Tainted Innocence

Chapter 1

AN: This story is complete; I'm just putting up one chapter at a time to see what everyone thinks.  I've already started on the sequel.  Hope you enjoy and don't forget to send a review.

Finally, some time off and I couldn't wait to sit around and do absolutely nothing.  I felt I deserved a break after busting my ass at the office for two straight weeks, day and night, whatever they needed and it was my turn to veg out.  The last relationship I was in ended about three weeks ago and I was far from heart broken. I was finally free of the asshole who, for the moment, will remain nameless.  He was nothing but a curse on me and sometimes I wondered if the two months we were together was something I deserved; all the mental torture he put me through.  It did manage to strengthen my resolve about men and that for the most part they were worthless.  I have yet to meet one I can trust and actually let loose in front of and be me.

It was after midnight when I started watching old movies on the vid-screen, chompin' on popcorn with my feet up; completely enjoying myself when, a short time later, there was a knock at my front door.

I paused the movie and glanced at the clock to check the time, it showed 1:30 a.m. I cautiously stood up, brushing popcorn from my lap and slowly walked to the door.  Not too many people came to visit me and never at this hour.  My clothes weren't that appropriate for guests, little silk shorts and a barely there tank top, and my hair was a mess of curls but trying to figure out who was at my door was the only thing on my mind.

The video monitor next to the door was on and beeping so I hit the receive button and Darren's face popped up on the gel-like screen. 

"Son-of-a-bitch," I muttered as I pulled the door open.  "What the hell do you want?"  I asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance.  Darren was someone I've know for a long time and it seemed like every time he stepped into my life he brought trouble with him.

"A place to stay," he responded quietly, looking to his right.  I put my hands up and shook my head.

"You're NOT staying here."  Darren ignored my remark and reached for something out of my line of sight and stepped through the door with a very big man in tow.  Here's the trouble.

I stumbled out of the way and closed the door when they were through, trying to find my voice to tell him no and to leave.  Darren tossed a small duffle bag to the floor and took a look around the room, his hands in his pockets, inspecting the place.

"Don't worry, he's not here anymore," I said, figuring he was wondering where my latest psycho infatuation was.

"I know," he said smiling.  "I heard about you and Ned." That goddamn name, one that every time I heard pissed me off to no end and I had a feeling Darren knew that.

"And what exactly did you hear?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips, the big man forgotten temporarily.  Darren let out a short loud laugh.

"That you just weren't doing it for him anymore."

"Darren…get the FUCK out of my house and take your friend with you!" I yelled.  He looked surprised by my little outburst but he was still smiling.

"Take it easy, Eden.  I'm just messin' with you.  All I heard is that you ended it with him, that's all, I swear."  I rolled my eyes and looked away from him.  It wouldn't have been strange for Ned to make up shit about our relationship because hell, he made up shit about all the relationships he WASN'T having.  Cheating bastard.

My gaze finally settled on Darren's companion.  The man he had with him was tall with broad shoulders, thick muscles, skin a slightly golden color, and he was wearing dark goggles over his eyes.  Where the hell have I seen this guy before?  He should look very intimidating just from the mere size of him but the shy stance made me think twice.  His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, his head was down and his gaze somewhere on the floor. 

"Darren, what…"

"It'll only be for a week until I find him a way out of here," he cut me off; the smile falling from his face as he became serious.

"Darren," I said again, a warning tone in my voice.  "Who is he?"  I noticed Darren's lip twitch slightly and he looked away.  He took a step away from me and I waited patiently for his answer but it was beginning to wear thin as the mystery man's name danced so close to my conscious vision.

"Richard B. Riddick," he finally said, not daring to look me in the eyes.  My heart stopped and without realizing it, I had backed into the wall.

"What?" I asked quietly, barely able to get the word out, hoping like hell he was joking.  Yep, that was definitely him.  I remember seeing reports on him a long time ago.

"Look, he's not gonna hurt you, okay?  I've know him for a long time and I told him once that if he ever busted outta Slam, I would help him, so here we are," he explained, attempting to make it sound light.

The fear was creeping through my body, pulling tight around my lungs and swallowing became difficult as my mind raced with excuses.

"I have to work," I said.

"No you don't, you're on vacation.  I checked."

"I have a few lunch dates with some friends this week that I'm not breaking."

"What friends?"

"I have shopping to do and food to buy."

"Give me a list, I'll get it for you."  Man, he wasn't letting up and I was running out of excuses.

"What about money?  I don't have enough to support two of us even if it is for a week."

"I'll pay you."

"Looks like you've thought of damn near everything," I threw out angrily.  It's not that I was really that mad, scratch that, I was furious but I think I was more scared than mad and my defenses were up.  Darren gave me a pleading look and I glanced over at Riddick, noticing he looked nothing like I imagined.  The intensity and dark evil that should have been surrounding him wasn't there, instead, he looked almost as scared as I felt.

"So, what's wrong with him?"  I questioned.

"During his escape, he was hit with a tranquillizer that should have taken him down but as you can see, he's a pretty big guy and they figured the dosage wrong."  My eyes wandered back to Riddick to give him another once over and Darren was right, he was pretty big, and a strange twisting feeling started up low in my stomach as my gaze dragged over his body.  It was a feeling I recognized very well, kind of a warning to the starting of a new relationship that, in my fucked up life, never failed to fail.

"It was enough to knock him senseless, though, and now he's…well," I tore my attention away from Riddick, shaking off the heated shivers that coursed through my veins as I looked over his heavily muscled arm and focused on the end of Darren's sentence.

"He's what?" I pushed, now curious.

"He's kinda got amnesia.  It's like he's learning things all over again."  I tilted my head to the side thoughtfully, trying to make sense of what he was telling me.

"So he doesn't know how to do shit?" I asked.

"No, he can do shit, he doesn't have a problem taking care of his basic needs; when he's hungry he looks for food, when he's tired he sleeps, when he's horny…" Darren stopped talking and looked over at Riddick thoughtfully.  "Actually, I don't know what he does when he's horny.  He hasn't been around women in a very long time; I don't think he'd know what to do."  He turned his gaze to me and smiled in a way that made me want to knock him out.  "But being around you, he might get to learn something."

"Great.  Thanks a lot," I said sarcastically, even though a fleeting image of Riddick pressing himself between my legs, bringing me to an explosive climax, flooded my mind, making my stomach flip over.

"You could probably use some attention from a man, you know," he continued, still wearing that smug smile.  "I know Ned and he wasn't one to pay to much attention to detail."

"Fuck you," I said with little enthusiasm because I knew he was right.  It's been awhile since I'd actually been able to get off with a man; Ned certainly wasn't one to want to send me over that edge.  He was too selfish.  Even the few others I had been with weren't that exciting.  Let's just say, I've never been turned on by just looking at a guy, like I was when I looked at Riddick. 

"Okay, so it's like I'm the test subject here, right?"  I crossed my arms over my chest more out of covering my now erect nipples instead of showing my defiance.

"No, you're not the test subject, I need to leave him here because you're the only one I trust."  I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, suddenly feeling very tired.

"You know what you're asking me to do, right?  You're asking me to baby sit Riddick.  So don't be surprised to come back here to get him and find my throat slit."  Darren made a huffing sound and shook his head.

"He won't hurt you, he probably doesn't even know what hurt means.

"Every man knows what hurt means," I threw out, suddenly annoyed with myself for letting stupid Ned interfere with my life once again. 

Darren sighed deeply before continuing.  "He's gonna remember everything after he snaps out of it; everything you say to him, show him, what you make him feel, so do right by this, you have a chance to show him how good life is supposed to be."  I rolled my eyes on the inside, listening to his little speech.  I probably wasn't the best person to leave Riddick with, feeling the way I'm feeling about men right now.  He was just trying to convince me to do this for him but it wasn't his words that were tipping me to do his bidding, it was Riddick.

Here was this mass murderer, larger than life, standing in my living room looking more lost than anyone I've ever met and my heart went out to him.  There was no way I could say no in spite of what my more reasonable side was saying.

"All right, I'll do it," I relented, my shoulders slumping under the weight of this new responsibility.

"Great," Darren said, a smile lighting his face.  "A few things before I go."  He got down on one knee and unzipped the duffle bag, rifling through the contents.  "His eyes are shined so the lights need to stay dimmed if he's not wearing his goggles." 

"All right," I said, as I watched on, trying to keep my eyes from wandering back to Riddick.  Darren must have found what he was looking for because he smiled and pulled out a small card. 

"Here," he said tossing me the card.  It was a credit chip.  "There's about 500 on it and I'll have more when this is over."  He stood back up and continued with his instructions.  "He's pretty quiet when he moves so watch out for that; he hasn't said a word since he got hit and I don't know when he'll start…oh, and there are plenty of clothes in the bag for him."

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Yeah, why don't you gimme that list and I'll pick everything up and bring it by sometime tomorrow."  I nodded and went into the kitchen to make the list; including a lot more food so I could feed what I assumed would be Riddick's appetite.  When I came back into the living room, Riddick was in the same position and Darren was zipping up the bag and tossing it in the corner.

"Thanks," he said as he took the paper from my hand and put it in the pocket of his pants before turning towards Riddick and taking him by the shoulders.  "Riddick, this is Eden and she's gonna take care of you while I'm gone."  I watched as Riddick's gaze shot up from the floor to Darren and then he looked over at me.  He pulled his hands out of his pockets and grabbed the front of Darren's jacket, not to hurt him or anything, more like an attempt to keep Darren from leaving.

Uh, oh, he's panicking, I thought to myself as I saw the look of desperation sweep over his powerful features.  I approached him slowly, keeping my eyes trained on the ground, thinking of him as a wild animal.  If I made eye contact at this point it might appear as a challenge and the outcome would be bad.

When I reached him Darren pulled Riddick's hands off his jacket and spoke to him in a low voice, "It's okay, Riddick.  You're safe with her and I will be back."  He turned to me and said, "Thanks, Eden.  I owe you one."

"You bet your ass you do," I said.  Darren released Riddick's hands and headed for the door.  I said goodbye without turning around and Riddick looked over my shoulder and saw that Darren was leaving.  He pushed past me and went after him but by the time he reached the door it was closed and Darren was gone.

Riddick put his hands on the doorframe and leaned his forehead on the door; I swear I heard him whimper and my emotions suddenly twisted up.  I felt this intense sadness in my heart and I wanted to pull him in my arms and hold him but with his size and strength and the emotional turmoil he must be going through, I thought better of it.  And I didn't trust myself.  The last thing I needed was to get too close to him in more than a physical way.  I think that would seriously affect my emotional stability.

"Riddick," his name left my lips in a whisper but he heard me and turned his head slightly to the side.  "I need to take a look at you."  I don't know if he understood me but Darren had been talking to him and it appeared that he might understand some things.

Riddick turned around and leaned wearily back against the closed door, watching me carefully.  I wasn't sure how to gain his trust so I decided slow was the best way.  Let him discover it on his own, let him discover me.