Okay, okay, I know. I should be working more on Black Velvet, but ever had one of those scenarios that won't get out of your freakin head until you write it down? This is one of those circumstances. So, I apologize to all of the Black Velvet fans who are reading this because they're desperate for more of that story. Just give me some time.

Chapter Seven is a doozy, but not smutty. So this is for all of the Black Velvet fans who want smut. Realize now that it's probably a long way from happening. Sorry.

Song: Adrenaline by Bush

Disclaimer: If I owned it, do you think I'd be posting about it? LOL!

Adrenaline

You don't feel the pain...

She watched over him as he slept, leaning against the wall. He always slept deeper when it was just them, their first week or so on a planet, so they knew that they were pretty much safe for a while. It was the only time she could sneak into his room in the middle of the night and be sure that he wouldn't awaken and put a shiv to her throat on pure instinct.

Too much is not enough
Nobody said this stuff
makes any sense
We're hooked again

She should have left him a long time ago. Returned to Imam al-Walid's place on Helion Prime. She wanted so much more than the partnership that they had, a partnership that worked, admittedly, but she was going crazy with all of the one-sided power currents that ran between them. She was the only one feeling it and it was enough to light up a star system.

There was something more for her, if she could only become strong enough to walk away. He would never see her like she wanted, like she needed. She was still little Jack, hero-worshipping the galaxy's worst murderer.

The point of no return
See how the buildings burn
Light up the night
Such pretty sight

She looked out his window at the cityscape. New Tokyo this time. Fujisan's white peak looked back at her from the distance, two ski resorts like eyes in his face.

Tonight, a decision had to be made. She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't take the midnight visits to watch him sleep, to wish that she was in his arms, even if it was to just sleep. Not that she thought she'd be able to sleep if he was curled around her, but she'd probably sleep more than she did now.

She shook her head. Riddick had never noticed that little Jack had grown up. It had been seven years since the dreams of him had started. She was twenty-two. Grown. A woman. She wanted to satisfy those baser urges of his, but he still went out to his demimondes. His expensive whores.

She had cried when she did the first load of laundry after the start of the dreams. She could smell that classic Earth perfume, Chanel No. 5, but it wasn't the light, ladylike smell she remembered from her too few years with her mother. Or that she herself wore upon occasion.

It was heavy, definitely worn by a prostitute.

And all over his clothes.

She had thrown his laundry to the side and left a note. As long as you're visiting the locals and 'swapping culture,' you can do your own fuckin' laundry.

It had been funny as hell when he had thrown his tan cargos in with all of his black clothing… Which was everything but the cargos. The pants had come out a very interesting shade of grey and left Riddick cursing for two weeks.

Adrenaline keeps me in the game
Adrenaline you don't even feel the pain
Wilder than your wildest dreams
When you're going to extremes
It takes adrenaline
(You don't feel the pain)

She knew his preference for his whores. Tall, lithe, borderline muscular, with varying lengths of honey-brown hair and emerald eyes. She had seen the tapes. She knew that he was using them as her substitute. She wasn't scared of him, but they were. Was fear what he wanted? Was that how he got off?

She made her decision. She had to get out of here. She had to leave, if only for a few hours. If Richard B. Riddick could go get laid whenever he wanted, so could she. She could find a substitute for him. It wasn't like there weren't male escorts she could hire to give her an illusion of a relationship. She thought of the club, Over/Under. Under was a strip-joint. Over was a male escort service of the highest caliber.

She went back to her room and got dressed. She chose a pair of patched and torn jeans that still looked good, a red tank top, and a pair of combat boots. She went to the bathroom to put on makeup, deciding on her gold eyeshadow, a deep red lipstick, and light foundation. She looked like exactly what she was. A denied twenty-two-year-old that needed company, needed someone to pretend that they had affection for her.

She was sick and tired of Riddick. Tired of the feeling of being ignored, tired of the feeling of being invisible, disposable, interchangeable, unpretty. She was tired of being the unwanted reality. The feeling of being absolutely undesirable to the one person she wanted more than anything.

Sail through an empty night
It's only you and I
who understand,
There is no plan

She left the apartment and locked the door. She made it about twenty steps before she heard the door open behind her and a nearly-silent footstep.

Riddick.

She froze and sighed. "Yes?"

"Why are you going out this late, Jack?" he queried, his voice that deep rumble that said he would prefer to be asleep, but he was wide awake and prepared to fight her if necessary.

"Maybe I want some company. Do I ever question when and why you leave the house, Riddick?"

It was late and she knew that none of their neighbors would be awake. It was safe to use their real names, plus he had started it. She crossed her arms in front of her, refusing to turn around.

"Well, if you're going out, you forgot your shivs. Here."

He stuck the curved blade in the waist of her jeans and she closed her eyes. She heard him reach for the door before she could finally speak through the tears clogging her throat. "Don't you give a damn?!"

Get closer to the thrill
Only time can kill
What's in your eyes
Is so alive

She heard him stop and turn. "What did you just say?"

"Do you, or do you not, give a damn, Riddick? I know about your whores, your little special tape, the perfume, everything. Why the fuck can't it be me? Am I too much like you? We've both killed, hell, I'm getting a count close to yours because of the dumb-fucks at bars that keep touching me when I've warned them. I know that I'm attractive, but it seems like you're the only one who doesn't see it. The only person I want to see it turns a damned blind eye."

She took a breath and stared at the door in front of her. She could walk out of that door, leave the building, and she knew that he'd be long gone when she returned. Then, the whole problem would be resolved.

"Jack."

He sounded stunned, something she'd revel in for the rest of her life. She'd shocked Richard B. Riddick. She turned around and blinked that he was suddenly right in front of her. He'd moved during the moment she'd enjoyed his shock.

Adrenaline keeps me in the game
Adrenaline you don't even feel the pain
Wilder than your wildest dreams
When you're going to extremes
It takes adrenaline

"When did you find the tape?"

It was a tape of a girl that bore an extremely startling resemblance to Jack. She was stretched out on a bed, her fingers moving across her pussy. The film focused on her as she masturbated over and over. Right when she hit her climax, the film cut to black and Jack heard her own voice scream, "Riddick!"

She shrugged lightly. "A few months back. When we were on Luvell Four."

He paled slightly. "And?"

"And I hate that you are so much of a shit-faced psycho-fucked dimwit that you can't see that if you'd wanted a tape like that, I would have done it. For you. That I want to be the one you turn to. Obviously, though, if I want company, to be treated like I'm wanted, I have to pay for my company, just like you. Damn, for all of your attempts to make sure that I end up nothing like you, I'm sure turning out to be your little mini-me."

Run through the speed of sound
Every thing slows you down
And all color that surrounds you
Are bleeding to the walls
All the things you really need
Just wait to find the speed
Then you will achieve
Escape velocity

He pushed her against the wall. "Don't tempt me, Jack. You don't know what I'm like. What I can do."

"Like hell I don't. You don't think I went and asked? You're a Darksider. You like things rough, but you never demand too much out of your partner. Hell, you think I didn't go and ask who the fuck Madame Transylvania- or whatever the fuck her name was- was when you mentioned her? Shiiiit. You fucked her seven ways to Sunday and still had a hard on from what she was telling another of her clients."

His eyes shined at her. She wasn't quite sure if this was challenge or submission. Wasn't sure what she was thinking, no matter the case. When he gave a low growl and dragged her back to the apartment, she knew.

Her wildest dreams were about to come true.

Too much is not enough
Nobody gave it up
I'm not the kind
To lay down and die

He pulled her into his room and rested his hands on her shoulders. "You get two chances to back out. Here's chance one," he rumbled.

"Not a chance," she whispered. "You don't scare me, Big Evil."

He laughed quietly and pulled off her tank top before kissing her lips. She gasped, feeling liquid fire rushing through her veins, heightening all of her senses. He wasn't going to be slow, or gentle, or anything. He was going to be Riddick, unique, powerful, and attuned to everything. She remembered how Madame Transylvania had complained that he had hurt her and she knew that he wouldn't do the same to her. He had never kissed the Madame. If he had kissed her, it would have mattered to him, and destroyed Jack.

He nipped his way up her jaw and then down her neck, stopping to tease a pulse-point at the join of her neck and shoulder. He licked and nibbled before sliding his lips along her skin to the valley between her breasts. He froze there and she felt his eyes close, the lashes brushing her skin.

She shivered and felt the trickle-tickle of arousal. She knew he could smell it because he turned and lapped at her nipple before pulling it into his mouth and suckling strongly. Her hips squirmed as her head went back in stunned knowledge. None of the romance novels she'd read had prepared her for this kind of feeling, had accurately described the fogging of the brain or the suddenly flash of urgency.

Adrenaline
keeps me in the game
Adrenaline
you don't even feel the pain
Wilder than your wildest dreams
When you're going to extremes
It takes adrenaline

He quickly finished undressing her as his lips moved over the skin he bared. He froze when he saw that she was neatly shaved down there. She blushed and turned away slightly, unsure of what to say.

"You're gorgeous, Jack. So pretty."

She whispered, "I did it for you." and turned back to him. It was the second stunned look of the night as he moved to lick at her cream. When he made contact, she gave a startled gasp, her hips bucking and her hands coming behind his head. He chuckled into her. He didn't stay there long, only giving her a taste of what he could do with his tongue before kissing back up her body, his hands trailing up her legs.

He brushed his fingers across her opening, and when she gasped a little in surprise he took her mouth roughly with his own, choosing the same moment to plunge his fingers into her. The warmest pleasure she'd ever felt rushed through her every cell and it was all she could do not to buck her hips against his hand as it explored her uncharted territory.

He toyed with her, sucking on her tongue dreamily and moving his fingers in an achingly slow rhythm until her moans were all she could hear. He let go of her mouth so he could watch her face as he moved his thumb up to her clit. He stroked it over and over, each time making her gasp a little deeper and her body tense just a little more. He picked up the rhythm and she could feel the arousal in her lower belly growing and a unique glow spreading through each limb, every nerve afire in a demand she'd never truly realized during her nights of self-manipulation for that slight calm of release. She became aware of a sound then and realized it was the blend of her soft moans and Riddick's purring. He really was enjoying this almost as much as she.

She bucked her hips a little and a hand pinned them down as his mouth kissed down her neck. "Second chance, Jack," he murmured, his voice vibrating through her body. The pressure in her chose that exact moment to explode beyond her control.

Adrenaline
Screaming out your name
Adrenaline
you don't even feel the pain
Wilder than your wildest dreams
When you're going to extremes
It takes adrenaline

"Riddick!" she cried out, his fingers slowing. His hand moved to pull back and her muscles clenched around him. He laughed.

"Give me a moment, Jack. That was so fuckin' hot. Just let go for a moment."

She relaxed and closed her eyes. He'd come back. She head the sound of undressing before the bed dipped. The only sounds heard from that room for the rest of the night were moans and whispers of pleasure.

You don't even feel the pain
You don't even feel the pain
I'm going to extremes
There is nothing in between
You don't even feel the pain
You don't even feel the pain
You don't even feel the pain
You don't even feel the pain

And, before they slipped into slumber at dawn's first light, Riddick whispered, "I know your pain, Jack. I can feel it. I-" he broke off with a yawn before shaking his head and burying his face in her hair. "I love you, Kid."