They sat on the bench until the edge of the sky was just the slightest bit lighter, and even his jacket around her shoulders didn't keep out the early morning cool.

"You okay?" he asked, feeling her shivering just a little under his arm.

"I think I'm getting stiff," she said.

"Ain't the only one," he joked. "Maybe you should walk around a bit. I mean, that's why we came, so you could walk in the grass."

"Mal, it's not …"

"Companiony?"

"Ladylike."

"You think I want a lady?"

"It's what I am."

"It ain't all you are." He took her hand. "Inara, there's more to you than meets the eye. And although those bits of you that do meet the eye are … well, pretty amazing, to tell the God's honest truth, there's depths I ain't even begun to plumb."

"You want to plumb my depths?" she teased.

"It's … been on my mind a while, yeah," he agreed.

"And exactly what form would this depth plumbing take?"

"I … er … ain't exactly got that figured yet."

"I thought you were Captain Malcolm Reynolds, and that he never did anything without a plan."

"Well, Miss Serra, allow me to let you in on a little secret," he said, ostentatiously looking around to make sure they weren't likely to be overheard before leaning closer. "I kinda wing it most of the time."

"No." She affected shock.

"Surely do. I've gotten so used to my plans never running smooth, I just make it up as I go along."

"Really." Her lips twitched. "And what do you think is likely to happen now?"

"I figure you're gonna take off those fancy shoes of yours and we'll go for a walk."

She looked at him in amusement for a moment, then leaned forward.

It was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. If he got this much aroused by the sight of Inara undoing the delicate straps of her shoes and slipping them off her feet, what was he going to be like if she ever undressed in front of him? She wriggled her toes. No, that was sexier.

God, no, that. She'd stood up, her feet sinking into the soft grass, and the look on her face as it turned from scepticism to surprise to wonder … he felt the front of his pants tighten even more.

"Aren't you going to walk with me?" she asked, holding her dress up a little to the hem didn't get damp from the dew.

"Um, no, I … I think I'll be sitting here for a while." He swallowed, then waved his hand at her. "But you go on. Enjoy."

She smiled at him, obviously knowing exactly what was going through his mind, and it wasn't blood.
That was heading much further south.

"If you think I'm going to wander around a park at this time of night, all alone …" She shook her head. "Come on. You too."

"'Nara -"

"Boots."

"You talk like that to your clients?"

"Only if they pay extra."

"Paid."

She smiled. "Yes. Paid. They won't be doing that anymore."

"So I get this for free? Being ordered around?"

"Free. Gratis. For nothing." She smiled wider. "Come on. I'm not going to be the only one making a fool of myself. Besides, when was the last time you walked barefoot off ship?"

"A while," he admitted.

"Come on, then." This time her voice was silky, persuasive.

"Well, if you insist." He leaned forward, groaning a little as the compression made his arousal all the more intense, and pulled off his boots. His socks quickly followed, and he was glad he'd made sure to have a pair that weren't holed. It felt odd, the night air on his bare feet.

She held out her hand. "Walk with me," she said.

He grasped her fingers in his, standing up, his boots in the other hand. "Where do you fancy going?"

"Well, we never did eat. Is there anywhere that does breakfast open?"

He shrugged. "Have to ask Simon about that. Only places I know around here are low down dirty bars."

"Do they do breakfast?"

"You wanna go there?" He was so surprised he didn't realise she'd led him out onto the grass.

"Why not? It's where you go."

"But you're -"

"Not just a lady, Mal," she said softly, pressing closer to him. "You've already said that. And if there's more to me than meets the eye, maybe this is it."

"But a bar … they kinda smell, you know."

"I have been in one or two. With you, as it happens. Only we always seemed to leave somewhat hastily."

He grinned. "Yeah, well, bars and fights seem to go together." Then he gathered his wits again. "But I ain't taking you in one of them. Not now. Not with you looking like that. And worse, me looking like this." He glanced down at his clothes. "I'd be a laughing stock."

"Then I suggest we go back to Serenity and I'll cook you something."

"Didn't think you could," he said, surprised.

"I have many talents, Mal." She ran a hand lightly down his groin, making his breath catch. "I may show you one day."

He gripped her wrist suddenly, stopping her touch. "Don't."

"What?"

"Don't. If that's just a Companion's trick, don't." He looked down into her eyes, dark wells in the morning air. "I don't want a Companion, 'Nara. I want you."

"It might be difficult to separate the two, Mal," she said softly.

"Maybe so. But I think this teasing is the side of you that's more Companion than Inara. Ain't it?"

She knew his eyes were blue, even though she couldn't see their colour. She knew there was passion in them, but tempered by something else. "But if I take all that away, what's left?"

"You. Inara Serra. Woman." He smiled a little, letting her go. "And that's more'n a man can honestly hope for."

"Do you?" she asked, her voice unlike her usual. "Hope for that?"

"'Nara, I want you. I want to take you, strip you naked and kiss you from now to Doomsday. But I ain't gonna. Not yet. Not 'til we know. 'Cause if I do that, I'm never gonna let you go again."

"You were the one wanting us to sleep together, when we talked before," she pointed out.

"Still do. But you were right. We need to be sure before that happens, 'cause if it does, it's gonna mean forever."

"Forever?"

"Ain't going into this half-cocked, Inara."

"And I wouldn't want you to." She slipped her hand through his arm. "Come on. I'm getting cold, and
I'm hungry."

"Breakfast?"

"Breakfast."

"Okay." He took a pace, then stopped. "But first …"

He turned, taking hold of her face and lifting it to his, lowering his lips until they touched her in a delicate kiss that deepened, lengthened, her mouth opening, their tongues touching, caressing, tasting. She could feel his arousal still against her, and it was comforting.

Finally he let go, and she knew his eyes were sparkling. "You know, maybe I am hungry after all," he said, taking her hand and walking across the grass, the damp stems bending under their feet.