37) She Makes You Better Than Anything You've Tried
Riddick looked at River and grinned, she'd made up her face and done her hair so she looked like she was going to a core function, some society do. The contrast between that and her rough work clothes was amusing to him even if no one else would get the joke. The dichotomy that was River Tam, he thought to himself with a silent chuckle.
River tilted her head at him and pressed a soft finger to his lips, "She is River Riddick now." She reminded him, her fingers tracing the scars down her right palm. He pressed a kiss to those scars, twins to his and mentally promised her that when the job was done they'd have a day to themselves in the bunk before they got back to work.
"She will hold her mate to that," River murmured and began to climb out of their bunk silently. Riddick followed her, glad he and Kaylee had worked on his hatch until it moved smoothly and soundlessly. His little sister hadn't understood why until he'd told her he didn't like extra noise if he could do anything about it, that the squeak was painful to his sensitive ears.
That the hatch now made no sound opening or closing made it exponentially easier to sneak out of their bunk when the pair had to. Riddick had been sure it would come in handy at some point and since Mal didn't care so long as they weren't breaking anything no one had gotten in trouble for the repair work. The smooth click of metal wasn't anything someone besides River or he, or possibly Jayne would hear now.
They hadn't told Mal about their plan to make absolutely certain no one captured Jayne. River had spent a solid two hours meditating and determining where the guards were and where it was most likely Stitch was, assuming the mind burning with anger and vengeance was Jayne's old partner. If it wasn't then no harm done but it seemed likely since River'd been able to see a familiar figure in the vengeful thoughts.
It was a two part plan, the first segment of which was to sneak off of Serenity. Wash had returned to the boat along with Mal, shaking his head and telling Zoe all about the great hero Jayne. That had been a funny conversation…
Wash had all but stumbled onto the ship while River and Riddick were sitting quietly and making their plan in the lounge, "Honey, we're home!"
Zoe had come down the steps, the client apparently was tying up the cortex with waves, "Mal, Bernoulli's chomping at the bit. Says he wants his merchandise yesterday."
The captain had nodded, "Yeah, well, we still got a few wrinkles to work out on the deal."
Wash had other things on his mind, "Did you know that Jayne is a bona fide folk hero? Got a song and everything."
Zoe blinked at him, apparently she hadn't taken Mal all that seriously when he'd told her as much, "You been drinking, husband?"
Mal shrugged as if to say he wasn't responsible for what the pilot did when dirtside, "That he has. Don't make it any less the case."
Zoe was regarding her husband and captain as if they'd both lost their minds, "I thought you were exaggerating before. You really telling me that Jayne..."
Mal nodded, "Wasn't jokin' before. An' we're gonna use it just the way I said we was. It should buy us enough of a distraction to get the stolen goods out from under the foreman and his crew of prods."
Zoe had looked at her laughing husband, "You're really going to have to start again. Jayne's a what?"
The conversation had been extremely humorous as Wash gave a rousing rendition of the song. Riddick had been able to tell exactly when Zoe had gone from disbelieving to taking the whole idea seriously because she'd looked over at he and River and her face had been curiously without expression. Riddick had wondered what the woman was thinking and River had whispered that she suspected the two of them were up to something but since it was likely something that would keep them all from getting killed she was keeping her peace about it.
Riddick tried to put the memory of that conversation out of his head in favor of present circumstances, of course it didn't help that Kaylee and Simon hadn't returned, apparently they were having a fine time watching Jayne. Riddick wasn't exactly easy about that but he didn't have time to play chaperone now.
Unfortunately Wash wasn't in bed and he wasn't on the bridge and Riddick really didn't want to knock the man out. The pilot was getting another cup of coffee as he sat watch and the galley lay right between Riddick, River and where they needed to go. River tilted her head up at Riddick in a silent question and he shook his head, "That won't help none." He sighed and moved into the galley, River at his side.
Wash, to his credit, was growing more used to Riddick's silent way of moving and didn't yell his surprise when he turned around and saw the two of them. He did bobble his coffee cup, thankfully empty, before setting it down, "You're up to something." He remarked keeping his voice down.
River nodded, "Making sure nothing goes wrong with the captain's plan." She murmured.
"Depends a little too much on luck for my peace a mind," Riddick kept his voice low. "So you could call this preventative maintenance."
Wash nodded his understanding, "I'm all for that." His good humored face was sober as a judge, "Just be careful you two. And take an earwig with you. I'll be on watch until dawn."
"Shouldn't take longer than a coupla hours," Riddick nodded. He could tell from the man's scent and River's reaction to Wash's thoughts that the man wouldn't tell Mal where they were unless they didn't come back before Mal came on watch.
After that sneaking off the boat was easy. For all his skills, Book was still older and needed his rest, and Riddick and River didn't make much noise walking even when they weren't trying for silence. If need be they could fight in complete silence as well, the only sound of combat would be from their enemies and thumps of flesh on flesh or steel through skin. It was that particular skill that they'd be putting to work that night.
Riddick took one last breath of clean air before he opened the airlock door and followed River out. "I hate this tā mā de moon," He muttered softly as he shut the door behind them. Clicking on the earwig he handed it to River. There was no way he'd be able to deal with the noise of it in his ear. River's hearing wasn't as sensitive and she'd happily wear the little comm device.
"We're off Wash," She murmured as she affixed it in her ear.
"Take care an' lemme know when you're back, I'll turn off the alarms to the airlock again." Wash's voice was quiet but still easy enough for him to hear.
"Affirmative," River agreed. "Radio silence until then, unless emergency is declared."
"Over and out," Wash's voice declared and the transmitter went silent.
Riddick looked around, checking the fit of the slender pack he'd slung over his shoulders. Stage two required a change of clothing and it wouldn't do to lose the costumes. "All right yì zhōng rén, let's go."
River slanted a grin at him, a feral bloodthirsty expression that should have looked out of place with the formal cosmetics and instead just made her look even more beautiful to his eyes, "Richard must lead the way. She will…bat cleanup." Her eyes were twinkling as if she knew how hungry he was for a good fight, a clean kill. And of course she did, his woman knew him better than he knew himself sometimes.
He grinned, feeling the animal stretch out and fill every part of him, the man and animal combining to work in unison for a truly good hunt. The trick would be to make each kill look as if a madman, someone locked up for years and insane with rage, had done it. The first guard went down with a shiv to the back and a broken spine, a shiv to his jugular finished him off before he hacked at the body with the big knife he'd taken just for this purpose. It was closer to a machete and resembled what the guards carried. When they got closer to the place Stitch was he'd take a blade off a guard and use that, but for now, he'd use the copy for the finishing work.
He was conscious of River watching him, her eyes acclimating to the dark and glowing silver like his own, honey and apples twining with silk, steel and blood. She was smiling as he looked up and moved beside him to look the body over critically before taking the big blade and slashing at the man's palms and forearms. Handing the blade back she shrugged, "To give the look of defensive wounds." She explained softly. "Avoid the sweet spot my love. Too calculated."
"Gotcha," His voice was a growl of pleasure. He loved working with his woman, robbing a bank, murder, or facing off a platoon he wanted her at his side. Her smile grew as she heard his thoughts and plums infused her scent along with honey and caramel. Riddick smiled, he rarely thought about it, the scent was so much a part of her, he wasn't sure when he'd first noticed it along with the blood, silk and steel.
Sometime after the Academy had first doped him up with River in the room he'd smelt plums on her and hadn't known what it had meant. He'd guessed eventually that it was the scent of her friendship with him, and River had never said otherwise. At that point unless the scent went away he didn't worry about it, considering it part of her base fragrance. He hardly bothered to mentally tag it anymore. Whereas blood meant truth and would disappear if she was lying outright, silk was for strength and if it was gone or smelt frayed River would collapse at any moment. And steel, the discipline she used to control her abilities could turn rusted or fade which meant River could convulse or have a babbling fit. The plums were always there though. Riddick's smile tilted wickedly, it hadn't been until recently when he'd smelt plums that he'd realized what it meant.
River was blushing now, sugar threading into her scent even as he located the next guard and sliced his throat. Wounds like River had given the other guard, a deep belly wound and more to the chest and head gave him the look of being savaged by a madman and Riddick grinned up at his woman as she nodded her satisfaction with the work.
She couldn't say anything now without giving away their position but she was blushing fiercely as Riddick thought on plums and how her skin always smelt of them around him. He'd loved her scent from the moment he'd seen her but something about those plums just made him want to surround her with his body and worship. His hands were bloody so he couldn't touch her, and he had blood spattered over his face so he couldn't kiss her either. But he could think about how he'd like to.
One more guard, very close to a metal box and this one Riddick took the big knife from and used it to make what he was mentally calling 'crazy cuts' on the body. Part of him was wondering if they should let the man out and kill him now or do it later, after the second stage of the plan. They'd have to go all the way to a bog, which was clear across town, in order to get rid of the body and that would eat time.
River nodded her voice a whisper only he would hear, "He thinks correctly. Three more guards, then stage two, then back here for Stitch."
Riddick nodded his understanding, 'We'll have to change back into our work clothes after stage two.' He reminded her mentally, 'Don't wanna wreck the nice stuff we bought.'
"Will not be a problem," River nodded. "Plenty of time to change clothing."
He barely kept from chuckling and began to lead her in the direction of the grand house.
It had ended up being four more guards, with River taking out one that had simply stumbled upon Riddick killing another. It hadn't even messed up her hair and he grinned as she dusted off her hands and made an elegant bow towards him, gesturing to the body so he could cut it up more. Then they were at the great house and Inara's shuttle was parked off to the side of the lawn. Riddick could smell the scents of incense and sex and tea and wrinkled his nose. The incense always made him feel like he was about to sneeze.
Out of sight behind an outbuilding he slung the pack off his body and watched as River stripped out of her work clothes. She'd found a gown very close to one of Inara's in style on Beaumonde, something in a color that looked like fresh blood to his eyes, dark and rich over her skin. When she put it on River looked like elegant sex and all he wanted to do was bury himself inside her. Honey bloomed in her scent as she caught his thoughts and she smiled wickedly up at him. "Later," She promised and he grinned. Then it was his turn to strip while she stood guard and he pulled on the shoes and elegant trousers, and finally the dark silk tunic with the standing collar. With smoked glass specs on his nose he looked like the proper escort for a Companion. A little flirting and a dosed drink and the magistrate would be dead. It shouldn't take long at all Riddick thought with a half smirk.
Getting in the house unseen wasn't difficult, the door wasn't even locked. The magistrate was talking to someone in his study, "My son's out there I pray to God losing his cherry."
Riddick glanced down at River as they heard a familiar voice, the foreman who'd greeted them upon their arrival, "There's a problem in worker-town, sir. Jayne Cobb's come back."
Riddick frowned and River whispered, "Cannot let the foreman leave. He will find the dead guards when he goes to release Stitch." That was just what he was hoping she wouldn't say but it wasn't as if he really need a good excuse to kill the bully. He would have done it if he'd run into him outside. River was murmuring still, "If we enter now, Higgins will likely tell the foreman to wait for him outside."
Riddick took that as his cue to knock on the door interrupting Higgin's monologue about how Stitch would take care of the Mudder hero worship and the hero when they let him out.
"Come in," Higgin's voice was irritated.
River opened the door and walked through it, every inch the lady, her curves beautifully displayed in the blood colored gown, pale skin glowing. "Magistrate Higgins?" She waited for Riddick to close the door behind him and dipped her knees in a curtsey.
"Yes my dear," The man's voice was unctuous, his smile oily with lust and feigned joviality. "You have the advantage of me Miss…"
"Déchaînement," River's elegantly modulated tones seemed to float through the air. "If it please you sir, I am Fleur Déchaînement."
The foreman was staring, the lust practically boiling off him. Higgins was a little better, more concerned with what River might want of him than his lusts though he could plainly see and appreciate that she was beautiful. "Well it is pleasant to meet you my dear but you can see I do have…business to attend to."
"This is a delicate thing to speak of," River cast a look over her shoulder at Riddick as if asking for aid.
Riddick stepped forward minutely and bowed, summoning his core voice, "Sir, strictly speaking Miss Déchaînement should not be here. But Miss Serra was…impressed with you earlier…"
"Ah," Magistrate Higgins no sooner heard Inara's name than his lust began to overcome his good sense. "Wait for me by the back door," He told the foreman sharply. "I'll be out in a while."
"Think it's a good idea ta wait Boss?" The foreman wasn't stupid but he wasn't smart enough to shut up either.
"I think you'd better shut your mouth and do what I tell you or I'll find out why you're not," Higgins snapped back. The foreman took his smelly, filthy self out of the study, Riddick politely holding the door for him and locking it silently once it was closed again.
River smiled gratefully, "You are very kind sir." She moved closer to the desk, "You see, I'm Miss Serra's apprentice. This is our manservant and guard, Mr. Fureur."
"As I was saying sir, Miss Serra was impressed with you earlier," Riddick bowed slightly again as he spoke. "Her apprentice would not normally be allowed contact with males who are not contracted to her but she felt Miss Déchaînement would benefit from your company."
"And your presence here is because…" Higgins was regarding Riddick with a small amount of skepticism.
"To ensure her safety," Riddick allowed himself a cool smile. "Also to be certain she performs as she should. In Miss Serra's absence I am the one to evaluate Miss Déchaînement."
River nodded and moved closer to the desk, "If I may sir?" She gestured to his side of the desk and Higgins grinned patting his knee invitingly. "Miss Serra said you were a man of a very…generous spirit. To gift your son with a Companion is no small thing. She assured me that you would see to it my time with you was…memorable." She perched delicately on his knee.
Higgins' hands found her hip and thigh, squeezing lustfully through the silk of her gown, "Well I will do my best Miss Déchaînement." He smiled genially, "Might I ask what you have on under this pretty gown?" Riddick did his best to not inhale sharply as the man's lust spiked and River's nerves wound tighter to his senses. She might not show it to Higgins but she was steeling herself against her nerves.
"Why nothing sir," River returned his smile. "Please, if we are to be…intimate…would you be pleased to call me Fleur?"
"Nothing would make me happier Fleur, unless it was seeing you out of that gown," Higgins was a bit pink in the face as River's hands touched his chest and shoulders.
"And then sir, may I remove your neckcloth," River's slender hands touched the silk that wrapped around Higgin's neck. Her hands weren't shaking and only Riddick would have caught the sound of her heartbeat increasing, cinnamon in her scent turning burnt as the man's hands squeezed her body.
"If it makes you more comfortable, do it now," The magistrate urged her.
Riddick ground his teeth as he watched the man's hands on River's body, if she didn't do something soon he was going to go crazy and just shiv the gǒu niáng yǎng de. She was his and no one else had the right to touch the way Higgins was touching.
"Such a well dressed man," River cooed as she deftly unknotted and unwrapped the cravat from around Higgins neck. "My…bodyguard…he might grow a little bored. Might I offer him a glass of your port sir?"
"You pour him one and me as well," Higgins directed her and when she slipped off his knee gave her behind a little pat. "Just slip off that gown before you come here back to me." Riddick kept his eyes on the man and mentally checked his shivs again. This wasn't the plan. River was supposed to flirt and dose his drink without any risk of her clothes coming off. According to what she'd Read from Inara manhandling a Companion who hadn't clearly consented to such handling was not done. Higgins was gauche and a cad and very close to death if River gave him the slightest indication she wanted him to intervene.
River's scent spiked with cinnamon and sugar but her face never showed any of her anger or embarrassment as she poured the drinks, one for Riddick, and one for Higgins, dosed liberally with essence of foxglove or digitalis. In small doses it was medically useful. In large ones such as the one Higgins would drink, it would cause heart failure within ten minutes. It was the ten minutes between the drink and death that Riddick was worried about.
She handed Riddick his drink looking up into his eyes and he thought fiercely that all she had to do was say the word and he'd have a shiv in the man's throat. River's dark eyes were warm but worried even as she smiled and turned back to Higgins, setting his drink down on the edge of his desk deliberately before she unknotted the straps of her gown. It slithered down her body in a whoosh of fabric, leaving her with a cloud of blood colored silk at her feet and her body completely nude to the gaze of both men in the room. River picked up the drink and smilingly handed it to Higgins, "Are you pleased sir?"
Riddick clenched his jaw and ground his teeth together to hold back the growl as Higgins tossed back the dosed port in one swallow, his other hand reaching for River's pretty breasts. Pudgy fingers fondled his woman as Riddick's hand tightened on the lowball glass in his hand. River was giggling, cinnamon and sugar in her scent but the cinnamon was twisting, that awful burnt smell in his nose as Higgins pulled her closer to him.
"You were thirsty," She giggled at Higgins. "What else are you thirsty for sir?"
"Hm…gimme another glass of that," Higgins was a bit red in the face but his hands were still caressing River's breasts. He sucked one nipple into his mouth before releasing it with a pop and putting his glass in River's hand. Riddick was lucky the man was unobservant because he nearly snarled and he knew his face wasn't as impassive as it could be.
River nodded, a soft moan on her lips as Higgins let go of her and sent her with another smack on the pì gu towards the port. Riddick was working as hard as he could to keep his face like stone, while inwardly the animal was ready to gut the man for touching River's skin. They only had one dose of digitalis left, hopefully it would work. If Higgins didn't die soon Riddick had no illusions about what would happen when he touched any other part of River.
River swayed back to Higgins and teasingly lifted the glass to her lips before lowering it and offering the glass to the magistrate. The man tossed the drink back without a wince and pulled her into his lap so she was forced to straddle him before lifting her up onto the desk, her thighs spread, "Always wondered what a Companion's yīn xué looked like." He muttered a bit tipsily, his face a darker shade of red now.
River's hands touched his hair and shoulders, "Does it please you?" She murmured, her fingers nimbly unbuttoning his collar and shirt even as cinnamon and sugar burnt in Riddick's nose. Her hands had started to tremble and he knew this couldn't go for much longer.
"It'll please me more when I'm pushing my prick deep inside it," Higgins told her standing up and loosening his belt.
"That would please me too," River whispered, "Magistrate Higgins…would you like…my mouth first?" She was trembling, shivering almost violently, and only she and Riddick knew it was out of fear, her scent filled with burnt cinnamon along with her rage. That fat fool Higgins thought it was with desire for him, he was practically drooling over River.
"Yes…" Higgins nearly slurred the word, dropping back into his chair. "Get me ready to plow that tight little cunny." River slipped down from the desk and watched as his face grew to an alarming shade of purple, his hand clutching at his throat and chest. Her hands pulled open his shirt, popping buttons, to place her palm over his heart. Her face filled with satisfaction as she felt the organ pounding under her palm.
Riddick watched as Higgins had the fatal heart attack, the scent of River's fear slowly faded as the man died right in front of her. Greedily he took in the sight, a beautiful naked River, her hand feeling the last struggling beats of a heart and the man's gasps for breath. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. Even as he had the thought honey threaded into her scent. "You all right?"
River nodded slowly and moved over to her gown pulling it back up her body. Before she'd gotten it over her hips he was on her, his big hands dark on her soft flesh, "If he'd done any more touchin' I woulda killed him." He growled in her ear, nipped the curve with his teeth, "Nobody touches my woman like that but me." He palmed her breasts and pushed her gown off her body again.
Her scent flooded with honey and caramel as he carried her to the desk and put her down in the exact spot where she'd been sitting before, "My Richard, my Riddick." Her voice was soft and sweet, filled with need. "Please, touch, take, get the feel of him off of me." She was still trembling in his hands and damned if he'd let her go another minute without what she needed to feel safe.
Riddick wasn't sure if it was the animal or the man that was in charge at the moment, but seeing River kill a man, standing naked in front of him and watching him gasp out his last breath had sent a veritable tsunami of desire through him. His fancy trousers were distorted by the hard length of his diǎo before River's hands pushed them down, pulling it out. He bent and pressed hot wet kisses to her breasts before he took her mouth and swept his tongue inside devouring her. Everywhere Higgins had touched he kissed. Her skin, so cool to the touch when he'd first held her was hot and silky against his hands. He groaned and bent down, licking up her slit and curling his tongue around her yīn dì before he sucked on the sensitive flesh drawing it up into his mouth and flicking it with his tongue.
Her shriek of pleasure was still ringing in his ears as he drove into her, hot, tight, wet flesh surrounding him, drawing him deeper and deeper inside her. Riddick groaned and fixed his mouth to hers, jerking her body on and off his cock and swallowing her scream of bliss as she fell, throbbing around him. He lost control, pounded hard into her, without mercy, without finesse, grinding his way to his climax as she nearly sobbed with passion, in fall after fall. He groaned into her mouth as his fall tore though him, his seed yanked out of his body by hers, clutching his jī ba in a wet velvet grip.
She was breathing hard, panting under him, and he kissed her again, more gently this time. "I've got you River," The convict promised in a murmur. "Nobody will ever have you but me. I won't ever let that happen to you zhēn 'ài. You're mine."
"Yes," Her whisper was so sweet on his neck. "I couldn't have done it without you in the room. Your mind, your anger was the only thing that kept me from screaming and running away. I knew you would never let him have me...but I...when he told me to take off my gown...should I have flirted more? Teased him?"
"No plan ever goes perfect River," Riddick reminded her, pressing kisses to her shoulders. "You did fine. I ain't ever gonna let anything like that happen to you. I promise baby. You're mine. No other man is ever gonna have you."
She clung to him for several long moments more before reluctantly taking her mouth from his skin. "We must still kill the foreman and Stitch."
Riddick grudgingly pulled out of her body and found a handkerchief in the drawer for River to clean herself up with at least a bit. She pressed a kiss to his lips before wiping his mouth free of the dye that had smeared from her lips to his. He growled softly as she hopped down from the desk and busied himself with pulling his trousers into order to keep his hands from ripping the gown back off her body even as she pulled it back up over her white skin. They were halfway done with the job though, and he hadn't anticipated having River in the middle of it, so that was a bright spot in a crap couple of days, "Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud turn forth her silver lining on the night?" He murmured the question and got a smile of pleasure from his woman.
Once the silky straps were retied over her shoulders, Riddick noticed in amusement that she'd never removed her shoes, no wonder he'd felt her heels pressing into his backside. "All right bǎo bǎo?"
"Very," River smiled at him and looked around the room giving it a once over before she walked to the door. "If we go out the way we came in, we can change, then surprise the foreman, kill him, get Stitch, lead him off, kill him and go back to Serenity before dawn."
Riddick nodded his understanding, "Side door it is."
River shuddered slightly as she removed the dress. She'd bought it with something like this in mind but putting the idea into practice wasn't the same. If it hadn't been for Riddick being in the room with her she doubted she could have let Higgins even touch her. She'd almost lost control and killed the man when he'd sat her on the desk and spread her thighs. Riddick looked at her worriedly and she took a deep breath, pushing away the mood, "I'll be fine. Need a bath." She murmured wrinkling her nose. Putting on her work clothes was a pleasure and she didn't bother to take her hair out of its elaborate updo. It was out of the way and would stay up and that's all that mattered at the moment.
Once she had her boots on and her blades were in their places Riddick shucked his fine clothes and pulled on his blood spattered cargo pants and teeshirt. River kept her mind and ears listening for guards but her eyes were fixed firmly on her mate recalling how he'd looked before he'd cleaned up and put on the elegant suit. She'd never seen anyone look so good with blood spattered across his face before. The only thing better than seeing him put clothes on was when he'd take them off. And watching him slide his knives into place, fingering the big blade he'd used earlier, was almost as arousing as watching him kill. Maybe the Academy had twisted something in her mind, or maybe she'd always been like this, but watching her mate fight was more stimulating than any erotic film or book.
"What're you thinkin' tiān shǐ," Riddick's big hand skimmed down her arm, silver eyes bright as they looked at her in the dark.
"How much I love watching you," River admitted. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark again, more slowly than her mates but with a little time she'd see as well. "How titillating I find seeing you...fight, kill." Her mate's eyes gleamed hotly and she could feel his pleasure that she liked seeing his skills used.
"Like hearin' that," Riddick told her with a smile. She could Read his thoughts that he knew she loved him, knew she adored his mind but he'd never been sure how she felt about his violent ways, his uncivilized joy in a good fight and satisfaction in a kill. That she appreciated his skills was something that pleased him greatly. Hearing that she found watching him fight arousing simply reaffirmed his belief that she was the perfect woman. "Let's get the job done, get back to Serenity," Her mate wanted time alone with her, time where he could let the animal out more and make her scream long and loud for him.
The foreman was disturbingly easy to kill, oblivious to his surroundings and possessed of a glass jaw on top of a soft gut. Riddick threw the body over his shoulder and they carried it back to the detention area. River looked at the other boxes and shook her head at one, the other she frowned at and looked at Riddick, "Should they free the other prisoner?"
"What's he in for?" Riddick asked in a low voice as he expertly killed the foreman with a knife to the gut and a slash to the throat. Multiple slices to the body and hands to make the body mimic the others and he was done.
"Sedition," River frowned. "He will not stay quiet if we free him." She tilted her head thoughtfully, "Higgins' son, he is not his father...likely will improve conditions and let he man go as a good will gesture. Should not rob him of that." Her frown eased, "Yet I argue not against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer right onward."
"So we leave him then, less trouble for us, and something for the kid to do when he's in charge," Riddick nodded and grinned. "Then let's get Stitch and make like trees."
"Leaves?" River nearly giggled at the bad joke but bent to pick the locks on the box. Riddick grinned at her before giving his attention to their surroundings as she worked on the lock. She pulled the lid open and stepped back as one eye opened in a grimy face.
Riddick stepped forward, "Stitch Hessian?" He growled the words quietly.
"Yeah, whadda ya want wit' me?" The man's voice was hoarse with heat and lack of water.
"Bein' released," Riddick grabbed the man's shoulder and began to manhandle him out of the box. River noted that it was a good thing Richard was so strong, Hessian was a tall man and he wasn't very well coordinated.
Once Stitch had his feet under him River looked up at the grimy smelly person who'd tried to kill her friend. "We will need to sneak through town, have a shuttle landed inconspicuously," She lied. "Unless Stitch wishes to remain?"
"No, wanna get offa this gorram rock," Hessian nodded. "I ain't bein' released though, Higgins he don't release nobody."
"Never said Higgins was releasing you," River grinned and began to lead the way back, diverting from she and Riddick's original path to detour through the town towards the bog.
"So what's alla the hullabaloo?" Hessian muttered the question to Riddick who was walking behind the taller man and steadying him every so often. The town's tavern was overflowing with people and the shouts could be heard from where they were walking behind it.
"Some local folk hero," Riddick lied, "Guess this here was a day he did somethin' shiny. Must be like the Mudder's version of Unification day."
"Morons," Hessian said succinctly and with that River wasn't entirely sure she disagreed. A crowd of people flooded out into the street and the three of them flattened themselves against the back of the bar to avoid being seen.
River blinked as she realized that her brother and Kaylee were on the other side of the wall, she could hear their conversation clearly, Simon was very tipsy and so was Kaylee. She cast a worried look at her mate and knew from his expression that he had realized the exact same thing and couldn't fail to hear the conversation the inebriated couple was having.
Simon was very drunkenly enunciating, "You know, I've saved lives. Dozens. Maybe hundreds. I reattached a girl's leg. Her whole leg. She named her hamster after me. I got a hamster. He drops a box of money, he gets a town." River cast a glance at Stitch but he plainly couldn't hear a thing, his attention on the people out in the street.
Kaylee was telling Simon in a dreamy tone, "Hamsters is nice."
River nearly laughed as Simon made a toast, "To Jayne! The box-dropping, man-ape-gone-wrong-thing."
Riddick's mèi mei was laughing, "You are pretty funny."
Finally Simon said something right, "And you're pretty...pretty."
Unfortunately Kaylee was very drunk and now she was astonished on top of it, "What did you just say?"
"I just said that you're pretty. Even when you're covered in...engine grease, you're..." River's drunk gē ge told his lady love, "No, especially, especially when you're covered in engine grease."
River rolled her eyes and Riddick grinned at her from his position behind Stitch, "Gonna play it casual." Her mate murmured to Hessian, "Just walk across the street like we got every right, should be home free in a bit."
Hessian nodded muttering to himself. Unfortunately for him any chance he had of living went out the proverbial window as his mutterings about hunting down Cobb and gutting him were perfectly audible to Jayne's friends. River saw her mate's eyes turn to silver steel and nodded at him leading them out into the street and finally out of the town.
The walk to the bog wasn't far, River could feel Hessian's trepidation rising as she led them deeper into it and there was still no sign of a shuttle. "Whadda ya playin' at—" He put a hand on her shoulder and jerked her around to face him, not even seeing the knife in her hand.
It slid easily into his gut, smooth as butter and she smiled coldly up at him, "Not playing."
She felt more than saw Riddick find the sweet spot on Hessian, his shiv plunging into the man's back, the spurt of blood that sprayed upwards, a bright trail across her mate's handsome face. "Shouldn't a tried to stab my brother in the back," Riddick murmured as he pushed the taller man off his blade.
Hessian crumpled like a puppet whose strings had been cut, falling to his knees, blood running out of him into the ground and muddy water. River looked up at her mate and then down at the dying man, "Should have known better." She told him coolly, "No one messes with Riddick's family. Shouldn't have tried to harm Jayne." Riddick moved so that he was facing the man and slowly, with decided pleasure, dragged his knife over the man's throat. Hessian was bleeding out so quickly from the wound in his back that there was barely a spurt of blood when the murderer's knife sliced the jugular.
River licked her lips feeling very warm all of the sudden, her limbs flushed with blood as she watched her mate deliver the final blow and shove Stitch into the bog with a kick of his boot. Her man licked his lips, tasting the blood and turned to grin at her. She knew the moment Riddick realized what was happening to her, his nostrils flared as he caught the scent of honey over the smell of the mud. River moaned slightly, her mind open to his, bloodlust subsumed into lust for her as she stared at the spray of blood across his face. She wanted to kiss him, taste it on him, push his body to the ground and ride him and the need was like a pulsing ache between her thighs.
Stitch's body sank slowly under the water with a blurp and River couldn't wait anymore, launching herself at her mate, her arms around his neck and legs wrapped around his waist. She fused her mouth to his, blood on his mouth still, her tongue pushing past Riddick's lips to lick and suck inside his mouth. She'd succeeded in surprising her mate, shock stilling him momentarily before his hands came up to support her backside as she writhed against his body. His jī ba was hard against her and pressing in just the right place to make her moan into his mouth. Sensation short circuited her brain and she shuddered hotly before pushing against his shoulders and lifting her mouth from his only to have Riddick's lips chase hers back, demanding more. "Ride him," She mumbled in between kisses, her hands cupping his face and smearing her palms with blood over his skin. "Need…Please."
It was rare that her animal rose before his, but when it did, River had learned to not fight it. She pushed at her mate, pulled at his shirt and trousers and finally succeeded, after a particularly violent kick, in putting him on his backside in the dirt, riding him down until he was prostrate beneath her. River heard fabric rip, cool air on her skin and knew, vaguely, that Riddick had torn her teeshirt open. His palms covered her breasts, hot on blood heated skin and she moaned bending down to kiss him again, struggling with her trousers. Her desperation finally reached him and with a skilled flick of his knife she was wearing two separate pant legs, one more careful slice of fabric and the panties she wore were useless but her body was exposed to his and that was all that mattered.
He was panting under her, his hands pushing inside her trousers to feel her thighs and pì gu, and River had the faint thought that for once his hands wouldn't be enough to send her over. She needed him, body and blood and seed to possess her, mark her as his, and pulled his diǎo out of his pants, pumping him with her hand and reveling in the silky hard feel of his flesh against her palm. He was groaning, muttering something her brain would translate later and River lifted her body over his. The feel of him, a hot thick sword of flesh slowly pushing up inside her body was indescribable, heat and pressure and swelling flesh, delicious friction and she cried out as he slid down his body.
When her hips met his, took him in fully River couldn't move, couldn't breathe for the overwhelming sensation. His hands were hot on her flesh, squeezing her body harder, pulling her down onto him further and her body bowed outward as Riddick pushed her deeper into the ocean of feeling. One experimental swivel of her hips and he was groaning and she was crying out, her fall taking her like a storm. And then she couldn't stop, rising and falling, seeking out the waves, desperate for more and more until she was clutching Riddick's shoulders.
Hips grinding, his body moving in hers, filling and leaving her empty and then filling her again, more and more, until she was shuddering with an excess of sensation and her movements weren't controlled by anything but her need. The animal was pulling him up, fisting her hands in his shirt to devour his mouth again, reveling in his hands on her. Animal meeting animal until Riddick was pulling her on and off his body, his big hands possessive and desperate on her flesh as she rode him, took him and demanded that he keep up, insisted on his response.
She lost herself. The storm was too much, his mind against hers, the animals in a savage sensual dance for dominance, neither claiming victory or defeat. Blood in her mouth, on her tongue and Richard's skin against her lips. She only wanted more, biting down and shrieking her pleasure as his body shoved deepest yet into hers and erupted. A hot rippling fall, a torrent of heat streaking her insides and turning them out until everything within was pushing against her skin, exploding through her, and she was falling, falling, falling in piece around him, limp and satisfied and still not completely the woman again.
The animal laved the bloody wound on Riddick's nape, kissed and caressed, he was hers to care for after all. Sweet spicy flesh in her mouth, to suck and lick and the coppery tang of blood. Seed, hot and sticky inside her, thighs damp with her own fluids and her mate's rich loving voice in her ear. She looked at him and pressed a kiss to his mouth because he seemed to need it before she went back to cleaning the wound she'd given him.
Author's Note: So I really didn't figure there was any way Riddick or River would let Higgins live. Neither one would care for how Higgins runs his world and it would be easy enough to get their hands on some foxglove and distill it. Killing the guards serves their purpose and creates a good clear path to killing Stitch and also making it easier to get the goods the next day. Fewer guards could only be a good thing.
And I thought it was time that Riddick really understood just how River sees him, that any notion he had of a fragile girl he might be taking advantage of was completely shattered. His nature isn't something she just bears. He's not quite a good man, in that even when he thought he might be taking advantage, he still bound her to him. But I think this little episode makes perfectly clear to him that the innocent girl he met has grown into a woman fully capable of appreciating every skill he has and revels in them.
Of course, with them being on Serenity, nothing ever goes smooth... so...yeah. We have a few wrinkles still. When don't we right?
Oh, there's also a little in joke for anyone who recognizes the meaning of River and Riddick's aliases. Languages are so much fun don't you think?
Chinese Translations:
tā mā de - fucking
yì zhōng rén - sweetheart / one's true love / the person of one's thoughts
gǒu niáng yǎng de - son of a bitch
pì gu - butt
yīn xué - underground cave / vagina / female genitalia (in pornography)
diǎo - cock
yīn dì - clitoris
jī ba - penis/dick
zhēn 'ài - true love
bǎo bǎo - darling/baby
tiān shǐ - angel
mèi mei - little sister
gē ge - big brother
Quote Sources:
Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud turn forth her silver lining on the night? - Comus - Milton
Yet I argue not against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer right onward. - Second Sonnet to Cyriac Skinner – Milton