She felt arms slide around her from behind. She jumped. She hadn't expected that, she hadn't heard anyone, which was odd for her.

Fortunately for the hugger, she recognized the arms, and the man's scent.

"Deciding to live dangerously, my sweet?" she asked as she turned around.

He resettled his arms around her hips and grinned down at her. "Admit it, you didn't hear me coming."

"No," she admitted, "But if I hadn't recognized you you'd be wearing a large hole in your middle right now." She took her hand off her gun and ran the back of her fingers over his belly.

He giggled and flinched back.

Her eyes fired with unholy delight. "Now, River," he said, both trying to step back and trying to hug her tighter so she couldn't move.

Her fingers wiggled their way between his buttons and he giggled and laughed as her fingers tickled his navel.

"River!"

Both hands snaked their way in his shirt and around to his sides. Her fingers tickling mercilessly.

He doubled over, giggling, trying to push her hands away or trap them to his sides.

She loved that high pitched giggle of his, the pure, sweet joy of it. The flush on his face and the glittering starpoints of his eyes.

He tried to dance away in self defense, she countered him. She wrapped a leg behind his knee and toppled him. They landed with a thud in the grass and she crawled all over him, tickling until he wheezed like a dying hyena.

"Uncle!" he yelled, his voice yelping.

"Uncle what?" she whispered moistly in his ear, her breath hot and smiling lips pressing a teasing kiss to his earlobe.

Her fingers reached under his arms and he backpedaled on the ground, wiggling desperately away.

"Uncle! Aunt! Great-grandpa!" he squealed out. Her fingers found his nerve endings and he squealed like a siren. Laughing so hard his face was red.

His arms flailed ineffectually, trying to push her away, or pull her hands out of his shirt.

She was grinning and glowing, bright as a sun over him.

Abruptly he clamped her close and rolled over, trapping her with his weight. He grabbed her wrists and manacled her hands over her head, leaning over her, panting like a racehorse.

"That," he said, still trying to catch his breath, grinning at her like a madman, "was not fair. You're not ticklish."

Her eyebrow popped up, more than happy to be trapped underneath him, lying there quite comfortably. "I'm not?"

Both his eyebrows went up, and his eyes darted back and forth as if he was trying to catalog everything he knew about her. Suddenly his eyes stilled, and he looked back at her. His eyes still, and deep, and intent, and promising retribution.

"Oh, no you don't," she started walking backward on her shoulders, her face flushed and a leery, delighted look on her face.

She twisted and sprinted up. He grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her down. He crawled up behind her, a naughty look on his face.

"You wouldn't dare!" she said, glaring over her shoulder, completely turned on and totally terrified of what he'd do.

He gave her a grinning look that said, "Would too!" He grabbed the top of her boot and pulled it down, and pressed a warm, nimble kiss to the back of her knee.

She squealed and thrashed, wiggling to get away. He laughed and flipped them both over, until she was sitting across his lap. He pulled her boot off and reached for her toes.

"You monster!"

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