Chapter 19
Riddick walked down the hallway slowly, rolling that screw between his fingers, breath quickening at just the thought of what was inevitably going to happen next. His lips curled upwards slightly in a seductive (or seduced – whichever) smile, shined eyes glinting. He heard a boot thump to the floor and followed the sound into his room. She was bent over, unlacing her other boot, and he just watched as she pulled it off her foot and dropped it next to the other boot at the end of the bed. Her socks followed, and he watched as she stretched her arms over her head, arching back with a lazy sigh.
"Is this a hint?" he asked quietly, holding the screw up between two fingers. She glanced over her shoulder with a smirk and shrugged, turning her back to him again. His eyes followed the tail of her shirt rising slowly up her back, exposing smooth, soft skin, and he had to indulge the urge to touch. The screw dropped to the floor with a quiet ping. He reached out slowly, working the tension out of her shoulders before exploring the small of her back. She sighed contentedly, and he let his hands slide around to her stomach, pulling her back against him. Her fingers interlaced with his, and she turned her head, settling her nose just under his chin. They just held each other like that for a while, until she turned in his arms and looked up at him, head cocked to the side only slightly.
It seemed like the world went into slow motion as she leaned up on her toes, pressing her lips lightly against his, twisting a hand in his shirt. His skin tingled as her hands ran under the material, palms gliding in a feather-light touch before drawing it up his body and over his head. He watched as she took him in, tracing every scar with a light finger before leaning in to plant a kiss on the mark. It struck something in him – that she could know all the things he'd done, how he'd gotten those scars – and still want to do this; still want to be close to him. But what really struck him was that she knew him, not just what he'd done, but him, and it didn't bother him. She'd been the only person he'd ever known that either wanted to know him or he let get close enough to know him, and in a way, it bothered him that it didn't bother him.
"Jack?" She paused in her exploration only long enough to glance up at him again, and return to her light kisses. "Why are you here?" She paused again, drawing back slightly.
"What?" she asked, shaking her head slightly, not understanding where this came from. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. Bad timing, Dick, he thought. Get all analytical right now, you big dumbass. He reached out, pulling her against him again.
"Never mind," he said quietly, leaning down to kiss her shoulder. She pulled out of his grasp and looked up at him expectantly, wrapping her arms around herself.
"What do you mean, why am I here?"
"Why are you here?" he repeated. She shook her head, not following. "With me," he clarified. Her eyebrow rose.
"Because I want to be."
"I know that," he said slowly, "but why?" She sighed, sitting back on the foot of the bed.
"Riddick." Her voice had a slight whine to it, and he cringed. Yep, bad timing alright. Might as well finish it.
"I'm not exactly a saint."
"I don't want a saint," she said quickly, looking up at him.
"You know what I mean."
"No, Riddick, I don't."
"I'm a convict. A killer. You know that, and you're still here." She just looked at him. "I'm not a good person, Jack. I couldn't count the number of people I've killed on my fingers and toes combined, even if I added yours in." A little smile crept over her face, but she didn't say anything. "And you couldn't understand how much I enjoyed those kills. You don't belong with me." Her smile fell, her eyes dropping away from his. "I don't know why you'd want to be here knowing that." He sighed, running a hand over his head. "You deserve better."
"Then I don't want better," she said quietly. He shook his head. "Who you are and what you've done are two completely different things," she continued. "If I don't confuse the two, why should you question it?"
"Because I don't understand it." She reached out, hooking her finger in the front of his pants and pulling him closer to her. His eyes closed as she wrapped her arms around his waist, settling her cheek against his stomach.
"You don't have to," she said quietly. His eyes opened, and he looked down at her, running his fingers through her hair. "You remember back on the skiff?" He sighed. "I asked you what we were going to say about you, and you said to tell them Riddick's dead. That he died somewhere on that planet. Right?"
"Right." It came out slowly, uncertainly.
"Did he?" He paused long enough for her to wonder and look up at him.
"I don't know."
"When was the last time you took a life?" He swallowed, but didn't answer. "Johns?" The muscle in his jaw clenched and unclenched.
"I didn't kill Johns," he said quietly.
"So it was before the crash." He nodded slowly. "And it's been, what, over eight years now?" Another small nod. "You've changed since then. You let people in, you cared about people, so the Riddick that all those lives took is dead as well." He looked down at her. "This Riddick," she said, poking a finger into his belly, "is a good man." He shook his head, closing his eyes. "Look at me." Open, honest eyes stared back up at him. "This is the Riddick I knew was in there all along."
He was fascinated. So taken with her reactions, he didn't even notice his own. The way her back arched, eyes squeezing shut, fingers digging into his back – it completely overwhelmed him. She pulled him down closer to her, kissing his cheek lightly as little mewling sounds coaxed a groan from him. She whispered his name, and he whimpered. He was too close for her to start doing that to him. That brought him back to reality – made him recognize he was the one there with her, doing this to her. Talk about an ego boost. She shuddered as a growl pierced the air, the vibrations of his voice drawing a shiver down her spine and a satisfied smile. Her lips pressed insistently to his, her body trembling against his as she fell over that cliff, taking him with her. The trembling remained, even as he stilled, and she held him tightly against her, hot breath blasting against his shoulder. He pushed himself up to look at her.
"You okay?" She nodded, a lazy grin spreading across her lips. He chuckled and settled on his side next to her, an arm wrapped around her middle. She sat up, and he watched her dress slowly, her numb fingers not cooperating. "Where are you going?"
"I have a date." His eyebrow rose. She smirked. "The deal was for an eight inch screw and a post-sex cigarette." He shook his head, smiling. She left the room, and he yawned, reaching out for his pants. He found her sitting on the hatch of the cargo hold, watching a stream of smoke swirl through the air.
"I didn't know you smoked." She shrugged, watching him sit next to her.
"It's a mechanic thing," she said dismissively. He nodded, shaking the pack and pulling one out with his teeth. He stuck his chin out, pointing the end of the cigarette at her and she smiled, reaching for the lighter in her pocket. She watched his eyes close, and paused until he opened them again before flicking the lighter. "Butane." He squinted, but the flame wasn't as bright as he expected. "Not as bright."
"How sweet of you." She shrugged, watching him blow smoke rings.
"Didn't know if you would want one, but I figured better safe than sorry." He nodded slowly. "I didn't know you smoked." He shrugged.
"It's a convict thing." She grinned, nodding. They fell silent, and she leaned her head against his shoulder, flicking the cigarette butt out onto the concrete.
"When are we leaving?" she asked quietly.
"After I drop the shipment tomorrow."
"When is that?"
"Noon." She nodded against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his.
"I'm tired." He smiled, turning his head to kiss the top of hers.
"Go to bed." She stood slowly, stretching lazily. "I'll be in in a minute." He sat there for a while, just thinking. Maybe he had changed after all.
She stood at the end of the hatch, scanning the horizon. Riddick should have been back by now. She glanced at her watch again with a heavy, nervous sigh. Three o'clock. She shook her head, dropping to the ground, sitting with her elbows on her knees and her hands holding up her forehead. Something's wrong. Just when she was getting ready to lock up and stay low as he'd instructed her, she saw him approaching the ship, walking briskly, but not running. He glanced over his shoulder and she knew. She scrambled to her feet, running up to the cockpit to get the engines running. With trembling hands, she picked up the com unit and clicked the button.
"Watch tower, this is the Solar Eclipse requesting permission for takeoff," she said quickly, trying to keep her voice calm.
"Solar Eclipse, runways are full. Proceed to runway Y32 and wait for further instruction." She sighed, dropping the handset and running back down to the cargo hold, hand poised over the hatch control. He jogged up the ramp and nodded, and she turned the dial, staying behind to make sure the hatch closed and locked before heading up to the cockpit.
"Runway Y32," she instructed. "They're all full, so we have to wait." He nodded, strapping in. "What happened?"
"Not right now," he said quietly. She swallowed down her nervousness and strapped in. They sat at the runway and waited. And waited. The com unit crackled, and she glanced down at it, waiting anxiously.
"Solar Eclipse, permission has been revoked."
"Fuck!" Riddick glanced over at Jack after her outburst.
"Please proceed to dock Z1 and prepare for inspections."
"Roger, watch tower," Riddick said, replacing the handset. "Chill out, Jack." She sighed, rubbing her forehead nervously. "It's just an inspection. We don't have anything onboard." She glanced over at him, nervousness written all over her expression. "You look that nervous when they come on this ship and they'll know. We don't have anything to hide right now." She nodded, gulping.
"Except you."
"Don't worry about me," he said gruffly. She knew what that meant. If anything happened, more murders would be added to his list. "You go let them in, give them a tour, and I'll be right here."
"Me?"
"Yeah," he said. "You." She nodded, unbuckling her harness and standing slowly. He reached out, closing her hand in his and giving it a squeeze with a reassuring smile.
She wiped her hands on her pants as she descended the stairs to the cargo hold, taking a deep, calming breath as she turned the dial to lower the latch. Three inspection officers waited as the hatch groaned, lowering slowly.
"Afternoon, ma'am," one said, nodding his head. She forced a smile.
"What seems to be the problem, officers?" she asked, surprised at how controlled her voice sounded.
"No problem, miss," another said quickly, shaking his head. "Just a routine random inspection." She nodded. "Usually only happens when the runways get backed up though." Her eyebrow rose. "Boss figures we need the extra chores." She smiled, a little more genuinely this time.
"What are you shipping?" the third asked nonchalantly, glancing around the cargo hold.
"Nothing right now. Dropped a shipment of stationary off on Furia a couple weeks ago." He nodded. "Never been here before, so we figured we'd stop and do some tourist shit," she added, leading them up the stairs.
"Enjoy your stay?" the first asked.
"Absolutely," she answered, a sly smile growing. It wasn't a lie – but it wasn't necessarily the planet she'd enjoyed either.
"Afternoon, sir," the second officer said, extending his hand as Riddick rose from the pilot's seat. Riddick only nodded and shook each of their hands.
"What do you say, Jim?" the first asked. "Stand here for a couple minutes and head back?" The second officer, who now had a name, only nodded. The five of them stood there for a while, completely silent, Riddick and Jack glancing between the three officers, and the three officers just looking around the room. The third inhaled deeply and shrugged.
"Guys?" he asked.
"Have a safe flight, you two," the second said with a light smile. Riddick and Jack nodded and watched them go. Once they were far enough away, Jack widened her eyes at Riddick, shook her head, and followed them down to close the hatch behind them. She ran back up the steps and buckled in with shaking hands.
"I told you it would be fine," he said quietly.
"No, you didn't," she returned quickly. He glanced over at her. "You just told me to chill." He smiled and shifted in his seat.
"Solar Eclipse, thank you for your cooperation," the radio directed. "Proceed to runway Y32 for takeoff, over."
"Thanking you," Riddick said quietly, taking the controls.