Chapter Thirty-seven: Riddick - Epiphany

It struck him, suddenly, how absurd his situation had become. He'd been conquered. Jack had thrown down on him and won. That had never happened before, with anyone, and certainly not with the stakes as high as this. Even Carolyn's victory over him hadn't gone this deep.

There had been a few women, over the years, who'd tried to take him on, but they'd all had ulterior motives. It had been a disturbing revelation to him when he'd realized what they'd really wanted. They'd picked him for his size and reputation, assuming that he would be a brute to them as well, both in and out of bed.

Riddick didn't hold with that crap; hitting a woman, especially a lover, had no appeal to him. Some of them had tried to provoke him into it, prompting him to sever the relationships on the spot. He still didn't get why anyone would want that kind of thing. Those women needed some kind of help, but he was no therapist to solve their problems for them; he could barely maintain an armistice with his own fractured psyche.

Jack had nothing in common with them, anyway. Her anger, when she leveled it at him, always had a point. She trusted him to respond like a human being when they argued. She trusted him, but she'd never expected him to be a saint. The way she was pressed against him now was all the evidence he needed of that.

Their mouths were welded together and had been for several minutes now. This moment, he realized, truly had been inevitable. He'd been locked in orbit around her for weeks, drawn in by the gravitational pull of her lips. He could have had this moment long before now if he'd been nearly as smart as people said he was.

Not lettin' go now, he thought with fierce joy. He dragged his fingers up her spine, listening to the soft moan -- almost a purr -- she made in response. This time I don't have to hold back--

Except that he did, he realized. At least for a little while. There were a few things that needed to be done first. For her. Releasing her mouth, he drew away from her for a moment.

He lifted her up and moved her to the side for a minute so that he could stand. Jack watched him intently and he could feel her preparing to fight him if he started to balk again. He wouldn't. She'd already won the battle decisively. But he was going to do this right. He drew her to her feet as well.

He stared down at her for a long moment, unable to help himself. Wonderment coursed through him as he contemplated the woman before him. So much fire and power in such a slight frame. So much bravery.

When he'd first met her, he'd seen how fearless she was and he'd thought it was the bravado born of a sheltered life. Now he knew better. It was her inherent generosity that had prompted her to try to run back for Shazza, not a child's sense of invulnerability. She'd known how cruel the universe could be, and she'd wanted to help Shazza fight off that cruelty, as futile a battle as it would have been. Silently, he blessed Paris for holding her back.

If she had died on that desolate world, a large part of him would never have been born.

He put his hands on her ribs, almost afraid to press against them, as if he might break her. Finally he dared to lift her up and pull her against him. She put her arms around his shoulders and he felt her legs hitch around his waist. He took her mouth again, trying to drown in it. He didn't think he'd ever tire of kissing her.

He felt her lips curve into a smile as he released her. "You know," she murmured, "this would work even better if your pants were off."

He laughed softly into her mouth. "We'll have to try that sometime. But this time I want things to be just right." He reached out and pulled the door open and carried her, still locked around him, over to his bedroom.

"You know you don't have to be so careful, Riddick." She bent her head slightly and began nibbling at his jawline.

Yes I do, he thought. I do. He carried her to his bed and gently lowered her onto it. She lay down immediately, stretching out sensuously on her back. He took her hand and kissed the palm.

"Jack," he whispered. "I know you're not a virgin, but that's only in the physical sense. You've never been with someone willingly before, and that's very different. I..."

She waited while he searched for the words. It took him a very long moment to find the ones that made some sense.

"I want to give you something that'll eradicate the past. I want it to be what you remember, from now on, when you think about your 'first time.'" He hoped that made sense to her. It barely made sense to him, but very little did at this moment.

Her mouth opened slightly but no sound came out. She looked stunned. After a moment she sat up and reached for him, pulling him down onto her and kissing him. Her embrace was fierce and tight.

He lingered on the kiss for a while, delighting in the taste of her mouth. She was completely without artifice; all passion and no calculation, and he loved it.

Finally he pulled back and began dropping small kisses down her throat and along her shoulders. He kissed every mark he'd left on her from his last journey.

"Riddick," she whispered suddenly. "God, I want you, please..."

He lifted his head and stared into her eyes. They were dilated and heavy-lidded with desire. It was time...

He gently lowered her back down onto the bed, resting her head on his pillow. Her eyes never left his face as he drew her legs apart and moved to kneel between them once more. On his knees, he undid the fastenings of his pants and pulled them down, freeing his erection from its constraints.

"Oh... my... god..." he heard her gasp.

This was the part that worried him. The part that he needed to be careful about. She seemed to be over her past experiences, but there was no telling what trauma lingered within her. Faced with the act itself, her lust might abruptly give way to panic. He had to do this slowly.

He took a moment to pull his pants off the rest of the way. Then he carefully moved forward, lifting her legs just a little so that her knees were bent and she was open to him. He stroked her warm flesh gently with one finger. Yes, she was ready. She was almost soaking-wet.

He moved closer to her.

He had his cock in his hand now, and he began gently sliding its head over the slick folds of skin between her legs. Her breathing quickened as he stroked her with himself. He pressed the head against her tiny nub and heard her answering gasp. Her pelvis arched up to meet him. He drew the head downward until it was positioned against her opening. Now.

She caught her breath as he began to slowly push inside her and for a second he felt her muscles tense around him. He stopped moving and waited until he felt her relax and saw a tiny smile appear on her lips. She had been afraid for a moment. He'd been right to go slowly.

He continued to press forward, just a little bit at a time, and felt her open up to him completely. He heard his own voice betray him, releasing a shuddering groan as he slid into her warm, silky depths.

Smooth... oh god, so smooth...

He filled her completely and stilled himself for a moment, enjoying the feel of their groins pressed against each other. Slowly, he began to pull back, listening to her sigh in response.

"Don't close your eyes, Jack," he said when he saw her eyelids flutter down. "I want to see what you're thinking."

She opened her eyes again and met his. He drew himself almost all of the way back out and then stroked inward again at a leisurely pace. The tiny noise she made in response thrilled him more than he'd thought anything could.

He'd learned long ago how to seduce and pleasure a woman, but suddenly his experience seemed oddly inadequate. He wanted this to be more than just a good fuck; he wanted this to be something that she would always remember, always treasure. So far he seemed to be managing alright, but could he make it happen? Really?

Oddly enough, he suddenly almost felt like he was losing his virginity, too. Bizarre thought given the vast and varied range of his experience. But there it was.

He felt the head of his cock nudge against her cervix as their bodies pressed together again. She moaned beneath him once more.

"Mmmmmm...." she purred softly. "Harder."

He went still for a moment, the corners of his mouth pulling almost against his will into a smirk. "Harder?"

She swallowed and let out a sigh that he couldn't help enjoying. Her breasts moved so beautifully when she did that... "Faster?"

"Oh I see..." He drew himself almost all of the way out of her in one rapid stroke. "Like that?"

"Yessss..."

His smile widened as he watched her face closely. "Or how about like this?" He thrust into her almost violently and watched in astonishment as her back arched and she cried out in response.

Shit, did I hurt her?

"Oh God, yes!" she gasped. She swallowed again while he stayed deep inside her, perfectly still. "Do that again..."

"You sure, Darlin'?"

She nodded. "Please. Keep going... like that..."

He leaned closer to her and put his arms around her, one hand on the back of her neck and one cradling the back of her head. He needed to keep watching her while he did this. "You ready?"

"More than."

He began thrusting into her, stroking almost all of the way out and then impaling her over and over. With each thrust she cried out, louder and louder. Her eyes were wide with astonishment. He wondered if this was how she'd looked right before she came the first time. The thought almost sent him over the edge--

No, he reminded himself. She goes first.

He picked up the speed of his thrusts and felt her body start to tremble. She was almost there... So close... His own release was rising up. But she had to have hers first. He wanted to see her come...

"Riddick..." Tears began to pour down her cheeks. "Oh god, I love y--" Her ability to say anything abruptly ended as her orgasm rolled over her. He could feel her whole body spasming beneath and around him. She screamed out with each thrust he made into her, wrapping her legs around his and bucking upwards to meet him. The look on her face was one of pure, enraptured delirium.

I never knew... he thought suddenly in confusion. I never knew it could feel so good...

The world didn't exist anymore. He didn't exist. The only reality in his world was Jack. She was his universe. Her pleasure was the only motivation within him.

Is this love? he asked, wondering if god was listening. Where has it been all this time? I never knew!

His world exploded around him. He gasped out the only word that made any sense, the word that explained and justified his entire existence.

"Jack..."