**Part Eleven**

Word Count: 4,988
This is for the LJ community 50_baby_fics Prompt #19-Sex (which means this part will be rated FRM)

She heard him open the door, putting an end to any second thoughts she might have had about this plan. For a brief moment she thought she might throw up.

"River? Kaylee said you were looking for me. You all right?"

His tone echoed the concern she read in his thoughts, which made the thought of changing her mind go away along with the feeling she was going to throw up. She could do this.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had taken great care to be sure she looked perfect. With Kaylee's help. She couldn't help but worry that her version of perfect and his might be different.

There'd been a time she admired her mother. Never a hair out of place, a nail chipped, a flaw in her makeup. She was perfect. As a little girl, River had tried to imitate her mother's efforts. Never achieving the same success. She was worried, despite Kaylee's assurances to the contrary, that she had gotten no better at it.

Kaylee had talked her into the nightgown she and Zoe had bought her before the wedding. If Kaylee knew it hadn't been worn, the woman didn't say anything. This one was nothing like the other one Kaylee had bought by herself. This was, well, worthy of a wedding night. White and long, cut low to draw attention to her breasts. She had giggled at her reflection, because she wasn't stupid enough to think she had much cleavage. Though that was changing, even if it was just a little bit. Better yet, it looked nice on her and still accounted for her pregnancy. How'd they found it, she'd never know.

"D'we have a power failure or," he stopped short when he actually came into the bed portion of their room. "Something." She saw him process the setting. Candles, all kinds of candles, everywhere. She'd have to remember to replace them or give Kaylee the money to replace them. Because if things went the way River planned, she wouldn't remember to blow them out anytime soon. Kaylee had helped her pick some music and once Kaylee had left she put not just the waves on Do Not Disturb but the comm, too. She wasn't going to let anything interfere with her plan tonight, not even herself.

"No," she said finally, doing her best to stay out of his mind. She couldn't resist taking a little peak, though, and blushed at the brief thought she was privy to.

"I guess not. Wow. I mean," his eyes finally rested on her and she felt like she was under a microscope he was looking so closely. "Kaylee help you?"

She fidgeted a little. "Yes."

"Figured as much."

She frowned, nibbling on the inside of her cheek lightly. "You don't like it?"

"River, honey, if you're in my head at all you know that ain't the case. Never had anyone go to so much trouble for me."

"I meant me," she said with a tilt of her head. That throwing up feeling was back. He didn't like it. She'd trusted Kaylee to tell her if she looked too different. She wanted to be River, just a prettier River. A River that her child would watch and admire, thinking she was the prettiest mom in the world. Same as she'd done.

"How can you even ask me that?"

"Because you're still standing over there like you're not sure you know who I am."

"I just ain't never seen you. Not like this. Where'd you get that now?"

"Zoe and Kaylee, before the wedding."

"My crew seems to have you seducing me on their minds."

"Funny," she whispered.

"What's that?"

"Their minds seem to be in agreement with mine."

"River."

She held her finger up to her lips, saw his eyes widen when he caught sight of her nails. It was one of those times that he thought too loudly and she couldn't stop from reading him. Seemed he liked red and envisioning what she might have in mind for the painted nails. She smiled at that, knowing she was blushing, too.

"Toes, too," he said, his voice catching a little as she closed the distance between them, toes peaking out from the end of the nightgown.

"Yeah," she whispered. One day maybe she'd be good at this, seduction. For now, though, she felt clumsy and as if her intelligence in all other matters let her down immensely. Not wanting to keep talking, because they could talk for hours if they got started, she kissed him.

His arms went around her and he kissed back. Last night had taken care of any last bouts of doubt or hesitation he had. Last night had been different, kissing for kissing's sake once she'd woken up after the first time. Tonight, he seemed to realize she meant to get past passing out on him.

He grabbed hold of a bit of her nightgown at her hip, twisting and tugging on it as she parted her lips and found his tongue with hers. She didn't wait for him to initiate. She wanted, she sought, she found, and groaned at her first taste of him for the night.

She turned them without breaking the kiss, backing him up against the bed. He sat, which was the plan. Her hands made deliberate movements, still learning as she worked the buttons on his shirt, parting it so she could touch him. Feel his heat, the curves of his chest, the tapering of his waist to his hips, the scars and blemishes he had expressed concern she'd grow tired of looking at. As if.

She broke the kiss, sliding kisses along his jaw and neck. She made her way lower, felt him tense a little as she found one scar and kissed it, licked it with her tongue before moving a little lower to the next, even lower to the one she'd said she'd choose to erase if she could.

Her heart was racing, she had to force herself to keep that under control. She knew that was part of the reason she'd passed out the night before. Sensory overexcitement. His soft groans of approval weren't helping her with that.

He placed his hand over hers when she reached for his belt. She looked up at him, tongue skimming along his belly.

"River, you don't. I mean, what you've done here is nice and all, but just last night…"

She lifted her head away from his abdomen, placing a finger over her lips again. He grinned a little, his eyes falling closed when she slid her hand out from under his and found the bulge through his pants. She cupped it, stroking it as best as she could. His mind was whirling with things and she had to struggle to stay out, though a couple images she'd like to try. Later when she had more confidence in what she was doing.

"All right. They do say never to argue with a pregnant woman," he said softly, undoing his belt himself. She nipped at the skin at his lower abdomen, working the fastening on his pants. She was moving awfully fast. She knew that and that realization was echoed in his thoughts. More out of concern for her, that she felt obligated somehow.

"Not obligated," she whispered, her tongue and mouth finding his hip as she worked his pants off. He helped, lifting his hips off the bed just enough. She noticed when she looked up that he'd slid his shirt the rest of the way off, too. He took her breath away, which ironically she caught him thinking about the same time - when she took him into her mouth.

He slid a hand to her hair, running his fingers through it and pushing it back. Kaylee had mentioned he might like to watch her do this. One thing she was grateful for, Kaylee didn't seem to think it was odd River hadn't done these things. She, like the others, just assumed that whatever resulted in the baby had just been the basics without all the trimmings. River knew this from their thoughts.

Well, River knew she wanted it all, not just the basics. And Mal thought the same thing as she worked at taking more and more of him into her mouth. A hand at the base, the other cupping him she worked at tasting him, getting adjusted to him, the feel of him.

"bao bay," he whispered through clenched teeth. "Not sure just where you wanted this to go tonight. If you were wanting more than this you best be stopping pretty soon. It's been a while since." He stopped to groan as she grazed the tip of him with her tongue. She gave a muffled giggle when his thoughts got jumbled in his head. That meant she was doing it right.

He used both hands to move her head, meeting her eyes. "I'm going to sound very old fashioned and perhaps a little primal here. So forgive me."

"All right," she whispered, licking her lips to enjoy the taste of him.

"Stop doing that. Can't think too clearly when your mouth looks so." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "And stay out of my thoughts right now." He chuckled, so he wasn't mad. She was tempted to do the opposite of his request, but he so seldom asked her to refrain.

"Okay."

"As much as I liked what you were doing just now, I want to merge with you right proper." She groaned as the visual came to her despite her best efforts to block his thoughts from intruding on her mind. "Yeah," he whispered. "Be deep inside you when I finish. I need that. Don't know why."

"It's okay," she said with a smile, standing to begin removing her nightgown.

"Nuh uh, allow me," he whispered, a devilish gleam in his eyes that made parts of her practically gush from excitement. He slid off the bed and she took a step back to accommodate him in the small space in front of her.

He was slow about it. "Too slow," she murmured as he took his time, peeling the nightgown up inch by torturous inch. His hands weren't soft like hers. They were rough, well used from years of hard work first on a ranch, then in the military and now on Serenity. He was a hands on kind of man, and as he skimmed her inner thighs with the pads of those rough thumbs she was forever grateful that he was that way.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

"No," she whispered.

He knelt higher, the nightgown hovering around her waist now.

"Mrs. Reynolds, you didn't mention you weren't wearing anything underneath."

She blushed. "Is that bad?" She knew he was teasing.

"Mm, bad? No. Naughty? Yes, but that's okay."

If it was possible, she got even wetter. And he hadn't even really touched her yet. She had no idea what was normal for her and she'd read in one of Simon's books that could happen with pregnancy.

"I think you need to sit for this next part. You hadn't passed out on me yesterday I wouldn't suggest it, but well."

She blushed but managed a laugh. She imagined that was one of those things he'd never let her live down. Even if the next hundred times it never happened again. She sat on the bed and started to inch up, to lay on it.

"Can't do that."

"I what?"

It was his turn to blush and it was rather attractive on him. "I might have read somewhere that you aren't supposed to lay on your back for too long."

"Oh."

"And I ain't planning on being brief here. Unlike me, there's ain't no limit to how many times I can pleasure you. Well, not to say I can't more than once in a night."

She laughed then. "Yes, I can read your thoughts very clearly on that."

"Can ya now?" He gathered her legs around his arms. "You will know first hand by the morning."

She was about to say something back, but all possibility of talking let alone thinking left her when he slid his tongue along her opening, then up higher. She cried out, grabbing onto the blanket with both her hands as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. The spot.

"You okay, bao bay?"

She couldn't give him a coherent answer just then, her body was still quivering from just that little sampling. She merely nodded. She leaned back then on her elbows, wondering when he'd bothered to look up things she should and shouldn't be doing. Until he did that, "oh," she cried out, thing with his tongue again and pushed thoughts of anything but what he was doing aside.

Maybe last night had just been the shock of him actually touching her, wrapping her mind around the fact that he wanted to touch her. He was certainly doing more than touching her breast, especially right now as he slid a finger inside of her.

He was thorough, there was no doubting that. There was a spell where she thought she would pass out, just because she couldn't possibly have another. He proved her wrong though, again and again.

Propped up on her elbows she was able to watch, tapping into his thoughts only served to turn her on more and he had to know that. Feel what he did to her. She was ready for him and he seemed to be, too, as he kissed a path over her pregnant belly, lifting the nightgown the rest of the way up, over her head, and off.

She placed her hands at his shoulders as he lowered his mouth to a breast, taking the sensitive nipple between his lips. Her arms went around his neck, holding her to him. She didn't want to let him go, didn't want him to stop yet she wanted more. Her legs went around his waist, drawing him even closer to her.

He lifted his mouth from one breast to the other, stimulating the now abandoned one with his fingertips. He seemed awful proud of himself in his thoughts that she was still with him tonight. They ended up side by side on the bed somehow. She wasn't exactly sure how it happened, she was too lost in the sensations he was giving her.

And then his mouth was on hers, hand traveling along her waist, over her belly, between her legs and he continued where he left off with his mouth. She was ready, as ready as she was going to be anyway. She shifted, sitting up her eyes meeting his. She knew the logical way they'd join together wouldn't work right now. Her imagination had only taken her to the other more obvious way. She was sure if she asked or sought his thoughts she'd get a plethora of others, but for right now this would do.

He seemed to understand that, because without question he went from his side to his back so she could straddle him. He must have sensed she was more than a little self-conscious. Not so much about what they were about to do as the fact that he was seeing her without her clothes on for the first time. All of her. He slid a hand to her head, sliding her hair away from her face.

"Even all prettied up you can't keep it from hanging like a curtain, hiding your face."

"No."

"Makes you kind of mysterious."

"I guess."

He tilted her chin up a little so she had to look him straight in the eyes. "In case I forgot to mention it earlier due to my being enormously surprised by the setting you had here waiting for me. You're quite the sight to behold. The moment I walked in here." His hand slid to her belly. "And even more so now. I won't deny I've never looked twice at a pregnant woman before. Normally, well, they're off limits, them being pregnant is about the biggest tell-tale sign of such a thing. But, you carry it well and it becomes you."

She bit her lip, nodding. "Thank you."

"Welcome. I'm sorry I'm not very good with the poetic, flowery words, but you get my point I think. If not, I'll summarize. I think you're mighty pretty to look at, clothes on or off, pregnant or not, the lip paint and nail polish or not."

She nodded again, lifting her hips. He helped her without her having to ask for it, thank God, position his erection against her opening. His hand stayed there for a minute, the other rested against her hip, clutching it with his fingertips.

She took him inside of her slowly, after a moment he moved his hand from between their legs to her other hip. He helped guide her, letting her set the pace but encouraging her to move. Her eyes widened when she couldn't take him any further. He reached for her head then, bringing himself to a sitting position.

He kissed her then. Hard, deep and long as he pushed up and into her. She felt it then, cried out softly against his kiss. He took it, captured it with his mouth and she saw in his mind that he felt terrible for doing this to her.

It was over almost as soon as it began, the pain. And with that subsiding she was able to focus on him. What he felt like inside of her. What she felt like riding him. What his face looked like as she lifted herself almost completely off of him, only to take him deep in one thrust. She gasped, that one was a little too deep, too hard.

"Slow, bao bay. Slow. Not only is this your first time, but you're more sensitive there right now."

She nodded, but God now that she had him in her she didn't want slow. She wanted it all. Her hands gripped his shoulders for purchase as she slid herself up and down the length of him. The more she slid against him the wetter she got, the more she craved him. He talked of being primal earlier, that was what she felt right now. She had one need right now. Completion with him.

He moved a hand from her hip, around to the small of her back, lower to the curve of her bottom, sliding a finger in the crease there. That was her undoing. Her head fell back and she felt as if a hurricane had just torn through her body. He was right behind her. She liked hearing him lose control, listening as he called her name in the throes of ecstasy, emptying himself into her. She wished at that moment there was some way the baby she was carrying was really his. That by making love now they could make it be.

She rode him, slow and shallow thrusts for a little while after they finished. She liked how he felt, how he made her feel, and she was ready for it all over again. Not immediately, but in an hour or two if he woke her up she wouldn't say no. And then she smiled, wondering why she had to wait for him to wake her up.

"What's that evil looking smile on your face, River?"

"Nothing. Just wondering when we get to again."

"Again? Honey, you're liable to be a little sore."

"Providing I'm willing."

"Willing and able ain't necessarily the same thing."

She giggled softly, resting her head against his shoulder. "Just answer the question."

"Well, I need a little time to recoup myself. With you lying next to me naked, I wager it won't take too long."

"You want me to sleep next to you like this?"

"Hell yes. As pretty as those numbers are you wore, I prefer you just like this. Goes for the rest of what you did tonight. I like you the way you are, River. Don't go changing thinking you need to for me. You want to, now that's a whole other story."

"I didn't. I don't."

He rolled them so they were side by side again. She felt the loss of his being gone from inside of her immediately. She wondered why that was. Would it happen every time?

"I know you heard the conversation I had with Inara this morning."

"Yes."

"This isn't a competition."

"But."

He tapped her lips with a fingertip. "There is no but, certainly not after what transpired here tonight. What kind of man do you take me for anyway?"

"A decent one."

"A decent one, huh? So you think a decent man would take a woman's virginity and just move right along? Because why? I want someone with experience."

"Yes," she answered softly, her voice quivering slightly even with the one word answer. "Someone who doesn't pass out on you."

"Weren't no passing out tonight. I probably startled you is all. A little sensory overload that you weren't expecting so weren't ready for. We proved tonight that ain't going to happen again. And if it does, so be it. It's kind of cute. And I confess," he said, gathering her closer. "It's a little flattering. To think I can do that."

She laughed then. "Men."

"Yes, we're pretty easy to figure out." He ran a hand along the curve of her bottom, lower to the back of her thigh and up then, between her legs again. "One track mind most of us if there's a beautiful, willing woman in bed with us."

Her eyes widened as he slid a fingertip along her opening.

"Don't worry, not yet, I'm just playing a little."

"Okay."

"You heard me say it to her, so I won't lie to you now about being attracted to her. But I don't act on every woman I'm attracted to. She's one of them. We have a business deal."

"So do we."

"Yeah, well, the one I made with Inara didn't involve marriage and a baby, just use of my shuttle." He kissed her, deepening it to the point she let out a whimper and a soft sigh.

"Get some rest now, bao bay. There's always the morning. Until the others barge in at any rate."

She laughed, shaking her head, settling her head on her pillow. "Won't happen. Kaylee said she'd make sure we're left alone until we come out."

"I always knew I liked that woman."

"She helped me."

"How'd you get around the fact we ain't never?"

"I just told her we'd only been pretty basic until now and I'd always let you."

"Ah." He brushed a kiss along her chin. She turned onto her other side, preferring it to the other one when she slept for some reason. His arms went around her waist. "You can take the lead any ol' time you want."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, bao bay."

Her eyes grew heavy, his breathing started getting shallower so she knew they were both tired.

"Good night," she whispered.

"Night, River."

First thing Mal noticed when he woke a couple of hours later, he had positioned himself so that erect, like he was working on at the moment, he was between her legs. He tortured himself, thrusting against her but not willing to actually enter her when she was asleep. Not tonight. Another time maybe, once he'd established she wouldn't mind being awakened in such a fashion. He sure as hell wouldn't.

So his plan was to torture himself, teasing his ready body into thinking it'd get another sampling of the sweet nectar between her legs. Until he felt her leg shift, just enough that if he wanted to there'd be no teasing at all but genuine gratification.

"You awake?"

She murmured something he imagined was supposed to be a yes, but came out sounding more like a groan.

"That was a yes, right?"

She turned her head on the pillow, regarding him over her shoulder. "Yes. You seemed to like the idea I might be sleeping."

"Get out of my head, woman."

"Sorry. It's the first thing I do when I wake up."

"What is?"

"Find you that way. See if you're awake."

"Oh," he said, not sure how exactly he felt about that. Flattered in a way he supposed because that meant it wasn't Simon she sought out first thing. Funny he should feel any sort of jealousy of the doctor, but he did in a way at times. Their relationship was such a close one. "I want you awake this time, though."

"Can't rape the willing, Mal."

"Stop that."

She smiled with a laugh and then the vixen turned her head back the way it was on her pillow, pressing her backside against him.

"Don't need to stop that at all," he whispered, sliding a hand between her legs taking extra care to be sure she was ready. He found it a turn on how ready she got for him. This time and the first. As much as he got enjoyment out of her being on top, he liked this way too. It gave him the opportunity to touch more of her. And he wasn't so concerned about hurting her giving it wasn't quite as straight a shot or as deep as with her on top.

He was careful, giving slow thrusts once inside of her until he felt her start to return them. She certainly wasn't shy about taking what she wanted, being an active participant. He liked that. A lot.

The little sounds she made, the breathy groans, the whimpered pleas for more got to him. They had the first time, but he'd been so caught up in actually being inside of her he hadn't paid too much attention to the other goings on.

He found and cupped a breast, causing her to cry out when he grazed a nipple with his thumb. Her hand rested over his and he just about finished there and then when he realized she was mirroring what he was doing to herself. She'd follow his thumb with her own, stroking her own nipple so she was being doubly stimulated.

"No," she whispered to his unasked question as to whether Kaylee had told her that, too. "I'm glad you like it, though."

Like it? There was the understatement of the year. Hands joined he slid them over her belly between her legs.

"Want to help me do this, too," he whispered, kissing her ear and the side of her neck. Instead of helping him, she reached lower so her nails, those bright red nails that he was sure she could do all sorts of things with grazed his shaft as he slid in and out of her.

"Feel good," she whispered, shifting a little which caused him to go deeper. He watched, transfixed as she slid her hand along her body back up to her breast. Sidetracked by watching her and getting all kinds of aroused in the process he'd sort of forgotten about her neck, realizing as he drew away that he'd repaid her favor of the love bits from the other day.

"Don't be sorry," she quipped, again answering his thoughts before he'd even completely formed it.

"Stop that."

She laughed. "Can't help it. And you can do that any time you want."

"Any time?"

She reached behind her, extending one of her fingers to his mouth, which he gladly took and swirled with his tongue. She pulled it back after barely a minute and traced the now damp fingertip along the edge of her hardened nipple. She seemed to time it with her climax thanks to his fingers' ministrations between her legs. And that was it, his undoing. He certainly wasn't setting a very good example here with her tonight.

"You're doing fine."

"I am, huh? I'd like to hear more than fine, but I'll take it for now. Have plenty of time to exceed fine."

He drew her to him again, not bothering to pull completely out of her. Not yet, he'd let that happen with the natural progression of things. Having her this way he could do that.

"I think Wash and Zoe might just have the right idea. Never much appreciated it before."

"What's that?"

"Now she chooses not to read my mind."

"I want to hear you say it."

"There's just something appealing about knowing you'll be here in the morning and the one after that. Never saw much appeal in that before beyond trouble and bothersome things."

"For sex?"

He laughed then. "No, not just for sex. Just being here. Not alone."

She turned in his arms to face him, tracing his lips with her fingertips. He nipped one and then another.

"I like the red, by the way."

"I could tell."

"Yeah, well, later with the lights on I'll watch you do that again."

"Do what again?"

"Touch yourself like that."

"You liked that?"

"More than you can imagine."

She smiled wickedly but said nothing.

"Little minx. I'm not sure my thoughts do it justice, so it might just be more than you can imagine."

She stuck her tongue out and he was quick to capture it with his mouth much the same way he'd just done with her fingertip. She started laughing then when he held it between his teeth, unwilling to let it go just yet.

"For the record," she said when he finally let her go. "I think they have the right idea, too."

"Finally, she's not contrary."

"I'm never contrary."

"Right," he said, kissing her, tucking her against him as best he could. She preferred to sleep on the other side so she'd end up turning over but now he could enjoy the feel of her breasts against his and the little one kicking away against his own belly.

Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com