Happy New Year!
Chapter 6.
Jade had no clue when, or how, but somewhere between worrying she had fallen asleep. The bed was inviting, warm and so very soft. Her sweater made her feel really warm under the thick covers, but she would not take it off, not with him in the same bed. She simply had placed her arm on top of the covers, her back facing his side of the bed, praying this nightmare would end soon.
The next thing she thought, was hours later, after apparently being asleep for the good part of the night, seeing the room was bathing in daylight. She blinked a few times, realizing she was still lying on her side of the bed and he was not touching her. She felt rested and strangely at ease. She dared to look over her shoulder, seeing his side of the bed was empty. So, she could feel good without him in the same room, that whole bond thing must be untrue… Otherwise she would have felt a little more unsure while he was away right? She would want to be with him and would be stressed if he was away? She bit her lip, where was he now? She found it strange she felt his presence with him being gone, but soon saw him sit down in one of the chairs by the window, his eyes on her. She released her lip from between her teeth as soon as she drew blood.
'Good morning Jade, how are you feeling?' He was speaking to her like it was the most normal thing in the world they had shared a bed and woke up together. She was confused. She started feeling like he could be right, but she was not letting him corrupt her mind that easily. He was doing something to her, and she was not liking it.
'Fine,' she answered, sitting up, but not stepping from the bed since her legs were bare and she had no interest in showing him more of her body. She saw the corner of his mouth twitch, but he didn't commend on her tone, instead he seemed to study her.
For a moment there was nothing, but silence and the intensity of his gaze made Jade look away from his face. His eyes were too intense to stare into. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, unsure of what to do or say.
Riddick watched her pull her legs up. She tried to keep fighting, he saw, but she was feeling more unsure than she was letting on. And that meant they were getting somewhere, if only she wasn't so damn stubborn. But then again, he wouldn't have her any other way than exactly as she was. He resisted the urge to smile thinking about her strength and stubbornness. He loved all of that too.
'That's a good thing, for today I will take you outside.' He saw her look up, her eyes slowly meeting his. She was confused. Cute.
'Outside?' her words sounded soft, but her eyes showed fire. She was still thinking about leaving, he knew, but she would not get that chance, not with him so close.
'I didn't stutter Jade, now get ready and meet me downstairs.' He stood and slowly walked past the bed, his eyes on her until he reached the door and left her alone in the room.
Jade doubted whether she was going to make him wait extra long, or whether she would hurry up because she wanted to go outside so badly. She compromised, taking a quick shower, brushing her hair and getting dressed in pants and a warm sweater. She tied her brown hair back in a ponytail and then walked out into the hall. She was not surprised that he was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. However, she was surprised with the delicious food she smelled. His firm jawline and broad shoulders stood out as she walked the stairs. He nodded toward the dining room, then followed her. She saw there was again more food on the table than they could ever eat. Pancakes, eggs and bacon, toast and fresh juice. Why did he keep so much food available? What did he want to achieve with a feast with every meal?
'Are you trying to make me fat or something?' The words left her mouth before she could stop them. He walked around the table, again taking the seat opposite of her. She saw the corners of his mouth curl upwards before he grinned.
'I do like my woman to remain well fed, yes. But so far, I haven't been that successful, as you well know.' He winked once, referring to her not eating anything the meals before. Jade swallowed, shocked that she had spoken her mind, and even more shocked that he reacted so playfully. Somehow, she had expected him to get angry. But he hadn't. Strange…
'You said you were going to take me outside.' He was putting some food on his plate and only looked at her afterwards.
'That's right.' Jade bit her lip, still unhappy with his answer to her question.
'When?' He chuckled a little, then took a sip of coffee before speaking again.
'Well, I thought after you eat something. It's time you stopped starving yourself.'
Jade opened her mouth to contradict him, then saw from his grin that he was challenging her. She swallowed her words quickly and reached for a piece of toast, which she smeared with jam before eating it with small bites. He nodded satisfied and they continued to eat in silence for a while.
Dressed in a warm coat and scarf, Jade watched Riddick put on his black coat. She didn't want to admit it, but his clothes fitted him perfectly. She quickly looked away when he turned himself to her.
'No running, no screaming. Those are the rules. Understood?' She nodded, rolling her eyes, but not looking at him directly. When he remained silent and didn't move, she had to look at him. He was not amused.
'No eye rolling either, let's go.'
However, Jade wanted to say everything here was ugly and stupid, his property was very nice and pretty beautiful. He owned a few horses, a few acres of land for them to run on, a pool, different cars, and seemed to enjoy walking in his garden. He only spoke when they stopped at the cars and later by the horses to tell her their names. He then watched her pet the horses for a while, not saying a word. Jade enjoyed feeling how soft the horses were and tried to feed them some grass.
Riddick was enjoying what he saw. She was so gentle with his horses, caressing them endlessly, obviously enjoying their company. She was young, she was wild, she was scared. But right now, she seemed at ease, here in the open. He leaned against the fence and absentmindedly stroke his own horse, Alec, while he kept looking at his lovely mate. He wondered how long it would take for her to trust him. When would she finally see that he was telling her the truth? When would she start to feel it?
He watched her spend an even amount of time with each horse, making him smile. This girl was something else. She let her finger glide over the nose of even his own horse, while Alec wasn't such a gentle one, but right now he seemed contented with al the attention he was receiving. Lucky horse. Jade was not looking back to watch him, Riddick noticed. He still felt her nerves every once in a while. When she started shivering, he whistled once.
'Time to get you inside and warmed up.' Jade then did turn her head and her eyes landed on his. She seemed fazed for a moment, like she had been in her own little bubble for a while. Riddick chuckled. She was not moving in his direction.
'Come, I don't want my woman frozen either.'
That evening, after dinner that Jade barely touched, they both sat in the saloon. Riddick had started the fireplace and now Jade sat down in front of it, enjoying the warmth, as Riddick sat on the couch opposite of her, watching her. She was wondering why he had become so silent, while her head was still full of questions. The horses had been a nice surprise and distraction, but now her reality was back, and she needed to know more. Much more. For a while they sat in complete silence and Jade didn't even dared to look up to meet his eyes. But after some more minutes, Jade just couldn't help herself anymore.
'What happens if the bond is not…' She wanted to speak the word, but she hated it. It still frightened her. While she searched for another word, Riddick already chuckled.
'Consummated?' Jade then did look up, her eyes locking on his. She saw he grinned. He was leaning back down on the couch, but he seemed active enough. She nodded.
'That will not happen. It will be done.' Jade looked away. She didn't want to argue, she wanted to know. She sighed softly and decided to cease trying. But he wasn't letting her go that easily.
'But that's not what you wanted to know, right?' She looked up and dared to meet his eyes again. His silver orbs burned in hers. She shook her head. He waited for her to ask what she wanted to know. She needed a moment to gather the words, to gather her courage.
'What happens to us if the bond is not completed.' He grinned at her formulation. Smart girl. Frightened still, but he was glad to know she was accepting the bond as something that was there, something real. Something even he couldn't help. It was a first step. A good one too. But her question was also not so easy to answer.
Jade watched him take her question in and wondered what about it made him stiffen up a bit. He was taking some time before answering her and she wondered why.
'That is not an easy question to answer, Jade. But… I will try.' He moved a bit and sat up, his eyes still on her.
'When mates find each other and not complete the bond, well… That's a dangerous thing. In some cases, even deadly. We wouldn't live as long as we would when together. You being the younger one, the vulnerable one, you would not get to grow old without me.' Jade felt her heart sink even lower, if that was even possible after everything she had been through and learned. Feeling her own panic rise, she also felt the need to keep looking at him. Something she did, and she saw he was not grinning or smiling this time. He was not telling this to make her scared or more willing. It seemed sharing this information and thinking about it hurt him too. That could not be, could it?
'It's a risk I am not willing to take,' he went on, his voice a little softer than usual. Jade nodded once, then turned her head to watch the fire again. The warmth was nice, good even, but her heart felt frozen and she had no clue what to do about that. She was staring into the flames, tensing up as she watched beside her, seeing Riddick standing next to her before he sat down too. He had left some space between them, but he was close. Really close. Jade was surprised she seemed to feel a little better now. She was still shaken by what she had learnt, but his presence was calming her down.
'That doesn't mean we will do anything right now, Jade. We have time.' Jade looked at him, seeing his eyes were once not focused on her. He was staring into the flames too. It gave her the opportunity to look at him longer than a few minutes. He looked so dangerous, so manly and strong. That she wouldn't be able to arm herself against him was what scared her so much. He didn't run away when she got angry or started an argument. He was so different from people in her life, until now. And the fact that he insisted on having her and that he really didn't let her go froze her heart a little. Would he really not force her? Was he being serious?
It was then, in the middle of her pondering, he turned his head and his eyes found hers. He truly had the strangest eyes. Strange but very beautiful. The way he looked at her was so intense. As if he touched her. But he didn't move at all, only his eyes made contact, so Jade couldn't understand why she felt so tense, so warm. For a few minutes, they just sat like that. The fire warming them, their eyes locked, until Jade looked away first, not sure what it was that she was feeling. He made her feel weird things. Things she had never felt before. She wrapped her arms around herself and felt how tired she was, trying to resist yawning.
'Time for bed, I would say. Come,' he stood and extended his hand to her. He was curious to know if she trusted him enough to take his hand. He had felt the bond so clearly just now and he knew she had to feel it too. What would she do?
Jade shivered once, but then, before she could argue with herself, took his hand and let him gently pull her to her feet. He released her only after she pulled her own hand back, his eyes lingering on her hand for a moment longer, before he led her up to their shared bedroom.
Jade was unsure about them sharing a room and felt even more unsure today, after spending so much time with him and knowing that eventually they would end up in bed together, different than last night. She shivered thinking about it.
'Cold?' His voice was back to being dark. As dark as he could be. Why did he see everything?
Jade quickly shook her head.
'No just tired, I guess.' He let her walk into the room first and then followed her, closing the door behind them. For a moment it was pitch black in the room, until Riddick clapped his hands once, bringing a little bit of light into the room. Jade walked over towards the bed and sat down, looking at him, not sure what they would do now. She wanted to shower, but maybe he wanted to shower too, so she waited. It seemed he was waiting too, giving her the opportunity to speak or act, but she forced herself to wait.
She studied the room a bit, until he moved in her direction, walking up to her, until he stood before her sitting form on the bed. He stopped there, his eyes searching hers. She felt herself grow warm, despite her fear. The sensation was so foreign, so weird. But it also calmed her down.
'Do you feel it too, Jade. The bond?' He still stood completely frozen before her, looking down at her. She felt her throat grow dry as she exactly felt what he called the bond. But was she ready to admit it to him too? She bit her lip, seeing how his eyes moved instantly from her eyes to her lips. She could try to lie. Tell him she felt nothing, but why did that thought felt so… wrong? She swallowed and took a deep breath.
'I do.' His eyes shot back to her eyes and he slowly brought himself down on his knees, his hands beside her form on the bed, but not touching her.
'Don't you see I am doing everything to make you feel safe in our home. Don't you feel I would never harm you Jade. Never. You will always be safe with me. I will protect you from the world, while you get to do what you want, your job, everything.'
Jade sure felt the warm, nice feeling now he was this close, but her inexperience with men, being kidnapped and held here, and him being so intimidating was just too much.
'I just-' She tried really hard to find the words, seeing him wait patiently, but he wasn't moving. She took a shaky breath.
'I'm not ready, not for any relationship. I'm just not. I need…. I need to be on my own first.' He cocked his head to the side, taking in her words, but not yet replying. Jade felt he saw right through her words and that made her nervous. So nervous she was heading towards spilling what she really thought. She tried to move backwards on the bed, but then he suddenly moved, his hands finder hers, keeping them in his larger, warmer ones.
'Tell me Jade.' She shuddered as she felt his hands on hers. For a man so muscular and large, he could hold her so very gently. She bit her lips, before she blurted her words out.
'I have never been with anyone. Not ever' All her fears lay in between those words. And unfortunately for her, Riddick was a man that could read between the lines.
He was not surprised, he already knew about her and her inexperience. It was important to him and their bond she was pure. He needed to be the first to touch her. To have her completely, body and soul. She however felt that was a bad thing. Was that because she was feeling so unsure of how to be around him, or because she wanted more, but was unsure how to proceed? Interesting indeed. She licked his lips and then caressed the inside of her hands with his thumbs, feeling her shiver. He grinned.
'I know.' It was all he said, and he saw the subtle change in her eyes. It calmed her just a bit, although his touched seemed to make her doubt everything once more. He kept looking at her for a little while, before he released her hands and stood.
'You can shower first, just don't take too long.' He walked over towards the desk in the room and sat down, giving her space to do as she wanted. Jade was flabbergasted and slowly stood from the bed, making her way over towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and then started the shower. Before she undressed, she walked over towards the mirror and watched herself, unsure of what was happening to her, completely unaware of the alpha Furyan in the bedroom trying his hardest not to barge into the bathroom to claim what was his.
And here we are again! Thank you for reading and big thanks to the ones who took the time to leave a review! I love reading what you think and feel, it helps me stay pumped to write on!