Room 327

The night passed slowly and Jet finally granted Nikki access to sleep. However, it was an uneasy slumber that had her constantly twisting herself in the sheets. Jet was seated on the chair in the corner, keeping the door and Nikki in his constant sights. He watched her struggle to sleep, wished he could let her know she was safe. However, he remained in his chair for the rest of the night, only rising to check out the windows or use the bathroom. Nikki settled into a fitful sleep in the early hours of the morning when gray started to creep across the rooftops followed by the golden rays of dawn.

Nikki stirred, eyes flickering open before she sat up suddenly. Confusion set in for a second before the previous day’s events came crashing against her skull. Her stomach plummeted, her head spun. Oxygen was lost. Only when she caught sight of Jet looking back at her did the anxiety dwindle.

Nikki swallowed. “H-how long did I sleep?”

“Not long,” Jet answered quietly. “Do you want coffee?”

“Do you have to ask?” Nikki offered an emotionless smile as she rubbed at her sore head.
Jet returned the expression and he turned away to fill her a Styrofoam cup. He handed it to her and she took it in both petite hands. Silence fell between them, nothing uncomfortable, but something that proposed deep thought between the two of them. Nikki sat upon the bed, sipping at the bitter black drink, thoughts churning in her head as she thought how to approach her request. Jet would do anything for her…

“Are you going to kill them?” she finally asked. Jet turned his attention on her. “The people that killed my father, I mean.”

Jet stared at her in silence. “No.”

Nikki’s eyes shot to him, narrowing dangerously as confusion sparked behind those hazels. “What? Why not?”

“Because you—”

“I’m not what’s important!” Nikki snapped. “Finding the bastards that killed my father is!”

“No,” Jet spoke firmly. “My job is to keep you safe. That is my only job. Do you understand?”

“No, I don’t,” Nikki continued. “You will kill them! They ruined my life! Go hunt them down and kill them.”

“Nikita, I will do no such thing and you know it. I am bound by a word of honor and I will not pursue those—”

“You’re a coward!”

The two stared at each other for what felt like minutes. Nikki felt the warm tears falling down her cheeks, and was embarrassed, but raised no hand to brush them away. She continued to hold Jet's eyes with her own.

He never deemed to comfort, only protect. To step in front of a bullet, take a blade...Emotional actions were frowned upon—indeed hated. So why did Jet have this burning urge to hold her?

“Say something!” Nikki shrieked, breaking Jet out of his moment of contemplation. “Go after them! Kill them all! That’s an order!”

“I don't take orders. From anyone.” Though the statement was blunt, Jet's voice was cushioned with sympathy.

Nikki rushed forward, her petite hands crushing the fabric of his shirt in fists as she threatened to shake him. He hardly budged at the onslaught, only looking down at her pitiful sobbing as her “why”s dwindled in her tears. Her head finally dropped to his chest, body shaking. She hated feeling so helpless, so weak, so raw. When she felt a pair of hands wrap around hers, her head jerked up. Blood-shot eyes peered past Jet's still lingering hands and to his face. It expressed slight confusion, eyebrows knitted, obsidians narrowed. He was studying her own face with an intensity that made her cheeks burn.

“W-what?” She tried to lace venom in her voice, but it cracked too harshly. His hands were a warm encasement, left her flustered. His right hand left hers, reaching up to touch the delicacy of her face. Nikki did not move has fingertips traced along the softened edges of her cheek, her jaw. Her lips ached to ask him what on earth he was doing. However, she was so starstruck by the beauty and depth of his eyes as they seemed to witness something they had never seen before. His fingers remained curious, as if touching human flesh for the first time, and they trailed down the tear tracks on her dark skin to her neck. Then, her throat...

Jet swooped down, quick, and his lips connected with hers. His movement was swift, sure, just like his fighting style. And even though his kiss was firm and sudden, his lips remained gentle against a shocked Nikki's. She stood there in shock, eyes wide for a moment as her thoughts tried to process what was happening. Jet was kissing her; that much was all she could figure out before he pulled away with a look of almost fear on his face.

Both seemed frozen, unsure what was to be said or done next. Nikki, overcome by a questionable need, reached up for the back of Jet’s head, pressing their lips together again. Her kisses were fiercer, full of need and desire. It was Jet’s turn to be taken off guard by sudden action. However, he quickly took the upper hand. His hands grasped onto her waist, pulling her against his own firm body. With shaking palms, Nikki slid her hands up his chest to around his heck, moving her lips against his. Jet was overcome with a need he had never felt before—all for Nikki. He ached to touch more of her, feel her soft skin against his fingertips and the quivering muscles at his palms. Her movements because unsure for a moment, hesitant, as the thought suddenly crossed her mind.

Jet and she were interlocked in some kind of intimate embrace…which was hot, but the whole situation—and common sense—began to set in. Jet felt her sudden hesitation and immediately disconnected them, taking a step back and snapping his arms to his sides. A mixture of confusion, embarrassment, and dire need rose between them as their minds began to think before their physical profiles.

“I'm sorry,” Jet finally said as the prolonged silence became too much.
Nikki looked at him with confusion; her guilty conscious was far less eminent than his. “Why are you sorry?”

She reached for him, but he grabbed her wrist in a tight hold and pulled her so they were inches from each other. His eyes had hardened. “No.” That one word was like a hammer, made her heart crack on impact.

“But Jet...I-”

“No,” he said again, as if disciplining a child.

Nikita’s hazels peered up into his. “What are you so afraid of?” she demanded quietly.

“Nothing—”

“Don’t lie,” Nikki interrupted, pressing herself closer to him again. Jet went to step back, fighting for a last ounce of control, but Nikki stepped with him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“This is not…right.”

“Why not?” Nikki tightened her hold on him. “Jet, please…”

The sound of her soft plea, the desire that fluttered behind her eyes. Jet felt himself swallow. His body reacted on its own; he no longer had control over what his actions led to. They kissed again, fiercer and so full of a need that burned unbelievably hot within them. Jet began to backtrack the fragile woman before him towards the bed as her hands ran under his simple t-shirt before lifting over a toned torso and finally over his head. The cold air left goose bumps to be felt under Nikki’s palms before she worked at her own shirt. He helped her shed of it before pushing her towards the mattress that waited to brace them both.

Nikki hardly thought twice of what their actions would lead to—neither did Jet. Some form of buried and pent up euphoria over the years began to unleash itself and neither bothered to hold it back, reign it in. Instead, they let themselves go amongst the most incredible forms of physicality that had Nikki’s entire body quivering and Jet lost in emotions longing to be quenched.