And this is why I love this man, Briar Rose thought, feeling Frank clamber behind her, warm hands sliding up her hips as he shifted. Now that they'd taken the edge off their appetites, this second course would be so much the sweeter and slower.

The leisurely slide of his erection into her made Briar Rose gasp a little since this position left her much more aware of his heft in the best way. She flexed her spine as Frank gripped her hips and rocked into her in deep, languid strokes, his own heavy breathing matching hers.

She gave a happy little cry, feeling the hot and cold shivers rush through her, prickles of pleasure flashing over her skin for the next few minutes. When he leaned over her, his weight combined with his thrusts had Briar Rose shuddering happily.

"Sweeeeet beast," she purred over her shoulder at him. He looked wonderfully tousled now; a furry-chested bear of a man with a dangerously dimpled smile.

"Asthore," he groaned back, kissing her shoulder blade. After a while, she closed her eyes, savoring the pleasure building between her thighs, the slow but inevitable tension ratcheting up with every deliberate stroke. Frank was breathing harder, his grip beginning to tighten around her hips. Briar Rose reached down between her thighs, stroking herself lightly, tensing in sweet anticipation.

This orgasm was more like a wave, cresting and breaking in a rush of hot delight, a rollercoaster drop of sensuality that made her keen in joy. The sound was more than enough to bring Frank to climax as well in a few strong thrusts.

He didn't quite collapse on her, but Briar Rose didn't mind his weight pinning her down, not at all.

"We have to shower again?"

"We have to shower again," She agreed, not really wanting to move. All her muscles were currently pudding, and Briar Rose was drifting off, but she managed to slither out from under her husband and rolled to face him, tugging her hair free from where it had tangled with the pillow.

"That was . . . magnificent," she told him while stroking his damp chest. "With moves like that, you would have had me pregnant three times over by now."

He reached for her, pulling her closer, and kissed her forehead before speaking.

"And it would have been my joy," Frank replied gently, before asking in a softer tone, "Do you still regret . . . ?"

"Sometimes," Briar Rose admitted. "Yes. Everyone has moments and events in their lives that they wish they could go back and change. That's the way life goes. Yes, sometimes I do regret the accident, and not having the chance to have children. Especially in my line of work. But I also know that like it or not, it's how things turned out, and I can't waste my time on what I can't change."

Frank sighed. "True," he agreed. "I'd love to believe that in another universe we might have met first and married, had our children and lived different lives, but I know myself too well. You'd have resented the hell out of me in the Seventies. I was pompous and career-driven and opinionated . . . stop giggling."

"Sorry," Briar Rose grinned at him. "Just wondering when you changed. But seriously, you wouldn't have liked me either, Frank. I was just as career-minded and a feminist to boot, trying to save the world. The very idea of wearing a French Maid costume would have had me foaming at the mouth."

He gave a little noise of agreement as he wrapped his arms around her. "Lucky for us, we are in the here and now-married, in love, lightly marinating in post-coital bliss."

"You say the sweetest things," Briar Rose told him. "But we still have to wash off, Monsieur."

-oo00oo-

"But he slipped off the hook, so I didn't get him," Sean complained.

"Next time," his father assured him. "You'll get him next time."

The Sunday table was full of people, food and conversation as the returned Reagans each shared their vacation stories from Fernanda Beach. Frank listened and nodded, passing the platters of ham, succotash and salad around, occasionally glancing at Briar Rose down at the other end of the table.

"So, we've kind of been hogging the conversation," Erin admitted after a while, looking from her father to Briar Rose. "Anything exciting happen here while we were gone?"

"Oh yes," Briar Rose smiled. "I put on a French Maid costume and let your father chase me around the house, in fact."

Everyone broke up for almost a full minute, just as she'd intended, with Henry wheezing so much that George came up and snuffled him out of concern.

"Reeeally?" Danny managed, snorting. "Man, we can't let you parents out of our sight, I guess!"

"That's your father. Troublemaker written all over him," Briar Rose agreed sweetly. "Anyone ready for dessert?" She avoided looking at Frank.

The enthusiastic chorus of 'yes!' had her rising and moving to the kitchen to where the pies sat waiting. She sliced and served them up on dishes, handing them off to Nicky, who set them around the table, but Briar Rose brought in the last one and put it down in front of her husband, who looked up at her impassively.

"Merci," he murmured.

And THAT set off another round of chuckles at the table.

End