Kaylee looked down at the head moving between her legs. She couldn't see the face just then – she was much too absorbed in the task at hand – but the thick, black curls, so sleek and soft, looked perfect down there.
"Kaylee," Inara murmured, her tongue tracing the outline of the other girl's sex, "you're intoxicating." Inara punctuated that observation with a flick of her tongue over Kaylee's most sensitive spot, eliciting a short whimper of pleasure.
"No teasin', 'Nara, please," Kaylee moaned, louder than she intended. No one would think much of it – Inara had clients all of the time – but she still wanted to keep this quiet in case. Of what, she didn't know…
The companion, smelling of flowers and spices and beautiful things, glanced up from her work and met Kaylee's eyes, her own expression one of dark seduction. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the pounding of Kaylee's heart in her ears.
"More'n you'll ever know," Kaylee said back, and guided Inara's head – perhaps less gently than she intended – back down. It was only a moment before Inara's tongue found its spot again, and then a finger, and-
Bang! Bang! Bang!
No, not now, not-
Inara's head shot up and looked toward the door to her shuttle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Kaylee, need you in the engine room, stat. Got some savory folk to outrun." The captain's voice split into the dream, shattering the beautiful vision of Inara.
"Comin', cap'n," Kaylee called, trying not to sound grumpy. She was on Serenity to work the engine, after all, not to dream about pretty girls.
It wasn't her fault that the ship's resident companion made it so easy.
She slid her hand into her panties, just to see, before she got to work. Her fingers came back out wet and glistening; Kaylee carefully licked them off, thinking of Inara as she did so.
"Too bad," she sighed, frustrated, before sliding out of her bunk and the rest of the way into her coveralls in one smooth motion. Her girl needed her just then – and so did her captain. She'd find another time to take care of herself.
It had been a hard fight – Mal never made anything easy – but Serenity had won. She would spend another day in the skies.
Luckily, there wasn't anything Kaylee needed to patch up on the inside. Nothing had exploded, fallen out, come apart. Kaylee did right by her girl.
Once she made sure that nothing was wrong with Serenity's insides, she joined the rest of the crew in the galley, where they were rehashing their mission plan. Kaylee only minded a little bit that they hadn't waited for her this time. Mal usually tried to keep her out of their schemes, whenever possible – not to keep her in the dark, but to keep her safe. She had minded at first, then realized that she was at her best in the engine room, anyway.
"Everything respectable, Kaylee?" Mal said, looking up at her as she made her way to the table.
"Yessir, Cap'n, sir," she said with a mock salute as she climbed over the bench to sit down. "Present company excluded, of course," she said with a smile that lit up her face. As she plunked into place, she glanced at Inara, sitting on the other side of the table from her, one seat down. She was sitting elegantly, her posture perfect, her hands folded in her lap. Everything about her was perfect, from the way her dress hugged her body, to her curls, cascading down her back, to her lips-
Focus, Kaylee, she thought. Even once she shifted her focus back to Mal, she straightened her back slightly. Maybe now if Inara were to glance her way, she wouldn't look so…
She sighed softly and slumped back down. She was streaked with engine grease from her recent touch-ups; she hadn't had time to wash up. Like Inara would look at her that way at all.
"The new route," Mal said, pointing to a map he had rolled out on the table, "will only add about a day onto the journey. Should still be there in plenty of time to drop off this cargo, but only if we modify the drop plan like we discussed."
Jayne, at the opposite the table from Mal, broke in, "We've all got it, Mal." He sounded impatient, even though Kaylee could tell he was taking his best stab at civility. Public relations, he had said once. Kaylee almost giggled aloud at the thought. She managed to just smile to herself.
Instead of taking offense, as Mal was sometimes known to do regarding Jayne's antics, he laughed and stood from his own chair. "Jayne's right," he said, rolling up the map. "we don't need to go over this again. After all, if we screw up, it's his ass on the line this time."
"Now wait a minute, I-" Jayne began, but Mal talked over him.
"Who's flyin' this thing?" Mal asked Wash, grinning.
Kaylee stole another glance at Inara before she stood up herself. Their gazes caught for one brief, charged moment, before Inara looked away.
As Kaylee stood up and turned to the door herself, she thought, Must be imagining things.
"I'll get dinner started," said the Preacher, unfazed as ever b the trouble this crew managed to get into.
"I'd better go wash up," Kaylee said to no one in particular before turning around and walking out. She doubted Inara even glanced her way.
The crew didn't really have the resources, when they were off-world, to really take showers. They could wash up at their sinks in their bunks, but the amount of water they'd have to carry to allow real showers was out of the question.
Still, Kaylee was sure a quick one wouldn't get her in trouble. She didn't think much of the grime when she was working on Serenity – she was at home in the engine room, doing what she loved. But seeing Inara, so clean, so feminine, so beautiful… well, it was hard not to feel self-conscious.
Kaylee moved quickly into the shower room and shimmied out of her jumpsuit. Then, she stripped the rest of the way. The water was cold on her skin – she didn't have the time for it to warm up properly – and she felt herself shiver at the contact.
No time to think. Kaylee took the bar of soap and started scrubbing at the grease on her hands.
Just as she got them clean and decided she was ready to move to her face, a knock sounded on the shower door. Not the loud banging she'd have expected from Mal, or Jayne… or Zoe, for that matter. Perhaps the Shepherd, calling his flock for dinner?
"I'll be done in a jif," Kaylee called out over the sound of running water. She loved the crew, every last one of the, but she wished she could get even a few minutes' privacy, sometimes.
"Dinner is served," said a voice far more delicate and melodic than Kaylee had been expecting.
"Inara, wait," Kaylee blurted out, but she could already hear the other woman's footsteps moving away from the door. Wait for what? What would Kaylee have done if the companion had stayed?
She caught a glimpse of her face on the mirror in the corner of the room. Her hair was soaked and dripping, but she had gotten the grease out. Quickly, she shut off the water. Even now, she doubted she was Inara's type. If only she could stop thinking about her…
But if that cold shower hadn't done it, what would? Kaylee wondered as she slid back into her jumpsuit.
Inara had chosen to eat in her shuttle that evening, though she graciously thanked the Shepherd for cooking before moving toward the door. Mal muttered something about her looking for new clientele that they all pretended not to hear.
A wicked idea formed in Kaylee's head, and before she had time to talk herself out of it, Kaylee blurted out, "Would you like some company?"
Inara smiled graciously at Kaylee, her eyes holding that same peculiar charge that she thought she'd seen earlier. Kaylee's arms were suddenly speckled with gooseflesh.
"That would be very kind of you, Kaylee," Inara said, leading the way out of the galley.
They made their way to Inara's shuttle in silence; the only sound was their footsteps echoing in front of them, announcing their way forward.
"Would you like some tea?" Inara offered as they entered her shuttle. Kaylee was always struck by how nice Inara kept it in there. She shook her head about the tea as she sank to her knees in front of the low table in the room and tucked her feet underneath her.
"How do you pick your clients?" Kaylee blurted out tactlessly as her eyes roamed to the bed. This wasn't exactly the plan she had had in mind. The bed was immaculately made, but Kaylee couldn't help but think of it with its sheets rumpled as Inara-
"Well," she said carefully, interrupting Kaylee's thoughts. "When I receive notice from the Captain that we'll be stopping over somewhere, I open myself to requests. I am contacted by interested parties on that planet, and-"
"But how do you decide?" Kaylee pressed. "What do you… look… for?"
Inara had settled in at the table beside Kaylee, not across from her as she had expected. Her features were case in a slight amber glow from the lights in the shuttle, and her skin looked warm and soft. In spite of herself, Kaylee felt her breath hitch. She turned her eyes to her plate of food, sure her face was flushed.
"It depends," Inara said thoughtfully, gracious and ladylike as ever. "Money is always a part of the equation," she admitted, "but not the only part." She took a bite of food, and Kaylee couldn't resist stealing a glance as Inara swallowed, her throat bobbing delicately. Kaylee's face must have been the color of the strawberry she had accepted from the Shepherd for his passage, but she hoped Inara would write it off as a trick of the light.
"What else?" Kaylee asked, half mumbling, no longer sure why she was asking. It wasn't as though Kaylee could ask to be a client – she had no way to pay.
"Sometimes they will sweep me up with some fantastic story – but over the years I've gotten better at spotting liars." She smiled ruefully at her meal. "Other times, it's based on looks, or a kind of… instant connection."
Kaylee hazarded another glance at Inara, and saw that the woman had put down her fork and was looking straight at her.
She felt her mouth go dry and her breath catch. There it was again, in her eyes, restrained, but… undeniably there.
"Why do you ask?" Inara asked, her tone light enough, but there was a gravelly quality to her voice that Kaylee wasn't used to hearing.
"Just wonderin'," Kaylee said breathlessly, hoping Inara didn't notice.
"I don't only take male clients," Inara said softly, so Kaylee had to lean closer to hear.
"No?" Kaylee asked, as though she didn't already know. Her whole body was tingling with excitement. She only hoped that-
Inara interrupted that train of thought by gently placing her hand on Kaylee's cheek and stroking it with her thumb. It was a gentle, tender gesture, but Kaylee could see it for what it was: beautiful, experienced Inara didn't want to push Kaylee into anything that she didn't want to do.
Little did she know that there would be no pushing required.
"D'you mean…?" she breathed, hardly believing it, needing her own confirmation.
Inara nodded, a slight smile spreading across her gorgeous, red-painted lips.
Kaylee couldn't be sure whose lips reached whose first, but before she was able to take a breath, they were kissing. Already her head was spinning. Inara – she really-
The Companion nipped gently at Kaylee's lower lip, causing her to focus on the task at hand. Her tongue slipped between Inara's slightly parted lips, meeting the other woman's.
But it seemed that Inara was nowhere near done, even as their lips parted to catch their breath. She shifted to her knees, then tangled her hand gently into Kaylee's hair to guide their mouths back together. Inara's other hand travelled, almost feather-light, over Kaylee's collarbone, then down to her breasts, still constrained under layers of clothing. She felt an excited shiver follow Inara's hand as it found her stiff nipple and gently caressed it through Kaylee's jumpsuit.
She couldn't help it; Kaylee let out a soft, needy moan into Inara's mouth.
It took Kaylee a moment to register that Inara's mouth had moved from her own and was brushing feather-light kisses across her cheek, her neck, then over to her ear. "Come to bed with me, Kaylee," Inara said, her voice still very much in control, but edged with desire. Her hand dropped from Kaylee's breast and found the mechanic's hand, taking it firmly.
As is Kaylee could say anything but yes.
It was only a few short steps to the bed, but Inara used them to unzip Kaylee's jumpsuit, which fell to the floor before they made it there. Kaylee, drunk on the sensation of Inara's hands on her, slid her shirt over her head as well before falling back on the bed. Her top half was left completely exposed; she'd never had need for fancy bras.
"'Nara," she said, more of a breathy moan than a word. The Companion smiled coyly, still very much in control of herself, and reached behind her back to unzip her own dress. It slid to the floor as well as she joined Kaylee on the bed, leaving much of her own glowing skin exposed. Kaylee drank in the sight, Inara's every curve. Except the parts she had left covered. Kaylee could make quick work of that.
But before she had the chance, Inara's head dipped below Kaylee's, her lips making their own path down her neck, her collarbone, the swell of her breasts, and then-
An involuntary moan escaped from Kaylee as Inara closed her lips around the hardened tip of her left breast. By the time Inara's mouth had travelled to her right, Kaylee was arching her back slightly, too. Desperately, one of her hands tangled into Inara's hair and gently – she hoped, anyway – guided her mouth back to Kaylee's.
This wasn't going to go like one of her dreams. Kaylee was going to take care of Inara first. She was-
She wasn't able to finish that thought as she felt Inara's hand slip into her panties, a finger moving effortlessly between her wet folds.
"Kaylee," Inara breathed against her lips as her hand explored, brushing lightly over her most sensitive places and then dipping further into her, eliciting short, quiet moans. "I'm so happy you want this too."
"I want you," Kaylee agreed, trying unsuccessfully to keep her breathing steady. It felt so much better than it ever had before, she thought, doing this with Inara…
The Companion used both hands to slide Kaylee's panties off her hips, then down further, until Kaylee kicked them off. Any self-consciousness she was feeling earlier had been abandoned in favor of the pleasure Inara was giving her.
Kaylee had lost track again; Inara's mouth was moving its way south, tongue teasing both of her nipples, hands woefully absent from her aching core. Until…
When Inara kissed the tiny knot between Kaylee's legs, she could swear she could see stars.
"Please, 'Nara," she moaned, bucking her hips slightly at the contact.
Instead of giving her what she wanted, the Companion's hands gently stroked their way down Kaylee's thighs, nails dragging. Even with Inara's tongue moving against her, Kaylee ached in anticipation.
And then Inara's finger slipped inside her, effortlessly once more, and Kaylee found herself clutching at the blankets as her breath hitched. She hazarded a look down, at the beautiful curls and the downturned head between her legs, moving slowly, tenderly, and let out another moan, this one long and sweet. She felt Inara's lips move into a smile even as her tongue kept working, slipping this way and that over Kaylee's most sensitive places.
She kept her head together long enough to groan out, a little desperately, "Gotta let me have a turn." Inara's eyes met Kaylee's half-lidded ones, from between her legs. After a few more tantalizingly slot strokes with their eyes still locked, Inara withdrew herself and lay herself on the bed next to Kaylee.
She hadn't had the brain power to process it before, but Inara had on the most gorgeous underthings Kaylee had ever seen. They were a deep saffron color – matching, of course – and accented with delicate lace. As Kaylee moved to straddle Inara, she noticed there was a tiny bow sitting between her breasts.
Not for long, Kaylee thought, easing Inara into a sitting position so she could unhook the garment.
"Been dreamin' about this," Kaylee murmured against Inara's lips as she slid the bra off. She couldn't resist cupping Inara's breast and running her thumb over her nipple, which was as excited as Kaylee's own.
Her head dipped south, her hips involuntarily grinding against Inara's, with just the thin fabric of the Companion's panties between them. She used her tongue to circle Inara's nipple, eliciting a kind of gasp that Kaylee liked very much. She was more restrained, less vocal than Kaylee – of course – but that didn't stop her from taking hold of Kaylee's hair and guiding her head down, past her stomach, until Kaylee was forced to move from her lap so she could remove the woman's panties.
Inara slid them off herself, a movement so practiced she must have done it a hundred times- but Kaylee couldn't think about that now, not as she was faced with the gorgeous curls between Inara's legs.
Kayle had never done this before, but she knew what she liked, and tentatively traced her tongue around Inara's wetness. If she had found the other woman's mouth intoxicating, this was so much… more. Kaylee groaned at the sweetness on her tongue, at the feel of Inara's hand tangling itself in her hair and guiding her tongue to where Inara needed it most.
And then, all too soon, Inara tugged Kaylee's hair – gently, but firmly – until their bodies were next to each other, their lips and eyes level again. She captured Kaylee's lips in a kiss, both of their eyes slipping closed blissfully at the contact, at the taste of each other.
She was so swept up in the kissing that when Inara's fingers slipped inside her again, between her legs, she let out an unrestrained grown into Inara's mouth.
"Kaylee," Inara murmured as she pressed down gently, then more firmly on her knot.
"Don't stop, please," the mechanic pleaded. She was vaguely aware that she should be doing the same to Inara, but she was too swept up in how good it felt to try to start. Everything about this – her soft skin pressed against her, the way Inara knew exactly where to touch her, the smell of her, the taste of her – was too much, too good.
"I won't," Inara agreed, the words sounding pleasantly breathless to Kaylee.
It took some time, but eventually Kaylee felt her pleasure nearing its crest; Inara, sensing it as well, dipped her head, breaking their kiss, and started to feast on Kaylee in earnest, tongue and teeth and lips and hand all working in tandem until-
Kaylee grasped at the bedclothes, her hips bucking as she came, Inara's tongue still moving against her in the perfect rhythm.
"Inara," she called out, louder than she should have, but it was too much. She was too much-
The Companion's movements slowed against Kaylee as she became too sensitive to the touch. Once she had come down, Inara withdrew her hand completely and lay down beside Kaylee.
"Should've..." Kaylee murmured somewhat incoherently as Inara lay her head on Kaylee's shoulder, after.
"There's always next time," Inara said with a coy smile, as if she could read Kaylee's mind.
Next time? Kaylee could hardly wait.