, but only because she felt safe in Billie’s hands. Had this been anyone else, Debra would have run out the door and never looked back.
One of Billie’s hands came to rest on Debra’s waist, steadying her. The other rose slowly and traced the line of her collarbone, sending a shiver through her.
“You held yourself so tightly last time. As though you didn’t believe you deserved to let go.”
Debra’s breath shook. “I’m not sure Idobelieve it.”
“You do. Youalwaysdid. You just forgot.”
Debra closed her eyes when Billie’s hand continued downwards, ghosting over her ribs and only pausing when Debra’s breath hitched.
“Is this all right?” Billie asked.
“Yes. More than all right.”
Billie exhaled softly. A hint of a sigh. Almost a…confession.
It was the sound of someone fighting themselves.
Then her touch deepened. Tender yet intentional, but Debra noted the restraint and the care in it…the almost-worship. God, she felt undone before Billie had even reached her waist.
Billie dipped her mouth towards Debra’s ear and said, “You’re allowed to want, Debra.”
The room seemed to pulse around them at that. Debra felt her knees weaken and her breath scatter with something that wasn’t just desire. “Billie…”
Billie stepped closer, her chest pressing against Debra’s back as heat spilled through the thin silk of her robe.
“Tell me what you need.”
Debra met her eyes in the mirror. Those impossibly dark, disciplined eyes that betrayed more want than Billie ever spoke out loud. “I need…” Debra’s voice trembled. “I need to feel like I did when I was here last time. I need to feel like I didn’t waste my life during my marriage, and that one day…Iwillbe desired again.”
Billie’s expression shifted into something not only fierce, but something unbearably tender. “Then let me remind you.” Her hands descended, slowly but surely, her breath tracing a warm path down Debra’s neck.
Debra felt her entire body lean into the moment, as though something deep inside of her had recognised Billie long before her mind had caught up.
“Stay with me.” Billie’s hands glided over Debra’s waist. “Stay right here.”
Her touch wasn’t hurried; it wasn’t even measured in the way Debra expected it to be. It was exploratory.Curious. As though Billie was mapping her with her palms and unveiling the places that made Debra’s breath stutter inch by inch.
Debra’s fingers gripped the arm of the couch behind her. She wasn’t sure when she’d reached for it, but sheneededsomething to hold on to.
“Good.” Billie smiled. “Let go of everything else. Hold only what steadies you.”
Her lips brushed Debra’s shoulder through the robe. A careful, lingering drag that set her nerves alight. Billie’s hands slid up to her ribs, guiding Debra’s body back against her.
The heat of Billie’s body against her spine was almost overwhelming. “Billie—I.”
The way Billie stilled—even just for a heartbeat—made Debra feel that her name mattered. That saying it meant something.
“Tell me what you feel.”
Debra swallowed down the emotion lodged in her throat. “Seen.”
