"Hold me?" Tina asked pleadingly.

Bette willingly obliged and climbed in beside Tina, pulling her close.

"I owe you my life twice over now" Tina stared into Bette’s eyes.

"And I’ll carry on saving you if it means I can keep holding you" Bette smiled tenderly.

"You mean you’ll stop saving me if I stop letting you hold me?" Tina raised an eyebrow.

"Let’s hope we never find out, hey?" Bette grinned.

Tina grinned back for the first time that evening and snuggled herself into Bette’s chest. Bette let out a contented sigh as she ran her hand up and down Tina’s back.

"I can’t get close enough to you" Tina murmured.

"I don’t think you could get any closer babe"

Tina softly ran her fingers along the hem of Bette’s shirt, enjoying every second of the contact that she made with her warm skin.

"I want this off" she whispered into Bette’s neck.

"T?" Bette asked in surprise.

"I need to feel your skin" Tina replied, slowly lifting the shirt up to reveal Bette’s taut stomach.

"You sure?"

Tina nodded and Bette willingly moved so that Tina was able to fully remove the shirt and cast it aside.

"That better?" Bette asked.

"No. I need to feel my skin against yours" Tina whispered, reaching down to lift her own night shirt.

"Let me" Bette offered quietly.

Tina nodded and raised her arms as Bette gently removed her top. Bette swallowed deeply at the sight of Tina’s naked torso, but quickly reminded herself that she was there to comfort and protect her. The two women moved back together as Tina reached around to remove Bette’s bra.

"You’ve done that before" Bette joked.

"No. But I’ve dreamed about it" came the reply.

Bette sighed and pulled Tina close. Both women breathed deeply as their skin came fully into contact for the first time. There was no feeling like it. The softness of both of their bodies was an unrivalled source of comfort, and both felt that they could lie like that forever.

"More" Tina muttered into Bette’s chest, reaching her hands down to the waistband of Bette’s trousers.

"T…are you…"

"Shhh" Tina interrupted, unbuttoning Bette’s trousers and sliding them over her hips.

"If you’re sure" Bette sat up and looked at Tina.

"I am" Tina stared into Bette’s eyes.

Both women removed the remainder of their clothes and lay back down together. The feeling of skin on skin returned, and Tina could feel a fire ignited in her that she thought had gone out a long time ago. If she processed it all too much it scared her, but then she felt Bette’s body against hers and she knew that everything was going to be alright.

"You think you’ll be able to sleep now?" Bette asked quietly.

"Yes" Tina murmered contentedly.

Good for you, coz I’m gonna struggle now, thought Bette. She’d never laid naked with a woman before and not had sex. But this woman was different. There was a tenderness in her that she’d never experienced before. And Bette found that Tina had envoked her own sensitive side. Lying in each others arms felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"I feel so safe" Tina whispered, interrupting Bette’s thoughts.

"You are sweetie"

"Night babe"

"Night T"

And much to Bette’s surprise, she too found herself drifting off to sleep. Maybe the no sex thing was good for her too.