This took me awhile, it wouldn't cooperate with me (and I'm not completely pleased with it). Still really just fluff. Not much of the 'more' some requested . . . sorry . . .

Disclaimer; characters and ‘verse not mine, Joss’s. Not even the title’s mine, it’s just_unravel’s.

Rating: PG13

Shivers (The Ride Back)

River felt stretched when she slid down from S-something’s back outside the small store where the hitching post was situated. She took experimental steps, testing her inner thigh muscles. And her equilibrium; being near Jayne, letting him do what he had been doing, had made her dizzy. And now, moving away from him, she felt off-balance. Unsure of herself, which she’d recently become unaccustomed to feeling.

If she thought about it, she could still feel Jayne’s hands on her. Her tactile sensory apparatus must be malfunctioning, because he was no longer touching her. Frowning in concentration, she bent over and lifted her skirt up far enough to see if her sense of vision was also faulty. No, she saw nothing abnormal on her abdomen.

“Wei*!” For the second time today, Jayne grabbed her arm roughly. He yanked her skirt down around her legs while glancing up and down the street that only held the four of them. “What ya tryin’ ta do, draw all kinds of unsavory-like attention? Can’t be liftin’ yer skirt like that in public.”

Mal had caught Jayne’s action, and he watched as River narrowed her eyes at Jayne, then conversely grinned cheekily. With Zoë, the captain was unloading saddlebags and more-or-less agreed with what his mercenary had said, so thought little of the exchange. He might have thought otherwise if he’d known how pleasured River felt at the merc’s nearness. Or if he’d still been looking when Jayne said, “hey,” again, and reached to pull River’s skirt back up.

Jayne crouched down on his boot heels. Yep, he’d seen what he’d thought he’d seen. He stood back up to tower over River.

“Why didn’t ya tell me yer skin was gettin’ rub