I just want to thank you all so so so so much for staying with me whilst I finished this story. It still never feels 100% right and how I wanted to end or go with this, but I did wish to end it here.

I haven't written anything sexier than a kiss since I finished Barriers and definitely need to gain more practise, so watch out for more of that. :)

Until then, thank you again and here's something a little sexy. :)

Chapter twenty-three:

Rose's bed was soft, but far from luxurious, it might as well have been made of bare wood planks. She rolled, turned, sprawled, but she could find no comfortable position for her aching body, and no peace for her tortured brain. The room was still and stuffy, the air turning thicker by the minute. Craving a breath of clear, cold air, she slipped from the bed, went to the window, and pushed it open. A gasp of relief escaped her as a light breeze swept over her and caused the fire burning in her room to fan its flames. She closed her sore eyes, used her knuckles to rub her wet lashes. It was strange, but with all the problems she had faced these weeks, the thing that kept her from sleeping was the question of whether or not Jack Dawson could truly grow to love her. They had spent four weeks together. Gathering together just a little money here and there. Buying just the necessities and then, they had managed to find their way aboard a resting train after Jack had snuck into an abandoned ticket office and produced two pieces of paper before the man who worked there could return.

Rose had slept in his arms, kissed his cheek as he rested his eyes and felt a contentment which enveloped her with welcome arms until this first night, they had come to rest in a boarding house as they would continue their journey out towards the West.

It wasn't restlessness from the fact that they were alone, together, for the first time at night. For they had done so in Southampton and aboard the Augusta. It wasn't the memories of Jack's tingling fingers against her bare back as he had unlaced her corset and thrown it from the window of the train and discarded it to the winds and declaring her now finally free, as she had stood before him in just her stays and not much more before he had kissed every last bit of breathe from her. No, something seemed to have changed just tonight. She had seen Jack remove his shirt to change, she had witnessed him kick aside his trousers before she would turn her gaze to prevent any modesty. Tonight, though, as he had drawn a bath, she had stood outside of the bedroom and seen through just a crack in the door just about every single part of him; albeit in a flash. Her heart hadn't settled since.

The door opened in an arc and Rose saw the shadows change, and felt a presence in the room. Turning with a start, she saw Jack standing just inside the door. Her heart began to drum with furious force. He looked like something from a dream; a dream which she had dreamt so many times but right now, it felt to become something of a reality.

Jack approached her slowly. The closer he came, the more it seemed everything around her was unravelling, falling away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable. His breathing wasn't quite steady. Neither was hers. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "I felt it tonight. The change between us." He reached for her slowly, giving her every opportunity to run. Through the cottony gauze of her nightgown, he touched the curve of her hips. He brought her close, into his hard weight.

''What is it?'' Rose whispered, completely ablaze just by the touch of him.

"I don't know," he murmured, "all we can do is see where it leads."

Jack waited for a signal, some syllable of objection or encouragement, but she could only stare at him, transfixed and helpless. He smoothed her hair, whispering for her not to fear anything. His fingers found the sensitive curve of her scalp, cradling her head as he kissed her. He dragged his mouth across hers, again and again, and when her lips were open and damp, he sealed them with his. Excitement flooded her, and she gave in to the dark pleasure, opening to the penetrating strokes of his tongue, struggling to capture the silkiness. His hands gently urged her backward until her balance collapsed. She lay on the tumbled bed with him bending over her, and kissed her throat. There was a series of quick tugs at the front of her gown, and the edges of the garment parted. She felt his urgency, the heat radiating from his body, but every movement was careful, lingering, as he reached beneath the fragile cotton and caressed her breast. Her knees drew up, her entire body arching to contain the pleasure of his touch. With a wordless sound Jack coaxed her to relax, his hand gliding from her chest to her knees. His parted lips brushed the naked tip of her breast, toying with the hardening bud, his tongue skimming wetly. She brought her hands to his hair, tangling her fingers in the dampened locks, trying to hold him to her. His mouth closed over her nipple, tugging lightly until she quivered and tried to roll away, unnerved by the feeling that she was being driven to the brink of some new sensation altogether.

Jack pulled her back to him and bent over her once more. His mouth covered hers, while his teasing fingers pulled the hem of her gown higher and found the tender backs of her thighs. Rose reached for his shirt with trembling hands. It was loose-cut and collarless, the kind that lifted over the head instead of buttoning. Jack moved to help her, pulling the garment off and tossing it aside. Moonlight gilded the supple, muscular lines of his body, his chest taut and smooth.

Flattening her palms against the hard flesh, she drew them gently downward to his sides and around his back. He shivered at her touch and lowered to the place beside her, one leg sliding between hers. The gown fell open to expose her chest completely, the hem bunching high on her thighs.

His lips descended to her breast again, while he cupped and kneaded the firm flesh. Arching up to him, she struggled to press closer, to bring his weight more fully over her. He resisted, his hands travelling over her in caresses meant to calm her. She quivered at his gentleness, her

hands gripping his back. She couldn't think clearly, couldn't find words. Twisting against him, she felt the desire sharpen to unbearable intensity. "Jack..." She pressed her face to his shoulder.

Feeling the dampness of her lashes, he eased her head back and touched his tongue to an errant teardrop. "What is it?''

''I don't know. I am…I feel…too much. Is it too much?''

Rose looked into his shadowed features.

''What I feel for you is intense. But not too much. We can stop…''

Rose was about to panic until she pulled him towards her; quick and roughly. ''No, this feels as though it's the only way to control the intensity.''

''I don't think we will be able to control anything, anymore.''

The kisses turned harder, longer, and in between, Jack whispered to her; words of freedom, of love and Rose could only listen to him as he reassured her of everything which she would ever need. Grasping her hand in his, he brought it down his body to the urgent thrust of his erection. Shocked and fascinated, Rose eased her hand along the length of him, her fingers moulding hesitantly over the hardness. Jack groaned as if in pain, and she snatched her hand back at once.

"I'm terribly sorry," she said, flushing. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me." There was a flick of tender amusement in his voice. He caught her hand and brought it back down. ''I just-I never pictured it this way. With us. And I just want you to be ready. I would wait, forever.''

Rose explored him shyly, her curiosity stirred by the heat and suggestion of movement beneath the taut fabric of his trousers. He seemed to revel in her touch, as he moved over her to nuzzle and lick at her throat. Both his legs were between hers now, widening the space between them, the nightgown crumpled around her waist. Exposed, mortified, excited, she felt one of his hands roaming low on her stomach. Soon there would be pain and possession, all mysteries solved.

Jack's fingertips played gently through her intimate dark curls. Her breath tangled about her.

"I won't want to wait.''

''Are you sure?''

Jack found a place so alive with sensation that she jerked and drew her knees up.l in its intensity. His fingers were light and gentle as he parted the softness. Her senses swam in shame and pleasure at the way he touched her. Her entire existence had dwindled to the sly teasing of one fingertip. And Jack knew. He waited for her answer, stroking, shaping the tenderness with his fingertips, paying careful attention to every shiver and twitch of her body. It was all he had ever wanted; to touch her this way. To show her how much he thought of her.

"Yes," she said unsteadily. "I want you."

The pad of his thumb stroked downward, gliding through a patch of inexplicable wetness. Before she could say a word, he had pressed into the moisture with his thumb, invading her slightly.

He made slow circles inside her, teasing and rubbing until she felt faint and hot. Oh, dear God…another swirl, another, each one coiling the pleasure tighter until her heart was thundering and her hips nudged rhythmically against the heel of his hand and something, happened, something stupidly unexplainable. But then the exquisite invasion was withdrawn. Stunned and throbbing, she could hardly speak.

''Jack, I…'' Gazing down at him, with eyes completely filled with tears, she could only reach out to him. "Is it finished now?."

She felt him smile as he kissed the inside of her elbow, working his way down to her wrist.

"No, it isn't even the beginning."

"Why?" She asked, with such an innocence that she felt almost stupid. Not once had her mother even taught her the ways of how to please a man. How making love should ever happen and now, she was laid below a man about to give herself to him, completely without the knowledge of how to even move.

"It's all right." Jack pried her clenched fingers apart and kissed the palm of her hand. As she sputtered with questions, he touched a gentle forefinger to her lips. "Trust me," he whispered. She nodded, in a wordless compliance.

Smiling, Jack lowered himself beside her. After removing his boots, he joined her beneath the blankets and pulled her against him. Reminding himself of the rewards to be gained by patience, he cuddled her close and waited.

As one second melted into the next, Rose's body nestled more tightly against his. It felt so extraordinary just to hold her that he did nothing for a long time. He listened to the flow of her breathing and felt the cool night air move over them from the open window, while the warmth of their bodies collected beneath the blankets. They descended into the heart of a still, quiet pleasure Jack had never known before. His pulse began a hard, rolling drum, the heat thickening between every beat. He felt her hips pressing tentatively against his, cradling the rigid shape of his arousal, bundling closer. But still he didn't move, only let her cuddle and brush against him until he was tense and fiercely aroused.

As he considered removing his shirt, he felt Rose's hands creeping under the loose hem. The small, cool fingers roamed over his steaming skin. Wherever she touched, the muscles rippled and tightened, and it felt so good that Jack let out a faint groan against her hair. She grasped loose handfuls of his shirt and tugged upward. Without hesitation he sat up, stripped the garment off and tossed it aside. She crawled into his lap, her long red hair streaming over his naked chest and shoulders in a silken net. Entranced, Jack held still as she pressed her mouth to his chest, his shoulders, the base of his throat, in a delicate frolic of kisses.

"Rose . . ." His hands came to her head, stilling her. The warm ripples of her hair slid over his arms, raising gooseflesh. "Rose," he whispered, "I won't do anything you don't want."

Rose's face was glowing in the orange firelight, her lips the colour of red currants. Her hands came to his, fingers slipping into the spaces between his fingers. They held each other, their lips forming soundless words, mouths grazing and catching with damp heat.

Jack lowered her to the blankets, in the pool of dancing firelight. He opened her robe and gown, dreamily pulling the soft fabric away from the deep curves of her breasts and waist. She was so beautifully made, lush and firm, the pale skin burnished with light. Voluptuous shadows dipped into places he yearned to touch and taste. He followed her spreading blush with his mouth, pursuing the wash of colour. She shivered beneath him, her hands gripping the bulging muscles of his upper arms. He cupped her breasts and teased the peaks with his breath and tongue until they were hard and silken. Softly he drew one between his teeth, held it there until she whimpered and lifted upward.

Jack tugged at the tangled layer of her gown between them. The cove of her navel rose and fell with her breathing. Easing his mouth over it, he sank the tip of his tongue into the tight circle, filling the hollow.

"Jack . . . oh, wait . . ." Rose was squirming, pushing at him in earnest. He caught her hands and gripped them close against her body, and breathed hard against her stomach.

Fighting for self-control, Jack laid his cheek against her skin with all the gentleness he was capable of. "I won't hurt you," he whispered. "I'm only going to kiss you…''

Jack couldn't suppress a smile. This was new, this mixture of amusement and arousal. He let his fingers drift over her hip and thigh, into the soft curls before moving down and became aware of his own shaking. The scents of intimate salt and female skin had kindled an unbearable craving. This was all so new to him. Never had he wished to perform such an intimate act and now he was burning to do so in hopes to connect on every level. His mouth brushed intimately closed lips. He licked them open, delving into the heat, the taste of her pleasure.

Rose was silent except for her broken gasps, her legs clamping hard against his sides. Helplessly she followed the sinuous pattern of his tongue, her entire body arching and yearning. He soothed her, provoked her, his mouth as playful as a swallow in flight. His breath fell rapidly on her wet flesh, her erotic incense. He slid a finger into the silkiness.

She made a sound of distress as she lost all self-control, and he gloried in it, his mouth punishing in its gentleness. He drew out the torment until the soft female moans broke into sobs. She tightened and twisted, her fingers closing in his hair, hips pulsing in helpless movements as he licked away every twitch and throb. After a while he moved to gather her against him. She reached down to the fastenings of his trousers and worked at them until the garment was loose around his hips. The rigid length of him sprang free. Her hand curled around the burgeoning shape, stroking until Jack jerked back with a gasp.

Her face was flushed, eyes half closed. She touched him again, urged him forward, instinctively making an open cradle of her hips and legs. He resisted, keeping his weight suspended above her, shielding her from the gaze of moonlight as he spread his fingers and trailed them over the front of her body. She shivered as the tip of his smallest finger brushed the tip of her breast. He traced a circle around it, watching the bud tighten.

"If you want me, then," he whispered, "tell me, please.''

Blindly Rose turned her head and kissed the curve of his biceps. "What should I say?"

''What is it your heart.''

All the while Jack positioned himself against her, lower, tighter, and just as the last syllable of love left her lips, he thrust strongly inside her. ''I love you.''

Rose flinched and cried out in pain, and Jack was torn between acute regret at having hurt her, and the devastating pleasure of being inside her. More than anything though; his heart clenched as he stilled; she loved him. He balanced himself above her, with still damp hair falling within his eyes and he watched as the crinkle of pain eased away from her face and green eyes opened to lock with his.

''I love you.'' Rose repeated, as though he didn't hear it the first time. Or perhaps, once wasn't even enough. ''That is what is in my heart.''

And he was within her body. Both were one. In an overwhelming rush of every emotion, Jack kissed her so passionately it was as though neither could breathe. Tearing himself away, momentarily, he touched his forehead to hers.

''I love you, too. You've been in my heart since the first time I saw you, my little runaway.''

Rose lifted her hips and her innocent flesh cinched around the unfamiliar invasion, her hips lifting as if to throw him off, but every movement only drew him deeper. He tried to soothe away the hurt, stroking her, kissing her throat and breasts. Taking a rosy crest into his mouth, he sucked lightly, ran his tongue over it, until she relaxed beneath him and began to moan. Jack couldn't stop from moving then, forgetting everything but the need to push deeper into the gently gripping flesh, the warm limbs curving around him, the sweet panting mouth beneath him. He whispered compulsively words of love against her lips; over and over, the ecstasy crowning higher every time.

Feeling the violent spill of release about to begin, Jack was about to withdraw but she pulled him into her tighter.

''It's all right,'' she whispered against his cheek.

''There could be a-a baby.'' Within her eyes, he found that she knew the consequences of what could happen.

"Marry me, then, sometime."

''Rose…'' Jack struggled to even breathe and buried his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder, groaning. No feeling had ever come close to this, he thought dizzily. Nothing could and so he didn't pull away from her and instead found pleasure in the absolute depths of her soul. He shuddered, uncontrollably. He couldn't control anything. Neither could she.

''You're shaking,'' she whispered into his shoulder, with her own voice trembling.

''Don't worry, I am all right.''

Jack found the pleasure lasted even after his heartbeat had returned to normal and he had regained his ability to think clearly, more or less. He pulled a quilt higher over her snowy shoulder, stroked back a curl that had looped over her ear.

''There is no going back, is there?''

''Never.''

Jack hovered above her, seeing how she glowed in the aftermath of their lovemaking. "You're not supposed to ask me that question."

"I didn't. It was a mere suggestion." Rose responded and he saw her smile in the darkness. "Besides, I am a modern woman now."

A pair of hands came towards him, snaking about his neck and pulled him beneath the sheets once more.

''Put your hands on me again.'' Rose kissed his cheek. ''Make love to me until the morning comes and we leave this bed.''

"I don't think we'll ever leave it, darling."