I jumped on the Firefly/Serenity bandwagon late, but I am hopelessly addicted to it. I found myself wishing, like some fans I’ve talked to, that Serenity should have ended a wee bit differently. So, I wrote this little piece of fan fiction to give Malcom and Inara the ending I would have liked to see. This story takes place right after Serenity ends. Enjoy. 😉

********Warning: NSFW…I think you know why. *******

They’d been in the air for less than a week when she cornered him in the kitchen. Mal had put River at the helm of Serenity with Zoe by her side. He needed sleep. It’d been too long since he’d seen his bunk, let alone slept in it.

“We need to talk,” she said, her voice slipping over him like a silken caress.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the cabinet. What now? Mal turned to Inara and met her dark gaze. Here it comes. “Look, can it wait? I need to sleep, I’ve been awake for the past sixteen hours and the only sleep I got before that was in my chair on deck.”

Her lips twisted in a sympathetic smile, and her gaze flickered down to the floor. Oh, she knew how to play it demure and delicate like she was cradling a fractured egg. He crossed his arms when she spoke. “I need to furnish my shuttle. Can we stop for some supplies?”

Mal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re two weeks from anywhere that even remotely resembles civilization. Our destination is three weeks out. Can it wait until we reach port there?”

Inara bit her lip letting it slide between her teeth as she slowly released it and nodded. Any exhaustion he had turned to instant arousal. It was always like this with her. When she stood this close, when she spoke to him, the innocent touch of her hand on his arm or the simpering smile she used when she wanted something. Life was easier without her that was for damn sure. But he craved her, more so now than ever.

With a resigned sigh she turned away and walked out of the room. Mal rhythmically banged his forehead against the cabinet. Why did she do that? Every gorram time. He made her feel inadequate and frustrated and…well she made him feel like a chastised child. He grumbled in Chinese as he stalked out of the kitchen to find her.

Her door was open; she mustn’t have returned to her room. He climbed the ladder to the shuttle and knocked on the doorframe. “Inara.” Stepping through the doorway, he saw she had constructed a bed and decorations using items from the ship. It wasn’t her typical style, but he could see the elements of her personality in each piece she had chosen. His fingertips slid over the red silk draped around the doorway.

She glanced up from where she stood by a small table. “You still haven’t learned to knock, even after all these years.” Inara sighed.

Mal glanced at the door then back at her. “Actually, I did knock.”

“But I never invited you in.” She arched her brow as she took a step toward him. “What makes you think you’re welcome here?”

He crossed his arms. “Last time I checked this still was my ship and I was the captain. So technically that gives me the freedom to go where I please, when I please.”

“It’s my shuttle.” Her eyes blazed in defiance.

“Really? When did we sign a new lease?” He smirked at the emotions flickering across her face. It was too easy to get her flustered. Her cheeks pinkened. “Cause to my knowledge, we never came to any new arrangements for lease of this shuttle.”

“What do you want? Same as last time?” She swallowed and tilted her chin up obviously too proud to admit he was right.

“Are you going to go back to business as usual if I let you have it?” The heat of her body flickered against him as he closed the gap between them.

She tipped her chin up to face him and tilted her head. Her red lips glinting in the dim light. His body stiffened as her tongue darted out to moisten those lips. He swore in English and in Chinese.

Her brow arched higher. “Don’t pretend like you care, Mal. You’ve had your chance; that ship has sailed. If you don’t want me here, then drop me at the nearest port and put me in your wake.”

Mal clenched his fists itching to grab ahold of her and shake her senseless. She faced him, eye to eye, unflinching as he stared deep into her eyes.

“No, I won’t lease it to you.” His voice low and dangerous. “Because I have other plans for this shuttle.”

Inara scoffed. “No, you don’t. You never make plans. Why start now.” Her hand came to rest against his chest as she straightened his collar. “You have no idea what you want.”

He grit his teeth. “The hell I don’t.” He snatched her wrist and pulled her against him.

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t fight his hold. “What are you doing?”

“What I should have done a long time ago,” he swore before kissing her. Sweet merciful God, he could taste the ginger and nutmeg from the tea she had earlier. Her mouth soft and pliant as her hands wrapped around his neck. “You’re gonna be the death of me,” he murmured against her lips.

***

Inara slid her fingertips through his hair. His skin hot under her hands, his body burning against her. How…no, why had she waited so long? Being in his arms and drowning in his kiss made her body ignite with sensation. She’d not told him, withheld her infatuation, her lust for him for so long the dam threatened to burst from his kiss alone.

He pushed her back until she hit the wall, the chill of the metal cooling her overheated skin. His hands slid over her shoulders and down her sides. He pinned her hips to the wall with his own. She loved the feel of him pressed against her.

“Clothes…off…” She rasped out the words between impatient kisses. Her fingers diligently unfastened the buttons on his shirt, tugging it from his pants. She slid the fabric over his shoulders, her fingertips trailing over his skin. Inara bit her lip as she met his gaze.

His blue eyes narrowed, intense and dark. She’d seen that look before, many times, when he was focused on something and refused to back down. Now that gaze was fixed on her, and she shivered with anticipation. Once Malcom Reynolds had something in his sights, nothing short of a Riever attack would stop him.

“Tā mā de.” The word spilled from his lips soft as a prayer. Fuck. Inara grinned. He wanted this as badly as she did. He fumbled with the fastenings along her spine.

“Oh, I intend to do just that,” she said reaching to help him unfasten her gown. She brushed a gentle kiss against his mouth. “Then I’ll take my time.”

Mal pushed the button next to her head and the shuttle door slid closed. “Good.” He kissed her hard this time, demanding and passionate. As he slid her gown off her shoulders and bared her to his gaze, his eyes darkened to midnight blue.

She let it drop to a puddle around her feet. Her heart fluttered in her chest when he leaned into her skin to skin. “Do you want me?” she whispered wrapping her arms around his neck.

He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down, he stared at her for the space of a heartbeat. “I must be out of my gorram mind, but so help me, I do.” Mal climbed onto the bed and covered her body with his own.

“You’re forgetting something,” she said with a giggle. Her hand traced the top of his pants. She unfastened them and helped slip them off. “That’s better.”

Mal offered a half-smile. “It’s not like you’ve never seen me naked.” Her fingers threaded into his hair, and she pulled him closer to whisper against his lips. “Those images haunted me.”

He frowned. “You didn’t…”

“Shut up and kiss me.” Inara reveled in the sensation. His body against hers drove her to the point of madness. She sighed as his hand slid down over her hip.

When his fingertips slid across her folds, she whimpered. Mal trailed kisses along her jaw and neck as he touched her. She arched against his hand and pulled herself closer to him. Then he delved inside of her, his thumb grazing her tender clit. He chuckled when her hips rocked against him.

“Are you trying to torture me?” Inara licked her lips watching the smirk playing on his.

“Maybe a little.” He added a second finger while massaging her clit in slow circles. “Payback for all those times you tortured me.” He kissed her neck, his teeth raking against her skin.

“No more than you did to me.” She gasped when his hand vanished, and he settled between her legs. He slid his cock against her and kissed her again, drawing her lower lip between his teeth. “A lot of wasted time.” He slid in filling her, and she raked her nails across his back. “Liánmǐn.” He held himself still and leaned his head against hers. Mercy.

She rocked her hips, and he swore in Chinese. Her fingertips traced along his shoulders. He tensed above her. “You can move. Might make this more exciting.”

He met her gaze, his eyes ablaze with desire. When he captured her lips again, he thrust into her, over and over. Caught up in the maelstrom, she met his movements with her own. It became an ebb and flow, a pairing of bodies, a mating of minds. She’d wanted this from the very first time they’d met. Inara inhaled his scent, lost in the memories assailing her. Who am I kidding? This isn’t fucking. This isn’t a job. This is Mal. The realization broke any hesitation that remained. Inara had always loved him.

She caressed his face as they made love. His attention riveted on her. Placing her hand on his hip, she slowed his pace. Gently she pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips.

Mal arched his brow in question but said nothing. When she moved, his hands settled on her hips guiding her. His head tipped back, and he drew his lip between his teeth. Seeing him in the throes of passion, caught up in pleasure she brought, made her heart soar. I love you, Mal. I always have.

***

He opened his eyes. Her ebony hair drifted over her shoulders the ends grazing her nipples. How long had he wanted her like this? The softness of her skin, the way she surrounded him, her scent, everything…it was almost too much. She undulated against him taking him deeper and making him want more. They’d wasted too much time, and now he was going to make sure every moment counted. Starting with tonight.

She tossed her head back and let her curls dance against her skin as she rode him. He met her pace with his grip steady on her hips and swore again. Being inside her was the closest he’d come to heaven since he’d taken to the sky with Serenity.

When her eyes met his, he saw the shine, the sparkle of humor dancing in their depths. The trace of sadness that always lingered there had been swept away. She leaned down, her hair trailing across his chest. Her eyes met his as she took his lips captive.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and thrust into her, hearing every whimper that escaped her lips and devouring them. She leaned back, her hand fisted in her hair as they met each other’s frenzied movements, searching for the release they both craved. He saw the pleasure building as her controlled persona broke, and she arched against him. Brushing his thumb in circles over her clit, he watched her shatter.

As her climax took control of her, he couldn’t resist the urgent pull of her body begging him to come too. His body shook as his release consume him. When she collapsed against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and burried his face in her hair.

“Why the hell didn’t we do that sooner?” he asked absently stroking her back.

“I don’t know.” Her mumbled response stirred the hair on his chest. They lay in silence, and he found himself drifting in half-consciousness. Inara shifted and pressed a kiss to his lips. He smiled unsure if he was dreaming. Completely sated, he gathered her in his arms and let sleep creep up on him. Just before it wrapped him in its dark embrace, her voice echoed in his subconscious.

“I love you, Malcom Reynolds. Heaven help me, but I do.”

The End…or is it? *wink*

I hope you enjoyed my venture into fan fiction. I had to write it…I must have been out of my gorram mind.

Thanks for reading.

❤ Jen