Chapter 3
Chapter Three
The taxi dropped Debra at the corner of Savile Row, and for a moment she wondered if she’d misjudged the whole thing. The street looked as intimidating as she’d imagined, with its spotless facades and discreet brass plaques…those doors that only opened for people who knew they belonged there.
You booked it, you might as well walk in.
She smoothed her overcoat down, took a breath, and crossed the pavement.
Brown Billie had seen all forms of it over the years. What caught her was the composure inside the uncertainty, and the honesty in those devastatingly blue eyes.
“This service, initially”—she kept her tone even—“is about how fabric meets the body. It’s also about reminding you what’s still yours.”
“You make it sound like therapy.”
“Not therapy,” Billie said. “Just honesty. Most people don’t realise how much they hide from themselves.”
“And you show them?”
Billie met her gaze in the mirror. “I help them see.”
The silence thickened as the robe loosened under Billie’s fingers, the knot giving way with a quiet sigh.
Her heartbeat remained measured and controlled. This wasn’t planned—it never was—but pretending to be detached now seemed impossible.
“Billie…” Her name emerged from Debra’s lips as a half-formed question.
Billie’s fingers found the curve beneath Debra’s ribcage, touching lightly enough to comfort, not to demand. “Say the word, and we stop.”
Debra gazed back at her through the mirror. “Don’t stop.”
Their eyes connected, and everything beyond them faded. Just glass reflecting silence, and Debra’s hands tensing as though she was holding onto this moment.
“Then,” Billie whispered as her lips brushed Debra’s ear. “Trust me.”
The mirror captured it all. Debra’s neck arching and the colour rising across her chest. Then a single shiver passed between their bodies. Watching herself, Billie recognised the familiar professional who understood limits perfectly, yet had just crossed one without hesitation.
She held herself still, her palm flat against the warm plane of Debra’s abdomen, feeling each breath grow steadier beneath her touch.
“No rush,” she murmured.
Debra’s chin dipped in agreement, her eyelids heavy as the room seemed to breathe with her. Anticipation rose in the air, an electric whisper that left even Billie breathless.