Title: Cursebreakers
A/N: Here's my contribution for yahtzee63's WowWrongBadHot Jack/Nadia ficathon. Writen for kerlin. Many huge thanks to mciac for her great advice and to becca_radcgg for her encouragement. |
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Nadia lifted up her leg, gently placing her elegant black Manolo onto the bedcover. The heel sunk into the mattress a little, but as she gathered up the hem of her black silk dress, she knew she had hit her mark. Jack could see a glimpse of the garter belt she wore -- or so she guessed from the small flush spreading across his cheeks. The flush grew, but Jack didn’t break his gaze. She leaned down and adjusted the strap of her sandal, then switched legs, bringing the other one up onto the bed. She tried to hide the eager tremble in her hands, and Jack Bristow didn’t say a word. Standing up straight, Nadia smoothed the dress across her body, ensuring that she hugged the curve of her waist and accentuated her hips before she let her arms fall to the side. Forcing herself not to fidget, she gave a quick whirl, checking herself out in the hotel mirror instead. “Are you going to tell me why you came here?” Nadia asked, giving in to her impatience. He’d arrived twenty minutes ago and still hadn’t told her why he was here. Actually, he hadn’t really said anything at all. He’d just looked at her with those hard eyes of his when she’d opened the door, and his presence seemed to instantly suck out all the air in the room. But then, Jack always owned every environment he was in, and this was no difference. Even if he was the intruder. In a way, she hadn’t been surprised--if anyone could have found her, it would have been him. So she’d let him in, reluctantly and eagerly all at once, and yet trying to hide both emotions by pretending he wasn’t there. Jack had just taken a seat over by the window and watched. Watched as she put on her makeup, did her hair and put on her sandals. He finally moved his gaze up her body and to her face. “I’ve gotten tired of attending funerals for people who aren’t dead.” Nadia exhaled slowly. That wasn’t the answer she’d been looking for. She shrugged, hoping that her silence would speak for itself but she should have known better. Nobody could deal a silent blow like Jack. Jack’s eyes drilled into her until she could feel him extracting an answer by force. She shifted her weight to her other foot. “I read the Lost Scrolls when I found them. You can’t possibly know what they said.” Jack finally stopped torturing her with his stare, stood up, and made his way over to the minibar located underneath the television. Opening it, he withdrew several scotch miniatures and poured them into a glass sitting by the coffeemaker. He took a long sip before turning back to her. “Actually, I believe I do. According to the Rambaldi text we found that lead us to the scrolls, I suspect it has something to do with you and Sydney.” Nadia picked up her purse and placed her 9 mm pistol into it. She still had half an hour before her meeting, but she needed to give herself something to do. Looking into her purse, she saw the orange end of the locker key. “Then you know that I can’t let the scrolls fall into my father’s hands.” “But he’s a reformed man.” Jack deadpanned, and for a moment Nadia was taken aback. Then he raised an eyebrow at her. A nervous laugh escaped her throat. “And I know enough not to tempt the damned.” Jack covered his mouth with his hand and turned away from her. “I doubt it,” he whispered, though she was barely certain he’d said anything. Then turning back, he swirled the liquor around in his glass before looking back up at her and continuing the conversation. “So you faked your death? You didn’t have to leave.” There was such a mixture of disappointment and relief in his face, that Nadia had to look away. She busied herself by opening her lipstick to double check the color before packing it in her purse as well. “I had no choice. Do you think my father would just let me continue working after I didn’t turn them over? You don’t think that he would go to any length to get them back?” “You’re his daughter. He wouldn’t -- ” Nadia waved her hand and threw her purse on the bed. “That’s not a hypothesis I want to test, Jack. I don’t need to know exactly what kind of man my father is.” He placed his empty glass down on the table. “But you’re going to give them to someone else instead?” “Katya promised she would destroy them for me.” The silence seemed to gather weight as Katya’s name hung in the air. After a moment, Jack broke the tension by walking over to the window and resuming a conversational tone. “What exactly do the scrolls say?” “Oh, the usual nonsense,” Nadia replied. “I have to kill the Chosen One or I will die. Then they talk about where to find a weapon I need to kill Sydney and open the Gate of Knowledge.” Jack turned back to her and smiled. “The Gate of Knowledge? Don’t tell me you’re buying all this?” She shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t know what to believe anymore. I’m so tired of being at the mercy of some madman who died four-hundred years ago. That’s why I need to destroy them. I need to be done with all this and regain control over my life.” “But he’s just that--a madman. He doesn’t hold any power over any of us.” Nadia laughed sardonically. “No? He brought you here, didn’t he?” Shaking her head, she tried to look away but couldn’t. Jack was staring at her again, but this time there was something more that just cold steel in his eyes. Her heart twisted inside her chest. Slowly, feeling his pull, she made her way closer to him. Running her hand over the lapels of his suit jacket, she heard his breath hitch slightly. He stopped her hand with his. “Nadia--” “If Rambaldi didn’t bring you to my door, what did?” He wouldn’t meet her eyes so she stepped further into his personal space. His hand was warm on hers and she could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Running her other hand up along his arm, she stepped even closer, inhaling his aftershave. This was Jack Bristow, the man who was scared of nothing. And here she was, the bastard daughter of his ex-wife and she had him trembling. She turned around, bringing him with her until she could seat him on the bed while she stood in front of him. Reaching behind her back, Nadia grasped the zipper to her dress and pulled it down. Her dress slipped to the floor leaving her clad only in her lingerie. Deciding to leave her stilettos on, Nadia placed her heel on Jack’s leg, forcing his gaze to travel along it and up toward her face. She watched as the conflict raged in his eyes, intensifying as it took in her black lace panties and bra. When his stare settled on the line between her bra and her breasts, she knew she had won. His hands finally caught up and traced the path that his eyes had just taken, warming her entire body. He pulled her down towards him. Now it was her time to surrender. *** Waking in the early hours of the morning, Nadia was surprised to see Jack already dressed and adjusting his tie. The sheets were tangled around her legs and the bed was cold. “Sneaking off without a goodbye?” Nadia accused. He walked over to where her purse was lying on the floor and extracted the locker key. Slipping it into the inside pocket of his jacket, he then went over to coffee machine and turned it on. Nadia watched all this with growing anger. “I’m not just some bimbo that you can fuck and then leave. Was this just so you could get your hands on the scrolls? You’re as bad as my father!” Jack finally turned to her as the coffee started percolating. “You’re not some bimbo, Nadia. Trust me. That’s the problem.” He then picked up his glass from before and rinsed away the remaining scotch in the bathroom sink. She wrapped the sheets around her and got out of bed. She would be damned if she just let him slip away so easily. “So what then? Am I just another Derevko that you kiss and then discard because what we have between us is just too much for you to deal with?” Judging by the set of his jaw, Nadia knew that she had struck a nerve. She began moving toward him. “Yes, Katya told me. She was quite taken in with you, though not without a bit of guilt that you were really her sister’s. But I don’t think that’s quite it. You’re not still so in love with my mother that we’re just reflections of her. I saw your hunger last night, Jack. I felt the scratches you left on my back.” By this time, she had reached his side and was shaking in anger as she watched him pour himself some coffee. With a fury, she slapped the glass out of his hand. The hot liquid splashed on the wall and the mug crashed to the floor. She grabbed his shoulders and forced him to deal with her. But Jack just stood there passively. Then with a steady hand, he removed her hands from his shoulders and moved her back until she was forced to sit on the bed. “You bear the same curse that all the women in your family seem to, and I don’t mean Rambaldi. You like to complicate matters. I can’t let you give this to Katya or your father or anyone else,” he said patting his jacket pocket that contained the locker key. “And I can’t let you keep it. Not when Sydney’s life is at stake.” Nadia attempted to push Jack away but he was immovable. “And what about you, Jack? Are you just immune to it all?” she screamed as she punched at him helplessly. Jack leaned over slightly and looked at her, a touch of sympathy clouding his eyes. Then he shook his head sadly and stood up. Making his way to the door, he turned back to her one last time. “My curse is the same one that I’ve always carried and willingly. If the two of you have to battle, I can’t afford to let anyone have anything that will tip the balance against her. I have to protect my daughter at all costs.” 1/1 |
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