Oriah re-read the same sentence for the third time, her mind was elsewhere. She was hiding out in the spacious captain's quarters, away from the two men who were causing her so much confusion. The mystery of the cubes would be revealed, so she had stopped working on that particular puzzle. She needed to be away from Cohen and his mischievous blue eyes, easy charm and astounding intelligence; he challenged her mind, he made her see things in different lights and she found herself excited and flushed when they solved an especially difficult problem. In escaping Cohen she would come face to face with Aaron who was thoughtful and intense and had a way of quickening her heart when he let her glimpse his elusive smile. Aaron let her be herself, listened to what she said, there was no pressure with him, no expectations to preform, and he had a comforting and welcoming aura, she enjoyed and looked forward to the quiet moments they spent together. They both stirred feelings in her, feelings she had not experienced before, both different but equally intense and confusing. She needed to talk to someone, she had grown fond of both men, she needed a sign that would clearly tell her what she needed to do, choose one or the other, or forgo any relationship at all, it wasn't fair to anyone as it stood. She needed her sister.

A soft knock on the door interrupted her fourth attempt at reading the opening sentence of her book. She opened the door heart already pounding so hard it felt like her ribcage wouldn't hold it in place. Leaning against the door was Cohen, arms crossed blue eyes shining, half grin on his lips.

"You avoiding me red?" Cohen inquired, Oriah's hair was unbound and loose, falling in soft curls almost to her waist.

"No!" Yes. "I just needed some time to myself, that's all." She stammered.

"I can understand that." He gave her a wink, implying something she did not catch. "Anyways, just wanted you to know that's we'll be arriving at the space station in about three hours. Also, we're flying by a gorgeous example of a dark Nebula, thought you might like to see." His smile grew as her eyes widened in excitement. He moved out of the doorway so she could get by, and they both hurried to the cockpit.

Oriah looked out the window, wishing it was larger, she decided to climb up the pilots chair so she could get a better look. Sure enough there was the nebula, blue and purple like a giant raincloud in space. She heard Cohen's footsteps behind her.

"Cohen it's beautiful!" She said breathlessly as she balanced precariously on the chair.

"Very beautiful." He agreed though he wasn't looking at the nebula. He placed his hands on her hips, steadying her; he could smell the lilac shampoo scent of her hair.

Oriah swallowed hard when she felt his hands on her, he was always finding ways to touch her and get close to her, it was incredibly distracting. Of course he must have known that he had an effect on her, which is why he did it. She forced herself to keep looking out the window, and she thought to herself, Aaron should see this, he would appreciate the raw beauty in it, even if he didn't understand the science behind it. She started climbing down carefully, she wanted to call Aaron over so he could experience it. Cohens hand remained firmly in place, helping her down. When she turned to tell him to call Aaron over her words got lost in Cohens lips as she found herself pulled into a heated kiss. Cohen was insistent and confident, his lips barely giving her time to breath or to gather her thoughts on what was happening. It would have been pleasant, wonderful even if not for the overwhelming feelings of guilt, and the fact that she wanted him to be his brother. This was the sign she needed, the moment of clarity. She had to tell him, she had to stop and breath and think and tell Cohen this wasn't going to happen.

"Well isn't this cozy." Aaron said in a tight angry voice.

Oriah ripped herself away from Cohen's embrace only to be hit by Aaron's hurt face. It was all going wrong.

"Aaron." Her voice stuck in her throat when his disappointed and angry glare fell on her. "This isn't…" He was gone before she could finish. Cohen's arms were still around her, she wriggled out of his grasp, when she glanced up Cohen's normally handsome face was twisted into an ugly triumphant smile.

"You planed this. You knew he would see us." Her voice quiet.

"He has to learn to stay away from what's mine." He spoke absently. Oriah slapped him hard across the face then. She was brought back to her mother's estate, being paraded in front of potential suitors like a piece of meat, like a possession. He grasped his face and looked down on her with an expression of utter surprise.

"I'm not yours, I was never yours. How dare you Cohen!" She hit his chest, pushed him away, unable to believe he could be so callous and cruel, to her, to his own family.

"Wow, easy Oriah, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that he needed to take a hint and back off when it was clear you and I had chemistry." He threw his hands up in the air; she wasn't supposed to react this way.

"You and I have nothing, Cohen Riggs, do you understand." She said in a venomous voice, she turned on her heels and went running after Aaron.

Cohen sat down heavily in the pilots chair rubbing his eyes with his hands, guilt and frustration eating at his heart. How did he manage to always do this, hurt the people he cared about. He let competition and jealousy get the better of him, let his arrogance and pride overwhelm him. He wasn't this person, this petty scheming person, it was an act. It was always an act, the problem was that he couldn't distinguish between who he really was or the act anymore. He sat, head in his hands for the rest of the trip.