Chapter 9
A surge of fear ran through her and she thought she would jump out of her skin, a scream caught in her throat as she sucked her breath in. Her hand flew to her chest and she felt her heart fluttering wildly against her ribcage. *Well, at least it's still beating,* she thought. "Lights," she commanded in a shaky voice when she could breathe again.
Then she saw him sitting there, blinking slightly as his eyes adjusted to the brightness in the room. "Lights, half," she said automatically. Then she felt anger burst within her. He brushed her off this afternoon, and now he just shows up? How DARE he scare her like that? "Riddick, you son of a bitch, what the hell do you think you're doing? How dare you come into my apartment and scare me like that!" Her hand was still pressed to her chest, her heart still beating wildly. "You scared me out of a year of my life, I swear to God." She took a deep breath and let it out shakily. "FUCK! What were you thinking?" Gesturing with her hand, she waved at his feet. "And get your DAMN boots off my coffee table."
She wasn't the least bit scared of him. Even knowing all the bad stuff, or at least some of it, she had never been afraid of him. Not even as a kid. He liked that. Slowly dropping his feet to the floor, he leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped, and chuckled at her. "You talk to Imam like that?"
She threw her rolled up socks at his head, missing by at least a meter. "You're not Imam and he generally doesn't lurk in the dark and scare the shit out of me." She felt her heart slowing and dropped her hand. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked a little more calmly, feeling the anger slipping away as quickly as it had come. Sitting there like that he looked completely at home, but then he looked like that no matter where he was. Damn he looked good. Dressed in a black, long-sleeved thermal shirt that clung to the hard muscles of his arms and chest, black cargo pants that bagged just a bit, and heavy black boots, he looked like a part of the darkness. That was appropriate, she thought, since that's what he was.
Riddick shrugged. What was he doing there? He'd wanted to see her. After leaving whatever-her-name-was in the hotel room and going back to his ship to get cleaned up and settle in for the night, he found himself thinking about Jack again. It wasn't quite as bad as it had been before he'd gotten rid of some of his sexual frustration, but he still couldn't make her go back where she belonged. He had wanted to see her again.
Against his better judgment he found himself dressing and leaving the Persephone. He dug the address out of his jacket pocket and found his way to her quarters. It wasn't like he just walked up to her door and broke in. He had knocked first, and when she didn't answer the door he almost left. Almost. But the lock was easy enough to override and before he knew it, he was sitting in her living room, waiting for her to come home. He hadn't expected someone to be with her.
He didn't know why he hadn't expected her to be with anyone, she was a beautiful girl, he was surprised she didn't have fifty guys lined up to take her out every night. But if what he'd heard was right, she hadn't had a date in six months. And she'd turned this Alejandro guy down because she was thinking of someone else, someone she'd apparently just as soon beat the shit out of as have sex with. Did she mean him? If she did, well that was going to complicate things considerably. He once again told himself that he was old enough to be her father. Funny, that never really mattered to him with anyone before. It was just a good thing she hadn't invited the guy in; that could have been awkward.
Riddick's first reaction to the boy standing in the doorway had disturbed him. It had taken him a moment to recognize the surge of emotion that went through him as he saw the boy's hands on her, saw him kiss her. He thought at first it just him being overprotective but then he realized what it was. Jealousy. He wasn't sure he cared for that. He didn't even know her, not really, so how could he be jealous? But the answer was simple. Even if she had changed, even if the way he looked at her had changed, part of her was still 'his' Jack, even if it was only the part that lived in his memory, and she always would be. She was the only person in the universe that cared about him and that meant something to him. It meant everything to him.
"I'm sorry I scared you, Jack," he said, softly. "I knocked but you didn't answer."
"I wasn't home," she said peevishly.
He smiled at her, cocking his head to the side. "Which would be why I had to let myself in."
She hugged her arms over her chest, hardly believing he was actually there. The question still remained, why? "Why are you here?" she asked quietly. "I thought you said we didn't have anything to talk about. You said you knew all you needed to know."
He looked at her for a moment, that hurt look was back on her face and he found it had the same affect on him now as it had earlier that day. He hated that he'd caused it. *Why am I here?* he asked himself. He'd wanted to see her again and, truth be told, he wanted to push her once and for all back into that narrow concept he had of her and how he was supposed to feel about her. "I lied. I do care about you. About what's happened over the past 13 years," he amended. "I thought you might tell me what your life's been like."
Her heart was pounding wildly again, but it had nothing to do with fear. *He cares about me.* The thought echoed in her mind. She wasn't quite sure what to say. "Oh. Ok." She ran a hand back over her still damp hair, and remembered she'd been on her way to take a shower. *Oh, lord. I must look like shit.* She plucked at her sweaty shirt. "Um. I was just going to take a shower," she said awkwardly.
"If you'd rather I go, we could catch up later," he said quietly, though he didn't actually make any move to leave.
"NO!" she said, almost too quickly. "I mean, you're here now, so why leave, right?" *You might never come back,* she thought, not voicing the fear aloud. "It won't take me long," she promised as she jogged into her room. She peeked her head back around the door. "I'll just be a minute. Have you eaten? We could order something, or I think there might be something in the kitchen I could fix, unless you're not hungry." She realized she was rambling and took a breath, forcing a smile. "We can figure it out when I get out of the shower. There's beer and water in the fridge and fruit on the counter, help yourself. Just make yourself comfortable."
Shutting the door behind her, she didn't bother locking it. For one thing, she didn't imagine it would do much good if he really wanted in, and for another, she wouldn't mind if he did want in, though she wasn't actually naïve enough to believe that was going to happen. She took her hair out of the long, heavy braid and ran a brush through it. Stripping her clothes off quickly, she jumped into the shower. She wondered for a brief moment, chuckling to herself, if she should go for a hot shower or a cold one before turning the water on as hot as she could stand.
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she washed away the sweat from her workout. She couldn't believe that Riddick was actually sitting in her living room. True, he'd nearly given her a heart attack, but the fact still remained that he was here. If he hadn't scared her to death first, it would have been nice to find him there when she got home. Suddenly a thought occurred to her, he'd been sitting there the whole time she'd been talking to Alejandro. She felt her face flush red and it had nothing whatsoever to do with the hot water. "Oh, NO." She leaned her head against the cool wall of the shower. "He heard everything we said." As she watched the soapy water swirl down the drain, she wished she could go with it.
A surge of fear ran through her and she thought she would jump out of her skin, a scream caught in her throat as she sucked her breath in. Her hand flew to her chest and she felt her heart fluttering wildly against her ribcage. *Well, at least it's still beating,* she thought. "Lights," she commanded in a shaky voice when she could breathe again.
Then she saw him sitting there, blinking slightly as his eyes adjusted to the brightness in the room. "Lights, half," she said automatically. Then she felt anger burst within her. He brushed her off this afternoon, and now he just shows up? How DARE he scare her like that? "Riddick, you son of a bitch, what the hell do you think you're doing? How dare you come into my apartment and scare me like that!" Her hand was still pressed to her chest, her heart still beating wildly. "You scared me out of a year of my life, I swear to God." She took a deep breath and let it out shakily. "FUCK! What were you thinking?" Gesturing with her hand, she waved at his feet. "And get your DAMN boots off my coffee table."
She wasn't the least bit scared of him. Even knowing all the bad stuff, or at least some of it, she had never been afraid of him. Not even as a kid. He liked that. Slowly dropping his feet to the floor, he leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped, and chuckled at her. "You talk to Imam like that?"
She threw her rolled up socks at his head, missing by at least a meter. "You're not Imam and he generally doesn't lurk in the dark and scare the shit out of me." She felt her heart slowing and dropped her hand. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked a little more calmly, feeling the anger slipping away as quickly as it had come. Sitting there like that he looked completely at home, but then he looked like that no matter where he was. Damn he looked good. Dressed in a black, long-sleeved thermal shirt that clung to the hard muscles of his arms and chest, black cargo pants that bagged just a bit, and heavy black boots, he looked like a part of the darkness. That was appropriate, she thought, since that's what he was.
Riddick shrugged. What was he doing there? He'd wanted to see her. After leaving whatever-her-name-was in the hotel room and going back to his ship to get cleaned up and settle in for the night, he found himself thinking about Jack again. It wasn't quite as bad as it had been before he'd gotten rid of some of his sexual frustration, but he still couldn't make her go back where she belonged. He had wanted to see her again.
Against his better judgment he found himself dressing and leaving the Persephone. He dug the address out of his jacket pocket and found his way to her quarters. It wasn't like he just walked up to her door and broke in. He had knocked first, and when she didn't answer the door he almost left. Almost. But the lock was easy enough to override and before he knew it, he was sitting in her living room, waiting for her to come home. He hadn't expected someone to be with her.
He didn't know why he hadn't expected her to be with anyone, she was a beautiful girl, he was surprised she didn't have fifty guys lined up to take her out every night. But if what he'd heard was right, she hadn't had a date in six months. And she'd turned this Alejandro guy down because she was thinking of someone else, someone she'd apparently just as soon beat the shit out of as have sex with. Did she mean him? If she did, well that was going to complicate things considerably. He once again told himself that he was old enough to be her father. Funny, that never really mattered to him with anyone before. It was just a good thing she hadn't invited the guy in; that could have been awkward.
Riddick's first reaction to the boy standing in the doorway had disturbed him. It had taken him a moment to recognize the surge of emotion that went through him as he saw the boy's hands on her, saw him kiss her. He thought at first it just him being overprotective but then he realized what it was. Jealousy. He wasn't sure he cared for that. He didn't even know her, not really, so how could he be jealous? But the answer was simple. Even if she had changed, even if the way he looked at her had changed, part of her was still 'his' Jack, even if it was only the part that lived in his memory, and she always would be. She was the only person in the universe that cared about him and that meant something to him. It meant everything to him.
"I'm sorry I scared you, Jack," he said, softly. "I knocked but you didn't answer."
"I wasn't home," she said peevishly.
He smiled at her, cocking his head to the side. "Which would be why I had to let myself in."
She hugged her arms over her chest, hardly believing he was actually there. The question still remained, why? "Why are you here?" she asked quietly. "I thought you said we didn't have anything to talk about. You said you knew all you needed to know."
He looked at her for a moment, that hurt look was back on her face and he found it had the same affect on him now as it had earlier that day. He hated that he'd caused it. *Why am I here?* he asked himself. He'd wanted to see her again and, truth be told, he wanted to push her once and for all back into that narrow concept he had of her and how he was supposed to feel about her. "I lied. I do care about you. About what's happened over the past 13 years," he amended. "I thought you might tell me what your life's been like."
Her heart was pounding wildly again, but it had nothing to do with fear. *He cares about me.* The thought echoed in her mind. She wasn't quite sure what to say. "Oh. Ok." She ran a hand back over her still damp hair, and remembered she'd been on her way to take a shower. *Oh, lord. I must look like shit.* She plucked at her sweaty shirt. "Um. I was just going to take a shower," she said awkwardly.
"If you'd rather I go, we could catch up later," he said quietly, though he didn't actually make any move to leave.
"NO!" she said, almost too quickly. "I mean, you're here now, so why leave, right?" *You might never come back,* she thought, not voicing the fear aloud. "It won't take me long," she promised as she jogged into her room. She peeked her head back around the door. "I'll just be a minute. Have you eaten? We could order something, or I think there might be something in the kitchen I could fix, unless you're not hungry." She realized she was rambling and took a breath, forcing a smile. "We can figure it out when I get out of the shower. There's beer and water in the fridge and fruit on the counter, help yourself. Just make yourself comfortable."
Shutting the door behind her, she didn't bother locking it. For one thing, she didn't imagine it would do much good if he really wanted in, and for another, she wouldn't mind if he did want in, though she wasn't actually naïve enough to believe that was going to happen. She took her hair out of the long, heavy braid and ran a brush through it. Stripping her clothes off quickly, she jumped into the shower. She wondered for a brief moment, chuckling to herself, if she should go for a hot shower or a cold one before turning the water on as hot as she could stand.
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she washed away the sweat from her workout. She couldn't believe that Riddick was actually sitting in her living room. True, he'd nearly given her a heart attack, but the fact still remained that he was here. If he hadn't scared her to death first, it would have been nice to find him there when she got home. Suddenly a thought occurred to her, he'd been sitting there the whole time she'd been talking to Alejandro. She felt her face flush red and it had nothing whatsoever to do with the hot water. "Oh, NO." She leaned her head against the cool wall of the shower. "He heard everything we said." As she watched the soapy water swirl down the drain, she wished she could go with it.