Stepping into the Sky - Chapter 21

Welcome to Valentine

"The cheapest kind?" She rolled her eyes and bent forward, her eyes glimmering with interest and apprehension. "There is no cheap kind here, gambler."

"The most expensive one then," Harry said, smiling charmingly. He was pleased she recognised him.

"You've come a long way from being an amateur who was seduced and robbed."

The music, the musky smell of the bar, the colorful figures dancing and moving; all faded into the background. Harry had eyes only for the girl.

"You have no idea," Harry smirked.

She poured him a glass of whiskey and placed it on a coaster before him. "That's a Remington white, single malt, 60 years old. Can you handle it?"

Harry took the glass and downed the drink. He almost laughed at the look of disapproval.

"Do you have any idea how rare that was?" she asked, shaking her head. "Clearly you're no connoisseur of whiskey."

"Get me another then," Harry said. He glanced at the menu, noting the price. He slipped his hand into his pocket, where his wand lay hidden with the aid of an expandable charm and silently conjured Alliance Credits.

The girl's eyes widened for a fraction of a second when Harry casually placed three hundred credits on the counter.

"Planning another seduction, are you?" Harry mocked, not missing the flash of attraction that passed through her eyes.

"Oh please," she laughed, a soft tinkling laugh that drew Harry in. "Those days are behind me. I'm in a good place now, earning a good salary and have a comfortable bed with an occasional talented bed warmer."

Harry didn't believe her.

"Are you still upset about that night? Did I overwhelm you?" she asked with an air of nonchalance.

She held eye contact with him for a moment, her eyes smoldering with remembrance of the night. She then smiled and returned to measuring the whiskey to pour.

Harry suppressed a gulp. Just like before she bled sexy. Her delivery was not crude at all. He quickly composed himself and looked into her eyes.

"Not upset, no. Just wondering if you could handle it again. I distinctly remember making your eyes roll into your head while you shrieked the building awake."

He almost crowed in triumph when he saw a faint blush crawl up her slim neck.

"Natalie!" called one of the barmen. "We need you here girl!"

At last, a name to the face, Harry thought, smirking at the annoyance that expressed her face.

"My shift ends in 2 hours," she said. "I'll be waiting at the North deck if you want to…" she leaned forward, giving him a splendid view of her cleavage, "…talk." It was Deja vu for Harry.

She then poured him another Remington, collected the credits and extras, turned on her heel and swayed away.

Harry watched her hips sway from side to side and sighed. "What am I getting myself into?" he muttered. There was something about her that he couldn't resist. "Excuse me," he called one of the barmen, imagining her naked body under him. He shook his head and tried to stop grinning. "Could I get some ice?"

-x-x-x-x-

Kitchen Floors

Malcom Reynolds was insufferable. He was a pig and he only wanted cute girls to suffer.

Poisonous thoughts were raging through Kaylee's mind as, instead of being star struck in a ball room, she was scourging through the massive kitchens that gleamed of steel and white with Inara and Mal as Mal casually exchanged words with the chefs and staff.

Inara didn't look pleased either but kept her thoughts to herself unlike Kaylee who kept muttering under her breath.

"You lot chose to stick with me," Mal snapped. "Now be quiet!"

"What are we even doing here!?" Kaylee snapped back.

"We're looking," Mal hissed. "Looking for people with connections."

"Wha-?"

"What the captain is trying to say, Kaylee," Inara interjected smoothly over the roar of fire and bustling sounds, "Is we're looking for people who are less than honest. The ship needs to be restocked and even a planet such as this is bound to have scumbags like Mal hiding away within the depths of the ship."

Mal shot her a glare and Inara just smiled back sweetly.

"Oye!" a man suddenly shouted.

Mal stiffened and casually kept his right hand close to his concealed gun.

"Yea?"

"I gorram heard you tossing the name McAlister around. Am I right in assuming that be the same gorram McAlister who rutted the Browncoat dogs on Paquin?"

When Mal turned to face him, he came face to neck with a blob of red flesh. He turned his head up and saw angry black eyes, a blob of a face that was marred by scars and scraggly brown hair.

"Not many know the name McAlister," Mal said coolly. "Do you also happen to know a woman called Catalina?"

The man growled and the people in hearing vicinity began to back away.

"Follow me now," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "And the rest of you! Back to work! There's dozens of cakes that need to be made, fools!"

Clearly this man was in-charge down here.

Mal, Kaylee and Inara followed the man into a dingy room that was stacked with what looked like piles of recipes and data pads.

The powerful sound of the exhausts turned muffled when the big man shut the door behind him and squeezed past the three to plonk himself on the only chair in the room.

"McAlister and Catalina," the man said. "There's a code I haven't heard in a long time."

"I almost gave up hope," Mal said with a smirk. "But there's always one around. Which battalion were you in?"

"Kashmir. You?"

"Serenity."

The man winced. "The worst of them all eh? Anyway, I didn't call you out to reminisce. What do you need and how do I get you to leave?"

"Supplies and a job," Mal said seriously.

"There's a lot of food here. Fresh, rare and tasty," he said, not mincing words and getting straight to the point. "I have a family on New Kashmir. A big one. You get them the food and you'll get some in return with the additional credits as accepted by a regular smuggler."

"We are fortunate to have met you …?"

"My name is of no concern to you. Be at the West hangar tomorrow at dusk. Thirty white containers with red flames for a seal will be waiting for you. Take them, deliver them and collect your reward.

"Do we have an agreement?"

Mal didn't hesitate. "Yes, we do."

"Good. Now lay low until tomorrow. We don't want any unnecessary incidents getting in the way of our business."

"Of course."

"Out of curiosity," Inara asked suddenly.

Mal jumped. He had forgotten about Kaylee and Inara. The man had captured one hundred percent of his attention.

"How were you planning on getting the containers off the planet if we hadn't shown up?" she asked.

"There's a smuggler's route on every planet in the verse young companion. You just need to know where to be for the routes to be opened to you," he said, waggling a fat finger at her and raising his eyebrows knowingly.

Kaylee's eyes widened. "Then how come we don't know nothing about 'em?"

"The knowledge is tightly controlled by a certain class of criminals," Mal said with a calculating glance at the man. "Do we get the privilege to access this route when we leave?"

"It won't be open for months. I wouldn't be giving you this job if the route was open."

"Alright," Mal said with a shrug and roguish grin. "This is starting to get fun, isn't it?!"

-x-x-x-

Alliance Cruiser – Normandy

Elena paced about her luxurious bathroom, unable to rest and eager to catch Harry Potter. She couldn't wait for Spade to arrive but he was literally on the other side of the Verse!

She looked into the mirror and saw an anxious face staring back. She was wrapped in a white towel and her wet hair clung to her skin.

"Argh! What do I do! I can't keep waiting!" she hissed at the mirror in frustration. Elena had taken a bath in an attempt to cool her mind but it had only made things worse. She touched the second towel on the silver rack and almost smiled in satisfaction when it wiggled to life and shot towards her head, wrapping itself around her head while carefully ensuring all her hair was bundled in.

She sat on the toilet seat and crossed her legs with a huff.

Her mind was split. The rational side was telling her to wait. The impulsive; urging her to go.

"Dad always tells me to follow my instinct but not to be impulsive," she muttered, shaking her foot agitatedly. "Going down would be an impulsive decision but my instincts aren't disagreeing either."

Elena sighed and jumped to her feet and began to pace about the royal red tiled bathroom again.

"Okay," she breathed, closing her eyes. "Okay! I'm going to spin. When I stop, if I'm facing the shower, I stay. If I'm facing the mirror, I go."

She twisted her hip and spun until she felt disoriented. She quickly stopped and spread out her hands to take support of anything in range and opened her eyes. Her vision swayed but her mirror image was clear and it was smiling broadly.

Her decision was made. She was going to find and capture Harry Potter.

-x-x-x-

On Board Serenity

Jayne was pissed. He glared at the boy sitting on the table, giggling without a care in the world, while he was stuck on the ship as a babysitter! Him! Jayne, the badass, was demoted to the task of keeping an eye on a child!

He slammed his deadly knife into the table and glared harder at the child.

Little Mal was finding his sitter terribly amusing. He was making the funniest faces and doing weird things to the table with his knife.

"What're you smiling about brat!?"

"You're funny!" little Mal giggled.

-x-x-x-

North Deck

Natalie knew she needed alcohol for her rendezvous with the gambler. She didn't show it but she was nervous. She had stolen a lot of credits from him that night and she knew he wanted payback. Her senses were screaming at her to call the Alliance on his ass but she didn't. She was excited to meet him and the thrill of imagining their conversation leading to hot sex dissolved her sense of flight.

She found him sitting dangerously on the top railing.

There was no one on the deck. It was late and the night was cold. Her heels clicked against the wooden floor announcing her presence behind him.

She had worn a black leather jacket to keep her warm. The stockings she wore were made of a wonderful material that kept the cold away and felt smooth as silk. Her skirt and hair fluttered in the crisp ocean breeze.

Harry felt the click of her heel stop right next to him.

There were soft yellow lights hanging off the deck that illuminated their sight.

"So," Harry began. "Natalie huh?"

He turned towards her and Natalie noticed the glass of whiskey in his hand. She suppressed an excited gulp. He needed alcohol for this as well. Or maybe he was just a drunk, another side of her said. You've only ever seen him drunk.

That thought sort of sobered her but then the look in his eyes made her want to forget about that. He swung off the railing and jumped to his feet next to her.

"You wanted to talk," she said, holding his eyes with challenge in her own. "So talk."

Harry laughed. He ran his hands through his hair making them messier. "Why'd you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"You want me to say it?"

"Well it'd help if you are clear. Are you asking why did I fuck you or…?"

"I know why you fucked me," he interrupted dryly.

"Do you now?" she retorted quickly.

Natalie slipped her fingers into the pockets of her coat and pulled out a spliff from one and a lighter from the other. She elegantly lit it, took a long drag and blew the smoke into Harry's face.

She laughed at the amused expression and smirked, waiting for him to continue.

Suddenly Harry realized he had never thought about that. He had just spit it out and now that he thought about it he realized he only thought about how incredible the night was and how she had stolen his money.

The obvious dawned on him. She had slept with him only to steal his money. The realization was quite the blow to Harry's ego. Blowing her mind had only been a pleasant and welcome surprise to her which served the purpose of weathering the blow to his pride.

"I do," Harry replied carefully, masking his annoying realization expertly.

Natalie rolled her eyes as if she knew exactly what was going on in Harry's mind. She held out the joint and offered it to him. "So, what's your question," she asked when he took it and pulled the smoke into his lungs.

Harry exhaled from his nose and took one step into her personal space. He was taller than her. Even with her heels. He had changed since the last time he had seen her and so had she. Considering everything he carefully thought of his question.

The intensity in his eyes made Natalie nervous and excited.

"Would you have slept with me if you weren't planning to rob me?" His ego needed soothing.

Natalie was still. "I would now," she replied, not really answering his question but replying to another. Her eyes silently dared him to make a move.

They stared into each other's eyes. Both of them wanted it, they could see it. Both had been deprived for a while now and being in each other's presence on a cruise and high on weed was fuelling their lust. Harry broke the tension with a snap decision and leaned forward to kiss her.

When she returned the kiss, Harry tossed his glass over the railing and into the ocean. He wrapped a hand around her neck pulled her in to deepen their kiss and the other around her waist pulling her body into his.

Lust coursed through their veins, clouding their minds with pleasure until Natalie gasped and pushed him away.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and he looked at her questioningly looking quite stunned at his recklessness.

Natalie gasped for her breath. It had been a long time. She smirked at him and turned back towards the exit. She began to wall before turning her head to look at his stunned expression.

"If you want me, you're going to have to catch me," she laughed and stepped into the corridor.

Harry snapped out of his stupor with a grin and ran towards her. He caught her and pushed her against the steel wall, trapping her with his body. "Tease," he growled and roughly kissed her. Natalie didn't resist and grabbed his ass.

"You like it," Natalie breathed when they broke apart for air.

She somehow led him to her room as they made out, laughed, stumbled and slammed the door shut as they groped at each other.

"Lights?" Harry managed to gasp between kisses.

He felt something hit the back of his legs as she pushed him into the room and with a cry fell onto a soft surface.

"Later," Natalie whispered and tore at his shirt.

-x-x-x-x-

Some Time Earlier – Corridors

River Tam was an information magnet. She read things. Animate and inanimate. Inanimate ones were the most curious. They always told a different story. It was why she liked touching things. Why she looked at things for hours at end. Their memories were deep and fascinating.

After security had escorted her out for being an invited guest on stage, she had begun to wander around the ship. She saw so many people, felt so many emotions that she was giddy with them all. They all had one thing in common. They were all happy and they were all thinking about sex.

River had explored the top levels of the ship after her performance on stage. She practiced touching the minds of others and withdrawing before the thoughts became overwhelming. She was getting good at it. Her skill in controlling the thoughts in her mind and sorting hers from the others allowed her to know reality from fantasy.

Now, she was pressing her hands against the steel walls and held her ear against it, as if trying to listen to the other side. At least that's what it looked like. She was reading the steel. She shuddered as she felt the memories flowed into her mind. She felt the steel being mined out of the ground on a moon of Persephone. She saw men hammering her into shape, the hands that had touched it, the sounds it made and suddenly she gasped. Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

She had felt a body pressed up against the wall. A pretty woman, and pressed up against her, kissing and caressing her was Harry.

Eyes wide, she touched the wall again and shuddered when she felt their lust. Usually River could control it and clamp it down. But the image of Harry's lips on the woman shocked her control and focus. Her mind expanded into the memories and she felt their desire overpower her control.

She unconsciously followed their trail that led her to a corridor of staff rooms. The corridor was distinctly plain, without décor and lit brightly under blue lights.

River stopped in front of the door behind which she could feel his presence. He was there. 

Her body trembled. River knew she should stop and turn away. She struggled to gain control over her mind and prevent it from getting pulled into his mind. She could feel it open. Unguarded. Vulnerable. She felt the woman's mind too, open for her to read.

River heard footsteps down the corridor and quickly walked into an unlocked room she instinctively knew was empty. There was a stale smell of cigarettes in the room and scrunching her nose in disgust, she ignored it and slid down against the wall, pressing her ear to it as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and exerted control over her powers to remain an invisible observer.

Harry was in the next room and something along the lines of annoyance rustled through her veins. Harry was having a good time! The same sensations that bombarded her when she first saw Simon and Kaylee. She only felt the memories and emotions of others. She had felt it too many times and never once had those feelings been her own.

She read the woman’s story and scoffed. She was an entitled bitch and her jealousy soared when she felt the heat growing between them. Their raw attraction to each other. 

She wanted those feelings in her and her spiraling need made her touch the mind of the woman. River felt her body lit up with pleasure and her eyes widened and breath began to shake. 

Her lips trembled and she felt heat burn deep within her loins. The feelings were incredible and she felt herself spiral.

Suddenly her reality shifted and she was in Harry's arms. Naked. Sweating. Feeling him inside her sending incomprehensible pleasure through her body.

Her body was moist, like she had taken a steam bath and the warm air had made a sheen of moisture over both their bodies. The pleasant sound of a trumpet played in the background. Her arms were around his neck as she rocked with rhythm on him with her legs bent beside his powerful legs.

She felt her breasts rub against his chest and her tips quivered with pleasure as her body moved against his.

Her eyes were staring into wide beautiful emerald green eyes that were soft and sexy. She felt his hot breath against her neck as he held her around her waist with one hand and used the other to thrust his hips against her.

"Harry," River whispered and closed her eyes, burying her face in the crook of his neck as they drowned in pleasure.

-x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x-

A little while before River had found him, Harry and Natalie were lounging on the bed, naked and smoking a joint.

"That's good stuff," Harry coughed.

So far, he was in love with this planet. Drugs, sex and music with a mysterious smoking hot beauty for company. Naked company.

Natalie smiled. "They're grown on Athens and shipped here once every six months. I know the captain of the cargo ship. He was the one who brought me here."

Harry passed her the spliff and looked at her as she reminisced.

"Why would a girl from Osiris run away?" he asked.

It had always been at the back of his mind. That question. Natalie was smart. She was resourceful and from her speech he could easily figure she had a good education. She was from Osiris after all. What could have possibly happened to force her to leave the comforts of that life and embrace the harsh nature of space?

It should have been the first question he asked her on the deck. Although he was glad he hadn't. If he had, he doubted he had even glimpsed her pert arse.

Natalie took a deep drag and let the air out in neat little rings of dirty white smoke. She blew them all away with the final puff and passed the joint to Harry.

She then leaned forward, shifted a bit and sat facing Harry.

My god she's beautiful, Harry thought.

He especially loved the tattoo of the black dragon. It began from her back and one of its claws curled around her breast as its neck stretched up her shoulder and its head peeked up from her neck.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked. She wasn't going to give up her personal secrets even if he was good with his tongue.

"I imagine you left because of the control exerted by the Alliance. You have a free spirit and the Alliance is not a place to nurture that. I want to know if I'm right or wrong," he replied.

Natalie's eyes turned annoyed for a moment before amusement returned and she laughed.

She moved, sat in his lap and leaned forward to kiss him.

Harry felt his energy return and he adjusted to feel her better.

"You're wrong," she said, breathing heavily, after breaking the kiss. "I left because my sister had done it years ago. She was the free spirit and I wanted to see what she became."

She felt him slide into her and she sighed in pleasure.

Harry kissed her neck after taking one last drag and flicked the joint aside. He nibbled on her earlobe and mumbled, "You became her… I think."

Natalie giggled and increased the pace of her movements.

Harry had held back so far and not looked into her mind. But now, he wanted to give her exactly what she wanted. He wanted to hear her scream his name before the night was done. He peeked into her mind and was instantly drawn into a fantasy.

An oceanic roar echoed in his ears and his vision blurred.

His perception shifted and a haze settled over his mind and heightened pleasure coursed through his veins erasing rational thought. He gazed into endless brown eyes and saw her.

"Harry," she whispered.

He was holding her in his arms. He was inside her. Her heat, her soft flesh, sending waves of pleasure through his mind. He slid his hand down her hot and sweaty back and encouraged her movements.

He didn’t want it to stop.

She felt good pressed against him - rocking gently, running her hands through his hair.

"Kiss me," she whispered - her voice, a titillating sound of desire and delight.

Harry closed the gap between them and gently ran his tongue over her lips. He gently bit her lower lip and slipped his tongue into her mouth.

The faint voice that questioned this shift of reality was washed away by how right it felt.

Brown eyes stared into Green as the sax hummed into their night, entwining their senses, unlocking the hold of time.