Broken pavement filled her sight; a twisting leviathan of concrete that tapered off into the horizon. It was a haunting vision that held her, made her pause in her footsteps as darkness caressed her senses. She knew that walking those empty streets was a bad idea. An unspoken invite for some wannabe billy-bad-ass to try a go at her. Heh, bad for them. If anything, she welcomed it. Call it a distraction. Somethin' she definitely needed considering the shit storm that recently took hold of her existence. Why not add a little more to the pile? Seemed like the Universe was pushing to see how much she could take before she snapped... So in her angered state she scoffed and purred inwardly, "Go ahead...let's see what you've got." and continued walking.
And who knows, maybe the poor fuck would get lucky and she wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.
Fair is Fair, right?
* * *
The familiar silhouette graced his presence as he cut a path toward an adjacent road. Something told him to turn left, so he did. And wouldn't ya know...there she was. Apparently pissed by the way her footsteps dug into the pavement with every heavy step she took.
But there was something else, hidden just behind that wall of invisible anger that curled around her body like smoke. The anger, though genuine, was just a front. And not a very stable one at that. Because for just a split second, he felt a stab of pain in his chest. She was filled with defeat... The kind that told him he had to get to her before she ran into the wrong person. It was a warning. She was ready to let go...
And there was no way in hell he was gunna let that happen. Period.
* * *
Immersed in her inner dialogue, the sensation of being followed was delayed after she just past the safety of a lone street lamp. Instead of scolding herself for being so careless, she smirked. Figures... She snarled to herself and stopped to turn toward her stalker.
She didn't even try to hide the disappointment as she peered into two living pools of blue/silver. "The hell are you doing, Riddick?" She bit out in an irritated tone filled with venom.
His face remained unreadable as he closed the distance between them. "I should be asking you the same question, Wildcat." Riddick shot back with a low growl and stopped just two feet in front of her.
An unpleasant smile pulled at her lips, "fuck off." She hissed under her breath as she turned her back to him and started to walk away.
Riddick was not impressed. "Wrong answer." He snarled and before she could even think to protest, had her back pinned up against his chest, both arms wrapped securely around her midsection, his hands clamped down on her delicate wrists, making her immobile so she couldn't retaliate. "Now, let's try this again..."
She cut him off with a deep throated growl, "Let me go..."
He smirked and rumbled, "You're going to have to say the magic word."
"Go Fuck Yourself." She snarled ever so sweetly between clenched teeth and sucked in a sharp breath when he gave her a little squeeze; warning her he could crush her without so much as breaking a sweat.
"I'm sorry...what was that?" Riddick mused in a gravely tone and pressed his chin against her left shoulder, completely invading her personal space.
Wildcat closed her eyes to steady herself. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly and hoped her voice would come out calm. "Let me go, Riddick." She said it carefully, a polite request to the beast that held her captive.
He knew exactly what she was doing... It wasn't genuine, it was just a game. As soon he let her go she'd try to attack, or she'd try to make a run for it. Try being the key word. Riddick shook his head, "Not until you ease down and get your head straight, Princess."
The battle to stay calm was running thin... She wasn't going to be able to keep this up much longer with the heat threatening to consume her veins. "Stop fucking with me and release me..."
He cut off her threatening tone by musing, "so you can try something stupid? Heh... I don't think so."
"God damn it, Richard!" She shouted suddenly and jerked against him, knowing he wouldn't let go but was just too pissed off to care. "I did not ask for you to shadow me. You have no right to keep me here!"
He let out a rumbling chuckle and flipped her around to where she was now pinned flush against him while being forced to look into his luminescent depths. "And just what makes you think I'm gunna let you wander off and leave you to your own devices, huh?" Riddick paused and watched as she rolled her eyes. "You're not going anywhere until you calm the fuck down. Got it?"
Narrowed eyes glared daggers into blue fire orbs as he continued to hold her in a vice like grip against him, proving to her he was very serious about keeping her alive. And she hated him for it. "I hate you..." The words were barely audible; held trapped within the defeated voice of a broken heart.
Riddick almost strained to hear it. "No you don't." He quipped in a low Thunder and was suddenly met with blazing amber eyes filled with rage.
"Don't you Dare tell me how I feel!" She shot at him with a deep lull filled with resentment. "You have no idea how I feel... You think it's your Place to save me? Huh?!" She paused to let her voice drop an octave to get her point across, "maybe I don't want to be saved. You ever think of that? Maybe I deserve to rot..."
This is where he decided to end the discussion by picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.
She obviously was not all that happy to be there. "You sonuvabitch!" Wildcat barked and slammed her small fists into his back, knowing that it did nothing to help her.
"Go ahead, bitch all you want." Riddick rumbled with a sarcastic lilt to his deep voice as he started back up the street, heading back to the house. "We've got about a fifteen minute walk, so by all means, get it out of your system."
With a defeated growl, she dropped her arms and let herself hang there for a moment, watching the back of his heels as he walked the pavement in silence.
* *
* *
After ten minutes of silent contemplation, she found her voice again...but this time, it was incredibly soft. "Mad at me?" Wildcat asked as he turned and started heading toward the stairwell of her building.
A deep throated grunt was the only response she got as he carried her up the three small flights of stairs and stopped at her apartment door. He then added, "Keys."
"Left pocket." She replied softly and let out a sigh when he held her with one arm and used the other to fish out her keys, unlock the deadbolt and made his way inside. Only then, when the door was closed and locked, did he finally set her back on her feet. She was bracing herself for the ass-chewing she knew she deserved for her little stunt...but was completely blind sided by what he actually asked her.
"Coffee or Scotch?"
This made her blink and think about it for a moment. "Coffee." Was her reply and was given a nod in acknowledgment as he turned and vanished toward her small kitchen. "Okay..." She murmured under her breath, brows knitted in confusion as she just stood there...feeling incredibly drained.
Riddick made quick work of getting a strong pot brewing and after a few minutes, brought out two mugs; one for her and one for himself. "Here." He rumbled and handed her the smaller of the two and watched as she held the hot mug in the palm of her hand, her eyes unfocused as she stared into the swirling liquid. "Hey, Wildcat..." He said the words slowly and waited as she brought her haunted gaze to his face, "you're gunna burn your hand."
She knew the shock was setting in because she didn't feel her hand burning, it just felt strangely warm. "Oh..." She muttered in a whisper and held the hot mug by the handle.
He peered down at her quietly, hoping that she knew that he put up with a helluva lot more from her than anyone else he'd ever had in his life. But there was a good reason for that. She was the only person that understood him...and wasn't devoured by the demons of his past. She was there, and was safe from those fake badges... She was all he had left. Riddick wondered if she even knew what she really meant to him...
Her soft lull of a voice broke his thoughts. "I'm sorry for losing it like that..." She began to explain and swallowed down the hard lump of anxiety that had tried to lodge itself in the back of her throat. "I wasn't thinking straight..."
"You're welcome." Was his growl of a reply as he brought his mug to his lips and took a hefty drink of his black coffee. After swallowing he added, "by the way..."
She was worrying the her bottom lip between her teeth when she looked up at him from beneath her lashes; a question in her tired gaze.
Riddick grew a ghost of a smile and thundered, "pull that again and not only will I hog tie you and put you in the trunk, I will leave you like that until it sinks in. We clear?"
A small curve pulled at her lips that almost brought warmth back into her eyes as she nodded and replied, "Affirmative."
"Good." He mused and started toward the coach, "now get that sweet ass over here so we can watch your favorite movie."
She let out a chuckle and plopped down to his left, making sure not to spill her coffee in the process. "Does it have Xenomorphs?" She asked and curled her left leg beneath her right as he draped his left arm over her shoulders.
"Wouldn't be your favorite if it didn't." Riddick shot back with a wink and smirked when her face lit up.
Wildcat smiled and took a sip of her coffee, relaxing against his larger frame as the TV lit up with the 20th Century Fox logo... Feeling a sense of peace after the emotional chaos her brain put her through. "Thanks Big Guy..." She murmured softly and let out a sigh when his hand gently squeezed her shoulder.
Letting her know... She would never have to face the darkness...alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment