Chapter 3
She wasn't surprised to hear a powerful pounding on her door later that night, but she hoped it wasn't for the reason she suspected. No such luck. The door opened to reveal a pair of servants, and from their robes, they served the Lord Marshall directly. She sighed, nodding once. As she left her room, her hands closed on a ring of keys hung on a nail next to the door, and she locked up behind her, following behind the servants with her head bowed under the cloak they'd draped over her.
It was all part of the ritual. The cloak was meant to protect them. If they ever ventured into the main areas of the ship – they were allowed to, but it wasn't intelligent – they would be less likely to be recognized, save those who had requested their presence. She groaned inwardly, dropping her head even more as other feet approached and passed. The walk seemed like it would never end, and she wasn't sure she was glad when it did. The doors opened and a hand guided her into the darkened room by the back of her neck. She didn't jump at the slam of the heavy doors behind her, only shrunk further into her cloak. A deep breath calmed her nerves, though only slightly.
"As requested, your Lordship," she said quietly. That line tore a hole in her every time she was forced to say it. The room was silent, but she didn't dare move. She gasped as the cloak was ripped from her, scrunching her eyes shut.
"You're not afraid of me, are you?" his gravelly voice lilted. He seemed pleased at her apparent fear, and she lifted her eyes to him angrily. "'As requested, your Lordship'?" Her eyes fell from his. "What's that all about?" She didn't answer. He started walking circles around her – nothing new to her but still nerve wracking. "So this is the dirty little secret, huh?" Her eyes closed, her head dropping again. "No wonder the halls were so dark, why they're so concerned about anonymity." Her brows furled, but she still said nothing. "And this is why you seemed so hurt when I wouldn't let you undress me, right? You thought I was rejecting you?" She willed her lip not to quiver. God, these bastards really ended up getting to me. "So is Sevic your real name or are you even gonna tell me that much?" Her eyes opened suddenly, but she didn't lift her head, instead just stared at his shoes now stopped in front of her. Well, at least he stopped circling me like a fucking hawk. "Do I have this pegged right? Are you just a call girl?" He almost said whore but thought better of it. Her head rose slowly, though not proudly, and she just looked up at him. He'd not noticed how pretty she was before. He was too busy kicking his ass for having been crying, much less caught doing so. She wasn't necessarily drop dead gorgeous, but she wasn't plain, either. Definitely not ugly.
"If it's not what you want, why am I here?" she asked, thankful her voice didn't crack. He clicked his tongue, making her feel even smaller, and her eyes narrowed. His head was cocked to the side, as well, making him seem even more mocking. She tensed as he leaned forward, the muscles in her arms twitching under the fabric of her shirt as his hands closed around them. She felt his breath on her cheek.
"You know too much to be just a call girl," he whispered in her ear. Her eyes closed. Just fucking kill me already, she thought. "Why is that, hmm?" She started to pull away, but his hands tightened on her arms. "Eyes and ears. Play along." She nodded.
"Survival," she whispered back. "And it's only eyes. No ears."
"Are you sure?"
"No," she said honestly. "But it's a pretty good guess."
"Any place where it's totally secure?"
"Doubtful," she answered, fighting the trembles off. "They're pretty paranoid."
"The mentality will do that," he commented. She nodded, knowing he was referring to the 'keep what you kill' creed. "What about your hallway?"
"You can't go there," she said quickly.
"Correction. I can't be seen there."
"They'll know," she insisted. She pulled away from him, reaching for the pin holding her hair away from her face. It tumbled down her back in waves, spilling over her shoulders. "And they'll know something's up if you don't do this."
"They're watching." He didn't sound like he believed her.
"They always watch," she said bitterly. God, I don't want to do this. Just pretend it's Jason and everything will be okay. But it's not Jason. It'll never be Jason. She closed her eyes and willed her fingers to close around the hem of her shirt and pull upwards, but his hands over hers stopped their movement. Her eyes opened again, staring up at him questioningly.
"If I had known…" he trailed off, a flash of rare emotion in his eyes making him seem almost apologetic. She forced a small smile but couldn't keep the timidity out of it.
"You should have," she said quietly. His hands didn't move away from hers, and she averted his eyes. "Your other option is to throw me out," she offered quietly. Her slight cringe wasn't hidden well enough.
"And what would happen if I did that?" he asked quietly, his thumb stroking the back of her hand slowly.
"Nothing I can't handle."
"Tell me."
"They'll beat me and lock me in my rooms for a few days." He sighed. "Like I said, nothing I can't handle. It's happened before."
"How long ago?" Why the fuck does he care how long ago? He should have been told the rules when he called up the menu, she thought.
"Not long. But I lived." He nodded. "Don't worry about me. Just hurry up and tell them."
"It's been a long time since I had a woman," he said slowly.
"Then indulge. I don't care either way, just decide." She felt him looking at her, but couldn't bring herself to return the gaze, so she let her eyes close as he mulled it over. His hands moved away from hers, but he didn't walk to the door. She stole a quick glance at him watching her, and then looked away as she lifted her shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. He reached out, and her eyes closed as his palm slid over her cheek, her brows quivering slightly. His other arm went around her waist, his fingers running lightly over her soft skin as he pulled her against his chest, just holding her. She didn't return the embrace, even as he dipped his head to plant soft kisses along the side of her neck, his teeth nipping gently at her shoulder.
"I won't hurt you," he whispered.
"Yes you will," she returned, oddly satisfied as he paused. He pulled away from her, blinking, but she managed a small smile. He nodded slightly, and bent down, pressing his lips lightly to hers. She battled with herself over whether or not to respond to his kiss, ultimately deciding she probably should if not just to avoid pissing him off. His other arm snaked around her back and he lifted her off her feet, pressed against his chest as he continued to kiss her slowly, walking both of them toward the massive bed he'd inherited. He lowered her onto the silk comforter gently, his hands grasping her hips to push her further onto the bed before sliding her pants down her legs. She was now completely naked below him, and feeling more vulnerable than she ever had. The others who had summoned her had forced her to undress herself, but this Riddick had done half of it for her. She kept her eyes closed, even as she heard him remove his clothing, and felt the bed give as he returned to it, pulling her across the bed against him. She'd expected him to go for it, but instead, he continued his slow exploration of her body, his hands skimming lightly over her as his lips followed. He hovered over her now, and she could feel his eyes on her, willing her to look back at him, but she couldn't. His hands came to rest once again on her hips, thumbs trailing back and forth lazily, and the tears threatened to break as he planted a soft kiss on the long scar stretching across her belly.
"What's this?" he asked quietly.
"Sterilization," she whispered back, her voice almost mirroring the pain she felt just saying it. Another kiss on a smaller scar.
"And this?" She shook her head, and he let it go, kissing the mark again before returning to her lips, a large hand cradling the back of her head as he kissed her. She felt his other hand leave her hip and tensed, knowing what was coming next. He broke his hold on her lips and settled his cheek against hers, shushing into her ear. "Relax," he purred. "I said I won't hurt you." She didn't comply, and he didn't continue.
"I've heard that before," she said quietly, scrunching her eyes closed tightly. She felt his lips moving on the side of her neck.
"Relax," he repeated. "I don't want to hurt you and I will if you don't relax." His words were broken by his kisses along her collarbone. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the tension leaving with it, and he continued, pausing when she tensed, continuing when she relaxed. She was genuinely surprised at how gentle he was with her, but she prayed his stamina was shot to hell. He'd said it'd been a long time, right? If the situation had been different she would have been impressed at his efforts to keep from hurting her. It wasn't the physical pain – this time there was none. She hadn't asked for this life, and refused to give in to it, and that's what hurt the most. He stiffened against her, a gravelly groan vibrating through his chest as his release washed over him, his fingers digging into her gently. His cheek settled against her shoulder, and he let his fingers trail over her arm as his breathing returned to normal. "I'm sorry," he whispered. She nodded. "But I couldn't let them hit you." Another small nod. You can cry once you get back to your room, just keep it together. "Will they let you stay here?" She cracked her eyes open, but he wasn't looking up at her.
"It wouldn't go unquestioned, but probably so." Her voice was smaller than she would have liked, but there wasn't anything she could do about that now.
"And you want to avoid attention." It wasn't a question, so she didn't respond. He nodded against her, and she felt his eyelashes flutter over her skin as his eyes closed. The cold air brought goosebumps up on her skin as he moved away from her, pulling a robe over him and tying it shut. He glanced at her quickly, but looked away as she sat up. She watched him stoop to pick up her shirt and pants and hand them to her silently, and her shaky hands took them from him, pulling them on quickly, not a word exchanged. He walked to the door and she followed, but he just stood there with a hand on the doorknob. She didn't look up, even as his lips pressed to her forehead and his fingers ran through her hair. She pulled her cloak around her shoulders and lifted the hood over her head, bowing her face down slightly to hide behind the dark material, and he opened the door. The servants hovering outside reached out to her, partly to restrain her and partly to guide her back to her hallway, but his voice stopped them. "No one else touches her."
"Pardon?" one of them asked.
"I don't care who requests her, no one else touches her, understand?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw both servants nod through quizzical expressions. The guided her away, and she didn't hear his door close until they'd rounded a corner.
