A.N. Comes after "Sneaking into the Captain's Bunk", "Sneaking into the Companion's Shuttle", and "Don't Be Afraid."

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The ship's air was a warm, summer breeze around them and they were floating as much as they were walking. Her fragrance filled the hall like a flower garden, her smile the glow of sunshine. Mal kissed her hand and bowed, guiding her to the ladder of his open bunk, but his heart sank as her head disappeared below deck. Although he knew Inara had crept into his bunk a dozen times before, he suddenly felt embarrassed by the cramped space. He always kept it clean, kept the bed made; but it was a small bed and he had no fresh linens to put on it. And it seemed a crime for those sheets touch her angel-soft skin.

Mal climbed down behind her and looked nervously at her, but she wasn’t surveying the room with a critical eye. She was surveying him. Sizing him up. Self-consciously, he clung to the ladder, trying to hide himself with those tiny rungs. He’d begged her not to leave, but now he was the one who wanted to run away. Cautiously, he came around her, wondering if any amount of turning down of the linens would make the bed more appealing.

Inara was talking to him, her voice winsome and light. She was laughing because Kaylee had seen them holding hands on the catwalk. Mal wondered if the two ladies would meet up tomorrow and gossip about him. What did Inara expect tonight? What was he ready to give? She was between him and the open hatch and he suddenly felt trapped.

Her hand brushed his arm; was it just to keep him from stepping on her as she crossed the confined space? Just a brief touch, and her smooth fingernails tickled his skin maddeningly. She sat lightly on the bed, back against the wall, legs folded, and pulled the pillow onto her lap. He’d seen her adopt that same casual position on the sofa in her shuttle a million times. She was inviting him to talk, telling him to relax… using her wiles. Ta ma de, anything but that! He sat down in the chair opposite the bed and raked