Chapter 13

What the fuck is wrong with you?

Riddick stared down at the sleeping woman on her stomach next to him, shaking his head slightly as a small smile touched his lips. The dark sheet was draped artfully over her lower half, dark hair twisting and curling halfway down her back, the darkness of both setting off her light skin.

Carolyn would be proud.

What?!

Rejoined the human race, even though I didn't know how. Riddick sighed, laying back onto the pillows, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. She mumbled something in her sleep, shifting slightly, her hair cascading over one side to leave more skin exposed.

You're thinking with the wrong head, Dicky boy. Gettin' yourself deeper in trouble.

Shut the fuck up.

He turned his head, looking back at Sevic, sleeping peacefully next to a killer. He never understood that. Jack – Kyra – whoever she was had done the same thing back on that skiff, once the power got low enough to shut off all systems except life support and the drifter engine. Just curled up at his side and conked out. He'd expected she'd have nightmares, but if she did they weren't violent enough to be visible. And once again, just the thought of her brought back the mental picture of her lying dead in the floor. He shook his head and stood slowly, careful not to wake her by shaking the bed. Silently, he dressed and left the room, shutting the door behind him with only the small beep signaling it locked.

Sevic opened her eyes and sat up, staring at the door. She figured he would have known she was awake, but apparently not. Her eyebrow rose, and she shook her head, standing to stretch before heading into the shower.

"I didn't figure you for the fuck and run type." Riddick's head snapped around, a low growl escaping at his surprise at being surprised. Sevic leaned against the bathroom door, arms crossed over her chest. His eyebrow rose, and her eyes lowered to a spot on the floor.

"Well, for one thing, you figured wrong," Riddick said slowly. Her eyes met his.

"And for another?"

"I didn't," he said with a shrug. "Came back, didn't I?" She cocked her head before walking past him, sitting slowly on the bench at the foot of the bed to pull her shoes on. "You goin' somewhere?"

"Got a date," she said quietly. Riddick scowled. "Dame Vaako, remember?" She lifted her head to look at him for a moment before standing again and walking to the mirror, fussing with tying her hair back.

"Leave it down," he said, walking behind her to pull her hands away from her curls.

"Now you're telling me how to fix my hair?" She turned to face him, placing her hands on her hips.

"I like it better down," he said with a small smile, reaching out to run his fingers through the strands. She pulled away, turning her face from him. "What's wrong with you?"

"I was looking forward to waking up with another warm body in my bed this morning, Riddick," she said coldly, glancing at him before moving toward the door. His eyes closed as he heard it swoosh open. "I guess I expected too much out of you for one night, huh?" He turned to her, watching her glare at him before disappearing behind a slamming door.

"What the fuck just happened?" The room didn't answer him.

Sevic rolled her eyes, lifting her hand to knock again. Damn it to hell, woman, she thought, pounding heavily on the metal door. If you didn't hear the comm unit, better be damn sure you hear a knocking. Someone called something from behind the doors, and she sighed, shaking her head as bare feet slapped against the floor before it was pulled open to reveal Dame Vaako standing there, eyes wide.

"Sevic," she sputtered, glancing her up and down. "What are you doing here?"

"You invited me, remember?" Sevic asked, tilting her head to the side with an arched brow. "Last night? Dress shopping and a spa treatment?" She hoped the smile she plastered on her face came across as genuine enough to pass for the Lady.

"Oh, right." Vaako looked slightly surprised and even more put out, but opened the door wider and gestured for Sevic to enter. Her hazel eyes glanced around the room quickly as Vaako shut the door behind them. "Just give me a minute to get dressed." Sevic nodded, watching Vaako disappear behind a brightly lit hallway. After living with Riddick for a few days, her eyes protested the strong lighting, and she squinted a little. He'd even had the lights called down for dinner, she recalled. Vaako emerged a few minutes later, her 'I am a Lady, respect me as thus' mask back in place, complete with her snooty smirk. "Did you have a preference for how we spent our time together today or should I plan for both?" Vaako asked, glancing over Sevic quickly before focusing on her face. Sevic stifled a shudder. That woman's glare would unnerve anyone – except Riddick, of course. She checked her fake smile and gave a small shrug.

"I'm sure whatever you'd prefer to do would be fine with me," Sevic answered.

"Well, do you have a dress to wear next week, my Lady?" Vaako asked. Sevic smiled.

"Are you offering me your fashion advice?" Vaako only smiled, still waiting for an answer. "Honestly, Dame Vaako, if you'd like to do both, it's fine with me."

"I wouldn't want to keep the Lord Marshall from his lady," she said, taking Sevic's arm and walking toward the door. Sevic couldn't help but chuckle, and Dame Vaako glanced over at her.

"I'm sure he'll survive without me for a while," she said, this smile real. Vaako smiled, and Sevic wasn't so sure it was such a good thing.

Riddick glanced up as the door beeped it's signal that someone had unlocked the door from the outside. Sevic stumbled in, arms full of bags and boxes, and Riddick couldn't keep the smirk off his face as she dropped them on the floor, kicking the door shut behind her before flopping into a nearby chair.

"Busy day?"

"Remind me to run away the next time Vaako suggests a day of shopping and spa treatments," she sighed, rubbing her forehead as she closed her eyes, finally away from the bright, intrusive lights.

"That bad?" Riddick's voice held a bit of a laugh in it, and it only irritated her further.

"Let's just say I hate it when people insist on playing with my feet." She felt him looking at her, and she cracked an eye open. Spa flops still on, she lifted her feet and wiggled her toes at him. "Pedicure."

"Nice."

"Bite me," Sevic snapped, closing her eye again.

"I thought I did that last night," he said with a shrug. "But if you really want me to…" he trailed off as he stood, getting only two steps before she chuckled and held up a hand to stop him.

"I'm tired."

"I thought the spa was supposed to rejuvenate you," Riddick said, picking up his book and sitting back down.

"Yeah, well. The shopping was bad enough, but add on the irritation of both a manicure and a pedicure – both against my will, might I add – and then a massage to just relax you to death, and you'd be tired too," she said, leaning forward to stare at the heap of bags and boxes she'd dropped. With a grunt, she heaved herself out of the chair and began putting items away, leaving one thing still in its bag.

"What's that?" Riddick asked, pointing to the bagged garment.

"A surprise." His eyebrow rose, and she hung it up in the closet, still in the black bag. "You peek and I'll kill you myself," she threatened, trying not to smile at his light chuckle. He stood behind her now – she felt him – and her eyes closed as he pulled the clip from her hair. She combed her fingers through it. "Why do you like my hair down enough to demand it be that way?" she asked quietly, turning toward him.

"I don't know," he answered with a shrug. Her eyebrow twitched. "There's just something about a woman with long beautiful hair," he continued. "You see all the fancy stuff where their hair's so complicated you're afraid to touch it without messing it up."

"You mean like Vaako?" she asked with a smirk. He smiled, his fingers tangling in her curls again.

"It's better when it's down," he commented quietly. "Less fussy, less civilized."

"So you're saying you're going to throw away all my pins?" she asked, glancing at the collection on the table next to the bed.

"No," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "But you're not going to use them in your hair anymore." She chuckled.

"What am I going to use them for then?"

"Do I care?" Goose bumps rose on her skin as his lips moved against the side of her neck, and she shrugged, sure to catch his chin before walking away. He sighed, following her into the main room, shutting the closet door before sinking onto the bed. She sat at the foot, her legs folded under her as she flipped through the channels on the vid screen. "Did you find anything out from Dame Vaako?" She shook her head. "Nothing."

"If she wasn't fussing over how something fit me, she was in a different room getting her own spa treatment," Sevic explained, eyes still glued to the screen. She found something she liked and set the remote next to her, not noticing him reach for it until he hit the power button, crossing his arms with the remote still in hand. "I was watching that," she said calmly, turning her head toward him.

"I was talking to you."

"And I was answering your questions," she fired back. "You might not be capable, but I can multitask." His eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She shook her head, turning back to the black vid screen. "You were pissed at me this morning, for what, I have no idea, and you're either pissed off at me still or again. Which is it?" She shook her head again, staring now at her hands in her lap. She felt the tension radiating from him, but still said nothing. "Will you talk to me?" A heavy sigh. "Please?"

"What do you want from me?" Her voice was quiet, almost timid.

"What?" She repeated the question more firmly. "I don't want anything from you." She turned to him again, brows raised as though she didn't believe him. "I don't know. What makes you think I do want something from you?"

"You never ask. You demand."

"So?"

"So what if I want to be with you and not belong to you?" He blinked, and she sighed.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm not property, Riddick. You automatically assume that just because I want to be with you I want to do whatever you want me to."

"Is this about last night?" he asked, still not sure what she was upset about.

"No!" She stood with the outburst, resorting to pacing the room. "You want me at your side so everyone knows I'm yours and not to mess with either of us. You want me to look a certain way, act a certain way, and play your little 'let's make them think this' games." He stared up at her, brows knitting. "You demand that I go spend time with so-and-so, but if someone else asks there's no discussion." She sighed, stopping her pacing to wrap her arms around her middle. "I'm a person, too, Riddick," she said quietly. "I can make my own decisions."

"I didn't mean…" he trailed off, his mind going into overdrive. "Hell, wear your hair up if you want to," he finally huffed, leaning back against the headboard. She laughed, but he knew it wasn't because she found him funny. "What the fuck do you want from me?" he finally asked. Her eyes met his.

"I want a life, Riddick," she answered quietly. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "If I'm not cooped up in here, I'm out doing recon for you. I don't have a chance to make my own friends."

"You don't want them as friends," he snapped. She paused, mulling that over.

"Take me somewhere I can find people I want as friends." His stare made her rethink the request, but she didn't take it back. "You're the leader of a whole fuckin' armada, Riddick. Take us somewhere I can have a life."

"And what about me?" Riddick asked, before his brain could stop the words.

"What about you?" She ducked, dodging the remote as he hurled it at her, jumping as he slammed the front door. She stared at the shards on the floor, where the shattered remote had landed after it broke against the wall. "Fuck."