Title: Primary Expedition, part 2 Author: GoddessofBirth Pairing: Rayne Rating: I think PG-13, although this may slide into R Disclaimer: Jayne would have shown River his 'man parts' Beta'd by: Night_Lotus and Kuryakingirl Thanks ladies!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He took more time than necessary to close and lock the door, trying to settle his mind that was suddenly racing with all of the unspoken implications of this act. When he couldn't delay any longer, he turned around to face the girl who had flowed to sit on the bed with the poise of a queen. Looking at her now, though, he saw that her earlier bravado had dropped away. Her eyes were fixed on the fingers tangled in her skirt and her teeth were chewing at her lip.

'Ain't nothing says you gotta go through with this, ni zi. We can turn around right now.'

Her eyes shot up to meet his. 'No...no, she is sure.' Then, she quickly rushed on, 'but if he has changed his mind, she would not - '

He cut in. 'You know I don't offer nothin' I don't mean.' He understood her rare slip into third person was more indicative of how far into nerves she had slid than any finger twisting, and that knowledge steadied him in a way nothing else could have. He unbuckled his holster and carefully placed it on the dresser before sitting next to her on the bed. He reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and left his hand resting on her cheek.

'Hey, girl, it's okay. You change your mind at anytime, anytime at all, you say the word an' we'll stop, no matter what.' And he would, too, even if it killed him. He hadn't ever forced a woman in his life, and he wasn't about to start with this girl who was his partner, even if he'd never admit to that particular fact out loud.

She turned her face into his hand and he felt her lips curve upward. 'I know, Jayne. I never would have agreed if I didn't.'

That was new, somebody trusting him as more than just a weapon, and he felt a knot loosen somewhere in the vicinity of his chest. She turned her face up and looked around her for the first time.

'The room is very pleasant.'

He nodded, 'Yeah, Martha keeps a nice place.'

'That's why I came here. I felt your pleasure at the thought of a visit. I calculated we might cross paths, although I admit this was not quite the results I had imagined.' She smirked and then said, in a fairly decent imitation of his voice, 'Gorram moonbrain, ruinin' my plans, again.'

He snickered at his words coming out of her mouth. 'Don't think anything got ruined. Just...rearranged some.'

“Still, I know I cost you more money than you had planned to part with.' She turned suddenly serious. 'Thank you, Jayne.'

Then, she tentatively reached out one hand and laid in on his chest, letting her other hand join it half a second later. She tapped her fingers across the fabric of his t-shirt. 'I like this shirt better.'

He was glad he had worn it. 'Yeah, well, my good one finally bit the dust.'

She slid one hand down across his cloth clad stomach and he felt his muscles clench involuntarily. She was worrying her lip again, so he slid his thumb down her cheek and gently tugged it out from between her teeth.

'Don't do that, you'll hurt it.' He let his thumb drag across her lower lip and something sparked in her eyes. He felt an answering shiver run up his spine. She let her hands drop to the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled the fabric from the waist of his pants. At her silent command, he obediently raised his arms and she stood up on her knees to pull his shirt over his head. She tossed it to the side and sat back on her heels, studying him.

He dropped his arms to his sides and willed himself to be still, instinctively knowing that letting her explore with her own innate curiosity would calm her fears better than anything else he would try. Next time he could - . He ruthlessly quashed the thought. There would be no secondary explorations, at least not by him. Then he stomped even harder on the small bit of possessiveness that reared up at that idea.

He clenched his teeth as her hands spread feather light touches across his chest and stomach, tracing the scar across his chest he barely remembered anymore, then stopping briefly to dip into his belly button before jumping to his arms. She lingered there for several long moments, wrapping her fingers around his biceps and tracing the lines of his tattoo. Then she rested one hand on his shoulder while the other reached around and behind him to spread across the muscles in his lower back.

His shoulders flexed against her touch and she scraped her nails up his back. He couldn't stop a deep growl from reverberating through his chest and at the sound her eyelids dropped to half mast and her mouth fell slightly open with a soft pant. He finally moved, lifting his hands back to her cheeks to cradle her face. He pulled her toward him until her hands were trapped between their chests and her face was level with his. When she realized his intentions her eyebrows shot up.

'But you don't.'

He weaved the fingers of one hand into her hair and tilted her head slightly. 'You ain't a whore, River.' And then he closed the last centimeters between them and touched his mouth to hers. He stayed there for a very long while; testing, tasting, helping her find her rhythm. When he finally pulled back they were both breathing hard and she was shifting restlessly against him. He kept his hands on her face and leaned his forehead against hers, waiting. She brought her hand up to touch her fingers to her mouth and when her eyes slid open they looked at him with a kind of surprised wonder.

'It is different.'

'What?' he asked, voice raspy.

'To feel it for myself, not just as an echo through the crew.'

He gave a hoarse laugh. 'You just now figurin' that out?'

'I didn't know. I wanted to know.' Then she smiled in a kind of sultry way that caused heat to curl through his limbs. 'I would like to know more.'

'Alright, then.' He slowly slid his hands from her face to her neck, then down her sides, barely allowing them to skim across her breasts in their journey to her waist. She felt good. She had arched into his touched and let out a little whimper and his hands clenched into her waist before he forced them to relax. Carefully watching her face for any signs of hesitation, he gathered her bulky sweater in his two hands and pulled it off of her body.

All of the air wooshed out of his lungs, and he dug his fingernails into his palms to hold himself back, because knowing was definitely not the same as seeing. And what he saw was one mouthwateringly proportioned little woman who was now utterly bare from the waist up except for a shoulder holster and fully loaded handgun. He thought it might possibly be the most breathtaking thing he had ever seen.

He traced the holster's buckle. 'Think we'd better take this off.' She nodded and his hands shook slightly as he unbuckled it and slid it off her body. He reached over and laid it on the dresser next to his. He returned to her and she allowed him to lower her down onto the mattress. He stretched out at her side, close enough for her to continue her slow exploration and for him to continue to touch her without overwhelming her with anything she wasn't ready for.

It was only after an immeasurable amount of time, when they were both naked and panting, and she was scrabbling desperately at his shoulders, that he allowed himself to move over her and guide her legs around his waist. He wasn't surprised that he encountered no barrier. With her dancing, he suspected it had been broken before she even left for the Academy, and if not before, then her style of fighting would definitely have rendered it nonexistent.

What did catch him utterly unaware was the fit, the warmth, the wetness of her, and he struggled against his instinct to completely lose himself before she was with him. He held still as she adjusted, until her tentative movements caused his eyes to roll into the back of his head. Then, he propped himself up on his elbows so he could see her face and watched as she slowly came undone. Finally, when he was shaking from restraint, and her body was fluttering all around him, he leaned down into her ear and growled a long stream of hot words that had lain hidden on his tongue and felt her fall apart around him. It was only seconds later that he chased after her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He didn't know how many minutes had passed when she finally raised her head from where he had fitted it into his shoulder after rolling them to their sides.

'I should get back to the ship. Simon will start looking for me soon.'

He nodded drowsily. She was right, and he regretted it. He didn't often sleep with women, but he thought he might like to find out how it was to sleep with River curled into him. It had been different, sexing with someone who knew all of him, the good and the bad, someone who he saw in return. He wouldn't have minded holding onto that for a few more seconds.

He sighed and tensed to begin the motions that would return them to where they were supposed to be. Before he could actually move, though, she flopped her head back down on his shoulder.

'In just a minute.'

He gathered her closer to him and closed his eyes, promising himself he would remind her of the time if too much of it passed. He waited one minute too long, though, and they slept like that for hours, until a loud pounding on the door had them both jerking awake and reaching for their guns.

* * * * * * * * *