A/N – This chapter is quite steamy. But after a lifetime of languishing from a lack of physical affection, Jane has more than earned this interval of corporeal intimacy, and so I was determined to portray her delight in its fullest glory. If lemon scenes aren't your cup of tea, please feel free to skip this chapter.

XXX

But I'd follow you to the great unknown
Off to a world we call our own
~Tightrope, The Greatest Showman

XXX

June 25, 1926 – evening

Jane and Jim hadn't consciously set the date of their wedding for a full moon, but it made for the loveliest of coincidences as they walked hand in hand to their new home. Although they were both eager for what was to come, they strolled at a leisurely pace beneath the beautiful lunar glow, enjoying the warm spring breezes along with the serene hum of the cicadas and the melodic intonations of the spring peepers.

The Hearst house stood merely three doors down from the Hill abode on East Pine, and it was a slightly smaller but no less charming Victorian that boasted a pair of lovely white hydrangea bushes framing the front gate. They weren't in bloom yet and wouldn't be until August, but Jane had greatly admired them last summer during her early-morning strolls with Jim, and she could hardly believe her good fortune when he had told her that this house was to be theirs. Although the assistant librarian and history teacher would spend only three short days here until departing for Rome, Greece, and Egypt, they would arrive home from their honeymoon tour just in time to see the hydrangeas in their full glory, and so could watch them progressively take on their gorgeous pinkish tinge throughout September.

Jane had not yet seen the inside of the house, so it was a delightful surprise to discover that the photograph of her late parents was thoughtfully set in the most prominent spot over the parlor mantel. Even better, it was surrounded by various portraits of the Hill-Paroo clan, as well as the Hearst in-laws she would unfortunately never be able to meet – at least, not on this earthly plane. It was such a heartening sight, having so much family beaming down at them, as if blessing their union. Jim's mother and father in particular looked like such affable, intelligent, and kindly folks, and the assistant librarian was certain she would have liked them.

"Do you think they would have liked me?" she wistfully asked her husband. "Your parents, I mean."

Jim pulled her into a warm hug. "They would have loved you, dearest. And as the unquestionable mistress of this household, you can now see the image of your parents whenever you please."

While Jane had achieved that milestone already – her aunt and uncle had bequeathed this photograph to her when they passed on, and it had been hanging in her boardinghouse bedroom ever since – she sincerely appreciated the sentiment.

"I have the kindest and most considerate of husbands," she said happily, pulling him close for an appreciative kiss.

Jane would have gladly lingered in this sweet embrace for quite a while, but it wasn't long before Jim's lips parted from hers and he gazed at her with breathless inquiry. At her enthusiastic nod, he wrapped his arm around her waist and escorted her upstairs to their bedroom. Once the door was closed firmly behind them, she expected him to embrace her at once.

Instead, he took not one but both of her hands in his, as if they were once again standing together at the altar. "Before we 'resume our conversation,' so to speak, I would ask one thing of you, dearest."

Jane met his avid gaze with similar ardor and nodded eagerly as the delightful fluttering in her stomach intensified.

"I want you to say and do every single thing that naturally comes to you tonight," he entreated. "Whatever passions that arise in you as we make love, you mustn't be afraid to express them. Please don't be afraid they aren't 'ladylike,' – you will always be a lady to me. I want to know all of you, not just in body, but also in soul. And I want you to know all of me in return."

Normally, Jane would have blushed at the notion of such brazen forwardness. But after so many months of having to carefully restrain the full extent of her passion, along with the memory of their heated interlude in the library having vividly colored her dreams in the days leading up to their wedding, Jim's endorsement opened the floodgates within her: she launched herself into his arms and kissed him with an untempered zeal that sent them both unceremoniously tumbling to the bed.

As Jim kissed her just as fiercely in return, his hands expertly finding the fastenings on her gown and undoing them, Jane realized just how desperate she was to feel his bare skin beneath her palms. So she unbuttoned his shirt with equal haste as they writhed together in the pantomime of lovemaking they'd previously engaged in at the library. It was such a joy to feel the length of his body against hers again, and she pressed against him just as ravenously as his hips strove to meet hers. However, even though Jane shamelessly enjoyed their mutual impatience to have each other, she did assess her husband's expression each time their mouths parted to gulp lungfuls of air, and was gratified to see that he looked elated. He truly had been waiting for this kind of behavior from her!

This emboldened Jane even further. While she was not quite brave enough to undo his trousers, her hands found the buckle of his belt and lingered suggestively over it. Ever the consummate gentleman, he assisted her in unfastening it, even as he continued to remove her clothing piece by piece.

Soon there wasn't so much a stitch of fabric between them. When their caress slackened long enough for Jane to fully register Jim's engorgement, she couldn't help the nervous tremor that reverberated through her. Static images of unclothed men in books did not prepare her for the stark reality of seeing a fully erect male member in the flesh. Especially as she was such a petite little creature – how in heaven's name would they fit together without excruciating pain?

The keen ardor in Jim's gaze softened into affectionate understanding. "I know it can be rather overwhelming at first. Allow me to introduce this part of myself to you?"

He was so poised and chivalrous, even in the most impudent state a man could ever be, that Jane had to smile. She truly could not have married a better gentleman. Her eagerness once again overcoming her apprehension, she nodded her consent. And so he brought her hand to his engorgement and showed her exactly how to cup and stroke him. As he let out the most delicious gasps, her eyes snapped back to his handsome face, even as she marveled at the novel feel of velvety softness over hardness. Under his gentle tutelage, her ministrations soon fell into a steady rhythm, and she was so caught up in watching her husband's lovely reactions to her touch that she was wholly unprepared when he suddenly tensed and let out a sharp cry as a viscous warmth spread over her fingers.

Jane immediately surmised what must have happened, as she was not only a well-read librarian, Miss Marian had also given her a thorough education in marital relations. As she watched her husband go flaccid, she felt a disconcerting mix of curiosity and disappointment. "I should have stopped."

Jim shook his head vigorously. "You've done absolutely nothing wrong. I should have warned you. When a man hasn't made love for an extended interval, he tends to climax quickly." He kissed her sweetly and handed her a handkerchief. "I wasn't precisely planning this outcome, but as you'll hopefully learn, it should work out in your favor. I've wanted you for so long, Jane – if I had tried to make love to you in earnest just now, I would have barely been able to coax any pleasure from you before I was finished, and you would not have been able to know the fullest joy of making love. I'll need a little while to achieve a ready state again, but now that we've worked the edge off of me, we have plenty of time to concentrate on your arousal."

As Jim laid her flat on her back, Jane tingled from head to toe with excitement. When he proceeded to caress and kiss her, she closed her eyes and lost herself completely in his embrace. The sensations he aroused in her were indeed exquisite – she did not hesitate to moan long and loud when he took her breasts in his mouth and suckled them. When he kissed his way down the length of her body and to the inside of her thighs, and then explored her most intimate areas with both his mouth and tongue, she fancied she would faint from the sheer pleasure of it. These skillful ministrations were wonderful enough on their own, but when his tongue brushed a particular spot, it was as if a jolt of electricity had just coursed through her: she twitched and let out a sharp cry of delight.

To her dismay, Jim paused as if he were uncertain as to the nature of her exclamation, so she decided encouragement was needed. "Please – don't stop!"

She felt her husband smile against her. As his tongue resumed tickling and teasing that delectable spot, his finger joined in, going up, up, up into her and thrusting back and forth, which only increased the intensity of her pleasure. Beneath such deft handling, Jane was completely undone. She trembled as spasms of seemingly endless pleasure overwhelmed her senses, building to a fever pitch until she had to squeeze her eyes shut and scream out in the most exquisite ecstasy she had ever experienced. When the sensation finally ebbed, she laid there in perfect bliss.

Once Jane's breathing slowed to normal and she opened her eyes again, she saw the most enchanting sight in the world: her husband smiling sweetly down at her. He looked so disheveled and delicious that she blurted, "I want to learn to kiss you like that someday."

To her relief, Jim didn't look affronted or even amused by her indelicacy. Instead, he beamed like a man who had just been given everything he'd ever wanted. "I very much look forward to teaching you that, dearest. But first, there's something else I want to do with you."

Even if she hadn't perceived the full return of his arousal, Jane was certain from the hungry look in his gaze she could guess what that something else was, and gave her husband an encouraging beam as she felt those delicious pangs of pleasure gnaw at the pit of her stomach once more. But when Jim covered her body with his and she felt his hardness against her thigh, she couldn't help tensing a little – though she surmised from her pre-conjugal research that he was no greater or lesser in size than the average male, he felt so large and solid against her tiny frame.

Jim gently kissed her lips. "It may be somewhat uncomfortable at first," he acknowledged. "But if it's done right – and you have my solemn pledge it will be done to the best of my ability – the discomfort shouldn't last long."

As Jane nodded shakily and gave him a small but inviting smile, he buried his head in the crook of her shoulder and kissed all the sensitive spots he'd discovered over the course of their lengthy courtship – behind her ear, along the line of her jaw, down the side of her neck, and in the hollow of her throat. This helped relax her a great deal. When he moved down to her breasts to take them in his mouth, this helped even more. As she felt that delicious ecstasy build again, her thighs widened of their own accord, and soon she and Jim were aligned in the most intimate possible way. As he began to enter her in earnest, he returned to her neck and gave her a love-bite hard enough to send that wonderful jolt of electricity coursing through her again. It was the most delicious of distractions, even as she remained vaguely conscious of the discomfort of her maidenhood being breached.

Once they were fully united, Jim lifted his head to look at her, his eyes full of love and concern. Admittedly, the sensation of being so filled didn't feel quite as good as the ministrations of his finger and tongue, but from everything Jane had read and heard, she was certain the act would improve from this point. So she nodded eagerly for her husband to proceed. Letting out a shuddering, relieved breath, Jim began to thrust tentatively back and forth, still watching her closely for any sign of distress. And to her delight, that delicious delight bubbled up in her once again. But it wasn't until his clever hands found her hips and guided her to move back and forth with him did she fully understand just how much a woman was capable of enjoying lovemaking: once her hips learned how to boldly and feverishly rise to meet his entirely of their own accord, they discovered a rhythm that made them both cry out.

"Oh Jane," he panted. "You really are a quick study – you couldn't be more perfect at this if you tried."

Despite Jim's impassioned approval of her cleverness, in addition to his earlier entreaty for her to be as uninhibited as she pleased, Jane still couldn't help wondering if she ought to be just a little more circumspect. But being with her husband this way felt so natural and easy that she didn't so much as blush when his eyes roamed her naked body just as avidly as she took in every raw muscle and sinew of his while they made love. He was every bit as handsome unclothed as she'd always suspected, and from the way his hands and mouth roamed so eagerly over her curves, she knew that he was not at all disappointed with her physical form.

As Jane thoroughly reveled in the pleasure that his ardent caresses elicited in her, she found herself reciprocating in kind, her hands wandering freely over the planes of his body. She even had the temerity to stroke and then grasp his backside, which made him groan even louder and drive even deeper into her. This did a great deal to increase her confidence, and so they made love as voracious equals until Jim once again tensed in her arms and she felt that odd viscous warmth spreading inside her.

While Jane hadn't quite achieved that intense explosion of ecstasy a second time – she'd been so very close! – she felt the most satisfying sense of oneness with her husband as they continued to hold one other tight, still trembling and gasping at the intensity of what they'd just shared together. They had given themselves wholly and irrevocably to each other, body and soul: she was his and he was hers. And it was every bit as exciting and glorious as she had so fervently hoped and dreamed it would be.

XXX

Once husband and wife finally mustered up both the energy and gumption to rise from their bed and attend to the appropriate postcoital ablutions, Jane was stunned that she was still not embarrassed by her own boldness. Instead, she felt both strange and wonderful as she delicately assessed the state of her nether regions in the washroom – Jim had gallantly insisted she make the first use of the facilities. Lovemaking was a rather messy business with a significant amount of fluid involved, but it did not unnerve her as much as she feared it would. She anticipated she would bleed afterward, but to her relief, it was merely a few concentrated beads of red that stained her thighs, much lighter than a regular monthly course and far shorter in duration. There was some residual soreness from having been stretched so vigorously, but Miss Marian had assured her that a woman's body would not only adjust to a man's passion, but avidly anticipate it in due time. Indeed, she could still feel those delightful pangs of desire quivering in her stomach, waiting to be stirred into that heady fever pitch of ecstasy. Even though she was somewhat uncomfortable physically, she was already craving the next time her husband would make love to her.

To Jane's delight, she didn't have to wait too long for a second tryst. Once Jim completed his ablutions and returned to their bed, they fell into a dreamy doze, waking shortly after midnight. Though neither of them were such voracious eaters that they required a regular nighttime repast, they both found themselves with an unusually compelling hunger and thirst. Having wisely anticipated this eventuality, Jim hastened to the kitchen and procured a simple but hearty feast, which they ate in bed together.

Once their appetite for food and drink had been sated, their appetite for sweeter delights increased. All it took was one heavy-lidded glance from Jane to kindle the spark that smoldered between them: Jim pulled her into his arms and his mouth crushed against hers as they breathlessly shed each other's nightclothes. This time, Jim slipped easily inside of her, and Jane sighed with relief as the ache of desire was finally eased. Perhaps it was because she was starving for it, perhaps it was because Jim's thrusts were more confident this time, but whatever the cause, Jane was soon squeezing her eyes shut and screaming as she finally, finally, finally reached that wonderful plateau of pleasure.

When she opened her eyes again, Jim was grinning impishly at her. "You may have finished, my dearest of Janes, but I haven't. Would you like to see if we can achieve your delight a third time tonight?"

"Oh – yes – please – " she gasped.

To her fascination, he grasped her by the hips and rolled her until she was sitting astride him. "Forgive me if this introduction seems hasty," he groaned, "but I can't tell you how many nights I've dreamed of you straddled on top of me just like this – "

Jane was not at all inclined to protest such a charming confession, but she did hesitate. "That's very flattering, but I don't know what to do. Will you show me?"

"Of course," Jim said tenderly. Grasping her hips, he thrust upward into her. Jane cried out in delight as she felt him brush that spot even more intensely than he had before – somehow, it felt even better when they moved together this way than it had when she lay supine beneath him. As he guided her in a strong and steady pace until she was confident enough to fully take the reins, she felt a continuous wave of pleasure, which did not abate until he tensed and stilled again. Fully sated at last, Jane fell to Jim's side and he scooped her into a warm embrace, their exhausted panting giving way to soft, sweet kisses until they drifted off into a deep sleep in each other's arms.

XXX

When Jane awoke again, it was well past noon the next day. Normally, she would have chided herself for indulging in such sloth, but she didn't have the spirit for such petty recriminations – her husband's face was presently buried in the crook of her shoulder and he was pressing the most delicious kisses into the side of her neck as his warm hands roamed over her curves. Smiling at his touch, she wrapped her arms around Jim and let him explore her to his heart's content. After a lifetime of loneliness, it was wonderful to be loved like this. But to her disappointment, he did not move to make love to her in earnest, seeming content to simply hold and caress her. And despite the very warm welcome she'd given to his amorous overtures the night before, she still had a little ways to go before she was comfortable being bold enough to initiate the proceedings.

As she reconciled herself to simply luxuriating in her husband's arms, Jane was suddenly struck with a thought. And since she was still too groggy to stifle her natural impulses to air whatever was in her head, this thought came tumbling right out of her mouth: "Do I feel like Louisa Grace?"

Jim raised his head to goggle at her, and she was unable to tell whether he was amused or appalled by her temerity. But when her eyes widened in mortified alarm, he simply burst into laughter. "Oh Jane," he gasped, "what kind of man would compare making love to his first wife while he was in the midst of making love to his second?"

He sounded bewildered rather than offended, but Jane miserably turned her head away from his inquisitive gaze. "It was terrible of me to ask," she apologized. "Just a foolish notion that blurted itself out loud before I could stop myself."

Jim placed a gentle hand on her cheek and brought her to look at him again. "Jane – dearest – while I may fondly remember my first wife, she is not at the forefront of my thoughts, and she hasn't been for quite some time. I certainly wasn't thinking of her when I brought you home and made love to you last night, and I wasn't thinking of her this morning, either." When Jane continued to regard him with an abashed expression, he gave her a teasing grin. "Were you thinking of William?"

Jane grasped his perspective immediately, and her embarrassment evaporated. "Not at all," she said earnestly. "I'll always remember him with the same tenderness as you do Louisa Grace, but that chapter of my life was closed long ago. I'm a much different woman than I was when I knew him."

Jim's arms tightened around her. "Likewise, I'm a different man," he assured her. "Gracie will always have her own special place in my heart – but so will you. Just because you happened to come second does not mean I treasure you any less, the same as your love for me isn't diminished because you loved William first."

Jane nodded in agreement, but couldn't help raising what she considered a salient point: "Still, you have a firmer framework of comparison when it comes to physical love. As you know, William and I never consummated our relationship, but you and Louisa Grace enjoyed several years of connubial bliss."

"We did," Jim acknowledged, "but loving her and loving you are two entirely different ventures. Each must be taken according to its own merits – I cannot reduce what I had with her or what I have with you to such a simple and base equation as comparing the lilt of your voices or curves of your thighs." He craned his head and gave her a tender kiss. "Jane Edna Hearst, I was making love to you last night, and you alone – not the memory of my first wife. And when I make love to you now, just as I will for the rest of my life, I will be thinking only of you."

As he rolled her beneath him and claimed her mouth with his, Jane parted her thighs to welcome him. Ever conscious that she was still becoming acclimated to physical pleasure, he took care to enter her slowly and carefully. Indeed, she was a bit sore from his amorous attentions the previous evening, and gasped in both pain and pleasure as their bodies united. But the discomfort faded quickly as they began to move in a smooth and languorous rhythm together.

Jim parted his lips from hers. "Open your eyes, Jane."

She was thrilled to see that he was regarding her with a fiercely possessive affection. "Yes," he panted approvingly, "keep looking at me just like that – I want you to know that this is entirely for you – "

Even if he hadn't implored her, she couldn't have looked away. Entranced by the intensity of feeling she saw in her husband's gaze, Jane's eyes remained locked with his as their hips continued thrusting together in a frenzied tempo.

But her pleasure was quickly mounting, bringing with it that dizzying sense of euphoria. "Jim," she gasped right before she reached her peak, "I need to close my eyes again – "

He smiled with the loving triumph of a man who'd successfully brought his wife joy. "Not to worry, dearest," he assured her, his own breathing ragged. "I'll be right here in the meantime – "

Squeezing her eyes shut, Jane held tight to her husband and cried out his name as paroxysms of intense pleasure reverberated throughout her body. Shortly afterward, Jim stiffened, groaned, called out her name, and collapsed in her arms. Too overcome with emotion and exhaustion to speak, the assistant librarian buried her head in the crook of her husband's shoulder, and they held each other for a long time afterward.

XXX

When Miss Marian disclosed the post-wedding brunch she had been obligated to attend as a new bride, and how it briefly led to discord between her and Professor Hill, Jane had sympathetically shuddered at how embarrassing it must have been to be on display before the town's most prominent citizens so soon after consummating one's marriage. Fortunately, no one cared nearly that much about the Hearsts' affairs as to require such an intrusive social imposition. After her wedding night, Jane was doubly grateful for this, as she did not possess Miss Marian's everlasting poise to bear such scrutiny gracefully enough not to cause a public scandal, let alone the tolerance to endure a private marital misunderstanding in the course of attempting to preserve a modicum of discretion and dignity!

As Jane gratefully shared an intimate supper alone with her husband in their kitchen, she reflected upon everything Miss Marian had revealed to her about the nature of men and marriage and reconciled it with what she had just learned from her own personal circumstances – Jane now knew what it was to be a wife in every sense of the word, and it was a heady knowledge indeed. For the first time in her life, the assistant librarian felt like an equal to her mentor, rather than an ingénue doing her best to emulate the airs of an elegant lady who would always remain leagues above her. When Jane broke the charged but companionable silence between the two of them to observe that it was no wonder Miss Marian was such a happy wife – Professor Hill was well known to be an amorous man who was very much in love – Jim regarded her with the affable grin and intent gaze that had so captivated her the first day they properly met, and likewise observed that while he and Professor Hill had little in common in terms of personality, they were both the happiest of husbands.

Naturally, Jane had no compunction about responding to such heated flirtation in kind, and the resulting conversation led to another long and languorous night of husband and wife unabashedly reveling in all the ways they could now express their ardor to its fullest. However, when the next morning eventually arrived they did have to curtail their besotted indolence somewhat in order to finish packing for the honeymoon tour, as their train was due to leave River City in just one short day.