Jack waited until everything was settled before heading over to security to start hacking.  It was late and the halls were quiet as well as security.  She took a seat at one of the computers and got down to business, enjoying the silence around her.

Jack was sitting there for a very long time, lost in all the lines of code that passed over the screen.  To most people, all these numbers would look just like that…numbers, but Jack saw patterns, windows, all leading her to the one locked door somewhere deep inside the system.

She was so focused on the screen that the warm weight on her shoulders didn't register at first, not until she felt a squeeze.  The sensation moved down her arms and then disappeared.  Jack closed her eyes and rolled her head on her shoulders, taking a deep cleansing breath just as the sensation returned, resting on her knee.

Jack opened bleary eyes and looked down to her left.  Riddick was crouched next to her, watching her intently with his almost black eyes.  She didn't hear him come in and seeing him there suddenly didn't startle her, she was too tired to be shocked by anything at this point.  She smiled and put her hand on his cheek, happy to have him there.

"Jack, you've been in here for hours," he rumbled softly.  Jack absently ran her fingers over the stubble on his jaw and closed her eyes again.  The prickly feeling sent tiny tendrils of heat through her hand and up into her arm.

"Has it been that long?" she asked, her voice a barely audible whisper.

"You should rest."

"I'm okay," she said quickly.  "I think I'm close."  Her fingers trailed down to his neck, feeling the steady pulse in his throat.  "Really," she insisted when she opened her eyes and saw the worried expression on his face.  "I just need a short break." 

Jack stood up and raised her arms above her head to stretch, her aching muscles warming as the blood began to flow through them.  Riddick stayed where he was for a moment, looking up at her as she stretched, at the way she groaned through it, the way she unconsciously teased him.  He stood slowly, running his hands up the backs of her thighs until his arms were around her waist.

Jack's stretching session was cut short by Riddick's actions and she brought her arms down on his shoulders and pulled him close, sighing in content.

"Why don't you let me help you with that break," Riddick said, flicking his tongue over her earlobe before taking it between his teeth.  Jack's blood instantly started rushing through her veins as her heart pounded painfully against her ribs.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," she said sweetly, even though she wanted him to, so bad.

"I know I don't have to…I want to," he breathed heavily against her neck.  His hands inched their way around to the front and began unfastening her pants.

"What if someone comes in?"  Jack pulled away from him but he continued his work on her zipper.

"Door's locked," he purred deeply, moving his hands to her hips just inside her pants.  Jack's heart skipped a few beats at the feel of his fingers on her bare heated skin.  He slipped her pants the rest of the way off and Jack kicked out of them.

"Really, Riddick.  You don't need to do this."  Jack didn't understand why she was refusing him when it was so obvious her body was aching for him.  Maybe because she had roughed him up pretty good a few days ago, but she couldn't feel bad about that…he had never complained.

Riddick ignored her and gently pushed at her shoulders, signaling her to sit down.  She did without hesitation and reclined back against the cool leather of the chair.  Riddick knelt down between her legs and deftly slipped her panties off and tossed them aside.  Jack tightly gripped the armrests in nervous anticipation of his next move.

Riddick has never gone down on her before and she wasn't about to stop him but the intense need her body had of him didn't ease the butterflies in her stomach and when he grabbed the backs of her knees and dragged her closer to him, she nearly lost it, her body already on the verge of going over the edge.

Jack bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for it to begin, for Riddick to show her something new, to give her more than she's ever gotten before.  When his beautiful mouth finally touched down on her, Jack's body shuddered in relief.

Riddick's lips and tongue brought her pleasure that she's never experienced before, working her up to a frenzy of raw nerves and sensation.  He paid close attention to what her body was telling him, he gauged what she liked and what she didn't like, teasing her to no end.  Jack wiggled under his sweet torment but he used the weight of his arms on her legs to hold her steady, searching out her hands with his, which she latched onto gratefully; holding them in her death like grip until her knuckles turned white.

The dull throb between her legs began to rise to a full-blown roar and Jack wanted to scream through her orgasm but found that her voice was stuck in her throat and she stopped breathing as her body tightened up.  She was hit with shock waves; one after the other and her body trembled violently with each impact.

It was as if the waves wouldn't stop coming, over and over, rushing through her body.  So intense that Jack could hardly feel Riddick's hands on her, his lips, his body.  Her eyes were shut tight as she relaxed…slowly.  She felt weakened yet strong at the same time.  Riddick seemed to have revitalized her and she was finally able to take a breath, taking in the cool air of the room.

Riddick moved up to her lips and kissed her lightly, bringing her back.  Jack gave him a breathy laugh and tried to keep the smile off her face but couldn't.

"I can't bel…Wow."  Was all Jack could get out.  Her voice was all shaky just like her body.  Riddick liked the answer and his eyes sparkled as a smile tugged at his lips.  He let out a satisfied sigh and shifted his position so he could lie on her shoulder.  Jack wrapped her arms around him and felt something hard pressing into her thigh.  Riddick had gotten himself all worked up and Jack wanted to return the favor.

She kissed him on the head and squeezed him tight.  "Why don't you let me take care of that for you."  Riddick pulled out of her arms and looked down between them.  He didn't even realize he was hard and now it was painfully obvious as it pushed against his pants.  Riddick laughed and sat back on his heels, his hands smoothing over Jack's bare legs, down to her knees.

"It's okay, Jack.  That was for you."  He reached over and retrieved her clothes and handed them to her.  She looked at him in disbelief.

"Come on Riddick," she said, as she slipped back into her panties.  Riddick stood up and looked down at her as she dressed.  She had to stand to pull her pants up so he backed away to give her room and just watched.

"I'll live," he said simply.  Jack shook her head.

"Well, if you insist but may I suggest you don't leave here until you calm down…" she looked down at the front of his pants, "oh, just a little."

"I'll be fine.  There are some things I need to go check on so I'll see you back at our place…don't be too long," Riddick said with a little hint of something in those last words.

"I won't," Jack replied, watching Riddick move gracefully to the door.  His swagger was slow and relaxed even though he must be a little bit uncomfortable.  The man was big and when he was turned on…Jack didn't understand how he wasn't in more pain.

"Okay, back to work," she said aloud once Riddick was out of sight.  When she sat down, she could still feel the muscles clenching in her lower half and she chuckled quietly in the empty room.  Riddick was good.  He knew exactly what she wanted and needed and he performed the task very well.

***********************************

Riddick was headed for the engine room.  Some of the crew said they have heard unusual noises down there for most of the day.  Not really anything to be too concerned for but Riddick thought he'd have a look.  Couldn't hurt, right?  It just might take his mind of a few pressing needs.

The lights were only on in certain sections of the engine room creating deep pools of darkness where the light couldn't reach.  Unintentionally, Riddick stuck to those darker areas more out of habit than anything.  He checked the gauges and the control panels as he walked through the large room; stopping occasionally to listen for these unusual sounds the crew said they were hearing.  So far…nothing.

Riddick squeezed through the smaller spaces, ducked under the lower parts; circled the entire room, about to give up when he heard it, somewhere to his right…

…CLANK!

Riddick whipped around and crouched down, his breathing becoming slow and silent.  He scanned the area but there were racks, wires, and panels blocking his view, no way to tell if there was someone in front of him.  He could feel it though; somewhere ahead of him there was someone there.

As quickly and as quiet as ever, Riddick moved forward to a more open section of the room.  There was a metal post on the far side of the clearing with a chain lying at the bottom on the floor.  It took Riddick a second to figure out that the chain was in fact a pair of handcuffs and at either end were slim delicate hands, bound in steel.  He couldn't see around the post so he moved to his right to have a better look, his senses on high alert.

He knew it was a girl right away, not just by the size of the hands but the shock of blonde hair that fell over her upper arm and shoulder in silky waves.

Blonde?  No one on my crew is blonde…SHIT!

Riddick realized who it was, the one person he was supposed to protect…Kelly.  Caution was holding him back but the adrenaline in his veins forced him to move.  His muscles flexed and strained as he fought with his instincts to run to her.  Something wasn't right and as he was about to take his first running step the sound of movement from behind grabbed his attention just before it actually reached his ears.  He turned to see Ethan walking quickly towards him.

"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded as he stepped into the light.  Riddick straightened his stance and eyed Ethan warily.

"Not sure yet," he answered in a low even tone.  Riddick turned back to Kelly and saw her hand twitch, her hair sliding off her arm as she began to stir.

"Why the fuck is she …"

…that was all Riddick heard Ethan say from behind before a sharp blinding pain shot through his head and everything went black.

***********************************

"Come on, come on," Jack whispered at the computer screen.  She managed to find a back door on Ethan's file and she was just waiting for the information to load.

She leaned back in the chair and breathed in the air that still smelled like Riddick, allowing a smile to creep up on her lips.  There was no way she could tire of that man.  He was more amazing than anyone she's ever met.  His sex appeal, intelligence, strange sense of humor, and ever the feel of him rivaled everyone.  All he had to do was walk into a room and that would be it for her.  He carried himself well; the strong presence he brought with him could make you feel safe or it could scare the shit out of you.  Jack remembers feeling both the first time she saw him.

Her thoughts were interrupted as information filled the screen in a flash of light.  Jack started reading as it came on but what she saw was not what she was expecting.  She bolted upright in her seat, her heart in her throat as the information continued to pour across the screen.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she yelled as she jumped up and ran for the door.  She had to find Riddick fast.

The halls were fairly busy with the crew changing shifts and Jack asked each of them if they had seen Riddick.  No one had.  By the time she ran into Taylor she was frantic.

"Taylor!" she gasped out, leaning over to catch her breath.  "We need to find Riddick.  We've got trouble."  Taylor radioed the rest of the security team while Jack explained what was going on.  They decided to split up and Jack headed to their place to see if he had gone there.

She burst into the room and checked everywhere…bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, he wasn't there.  Not wanting to waste time, Jack took off for the med lab but it was just as empty, Ellie wasn't even around.

Jack stepped back out into the hall and stood there looking in each direction, breathing hard from running and shaking all over out of fear, trying to figure out what to do next.  The ship was just too goddamn big and the worst feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.  Riddick always seemed to show up when she needed him, as if he knew but he wasn't showing this time; something was very wrong

"God baby, where are you?" she said into the empty hall.  Jack absently chose a direction and began running, fighting the urge to start yelling for him.  Her heart raced in time with her thoughts as the feeling of dread began to consume her.

"NO!"  She would not be dragged down by this.  She needed to be strong, to keep moving; giving up was not an option.

As she came around a corner the black bold letters on the door to her left caught her eye…ENGINE ROOM.  Jack dared herself to hope that he could be down there.  She pushed open the door and stepped into a small plain room that had a hole in the center with an access latter, going down.  She stood at the top of the latter when a strange feeling swept over her.  Something telling her to be careful, that there was danger down below.

****So, what was in that file and what's going to happen next?  Keep an eye out for the next chapter.  Thanks for your patience and all the reviews and e-mails. =)

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