The Bible does not condone everything it contains. Family dysfunction was as common in biblical times as it is today, and the tragic tale of Tamar, Absalom and Amnon is part of a longer thread which illustrates how a parent's poor example (in this case, King David's adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband Uriah) can have repercussions which reverberate down the generations.
Jack scribbled notes on their discovery in his notebook as Phryne returned the dictionaries and the concordance to their places on the shelves.
"Do we want to take lunch now, or head down to the station?" she asked. Jack considered, glancing at his watch.
"I'll call Collins and let him know what we've found. You never know, he may have something for us as well. If not, I don't think that there's much more we can do today."
She smiled. "I'll let Mr. Butler and Dot know about lunch. Something light, perhaps. Sandwiches and cake?"
He smiled. He couldn't recall ever having breakfasted as late as he had that morning, not even on his honeymoon. Although he couldn't recall making love so many times in one day even then, either. Reckless abandon, he thought. He could hardly adopt it as a full-time lifestyle, but it really did have a lot to recommend it. His eyes followed Phryne as she left the room. Now that he had had time to consider, he was glad that she had rebuffed him – albeit in the most thoughtful way possible – when he had embraced her earlier. He had allowed his desire for her to distract him in the middle of a case, and that was a dangerous habit to risk falling into. No, if they were to pursue a long-term relationship, they would have to keep their private and professional lives separate as much as possible.
She returned from her mission a few moments later, and closed the door behind her with a soft but definite click. One look at her face, and he knew that 'professional' had just been superseded by 'personal'. "Lunch will be ready in about half an hour," she told him as she walked slowly towards him across the carpet. "And since I can't see us making any more progress on the case before then..." she trailed off, wrapping her arms around his neck and tilting her face up invitingly. He dropped his notebook on the desk and pressed his mouth to hers.
...
'Five times', he thought vaguely some while later, his face buried in her neck where she sat perched on the edge of the desk, half their clothing gone, her legs still wrapped around his waist. It was not a position he had ever tried before, and, God help him, he just knew it was all he was going to be able to think about the next time she walked into his office and seated herself on his desk as she was wont to do. He tried to think of some way of expressing his feelings in words, and could only come up with a soft "God, Phryne."
She chuckled, and he felt her hands move along his back in caress. "I love you, Jack Robinson," she whispered softly, and he straightened to kiss her once again before meeting her eye.
"I love you too, Phryne Fisher," he whispered back, and saw her smile. He leaned his forehead against hers and held her there for a long moment more. A sudden tap on the door broke the quiet, and he jumped slightly.
"Miss? Luncheon is ready," Mr. Butler called deferentially.
"Thank you, Mr. Butler, we'll be there in a few moments," Phryne replied, as the lovers reluctantly parted.
"Do you think they know what we were doing?" Jack asked as he began to reassemble his clothing.
She shrugged, pausing in rearranging her own clothing and looking slightly abashed. "Probably." Her hand touched his arm. "Is that a problem?"
Her eyes were suddenly wide with concern, and he thought for a moment before answering. "I suppose since they already know we're lovers it doesn't really matter whether they know that we made love in your bed last night, or in your study this afternoon. Although I can't say the same for the station."
She smirked at him. "I promise I'll always be on my best behaviour when you're working. You can always reward me afterwards."
He felt his mouth go dry again, and was both amazed and slightly rueful at the sensation. How could he be responding to her again so soon? he wondered. He was well past the age of adolescent fervour; it simply shouldn't be possible for her to evoke this kind of response in him again when they had barely finished making love. His fingers fumbled with his tie, and he gave up his attempt to knot it and swung it out to lasso her and draw her to him instead. "I suppose good girls should be rewarded," he promised huskily, and was gratified to see her lips part and her pupils dilate at his words. Evidently he was not the only one caught off guard by the intensity of their passion.
She was startled when Jack swung out suddenly to capture her, but not frightened. No, it wasn't fright that made her heart pound, but a rush of desire so intense that her knees almost collapsed beneath her. And his promise to reward her if she was a good girl...
Shakily, she took the length of silk from his fingers (and oh! but she could think of a few uses for that which she was suddenly very interested in introducing him to, now that he had decided to introduce the idea of 'restraining' her with it) and draped it around his neck. She was reminded powerfully of the night at her cousin Guy's engagement party when she had loosened his tie in the bedroom, the heat that had smouldered in his eyes even then. It was nothing compared to the way he was looking at her now as she knotted the tie and gently tightened it against his throat.
He drew a deep breath, visibly calming himself. "Lunch," he said in a voice that shook only slightly.
"Lunch," she agreed, stepping away from the seductive heat of his body.