It might break her heart, the tenderness he was showing her now. Her feet hadn't touched the last rung of his ladder - he'd crossed to her there, wrapping both arms around her and holding her against his body, her feet inches from the floor as he kissed her.

"Inara."

The entire evening, she'd been incredibly aroused, thinking about him undoing the ties and clasps of this dress, undressing her hungrily, heedlessly, laying passionate claim to her bare skin. But when he crossed to the bed and set her gently on its edge, keeping his hands on her waist as he sank to his knees between hers, she was overwhelmed with emotion.

They were face to face, kissing, kissing, and although she could feel the tension in him as she stroked his shoulders and arms, he simply held her. Slowly, so slowly, his hands traced up her sides and over the lacy straps of her shoulders, through her hair, across her back, then down to her waist again. As he repeated his gentle exploration, Inara felt his hands stop as his fingers found the clasps hidden in seams in the side of her dress. He drew back and looked at her, then lowered his eyes to one of the rows of clasps. She watched a crooked smile trace across his mouth as he raised his eyes to hers again.

She returned the smile and took one hand from his shoulder and opened the fastenings on each side of her waist, loosening the bodice of her gown. His hands moved up her bare arms, fingers easing under the now-loosened straps, sliding them from her shoulders and kissing the newly exposed skin beneath them.

"Inara."

His hands were inside her bodice now, stroking the bare skin of her back, her sides. Slowly.

She raised her hands from his shoulders to his neck and then to cradle his face, feeling the excruciating strain everywhere she touched. Inara leaned forward, letting the loose bodice slip low over her skin, and felt him nearly flinch, his hands tightening around her as he realized what she was doing. He devoured her neck hungrily for a moment as she un