Skye went back into the kitchen and was greeted by Raven.
"Hey, girl. How ya holdin' up?" Raven asked. Skye felt pretty comfortable with her for some reason.
"I'm okay but I'm not feeling too great right now," she answered, taking a seat at the table.
"You're not pregnant are you?" Raven asked.
"Not a chance in hell," Skye said.
"Okay, then it's probably just a change in gravity pressure. You'll get used to it." Raven joined her at the table.
"Will it be like this every time?" Skye put her face in her hands as her stomach seemed to roll.
"No. You probably won't even feel it next time." Raven patted her arm reassuringly.
"Good." Skye leaned back in her chair and looked at Raven. "So, how did you get into this?"
"It's all about connection, my dear." Raven leaned back and put her hands behind her head. "You know. I know someone who knows someone else that has heard about a job, blah, blah, blah, and here I am." Skye smiled.
"Did you know any of the others before you took this job?" Skye asked.
"I've worked with Alex a few times and I know a lot about Riddick but I had never actually met him before this." Skye nodded her head and got up to get a glass of water.
"Riddick," Skye said under her breath. Raven looked over at her.
"Hey, you don't have to worry about him." Raven stood up and walked over to the counter. Skye didn't realize Raven could hear her. "Let's just say, he was a good guy caught in a bad situation." Skye looked away.
"I guess he seems okay," she said quietly.
"Look, he acts the way he does because he has to. It's a survival tactic. Shut out all emotion and it makes things a lot easier to deal with." Raven watched her for a moment before continuing. "Do you know why they don't want women fighting in a war with men?" Skye shook her head 'no'. "They can't handle seeing them blown to pieces. As tough as they think they are, something like that always makes them linger, brings out emotions. I think he's survived as long as he has because he's put all that emotion somewhere else."
Skye took in the information and a lot of questions popped in her head.
"Are you two together?" she asked slowly. Raven laughed.
"No, he's not my type," Raven clapped a hand on Skye's shoulder. Skye put her hands in her pocket, suddenly feeling weird.
"Let me ask you something," Skye had a hard time meeting her gaze. Raven hopped up onto the counter across from Skye and got comfortable.
"Shoot," she said.
"Um, guys like Riddick, you know, that have been prisoners most of their lives," Skye shifted her weight not sure how to ask. "I mean, I guess I didn't expect him to take such good care of himself," Raven tipped her head back and laughed again.
"So I guess you had your first run-in with him," Skye met Raven's gaze when she said that.
"My first?"
"Yea, but don't worry, he's just fuckin' with ya," Raven stopped laughing. "But I know what you mean. He smells good, doesn't he?"
"Yea. But why would he even care?" Skye didn't want to show Raven she was feeling something for him but she had to know.
"Let's see. He's trying to persuade some information out of you and he's got you pinned to the wall," she started, rubbing her hands together. "He smells damn good and he looks even better. Tell me that's not convincing." Raven hopped off the counter and moved closer to Skye.
"I guess you're right. What about guys though?"
"It freaks them out to find out that he's healthy, smart, takes care of himself. That just means he's not crazy. Crazy people are easier to deal with than the sane ones believe it or not." Raven moved away and headed to the door. "I have to get back to work, so try and enjoy yourself. I'm sure tomorrow they'll put you to work."
Skye watched Raven leave. This was going to be quite the adventure. She put her glass in the sink and decided, despite her nausea, to work out and get it over with.
Skye headed for the workout room and was greeted with silence. Everybody was working on other things on the ship and she had the place to herself. She went through her routine very slowly. Making sure she stretched properly and then letting herself get lost in the burn her muscles were feeling. It made her feel alive. By the time she was done she could hardly walk across the hall to the bathroom to shower.
She peeled her clothes off her body and stepped under the warm water. Little rivulets of water snaked their way down her body, soothing away the strain from her workout. She put her hands on the wall and leaned into the water letting it take her away. It took her right to thoughts of Riddick. She replayed the conversation she had with Raven about him and her little run-in with him earlier. Suddenly she felt herself wanting to smell him again. Wishing he was in the shower with her, watching the water run over the smooth skin that covered his hardened body.
There was no way she could be as bold as she wanted to, otherwise she would have hunted his ass down and dragged him in there with her.
Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. She was about to dry her hair when there was a knock on the door.
"I need to wash my hands. Are you decent?" It was Kyle. She made sure the towel was wrapped tightly around her before she opened the door. "Thanks. This stuff is nasty and I didn't want to wash it off in the kitchen sink." He was covered in grease all the way up to his elbows.
"No problem," she said, grabbing a bottle off the counter. She leaned over, flipping her long black hair over, also. Kyle turned to her as she smoothed the stuff in the bottle over her hair.
"What's that stuff?" He asked.
"It's a kind of conditioner that will dry my hair in two minutes," she said, shaking her hair to help the process.
"Cool," he said and he watched her hair curl up as it dried.
"Come on. What's the hold up?" Riddick's voice boomed through the bathroom and Skye flipped her hair back up. He was standing in the doorway, leaning up against the side, watching her behind his goggles. Time seemed to stand still as they stared at each other. Kyle looked from Riddick to Skye and then back to Riddick.
"Sheesh," he said, shaking his head. "Could you two be more obvious?" Kyle gave them a little chuckle, bringing Skye back to reality.
"Kyle was just fascinated in the art of hair drying," she said sarcastically, trying to cover up her staring act. Riddick smiled, barely. Skye grabbed up her things and headed for the door. Riddick stepped aside just enough for her to pass, moving his arms away from her so he wouldn't get grease all over her. As she passed, she took a deep breath. Even with the smell of the grease, she caught his scent. She brushed up against him and felt herself get dizzy. Sensory overload. Either that or it was just the change in gravity as Raven had said and she couldn't stop what she said next.
"How I wish you had been here a few minutes ago." Her comment confused Riddick but also made him wonder. What was she doing a few minutes ago?
Riddick thought Skye looked pretty good in a towel and it turned him on to see that she got embarrassed by Kyle's comment and even more so with her comment to him on her way out the door. There was something there and when she passed by him he wondered how long it would be before he could find out what it was.
Once inside her room, she dressed with shaky hands, in a pair of comfortable shorts and a loose tee-shirt. She had no experience with men yet she felt this mission was going to an eye-opener.
It was pretty late for lunch and she wasn't hungry anyway. She decided to lie on her bed and read. The book took her places in her mind that she would never see in real life. She was pulled into the fantasy lives of the characters and almost didn't notice when Raven came in.
"Hey, Skye. Must be a good book. You've been in here for ours now." Skye looked up from her book a little confused. She glanced over at the clock; surprised to see it was almost seven. When she looked back she saw Raven stripping out of her clothes, uncaring that Skye was there. Quickly, she looked back to her book with a blush forming on her cheeks. Raven seemed very comfortable with herself and Skye wondered if she ever changed in front of the guys.
"Meet us for dinner. Thirty minutes." She smiled at Skye's embarrassment as she pulled on her robe.
"Okay," she said, finally looking up. Raven left the room and Skye shook her head in disbelief.
****Thanks for the review, Starlight. I hope everyone keeps reading. More hot chapters are ready and waiting for me to post and I promise this story will be completed.