A/N : I really want to explore these two women and the way they would love and experience one another. Lesbian sex and intimacy is so often done wrong - it puts women in ideal places with high buildups, perfect synchronization, and such. I am no expert at writing it, but I live it, so I want to play with these two and try to show their intimate life in an honest way. I hope that it is enjoyable, realistic, and if anything, calls to you and your lover.

Bath

"Do you like baths, Therese?"

Therese froze in the shower as Carol's voice ran through her, echoing across the white bathroom. That sneaky minx was always popping up and surprising Therese. She would have to start locking the door just to prevent herself from the heart palpitations that Carol had been causing since she moved in.

"I'm sorry, darling, if I startled you." Carol climbed in the shower behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and then turning them both so that she was under the stream of steaming water. Neither one of them could see much, as Therese often opted to shower without a light on. She hated the bright lights invading her thinking space.

"You took my hot water," Therese said, but her breath was hitched and caught in the back of her throat from the feeling of Carol's bare breasts against her back and her long fingers along her hips.

"Sure did," Carol smiled. "But seriously, Therese, are you a bath person? I've been craving a nice soak in this tub. Bubbles...candles, maybe?"

Therese could only nod. Carol dropped a kiss to the top of her head, pulling her tighter against her. Therese let out a long sigh before turning to her. The shower was the only place that she wasn't a foot shorter than Carol, since Carol was almost always in her shoes. Therese's face fell above Carol's breasts, leaving her just tall enough to lay her head in the crook of her neck.

"Why don't you let me wash my hair and go find some candles."

Padding through the apartment, Therese looked for candles and matches and poured some drinks while she waited. It was surreal, she thought, to be here. The apartment still didn't feel final to her. All of her things were moved in, her clothes unpacked; Carol even asked her to pick out some furnishings and decorations for the living and bedroom. Still, the place felt like a world from her dreams that could slip away as she reached consciousness.

It was rather the same as Carol. Carol was this person who she felt and looked at, but at any moment, it felt as though she could wake up. Maybe though, that was exactly what falling in love was to feel like; as if everything could vanish, but every time it doesn't you feel even more exhilarated.

Therese could hear the bath water running as she stood behind the door. She was content, holding two small flutes of champagne in one hand and a candle in the other. She watched the dim light flicker across the photographs she had taken, mostly of flowers and nature that Carol had insisted be hung in the bedroom. The candlelight cast shadows across each image, making them appear to be moving in gentle rhythms back and forth.

"You can come in now, Therese." Carol's low voice made her cheeks grow hot as she struggled to push the door open.

Carol was in the tub already, bubbles covering the length of her body with steam rising up from the water and past her face. Her hair was pulled back, pinned in a loose french twist with blond wisps falling about her neck, some sticking with water. Much like the photos on the wall, the candle light from Therese's candle flicked across her sleek skin and danced along her body.

She set the candle down and handed Carol a glass.

"Well… join me?" Carol looked at her expectantly, sliding down into the tub to rest her chin along the rim. Her eyelids hung seductively over the gray irises that reflected gold. She stared with such intensity that Therese, once again, lost her breath somewhere in the back of her throat, feeling bashful under her gaze.

Inhaling, finally, Therese decided to start removing her robe. In slow, laborious movements, Therese peeled it off, trying to buy herself some time. It wasn't meant to be an act of seduction, but Carol's eyes were glazing over, unblinking, with a blonde eyebrow raising ever so slightly.

When she finally stood there, naked, Therese's eyes were focused on the floor as she walked toward the bath. She knew she would not be prepared for whatever Carol would do next. All she could do was curl her toes and try not to tremble. She was relieved, however, when Carol only offered her a hand and gently guided her down into the tub.

It was certainly a tub built for two people to comfortably lay in, completely submerged in water. Therese was calmed by the streams of steam that created dew on her face and the goosebumps that has risen were settling down and sinking back into her skin the further she sunk into the tub. She was now in the happiest place she had never known existed. She sat with her back to Carol, between her legs, and as she settled in she found the entire length of their bodies were touching. Carol's skin was slick and warm, her breasts soft against her shoulder blades. Those long fingers were blazing up and down her arms, dragging water droplets. With her head tilted back, she could see Carol's jaw and neck, more water droplets sliding over the expanse of her delicate flesh. Her back fit perfectly to Carol's abdomen creating an even more intense warmth.

Then she felt it. She followed the nerve connections that told her brain what parts of her body were feeling what. Along her tailbone she felt the warmest of all. Carol was pressed to her, soft hair tickling her skin and heat radiating through direct contact. Therese felt as if all the heat in her body then found her chest and face. The feeling of not being able to breathe returned and she stiffened.

"Relax…" Carol whispered in her ear. She began rubbing her hands along Therese's arms, into the muscle and then releasing, moving to her shoulders. She breathed deeply allowing Therese to take a deep breath as well until she let the tension from her body and concentrated on being there with Carol. She fell into a steady rhythm and let her eyes fall shut.

There was nothing more important than how safe she felt in that moment; not her job, her friends, her life. This feeling of security, of care… of love, this was what Therese craved and had always craved.

Carol, while content, seemed to have other cravings that afternoon. Those gentle hands were skimming beneath the water and over Therese's stomach, spreading fire to her hips. A puff of air escaped her mouth like a puff from the smoke stack of a train. She lost her footing at the end of the bathtub, her feet squeaky along its smooth surface. Carol held her tight and settled her lips against Therese's temple.

Therese could feel the long drags of air Carol took in, as if she were smoking one of those cigarettes, sucking a long breath in and holding it a moment before letting it fall out. The her hips began to move and Therese felt her against her tailbone, the soft flesh there rubbing along her. Jelly was more useful than Therese's legs. Her hands fell onto Carol's thighs and she couldn't help but curl her nails into Carol's skin.

"Touch me," Carol whispered.

Therese turned her head and felt Carol's breath on her cheek. With water sloshing around her, and limbs failing to find comfortable positions, Therese managed to turn over and settle herself again between Carol's legs. Bubbles were scattered across Carol, sparkling and twinkling as if she were the whole night sky. She sunk herself lower into the water and placed her elbow on the side. Bending her arm, she brought her delicate hand to her face and absently traced over her lips with her thumb.

Therese couldn't look away. There was something so magnetic about the way Carol looked at her. It made her stomach flip and flop madly inside of her, but no matter how crazy it made her feel, she could not avert her eyes. Carol was looking up at her, waiting, begging silently and Therese could barely move. Where was her camera when she needed it, she thought.

When Therese brought her lips down, Carol sank lower still into the water. Therese desperately searched with her hands for some way to brace herself, but came up short trying to get around Carol's body. It was then that she heard the whimper. When their lips parted, a defeated sound left Carol's throat. Carol opened her eyes, breathing heavy. Therese had never seen her look so desperate before. She fumbled, squeaking until she could anchor herself in place, before coming back to Carol's face and hovering. Carol's breath was shaky but her body was strong. She reached for Therese's hand and guided in beneath the water, between their bodies.

Therese was close enough to see her pupils dilate as she brushed her fingers across Carol.

Candle wax was melting onto the ledge of the bathtub, spilling out in long sticky ribbons. The smell of lavender and Carol's perfume hung heavy in the thick air coupled with the the rush of breaths from Carol's mouth and the the slapping of water on porcelain.