Author's note: A longer chapter, and a little different, as their relationship evolves. I hope you still like it, and that I've managed to stay true to the characters.
Reviews would be ever so much appreciated!
Enjoy!
After spending slightly more time in the bathtub than was strictly necessary to get clean, they were both just getting dressed when there was a soft knock on the door.
'Miss,' they heard Dot's voice say from the hallway, 'There was a call from the police station. Hugh says he's tried to contact the Inspector, but he can't reach him and he wondered if… if he might be here, by any chance?'
Phryne quickly looked over at Jack, who nodded. They were going to find out anyway.
'Why yes, Dot,' she replied in a cheerful voice, 'as it happens, the Inspector is here.'
'Oh, good,' Dot said. 'Um… good morning, Inspector. Hugh asked if you could call him back, if you had a moment.'
'Of course, Miss Williams, thank you', he mumbled. He quickly put on his last items of clothing and went downstairs. When Phryne followed him a couple of minutes later, he was deep in conversation with Constable Collins. 'Yes,' she heard him say. 'Yes, I'll be right there.' He rang off and sighed regretfully. 'No breakfast for me, I'm afraid. They've found another Woolpacker's body near the warehouses, stabbed in the stomach. I'll have to go and see if we can find whichever Portsider's responsible.'
'Do you want me to come with you?' she asked, but he shook his head. 'This is a gang war,' he answered. 'We already know who's behind this, it's just a question of rounding them up. Not very interesting I'm afraid.' She had to agree with him there. 'Then I'll stay here.' She stepped closer to him. 'Are you coming back tonight?' He smiled as he put his arms around her waist. 'Wild horses couldn't keep me away, Miss Fisher.' With a quick look around to see that they were alone, he stole a kiss and regretfully walked out the door. She smiled and turned to follow the smell of toast and coffee.
When Jack returned that night, it was later than he had expected. As he didn't want to wake the household, he didn't ring the bell, but knocked softly. Almost immediately the door opened to the sight of Phryne, looking lovelier than ever, it seemed to him, already in one of her silk robes. He was suddenly overcome by such a strong feeling of love, it quite took his breath away. He felt an unbearable longing to hold her close, feel her body next to his, and never let her go. When he rushed in to take her into his arms, he saw his own feelings reflected in her eyes, and in the way she threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.
'You've been gone a long time,' she whispered breathlessly when they parted.
'Not by choice, believe me,' he mumbled, and leaned in for another kiss. She ran her hands through his hair and down his body, until a slight tinkling sound from one of his coat pockets drew her attention. She put her hand into the pocket in question and looked up with a delightedly wicked smile as she drew out a pair of handcuffs. He must have forgotten to leave them at the station; after all, he had left in a great hurry to get to Phryne as quickly as possible. She, however, seemed to think his motives were less than innocent. She dangled the cuffs from one finger and looked at him saucily from beneath her eyelashes.
'Are you here to arrest me, Inspector?'
He didn't really see where she was going with this, but he was happy to play the game.
'Arrest you on what grounds, Miss Fisher?'
She grinned playfully as she moved closer, and suddenly cupped him through the fabric of his trousers, making him gasp.
'To start with, various indecency charges, I imagine. I also have several pieces of literature around the house that I'm sure would get me into trouble.'
'Well,' he said, removing his hat and coat and following her into the parlor. 'That certainly seems worthy of further investigation, but at the moment I don't see any reason to arrest you… yet.'
'Jack!' she exclaimed, in mock disappointment. 'And here I thought you were finally going to cuff me!'
He was getting little confused now, but tried not to show it. 'Cuff you, Miss Fisher?' he said in a neutral voice.
'Why, yes. For the sake of comfort and privacy, I suggest the head of the bed, but if you have any other ideas in mind, I'd be happy to hear them.'
Suddenly he understood what she meant, and his eyes flew open in shock. He had to sit down for a moment. Carefully, he lowered himself into the love seat, and looked up at her uncertainly. Maybe she was too much for him after all. Sure, he had heard her joke about his handcuffs before, but he had always thought she had spoken in jest. Never for a moment had he imagined what she was now hinting at. He looked at the cuffs still dangling from her finger. The metal edges gleamed cold and hard. They were sharp. He frowned.
Realizing that Jack had apparently not been playing the same game she had, and seemed quite shaken, Phryne immediately became more serious. She gently sat down next to him and said with a soft smile 'It's alright, Jack.' He looked up at her, a crease between his eyebrows. 'Why… why would I want to do that?' Her smile became more sensual as she leaned closer and said in a low, seductive voice. 'Why, for the thrill of it. For the exhilarating sensation of being in control, and having your way with me.' Her hand crept up his thigh as she spoke, and his mouth went dry. He swallowed hard as tempting images suddenly flashed across his mind's eye. He pushed them away. 'But what about you?' he asked, an honest question in his eyes. 'These cuffs are sharp, and your wrists…' He picked up a white hand and kissed the incredibly delicate skin on the inside of her wrist. 'You would hurt yourself.' She replied without hesitation, 'Not if I'm careful.' He still wasn't convinced. 'Phryne… you would be completely defenseless…'. At that she looked up into his eyes with such a trusting, open look that he felt his resistance melt. 'Jack…' she said softly. 'What would I need to defend myself from if I'm with you?'
He hesitated in indecision for a moment, again torn between his baser instincts and his more gentlemanly impulses. Finally he shook his head. 'I spend my life trying to protect people. It just wouldn't feel right.' She immediately sat up and cheerfully dropped the handcuffs to the floor. 'Well, then, there's no reason we can't have fun without them, is there?' she grinned, and the next thing he knew, she had placed herself on his lap, and his arms were full of Phryne. Suddenly, nothing in the world mattered anymore but her, the touch of her lips, her hands in his hair, the feel of silk under his fingers as he ran his hands down her back and hungrily up her thigh.
As he started kissing her neck, his hands went automatically to the knot tying her robe closed, but she stopped his hand. He saw that she was breathing fast, and her chest was flushed. 'Maybe it's time we moved to a more private location, Inspector?' she suggested, and, taking his hand, she led the way to her bedroom. They tumbled onto the bed, laughing as they undid various knots and buttons. Soon their clothes were piled next to the bed. At the sight of her naked body, he again felt a great rush of tenderness for this white and delicate creature lying next to him. He was overcome by a great desire to just explore her body, caress her, to cover every inch of that pale, smooth skin in kisses. But her hands were already moving below his waist in an excellent attempt to distract him. This time, he wouldn't let her. 'Not so impatient, Miss Fisher,' he rumbled, as he pushed her hand away. 'I want to take my time tonight, to look at you, touch you, kiss you. I hardly got a chance last night.'
'Jack!' she complained. 'How can you bear to wait even a moment longer?'
He grinned down at her. 'I simply have more self-restraint than… some other people I might mention.' He saw immediately that she had accepted his words as a challenge, though she pretended to surrender. She stretched luxuriously on the bed, inviting his hands to explore, but he saw the wicked gleam in her eyes. The truth was, Jack thought, as he moved closer and started caressing her shoulder, her stomach, the curve of her breasts, that he enjoyed waiting, he enjoyed drawing it out, making it last. He supposed he did have more self-restraint than most people.
But at that moment his self-restraint was sorely tested as her hand slowly snuck up the inside of his thigh. 'Hands off, Miss Fisher', he warned her, as he felt his resistance crumble. But she didn't listen to him (when had she ever?) and softly started stroking him. For a moment every thought was wiped from his mind, then he regained control of himself, took her by the wrist and pinned her down. He noticed she was grinning delightedly, enjoying her game. 'Stop that,' he said in mock annoyance, but the moment he released her, her hands were on him again. This time, he took both her wrists and pinned them to the mattress above her head. Why did she always have to be so impossible? 'I said, stop that.' He tried being firm with her, but failed as he saw the laughter in her eyes and realized he was being played.
'Well, Inspector,' she purred contentedly, nipping at his neck. 'It seems that we have reached an impasse. You know perfectly well that I will not keep my hands to myself. You could, of course, hold me down, but then your hands won't be free for whatever you had in mind…'He looked down at her for a moment, his face unreadable as he made a decision. 'Well played,' he grumbled finally, trying but failing to keep the amusement out of his voice. 'Fine. But no handcuffs. A compromise.' At that, he released her and retrieved his tie from the floor. She smiled a beautiful, delighted smile as she obligingly moved up to the top of the bed, stretching out with her hands close to the ironwork of the headboard, wrists crossed. 'I knew you were the adventurous kind, Jack,' she quipped, and he couldn't suppress a smile as he bent over her and carefully tied her wrists together and to the headboard, making very sure she was still comfortable and not tied too tight.
As he sat back to look at her, he had to admit the sight was utterly arousing. There she lay, so beautiful, and all his. He softly caressed her side, enjoying the fact that, for once, he was completely in control, and that she was, for once, unable to tease him, to rush him. A satisfied smile crept around his lips as he decided that this would be slow… very slow.
He started by kissing her neck – long, deep kisses that left her breathless. His hands stole down to a breast and he cupped it softly, feeling the nipple harden immediately against his palm. He took it between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed softly, making her utter a soft moan. He released her and repeated the action on her other nipple. She closed her eyes and sighed. Ever so slowly, he kissed his way down her neck, over her collarbone, trailing between her breasts. By then she was squirming slightly, longing to feel his warm mouth on her nipples, but he held off, teasing her by drawing slow circles around them, admiring the softness of her breast, and noticing that her nipples were the same soft pink her lips were when she wasn't wearing any lipstick. When she started whimpering slightly, he decided it was enough, and suddenly closed his mouth over one nipple, sucking strongly, while pinching the other one between his fingers. She moaned and arched her back, straining against the tie that prevented her from tangling her hands into her hair and pulling him even closer. As he carefully took a nipple between his teeth, she cried out softly and threw her head back.
He decided it was time to move on. She made a small noise of complaint as he suddenly moved away from her, to the very end of the bed. He gently took one feet in his hands and stroked it, taking care to avoid the most sensitive parts so she wouldn't get ticklish. Slowly, torturously slowly, he started making his way up her leg, stroking, kissing, licking, nipping softly at the soft inside of her thigh. She opened her legs to him, and he kept on kissing until he could smell her sweetness. She held her breath in anticipation, but he suddenly (cruelly, in her opinion), drew back and started kissing the other foot and leg. 'Jack!' she cried out indignantly. 'That's no way to treat a lady!' He looked up at her with a satisfied grin. 'This was your idea,' he said. 'Now you'll have to play by my rules.'
And she had to endure once again the exquisite torture of him moving slowly up her leg, coming ever closer, until she positively squirmed in frustration, unable to speed things up. 'Jack,' she said pleadingly, helpless. 'Ask nicely,' he teased her, and she threw her head back and laughed. 'You beast! All right then… please, Jack, please, I can't bear it anymore…' She gasped as his warm mouth suddenly closed over her and he started licking her, probing, exploring, until he found the little node he had discovered so recently and started manipulating it with his tongue. Soon she was gone from the world, moaning and moving her hips rhythmically until… he suddenly stopped, and she cried out in disappointment. 'Jack! Get back there immediately and finish what you started!'
He grinned and moved up to look teasingly into her eyes. 'No, I think I'll just start over again, and there's nothing you can do about…' He was taken completely by surprise as suddenly her hands were loose, and she pushed him forcefully onto his back. The satin sheets were slippery, and he slid off them to land, not very hard, on the sheepskin rug next to the bed. A moment later, her head appeared over the side of the bed to grin down on him. 'You know Jack, for a man who ties his own tie every day, your knot work is surprisingly sloppy.' He looked up at her in amazement for a moment, then burst out laughing. He should never have underestimated her, he should have known, he should have realized that his wonderful lady detective would always have a couple of tricks up her sleeve. The next moment, she was on top of him, sitting astride his stomach, holding down his hands. 'There!' she cried triumphantly, 'There's no escape, Inspector. You're mine now.'
He noticed that she was holding him in an expert grip; apparently she really did have some experience in judo. However, Jack was a former army man and a police officer. He was also a strong man, and he easily overpowered her, flipping her lightly onto her back and pinning her down with the weight of his body. She pretended to struggle, but when he caught both her wrists in one hand and held them over her head again, she relaxed with smile. 'You got me, Inspector. But wouldn't you prefer to move onto the bed again?', she suggested innocently. He realized perfectly well that this was a ploy to get out of her current position, so he looked at her ironically, cocking an eyebrow. 'You can't be trusted on the bed', he stated. She giggled at that. 'And you think I'll behave better on the floor?' He tightened his grip on her wrists. 'At least now there are no knots you can undo', he growled into her ear. He wriggled his hips, and she opened her legs to him so he could lie between her thighs. With his free hand, he moved slowly down her body to stroke her once more between her legs, and she was very quickly lost in the moment, closing her eyes and moaning softly, trying to move beneath him, but he kept her firmly pinned down. The resistance only seemed to arouse her more, and soon she was crying out for him.
He couldn't resist anymore; still keeping her wrists together above her head with one hand, he used the other to guide himself to her opening, moaning as he felt how wet she was. He thrust inside her, hard, deep, and she arched up her hips to meet him. He let go of all restraint as he took her, again and again, and everything was Phryne, her taste in his mouth, her skin on his skin, her legs around his waist, his fingers tangled into her hair. She had been very close already, and soon he felt her start to tremble, then cry out. As she contracted around him, the increased sensation was too much for him to bear, and he, too, cried out and let go. Sparks erupted behind his eyes as a wave of exquisite fire swept through his body and left him, gasping, lying on top of her. As the sensation receded and he came to his senses again, he noticed that he was no longer holding her wrists, but that, sometime during their lovemaking, he had entwined his fingers with hers. He knew she had noticed too when she squeezed his hand, in a gesture of such love and intimacy, it made him shift position and take her into his arms, holding her close.
She settled her head contentedly on his shoulder and he could almost feel her happiness radiating through his skin. 'You wonderful man, Jack Robinson', she murmured sleepily, before drifting off to lightly doze on his chest, her fingers still entwined with his. While he felt exhausted, Jack couldn't sleep, not yet. He lay awake, listening to her breathing, feeling the tickle of soft black hair on his chest, and marveling, at her, and at how she was able to make him feel. Contrary to what he had expected, he felt that they had just shared a wonderful experience together, as partners, both enjoying it enormously. He had never imagined that sex could be so playful, so joyful, so passionate and thrilling. As he wrapped her even closer into his arms and kissed her head with endless tenderness, he couldn't help but wonder what other surprises this wonderful woman had in store for him…