Treacherous

***Sorry about the chapter mix up! :D

Chapter 6

Riddick backtracked when he saw that he’d lost Bell. The empty water container at the bottom of a flight of steps lead him upwards where he found her passed out in the bedroom. The apartment must have belonged to someone important if the richness of it was to be believed. After assuring himself that she was fine and wouldn’t be wandering any time soon he was drawn to the kitchen. Survival rations and warm water had left him craving some real food.

No synthetic prep unit. The men stationed here probably weren’t considered important enough to deserve such expensive luxuries. Without electricity it didn’t matter anyway.

The fridge was out of question, no way anything in there was good. Cabinets.

Can after can of food he stacked on the counter, his mouth salivating at just the idea of what could be inside. Preservatives should keep the food inside fresh for decades. He figured he was nearing the time when they could be bad. How long had these cans been here? Twenty years? Thirty? Bell had said ‘thirty-some-odd’. That was pushing any preservatives stamina.

An old-fashioned hand crank can opener was in one of the drawers, and then within seconds he was shoving wedges of peaches into his mouth with dirty fingers. No water necessary, he finished off the slimy fruit by drinking the thick syrup from the can.

Bell groaned and rolled on the wide mattress, stretching. Sunlight speared her eyelids and she quickly jerked back into the shadow. Now fully awake and aware of where she really was, she sat up.

The blue sun was overhead. It had been two days ago that they’d left SS4. By her guess she’d been sleeping for five or six hours. What was Riddick doing? And what was that smell?

She found the answer to both questions at about the same time. When she stepped into the doorway leading to the front room she saw Riddick sleeping on the couch and several open cans on the counter. Food! God, he’d had a wonderful idea.

She opened a can of pasta with meatballs and sat down across from him in the small living room. The cheap food was the best thing she’d ever tasted, and she got to stare at the best thing she’d ever seen. All in all, it was a memorable meal.

Her spoon scraping the last dregs of sauce out of the can woke him. The darkness of the room hadn’t seemed strange to her until she saw his eyes open and fix her to the chair. She found herself staring stupidly, transfixed by his silver gaze.

“You mute?”

Bell just shook her head slowly.

He seemed to know what bothered her, and pulled his goggles on again, returning his façade to the unapproachable killer. She was actually grateful for it. For a minute there she’d had to fight the urge to go to him, to see his eyes from mere inches, to find out if she really was feeling the weight of his gaze or just imagining it.

“Spaghetti?”

Bell looked over at the cans open and empty on the counter. “Fruit?”

He shrugged, “Never had it before.”

She was shocked, obviously, but didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. He was obviously in a less serious mood and she didn’t want to ruin it. “Like it?”

“How many are there?”

Bell frowned, “How many fruits are there? Shit, I don’t know. A couple dozen, I guess, but not all of them can be canned.”

“No?”

For a second Bell had to wonder if he was fucking with her. Surely even if he hadn’t eaten fruit before he would still KNOW about them. But why would he feign ignorance? “Bananas, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, thiafruit. There are quite a few.”

She stood to throw her can away. “You want another can?”

“No.”

Bell had to walk around the end of the couch where he was sitting to get to the kitchen. Suddenly something struck her as odd and she turned back. Unthinkingly she took a step closer to his back looking closely and leaning forward.

“Can I help you?”

His bored tone made her jump, but she’d gotten what she wanted. HE SMELLED GOOD! “You’re clean,” she whispered, not realizing she was so close to him that he could feel her breath. This close to him she could see that he’d shaved as well. His scalp was smooth again, the several days’ growth gone. In the darkness of the room she hadn’t noticed it.

“Yeah, and I wanted to say something about your hygiene.”

“My—.” Bell huffed in aggravation. “How?”

His slowly turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. “SS4 wasn’t as setup as the people here. There’s running water.”

Bell felt like he’d hit her. “There’s what?”

He actually smiled, “I took a shower.”

Was he speaking a foreign language? A shower? Like with water and soap? “Are you serious?”

He stood and came around the couch, then headed for a doorway to the right of the bedroom she’d been in. She followed. He moved the shutters to let in more light, ducking out of it to save his eyes. Bell had to grip his arm as he bumped into her, but she barely noticed, the smell and purpose of the room drawing her attention.

The fresh smell of his shower still hung in the room. The showerhead still dripped water and she stepped into it to let it drop on her upturned face.

Riddick was at the door. “I’ll bring your bag.” Then after a second of watching her just letting that single drip land on her face with a wide grin on her face he said, “Yeah, I had to jerk off too.”

Bell gasped and turned to him, but he’d already pulled the door shut, leaving her in the oasis alone. After only a second’s hesitation she started stripping, not bothering to get out of the shower to do it. Clothes were flung aside, heedless of where they would land.

The first spray of water hit her and she cried out. It was hot!! She reached for the controls to try to alter it just when Riddick pushed the door open.

They stared at each other wordlessly. Bell was too shocked to consider embarrassment. He’d obviously heard her holler and thought she was in some sort of danger. Had Richard B. Riddick just come to her rescue?

“It’s hot,” she said lamely.

“There’s a open reservoir heated in the sun,” he told her, though his voice was low and she had to wonder if he was looking at her face any more.

“Thanks for bringing my bag.”

He jerked as if coming out of a trance and then lifted the bag to the counter next to the sink. “Call if you need anything else,” he murmured as he pulled the door shut.

Bell grinned, “Yeah, like a helping hand?” She laughed out loud at his reaction, though she wondered if she’d be nearly as suave if SHE’D been the one to walk in on HIM. That chest, those biceps, that ass. Mmmmmm. She’d be lucky not to leave a puddle of drool!

Though she’d thought it was a waste of time she’d brought nearly all of her luggage, including her own small bottles of shampoo and soap. Now she was beyond thankful for it. The water had a strange smell to it and there weren’t any towels, but all in all it was the best shower she’d ever had.

She twisted her hair to get as much water out of it as she could, then stood before the streaked mirror to brush it out. Wet, it laid neatly down, hanging to below her shoulders. As it dried it would assume a life of its own. Thick, yet fine with a slight natural curl to it, it would spring to three times its wet volume as it dried, drawing some of the length up. Normally she kept it tied back and under control with a hair tie. Since landing on T2 she’d become quite sufficient at French braiding it so that no stray wisps constantly whipped in her face.

She dressed in semi-clean clothes from the bag. Everyone’s luggage had been located thankfully and she’d brought several changes of clothes. Being almost dry now her clothes only stuck a little. New socks and her boots back on.

It occurred to her as she was dressing that she hadn’t brought any clothes for Riddick. She hadn’t been able to locate any luggage marked for him. Yet his clothes had seemed clean earlier. Had he washed them?

He was gone when she emerged from the bathroom. She wasn’t sure if that pleased her or not. A completely feminine desire made her want to show him what she looked like clean and smelling like something other than an unhygienic athlete’s locker.

Oh, well, time to stop lazing around. She emptied the smaller pack and then put in the two bottles of water before slinging it over her shoulder and setting out.