Primal Elements (15 page)

Ben’s body quickly warmed her. With expert hands, he pushed her bra and shirt from her body. Next, he peeled off her pants and underwear, kissing every inch of skin as he exposed it.

“I never want to see anyone or anything hurt you,” he said the words against her belly, placing a kiss above her bellybutton when he was done.

“You can’t keep me safe from everything. I’m a grown woman.”

She ran her fingers through his hair and flexed her fingers against his scalp when he began to run his tongue over the sensitive skin above her mound.

“We’ll see about that.”

Jenna cried out as he ran his tongue over her swollen clit. She had to fight her own body, forcing it to relax. It didn’t matter and she cried out again when he sucked it into his mouth.

“I’m going to look after you from now on.” He licked again. “You won’t be able to stop me.”

She couldn’t think anymore to argue with him. Her body tensed as he pushed her thighs wide apart and slid a finger into her pussy. Her juices made her passage slick and he easily began to move in and out of her before adding a second finger. Jenna began to thrust her hips against his hand, mimicking what she wanted to be doing with his cock. She needed him inside her now.

“I want to come with you in me,” she somehow managed to say.

Ben pulled back long enough to shed his pants before he pressed the full length of his body on her. Jenna opened her legs wide, pulling him deep inside her as quickly as she could. Ben stilled for a moment before he began to pump into her.

This wasn’t like before in the limo. Ben clutched Jenna, pulling her close. But it wasn’t close enough for her. She needed more, needed to let him know that she wasn’t going to leave him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and devoured his lips with hers. Their bodies were pressed together so tightly their skin was slick as she rubbed against him.

The pressure against her clit was too much, her hard nipples rubbing against his chest, sending waves of desire through her body. She gasped and clutched his shoulders as he increased his tempo. Holding on desperately, Jenna couldn’t stop the inevitable. She screamed seconds before Ben began to madly pound into her, his own cries of pleasure mixing with hers. The orgasm blasted through her so hard and so fast Jenna couldn’t think. Her muscles tightened, shaking her entire body for one last second before she collapsed back onto the bed.

Ben continued thrusting over and over, filling her body and pulling every last ounce of pleasure from her. Finally, he thrust one final time before resting on her. Ben managed to roll to his side, taking Jenna with him. They lay on his bed, naked and panting, wrapped in each other’s arms.

He brushed her hair from her face and gently kissed her temple. Jenna laid her head 110

on his chest and was almost lulled to sleep by the sound of his pounding heart. What the hell was she going to do?

“Ben?” she whispered.

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk. About us.”

“I know. But not now.”

She danced her fingers across his chest, twirling his chest hair with her fingertip.

“Okay. But soon.”

“Soon.”

She must have drifted to sleep because when her PCD rang, Jenna sat up with a start. A chill racked her body and her skin was cool to the touch. Ben was still snoring lightly when she slipped from his embrace and jogged naked across the room to her purse.

“Hello?” She looked back into the bedroom and prayed Ben didn’t wake up.

“Jenna.”

She scrunched up her face. “Roger? What’s wrong?”

“I need you to come to the site to see something. Right away.”

There was something in his voice that didn’t sound right. Jenna walked farther away from the bedroom. “Are you okay? You don’t sound right.”

“I’m fine. Listen, you need to see this tonight. I’ve called you a cab and it should be there any minute.”

“What is it?”

Roger sighed into the PCD. “Look, it will take me an hour to explain what’s going on. I don’t trust Gareth with this, okay.”

Jenna couldn’t be sure, but this didn’t feel right. “No problem. Let me get Ben and we can be down there in thirty.”

“No!”

Jenna had to pull the PCD away from her ear. “Why the hell not?”

“This involves him. I want to you see this alone first. Trust me.”

She sighed and knew she didn’t have a hope of talking Roger out of this. The sooner she got dressed and got down there, the faster she’d get back to Ben and they could finally have their talk.

“Fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank you. The cab should be there soon.”

Flipping her PCD shut with a snap, Jenna tossed it back into her purse before sneaking back into the room. She couldn’t resist stopping to look at Ben as he slept. His now-soft cock lay against his well muscled thigh. The light dusting of dark hair covered his body, tempting her to reach out and touch him. Instead, Jenna crept closer and 111

pulled a blanket over him before turning and getting dressed.

She toyed with the idea of waking him to let him know where she was going, but thought better of it. If he knew, he’d insist on following her. The last thing she needed was for Roger to lose it again and Ben be the reason why.

Somehow she found all her clothing in the dark and managed to get dressed without making too much noise. She was about to leave, but stopped and kissed Ben on the cheek that wore the scar. He’d gone through so much of his life alone, she couldn’t imagine what it was like. When she got back, she would tell him that he didn’t need to do that anymore.

Jenna left a note on the table, telling him she’d be back soon and slipped out of the condo. As Roger had promised, a black Mars Express cab was waiting for her at the curb. Jenna opened the back door and plopped into the seat, anxious to get this little trip over with.

“Hi, I need to go to the university dig site near the north sector gate.”

The cab began to move slowly and Jenna sat back and watched the building pass as they drove. When they turned down Powers Street instead of continuing straight, Jenna knocked on the glass that separated her from the driver.

“Hey, why are you turning here? I’m not paying you extra for the long way.”

He didn’t respond, not even to make up some excuse. Jenna’s heart began to pound.

This wasn’t good.
The door lock snapped down and she tried to raise it to no avail.

“What the hell is going on?” she yelled and banged on the glass barrier again.

The driver continued to take them down several back roads until they finally reached a building with underground parking. They pulled into the dark structure, the door closing behind them.

Jenna swallowed hard and had to force her body to relax. Whatever was going to happen, the last thing she needed to do was panic. The lock finally clicked up and released as she heard someone approach from outside. The door opened as the lights to the garage came on. She had to blink several times before she could see the man who stood before her.

“Hello, Miss Robins. I’m Rick,” he said with a cocky grin. “How nice to finally meet you.”

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Ben’s mind wasn’t fully awake, but he knew something was wrong. He rolled over to find the bed cold beside him and a blanket covering his body. He sat up and listened for the sounds of a shower or movement in the kitchen, but was greeted instead with silence.

“Jenna?”

He threw the blanket aside and walked naked out to the living room. There was no sigh of her anywhere. Her clothing, coat, shoes all gone.
Gods dammit!
He had to fight down the urge to punch the wall. Where the hell did she go? They’d seemed to connect last night, he’d felt it, felt things change between them.

So why the hell did she leave?

Ben started to make his way back to the bedroom when his vidphone rang. He quickly pulled his shirt and boxers on before answering.

“What?”

“Mr. Hawthorn.” Gareth’s smiling face beamed back at him from the screen. “I think I may have discovered something about the machine. Is Miss Robins there?”

If he’d been in the same room at Gareth he would have punched him. “What makes you think Miss Robins would be here?”

There must have been enough venom in his voice that even Gareth picked up on it.

The man had the decency to blush as he obviously clued in to what he’d implied.

“Sorry, Roger mentioned that she was there last night. I just assumed because he was so pissed, and considering what he said—”

“For a man who’s supposed to be brilliant, you’re sounding very much like an idiot right now. Spit it out.”

Gareth took a deep breath. “I think I may have discovered how the device works.

I’m not sure, but if we don’t get the two halves together soon and deactivate it, we may have an explosion on our hands. I need Jenna to check my results.”

“She’s not here.”

The words actually hurt to say. He’d thought they’d connected last night. He’d certainly felt different, closer to her than any other person he’d known. Why did she leave?

“Well, she’s not at home and Roger can’t be found either.”

The bad feeling Ben had when he first woke up quickly returned. “What do you mean you can’t find Roger either?”

“It pains me to say this, but I’ve been looking for the little bugger for three hours. I 113

wanted him to double-check some readings, but he’s nowhere to be seen. No one has seen him since last night when he left.”

Ben quickly replayed the scene in his mind of Roger’s leaving.

“We had a meeting and he left here around eleven. He said he was going back to the site.”

“He never showed,” Gareth shrugged, but he couldn’t quite hide his nervousness.

Ben looked over his shoulder and something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A datapad propped up on his table.

“Hang on,” he said and put the vidphone onto hold.

His hand shook slightly as he picked up the datapad. What if she’d changed her mind about him, left before things got too serious? It didn’t matter to him. He’d been alone most of his life, this wouldn’t be any different. Not thinking about it any further, it only took a few quick clicks to see Jenna’s note.

Hi. Roger called and needs me to check something at the dig site. I didn’t want to wake you,
you looked so comfy. I’ll call you later today and maybe we can get together for supper. I think
we have a lot to talk about.

Love, Jen.

Ben read the last line over and over. The breath he’d been holding rushed painfully out of his lungs. Did she mean it or was it a reflex? For a second, he didn’t know what to do. She was missing, or he assumed she was, and he couldn’t do a thing to help her.

Grabbing his PCD, he tapped in her number and let it ring. Nothing.

“Shit.”

Clutching the datapad, he walked over to the vidphone and flicked it on. Gareth was waiting, and for the first time, Ben noticed the stress lines around the other man’s eyes.

“I’ll grab Matt and we’ll be there soon. Will you be okay ‘til then?”

Gareth nodded. “And Jenna?”

“I’ll find her.”

Gareth nodded and they broke off communications. Ben didn’t think after that, running on instinct. He quickly got dressed and managed to ignore the bed and the evidence of their lovemaking last night.
Love, Jen.
The words played over and over in his mind, driving his crazy.

Rick had to have grabbed her. And from the sound of it, Roger was involved somehow. Either deliberately setting her up, or he’d been coerced into it. Either way, Ben would rip him apart if anything happened to Jenna.

Ben called Matt and filled him in on what happened. Matt was only five minutes away and managed to make it to his place in record time. Thank the gods he didn’t have the limo, instead driving his own car. They were going to need the speed and maneuverability.

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“Where’s Jenna?” Matt asked, a frown fixed on his face.

“She left this morning. Left me this.”

Ben tossed Matt the datapad and hopped into the passenger side of the car. Matt slid behind the wheel, read the note and shot a confused look at Ben.

“What does Roger have to say about this?”

“He’s gone too.”

“Shit,” Matt sighed and handed the datapad back to Ben. “Rick?”

“That’s my guess. You and Kyle have any luck?”

Matt threw the car into drive and took off towards the dig site. “I haven’t heard from Kyle yet, but none of my sources have seen Rick. He hasn’t even come up to collect any debts this past week. And while there are many happy people out there that he’s disappeared, it’s still strange.”

“Probably busy playing out whatever crazy scheme he has on the go right now.”

“Any reason why he’d want Jenna?” Matt said, and somehow didn’t sound like he already knew the answer.

The most likely reason Rick would take Jenna was to get at him. Ben tried to relax his hand, stretching out his balled-up fingers. This is what his father had warned him about growing up. Letting someone get close, even a little bit, made you weak. Made you question everything about your life. Made you vulnerable to outside attack.

“It’s possible he needed her to fix his half of the device,” Ben said, his words bouncing back at him from the widow.

“I’m sure that’s it.”

They lapsed into silence, both knowing the chances they would find Rick in time to help Jenna were quickly diminishing. She’d been with him at least a few hours now.

More than enough time for him to put into play whatever twisted plan he had in mind.

Ben let the hum of the powerful engine block out the thoughts of what Rick would do to her.

Love, Jen.
How could she love him after what he’d put her through over the years?

He’d shut down her project, bossed her around and hadn’t given her much in return.

Did he love her? It had been so long since he’d really thought about someone else that way, did he even know how to express those emotions anymore. Even his friendship with Matt had its distance. They weren’t as close as they’d been years ago. He’d just assumed it was the nature of their positions. But now he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d pulled back as he had with everyone else.

Life gets complicated when you care.

Matt pulled off the main roads and tore onto the now well traveled path towards the dig site. They passed several trucks from the university full of equipment heading back towards town. There were several men sitting in the back of the truck who Ben didn’t recognize.

“I wonder where they are going with all that,” he wondered out loud.

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“I’m sure Gareth will fill us in once we get there,” Matt said as he stepped on the accelerator. “I have a bad feeling about all this.”

“Me too.”

And most of that bad feeling had to do with Jenna missing.

They finally reached the site and Ben was out of the car before Matt had fully pulled it to a stop. There didn’t seem to be many people around, which wasn’t too odd for this time of day, but Ben still didn’t like it. Maybe he was getting paranoid.

“Gareth?” he called out as he entered the main research building.

Only silence greeted Ben.

“I don’t see anyone outside,” Matt said as he entered behind Ben. “Could they have packed it in for the day?”

A sudden bang from the small side room grabbed their attention. Matt pushed ahead of Ben and yanked his laser pistol from his holster and carefully made his way over to the closed door. It was locked and it took both of them to free it. Inside were Gareth and two of his assistants.

“I’m so glad it’s you. We heard voices, but I wasn’t sure,” Gareth sighed with relief.

“What happened?” Ben asked and helped them out of the room and into a chair.

One of the assistants, a man he couldn’t remember the name of, had a big gash on his forehead.

“I don’t know who they were, but they knew what they were after,” Gareth said as he made his way over to the first-aid kit. “They waited until we were at our lowest population and grabbed some equipment. Didn’t even ask us any questions.”

“How long ago?”

Gareth looked quickly at the clock. “You must have passed them on the way in.”

Matt and Ben exchanged a quick look.

“The trucks,” Matt shook his head. “Shit.”

“Hey, there you are.”

All eyes turned to the door where Kyle stood. He was smiling and Ben said a silent prayer that meant good news.

“I found Rick. And I think he has Jenna.”

* * * * *

Jenna banged her hand against the smooth metal door, feeling the noise echo in the small room. She waited and prayed it would be different this time. That someone would acknowledge she was stuck down here. After a minute of silence, she sighed and rested her forehead on the cool door instead.

This is pointless.

“Stupid, blind idiot,” she cursed herself, smacking the door one last time.

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She walked around the small room that had been her prison for the past few hours.

Since her arrival, she’d barely talked to anyone. Really, she was thankful for that. She’d only spent a short time with Rick, but every inch of her skin had crawled when he’d put his hand on her back after pulling her out of the taxi. Other than his introduction, he’d barely said two words to her. Just enough to order his men to take her to this stupid room.

Not that it mattered. She could tell he’d kill her without a second thought if it got him what he wanted. Jenna just needed to figure out what that was so she could live long enough to get out of here. A sudden wave of exhaustion rolled over her and she flopped down onto the hard metal chair that was the sole piece of furniture in the room.

Jenna let her head fall into her hands and closed her eyes. If she hadn’t been so stupid, she’d still be in Ben’s bed. Maybe he would have made her breakfast. Probably not, but anything would be better than her current situation.

Jenna was so tired, she didn’t even react when the electronic key beeped outside the room and the lock gave way. The air whooshed out of the room and she heard several people enter. Someone coughed when she didn’t respond to their presence. She looked up to see Rick and several other men she didn’t recognize standing in a group, blocking the entrance to the room.

“I’m pretty sure this many people in a room this size is a fire hazard,” she quipped, not even thinking of the consequences of pissing off a crazy man.

Rick’s face broke out into a wide smile as he chuckled. It almost sounded pleasant.

“No wonder Ben likes you. You must be a force to be reckoned with, Miss Robins.”

She made sure to keep eye contact when she spoke to him. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me. What do you want?”

A second chair was passed to Rick and he moved it into the room. He turned it around so the back faced Jenna and he was able to straddle it. He really looked Jenna over before making a slight tsking sound.

“At first I didn’t want you at all. Then I found out you and your boyfriend were sticking your collective noses in my business. Now I find myself with the need to re-teach a lesson to my old friend Ben,” he said, still smiling, and ran his finger down her cheek.

“Why do you think we’d do something like that? I don’t even know you.”

“I have my sources. But you’re in luck, Dr. Robins. You do have a PhD, right?”

Jenna nodded, not sure where he was going with this. All she could do was pray Ben would look into why she wasn’t at the dig site and come looking for her. Not that he’d know where to start.

“Excellent. I seem to be in need of your scientific expertise, Dr. Robins. My current
expert
seems to have hit a barrier with a project I’ve given him.”

Jenna frowned and tried to fight back her curiosity. “Why should I care if you can’t figure out your own diabolical scheme?”

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“Funny is cute for a while, but don’t test my patience.”