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“Miss Fisher?” Jack carefully and gingerly opened the door to Phryne’s boudoir. Based on the sounds coming from the bedroom and Mr. B’s explanation of Phryne’s accidental sunburn, he entered the room with the same cautious attitude as he would maneuver a minefield.
He had often imagined coming into Phryne Fisher’s bedroom but not one his fantasies involved walking in with salve, brandy, a bucket of ice, a pillowcase, and goose feathers. Well, OK, if he was willing to be honest with himself, the brandy and goose feathers might have crossed his mind a time or two…
He shook his head and scolded himself – he was here on a medical mission to care for his partner, not for prurient reasons.
He opened the door a little wider and stuck his head around the door. “Miss Fisher?” Oddly, he didn’t see her. “Phryne?”
“Jack? What are you doing here?”
He continued to look around, from the bed that had obviously been slept in to the sitting area near the fireplace. “Mr. B mentioned you were…under the weather and you might need some assistance.”
Phryne laughed and even though she attempted to come across as bubbly, the sound of pain could be heard, “Well, you could say that. It’s due to being under the weather that I’m in this predicament. I wanted to get a light tan for a party next week and so I took a sunbath in the garden. I must have fallen asleep and stayed out too long because when I woke up this morning, I was a lobster and everything hurts. Running a cold bath seems to be the only thing that makes it feel better.”
It was then he realizes that her voice was coming from behind the room divider – she was in the bathtub! He closed his eyes and attempted to take a calming breath in order to suggest he come back later without having his voice sound like a nervous teen when she said, “Did Mr. B send you up with the salve? He said that he was sure it would make the pain stop.”
Jack kicked himself for having put his embarrassment above his partner’s pain.
“Actually, I have several things that might help in this situation: the salve, some brandy, ice, a pillowcase, and some goose feathers.”
He didn’t have to see the smirk on her face, he could hear it plain as day.
“Inspector, if I didn’t hurt from head to toe, that sounds like the start of a wonderful evening. Ouch! Darn it, this is retched unfair!”
Jack smiled as he laid out the things on her dressing table. “Unfair?”
“You in my boudoir, I’m au natural, and being touched is the last thing I want to consider. Karma is vicious!”
That got a full-fledged laugh out of Jack.
“Let’s just work on getting you better. Do you need any assistance getting out of the tub?”
She paused, then said, “No, I don’t think so but you may hear some rather colorful language.”
She was correct in that she was able to maneuver herself out of the tub independently and Jack learned something new and impressive about his partner – she could swear fluently in Hungarian, Russian, German, and Yiddish. He approved as he always felt swearing was best done in eastern European languages.
A moment later, her face popped out from behind the divider. With no make-up, wet hair plastered to the sides of her face, her blue-gray eyes, and a decidedly pinkish hue, Jack felt she looked like a form of wood nymph peeking from behind cover. She came out wrapped in a white sheet which only emphasized the color of the sunburn. It also emphasized every curve of her body as it clung to her wet skin. It would be wholly a sexual and sensual experience seeing her like this if it weren’t for the pain and discomfort in her eyes.
“Where do you want me to start?” He asked softly.
“My back and legs…”
“Would you be more comfortable standing or on the bed?”
“Probably standing would be best but I just feel so weak…”
Jack laid his accouterment down and went to the door. “Mr. B, when you can could you bring up…”
“I have the ice water right here, sir. I meant to bring it up before.” Stated the near omniscience manservant.
Jack smiled gratefully and thanked him as Phryne called out, “Mr. B, I’m sorry to be such a bother!”
“Nonsense, miss! Taking care of one’s own is not a bother, especially when they are unwell. I’m fixing you some chicken soup and I have lemon ices in the freezer.”
“You are the best, Mr. B!”
Jack nodded his appreciation as well and added, “If there’s any blistering or other signs of sun poisoning, I’ll let you know so you can call Dr. MacMillan.”
From behind him was heard the petulant whine, “Don’t call Mac, she’ll just tease!”
“Now, miss, we would only call in the case of sun poisoning. We will have the lemon ices once we know if Dr. Mac will be joining us.” Mr. B.’s voice took on a rather affectionate and paternalistic tone.
It spoke volumes about how Phryne was feeling that her response was a quiet, apologetic, and equally affectionate, “Yes, Mr. B.”
The question emanating from the younger man’s eyes was “How did you do that?” In a quiet voice, the elder man responded, “Sickness and pain can make even the strongest of us feel like children.” In a louder voice, he mentioned, “If they are needed, there are powders in the bathroom cabinet.”
“Thank you, Mr. B.”
Turning to his patient, Jack fixed her a glass of ice water, took a deep breath, and said, “Alright, drink this and let’s take a look at your back.” Phryne released the one side of the sheet so that her back and legs were now uncovered. The normally beautiful alabaster skin was a dark pink from the hairline all the way down to the feet. That said, it was still beautiful and still Phryne.
“What would you like first, the good news, or the bad news?”
“You’re seeing me nude for the first time and that’s how you react. I think that definitely qualifies as bad news.” She grumbled.
Trying valiantly not to laugh and make her feel worse, he responded. “True, lending you first aid while you were unclothed was not any of the ways…how I imagined…I mean…I didn’t expect you to be all pink…oh Lord, I’m starting to sound like Collins.”
By this time, both of them were laughing.
“Oh wonderful, now I am picturing Collins having to deal with this!”
The laughter got harder and was interspersed with Phryne crying, “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts! Stop laughing, Jack!” and slapping his arm.
After a long while of giggling, glancing at each other, and restarting the giggling, they finally stopped setting each other off.
Jack smirked and said, “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” which got him smacked on the arm again, “The bad news is, you have a quite thorough first-degree sunburn from top to…from head to feet. The good news is I see no blisters which would indicate second-degree burns which would need antiseptic treatment with the brandy.”
“Jack, I’m impressed. Most people aren’t aware of the topical uses for brandy. Medicinal or …otherwise.”
Jack tilted his head at her flirtatiousness and attempted a scowl, then smirked. If she was going to flirt with him in this situation, he felt every right to give as good as he got.
“You learn in the military and in police work to use what is at hand in a medical emergency. And as for the other uses, my mother always taught me not to use a condiment on something without tasting it naturally first. Some things simply taste best as they are.”
Phryne’s eyes widened happily at the retort.
“Are you planning on any taste tests, Jack?”
“Not at this point, Miss Fisher, the serving appears to be a bit over-done.”
That ribbing got him once again thwapped on the arm.
“Now, I’m going to put the salve on your shoulders. Let me know if the pressure is too painful.”
Using the lightest of touches, he smoothed the salve down her neck and over her shoulders. Phryne took a deep breath as the cool balm removed the discomfort which was replaced by a wholly different feeling.
“Am I using too much pressure?”
“No…no…just, just right. It’s just the sudden change of… temperature.”
He finished with her shoulders and arms. “Are you ready for me to work on your back?”
She thought of a half a dozen salacious come-backs but chose, for once, not to make them. “Proceed, Inspector.”
His touch continued to be firm yet gentle, moving over her shoulder blades and down her spine. He smoothed the salve from just behind her breasts across to the spine continuing down the back until she reached the rise of her buttocks. With each pass of his hands, she let out a relieved sigh or was it a purr. Silently, he was memorizing every inch of skin he was stroking and lightly massaging and cataloging each point where she seemed to enjoy it the most. When he stopped the manipulation of her flesh, she let out a small hum of disappointment which caused him to silently smirked.
She turned her head to see what brought on the interruption to see him pick up the feather and dose the sides with the salve. Glancing up and seeing her eye the feather, Jack calmly stated, “I thought this would work well to…abstain from taking any… liberties with… delicate areas.”
Her eyes grew dark and her voice deepened with both lust and amusement when she replied, “Not necessarily, Inspector. Depends on quite a few variables.”
His eyes dropped to her lips, his Adam’s apple bounced, and he tried to remind himself that he was on a mission of mercy.
The feather was light as it brushed against the rise of her buttocks and it took everything Jack had to fight his urges as he wished it was his fingers whispering over that particular area of her flesh, especially when Phryne involuntarily shivered at the touch.
“Still alright? Let me know if anything hurts or feels uncomfortable.”
Phryne took a deep breath before murmuring, “More...more than. The feather was an inspired idea.”
The feather continued ghosting across her skin leaving the cooling salve and more than a few tingles in its wake. Jack closed his eyes and said a prayer for control as he kneeled so that he could moving down her thighs. In this position, he could smell not just the balm and Phryne’s French perfume, he could readily breathe in the essence that was Phryne. It was as intoxicating as the woman herself. His feelings of desire were building with every intake of air.
And then, she giggled.
As he had moved the feather across the back of her knee, she jolted, squealed his name, and giggled.
Jack was shocked out of the mindfulness of lust by the discovery that a, Phryne Fisher giggled, b, Phryne Fisher squealed, and c, Phryne Fisher…was ticklish. He immediately felt that all of these new elements needed to be explored. He reached with the feather and brushed the other side.
“Jaaack! Notfairnotfairnotfair!”
For the next several minutes, throughout Wardlow, the sounds of squeals, curses, laughter, threats of all shapes and sizes, and the chuckled explanation, “I must make sure that the salve has been evenly placed, Miss Fisher!” filled the air.
Silence only came when Mr. B rapped on the door. “Is everything satisfactory, Miss?
Panting breathlessly, Jack announced in a tone reminiscent of a teenage boy, “Mr. B, fascinating discovery – Miss Fisher is ticklish!” This was quickly followed with the equally childish caterwaul, “Mr. B, if I kill him, do I still get an ice lolly?”
In a voice that barely hid his amusement, Tobias Butler instructed through the bedroom door, “I cannot finish the ices if I am assisting in hiding the body, Miss. You will need to prioritize.”
Huffing and chuckling, she pouted, “Allll riiiight, but he’d better sleep with one eye open for the rest of his life. I will be avenged!”
“Understood, Miss.”
“I guess in the interest of later lollies, I will put down the feather and return to utilizing my hands.” Jack’s tone was reminiscent of talking a criminal off a ledge and he was quite sure that never before and never again would he ever say anything quite that ridiculous.
Eyeing him suspiciously, Phryne reiterated, “No more tickling the back of the knees?”
He raised his hand as if in oath and Phryne nodded. He returned to finishing her calves and ankles and, once again, her skin felt like silk as he guided his hands down, massaging and stroking. Her breathing once again became shallow and occasionally he thought he almost heard her purr. He swept his fingers around the top of her foot and …
“Notthetoesnotthetoes!”
Apparently, Jack smirked, as he was learning erotic areas of Miss Fisher, he was also discovering new ticklish areas as well. And while the sight and sound and touch of the skin of woman he adored aroused the adult, twelve-year-old Jack Robinson was in new areas of untapped rapture at discovering exactly where his best friend in the world was ticklish.
And, for one of the rare times since the war, the twelve-year-old won out.
“Really, Miss Fisher? Are you absolutely sure that we should double-check to make sure? I mean, as your best friend and partner, the responsibility to protect you in cases like this…” As he made grabs at her feet and chased her around the room, Phryne hopped back and forth attempting to evade his clutches, giggling and squealing.
“JACK ROBINSON, DON’T YOU DARE!”
“We must be thorough, Miss Fisher!”
“I’ll give you thorough! If you don’t stop, your lips will never touch another gratin again in this house!”
Phryne attempted to elude him by crossing the bed but Jack caught her by the waist. By the time that the laughing and squealing stopped, they were both sprawled sideways across her bed, facing each other, heavy breathing interrupted sporadically by chuckles.
“You…are…a…brute!”
“Now, how do you like that? I come on an errand of mercy, to minister to you through sickness and self-induced injury, try to be as thorough and skillful as possible and all I get for my trouble is assault, suggestions of death, and serious threats against my gratin privileges!”
“Merely because instead of completing the job, you stopped twice to torture me! You have left me quite…”
Her teasing eyes moved from his down her own, still rather red, body.
“…unfinished. That’s not very professional of you.”
Once again, Jack’s Adam’s apple bobbed as did other elements of his anatomy.
“I very much intend to finish what I started. That said, referencing that this is in a professional capacity suggests that I am doing this for payment and that I have prior experience. I can assure you that this is the first time I have ever rendered such assistance to a lady.”
Phryne stared at his lips and smiled.
“So this was your virginal attempt at massage?” She stroked his tie as she spoke. “I must commend you for being such a quick learner. And, as for compensation, I’m sure that we can work… something out.”
Jack made a short frown but tilted his head so that she was sure he wasn’t really annoyed. “Miss Fisher, as Mr. B has already mentioned, taking care of one’s own is not a bother, especially when they are unwell. You getting well is the compensation.”
“Am I, Jack, am I your own?” Her eyes seemed unreadable but her voice held layers of questions.
“You are, as you always have been, very much your own person, but, as we are partners, caring for you when you need me is an aspect of our multi-faceted relationship. You have my back and I have yours.”
Good answer. A smirk crossed her face. “You may have my back but you have completely ignored my front.”
Humor and something deeper, darker, and sexier ghosted across his eyes.
“I assure you, I haven’t.” It seemed to her as though his timbre of his voice dropped into smoke sending shivers through her. She found herself staring at his lips trying to telekinetically will them to join with hers. When she brought her eyes back to his, she rolled to her back and languidly stretched her arms over her head and said, “Well, I guess it’s time we get back to the matter at hand, don’t you think?”
He moved over her never taking his eyes off her and her breath hitched. Was this going to be the moment when they crossed the line? He scooped more salve onto his long fingers and slowly, almost erotically, she thought, spread it across his hands to warm it.
“Too true.” He murmured.
He smoothed the cream gently across her forehead, then cupped her face to spread it over her nose, cheeks and jaw. His fingers ghosted around her lips as sweetly and lovingly as any kiss. She found her breathing getting faster and she felt as though she wanted to moan from the pleasure. His hand reached under her head to cradle her as he slowly stroked her neck, across her collar bone, and down to her shoulders. Not one area of her arms went untouched by his fingers and when he got to her hands, he held one and massaged each finger in turn before using his thumbs to massage her palms. Phryne didn’t think she had ever been treated with such care and attention.
Jack’s determination to keep this medical situation from turning into an erotic one was now bordering on painful but he knew he had to hold out for the long game – to teach Phryne Fisher that there was more to loving someone and making love than mere sex. He wanted to make it clear to his partner and the woman who had stolen his heart that his love for her saw sex as an element of love, not the goal. This was not to say that it wasn’t taking every ounce of willpower not to start down that path as parts of him were definitely not in agreement with the plan, especially now that he needed to address Phryne’s breasts.
Ironically, even though they had never been lovers, hers were the only ones he had seen since long before his divorce, and he had to admit to himself that he had a great appreciation for them. They weren’t large but they were quite well proportioned and, simply said, as lovely as the rest of her. As he scooped some more salve into his hands, he warmed it by rubbing it between his palms. Gently, he moved across her upper chest, gradually moving down between her breasts. With a touch as light as the feathers he had previously used, he started near her tightening, pebbling nipple, and worked outward. He felt her shivering breaths but couldn’t risk allowing his eyes to meet hers for fear that the passion he knew would be in his, would be in hers as well. He knew if he saw it, the ultimate goal would be lost. When he had finished with the first, and turn to obtain more cream, he allowed himself a deep breath before starting on the other breast. As he began again, cradling her breast and moving around the nipple, Phryne tried to laugh off the moan she felt and joked,
“You would have made a fine physician, Ja-Jack. I can’t think of any time when, when I have so appreciated…medical care like this. I <gasp> have no doubt you’d have patients <whimper> lined up for blocks.”
Hearing all the emotional and physical reactions in her voice, he took a deep breath and stated in a voice equally deep with emotion, “I believe that my practice would be fully filled caring for one very singular patient.”
Her eyes were dark as a midnight sky when she murmured, “I guess it’s best you aren’t a doctor then, as I would never again want to get well.”
Jack gently stroked a lock of hair from her face, tenderly swept his lips across the skin of her forehead, and started caressing the balm into her abdomen. “I must agree, better your partner with some first aid training than your physician as I want you to accomplish everything you desire to.”
She nuzzled her head into his chest as he slowly stopped the massage but did not remove his hand from her abdomen. He kissed her sweetly on the top of her head and she chuckled as she looked up at him and placed her hand on his cheek, her thumb brushing his lips. “I have spent hours in this room completely naked getting first aid and I have had more fun, and felt more cherished, more pampered today than I ever remember and the closest thing to illicit that occurred was being blackmailed with a lemon lolly by my butler.” Gazing deep into his eyes, Phryne’s voice became quiet and loving as she finished, “And I feel very much as though I have been made love to, maybe for the first time in my life by the best partner any woman has ever had.”
On hearing that, Jack leaned his face so that his lips were gently grazing hers and whispered, “I can think of nothing I would like better than to spend my life finding new ways to make you feel loved.”
And, with that, he closed the gap and began what became a life-long investigation by starting with an in-depth mapping and exploration of her lips.
Enjoyment of the ice lollies came several hours later.