Shirah's Touch

The system with three suns and as many planets fell away behind them. The tiny skiff glided through the rings of the outer planet that blocked the twin suns from the world it fled from. The blonde woman at the pilot's controls worked out where the system was based on her memory of what Owens had said during the aborted distress call and the readings she was getting off the tiny ship's sensors. She tried to keep her hands from shaking. The skiff was so old that it would take them days just to figure out which way to go. She shivered from the soaking wet clothing and her own uncertainty. She was a docking pilot, not a navigator. Carolyn shook her head. 'Fuck… how can this man beside me be so calm… how can he just take this in stride? How do I work this damn map?' She let him fly the skiff, as he seemed to have an instinctive understanding of exactly what needed to be done. The holy man in the back quietly chanted out his prayers under his breath punctuated only by the sounds of his beads clicking together. Fry's co-pilot reached over and touched a switch flipping the map into a mode that showed the shipping lane beacons. She blinked at it for a moment and nodded.

Once the skiff had been navigated to the point that it could be slid into autopilot the ex-ranger unhooked from the co-pilot seat. He was wet, chilled, and more than a little frightened. His fear was that Johns had injured Jackie fatally before meeting his own death. Not even the satisfaction of witnessing Johns being torn apart by voracious monsters could shake the dread that he felt at the moment. What if she died? What would he do then? The questions haunted him with an urgency he couldn't ignore. Thankfully, someone had packed blankets and towels. He looked at the tiny, unconscious, wisp of a woman strapped into a back seat, soaked to the bone. She was pale. 'Too pale,' he thought. Her lips showed signs of her system slipping into shock. He pulled the stack of towels down and let them scatter onto the floor. He had to move quickly if he was going to save her. And the first thing he needed to do was to get her out of her wet things and dried off. He picked up a couple of towels off the floor and set them in the next seat over.

Turning her back to the problem of directions, Fry slid her chair back and watched him. Jackie's current appearance worried the hell out of her. She was waxy, and her lips were a smidgen blue. Riddick settled down in front of the girl and reached for her foot. It was clear what he was going to do as began removing Jackie's waterlogged shoes. The docking pilot watched as the first shoe and sock came off. He was unlacing the second shoe when Fry finally spoke up, "Hey, want me --" Watching the big man hover over the girl made the blonde woman uncomfortable.

Jackie was in one of those weird states where nothing worked but her sense of touch and her hearing. She was freezing. Riddick eased the pressure on her feet, getting the wet away from her skin and drying them before wrapping them in the towel. He didn't want the docking pilot near, "No." His voice allowed for no argument. Imam's soaked clothes flapped about wetly as he stood. "Do me a favor, Imam, and drape a blanket up so that Fry can get out of her wet clothes. And you do likewise." She heard towels being passed as she imagined the frown on their faces. But really, Riddick was right, the wet clothes would lead to them all getting hypothermic.

"There are ten blankets here." Imam revealed as he passed two over to Fry. 'One for each of us after Zeke died,' Jackie noted, 'Paris must have packed them.' She heard the sounds of one being unfolded and draped over the crossbars. The metallic clatter near her foot told her that Riddick had placed her shiv on the floor. His hands moved over her flesh, brisk yet gentle, warm and firm as they worked the blood back into her chilled feet. The sounds of wet clothing being shed and shivering reached her ears. While Imam and Fry busied themselves she felt Riddick removing her soaked, cold pants. He gently but briskly dried her legs off, and she felt a warm blanket being placed in her lap. Then she felt Riddick's fingers working the buttons open on her collared shirt. He unhooked the seatbelts and leaned her forward. She goose-pimpled as her face rested on his chest against his wet tank. She could feel his heat under the wet fabric. 'How can he still be warm?' Her teeth would be chattering if she'd had any control over them. Riddick carefully lifted each layer of her shirts off of her only to reveal the bandages flattening her chest. He leaned her back and looked at Imam. Jackie felt metal against her skin. He was cutting the bandages off. 'Fine by me. I don't need those anymore,' she thought.

Someone lifted the blanket-divider, "So, that's why she looked like a boy," Fry's voice.

"Yeah," Riddick was carefully slicing the tight wrapping off. His voice betrayed the fear that he'd find broken ribs under them. The bruises were already discoloring Jackie's skin with a frightening reddish purple tone visible at the edge of the blanket.

"Perhaps I should leave you," Imam moved over to the front. Jackie didn't deserve to have them all standing around gawking at her like she was a freak show. Riddick didn't respond. Fry thumped Jackie's pack down nearby and the blanket fell back into place. Riddick's aura seemed to change slightly again. The shiv he was using neatly finished the job, and he carefully pulled the wrapping off of her. He let out a quiet breath when he saw that she was not burned, scarred, or suffering from broken bones. Before he'd only seen her back. 'Well, Duh!' She thought as she felt his eyes sweep over her, 'Would you hurry, I'm freezing.' Her skin was perfectly smooth except for the faint signs of her being beaten with a nightstick. The marks wrapped around from her back. It made him angry but he could deal with it. He carefully dried her off. She heard him rummaging in her pack after he had pulled the blanket up to her chin. He located a dry pair of panties and a sanitary napkin put the two together in what seemed to be a logical fashion. Next he opened the waste bucket in the corner, gingerly slid the last wet garment off of her, found the string she'd said was there to remove the item no longer necessary, tossed it into the bucket and closed it. Then he worked the dry pair of underwear onto her. Jackie groaned as he lifted her off the seat in the process. Only after he'd made sure she was warming up did he follow suit and remove his clothing and wrap himself in a blanket. He then scooped her unconscious form up and sat down.

Fry must have waited until everything was quiet. Riddick had softened his body into one of the dry chairs with Jackie's apparently sleeping form in his lap. At least two layers of blankets separated them and a third was draped over her atop that. She had stopped shivering and was finally beginning to breathe in a restful fashion much to Riddick's relief. Her skin color was better, but her lips were still too purple for his comfort. He curled his arms around her under the top blanket, willing more of his body heat into her chilled form. The blond woman settled down next to him in the other dry seat. "She really okay, Riddick? Those bruises worry me." He didn't immediately answer. Jackie felt Fry run a hand over her head. "Riddick?"

"What, do I look like a Medic to you?" Anger and despair filtered through his deep rumble. Jackie stirred and twisted at the sound, rousing herself enough to snuggle into his bare chest. The fact that she moved relieved his mind a bit. He eased back again, "I don't know, Carolyn. She's hurt; it could be bad. But I just don't know." Jackie felt everything fade. She was so tired. And finally he was there, like she'd dreamed he'd be for every scary dark night she'd ever had in her entire 14 years of life. His scent enveloped her with a sheath of protection. His warmth eased her bitterness. This was the way it was meant to be. She was safe. She could let go.

It was the last thing Jackie thought before finding herself walking through a deeply shadowed wood. Large, tall trees with thick trunks reached for a hidden sky. The path, wide and well marked, looked like no one had traveled it for quite some time. Large leaves and needles littered the forest floor. Deep greens and rich gray-browns were offset by the occasional bright splash of yellow or red flowers peaking out of the foliage. She was sure she'd never been here before but the place felt 'home-ish', if there was such a thing. Surely, it was more like the home she'd dreamt about than Sigma 3 had ever been. Somehow it was safe here, really safe. Not the fake safe that her disguise had given her.

She noticed that her hair was long again. Honey brown locks that shimmered with their own inner light flowed over her shoulders and down her back. The breeze caught it and fluttered the strands back away from her face. Her clothing was the last thing she had worn only dry. It was an odd combination, really. If this were a dream surely she would have pictured herself in a gown of some sort. She concluded that this couldn't be a dream then. But if it were real… how had she gotten here? Jackie continued to walk, looking at the ancient trees and the glimpses of beautifully clouded sky through the partings of the arching branches high above. It was dim here. Not totally dark, but dim. "Where am I?" she asked out loud, not really expecting an answer. The forest path opened up on one side revealing wild untouched rugged terrain overgrown with plant life. It fell away in a series of cliffs and flatlands surrounded by distant mountains. A soft orange glow bathed the scene from about a mid-morning position through the patchy cotton-ball clouds. It took her breath away, "Beautiful…"

The newcomer was not alone; no one was really alone in these woods. The guardian of this world paralleled the half-breed's path. At one time such a soul would have been rejected, but in times such as these… Some kinship was better than no kinship. Besides, he had not listened… Would she? The young woman looked quite at home here. Her Furyan side became stronger with each passing day. She'd never be pure, but at least she would be fertile, unlike so many of the other survivors. Now, to convince her to return to her harsh life… "Few come here, to Furya, anymore."

A female's voice loomed behind her. It had qualities similar to Riddick's, and it was familiar. 'Run, be like the wind…' echoed in Jackie's mind as she turned to see a beautiful woman with long blond multi-braided tresses dressed in browns with a touch of burgundy. The figure had a warrior's build and wore a sword on her hip. Yet something in her golden-brown eyes made Jackie immediately accept her as a friend. "Furya?" she asked. The woman swept her hand out to indicate the forest around them. "I'm Jackie, do you have a name?"

"You can call me Shirah. Walk with me." Jackie shrugged and fell into step with Shirah. The pair began to head deeper into the trees. The woman had a wisdom about her that was much older than she looked to be. Apparently part of that wisdom was letting Jackie take in the surroundings in silence as they walked back into the shadowy forest. There were signs of life here, but… it was very quiet. Nothing buzzed. Nothing fluttered… Slowly it occurred to Jackie that there were no animals as they walked deeper into the foliage, or perhaps the animal life avoided where they were heading. She looked at the woman. Shirah's expression was slightly saddened.

The sorrowful look puzzled Jackie for several feet. She decided that she needed some answers. If this was a place then perhaps Shirah had the answers to how and why she was here. She cleared her throat, "Um, how did I get here?"

"You were drawn back home, as all of us are."

"Oh-Kay…" Jackie stopped, "But why?" she planted her feet. Something ahead bothered her. Her heart filled with leaden dread. She eyed the path with a suspicious look. The woman besides her noticed. Clearly, the half-Furyan's intuition was highly developed.

"Please," Shirah indicated the way ahead of them; "Your answers are coming. Or do you not really want to know?" She was saddened that she had to prod things this way, but telling the young woman outright would not serve the purpose of Furya. Only if the mystery were truly deepened would she speak of it with enough conviction to get him to listen. And he was the one that Furya needed right now.

Jackie thought about it. She frowned and began walking again. The forest was taking on a sparser, almost burnt look. Inside Jackie began to feel cold. Her breathing became shallower with each step. The trail ended abruptly at a cliff-face. The view beyond stopped Jackie's heart for a moment. She let out a shocked gasp. Every meter of earth, for as far as she could see, held a grave. Row after row, fading off into the horizon. She turned a shocked gaze to Shirah, "What?" It was all she could say.

"In time, all will be revealed. If you choose to go back and live."

"Go back? You mean -- I'm dead?" Jackie felt her voice quiver.

"No, not yet." Shirah turned and guided Jackie over to a point that seemed to burn with blue flame or energy, hanging in the air. "Look."

The flame filamented into an opening that showed the inside of the Skiff. She could see the blanket draped across the crossbars and guessed that Imam and Fry were on the other side of it. The colors were as real looking as those were around her, only the tones differed as the light at this side was warm and the on the other side was cool. Riddick was holding her body still wrapped in the blanket. She guessed that her clothes were still off as his chest was bare. Several days had passed based on the hair growth on his face and head. She couldn't tell if he'd slept at all, or if he'd eaten. Next to him, peaking out of her pack were the medical supplies she'd snagged back at Conga. He must have given her at least one concentrated nutrient shot based on the packages that she could see torn open. Currently he was leaned in close, goggles up, intently watching a shiv, her shiv, steam up as he held it in front of her nose. His eyes shimmered in the dim artificial lights. His attention was riveted on the signs that she was breathing.

Jackie watched the scene for a time. It was odd, seeing herself from this angle. She couldn't help but to wonder why Shirah wanted her to go back there. Was there a connection between Riddick and this place? Did they share something in common here? There was only one way to find out for sure, and that would be to ask for something. Hadn't Riddick mentioned Butcher Bay? She'd gotten the feeling that he'd gotten some help there. But what type? She stared at those quicksilver eyes. Suddenly she knew. It had been the one thing she wanted to know about from the onset. His eyes. Had Shirah given him his sight? Jackie swallowed. "So, can I get eyes like that? If I go back?"

Shirah laughed. Unlike so many of the others who had come here, this one was fearless, yet totally trusting. She turned Jackie to look at her. "When it is time for you to see, you shall see," Shirah placed her hands to Jackie's temples. "You must accept your destiny. Will you go back to the pain and hardship? Will you keep struggling?" It would be so easy to just stay, Jackie thought. 'When have I ever taken the easy path? Think it was easy pretending to be a boy? Think it's gonna be easy to convince him to take me with him?' Shirah must have read Jackie's thoughts, "He will not leave you, not now. Not unless you push him away. You have the power according to our rules. He is your mate, if you decide he is worthy. Remember that. Remind him of it should you need to. He knows the truth, deep inside. He's always known."

Jackie turned back to the scene through the blue energy. Her eyes fell on Riddick's form and locked there. He looked so crushed. She needed to be there, with him. She felt her heart ache as she watched. She had to go back… Without thinking she walked forward. As she hit the edge of the flaming connection her hair flowed up and out in every direction, catching the energy, burning away, right down to her scalp. She scarcely noticed. All she wanted was to quiet the pain and hurt she saw in his eyes. She reached for his face…and ended up raising her physical hand up onto his cheek. 'Damn, I can't see! Oh, I have my eyes closed…God, how stupid…' Jackie forced her eyes open. Riddick dropped the shiv with the movement of her hand and dropped his head onto her chest as she opened her eyes. Jackie slid her hand up to the location on his head where his goggles normally sat and traced the path formed by the indentation they left from the corner of his slightly damp eye to the point where the band rested on the side of his head with a light touch. She felt his arms tighten her into a siting position, hugging her as he lifted his head. She had no idea what he might be feeling or thinking at this moment and almost expected him to be angered. What she saw in his face frightened yet warmed her.

He felt her stir. Her pulse was getting stronger. It had been nearly 24 hours since she'd moved. Her hand brushed his cheek. Not a moan, not a wiggle, but a reaching out toward him. The touch startled him slightly. The shiv fell from his fingers and clanged across the metal floor. He let his head fall, partly to hide his tears and partly to assure himself that she was really coming around. He felt her hand brush away the moisture at the corner of his eye before playfully tracing the line of the band across his temple. He hugged her before looking at her face. He was so relieved. It was beyond words. He couldn't describe how he felt at this moment. Her eyes fluttered open and met his. She was so beautiful...

"What I'd do?" Jackie's first impulse was to lighten the situation and to give him an excuse to slip back inside the armor he normally wore. She nearly kissed him, but the sound of her voice brought Fry and Imam to the back of the skiff. Jackie noticed two things. One, she had been out long enough for the clothes to dry, and, two, she was totally nude under the blanket she was wrapped in. Riddick adjusted the coverings to provide her with some modesty, tucking the edge under her arm. Jackie dropped her hand to his shoulder. 'God, they all look so worried,' she thought as she studied Fry and Imam's faces. She smiled at them, "So, okay… No need to panic here."

"How do you feel?" Imam kneeled down.

It suddenly struck her that they were acting like she'd been in a coma, like she'd slip back in to it at any moment. She raised an eyebrow, "Fine. Well, a little stiff," She wiggled and stretched producing a side effect that reddened her cheeks, "Um…Sorry. Want me to get up?" Jackie bit her lip and looked at the man still holding her in a loose embrace.

"No."

Fry looked like she was seeing a ghost still. The worry drained the color from her face. Riddick's face and posture idled in his unreadable neutral. Something naughty and more than a bit out of character flashed through Jackie's mind, "Oh. You sure?" She slowly shifted her position. It was instinct that drove her. Something in his expression had been hungered but not for food. The animal inside her understood before she did. Her leg appeared out of the blankets. She felt Fry's gaze drift over it, slowly…rousing a similar tingle as Riddick's body language often did. Jackie flushed slightly more but not with embarrassment.

Fry finally said, "I should check our heading." She exited back to the safety of the pilot's chair.

Imam ignored the potential sexual implications of Jackie's movements, noting only that in the days she had been unconscious her body had begun to bloom into that of a young woman, one of exotic beauty even with her very short hair. Somehow she matched Riddick in that regard. "Are you hungry?"

Jackie's stomach answered for her with a large growl. Unable to contain herself, Jackie burst out into laughter and clutched her middle with her other arm, "Yeah, I guess so."

Fry's seat creaked. "It's good to hear laughter, you know. After so much--"

Riddick might have been a chair for all his visible reaction. Jackie could feel part of him pulsing against her leg, warm even through two layers of blankets. She was actually blushing at how naughty she'd been. She looked at him with an apology on her lips again, but the ex-ranger might have been enjoying how she made him feel for all she knew. She settled back into his chest and looked up at his unreadable face. Her lips tingled… and she bit them to get the feeling to go away. Somehow, impossibly, she knew that he'd been waiting for her to come back to him. She knew that he ached for her to complete something… she closed her eyes and nuzzled his throat. Then, while no one was looking, she lightly brushed her lips against the skin in the hollow of his neck and lightly licked him. He shifted and curled his arms around her. Jackie looked up at him. That was what he'd wanted. She sighed and snuggled her back into his chest; "I could get used to this. Having my own living chair."

"I should drop your smug ass on the floor, girl." Riddick rumbled at her, but his stubble-covered chin rubbed over her head. He made no move to get up. In fact the darkness inside him was rather content at the moment. Not only was she awake, but she had completed the next step. That placed the ritual back on his obligation to fulfill. They had time now… weeks at least, months at most. He would wait until he was sure she was recovered from her injuries.

Imam brought her a can of some meat product and a package of Paris' toast-tips. It was closer to real food than the rations they had. Jackie raised an eyebrow, "A little rich, don't you think?" Imam shook his head. He provided her with a spreading knife and water too. Truth be willing, Jackie would have settled for bland cardboard. Imam and Riddick silently insisted that she eat. The meat was deviled chicken, and resembled a mustard yellow paste with flaked tissue added. She tried not to look at the stuff overly closely. The toast-tips were rye. Ham would have suited them better, but she wasn't gonna complain. As she ate her mind flipped through the steps she needed to do to make the ID switch for Riddick. First step was knowledge of when they would reach the shipping lane. "So did'ya find out where we are?" Jackie asked between bites.

"The Hunter Gratzner was well off the shipping lane. By several weeks. In the skiff it could take us a month to reach the closest one, but it's a sleeper lane. Our chances of getting picked up there are slim, so I angled us to hit the more direct route between Aquilia and Helion. That will take a month and a half. In the interim we are pushing through wild space. I'm having to keep quite an eye on things." Fry lifted the makeshift curtain and tagged it open. "You gave us quite a scare, young lady."

Jackie swallowed her food and shrugged, "Sorry. How long was I out?"

"Chrono shows 3 days, kiddo. Don't do that again." Fry scolded.

"So, we near anyplace called 'Furya'?"

Jackie felt Riddick's muscles ripple. Fry glanced back at her star map; "We were about 2 days ago. The planet moves faster on its orbit than this skiff's engines. It's long out of range now. Supposed to be haunted, according to all the inside lore. No one dares to go there." Fry didn't notice Jackie squeeze Riddick's hand. "When I was growing up there were studies being made about the place. For a long time I was under the impression that people lived there, but by the time I reached second level schooling Furya was an archaeologists' dream. Until rumors started that the place was haunted in my tenth year. Then it kind of dropped out of the news." Fry adjusted the settings slightly as she spoke.

Imam listened silently for a moment then added, "Up until 30 years ago there were people living on Furya. Not many, but a thriving and successful, if isolationist, population. Policies changed five years before something happened there that no one is sure about. Furya was beginning to join with the rest of society, until its voice went quiet." Riddick grunted. "What, Mr. Riddick?"

"Company locusts."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Never mind."

Imam frowned. "Please, explain, Mr. Riddick. I have no intention of judging you based on your perception of the Company."

"Yeah." Riddick pulled Jackie tighter. Fry cocked her head at them. "Company advance team landed on Furya 25 years ago. They discovered that the entire population had been wiped out except for a crippled elderly man and a handful of nearly dead infants. Most of those rescued disappeared, assumed to have died during transit. The old man ended up in a slave labor camp on Sigma 3, as a camp cook. The same camp I found Jackie's mother in…" Riddick's voice trailed off. Jackie curled up in his lap again.

Fry cleared her throat, "So, how do you know about—Oh, you were a guard there." Riddick fixed his luminous stare on Fry. "Shit, Riddick. The Company will grill your ass if they catch you. No wonder you are getting such a bad rap."

"It's not like I'm not guilty, Carolyn. I was taught to kill because it suited their purpose."

"But you are not like Johns, Riddick. He was willing to shoot us all because we stood up for you. It didn't matter to him that you weren't the crazed psycho-fucked killer the Merc guild was passing you off for. I just wish I'd seen it sooner." Fry pushed her body out of the pilot's chair and accepted some water from Imam, "You might not be innocent, Riddick, but you sure as hell are a lot more deserving of life then the scum that Johns turned out to be."

Imam nodded, "You speak louder with your actions than you do with your words, Mr. Riddick. Just the past three days have shown that you possess a certain nobility. Jackie recovered because of your attention."

"Fine, stop already." Riddick sounded annoyed. "Can we please have some time alone here."

Fry smiled and placed a kiss on Jackie's forehead. "Sure. Imam?" Jackie felt the deep vibration that indicated Riddick was not pleased by the docking pilot's actions. But it was clear that Fry did not hear or recognize the ex-ranger's non-verbal warning. The holy man picked up the water and some ration squares and the blanket fell back into place.

Jackie sat quietly for a minute. She just took him in. She was not tired, but he had to be, unless he'd slept with her in his lap. She shifted her body more causing the layers of blankets between them to move. Riddick let the one over his lap slide off so that it covered his knees and legs. Jackie twisted to face him The third blanket fell to the floor and he curled the edge of the one he'd tucked around her breasts more over her back. "What?" she asked. "I never took you for the bashful type."

He reached for the blanket around his legs and pulled it up over her shoulders. "Don't want you to get cold," he whispered in her ear.

Jackie giggled. "Okay." She guessed that Fry and Imam could hear everything. The blankets moving, the seat creaking, their teasing each other. On one hand she didn't care. On the other she did. She was not sure yet where this was going, but she trusted Shirah. Shirah and told her that she had the power in the relationship. 'I'm not a kid. I'm—God, I'm scared. What if he gets taken back to slam? What am I gonna do then? What if the ID switch don't work? What if I don't do this now and never get the chance? What--' Hot tears welled up in her eyes. A sob choked in her throat. She let go of the blanket tucked under her arms and wrapped herself around his neck. He reacted with all the confused concern he could muster after sitting somewhat shocked for several seconds as hot tears soaked into his neck and shoulder. "Don't leave me," he heard her whisper, "Please, don't."

"I can't make promises, Jackie." He tightened up his grip on her as she sobbed harder, "Ah, Jackie. Come on. You can't want the life I'd give you." It tore him apart to say it, but he had to know if he was catching her signals right.

"Yes, yes I can. Yes I do," Jackie pulled back, suddenly angered. "Fuck you, Riddick." She hit him with her tiny fist, surprising him with the power in her arms. His heat increased. "Do you want me or not? 'Cause if you don't Fry does."

"Does she, now?" Riddick purred. He looked Jackie over now that the blanket between them was only separating their lower bodies. Her torso was still marked with yellowish bruises, but that was fading. Her hips seemed fuller, her waist tighter and her breasts had finally discovered how perfectly formed they could become, now that their growth was unhindered. Her body was still changing. "Trust me, I can see why." Jackie hit his chest again, lighter this time but still with energy. He caught her arm, "Listen, you want to hang with me, you're gonna have to learn to hit harder than that."

"Fine, then fucking teach me. I can learn." She twisted her arm in his grip. "Come on, Riddick…I know how this game works, and I already made my choice. I made my choice back at the crash-ship. When I covered for you." She looked into his eyes.

"I'm not gonna leave you."

Fry and Imam heard everything. There really was not much privacy in such a small ship anyway. Fry was worried. The direction things were heading between Jackie and Riddick scared her. Jackie was a good kid. Riddick was a killer. Okay, so state the obvious, he was gonna get her killed, or that was what Fry feared. She had heard what was said about Furya, but it held nothing special to her.

Imam had no idea about Riddick's background, or his age. The man could be in his twenties or his fifties. But Jackie was special. A survivor. Even if she was only half-Furyan as Riddick's tale implied, he had no doubt that she would be more than strong enough to survive at Riddick's side. Imam would have to look over Riddick's record to find his age, but he suspected something, something that could only be confirmed once they reached New Mecca. He heard the two of them dressing.

"What?" Jackie asked as Riddick handed her clothing. "Fine. Want to watch?" Riddick said nothing, but his eyes spoke volumes. She climbed off his lap, carefully testing her legs, trying to ignore the hungry gaze that was lapping at her. Yeah, he wanted her. She slipped on the salvaged clothing. The pants were a bit long and a bit loose, but not as much as she'd thought they be. The only top he'd offered was a smallish one with long sleeves. It hugged every line. Jackie unbuttoned the three buttons as the neck. "Okay, my turn." Riddick let out an amused rumble, not quite a laugh and not quite a growl. "Come on, Riddick. Let me see what I've gotten myself into." He took the challenge, standing and dressing slowly so that Jackie could see exactly what her persistence had bought her. 'Oh, man…there's that tingle again. Oh, that's a bad spitfire scar there.' She moved up to him as he zipped his pants, saying nothing as she kissed the acid burn on his side. 'All or nothing.'

"Hey, Jackie—I'm gonna end up taking those clothes right back off you," he teased.

"You wish, mister."