John's internal struggle continued. He tried to keep his distance. He knew that he should, but his body betrayed him and sought to be near hers. He leaned in closer than he needed to when she showed him a news article. Close enough that he could smell her hair, and wonder what it would be like to have it falling around him as he looked up into her eyes.

One night before his shower, he stared at himself in the mirror and ran a hand over his thick beard. It was too thick. The flecks of gray aged him a little. He shaved, leaving just a light stubble.

When he came out of the bathroom, Jenna was at the table looking over some of John's notes. She was still looking at the papers when she started talking, and John walked over to her.

"This stuff about crop failures, is this an omen- woah... You shaved."

"Yeah, it was too thick."

Jenna stared at his bare face. She took in the dimples that now seemed so much more visible as he smiled.

"What?" he asked. "No good?"

Jenna shook her head. "No, no... It looks good. Just... different. So, uh, the crop failures-"

John sat in the chair next to her and took her hand, drawing her attention away from the work.

"Sweetheart, am I crazy, or have we both been fighting something here?"

Jenna just shook her head.

"No, I'm not crazy? Or, no, there's nothing there?"

"You're not crazy," she whispered.

"I think I'm done fighting it."

"I didn't think you... I mean, I thought you thought of me as a daughter. Me being the same age as your boys."

John nodded. "You are the same age as my boys, but that's the thing. I look at them, and I see my boys. When I look at you," he put a hand to her face, "I see a woman. How do you see me?"

"As a man. An incredibly attractive man."

John smiled. "Then what are we fighting?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

John leaned in slowly, watching her to make sure this was what she really wanted. She closed what little distance there was left, and they kissed. He stood without breaking their kiss, pulling her to her feet in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his palms into her back and pulling her flush against him. She sighed, and he felt her body relax into his. Her hands slipped beneath his shirt. John smiled and stepped back. He put his arms up and Jenna pulled his shirt off.

"Your turn," John whispered.

Jenna smiled back at him and lifted her arms. John took his time gathering the material of her shirt, never taking his eyes from hers, before he lifted it off. With his hands caressing her face, he kissed her again, slow and deliberate, making sure Jenna felt each movement of his lips, and each gentle probing of his tongue.

After a moment, he walked her back toward his bed and continued their kiss as he threw the covers back, lay her down, and covered her body with his.

Jenna was surprised by John's slow and gentle touch. His presence was so commanding that the few times she imagined what it would be like to kiss him, she pictured him demanding. What she was experiencing was quite different. A contrast to his usual authoritative demeanor.

His lips moved to her neck, and her hands raked through his hair as he moved lower. He kissed down her stomach until he reached her jeans. After he pulled them from her he took his own jeans off, then returned to his place above her, kissing her neck again. He used his knees to push her legs open, then he started to grind against her.

A long moan escaped her, and her hips began to move against his.

"John?"

"Hmm?"

"Get these underwear off."

His hand slid down to her hip. He slipped a finger into the band and snapped it playfully against her skin.

"Those underwear?"

"Yeah."

He moved his hands behind her back and unhooked her bra, which she quickly removed. John laughed.

"I've never seen you this impatient. It's kind of flattering."

She blushed. "Then maybe you should stop teasing me."

"I'm not trying to tease you, sweetheart." He ran his fingers through her hair. "Total honesty here, I haven't been with a woman in a while... a good while. And you're just-." He stopped and stared at her before he placed a quick kiss on her lips. "I want to savor every minute of you."

Jenna took in a sharp breath. "Okay," she whispered.

John's hand covered one of her breasts while he kissed her neck. Jenna moved her hips against him, and he moaned.

"I like that sound," Jenna said with a smile.

John continued his exploration of her neck. She wrapped her legs around him, and ran her hands all over his back and shoulders.

"John, let me kiss you."

He moved back to her lips, and she pushed on his chest. He took her cue and rolled onto his back, pulling him on top of her. As she straddled his waist and leaned over for a kiss, her hair fell around them. John smiled.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, just..." His hand rubbed up and down her thighs. "I imagined what this would be like."

"Oh, yeah?" She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah." John pulled the hair lose again and ran his fingers through it. "Just like this."

Jenna leaned down and kissed along his jaw, down to his neck, and stayed there a while. John's hands massage her thighs before he wrapped his arms around her and thrust his hips up toward her.

At that urging, Jenna shimmied out of her panties, and pulled John's boxers off. She started to kiss up his leg, but he sat up and flipped her onto her back.

"Call me old-fashioned," he said as he lifted her leg up to his hip, "but I think I should lead this time."

"I'm okay with that," she said with a smile.

"Good."

With a kiss to her lips, he pushed into her, taking his time. He stopped about half way, just to regain control of himself as he kissed her neck, then he thrust forward. When their bodies found a rhythm, John moaned, and leaned down to Jenna's ear.

"Sweetheart, you make me wish I was in my twenties again."

"I've got no complaints about the age you are now. You feel so good, John."

She pulled his earlobe between her teeth, and he groaned. He wrapped an arm around her waist, angling her hips up, and he thrust a little faster. Jenna cried out, gripping John's arms.

"So damn good," John groaned.

It wasn't long before Jenna was trembling. Her body curled around John, and she wrapped both of her legs around him, holding on like a life line as he followed her to his climax.

John pushed into her a few more times, easing them down from the high, until her legs fell from his waist. Jenna grabbed his face in both hands and pulled him into a kiss.

When he rolled onto his back, he pulled Jenna close to his side. He kissed the top of her head, letting his lips linger, and her scent fill him.

"I almost forgot what that was like," he said.

"Has it been that long?"

"Sex, no. Making love to someone I care about? Yeah, it's been years."

Jenna leaned up on her elbow, and ran a hand over John's chest.

"You care about me?"

"Way more than I should."

"I know what you mean. I care about you, too. And I know there are so many reasons I shouldn't feel this way. I've questioned how it happened, but somewhere along the way these last few months, you got under my skin."

"Same here, sweetheart."

John wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, Jenna heard him humming. A few minutes more, and she recognized the tune.

"Are you humming 'As Time Goes By'? That's not your usual musical taste."

John chuckled. "When I was a kid, my dad bought me a music box that played that song. I catch myself whistling it sometimes. I guess, lying here with you this way, it made me think of it."

"It's hard to imagine you as a kid."

"Then don't try."

John kissed her, then cradled her in his arms, and they fell asleep.