Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to WhatsABriard, who requested this scene. It took me weeks to write, since I wanted to get it just right. I'm still a bit nervous about pushing that 'publish' button.

I would really like to hear what you think of it, so please review if you have the time. Much appreciated! :)

In the meantime: a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! Also to everyone who has put in a request. I've taken note of all of the requests, and I'd like to write them all, but the gods of inspiration are fickle, so you may have to wait a while if something else strikes my fancy :)

Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and let me know what you think!

Jack straightened his tie compulsively for what felt like the hundredth time. He wished he didn't feel so nervous. In fact, he told himself, there was nothing to be nervous about. But he couldn't help feeling that this was an important evening, and that it might turn out very uncomfortable for him. Because tonight, for the first time since he and Phryne had started their relationship, Mac was coming to dinner, and Jack had no doubt that he would be subjected to very thorough scrutiny. He was a little apprehensive about the result, because Mac had a very sharp tongue, and very little inclination to keep her opinions to herself. Jack reminded himself of the fact that Mac had, at a couple of occasions, expressed something like respect and even liking for him, but that was before he was having an affair with her best friend. He was nervous that she would not deem him worthy of Phryne (a fear that was perhaps exacerbated by his own continued nagging doubts on the subject). In other words, he wanted to make a good impression.

Phryne was still getting ready, doing whatever it was she did that made her look so fabulous, so Jack was waiting in the parlor, enjoying a whiskey and a last couple of minutes of calm before what he knew would be a very turbulent evening. Phryne alone was sometimes more than he could handle. Add Mac to that, and the Inspector knew full well that he would have to keep his wits about him to keep up. He felt that the energy of these two women combined was enough to flatten most men, but he was determined to brave the storm head-on.

A few moments later, Phryne swept into the room, wearing a cream-colored dress and her signature scarlet lipstick. She immediately sat herself down on his lap to kiss him, and Jack rumbled his approval as he wrapped his arms around her. In fact, a dangerous look appeared in his eyes as he contemplated how delicious she looked, and how much he wanted to take her straight back upstairs. 'Do you like the dress?' she asked, and he nodded distractedly, much more interested in how exactly he would get her out of it. However, these happy fantasies were abruptly cut off by a brisk knock on the door. 'Mac's here', Phryne said brightly, and Jack internally braced himself as Mr. Butler went to open the door. Impeccably dressed in a suit as usual, Mac marched through the door, handed Mr. Butler her hat, and immediately rolled her eyes at the sight of Phryne sitting on Jack's lap. 'I'm not going to have to endure this kind of sentimentality all evening, am I?' she asked in an exasperated voice.

As ever, Phryne seemed completely immune to her friend's grumpiness, and rose gracefully to embrace her. 'Mac, I'm so glad to see you! It's been a while.'
'Yes, well, I imagine you were busy with other things', Mac replied, raising a meaningful eyebrow at the Inspector.
'I have indeed', Phryne replied unabashed, throwing Jack a glowing look.
Already feeling a little uncomfortable, Jack got up to shake Mac's hand. 'Doctor MacMillan', he greeted her with his usual courtesy.
A moment later, Mr. Butler announced that dinner was ready, and Jack followed the two women into the dining room with the feeling that his would be a … challenging evening.

To his surprise, however, dinner went very smoothly. He seemed to fit seamlessly into their pattern of conversation, joining them effortlessly in their discussions, matching each witty remark with a suited repartee, and fending off all teasing comments with perfect composure. In fact, by the end of the meal, he was sensing a vibe of definite approval coming from Mac, though she was trying not to show it. They talked about Jack and Phryne's latest case, Hugh and Dot's upcoming wedding, and Mac's work at the hospital, and Jack was finally starting to relax.

When the plates had been cleared away, and the whiskey had been brought out, the three of them sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Then, Mac straightened with an air of coming to business at last, and Jack felt himself tense slightly.
'So', she started with a most businesslike look at the two of them. 'You two.'
'Yes,' said Phryne, tilting her chin defiantly.
'So what is this?' Mac continued, and Jack swallowed uncomfortably. That was an excellent question.
But Phryne answered as lightly as ever. 'It is what it is, Mac, you know me.'
Mac nodded. 'But you are – officially – involved now?'
For a moment, Jack was a little worried about how Phryne would react to the word 'officially', but she just exchanged a quick look with him, took his hand and said 'Well… yes.'
Mac contemplated them both for a moment, then nodded in a satisfied way and grumbled 'finally', before taking another sip of her whiskey, and that was it. Relieved, Jack sat back in his chair and the conversation resumed about other matters.

Several glasses of whiskey later, Jack was rather enjoying himself, leaning back in his chair as he mostly listened to the two women talking and laughing, bringing up past adventures they had shared for his amusement. He noticed how finely attuned they were to one another, how well they were able to anticipate what the other was going to say, and he suddenly realized how very deep their friendship must be, in spite of the fact that their temperaments were so vastly different. The realization brought a question to his mind.
'I'm curious,' he asked when there was a lull in the conversation. 'Tell me, how did you two meet?'
He had expected Phryne to immediately launch enthusiastically into another whirling story, but to his surprise, both women were suddenly very quiet and exchanged a look full of meaning that he couldn't quite interpret. He noticed that Mac was trying to suppress a grin, and Phryne glanced at him uncertainly. He sat up a little straighter. This was decidedly strange; he had never seen her think twice before she said anything – there must be more to the story than he had anticipated when he had asked his perfectly innocent question.

Phryne looked at Mac again. 'What do you think?'
Mac shrugged. 'It's up to you if you want to tell him.' She glanced at Jack with a mischievous glint in her eye. 'If you think he can handle it.'
Jack was starting to feel a little apprehensive by now. Maybe he didn't want to know. But Phryne seemed to have come to a decision.
'Fine', she said. 'It's a funny story, really.'
'Funny,' Mac snorted. 'Let's see if the Inspector shares that opinion.'
Phryne ignored her. 'Well…' she started slowly. 'We met a long time ago…'
'Longer than I care to remember', Mac mumbled into her glass.
'I was still very young then,' Phryne continued meditatively, 'and my taste in men was somewhat… questionable at the time.'
'Awful, really,' Mac interrupted. 'Believe me, Inspector, you're a vast improvement.'
Jack inclined his head at the somewhat questionable compliment, but didn't reply. He wasn't really liking where this was going.
'Anyway,' Phryne continued as if there had been no interruption. 'One night, I was having drinks at the bar of a very nice hotel with a handsome but particularly gormless individual who kept droning on about his achievements on the golf course or something like that. I was bored half to death and seriously regretting that I had accepted his invitation, when suddenly he finally did something interesting: he started choking on an olive. I hardly had time to react, before Mac suddenly appeared out of nowhere…'
'The seat next to you', Mac interjected drily.
'… gripped the man around the waist, and expertly used a Heimlich maneuver, saving his life.'
'Quite heroically,' Mac added, taking another sip of her whiskey.
'Well, at that point, the fellow was so embarrassed, completely red, and probably quite overcome by shock…'
'… that he'd been rescued by a woman', Mac mumbled, but Phryne ignored her again.
'So he made his excuses and left', Phryne finished.

Jack smiled. That wasn't too bad. 'So that's how you met.'
Mac threw him an indecipherable look, one corner of her mouth pulled down in a half-smile. 'Well… that's not really the whole story.'
Phryne sighed and glanced at Jack again before she continued. 'I was very grateful that Mac had rescued me from such a horribly tedious evening, so I invited her to stay and have a drink with me. We had a tremendous evening together, and rather too much to drink, I daresay…'
Jack was taking an absentminded sip of his whiskey.
'… so we ended up spending the night together.' Phryne finished matter-of-factly.
Jack choked on his whiskey so hard he thought he could feel it come out through his nose. He emerged from his glass, spluttering and coughing, to stare in disbelief at the woman he loved. Phryne offered him a handkerchief with a sympathetic look, while Mac smiled in satisfaction. 'See, I told you he wouldn't be able to handle it.'
He finally regained his breath. 'You…'
'Well, yes', said Phryne calmly, with a small smile.
'And what a night it was', said Mac reminiscently.
'Mac!' Phryne grinned, but tried to hush her friend after one look at the scandalized expression on Jack's face.
'Anyway,' Mac continued without taking the least notice, 'I still think it's quite marvelous that we ended up such good friends after that. I don't think a lot of lifelong friendships began with a night of…'
'Mac!' Phryne interjected again, throwing Jack a look of mixed concern and amusement before explaining: 'You see, over breakfast the next day, Mac and I discovered that we had quite a lot in common. So even though I made it perfectly clear that it had been a one-time-only thing for me, we stayed in touch afterwards, and became friends.'
'It's a shame, though', said Mac dispassionately, while Jack threw back his drink, evidently feeling that he needed something strong. 'It could've really been something, if it wasn't for your unfortunate preference for cock.'
For the second time, Jack choked on his whiskey, but Phryne was laughing.
'Well, I do have that', she smiled, looking fondly at Jack. But by now, the Inspector was completely speechless, opening and closing his mouth several times with no sound coming out. Phryne seemed to realize that he was genuinely shocked, and probably thought it best to get Mac out of the room. So she remarked that it was getting late, and Mac got the hint, getting up and announcing that she would be going home. As she walked around the table, she wished Jack goodnight with a sympathetic pat on his shoulder. Phryne walked her friend to the door, and hugged her goodbye. Jack noticed a few more moments of whispered conversation, stifled laughter, and then Mac was gone.

'Are you alright?'
Jack looked up to see Phryne leaning against the door jamb, a soft smile on her face. He nodded curtly. She came to stand behind him and ran her fingers through his hair, which had a soothing effect. He took a deep breath and leaned his head back against her. She ran her hands over his shoulders, down his chest and to his stomach. 'Let's go to bed', she whispered in his ear. He hesitated for a moment. He was still trying to process everything he had just heard, not sure what to do with the information. He had always known that Phryne's idea of what was decent differed vastly from his own (or, for that matter, from the rest of society), but he had never suspected that she would go this far. He swallowed hard as he tried to wrap his head around what she had done. But he felt her hands on him, and gradually came to the realization that she was still Phryne, still the same wonderful woman he loved so much that she had become a part of him. He sighed as he realized that he would just have to come to terms with this. So he nodded silently, and got up to follow her to the bedroom.

Once they were in bed together, in the privacy and intimacy of the bedroom, Phryne nestled close to Jack and looked up at him questioningly.
'Go ahead. Ask whatever it is you want to ask.'
So she had noticed the crease between his eyebrows. He tried to untangle his thoughts to find a simple question to start with.
'You and Mac… was it… just the one time?'
'Just the one time', she assured him.
'And only with Mac?'
She hesitated. 'There were… one or two others.'
He looked at her, incomprehension etched across his face. 'But… why?'
She caressed his chest with soft fingers as she tried to explain. 'You know me, Jack, I like to try everything, as long as it's new and exciting. Being with a woman is different from being with a man.'
In spite of himself, his curiosity was piqued. 'Different… how?'
'Well…' she thought about it for a moment. 'It's thrilling to explore a body that is so different from what you're used to. A body that is so much like your own in many ways, yet subtly different. It is interesting to try out new things, experience new sights, new tastes, new sensations…'
Suddenly, Jack's imagination was teeming with images that weren't at all bad. He tried to push them away, but was quite unsuccessful. He really didn't want to ask his next question, but it escaped his lips anyway. 'And with Mac…?'
Phryne smiled. 'Well, that was the first time I'd ever spent the night with a woman, and I can tell you it was quite a revelation. She was very experienced, even then, and very skilled. She taught me things about my body that I didn't even know myself. Being with a woman always has the advantage that they know much better than most men what women like. They are gentler, and patient, and they know where and how to touch, to kiss…'
Jack glanced at her uncertainly. 'But then… why are you here with me?'

She grinned up at him. 'Oh darling, don't worry, you're at least as skilled as any woman. And besides, well, I do have a… preference for the finer parts of the male body', she replied, deliberately using a more delicate phrase than Mac had used. She ran her hand appreciatively over Jack's muscled arms and shoulders.
'I love how strong you are…'
She took his hand and kissed the palm.
'I love your hands, how you always find the right spots…'
Jack involuntarily thawed a little as she ran her hand over his chest and he felt his body react to her touch. How did she do it, he wondered wryly, how did she always manage to draw him in, to weave her spell in such a way that he always forgot his objections, his apprehensions, his worries, even his morals. She could not be good for him… but then why was it such bliss to lie here beside her, listen to her warm voice, and let himself be carried away by her caresses.

She trailed her nails over the skin of his stomach and he shivered.
'I love it when you're rough…' Her voice was a wicked whisper in his ear now.
Then, her touch became light as a feather as she moved her hand further down.
'And I love it when you're slow…'
He swallowed hard as his body tensed in anticipation.
'I love that you're such a gentleman, Jack, but I also love that you're a man.'
His breath caught in his throat as she wrapped her fingers around him.
'There's nothing quite so divine,' she whispered seductively as she slowly started to caress him, 'as feeling your body on mine.' His breathing quickened as he closed his eyes and surrendered. 'When I feel you inside me, it's…' words failed her now, and she just sighed with a small moan as she pushed her hips against him.

It was too much, he couldn't resist anymore. He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her roughly back into the pillows, rolling on top so he could look down at her. She bit her lip and smiled up at him, her eyes bright with excitement as she opened her legs for him.
He reached one hand down between her thighs to guide himself to her opening, waited for just a moment, then forcefully pushed inside, drawing a cry from her lips as she raised her hips to meet him. His eyes were dark and fierce, and he kept them firmly locked on hers as he demanded huskily: 'Like this?'
'Yes,' she answered, her voice barely a whisper, 'Yes, just like that. Now don't stop.'
But he was firmly in control now, and withdrew agonizingly slowly, making her squirm underneath him.
When he finally entered again, she moaned and closed her eyes.
'No', he commanded. 'Look at me.'
She opened her eyes to look up at him as he took her deeply, deliberately, stroke by stroke by stroke. He didn't waver for a moment, keeping a steady rhythm that was so slow she could hardly bear it. She moaned hungrily and lifted her hips, but he would not be rushed, refused to go faster even when she begged him, keeping her on the edge between frustration and ecstasy until she felt like screaming.
Finally he stopped, and before she had time to complain, he put his mouth close to her ear and growled: 'On your knees.'
She obeyed him immediately, hungry for release, and was rewarded when he gripped her hips and thrust in hard, finally letting himself go, increasing the rhythm as he abandoned his restraint. She moaned in satisfaction, and he slipped one arm around her waist to caress her. He had teased her for too long; the moment his fingers touched her, she felt herself go to pieces. She arched her back and cried out as the orgasm rocked her body, and through the rushing in her ears, she heard him cry out too as he gripped her tighter. A moment later, they collapsed together on the bed, completely out of breath.

She immediately turned and punched him on the chest.
'Damn you, Jack Robinson', she grumbled, but he grinned and took her in his arms, even though she pretended to protest.
'Violence is never the answer, Miss Fisher', he teased her, and she noticed that he seemed very pleased with himself.
'You completely deserved it', she huffed, but inwardly she smiled.
'Yes, I suppose I did', he answered lazily, stretching comfortably on the bed.

They rested quietly for a while, and Jack started to doze off slightly with the happy feeling that he had the upper hand for once. Phryne contemplated that he was looking much too smug, and couldn't resist the temptation to discomfit him one last time.
'Jack?' she whispered.
'Hmm?'
'Remember what we were talking about earlier?'
He opened one eye to look at her darkly. 'Vividly.'
'Well…' she drawled, 'there's another possibility, you know.'
He knew he shouldn't ask. He asked anyway. 'Another possibility?'
'Wouldn't you like the idea of having two women in bed with you?' she suggested seductively.
His eyes flew open in alarm. 'Look, Phryne, I really like Mac, but…'
She burst out laughing. 'No darling, not Mac! She'd never go for it. Just… someone else. Think about it.'
He did. The tempting images her words had evoked earlier returned to his mind. Then he looked down into the sparkling eyes of his favorite lady detective and one corner of his mouth turned down in a half-smile as he snorted and pulled her closer.
'No, thank you. You're quite enough trouble on your own.'
She smiled in satisfaction and bit his earlobe to prove it.