Author's note: A bit of story around the smut this time, I just couldn't resist.

A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! Reviews bring me so much joy and inspire me to write on.

Enjoy!

'No.'
'Come on, Jack. Please?'
He held firm. 'No.'
'It'll be fun!'
'I highly doubt that.'
'Just once. For me?'
'I wouldn't feel comfortable.'
'It's really rather enjoyable once you get used to it.'
'I don't think so.'

She looked at him reproachfully. 'It's just a dinner party at Aunt Prudence's. It's not like I'm asking you to go to the North Pole with me.'
'I think I'd quite prefer the North Pole.'
'Honestly Jack, it's not that bad.'
They were lying in bed together, Phryne's head resting on Jack's chest. She was gently stroking his arm while attempting to persuade him to accompany her to her aunt's party that evening. So far, she had had very little success. He turned sideways to face her.
'Look, I don't know anyone there, I would feel completely out of place, and it sounds terrifically boring. Give me one good reason why I should go.'
She sighed theatrically. 'You're absolutely right, Jack. I'll just have to spend the night talking to whichever eligible bachelor Aunt P. decides to seat me next to…'

'Jack?'
' I'll pick you up at seven.'

Jack had no reason to regret his decision when he came to call on Phryne that evening. He rang the doorbell, formally dressed in a black suit and tie, and was invited into the hall by Mr. Butler. 'Miss Fisher will be with you in a minute, Inspector,' the butler informed him before retreating back to the kitchen. A moment later, Jack turned at the sound of rustling at the top of the stairs, and he felt his breath catch in his throat.
She was looking absolutely stunning in a resplendent evening gown of green and silver, which sparkled faintly in the light of the hall. The many-layered skirt rustled as she descended the stairs, and emeralds set in silver sparkled at her throat and dangled from her ears. She beamed as she stepped off the stairs in front of him and twirled.
'Do you like it?' she asked gaily.
'I… um… it's… you look…'
She flashed him a saucy smile. 'I know.'
He could only stare, and vaguely think that he couldn't for the life of him understand why this society belle would want to be seen with him. A moment later, though, she had put her arm through his, and all worries left him as he suddenly felt that the world was exactly right.
'Ready, Inspector?' she queried, looking up at him.
He had finally found his voice again. 'Ready as I'll ever be, Miss Fisher.'
Arm in arm, they swept out the door towards the waiting car.

An hour later, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson was feeling distinctly uncomfortable. After having been greeted by many raised eyebrows, and a very cold look from Aunt Prudence, he had been seated opposite Phryne instead of next to her, which had left him without moral support and with the obligation to converse with the two excessively boring old gentlemen seated next to him. Every once in a while, he shot a desperate look at Phryne across the table. She was not far away, exactly, the table was not very wide, but she was half hidden from view by the many dishes, flowers and candles. Moreover, she seemed to be deep in conversation with the young woman sitting next to her. He was starting to feel a little neglected.

Suddenly, however, he stiffened. Had he imagined it, or had he really felt something brush his leg? He looked across the table, where Phryne still seemed completely absorbed in her conversation. But Jack observed that she seemed to have shifted slightly in her seat, and he thought he detected a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. A moment later, he felt it again, more distinctly this time, and he realized that she must have slipped out of her shoe to tease him with a stockinged foot. Suppressing a smile, he extended his own legs under the table to allow her better access. A shiver ran down his spine as her foot brushed his ankle and then, slowly, sensuously, moved up the inside of his calf. He suddenly had trouble concentrating on the conversation around him as she followed the same path downward and started upward on the other leg.

When her toes had almost reached his knee, he suddenly caught her foot in one hand and held it firmly. Across the table, he saw her eyes widen in surprise, but she otherwise kept her composure. She kept on chatting merrily to her companion, and only Jack was able to detect the small changes in her face and body when he slowly started to stroke her foot. When he reached her sensitive instep, he couldn't resist, and tickled it softly. He was immediately rewarded when he saw her whole body twitch, and she jerked her foot back out of his reach. With a smile, Jack returned to his dinner.

A seemingly interminable half hour later, the table had been cleared, and guests were beginning to leave the table to dance. When the young woman next to Phryne was swept away by a dashing young man, Jack saw his chance. He excused himself to the gentlemen next to him, quickly got up and hurried around the table to drop into the recently vacated chair. He was greeted by a bright smile and a teasing 'Are you here to ask me to dance, Inspector?'
He looked at her grumpily. He felt he had suffered quite enough already for her this evening, and his look plainly told her so. She replied quite cheerfully: 'Just as well. I can't really maneuver in this dress, anyway.'
Soon, however, Jack felt his bad temper disappear in Phryne's sparkling presence. They talked and laughed, and Jack noticed that she was constantly smiling and touching him on the arm. It took him a while to realize, but it suddenly dawned on him that she was behaving exactly like a woman in love. The realization came as a complete surprise; he had been so absorbed in his own happiness at being near her, that he hadn't stopped to think for a moment that she might be just as happy to be close to him.

A moment later, his attention shifted sharply as she had casually dropped her hand to his knee. She suddenly seemed to notice the person sitting on his other side, and greeted them with great enthusiasm, using the pretext to lean very close to Jack and slide her hand slightly up his thigh. He suddenly started to feel very hot around the collar, and quickly looked down to check that the table cloth was long enough. It was. Seemingly oblivious, Phryne kept on talking animatedly to the middle-aged woman sitting next to Jack, leaning ever closer to him and sneaking her hand ever higher up his thigh. He tried to look natural, doubting about whether or not to push her hand away, but he thought that would only draw attention.

Suddenly she turned her attention back to him. She brightly said 'I'll be in the powder room for a moment' in a completely innocent voice, but she looked at him meaningfully and her hand squeezed his leg for just a second before she stood up graciously and went up the stairs. He stayed put for a few seconds, taking deep, calming breaths. Did she mean…? He wasn't sure, but decided to risk it. The moment he had regained his composure, he got up and followed her.

When he arrived upstairs, he didn't spot her at once and thought for a moment that she really had gone to the powder room. An instant later though, a bedroom door to his right opened a fraction and she laughingly grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room, quickly shutting the door behind them. The moment the door was closed, she wrapped herself around him, kissing him fiercely. 'I couldn't keep my hands off you for a moment longer', she sighed. He snorted. 'As if you were keeping them to yourself before.' She gave him a saucy look. 'Well, a girl must amuse herself somehow on occasions like these.' And she promptly proceeded to undo his tie. He tried to stop her, vaguely alarmed. 'What… really… here?' But she started kissing his neck, and it suddenly became much harder to think clearly. 'Come on, Jack. Everyone's dancing, nobody will notice if we're gone for a moment. And besides,' she added with a twinkle, 'I thought you said you were bored. We can't have that, Inspector.'

Her nearness was becoming too much for him to bear, and he didn't need much more persuading. He tried to lead her to the bed, but she resisted. 'Not in this dress, darling', she laughed. 'It'll crease so badly, it won't be hard for people to deduce what we've been up to!'
He was confused for a moment. 'Well then… how do you propose we proceed, Miss Fisher?'
'Why, there's a perfectly good wall over here,' she said, leaning back against it and pulling him close. Immediately, distasteful images flashed across Jack's mind, things he had seen during his work as a policeman, of bedraggled prostitutes being pressed up against the walls of dark alleyways by drunken punters. He had always assumed that the proper place for actually making love was the bed. In the case of Phryne Fisher, he could live with an occasional romp on the floor. But up against the wall… That felt… cheap.

She noticed his hesitation. 'What's the matter?' she asked gently.
'Well…' he said. 'It's just that… taking you against a wall feels a little… well… it's not very classy.'
At that, she raised an ironic eyebrow. 'Jack, look at me.'
He did, and a moment later realized how ridiculous his words were. It was hard to imagine anything more classy than Phryne Fisher, in a beautiful evening gown, covered in jewels, leaning casually against a wall. 'Once again, Inspector, you set too much store by what is proper.' She smiled, and he relented, allowing her to draw him closer by his tie. A moment later, his mouth was on hers, one hand in her hair, one on the small of her back. She started to pull up her skirt, but he stopped her hand. The many layers had been playing with his imagination the entire evening. 'Allow me', he whispered as he kneeled in front of her.

She giggled as he started lifting the layers of her dress, one by one, until he finally caught a glimpse of white ankle. He lifted the last layer of fabric high, and ducked underneath it. She squealed softly in surprise, but didn't move, other than to brace herself more firmly against the wall. He remained quite still for a moment in the absolute darkness, breathing in her smell, feeling her warmth. Then, he started exploring, found a knee, a thigh, moved upwards to let his hands slide over her hips and held them there, steadying her. The next moment, his mouth had found the inside of her thigh, and he moved upwards until his lips encountered the silk edge of her underwear. He did not attempt to remove it, but kept moving upward and inward, until he could press his mouth to her. He heard her gasp, felt her sway slightly, and firmly held her steady with his hands on her hips. He started exploring her through the fabric, carefully sensing and probing to find his bearings. When he suddenly found the right spot, he immediately knew by her reaction, and by the way her knees suddenly went weak.

'Jack,' he heard her say, voice muffled through the many layers of cloth. 'I can't do this standing up like this. I don't have anything to hold on to, I'm afraid I'll just collapse on top of you.'
'That's okay,' he mumbled, absorbed in what he was doing, 'you're not that heavy.'
She giggled. 'But the dress, Jack.'
He sighed, silently cursing the dress. 'Can't we take it off?'
'Well, it took Dot nearly half an hour to get me into it properly, and I really don't think we have that kind of time.' He heard the smile in her voice, and regretfully got out from under the skirt. The cold air and the bright lights were unpleasant after the warm, sweet-smelling darkness, but she soon made him forget by pulling him upwards and kissing him so passionately he suddenly realized how much he wanted her.

The burning desire he felt for her was never very far from the surface, and now it overtook him with such force, he had to take care not to tear her dress in his sudden longing to feel her skin. She undid the buttons of his trousers, then started to pull up the skirt of her dress, very careful to fold it where the pleats naturally fell, so it wouldn't crease in noticeable places. As he pushed her hard against the wall, she wrapped one bare leg around his hip, and used one hand to guide him in. When he entered her, she cried out softly, and he immediately clapped one hand in front of her mouth.
He looked straight into her eyes as he slowly started moving inside her, and huskily whispered: 'Quiet, Miss Fisher. We wouldn't want to get caught.' She softly bit his fingers, but he just laughed and did not withdraw his hand.

Her breathing became quicker as she moved her hips against him, pulling him in deeper with her leg hooked around his hip, one hand on his shoulder to keep her balance. He kept his hand firmly on her mouth, smothering her moans as he took her other hand and held it against the wall over her head. He pushed in again and again, and felt the tension build inside him. He fought to control it, the new position was just too arousing, both to his mind and his body. With an effort, he held off stroke after stroke, until he saw her eyes close, and he felt her tense beneath him, then start to tremble. Finally giving in, he allowed his own orgasm to break, biting his lip to keep in all sound as he felt the rush of fire through his body, and spent himself inside her with a last few thrusts. Weak-kneed, he leaned against her, as much to support her as to keep himself from falling. They held each other close, breathing hard, as they slowly recovered. Jack pressed his face to her hair and breathed in deeply. They rested for a moment more, until they were both able to stand again. Then she carefully rearranged her dress as he buttoned up his trousers and straightened his tie. After one last kiss, she slipped out of the room first, and he waited a moment to give her a head start, leaning against the door with a contented sigh.

The rest of the party passed in a happy blur of champagne and Phryne. She was constantly at his side, and he discovered that absolutely everything was delightful as long as her hand was on his arm, and he could see her smile. It seemed like only a moment later they were back in the car, Jack driving as Phryne lazily leaned back in her seat. She had had rather a lot of champagne and seemed utterly relaxed. After a while, she leaned sideways and rested her head upon his shoulder. She put one hand on his knee, and for once, the gesture was completely innocent, an expression of affection and intimacy. As they silently drove along, Jack felt a deep and inexpressible sense of happiness steal over him, and a feeling of belonging that was so strong, he knew it to be true. This was exactly how it should be.

Author's note: If you liked the chapter, please review! It means a lot to me to hear your opinion. Eternal gratefulness will be yours :)