Violent Heart

Chapter Four: Hard Burn

rated R/17 *lemon warning & a itty-bitty Heart of Gold spoiler.*

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1.

While Serenity's insides cooled down to a soft simmer, Jayne's fever was heating up. He figured ain't no one noticed it really getting bad, except himself.

And it was probably just as well that he and Kaylee hadn't gotten down to talking much about current developments. Which was just fine with Jayne. Not much good at talking anyway. Not much use for it in a situation like this. She had come to his bed every night for the past three days. Been awhile since he had that kind of attention unpaid for and unasked.

Wasn't about to question it. But he found it a might strange that she hadn't had the mind to.

Something wasn't quite right with all this when you got down to the bottom of it.

He sat there in his bunk, itching at something under his skin. He looked down at the figure curled up in his sheets, asleep. Her breathing was slow and long. Lost to the world.

Okay. So maybe he was questioning it a little. What was she doing there with him? There was this clear memory of the two of them staring at each other across a dirty table in a saloon on Outpost 10. It was the only image left in his head from that night that was coherent in the least. Hell if he knew what had gotten into her that night, 'cept a heap of trouble.

And when she woke up this morning would he be out of her system? Or would she come to him again later that night?

Without a careful thought of waking her up, he threw off the covers and got out of bed. It came with a learning that little Kaylee slept even heavier than the dead. She told him that she'd never felt so rested in her life sleeping there in his bunk.

He turned to look at his reflection in a dingy little mirror that hung on the wall, a irritated growl caught in his throat. He scratched at it.

Restful sleep, his ass. She'd had nightmares every night since. He hadn't brought himself to mention them. Didn't seem she