Not breaking their kiss, Angie rose and straddled Rollie’s lap.  This time, it was the Aussie who groaned.  He clutched at her bottom as he began pushing up against her.  He’d already gone way past the point where he had the power to stop.  The fire in his blood had burned away everything except the desire, the need to make love to Angie.

Rollie slid off the bench and lay down with Angie on the grass, his body pressing hers into the ground.

“Oh, God, Rollie.  Please, please,” Angie begged.  She began tugging at his shirt, trying to remove it.  With a growl, Rollie pulled it off, throwing it aside.  He then grabbed Angie’s top and yanked it over her head.  His mouth went to her throat and down to her breasts.  Impatiently, he pulled Angie’s bra down, not bothering to unhook it.  His mouth captured a nipple, suckling fiercely.  With an inarticulate cry, Angie pressed herself up against him.  He was driving her insane with desire, with the need to feel him become one with her.  She reached down and unfastened the button of his jeans, pulling the zipper down.

Rollie lifted off her and quickly kicked his shoes and pants off.  Then he was back on her, his fingers working frantically to divest Angie of her jeans.  The jeans and her shoes were soon in a heap beside his.  The bra was now in Rollie’s way, and he removed it quickly.  He then hooked his thumbs underneath Angie’s panties and drew them down off her hips.  At the same time, Angie grabbed Rollie’s boxers and shoved them down.  They struggled out of the last of their clothing.

Rollie settled between Angie’s thighs, her legs wrapping around him, the feeling of his nakedness against hers almost enough to send them both flying over the edge.  Rollie’s mouth fell upon Angie’s again, claiming it as his own.  Then his head lifted and he met her eyes.

“Angie,” he whispered.  “God, I want you.  I want this so badly.  I’ve wanted it for such a long time.”

“I want it too, Rollie.  Please don’t stop.  Make love to me.”

Rollie entwined his hands with Angie's and raised them to lay beside her head.  Slowly, he pushed himself into her, joining their bodies at last.  A mutual gasp passed their lips at the completion of a journey that had begun the day they met.

For a long moment, the lovers held still, their eyes closed, the feeling of their union so exquisite that it was almost more than they could handle.  It was as if, with the merging of their bodies, their souls had fused as well.  And they knew, without a doubt, that this was meant to be.

Panting, trying to regain control of himself, Rollie focused on the sensations coursing through him, the feeling of his body, his soul, inside Angie's.  Cocooned in her warmth, in her heart, he at last felt whole.  Never in his life had he known with such conviction that this was where he belonged.

At last, Rollie opened his eyes and looked down at Angie.  Her face was aglow with a look of rapture and joy.  She was breathtaking.  The sight made the breath catch in his throat.  Slowly, he began to move.  The ecstasy of it was enough to make him want to weep.  He closed his eyes again and let the rapture take him away.  The fire inside him became like white heat, driving him to move faster.  Angie rocked with him, their bodies in perfect sync, their connection more complete than either of them had ever experienced before.  Soon, they were crying out each other’s names as their passion rocketed upward.

Lost in the feeling of their connection, of Rollie moving above her, within her, Angie felt the heat and pressure of her climax building hotter, stronger than she’d ever known before.  No one else had ever made her feel this way.  No one else had made her feel as if her whole life had been leading up to this moment.

Then, suddenly, her climax was upon her.  Screaming Rollie’s name a final time, Angie felt her vision go white as ecstasy beyond description exploded through her body in wave upon endless wave.

Rollie’s eyes snapped open as Angie bucked wildly then stiffened beneath him, her body shuddering and rising upward as she reached her climax.  In awe, he watched her, overwhelmed by the thought that he’d given this to her.  And then, he was falling over the edge, a wordless cry ripping from his throat as he found his own release in a climax so strong it felt as if his body was going to fly apart.

Still caught in the midst of her climax, Angie opened her eyes and watched as Rollie threw his head back.  His body arching above hers as he released into her, an expression of unparalleled joy and rapture on his face.

At last, it was over and Rollie collapsed upon Angie.  Taking in deep, ragged breaths, they lay in a tangled heap.  It was a long time before either one of them could move.  Finally, Rollie lifted his head and gazed at Angie.  His eyes filled with tears as he stroked her cheek.  Soon, he was crying, the wetness sliding down his face to fall on hers.  Her own tears mingling with his, Angie pulled his head down to rest under her chin.

“Shh.  It’s all right.  It’s all right,” she murmured soothingly, stroking his shoulders and back.  She closed her eyes and took a deep, contented breath.  The feeling of Rollie’s weight upon her, his body still joined with hers, was so amazing.  Their lovemaking had been amazing, beyond anything she had ever imagined.  For so long, she had wanted this.  So many times, she had tried to find the courage to tell Rollie how she felt, always failing.  But, now, here they were, having just made love in a place she’d never have thought they’d experience their first time together.

Rollie held onto Angie tightly.  He was still in awe of what had just happened.  He had never expected it to be this way.  He’d imagined dozens of ways in which their first time might happen, both slow and gentle and fast and passionate.  But this, this had left his mind reeling from the suddenness of it and the sheer power of what they’d just experienced.  It had never been like this with anyone, ever.  Laying here with Angie in his arms, her small body merged with his, made him feel like he could do anything.  At the same time, it made him feel so humble that he wondered how he could have been so blessed.  He had loved Angie beyond reason for so many years, and, now, he loved her even more, something he had not thought possible.

Rollie raised his head from Angie’s chest and looked deeply into her eyes.  His breath caught when he saw something there that he’d wanted to see for a long, long time.  She was looking at him with love in her eyes.

The Aussie brushed away the wetness from her face.  Then he kissed her forehead, eyes, cheeks, and the rest of her face, ending with a slow, gentle kiss on her lips.

“I love you, Angie,” he whispered, a slight tremor in his voice.

Fresh tears pooled in Angie's eyes at finally hearing the words she had wanted so much.  “I love you too,” she told him with a tearful smile.

Rollie closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, his throat tightening with an overflow of emotions.  She loved him.  She loved him as he loved her.  His most fervent wish had come true.

Holding her close, Rollie rolled onto his side.  They held onto each other in silence for a long moment.

“I can’t believe this happened,” Rollie said at last.

“Neither can I.  Of all the places I could imagine us crossing the line, I’d never have dreamed that it would be in the garden of a haunted house.”

Rollie searched her eyes.  “Do you regret it?” he asked, careful to keep his tone neutral.

“No,” Angie replied quickly, tightening her hold on him for emphasis.  “It was more perfect, more wonderful than I could ever have hoped for.”  She smiled.  “Besides, our lives are far from normal.  Why should our first time together be any different?”

Rollie smiled back at her.  “You have a point there.”  He chuckled.  “Actually, I often had fantasies of us doing it for the first time on the set of one of our movies.”

Angie laughed.  “Me too.”

Rollie grew serious.  “I love you, Angie.  I’ve loved you from the day I met you, with your golden pigtails and big blue eyes.  And I’ve been in love with you from the day you turned eighteen and I looked at you for the first time as a woman.”

“And I’ve been in love with you from the moment I laid eyes on you, standing with my father on the set of Gangster Alley.”

Rollie shook his head.  “We’ve wasted so much time.”

“It doesn’t matter now, Rol.  And it wasn’t wasted time.  We’ve had our friendship all these years, and that’s something I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.”

“Neither would I.  It’s why I never told you how I felt.  I didn’t think you felt the same way, and I was afraid that if I told you I was in love with you, our friendship would suffer.  You have no idea how much it hurt every time you went on a date or got involved with another guy.”

“Probably about as much as it hurt me whenever you found a new girlfriend.”

“We’ve both been pretty blind and stupid, haven’t we.”

“Yeah, we have, but not anymore.”

Their lips came together in a slow, deep kiss.  They began caressing each other, hands and lips wandering and touching, exploring places that they did not take the time to discover before.  The minutes passed in joyful exploration.  Rollie found himself fascinated by Angie’s stomach, spending long minutes kissing and caressing it.  And when he slid the tip of his tongue into her belly button, Angie reacted with a deep moan that brought the Aussie to full arousal.

“Roll over,” he commanded huskily.

Angie complied, and he began moving his lips down her spine, giving each vertebra an open-mouthed kiss.  Reaching the end of her spine, he stroked the curves of her bottom.  Then he rose back up and laid down upon her, nibbling and kissing her neck and ears.  Angie moaned again, arching upward against him, inflaming his passion like gasoline on a fire.

Not able to wait a second longer, Rollie slid an arm underneath Angie’s hips, lifting them.  “I love you,” he murmured as he joined his body with hers for the second time.  Angie lifted her lower body up further to meet him.  Soon, they were lost in their lovemaking again, lost in the joy of being one body and one soul.  The rapture rose higher, pulling them upward until they reached the peak together, crying out each other’s names yet again.

Rollie remained upon Angie for a few moments, then rolled off.  She immediately curled against him, resting her head on his chest.  More minutes passed as their breathing evened out and their heart rates returned to normal.

Angie gave a deep, contented sigh, deliciously sleepy and utterly satiated.  “You think we should consider continuing this back at the motel?” she asked, sliding her fingers over Rollie's chest.

“I don’t know.  I really like it here,” he replied, running his hand through her hair.  “It’s so peaceful and beautiful.  It was Hannah’s special place.”

Angie lifted her head from his chest and studied him.  “Are you saying that because of what Fred told us or is there something more to it?”

“It’s more than that.  Last night, after I woke up and found myself in the house, I ran blindly, not paying any attention to where I was going.  I ended up here.  This place took the fear away.  I felt calm, at peace.  Then I saw something.”

“What?”

“Hannah and the children.  They were happy, laughing and playing.  And Robert was happy too.”

“You saw him?”

“No, but I felt him.  He wasn’t like the way he was at the end.”  Rollie looked around.  “It’s just as Fred said.  This garden is like a place of peace and happiness that has no part in what happened in the house.”

Angie looked at the beauty around them.  “You’re right.”  Her eyes returned to Rollie’s.  “I’m glad that we shared our first time here . . . and the second.”

Rollie grinned up at her happily.  “Shall we go for three?” he asked, his eyebrows waggling.

“Now, that’s what I call an excellent idea,” Angie replied, swooping down to take his lips with hers.