She squinted at him. He wouldn't look at her, and she knew he was hiding something. They'd reached the end of the tunnel and the bridge awaited. Lacey stopped her hover thingie as he strolled across the bridge and deposited his item with the others they'd already brought out. He walked back and she held her breath at the sheer commotion his intense gaze could raise in her. His gaze traveled from her eyes down to her lips and stayed there. Nervous, she licked them, which had the immediate effect of darkening Zain's gaze. Then he took the handle of the hover thingie from her and guided the power cell across the bridge.

Lacey closed her eyes, her blood pumping at a rate it was definitely not used to. She was an idiot. She still wanted to kiss him.

"Ready?" His warm hands wrapped around hers and she opened her eyes to find him watching her. "Just look at me," he said softly, pulling her with him as he backed across the bridge.

So she did, losing herself in the dark shadows of his eyes. One step at a time, she let him lead her on, her life in his hands-literally. Tears stung her eyes. Did he have any idea what this one little bit of kindness meant to her?

They stopped where the bridge widened on the other end. Pio waited patiently atop the console beside the spare parts they'd collected. The bridge jerked to the left, and Lacey gasped.

"It's okay. It's just the added weight of the parts,"

Zain said near her ear. He wrapped both hands around her waist and held her steady. The bridge abruptly stopped its horizontal slide and then made a new grinding, whining kind of noise that didn't sound at all good.

Lacey's belly trembled. She couldn't survive another trip. No way. The bridge moaned dreadfully and her entire, boring, fruitless nonlife flashed before her. She grasped Zain's thick forearms, sinking her nails into the skin.

"Easy, Lacey."

She shook her head, fear eating at her. Maybe he could do this but she couldn't. In a blur of terror and panic, she spun in his arms, grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips. Hard. It worked. She forgot all about the bridge. However, a split second later, mortification took hold. What was she doing? She let go of his face. His eyebrows were raised in surprise.

"For luck," she blurted. "I saw it in a movie once."

He looked up at the platform high above them and back down at her. "I think we'll need a lot of luck."

Her heart stilled as he leaned over and his lips skimmed hers. She felt the earth move under her feet, and she clutched him like salvation itself. The bridge was still making an awful racket, but she didn't care. Zain was doing something wonderful to her mouth and she didn't want to miss it.

She pressed against him, her hands going to his chest and meeting solid muscle. She sensed more than heard his deep growl. Under her hands, she felt his entire body focus as his rising heat eclipsed hers. He wanted her too; it wasn't just her. Relief vied with passion.

So, why had he pushed her away in the ship? Did he fear passion as much as she did? Was he swept away in the undertow, too? Maybe it was unbridled lust and nothing more, two souls stranded in space and time with nothing left to lose. He nipped at her lip, and she groaned as he dragged her deeper into the depths of a passion she couldn't contain. His hands moved over her-anchoring and caressing at the same time. She pushed against him, coaxing, if she was going under, she was taking him with her.

A sudden, jarring thump interrupted their burning kiss.

"We are here," Pio chirped, and hopped off the console and onto the platform.

Lacey looked up at Zain, who was watching her with enough desire to send her back to Earth on sexual energy alone.

"Why did you do that?" she ventured bravely. She wanted to know-needed to know.

For long seconds, he didn't answer, and she thought he might not. Then he straightened and reached for the handle of the hover thing.

"I figured you could use a distraction until we reached the platform," he said and pulled the cart off the bridge toward the console.

"A distraction?" she repeated. Humiliation burned her face. "How very kind of you."

There was a slight pause before he replied, "No problem."

Chapter Fourteen.

Ferretu's image appeared on the holodeck in Schuler's home office. "I have intercepted a partial message from Zain Masters to Rayce Coburne. Masters is stranded on a planet with an inoperative ship."

Schuler steepled his fingers in front of him. So Masters was alive despite having half the galaxy looking for him. Such talent. It would almost be a shame to waste it. In fact, a man of that caliber would be an asset to his operation. The opportunity appealed to Schuler. If he could convince Masters that InterGlax had betrayed and abandoned him, the man might be quite useful.

"Any idea where?" he asked.

"The communication ended before coordinates were relayed. I am following the transmission stream. It went through a complex conduction array and will take some time to trace."

Schuler nodded. "Good. When you find out, contact me. And, Ferretu, I want Masters alive."

Ferretu paused momentarily, and Schuler could sense his intense disapproval. "The deal was I kill him."

"I realize that. But the deal was made five years ago, and since you have failed to produce him in all that time, I am altering our original agreement."

Ferretu straightened in a clear challenge. Schuler could only imagine the sneer on his face beneath his helmet.

"I'm not a bounty hunter. Bringing a man in alive is a lot more trouble than killing him."

And not half as much fun, Schuler bet. "You have kept me waiting a long time, Ferretu. Consider the fact that you are still alive payment enough. Let me know when you have him in custody."

Ferretu nodded stiffly. "Out."

It was dead of night by the time Zain installed one of the power cells, and he was getting damn tired of lying on his belly, hanging over the floor bay of the rear cabin. Even shirtless, sweat poured from him because Reene had turned into a veritable furnace in the hot sun all day. However, his condition probably had more to do with Lacey's kisses than the weather. Leave it up to him to find a beautiful, intelligent woman who was also a hell of a kisser. Although she probably wouldn't be doing it again anytime soon.

Zain closed his eyes for a moment, torturing himself with the memory of her lips. He had hated lying to her. There had been nothing noble about that kiss. He'd wanted it. He'd wanted her. He still did. But he was definitely not the man for her. Bob might be a fool of galactic proportions, but at least he wouldn't get Lacey killed. Zain could, and he had no business being involved with any woman, especially one who was becoming far too tempting for his own good.

He made the last connection on the power cell and then rolled over onto his back with groan. The environment systems kicked on with a healthy hum. He savored the small victory, but they weren't done yet.

He rolled to his feet and walked to the front cabin where Lacey waited. She lifted her head and peered at him with tired eyes.

"We have power." Zain sat at the console next to her and activated a holographic interface that represented Reene's data storage. The image rose from the console's holodeck like a cone. Thousands of tiny balls rotated within it, connected by slender optic lines.

"Each ball is a file. The lines link them together," he explained.

Lacey shook her head. "Wow, so this is Reene. That's what I call a file structure. I'm impressed as hell. Have you ever been in here before?"

"I only know the theory behind it. Reene usually takes care of his own structure." Zain watched the mass of files with little hope. There were just too many variables. "Frankly, I don't think he completed the final memory transfer."

She answered without looking at him. "Core modules must be in the center cluster. He said he stored his working memory in an archive. Just need to make sure he can see those files when he boots up. Can you search for the most recent file saved?"

"Not without Reene's help. But if we don't reinstate his working memory, I don't know how much of him we'll lose. He may be crippled."

"Can we link files ourselves?"

Zain nodded. "It's all manual manipulation. Just drag a link from one box to the next."

She blew out a long breath. "Okay then. Plan B. Archives and infrequently accessed files would be probably on the fringes. Look for a file that appears different from the others." For a long time, they watched the complex structure rotate and Zain lost more hope. If they couldn't do this, would the friend he'd known be gone forever?

"There it is," she whispered.

He could see the anomaly as it rotated into view. One small oval with a slightly different color and misshapen. It looked as if it hadn't been completed.

Lacey carefully raised her hand. "I'm going to link it to the biggest, baddest file I can find and hope the path gets established." She tapped the anomalous file and an optic line followed her finger to where she touched a massive cluster in the center.

She removed her hand-the link complete.

She nodded. "Let's boot him up."

Zain activated the start-up sequence. "Reene?"

Nothing. Then a warbled, "Sir, are you all right?"

Zain took a breath. "We're fine. What's the last thing you remember?"

"You were preparing to investigate the underground structure."

Lacey grinned at Zain triumphantly. Blue eyes sparkled back at him and he was mesmerized by the indomitable spirit that shone from deep within her. Courage he doubted she knew she possessed.

"We have Lacey to thank for bringing you back," he said.

"Much obliged, Lacey," Reene said.

She laughed.

"Thank you, Lacey," Zain added softly.

Her smile faded and uncertainty flashed in her eyes.

"You're welcome," she replied finally.

Zain said, "Prioritize and regulate environment systems for now, Reene. I only have one cell installed and we still need weapons."

"Accessing."

Zain watched the weapons systems power up and felt a whole lot better. Unfortunately, a weapons system wouldn't work with broken guns.

"All weapons-systems software enabled. Perimeter alarms are fully functional," Reene reported, sounding stronger.

Zain headed to the rear compartment. "Release the nanos. They might be able to do a little more now that we have some power. I have to bring the remaining cells up one at a time, so it's going to take a few trips. The lift and bridge aren't designed to carry a lot of weight."

Reene asked, "Did you investigate the facility below?"

"It's big." And bad, but he wasn't going to say that in front of Lacey. "I'm going to install cameras in the dome and on the platform below for a visual feed. There's a human transport portal down there, and a countdown sequence display that I want you to monitor. The good news is that parts we need are also below."

"I realize that my parts are standard, but I find that quite a coincidence," Reene observed.

"I know," Zain said and knelt down to slide the floor panel over the power cell bay. "There's more, and I'll fill you in later." He locked the panel down and got to his feet, stretching his back.

"Bedtime, cowboy," Lacey said, standing in the doorway.

"Go ahead without me."

She crossed her arms, pushing her breasts against the shirt he'd loaned her. She sure knew how to wake him up.

"Not until you do," she replied simply.

He shook his head. Stubborn woman. "The perimeter alarm won't do us any good if I don't get at least one of our main guns working. Bobzilla and friends will be back. I want to be ready."

"I guess we better get moving then."

He didn't have the energy or inclination to argue with her tonight. So he handed her his tool kit. "Take this up front. I'll be right there." She disappeared, and he pulled the parts he needed from the pile behind him and joined her.

"The main guns are in the belly of the ship, but the access panel is here." He dropped to his knees in the middle of the corridor and released the panel. Lacey knelt across from him and peered into the pit at the mangled gun.

The front of her shirt opened enough for Zain to see the curve of her breasts. They would fit perfectly into his hands. And just like that, he was hard. This wasn't going to work.

"You took care of Reene. I can handle this alone," he said, his voice a little strangled.

She frowned. "I really wish you would stop giving me orders. I'm you're partner, you know."

You're a distraction, he thought. "You need your sleep."

"So do you," she countered.

He pursed his lips, put his imagination on hold, and stuck out his hand. "Give me the flat tool with the knob on the end."

She opened the kit and sorted through. Proudly, she held up the latcher. "This?"

"Thanks," he said, taking it. He wedged his shoulder as far into the weapons bay as possible and began loosening the lockdowns. Lacey lay on the floor across from him with her head near his.

"So, you're pretty good with your hands, huh?"He nearly dropped the latcher. "What?""You know, handy."Handy. He swallowed. He was a little more than handy at the moment. "The nanos can only do so much. I need to be able to repair everything on the ship." She sounded very impressed. "A space cowboy and a handyman. Women must swoon over you."

He wished. "Not lately."

She was silent for three whole seconds. "So, did you learn this in the military?"

"Some." He twisted around to reach another lock-down. "I was an advance scout for a military organization called InterGlax. I assessed new territories."

She hummed. "So you've always done exploration?"

"For as long as I can remember."

"Why?"

He reached for the last lockdown. "The challenge of the unknown. And I could set my own schedule with no one looking over my shoulder and telling me what to do."