"If you think for a second-"

"Look, you can keep guards on us the whole time if you want. I can't do this alone.

Had you kept Roger alive, he would have said the same thing. Why do you think he wanted me here in the first place?"

Rick instantly slapped Jenna. Pain shot up her cheek and numbed her face. The next thing she knew, Ben was on his feet, his fist slamming into Rick's face. The two guards who were flanking Rick were struck motionless, momentarily stunned by the swiftness 126 of Ben's attack. It took them a second to jump to their boss's aid. But a second was all Jenna needed. When the guard closest to her began to punch Ben in an attempt to get him off Rick, she grabbed his laser gun from his holster. Without hesitating, she pointed it at the man and fired. The shot rang out, quick and deafening in the small room. The smell of burned skin was almost as sickening as the sound of burning skin. The man fell in a lump on the floor, crying out and clutching his side where the laser had connected.

"Get off him now!" She whipped the gun around and into Rick's face. Her heart was pounding, but thankfully her hands weren't shaking. "Ben, can you move?"

Rick started to move towards her, but Ben kicked his legs out from under him. Ben hopped to his feet and joined Jenna. "Let's go."

"Get in," she ordered and motioned to Rick. "Take him too."

The second guard pulled his wounded counterpart into the room as Rick leveled a dark stare at her. His face had grown red and he was breathing harshly.

"You won't make it out of here alive," he said through clenched teeth.

"Slide your guns out now," Ben ordered and picked them up as the guard complied.

"You're dead, Hawthorn."

"Not yet." Ben slammed the door in his face.

It took a second to secure the lock and make sure there weren't any other guards in the area. Now that she knew they were safe for the moment, Jenna's body began to shake. Tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to spill over.

"Do you think that man will be okay?" she whispered.

Ben looked around quickly before pulling Jenna close to him. She could feel the strong pounding of his heart and knew he was as affected by what was happening as she was. Somehow, knowing he was shaken too made her feel better.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. You were amazing."

His lips were warm against her forehead. She could feel his concern and his admiration in that single contact. Jenna tilted her head back and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"We need to get to the device."

Ben shook his head and laced his arm around his waist. "Out of the question. We're getting out of here. Matt and Kyle will be creating a distraction soon and we need to be ready to move."

"We can't go. Not until I have a final look at the device. I think I know what's wrong with it, and if I'm right, we won't have a lot of time to prevent it from exploding."

Jenna refused to move, even as he tried to pull her along. When he growled in frustration, she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.

"Ben, trust me."

127.

His eyes snapped to hers and she could see the internal battle he was fighting. She knew whatever his decision was, she was going to have to get to the device to see if she was right. She prayed she wouldn't have to fight him to be able to do it. Jenna waited, her fists clenched at her sides. Instantly, her body relaxed when a small grin crossed his lips.

"I must be crazy."

"I could have told you that years ago. Let's go before the guards realize Rick's missing."

Silently, they made their way over to an empty room that was directly across from where the device was kept under guard. So far, no one had noticed their escape, but Jenna knew that wouldn't last much longer.

"How the hell are we going to get to that thing?"

"I told you this was a bad idea," he whispered next to her ear. "We need a distraction, and a big one at that, if we are even going to think about getting to that device."

Jenna looked around the warehouse, trying to find something, anything that could help them. She was about to suggest they try sneaking around the back through the office when all hell broke loose.

All the windows that lined the top of the far back wall shattered, sending shards of glass cascading down onto the warehouse floor. Every guard in the warehouse came running, their guns pointed up, some firing blindly at the unseen invaders.

"Now, Jenna," Ben said and shoved her out into the open.

Once her feet were moving, she didn't stop. She could feel Ben behind her more than hear him and it gave her the courage she needed to dodge the chaos in the warehouse. Gun blasts echoed in the large room and assaulted her ears as black-clad figures began to pour in from the gaping holes where the windows used to be.

Thankfully, the door to the room that held the device was open. Jenna shoved it wide and ran quickly inside.

She stopped short of the device, making sure to keep a few feet between it and her.

"I think if we can't find a way to shut this thing off now it's going to explode."

"Gareth said it needed the second half of the device if it was going to stabilize."

"Of course. Makes sense."

Help!

Where is she?

Memory of the voices came back to her and Jenna had to wonder if there was something more to them. Both sides were pulling together various elements around them in an attempt to find its other half.

"That must be how they made the dating service work too. Feed the profiles of each person into the computer, link it to the device and it will naturally pair the compatible profiles." She turned to look at Ben. "Why would Rick bother?"

128.

"Money. The only thing other than power that really drives him. He'll take it any way he can." Ben shrugged. "He's a greedy bastard."

"Well, if we don't figure this thing out now the entire colony is screwed. This thing is big enough to take out this entire building and half the colony environment shield."

Jenna took a step closer to the device. Despite knowing what was coming, the sensation was overwhelming. As she got within a foot of it, a blinding lust raced through her body. Her breasts ached and grew wet with need. One touch and she would have come on the spot.

"Fuck," Ben groaned behind her.

"It wasn't this bad the last time I was close to it. It must be because you're here too."

"I felt it last time, I think. I was in the car and my dick nearly exploded, it was so hard."

Jenna turned to look at him. His face was screwed up tight in concentration. His breathing was coming in short, controlled gasps. When he looked up and met her gaze, she was floored. Barely restrained lust flared in his eyes, his body held tight as if he were fighting for his control. For a second, she thought he was going to turn around and leave, but instead he took several long strides to stand beside her.

"Let's do this and get the hell out of here."

Jenna couldn't tell if the look on his face was one of pain or extreme lust.

Considering how she was feeling right now, it could be either.

"Okay, I need to think," she managed to say once she'd regained control of her tongue.

Ben inched closer to her, his arm brushing hers. Jenna gasped and blindly reached out to steady against the sudden rush of desire. Her emotions were all over the place, her stomach clenching from fear of rejection to the rush of desire she had for Ben. Shit, she wasn't even sure the emotions were all hers. When her fingers came down, they landed in the middle of the device.

Everything in the room suddenly stilled. The shouts of the guards under attack, the noise of their bullets exploding in the warehouse behind them all gone. The only sound she could hear was the beating of a heart. She prayed to the gods it was hers.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded muted in her ears.

"Hello."

Jenna was suddenly all alone in a dark room. Before her stood a man, but not a human. His tall, lean body looked to shimmer in front of her. His skin was almost transparent, his white hair radiating in the darkness.

"Who are you? Where have you taken me?"

Amazingly, she wasn't afraid. She could still feel Ben close by. Knowing he was there gave her strength.

"Your mate is worried about you," the alien said.

129.

The sadness in his voice struck a chord with Jenna. Like he understood the fear and loneliness of finding that one person who despite all the differences, all the reasons in the world why they shouldn't be the one, they are. Her perfect match. That's when it hit her.

"You're worried about your mate too, aren't you?" As she said the words, she knew they were right.

"They've hurt her. I need to find her." There was an edge to his voice now. An anger she understood. "This planet is ill. We must leave. I need to find her so we can go."

"She's fine. Safe. I know where she is and can-"

In a blink, the alien was beside her, his hand wrapped around her throat. Jenna's heart began to pound, but she managed to keep calm.

"You took her!" he hissed in her ear.

"No, but I know who did. We found her and have kept her safe. She's very lonely and misses you. I can bring her to you if you give me a chance."

His fingers squeezed ever-so-slightly tighter before he relaxed his grasp. Jenna was now able to take a deep breath. If she didn't get him calmed down soon, it would be too late to prevent the explosion.

"I know you want her back, but you need to calm down. You can't help her if you hurt yourself. The device that's holding you is overloading."

He released her and took a step back. Jenna turned a slow circle to face him, her fingers massaging her neck. The alien tipped his head to the side and looked at her curiously.

"Our ship was badly damaged. We were forced to flee to the escape pods. We landed here, but something went wrong."

Jenna couldn't believe it. They must have crashed on Mars before the colony was built.

"You said the planet was ill. What do you mean? Can we fix it?" A million thoughts raced through her mind. They may have been here long enough to be able to help her.

Help rebuild.

"I need her back," the alien said again, the anger in his voice replaced with a heart-wrenching pain.

"You've crashed on a planet. You've been here a very long time. Over three hundred years. Maybe longer. Why do you need to leave now? What is wrong with the planet?"

"The soil was healing. But something changed it. Hurt it again," he said and looked at her, desperation in his eyes. "Where is she?"

"Some people took your mate. They didn't know she was there. But she's fine. I felt her back at the site. She misses you so much."

"She's all I've had for so long."

130.

Jenna smiled. "You must have been together for many years now."

"Years?"

"It's how we measure time."

"Time?"

Something they were running out of. "I can't explain right now. But I will bring your mate here. Promise me you won't be angry any longer."

"No," he said simply.

Jenna couldn't stop the groan of frustration. Shit, she wasn't a diplomat and they didn't have time for her to learn. A thought suddenly came to her.

"What if I promised to give you the man who was responsible for harming your mate?"

His face twisted into a sneer and Jenna was very thankful she wouldn't be on the receiving end of that anger.

"If you can, then I will calm. I will wait."

She released the breath she was holding. "I promise. Thank you."

"Bring her back and I will help you."

"What do you mean?"

The room seemed to tip on its side and Jenna stumbled backward and found herself in Ben's arms.

"Jenna!"

He spun her around and before her brain had time to register what was happening he crushed her against him and claimed her mouth in a savage kiss. She could feel his fear, desire and complete relief.

"I thought I'd lost you. You went so pale and didn't respond to me," he murmured against her head, kissing her hair.