Mal sat at his desk working on Serenity’s ledgers, both the real ones and the ones for the occasional Alliance inspection. It was a job he disliked immensely, not because he was not proficient in accounting procedures, but because he found it tediously boring. The long columns of figures did nothing to engage his mind, and he generally put completing the work as far down his list of things to do as possible. Hence, when he did manage to get around to it, there was always enough work to keep him busy for several hours. Rummaging around the desk in search of the receipt for Kaylee’s latest parts purchases, he did not hear Inara enter until she rested her hands lightly on his shoulders.

Startled, Mal jerked in the chair. “Ye su, ‘Nara, it ain’t wise to sneak up on an armed man like that.”

Inara laughed lightly. “You’re not armed, Mal. Your holster’s hanging on the back of the chair. And I wasn’t sneaking, just stopping in to say ‘hello’.” She kissed him softly, just barely pressing her lips against his until she felt a smile replace his scowl. “What’re you doing down here?”

Mal sighed. “Just, you know,…Captainy things.”

“Such as?” Inara asked, peering over his shoulder at the neat columns of figures in the ledger.

“Seein’ to the accounts, such as they are,” Mal replied as he turned back to the books. “Been puttin’ it off for awhile. Now I gotta play catch-up.”

Inara rested her elbows on the desk. “I take it you don’t like doing the bookkeeping?”

“Not exactly my idea of a good time,” Mal said. Pulling her into his lap, he added, “I can think of more pleasant activities for an afternoon.”

Inara wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are you just using me as an excuse not to work?” she said sweetly.

“Maybehaps,” he admitted, nuzzling his nose into the heady scent of her hair. “Have to say I’d do most anything not to have to do the books.”

“Anything?” Inara whispered against his ear, sending a jolt of pure lust straight to his groin.

Mal moaned with the sensation. “That ju