Here it is! Chapter 14 finally up! I'm sorry about the wait, but life has thrown me some 'plot twists'. Lol. This chapter may be a bit rough as I get back into the story, I apologize for that.
Thanks again for all the reviews. And a special thanks to Stacy73 for the encouragement. :) Hope you guys enjoy! Reviews always welcome. :)

Jessie's head was spinning, her mind was a swirling labyrinth of thoughts. Should she allow this? What was he thinking? What was she thinking? She had run
from this, hadn't she?
No, not from this... His kiss was so gentle. His lips moved so softly against hers. She found her own lips matching his rythym. Her hands, pressed against his
hard chest, softly clutched the shirt he was wearing. His arms around her felt so comforting. Secure and reassuring.
She'd never really been kissed before. And never like this. Never with such care for her.
She felt herself relax against him.

Riddick was amazed at how fast his heart was pounding. Jessie's was too. He should have thought before he did this.
You did think, a voice in the back of his head said. You've thought about it since you met her.
No! I should have thought about how she'd feel. What if her heart rate is up because she's afraid or angry? No, she was kissing him back. He felt her body
relax against him. The was she melted into him felt amazing. The soft weight of her body against his own.
Suddenly he pushed her away. Both gasping for a moment. He couldn't take advantage of her vulnerability. She wanted to be cared for because she wasn't
used to it. He couldn't make her regret this later. "I'm sorry, Jessie," he breathed out heavily. "I can't- I shouldn't have kissed you."
Before she could respond he had turned and was out the door.
He walked down the hall and knocked on Jack's door. He could hear her heavy music coming from inside. "Come on in," he heard her call out. He stepped
into the familiar mess that was Jack's room. Clothes strewn all over the bed and floor. What was new to him was the vanity covered in make-up. Jack was
seated there applying dark shadow to her eyes. "Hey!" she said when she him enter. "What's up?" she turned around to look at him and the smile fell from
her face. "What's wrong? You're not hurt are you? Jessie's ok?" she blurted out a list of questions before he could say anything. He let out a sigh and sat
down on the edge of her bed, moving a blouse out of the way as he did. "Yeah, she's fine, I think."
Jack looked perplexed. "You think? Weren't you just with her?"
Riddick nodded. "Yeah, I was, but I don't know how she feels now." He hesitated a brief moment. "Jack, I kissed her."
Jack's face spread slowly into a wide smile. "Did you really? Oh, good for you! And her." With that she turned back to her vanity and continued to apply her
eye shadow.

Jessie stood in the room, standing exactly as she'd been when he'd so abruptly ended the kiss and walked out of the room. What had she done? Why
shouldn't he have kissed me, did I do something wrong? Jessie wondered these and other questions. Why did he kiss me? Why did he stop?
It had been nice. Her lips still tingled.
She walked over to the bed and sat down. Maybe she repulsed him. He wanted to like her, but maybe he couldn't because of the way she'd been used. It
had crossed her mind many times over the years. Wondering if she'd ever find someone who could accept her after all that. Until she'd met Riddick she'd
given up all hope of ever meeting anyone who could care for her. When he walked out she felt that hope that she hadn't even known had come back to her shatter.
She wished that she could cut her heart out. That would end the pain. She was so tired of all the pain. Maybe she could leave so that Riddick and Jack would
not have to endure anything else for her sake.
Maybe she coud take the tracking device out herself. She stood up to examine it in the mirror. How hard could it be?

"You walked out on her after you kissed her?" Jack asked with a look of disbelief on her face. This was so unlike the Riddick she knew. "You've got it bad,
huh?"

Riddick sighed and looked back at her. "I don't know what the problem is. I am not a hesitant person, I see what I want and I go for it. I know that's how my
life has been. But since I met her, Jack, she has put my mind in a spin. Not to mention how much younger than me she is."
He paused a moment to look up at Jack. "I could use your thoughts. Being a woman yourself."
Jack laughed. Delightful sound. "I think, you're having one of your very rare human moments, Riddick." She smiled up at him, an honestly happy smile. "I
love these moments. Like when you came back for us, all those years ago." She paused a moment, a reflective look on her face, a distant smile. Riddick smiled a little himself. She continued."Riddick, this is the first time though, that your humanness is something you want. And she's just short of her 18th birthday. Physically she's a full grown woman, Riddick. After that age doesn't matter, trust me. At the very least explain why you broke the kiss. Don't ever let a girl wonder that." She walked over to her closet and pulled out a dress. She turned to head for the door and gave her answer just before walking out. "You really want my advice, Riddick, take a chance on her, you could make both of you very happy."
He watched her walk out with a thoughtful look on his face. He smiled. Of course she was right. He couldn't believe that he'd freaked out. He had faced,
seen, done things that no one in their right minds would, and had never blinked. But feelings for this girl terrified him. Maybe not terrified him, but certainly
left him in unfamiliar territory and that was not something Riddick liked. He liked being in control and knowing what was going on.
He figured that he should go and at least offer Jessie a real apology. As he got up to cross the room he smelled blood.

Jessie exhaled sharply as the pain in her hip increased. She bit her lip thinking that she'd been through worse and if this would get her out of all that then
she'd bear it. The blood was starting to pool around her foot, and she was starting to rethink trying to remove the device. Too late to back out. She'd barely
made a cut at all. The hip was a sensitive place though.
"Ouch!" She jumped when there was a knock on the door. "Just a minute," she called. Trying to figure out how to cover up. She quickly wiped the blood off
her leg and pressed a washcloth to her hip. Wrapping a towel around her body, she cracked the door and saw Riddick standing there. "Yeah?" she asked.
"Can I come in?" Riddick asked. "I'd like to talk to you for a moment."
"Now? It's not really a good time. I was getting dressed for dinner," Jessie replied, hoping she sounded convincing. And knew she wasn't when Riddick sighed
and lifted his goggles, she was still amazed by his eyes. "C'mon, Jessie. Let me in."
"Now's really not good, Riddick," she stated flatly and started to close the door.

Riddick put his hand out and stopped the door before Jessie could get it closed. He knew she was probably mad or confused about him walking out after
kissing her. Especially since he was the one who had initiated it. But he couldn't let her do this, she'd have no idea what she was doing. He wasn't sure he'd
know exactly what he was doing but he knew enough about do-it-yourself surgeries from prison. It wasn't often he was grateful for his time in the hole but
the knowledge did come in handy from time to time.
"Jessie, I know what you're doing. Let me in." He kept his voice soft, hoping to calm her. He watched the hesitation cross her face. He found himself glad,
that her life hadn't turned her hard. He liked being able to tell what she was feeling. He had learned a long time ago not to feel or let people know you. Jack
could hide her emotions to a point, but he'd helped her get into a normal life while she was still fairly young.
He had hoped that he would be able to help Jessie get the same but now he wasn't sure she could have a normal life. Would she always be afraid of her
father finding her? You can't have a normal life with fear of being taken every second that you're alive.
Jessie, with a heavy sigh, finally decided to open the door for him.
Riddick hadn't realized that she was in a towel. The sight was... He shoved the thoughts out of his mind. "How bad is it?" he asked.

Jessie looked at Riddick. Watching the way he kept his face angled out of the light. Shrugging, she answered his question. "I don't know really. I'd just
started when you knocked on the door." She didn't know what else to say. Or really what to do. She hadn't really thought through what she was going to do.
"I'm not sure I can get it out," she confessed. "It's deeper than I thought."
She sat down on the bed. And suddenly felt very exposed. Thankful that the towel was oversized. She stared at her feet on the floor.
"Jessie?"
She looked up at the gentle questioning in his voice. "I don't know if this is the right time to bring this up or not, but it's not something I've done before. It's
not often that I don't know what to do, but since I've met you it's happened to me a lot." He pulled his goggles back down, and turned to look straight at her.
"Sorry, but the light is too bright," he apologized. Jessie nodded in reply. "I don't know what you're trying to say, Riddick, but-"
"I'm trying to say I'm sorry."
Jessie looked at him confused. "For what? You've been nothing but good to me. You and Jack both. If anything I owe you and apology. I haven't thanked
either of you enough."
He shook his head. "No, you're fine. And what I want to apologize for isn't for anything like that. I want to apologize for the way I kissed you and ran out."
Jessie looked down at the floor again. "You already did that."
"No, I didn't. I said I was sorry I kissed you and that might have left the wrong idea with you."
Jessie looked up at him, slightly confused again. Did he mean he wasn't sorry? "What do you mean?"
"I'm not sorry I kissed you for the kiss, it was a nice kiss..." He paused as if not sure how to say what he wanted to say. Jessie guessed he didn't have these
kind of conversations often.
"I'm sorry that I kissed you the way I did," he continued. "You've been through a lot and I felt like I was taking advantage of a moment in your life where you
might, under normal conditions, not have kissed me. And I don't want to do that to you."
She felt a small hope creep into her. He thought he was doing her a favor by stopping the kiss... He hadn't been repulsed.
She looked up at him, wishing he'd take those stupid goggles off. "So..." she began, and paused searching for the right words. "You didn't... hate it?" she
asked timidly.
He looked stunned for a moment and then gave her one of his rare, genuine laughs. "You thought I hated it? Wow! I am sorrier than I thought." Still smiling
he shook his head. "No, Jessie, I didn't hate it. And I'm very sorry that I gave you the idea that I did."
She couldn't help but return his smile.
She suddenly became aware of the pain in her side again. Looking down she noticed that the towel was beginning to turn red.
She looked up at Riddick and saw him looking at it too.

Riddick stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. He pushed his goggles up. "Do you want me to try to remove it for you?" he asked. Looking her directly in
the eyes, he waited patiently for her answer. Not minding how long it took to get it.