Title: Storm's getting worse (7?)
Series: Creature of Extraordinary Grace
Author: romanceguru
Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I am but a lowly subservient.
Rating: NC-17You know what that means. ; p
Summary: points to rating
Pairings: Mal/River Jayne/River
Notes: Post BDM 1yr +
Last chapter before Series finally, its still up in the air.
Thanks to my genius beta elsibet34 !
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Zoë pushed the old clunker to its max as she drove over the cracked earth and through the barren valley outside the city to where River said Serenity would be.
Mal was lost deep in thought for a while before he yelled over the roar of the engine and the wind. "You notice anything funny 'bout Jayne?"
"Sir, it's Jayne. Gonna need you to be more specific."
"Oh, I don't know. Mayhap the almost gettin' himself killed over a certain former "moon brained" girl he ain't ever been particularly found of. Let alone, he don't normally get that vocal less there's coin involved. Somethin' just don't sit right."
Zoë remained silent.
Mal looked over at his first mate and recognized a look of hesitance in her stern features. "If you're privy to somethin', now'd be the time to divulge it."
"Don't know anything for fact, but suspected…" Zoë trailed off unable to formulate the words because then she would actually have to believe them.
"Damnit, Zoë. Just tell me. I can handle it. Can't be no worse then the crap they've already dealt one another."
"Think they've been intimate before, sir." She blurted out while keeping her eyes straight ahead.
Mal's jaw dropped, "What?"
"The way they look at each other…they have the sort of connection ya only get when you…"
"Alright!"
"Thought you could deal, Sir."
Mal just gave his first mate a look that said I could have handled anything but that.
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Jayne and River followed the innkeeper down the narrow hallway, waiting as the elderly man fumbled with the keys before unlocking the door, and entered into the small room behind him. The thin paper shades were drawn and the afternoon sun cast a dim orange glow, which filled the sparsely furnished space.
The man cleared his throat before addressing the pair. "So just you and the misses, eh" Sure ya don't need more'n the hour then?" The short balding man appreciated River up and down then looked over to Jayne and winked. River rolled her eyes and limped past the two, heading in to the bathroom. "He wishes." she proclaimed.
Jayne shrugged his shoulders and looked at the innkeeper. "Take more'n than an hour anyhow."
"I beg to differ!" River yelled over the water she was now running from the next room.
The mercenary grinned sheepishly at the stranger. "There were the one time."
"Five. I counted." Sang River as the water stopped.
"Will you shut it, girl! Man don't need ta know the details of our sexin'."
River emerged from the bathroom with a basin of warm water and fresh washcloths and smiled complacently. Still ignoring Jayne, she addressed the befuddled man. "Here's a detail. Never once kissed me on the mouth. Yet claims he loves me. What do you think about that?"
"Don't right know, Ma'am." He scratched his chin, chewing on the thought for a moment before leaning over to River as if telling her a secret. "Somethin' wrong with your mister?"
River giggled and turned to set the heavy basin on the dresser.
"Hey!" Jayne bellowed.
River smiled sweetly at the innkeeper and corrected him. "Not mine. Belong to another now."
"I see." The man bowed slightly before tuning to leave. "Best o'luck ta ya then, young miss." He stopped next to the towering merc and whispered, "I would've just kissed the girl."
Jayne just growled and shut the door hard behind the man.
"Yer wrong, ya know." Jayne stated at he sat down on a chair to remove his boots. "Don't know what else to say or do to prove it. Git ya ta stop punishin' me."
"Believe it or not, I'm not with the captain solely for your torture. I happen to like him…very much."
Jayne snickered at that and walked over to the mirror and peeled his sweaty, dust-covered shirt from his body and turned to inspect the gash on the outside of his left shoulder. The bullet had grazed pretty deep but the blood flow had slowed to a trickle. "What I done said hasn't changed. Have ya even thought on it at all?"
She wanted to reply, tell him the answer was yes, that even though he destroyed her with his confession, she had fallen way before then. Instead, she just gulped at the picture before her, her eyes glued to his naked back, lost in the curve of his muscles, flexing with grace as he moved.
Impulse whispered to her, tempting her to go over and run her hands up over his strong form, to lay her cheek against his smooth skin, but logic won as she got a hold of herself.
She said nothing in response, afraid to encourage the mercenary further. Mal, Mal, Mal, she repeated over in her mind as she picked up the first aid bag and soaked cloth and ordered Jayne to sit.
She limped over to him as he sat on the edge of the worn bedding. Grabbing his massive arm, she leaned in to inspect the seriousness of the wound before dabbing the crimson away with antibiotic and warm water. He barely flinched as the liquid seeped into his cut, burning like hell-fire. The only things he could discern were her cool hands on his flesh, nursing him with the utmost tenderness.
She was so close and yet so far away, biting her bottom lip in concentration as she tended to him. He watched intently as she wrapped his arm in gauze, noticing as she flinched in pain with every slight movement. It was then he spotted the red seeping through the side of her dress. He told her to remove the thing so he could take a look and when she hesitated, he reminded her it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before.
His eyes were glued to the naked skin slowly being revealed as she carefully slipped the straps of her thin dress off and peeled the top downward over her hips leaving her upper body exposed. Modestly, she draped one arm across her naked breasts.
Reluctantly, Jayne pulled his eyes, from her chest and placed his large hands on her hips to turn her to better assess her injury and discovered a large patch of road rash covering her side. He looked up at her in question.
"The mule no longer had a driver. Had to jump off before the crash," she explained.
Jayne nodded in understanding as he gently pressed a clean cool cloth to her injury, her breath hissed in pain at the contact. She closed her eyes, focusing her mind elsewhere until he was through. Next he grabbed the ointment and covered the area with the soothing gel. River shuddered under the pain-pleasure of his touch.
Lightheaded, she held on to his good shoulder to keep from falling over. He bent his head down to her middle and lightly blew on her sensitive skin to help dry the ointment, the sensation causing her to dig her hand into the muscle of his shoulder with each breath across her skin. She was overwhelmed by the day, the pain, but it was mostly the immediacy of his presence that dizzied her.
Jayne looked up, cool blue eyes concentrated with unbridled animalistic desire and when she read the intention raging within the blue flames, her own eyes widened like those of prey and she began to back away. "Don't."
He stood, towering over her, not once breaking the carnal lock of their eyes. She put her hands up against his hard chest and weakly pushed him away, looking down, looking anywhere but those eyes. He grabbed for her hands as she pushed against him, struggling, but he won, locking them together behind her back with the strength on one hand. Experience told him if she wanted to stop him she could bring him down with a few swift strikes.
The pull of her bound hands forced her to look up at him. Tension of lust and desire emanated from their bodies as Jayne leaned his face to hers and pulled her snuggly against him. His body tensed as he felt her hard nipples pressed against his chest. He held his mouth before hers and the nearness his warm breath on her lips rendered her powerless. Jayne spoke in a low guttural tone, "Yer right, shoulda done this a long time ago," and then his mouth was covering her sweet lips, moving and trembling with want. She tasted like ecstasy as he parted her lips gently sliding his tongue deep into her mouth. She keeled against him as her body gave out from the pleasure of his kiss.
He walked her backwards to the bed; her hands still secured firmly behind her back as he carefully laid her down and continued to explore her mouth with his own.
Every muscle in his body was burning with desire and he enveloped himself in the cool passion of her kiss. With his free hand, he bunched up her dress and pulled her panties in one swift motion from her body. Between kisses, she was pleading for him to stop, her body betraying her words. He undid his pants and shimmied them from his body and crawled up over her. Her knees were locked shut, one last attempt at keeping him at bay.
She trembled as bit by bit he slid his work worn hands up her supple thighs, urging them apart. She was weak to his touch and slowly spread open allowing him to rest his body between her thighs.
He moved his hand slowly up over her hips, stomach, cupping her breasts as continued to passionately kiss her, finding immense pleasure in the very thing he'd avoided up until now. Tingles spread up from her heat and shot through her body as she felt his head against her entrance, anticipating his large girth.
He moaned against her lips as he slid into her, her body tightly conforming to his. He wondered if she always felt this good as he lifted his mouth from hers and looked deep into her eyes, searching for redemption.
Tears fell from the sides of her face as she locked her eyes onto his. He released her hands, moving them around his neck as he continued to move against her hot center with gradually building intensity. She hooked her legs around his back, pushing him deeper, and their eyes rolled back at the immense pleasure of the contact.
She was whimpering his name as her small frame began to tense, uncontrollable pleasure gripping every nerve. He could feel her giving out around him, his own body threatening to release the most intense orgasm of his life. He whispered throatily into her ear as he feverishly pounded against her. "I wanna hear you say it." His deep voice sent shivers down her spine, cooling the sweat veiling her body.
She was so close, her skin ready to burst. "Please. Don't make me," She pleaded, regarding not only the words he wanted her to say, but also fighting the surrender of her body to his.
He slipped his strong arms beneath her, wrapping her close, her writhing form pressed firmly against his. "I love ya, girl. I wanna know you feel the same."
Her body crashed like a title wave breaking on shore as his words sent her over the edge. Her cries of pleasure triggered own orgasm, which had been building with tremendous force. With one final stroke, he released his hot seed deep inside of her along with his heart and soul. He resigned it all as he held himself securely inside of her, spasms of pleasure traveling to every point on his body.
Desperately he found her mouth once again, sealing their union with a labored kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, burrowing her face into his neck, drinking in the musky testosterone scent of him, and whispered breathlessly, "I really, truly, hate you, Jayne Cobb."
He smirked against her damp hair and held her tighter. "Close enough."
TBC…