Jayne pushed the door open with a nudge of her hip and they entered the huge chamber that housed her bath tub. It was an opulent room. It was resplendent in her dark fashion, adorned in brass upon a canvas of crimson. It suited her perfectly fulfilling her needs to surround herself in the very best of everything, in grandeur, and in every possible creature comfort.

"Come, sit."

She led him over to a padded bench at the wall and left him long enough to turn the water on and place the stopper in the bottom of the tub. Slowly she returned to him, crossing the room with long but languorous strides as she slipped her hands into the deep vee neckline of her gown and pushed it off her shoulders. It caught for a moment on her hips but then fell to the floor to puddle at her feet leaving her bare and standing before him. Grayson smiled as he leaned back in the seat. He looked weary, and his eyes betrayed the toll that the battle had taken upon him.

"If he only knew what a foe he has fought."

Jayne thought as she moved closer and bent to kneel before him to begin loosening the laces on his boots. She tugged them from his feet and let her hands move up into the legs of his pants, along the firm muscles of his calves as high as they would go before stripping his feet of his stockings and setting them inside his boots before she pushed them under the bench.

"You saved my life sir. I can think of many ways to repay you and I shall act upon each and every one of them in good time."

She smiled up at him from her position on her knees and slowly began to first unbutton his vest then his linen shirt before lifting up and pushing his jacket down from his shoulders. Alexander lifted his hands to assist her and she moved her own down the length of his arms so that she could entwine her fingers with his gloved digits and make him pause.

"No, please. Allow me."

Alexander sighed and resigned himself to her attentions, holding his hands out for her to remove his gloves. They were laid aside with care upon the bench and then his jacket, vest and tie followed. All neatly folded; even though they needed laundering from all the ash that coated them. Jayne would attend to that once she had seen to the health and well-being of her champion. Now that he was stripped to his underclothes Jayne stood before him and offered her hands to bring him to his feet.

"Madame, really I feel better already. You do not need to dance attendance upon me although your concern warms my heart."

"Let me dance a bit longer. You gave me a terrible fright, Sir. When I saw you lying there I thought the worst."

He nodded and let her lead him toward the tub. Steam rose form the water and she added a handful of scented salts that filled the room with the scents of jasmine and cloves. Jayne stepped into the tub first and then reached out and pulled the last of his clothing down from his hips and held her hands out for his once again. Alexander paused and climbed into the tub with some care and she reached for his elbow to make certain he was steady.

"I believe you may have broken the table in my receiving room Alexander."

She chided gently and remained holding his arm until he was seated in the tub. The heat of the water lapped up to his chest and he leaned his head back into the curve of the vessel. Relishing the comfort of the bath and allowing Jayne to continue to fuss over him just a bit more in deference to his feigned injuries from the brutal assault. It served his purpose to allow her to believe that he was slightly battered and still not fully recovered from the battle, she'd see no wounds upon him but he was certain he was putting on a believable if not overly dramatic show of it. The right mix of masculine pride and being not quite up to snuff was crucial to her believing every detail of the ruse. It bothered him slightly that she had listened to and not heard the beat of his heart.

It was a detail he would keep under consideration should he feel a need to address it in the future to keep the huntress in his thrall.

But for now she seemed very much right where he wanted her as she settled before him and ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders washing away the dust with the exotically scented waters.

"I apologize and shall see it replaced. I saw that the remains of your evening repast were still upon it. I hope your earlier entertainments were more to your liking than what novelty I have provided."

"Let's not speak of him any further he is removed from my thoughts entirely."

She smiled but her chin dipped down as if suddenly feeling ashamed of the fact that she had so recently taken another man to her bed. When she and Alexander had spoken this evening his words had indeed made her pause but she had brushed them aside as another turn in the game. But now, he had risked his life for her. He did not even know how dangerous a creature he had faced and he was hurt and weary from it. Yes, Grayson was a fine example of a man but he was just that a man. He lacked the strength and speed of the vampire as well as the training of a hunter. He was only a man and he could easily have been killed for his bravery.

"Is he also to be removed from your company Jayne?"

It was a question he knew he had no right to ask. Whomever the Lady took into her chambers was none of his business but he would push for a response from her regardless as her savior he felt it was his due.

"Yes Alexander, from my mind, from my company and from my bed."

She pushed up then and carefully laid her hands upon his chest, fingers spread and splayed wide and brought her lips up to his with such gentleness he found himself surprised by it. He had believed he could make the tigress sheath her claws but he had never thought she would respond to him so sweetly. Long moments later, after the parting of their lips, he spoke again and apologized for his question.

"Jayne, I had no right to ask that of you and I do apologize. I am not accustomed to feeling as I do, and I admit I was somewhat jealous of your young man tonight. Now, I am tired and not feeling entirely myself after that scuffle. I would not presume to question your intentions further."

She reached over the side of the tub for a hand towel and pulled it into the water to wet it. Letting it drip she draped it over her hand and brought it up to his handsome face and began to trace the contours of his features and wipe the soot away.

"I have feelings for you Alexander. Emotions I have no felt in a very long time. It makes me feel weak and a bit foolish to express them but after the events of this evening I cannot hide them any longer. All I ask now is that we put my previous engagements behind us and start anew. I tire of petty games."

Alexander leaned back and sighed as she cleaned the dust of his dead accomplice form his face and began to wipe his dark hair back away from his brow with languorous strokes. Eyelids closed to allow her ministrations, only opening again when he felt her warm breath on his neck and shoulder. Jayne had move in very close and was nuzzling against his chest while her hand, and the towel moved up and down his muscled arm.

"No more games then. You have proven you can make me jealous and I have proven I can be stubborn. After the events of this night we should both agree that life is too short, too precious to waste of trivialties, jealousies and entertainments that have long since grown dull. We are suited to one another, both strong of mind, will, and intentions."

"Yes, Alexander we seem very well suited. As perfect a pairing as any I have ever seen."

He wrapped an arm around her and leaned his cheek against her wet hair. A slight smile curved his lips and the pleasure of a well laid plan coming to fruition lit his ebon gaze.

He whispered softly, a mixture of amusement and resignation in his voice.

"I am worn to the bone my dear. Perhaps, you would be so kind as to escort me to your bed before I find myself asleep and drowning in your bathtub."

He laughed slightly but it lacked joviality, it was difficult for a man such as Greyson to admit he might not be up to snuff even in light of the heroics of the evening. But Jayne was not the type of woman that would insist a man take the dominant role in her bed. And there were many ways to take pleasure, even when your lover was tired.

"It would be my pleasure Sir. And if you are not entirely exhausted perhaps I could make good on my promise of repayment before we sleep?"

Jayne kissed her way from the curve of his jaw, down his neck and to the rise of his collarbone before lifting her eyes to meet his and waiting for his reply.

"Never that exhausted. Jayne you could entice a dead man. Just be gentle with me, tigress."

She rose to her feet, and stood before him. Tall, lithe, muscled and glorious in her bare form. Jayne was indeed a beautiful woman. But to Greyson's educated eye she was also the hunter, the killer of his kind, a highly skilled and dangerous fighter that he would not underestimate.

It made the ruse that much more entertaining. It made bedding her that much more dangerous. It made taming her that much more a challenge.

She stepped form the tub and brought them both a huge warmed bath sheet. After wrapping up in her own and tucking it in at her side she held his out for him and waited patiently as he used the sides of the tub to get to his feet and stepped form the vessel to the tile floor.

A pout pursed her succulent lips as she wrapped him in the heated towel and fussed gently as she dried him off. His expression mimicked her gentle frown especially as her hands found a spot on his ribs that made him wince or an area on his back that made him flinch when it was touched.

"My poor brave darling."

Jayne all but cooed to him like a dove. No not a dove, he mused silently to himself, like a nightingale. For her song was more stirring and deep than that of a mere snowy dove. Jayne belonged to the night just as much as he did. It made her that much more appealing because she too was aware of the fact that she was not some simple creature. Jayne was a woman to be reckoned with on all fronts and by all accounts.

"Take me to bed Jayne, show me my pains and woes are not suffered in vain."

"I most surely shall, Alexander. I most surely shall."

(Sorry for the long delay in posts. It seems my muse only returns when my stress level is low. I don't like writing when I can't concentrate. The next scene should be posted in a much timelier fashion. However, before I continue I do want to ask for opinions…should I skip the adult content or do you want to see Jayne and Alexander in her bed in Chapter Three? I'm taking votes…is smut a yes, or a no…you decide. Best out of the first five wins…mwhaha)