She set to work unbuttoning Jordan’s jeans and sliding them off of her. The slinky black underwear she revealed was just icing on the cake. Leave it to Jordan to be sexy in every sense of the word. She stood then and ran an appreciative hand from Jordan’s shoulder, across her breast, down her stomach, and settled ever so gently between her legs, pushing upward just a tad. “Christ,” Jordan gasped, closing her eyes.

With only Jordan’s underwear now separating them, Molly let out a long, shuddering breath before sliding them gently down her hips. Jordan sucked in air.

Control shifted to Jordan and Molly’s tank top was the next thing to go. She kissed Molly onto the bed and removed her shorts and the panties underneath before settling herself on top.

When they finally came together, skin on skin, Molly’s desire had tripled. Lust was a very powerful thing, she decided, as her body rubbed up against Jordan, searching for any sort of purchase. Some kind of relief. Her center pressed against Jordan’s thigh and she began to move, arching upward, as Jordan focused her attention on Molly’s breasts, her tongue tracing first one nipple and then the other.

“Jordan, please,” she whispered. It was all too much. She couldn’t take any more of the throbbing, the sensations that were racing through each and every part of her. She’d never experienced anything like it in her entire life. It was like electricity, this thing between them. Yeah, that was a good word for it. Electric.

Sensing her desperation, Jordan kissed down her stomach as her hand slipped between them, sliding with purpose to where Molly needed her most. As Jordan entered her, Molly’s vision flashed white. On the second thrust, she climbed higher and then higher still as Jordan continued to move within her. Her body undulated, out of control now, but she didn’t care. She cried out and clung to Jordan, her body erupting in a climax so powerful that it was all she could do to just hold on as powerful wave after wave after wave shot hard and fast through her. She was aware of the fact that she was still calling out, which was rare for her because she never called out during sex.

But it wasn’t that way tonight. Not with Jordan. She should have known Jordan would be thorough. With her hands. Her mouth.

Jordan rocked her through it until their bodies stilled against each other.

“Oh my God,” she breathed when it was all said and done. She stared at the ceiling in wonder, trying to make sense of the magnitude of the pleasure she’d just experienced. “That was so good. How was that so good?”

Jordan stared into her eyes from above. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, really, really good. Did I say good already? I should have because I don’t even—” She kissed Jordan in appreciation, but the kiss was like a drug that grabbed hold of them once again, and the passion that had subsided built to a steady rhythm as their kissing continued. Molly slid her hands down Jordan’s back and cupped her from behind, pulling her in, which elicited a quiet moan from Jordan. Encouraged, she rolled them over, a new determination overtaking her. She’d been preoccupied with thoughts of Jordan’s body for weeks now, and she finally had the chance to do something about it. It was excitement layered with anticipation.

Her mouth was on the move and she settled first at Jordan’s collarbone, licking across its expanse. As she moved lower to Jordan’s breasts, she let her hand trail lightly across Jordan’s stomach and down to her thighs. She placed feather light caresses across their insides. Jordan tossed her head against the pillow and moaned quietly. She began to move her hips in attempt to connect better with Molly’s hand, but that wasn’t what Molly had in mind. Taking the cue, she kissed her way across Jordan’s perfectly toned stomach, parted her thighs gently, and allowed her mouth to play. She avoided the one spot that would send Jordan over the edge, kissing around it teasingly until the sounds from above gave her all the encouragement she needed. And she took Jordan more fully.

Jordan jerked and Molly felt fingernails dig firmly into her shoulders. In response, she slid into Jordan, closing her eyes at that feeling of complete envelopment and began to move. She looked up and watched as Jordan threw her head back and rode out the release in beautiful rhythm. God, she was gorgeous. It was quite possibly the most picturesque thing she’d ever watched happen.

Once Jordan collapsed back onto the bed, Molly crawled up beside her and traced the outline of her jaw softly. “Hey, you,” she said quietly after a few moments.

“Hey, yourself.”

“That was incomparable.”

Jordan turned onto her side so she faced Molly more fully. “I can’t believe we just did that.”

Molly laughed. “Me neither. We’re crazy.”

“I think I love being crazy.” Jordan began to absently play with her hair. It was soothing, and she lowered her head onto Jordan’s shoulder and settled in. She could easily fall asleep to this.

“What made you stop by and, you know, throw things at my window?”

“I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you, us, earlier.” It was nice to hear she hadn’t been alone.

“The funhouse,” Molly said.

“The funhouse,” she agreed. “I’ll never look at one of those things the same way again.”

Molly absently traced a pattern on Jordan’s stomach and squinted to better make out the numbers on the digital clock next to her bed. “Geez, it’s late.”

“Should I go?”

It was an important question.

They hadn’t established anything. Discussed what it was that they were doing. It had been all action with very little logic. But regardless of what the future did or did not hold for them, when she looked at Jordan, Molly felt genuine affection. They had a history. They were friends. Friends who were apparently more than a little compatible in bed, which brought up a lot of questions. “No, you’re welcome to stay. I just made the comment because I have to be up at four thirty. Baker’s lot in life and all.”

Jordan looked at her skeptically. She sensed Molly’s unease. That much was clear. “You know what? It’s probably better that I’m not missing in action when morning rolls around at Tuscana headquarters. Fewer questions, you know.”

But in actuality, she wouldn’t be missed. They both knew the doctors would be too focused on their morning rituals and getting the clinic up and running to check in on Jordan. It had always been that way. They were loving parents, just not always hands on.

“Jordan, you don’t have to—” But Jordan was already up and gathering her clothes one piece at a time. Molly pulled on a robe and followed her silently down the stairs. She waited patiently in the darkened entryway as Jordan pulled on her shirt.

A space had opened up between them. The mood had shifted.

It wasn’t carefree and fun, the way it had been just minutes before. The air was full of uncertainty, protocol, doubt.

From the doorway, Jordan held Molly’s gaze for several seconds before she said anything. “Tell me we’re not going to pretend this never happened.” She stared skyward as she continued. “Because I don’t think I could handle that.”

She looked so entirely vulnerable that Molly closed the distance between them. She lifted a hand to Jordan’s cheek, stroking it with her thumb. It was meant to convey how much she cared and that what they’d just shared mattered to her. “You know, I don’t think that would be possible even if I tried.” She brushed Jordan’s lips with hers. “Sweet dreams.”

Jordan nodded solemnly and headed off down the sidewalk.

Molly went back inside and sat at her kitchen table, alone with her thoughts. And there seemed to be a lot of them. Her mind became very active, and with lust out of the way, the volume of what she’d just done hit home with staggering candor.

It had been good between them that night, more than that even. But what would this mean for their already established relationship? And where exactly was it that they were heading? Because quite honestly, she didn’t know. She reminded herself of the bottom line here.

Jordan lived in Chicago.

She was just a kid.

And she was Cassie’s sister , she told herself for the five hundredth time. The facts were against her, no matter how much fun she’d had or how wonderful Jordan felt beneath her touch.

Her thoughts drifted more fully to Cassie, which unleashed so much more on her already delicate psyche. As she sat there, flashes of their life together played across her mind like the images in a film. She saw Cassie’s smile, which radiated, heard her laugh. She relived the first moment she fell in love with Cassie, after the Homecoming football game their sophomore year. The quiet nights they’d spent watching their favorite TV shows together. Popping popcorn for Cubs games. All of it.

Their life together had been everything to Molly. Tears sprang into her eyes right before the first sob tore from her throat. She covered her mouth, but they continued to wrack her body. Relentless.

The guilt, the overwhelming guilt at what she had done, was simply too much.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to the air around her. But this time, it felt like there was no one there to forgive her.

Chapter Sixteen

When Jordan woke the next morning, nothing felt the same.

And really how could it? The night before was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face if she’d tried.

As she showered, she recalled each moment she and Molly shared in explicit detail. She couldn’t get past how well they’d fit together. Then there was how hot it had been. But that wasn’t even the best part. With Molly, she’d felt excited and secure all at the same time. It was the most wonderful combination, and she knew it was because they had their friendship, their history to build on.