Now rated "M" for the contents of this last chapter.

Author's possibly triggering note: Rightio. With the anonymity of the internet on my side, I want to say something. Just over four weeks ago, I tried to commit suicide. A few day afterwards, I signed onto this site and began to write fanfiction as a project to improve my mental health by providing myself with simple, enjoyable writing tasks to complete. SO to those of you who have supported me in my writing by reading and reviewing - by kind words and clear interest – thank you. You don't know how much it means to me.

Ok. *clears throat* With all that icky self-pity out of the way: I give you the final chapter of Brown Rice and Kerosene, complete with smut (because we all know I just can't help myself…)

)(

The sound of Dot collecting discarded clothing and the unlit kerosene lantern on her way out of the room is enough to rouse Phryne from her sleep. But Jack's hand is smoothing over her hair and she decides to remain still for a bit longer and just enjoy the sensation of his body beneath her.

The door closes, Dot's footsteps recede down the hall, and Jack drops a kiss onto Phryne's head.

"Good morning," he says, voice still rough from sleep, as he notices her half-open eyes.

Phryne smiles and tightens her grip around Jack's torso. There is a wonderful intimacy to waking up beside him like this, despite the innocence of the way they spent their night together. "G'morning," she replies, voice muffled by the kiss she places against Jack's shirt buttons, "is this a dream?"

Jack's face breaks into a smile and he quotes from the small book in his hand: "Is it thy will thy image should keep open my heavy eyelids to the weary night?"

Phryne lifts her eyes to Jack's face and laughs softly as she replies, "It is my love that keeps mine eyes awake; mine own true love that dost my rest defeat." She watches as a look of cautious hope spreads across Jack's face, and hurries to assure him in her own words. "Surely you know by now? How much…how much I love you? I tried to deny it to myself, to save myself from the chance of heartache, but I cannot bury it any longer. Jack, tell me I'm not alone in this? Tell me you won't turn me away?"

Jack's face goes blank, his pulse jumping in his throat, and for a long, terrible moment, Phryne thinks she has lost him forever. But then his eyes focus sharply on her face and he pulls her up his body in a sudden surge of emotion.

"God, how could I turn you away, you daft woman? When I feel…when I love you, just the same?" Jack's lips brush Phryne's mouth as he speaks. Then the distance between them is gone, their lips meeting for a kiss heartbreaking in its desperation.

Phryne's hands find purchase in the sleep-messed waves of Jack's hair as she kisses him frantically: unwilling to open her eyes for fear he will pull away and demand they slow down.

But Jack has no intention of slowing down, never mind stopping. The dam wall has burst; the emotions he's kept tightly controlled for so long are running rampant over his self-control; and he can think of nothing but getting closer to Phryne, body and soul. He moans into the kiss as Phryne wiggles against him and it is with shaking fingers that he seeks the silk belt keeping her kimono closed. When Phryne's fingers tangle with his to work on the knot, Jack abandons the task in favour of running a hand up Phryne's leg - up under the hem of the kimono, up her thigh, only to falter at the realisation that there is nothing under the robe. No silk or lace knickers, just bare skin and such exquisite wetness waiting for him when he lets his fingers brush higher.

"Jack!"

-and how he's dreamt of hearing her say his name like that, on his loneliest nights. He just never really expected it to come true.

Phryne's fingers finally unknot her robe and the silk parts to reveal her pale body to Jack's hungry eyes. He traces his fingertips along the edge of the robe where it lies against her skin, smiling at the way Phryne sighs and wiggles when he teases her with the promise of a caress. But she has never been a woman to lie back and think of England. Her own hands pluck at the buttons of Jack's shirt, slide his braces from his shoulders, and press cheekily against his crotch as she begins to unbutton his fly.

"Phryne…" Jack shrugs out of his shirt and helps Phryne to push his trousers and undershorts down and away. Her kimono is likewise shrugged away to fall to the floor and at last they lie naked, wrapped in each other's' arms.

All the frantic motions of the last few minutes subside into a breathless pause as each allows the truth of the moment to sink in. No more advance and retreat. No more teasing and disappointment. Just…love. Love admitted, love given and accepted.

It is Jack who moves first. He rises on one arm to lean over Phryne as she slides onto her back and offers herself to him. A hand traced over Phryne's collarbone, across a breast and down her stomach causes her to shiver and moan his name.

"Wait," Phryne whispers. Jack immediately stills, making to roll away, though he feels as if he has just had the greatest of prizes snatched away from him. Phryne must see his confusion on his face, because she tilts her head and kisses him in reassurance. "No, I just mean – Jack, how do you normally avoid the chance of pregnancy in your lovers?"

"Lovers? You think highly of my skills, Miss Fisher. I've not got women knocking down my door," he teases. "But, uh, when I've had occasion to need such…peace of mind…"

"Condoms?" she asks bluntly, amused when Jack's blush confirms it. "You know those are illegal for the purposes of contraception, darling. And I doubt you are a disease-ridden brothel attendee."

Jack buries his crimson face in her neck. "I'm well aware of the law, Miss Fisher. I won't tell if you don't." When Phryne giggles beneath him, Jack is reminded of the urgency of their situation.

Phryne grins. "Hand me that case from the bedside table? No, not..yes, that one."

Jack does as he is bid, watching with arousal mixed with curiosity as Phryne opens the case, removes a rubber diaphragm, and inserts it without a modicum of embarrassment. "I've always found it better to be in charge of my own reproductive future," she admits as she pulls a flushing Jack back on top of her.

"My headstrong woman," Jack mutters against her mouth. The kiss quickly turns dirty as their bodies demand more. Resting on his elbows above her, Jack can feel Phryne's body brushing against his cock as she arches into his kisses. When Phryne wraps her legs around Jack's hips, he needs no further encouragement.

"Jack…oh, God." The words seem ripped from Phryne's throat as Jack pushes inside her. He savours the feeling of joining with her but it isn't long before his body – and Phryne's moans of encouragement – force him to begin moving.

He can't stop kissing her though, so he keeps his hips close and lets his lips grace over Phryne's face as she raises her hips to meet his increasingly forceful thrusts. The emotions of the previous night combine with the physical sensations of her body surrounding him and Jack begins a headlong race towards the peak of pleasure.

Phryne's feet are planted on the bed now, giving her the leverage to push up to meet him as he twists his hips and draws gasps from her throat. When he realises that the tension in his body is coming to a head, Jack shifts his weight to one elbow and reaches down to the place where his body and Phryne's are joined. The moment he presses his fingers against Pryne's clit, she sucks in a breath and arches her back beneath him.

"Jack! Again, please…"

All capacity for thought or restraint gone, Jack leans one hip on the bed beside Phryne and lets his instincts take over. His fingers work against her sex, his hips snap forward as his arousal winds tighter, and when Phryne suddenly gasps and tightens around him, he lets his orgasm take him with a sob of relief.

..

It is late morning before they deign to leave the bed. By the time Phryne induces Jack to join her in the enormous malachite bathtub she possesses, they have sated their desire no less than three times. Jack isn't sure how he's managed to regain the vigour of his youth, but he thinks that the dark-haired minx who's declared her love for him is to thank.

Phryne is leaning back against Jack's chest in the shoulder-deep hot water of the tub, enjoying the way his hands run along her shoulders and palm her breasts, when she decides to raise the topic that has been niggling at her mind since she first challenged Jack to share his thoughts with her in the light of a kerosene lantern.

"Jack?"

"Mmm?" he replies, relaxed and warm behind her.

"I know I don't have a convincing record when it comes to long-term relationships, but…would you be willing to try? With me?"

Jack's reply comes in the form of his arms coming to wrap protectively around her as his lips press against her ear:

"In a heartbeat."

)(

And's that's it for this story! Perhaps I'll revisit the situation in a future fic, once Infinite Variety is completed. I hope you have enjoyed the final chapter.