Gloria-May had been gone for an hour when there was a knock at the front door.  Jacintah had a heart-stopping moment when she thought it might be Jack.  But what greeted her at the door was a large bunch of roses.
   “Flowers for Jacintah Lawly.”  A voice came from beyond the flowers.  A young man’s head popped up above the blooms.
   “Um….thanks.”  Jacintah was speechless.  She knew without doubt they’d come from Jack.
   “There’s a package as well.  I need you to sign for it.”  Suddenly Jacintah felt really angry.  He was trying to buy her.
   “Send it back and the flowers, too.”
   “I can’t take the flowers back, Ma’am.  Policy, ya know.”  The young man felt surprise at her refusal.  Whoever had sent them must have spent a fortune.
   “Well, take them to the hospital or something.  I don’t want them.”
   “well, if that’s what you want.  You’ll need to take the card though.”
   “Very well.”  She snatched the card from between the blooms.  “I’m sorry”  She didn’t know why she said it, but the youth seemed to understand.
   She didn’t read the card straight away.  In fact, it was 10pm before she gave in to her curiosity.  The whole time she’d been playing, bathing and feeding her children, it had been on her mind.  One minute she’d been vowing to throw it away, unread, the next she was aching for the sight of his handwriting.  So she sat, gazing at it sitting there on the coffee table, sipping coffee, and trying to imagine what Jack had written.  Finally, unable to resist any longer, she reached for it.  A ton of emotions assailed her as she read the words.

   Jacintah, I’m sorry.  I was wrong.  I love you.  Please forgive me.  I need
   you with me.  You and your children have become my life.  Please give
   me the chance to make it up to you.  I love you.  Jack.
   
   Oh, God.  What was she going to do?  She loved him so much.  Maybe it wasn’t such a big mistake he’d made.  But then again, he’d lied to her, kept her in the dark, played her for a fool.  Oh, but he made her feel so good, challenged her, and the boys loved him.  She was so confused.
   The next day, at 4pm, the young man turned up again.  This time it was yellow roses and a parcel.  Again she only kept the card.  The sentiments in the card were the same, only the wording different.  For the next two weeks the delivery man called everyday.  Everyday she took the card and sent the rest away.
   On the fifteenth day, the huge bouquets stopped.  Instead there was one ruby red rosebud.  Jacintah kept it, more overwhelmed by this one flower than she’d been by any of the bouquets.  The parcel she again sent back.  She didn’t want his gifts.  Jacintah had barely closed the door on the delivery man, when there was another knock.  Jacintah was stunned when she opened the door to see Jonathon Stamford Senior on her doorstep.
   “Hello, Jacintah.  May I come in?”
   “Um..okay..sure”  She stood back to let him enter.  “Why are you here, Mr Stamford?  Jack’s not here, if you’re looking for him.”
   “I know he’s not here, and that’s why I am.”
   “In that case, I don’t think there’s anything much to say.”
   “You, my dear, mightn’t have much to say, but I do.  So if we could sit down, I’ll say what I came to say and then leave.”  Jacintah suddenly realised the older man was angry, with her.  She led the way to the lounge, feeling tense and defensive.  After they were seated she eyed him warily.
   “So, what do you want to say, Mr Stamford/”
“Jack.  He had his reasons, valid reasons, for what he did.  He knows he should have told you, and he was going to.”
   “When?  In a week, a month, a year?”
   “No!  The day Angelica was born.  Remember he came round.  He was going to tell you then, but..”
   “I went into labour.  How did know what he came round for?”
   “We were talking about it.  He was saying he had to tell you, but he was afraid of how you would react.  I told him, if he loved you, he had to have faith in you.  If he explained himself, and you loved him, you’d be okay about it.”
   “So he came to tell me, but Angelica came instead.”
   “Yes.  He later told me that seeing Angelica born was the best thing he’d ever seen.  He also said he’d rather have you and no money, than all the money in the world.  It’s the first time a person has come first for him, he’s always been in love with his empire.  But since you shut him out, he hasn’t spent a day tending his business.  He’s a mess, Jacintah, because he loves you.”
   “Then why did he lie?  I can’t help but think he only wanted to keep me from suing Lynal Wool Mills.”
   “Do you really think that?  You didn’t know he owned it.  If he thought that, he wouldn’t have dated you, he would have made you an offer.”
   “Oh, God.  I know that.  It’s just…it hurt so bad.  I fell in love with a man who kept part of himself hidden.”
   “The unimportant part, Jacintah.  Sure, money nice.  I should know, I have lots of it.  But it doesn’t mean much if you’ve no-one to share it with, and someone to love.”
   “Why didn’t he tell me?”
   “Well.. many women have tried to snare Jack, because of his money and status, not because of who he really is.  When Jack met you, he was a goner, and I can see why.”  Jonathon smiled, Jacintah returned it tremulously. “Then he realised you didn’t know who or what he was.  He hoped you’d grow to love him, but he had to be sure it was him and not his money.”
   “But I don’t care about money.  It wouldn’t have mattered if he was poor.”
   “He knew you felt that way, but he also knew you didn’t like rich people very much.  Why is that?”
   “It was because of rich people that my father died.  He owned a small business.  He was doing okay, until people with more money than humanity made him go bust.  He never recovered from it.  He just wasted away, he lost the will to live.  He died in my arms.”
   “I’m terribly sorry, Jacintah.  But not all rich people are like that.  Do you know what Jack does?”
   “Other than make money?”
   “Yes.  Before Jack took the reins of Stamford Companies, it was just like the people who destroyed your father.  But Jack changed that.  Instead of ruining small businesses, he works with them, for everyone’s best interests.  When he buys a struggling company, he doesn’t retrench everyone and bring in his own people.  He improves the management, and as the business improves, more people get hired.  He likes his companies to job share, so more people get hired.  Some people’s salaries go down, but less people are unemployed.  He’s all for At-home workers, like you.  He doesn’t believe in just making money, he wants to help people too.”
   “I didn’t realise.  No stories about him mention it.”
   “Of course they don’t.  It isn’t what people want to hear, they want to hate the big boys, not like them.”
   “Have I got him all wrong?”
   “Probably.  Give him a chance, Jacintah.  He loves you more than anything else in the world.”
   “Can you do me a favour, Mr Stamford?”
   “Anything, as long as you call me Jonathon.”
   “Okay, Jonathon.  Can you tell Jack that a single red rose means more than all the diamonds in the world.  I think he’ll understand.”
   The knock came again.
   “Okay, I’m coming.”  Jacintah was feeling rather frazzled.  The boys had been playing up since Jonathon left, and Angelica refused to settle.  “Boys, would you play nice, please.  Just watch your sister.  I’ve got to answer the door.”  The knock came again.  Angelica started wailing as Jacintah left the room.  She threw open the front door.  “I’m sorry I took so long… I… Jack?  You look awful.”
   “Hello, Jacintah.  You look beautiful.”
   “Oh, Jack.  I’m glad to see you, but now is not a good time.”  Angelica’s cries increased.  “I’ve got to see to her.  Oh… look… come in.  I’m sorry, come in, please.”  When the boys saw Jack they stopped fighting and immediately had him playing a game.  Jacintah picked up Angelica and her crying stopped. ‘Typical’  Jacintah thought. ‘they only play up for me.’
   Several hours later Jacintah flopped onto the couch with a sigh.  The boys had finally agreed to go to bed, but only because Jack had agreed to tuck them in and read them a story.  Jacintah had managed to get Angelica fed and settled.  With any luck she’d sleep all night.  Boy, was she tired.  She laid her head back and closed her eyes.
   “Jacintah?  Wake up, honey.”  Jacintah’s eyes opened to find Jack face inches from her own.
   “Oh, heavens!  I didn’t mean to fall asleep.  I just closed my eyes for a second.”
   “It’s okay, sweetheart.  You look like you could sleep for a week.  So what would you rather, a bed or a cuppa?”
   “Actually, a cuppa.  We haven’t had a chance to be alone all afternoon.  And we do need to talk.”
   “You’re right.  You sit there, and I’ll make it.  Don’t fall asleep.”  He touched her cheek gently.  She shivered under his touch.  His eyes darkened as his caressing hand cupped her face.  His smouldering gaze roamed her face before lighting on her mouth.  Then he kissed her.  A sweet, tender kiss that made her toes curl.  She could feel herself being swept away on a wave of passion as he deepened   the kiss, coaxing her lips apart and plundering the depths of her mouth.  She gently broke the kiss and looked up into his eyes.  They blazed with passion. 
   “The coffee?”
   “Oh, yeah.”  He quickly got to his feet.  “Don’t go anywhere.”  She smiled.
   “I won’t.”  Jacintah tried to collect her thoughts.  The kiss had shattered her.  She found it hard to believe that one kiss could affect her so deeply.  Molten rivers of desire flowed through her body.  The last thing she wanted to do was talk, but in her heart she knew they had to.  When Jack returned with the coffee he sat down next to Jacintah on the sofa.  He took one of her hands in his.
   “Can I ask you a question?  It’s been on my mind for quite some time.”  Jacintah looked up at him.  He seemed braced for rejection.
   “Sure, anything.”  She smiled reassuringly.
   “Why so you hate rich people so much?”
   “Didn’t your Dad tell you?”  She was surprised.
   “I didn’t realise he knew.”  It was Jack turn to look surprised.
   “We talked about it when he came round earlier.”
   “My Dad was here?  Today?”  Jack looked annoyed.
   “I gave him a message to give to you.  I thought that was why you came around.”
   “I came around because I missed you like crazy, and I wanted to explain why I did what I did.”
   “Your Dad did that for you.  I understand now.  I know it was nothing personal, you just had to be sure my feelings were genuine.”
   “And just what are your feelings, may I ask?”  He grinned wickedly.
   “I… I care about you a great deal.”  She grinned
   “Care about me!”  Jack spluttered.  He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her soundly.  “Don’t play with me, Jacintah.”  His voice was serious and his eyes burned with passion.  “I love you more than anything.  I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t love me.”
   “Oh, Jack.  I do love you.  There’s just so much you don’t know about me and where I come from.”
   “I know that, unlike me, your life isn’t on the public record.  But I can find out if you tell me.”
   “Some of my life is on the public record, just not the worst part.”  Jack noticed the sadness in her eyes.  He pulled her into his arms.  Jacintah rested her head on his shoulder.
   “Please tell me, Jacintah.”
   “What do you want to know?”
   “Well, start with why you hate the rich, and we’ll go from there.”
   “Do you want the long version or the short?”
   “How about however it comes out?”  Jack squeezed her shoulder.  Jacintah took a sip of coffee, than a deep breath.
   “Okay then.”  She paused.  “I was a late life baby.  My mum was 35, my dad 40.  My youngest brother was 10 when I was born.  My parents had me in the hope of holding their marriage together.  It failed and they divorced when I was 4.  I was a real Daddy’s girl.  I loved my Dad more than anything.  I spent nearly every weekend with him, even after my Mum remarried.  By the time I was 7 I was helping him with the business.”
   “The business?”
   “Yeah.  My Dad ran a spare parts shop, specialist spare parts.  If he didn’t have what you wanted, he’d make it himself.  And he did quite well until about 14 years ago, when I was 10.  I was spending more and more time with him.  My life at home was pretty bad.  My Dad tried to step in, but Mum told him she’d fix it.  She didn’t, but that’s a different story.  When I was 10, a new company came to the area.  Bearing Enterprises.”  Jacintah felt Jack stiffen but continued on, lost in her memories.  “They were big, with lots of money.  They bought out several other businesses, including two that my brothers worked for.  My brothers didn’t find out who they were until it was too late.  Bearing’s tried to pressure my Dad into selling.  They owned a spare parts company that could get or make the parts cheaper.  They wanted Dad’s shop for a new office.  But Dad refused to sell.  So they set up their own place and undercut Dad.  They threatened him, cajoled him and finally resorted to various illegal practices.  Like breaking in and trashing the shop.  They even tried to burn the down.  We knew it was them, they always left a calling card.”
   “What sort of calling card?”
   “A small plastic part that only they made.”
   “Didn’t you get the police in?”
   “Every time.  They always said there was no proof.  Dad and I came to the conclusion that Bearing was somehow bribing the cops.  We couldn’t prove it though.  My brothers finally realised who’d bought their workplaces and quit.  But Dad never forgave them.  He felt they’d betrayed him.  He’d given them all a start in their careers.  We battled Bearing for two years until Dad went bust.  He lost everything, including his house.  For the first time in his life he had to get by on the dole, and he had to rent a tiny flat for an exorbitant amount.  Bearing gloated over his loss.  They even sent him a letter saying he should never have tried to play ball with the big guys, because they always won.  It broke his heart.  Everything he worked for was gone.”  Jacintah paused to wipe away tears that welled in her eyes.
   “Over the next twelve months he wasted away.  He lost the will to live, he was like a man 30 years older.  I spent as much time with him as I could.  I went to his place after school on my thirteenth birthday.  We sat and talked, and it was almost like old times.  I decided to stay for tea.  My Mum wasn’t too happy, and my stepfather was livid.  So they went out for my birthday dinner without me.  I went and made Dad and myself dinner while he watched his news programs.  When I came in with the meal, my Dad was swearing at the TV.  Something I’d never seen him do before.  He was white as a sheet and he was gripping the chair arms so tight I thought he was going to rip them off.”  Jacintah stopped.  Jack looked down and saw the silent tears streaming down her cheeks.  He wanted to stop her pain but knew there wasn’t anything he could do until she finished.
   “When I looked to the TV, they were doing a story on the Bearing Enterprises success story.  I tried to turn it off, but Dad looked at me with such hatred that I backed off and sat down.  Dad cursed and yelled at the TV until the story ended.  Then he stood up and turned it off.  When he turned back to look at me he had tears rolling down his face.  He handed me a safe deposit box key and told me it held the paperwork for the last three years of the business.  Then he said to me in this tiny voice - ‘They took my livelihood, they cost me everything, but your love.  They’ve killed me.’ - Then he just collapsed.  I was crying and I didn’t know what to do.  I rang an ambulance and I tried to save him, but I didn’t know how.  So I sat on the floor and rocked him, and he died in my arms.  He didn’t want to go on living, so he died.  On my thirteenth birthday…  As he lay dying in my arms I vowed I’d make Bearing Enterprises pay for killing my father.  He was only 53 for Christ’s sake, but they killed him anyway.  Them and their money.”  Jacintah buried her face in Jack’s chest and cried her heart out.  Jack held her close as tears rolled down his own cheeks.
   Jack held her until her sobs eased.  When she lifted her head he gently soothed away her tears with his thumbs and kissed her tenderly.
   “Thank you for telling me, Jacintah.  It means a lot to me that you could.  I’d like to help you bring Bearing Enterprises to justice, if you’ll let me?”
   “But how?”
   “Part of my involvement in big business is to keep an eye on other companies to make sure they are playing by the rules.  We’ve had our eye on Bearing for a while, but we’ve had a bit of trouble getting proof.  Some people are afraid to talk.”  He paused to study her face.  “You said your Dad had a safe deposit box with paperwork in it?”  He paused again until she nodded.  “Do you know if any of the letters from Bearing are in it?”
   “I know they are, all of them.  And the little plastic bits from the break-in and fire.  Would you like to see them?”
   “Have you got them here?”  Jack was tense as he waited for her answer.
   “Yes.  If you wait a minute, I’ll go and get them.”  Jack followed her as she went into her study.  He watched as she pulled up a section of carpet from beneath her desk and fiddled with something under the floor.  A few seconds later she stood up holding a metal box.  She brought it into the lounge and set it on the coffee table before resuming her seat.  “I had the floor safe put in specially soon after we moved in.  I never told Kane about it, or my father.  He wouldn’t have understood.”  From a locket around her neck she pulled a small key, and opened the box.  Inside were several bundles of papers, some plastic bits and several thousand dollars in cash.
   “What’s the cash for?”
   “Dad started saving it when Bearing came to town.  I think he knew what was going to happen, he wanted to leave me something.”
   “What’s in each of these bundles?”
   “The bottom three are the financial papers for the year before and the two years after Bearing arrived.  I also have the complete financial records, from the time Dad started, until he went bust, stored elsewhere.  The top bundle is all the paperwork to do with Bearing Enterprises.  There are copies of the letters Dad sent and all the letters from Bearing.  I have copies of all the paperwork safely hidden.”
   “You made copies of everything?”
   “Yes.  Even this tape.”  She pulled a cassette from the box.  “Dad had an answering machine.  After the threats started he taped every phone call.  He kept all the tapes and recorded off everything from Bearing onto this tape.  He dated each message.  I have the originals, plus copies.  I figured if something legal was to happen, Bearing might try to get rid of any proof.”
   “That could mean you too.  Are you prepared to take that risk?”
   “If I have to, I will.  As long as my children are safe.  My Dad was the most important person in my life.  His death happened because of the greed of someone else.  I owe it to him.”
   “Well, I think we can help you.  This is the kind of proof we’ve been looking for.  I’ll need to borrow all this stuff though.”
   “Sure, just don’t lose any of it.”
   “I won’t and I won’t let you down.  I want to prove to you that money can do good things too.”
   Jack left soon after armed with the metal box.  He promised to come around on Saturday, and he’d ring if he had any news sooner.  Jacintah felt like a huge burden had been lifted, and slept well for the first time in years.  It was only Angelica’s wails of hunger that woke her just after 6am.
   Jacintah didn’t hear from Jack until he came around on Saturday morning.  He was smiling broadly as he picked her up and gave her a big hug and kiss.
   “The Industry watchdog has asked me to thank you.  Your evidence is enough to lay charges against Bearing Enterprises and put them out of business for good.  And you won’t have to be named, or give any evidence at trial.  You will be left right out of it, and therefore you won’t be in danger and neither will your children.”
   “You’re kidding.”
   “Nope.  Your proof is going to do what your Dad couldn’t.  He would be very proud of you.”  Tears sprang to Jacintah’s eyes.
   “Yeah, he would.  And he’d be very grateful to you.  Thank you, Jack.”
   “Anything for you, Jacintah.  Anything.”  He hugged her again.  “Now to celebrate I think we should all go out to lunch.  What do you think, Daniel and Michael?”  the boys had been standing in the doorway watching the exchange between Jacintah and Jack.  Their faces broke into huge grins.
   “Can we?  Can we?  Can we have hamburgers?”
   “And chips?”
   “And lots of ice-cream?”
   “Can we Mum, please?”
   “Well, can we, Mum?”  Jack joined their chorus.  Jacintah started laughing.
   “Of course we can.”  The boys launched themselves at her in delight.
   “Can Gloria-May come too, Jack?”  Daniel looked pleadingly at Jack.
   “Well, we’d have to ask her.  But I don’t mind, the more the merrier.”
   Gloria-May was delighted to be asked, and happily took charge of the children during the day.  Jack invited them to dinner at the Stamford Estate, and lunch turned into a sleep-over.  Jacintah was a little concerned that the children wouldn’t sleep in a strange house, but by 10pm all three of them were sound asleep.  Gloria-May said she’d see to them in the morning, and told Jacintah to take the opportunity to sleep.  As Angelica had had to be put onto a formula due to lactose intolerance, Jacintah acquiesced and thanked her gratefully.


   Once everyone else had gone to bed, Jack led Jacintah to a room on the top floor of the mansion.  When he opened the door Jacintah gasped in delight.  Behind the door was the most beautiful bedroom Jacintah had ever seen.  The decor was romantic without being overly feminine.  The room was dominated by a large four-poster bed.
   “Oh, Jack.  It’s beautiful.  Whoever decorated it has exquisite taste.”  Jack led her further into the room and closed the door behind them.
   “I decorated it.  It’s my room.  I want to show you something.”  Jacintah shivered with a mixture of apprehension and expectation.  Jack looked down at her and smiled a slow, sexy smile.  “I’m not going to pounce on you … yet.”  He went over to a door on the far wall and opened it.  Beyond it lay a huge walk-in robe which he disappeared in to.  When he returned he was carrying a large box.  “In here are all the gifts I bought you, that you returned.  I still want you to have them.  I wasn’t trying to buy you, I just like to treat the woman I love.  I’d like you to open and see the things I chose for you.”
   “Now?”
   “Yes, now.”  He placed the box on the bed and beckoned her over.  She crossed to the bed nervously, then figured ‘what the hell.’  She slipped off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the middle of the bed.  Jack sat to one side and eyed her expectantly.
   “Which one do I open first?”  Jack upended the box.  The fifteen presents tumbled onto the bed.  Jacintah hadn’t really looked at them when the delivery man had brought them, but now she noticed that although the wrapping paper was expensive, whoever had wrapped them obviously hadn’t done it much before.  “Did you wrap these, Jack?”
   “Yes, I did.  As you can see, I’m not very good at it.  Why don’t you start with this one?”  He handed her an odd-shaped package.  Jacintah took it and carefully began to unwrap it.  “Why don’t you just rip it open?”
   “Because the paper can be used again.”
   “Oh. I guess I don’t think about things like that.”  Jacintah gave him a look that said ‘of course you don’t’, and continued to unwrap the gift.  Inside was a small sculpture.  It was the  work of a beginner, but there was no doubt it was meant to be Jacintah.  She gasped with pleasure.  “Do you like it?  I mad it myself.”
   “I love it, Jack.  It’s beautiful.  I’ll treasure it always.  Now, which one’s next?”
   “Well, I don’t mind.  But I think we’ll leave this one to last.”  He picked up a small box.  Jacintah eyed him curiously, but his face remained passive.  So Jacintah simply picked up another present and opened it.
   She spent the next half an hour opening gifts.  The contents ranged from dresses to jewellery.  All of it was in exquisite taste and very beautiful.  Jacintah felt like a princess, but she knew the sculpture would be her favourite forever.
   “So, what’s in the last box, Jack?”  She looked down at him as he reclined on the pillow.
   “You sure you want to see?”  Jack had a twinkle in his eye.  “I think we’ll just move all these others first.  This one might take up a lot of room.”
   “That little box?”
   “The biggest surprises come in the smallest boxes.”  Jacintah suddenly felt her heart start beating incredibly fast.  She silently helped Jack move the other gifts off the bed.  She was concerned the box might contain a marriage proposal, something she knew she wasn’t ready for.  Jack noticed the worried look on her face.  He knew what she was thinking, but her wanted her on edge, like he was.  When they’d cleared the bed, Jack lay back down on the bed with his hands behind his head.  Jacintah sat on the side of the bed furthest from him.  She picked up the box and opened it with her back to him.  Inside was a piece of satin, that turned out to be an incredibly sexy nightgown.  She felt the bed move and then Jack warm breath on her neck.  She shivered as his lips caressed her skin.
   “Do you like it?”
   “It’s …. It’s lovely.”  He ran his fingers down her arms and continued to kiss her neck.  In between kisses he spoke, his voice low and husky.
   When I saw it I imagined how it would look on you.  Imagined what it would be like to slip it off your body and gaze at your naked body, to..”
   “Jack… I..”  Jacintah sprang up from the bed.  Jack followed her and pulled her into his arms.
   “I’m sorry, Jacintah.  I’m rushing you, aren’t I?  Look, we can go as slow as you like.  I can wait.  It’ll be hard, I dream of it a lot.  But I’ll wait.”  He tilted her chin up and kissed her on the nose.
   “I dream of it too, Jack.  But I’m scared.  Kane always said I was frigid.  I don’t want to disappoint you.”
   “You could never disappoint me, Jacintah.  I’ve felt the way you respond when I touch you.  You’re not frigid.  You’re a beautiful, sexy, desirable woman, who needs to be loved, slowly, tenderly, until your inner passion breaks through.  I won’t ask for any more than you can give.”
   “Jack?”  She looked up at him with passion and love burning in her eyes.  “Make love to me, please.”
   “No.”  Then he smiled.  “But I will make love with you.”  He bent his head and kissed her with all the passion held in check for so long.  Jacintah’s heart raced and tendrils of fire licked from her belly up to her breasts and down to her groin.  Her nipples hardened and strained against the fabric of her bra.  His hands slid down her back to cup her behind.  He pulled her into his body and she felt his desire push into her stomach.  It caused such a rush of feelings that she went weak at the knees.
   Without breaking the kiss Jack picked her up and carried her to the bed.  He laid her down and gently and followed.  He broke the kiss to travel with his mouth down her neck.  His fingers found the buttons on the front of her dress and slowly undid them and removed it.  He ran his hands down her body, sweeping over her breasts and stomach before travelling the length of her thigh.  Jacintah hesitatingly lifted her hands to his shirt front and fumbled with the buttons.  Jack groaned and ripped his shirt off.  Jacintah touched his chest with light fingers.  She traced the pattern of hairs on his chest, and followed the line of hair that disappeared below his belt.  Jack shivered with pleasure as she touched him intimately, then gasped as her mouth found his nipple.
   “Oh, baby.  That’s nice, but you have to stop.  I can only control myself so much.”  Jacintah laughed, a slow, sexy laugh, then kissed and licked his other nipple.  Jack pushed her back and took off her bra.
   “My turn…”  Jack’s head bent and he first one nipple and then the other.  He gently took one in his mouth and rolled his tongue over it.  Jacintah gasped in pure pleasure and arched her back up to him.  He treated the second nipple to the same.  Then his mouth began to travel down her body to her belly and lower.  Jacintah pulled his head back up.
   “Before you go any further, I think we need to even things up.”  She lowered her hands to his belt buckle, undid it and then undid his pants.  He moved away to take them off, when he returned he was completely naked.  Jacintah gazed at his body, her eyes travelling the length of his torso before dipping below his waist.  His desire for her was obvious.  She reached out her hand to touch it, but Jack stopped her.
   “I don’t think that would be wise.  You touch me now, and I’m liable to take you this second.  And there is much more pleasure I want to give you.”  She dropped her hand as he touched her hips.  He slowly slid her panties off then gazed down at her.  “You are even more beautiful than I imagined.”  He leant down and kissed her.  His hands slid over her breasts and his mouth followed.  Down over her belly to the juncture of her thighs.  He eased her legs apart and gently touched her with his fingers.  She moaned with pleasure.  Then he kissed her centre deeply and all thought left her mind.  She only felt.  The passion built in her body until she could take it no more.
   “Jack, now!  Please, now!”  Jack slowly slid up her body to lie between her legs.  He entered her with one long stroke.  Their bodies moved in motion, advancing and retreating.  Jack slowly built the pace.  Jacintah opened her eyes to look at him and sensed he was holding back, for her.  “Please, Jack, don’t hold back!”  She slid her hands across his chest and up around his neck.  She urged his head down to hers.  She sought his mouth and showed him how much she loved and desired him.  Jack’s control snapped and he began plunging into her, hard and fast.  “Oh, Jack, yes, yes!”  Jacintah’s body ascended the peak and she cried out as she reached it.  Moments later Jack called out her name as he too climaxed.  He collapsed over her, still buried deep.  Jacintah held him close and stroked his heaving back, lost in the wonder of the moment.  Jack slowly rolled off of her and spooned himself behind her.  He kissed her neck and shoulder as he pulled the covers over them.
   “You were wonderful, Jacintah.  Making love with you was wonderful.”
   “So were you.  I didn’t know it could be like that.”
   “It can be and even better.  And there’s more where that came from.”
   “I hope so.”  They both laughed softly before snuggling closer and falling asleep.
   During the night each time one of them woke they reached for the other and took each other to the heights of ecstasy time and time again.  Jacintah was still stunned at how good it felt to be loved like that, and Jack felt all his dreams had come true, and then some.  Both of them felt that they had finally come to a good place, but sometimes happiness is a mirage, easily shattered.