Книга - Are Men From Mars?: Are Men From Mars? / Venus, How Could You?

Are Men From Mars?: Are Men From Mars? / Venus, How Could You?
Candy Halliday


Where the Morgan twins go, trouble is sure to follow!Are Men from Mars? by Candy HallidayWhen Dr. Madeline Morgan is whisked away in a mysterious craft near Roswell, she almost buys in to all those crazy UFO reports. But wait, these little green men are wearing army fatigues! And hunky Captain Brad Hawkins isn't all that little…. How is Maddie to know that she's stumbled upon a top secret military base and has innocently threatened national security? And how can she control herself under house arrest–with Brad?Venus, How Could You? by Candy HallidayMary Beth Morgan has finally hit the big time–a gig on a hot new soap opera, a home on the beach and enough star power to show her face with confidence at her upcoming high school reunion. But Mary Beth can't believe her high school sweetheart, Zack, has the nerve to show his face–gorgeous as it is–after what he did to her, or that he's trying to win her back! How can she forgive the guy who left her at the altar?















Two brand-new stories in every volume…twice a month!

Duets Vol. #103

Popular Candy Halliday returns with a quirky Double Duets volume featuring the identical Morgan twin sisters—one who’s zany and one who’s serious. Enjoy the fun as Madeline and Mary Beth encounter double trouble with a pair of irresistible in-your-face heroes who turn their lives upside down! Candy’s most recent Duets novel, Winging It, “has a number of very funny scenes [and] a delicious hero,” says Romantic Times.

Duets Vol. #104

Irish author Samantha Connolly serves up A Real Work of Art, a wonderful story about a heroine who impersonates her sister and goes from uptight to fun and flirty—overnight! Samantha made an impressive debut with her first Duets novel, say reviewers. Joining her in the volume is talented Jennifer McKinlay, whose writing “is fresh and funny, with memorable characters and snappy byplay,” notes Romantic Times. Jennifer’s story Thick as Thieves, a teasing road tale, was inspired by her own cross-country trek several years ago!

Be sure to pick up both Duets volumes today!




Are Men from Mars?

Venus, How Could You?

Candy Halliday







www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)




Contents


Are Men From Mars? (#u18c6d420-9a36-5a72-b28b-20b754a2daf9)

Chapter 1 (#u1d2e9ac0-396f-56fe-984c-71299996b6b6)

Chapter 2 (#u309a0776-ae09-5a17-95c0-ac9eea67647f)

Chapter 3 (#u7ac0d635-befa-5af4-b4d4-ae4c937958a6)

Chapter 4 (#udebdc64d-a93c-5c8e-8627-f327c654188a)

Chapter 5 (#uf738dba3-9c79-5cec-97ce-1c5ef3ba0eef)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Venus, How Could You? (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 1 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 2 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 3 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)



Are Men from Mars?




“Hey, Captain, looks like our spy is a she!”


Angrier than she’d ever been in her life, Maddie pulled herself up when the force holding her down suddenly set her free. She picked up her pith helmet, which had been knocked off in the struggle, and brushed her long, tangled blond hair out of her face. It took only a split second to confirm that she really had been captured by mysterious green men, after all.

U.S. military camouflage green, to be exact. In tight T-shirts.

She hesitated a moment, staring up at the imposing figure towering above her, silently cursing herself for noticing how cute he was. “My name is Dr. Madeline Morgan,” she began haughtily, “and for your information, I’m an entomologist, not a spy.”

“Whatever you are, you were trespassing on restricted government property,” her G.I. Joe informed her as his penetrating gaze slid over her. “I’m going to have to detain you in my quarters until I can verify your identity.”

His quarters? she wondered. Detained with Captain Hunk? How on earth was she going to get out of this one?


Dear Reader,

The question I’m asked most frequently is where do I get my story ideas. I wish I could tell you my mind is so boggled with fresh new story ideas, sometimes I can’t even sleep at night. If only that were true.

Sometimes a story idea can be a gift, as was the case with the first book in this volume, Are Men from Mars? At coffee after a meeting of my local chapter of Romance Writers of America, my dear friend Elizabeth made a mild complaint that she was bored with the same old, same old heroines—the hip executives, the models and actresses, the interior designers, etc. The type of heroine she would love to see, she told me, was a serious academic research/scientist type of heroine. And presto! Dr. Madeline Morgan, devoted entomologist, began whispering in my ear before I even finished my coffee.

To offset brainy Dr. Morgan, however, I decided it would be fun to give her a zany identical twin sister. In Venus, How Could You? soap opera star Mary Beth Morgan is as outrageous as her professor twin is serious. Yet both sisters soon find themselves dealing with the same problem: what to do about the irresistible in-your-face heroes who turn their lives upside down and teach both sisters a valuable lesson in the subject of love.

I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know Maddie and Mary Beth as much as I enjoyed letting them tell you their stories.

Best wishes,

Candy Halliday




Books by Candy Halliday


HARLEQUIN DUETS

58—LADY AND THE SCAMP

82—WINGING IT


Special thanks always to my wonderful agent, Jenny Bent, and to my amazing editor, Susan Pezzack, to whom I wish only the best with her move to MIRA. And a very special thank-you to Elizabeth Fensin, for giving me the gift of Maddie.


This book is dedicated in loving memory of Robert H. McNeill. Uncle Bob, I know you are kicking back in one of Heaven’s easy chairs now, reading this with a smile on your face and still cheering me on.




1


“I’M SERIOUS, MADDIE. I’m giving you one more hour to find your mysterious bug, and then I’m heading right back to the hotel.”

Dr. Madeline Morgan, devoted entomologist, didn’t bother looking at her older sister. Instead she kept her eyes trained to a pair of high-powered binoculars as she scanned the barren desert terrain. She was on a mission. A mission that had brought her from Georgia to Roswell, New Mexico, and the desert wasteland they were driving through.

“It’s not a bug, it’s a butterfly, Mary Beth,” Maddie corrected. “We’re looking for a Deva Skipper. Or if you prefer, Atryonopsis deva, to be exact.”

Mary Beth sent her sister a sideways glance. “Well, if you ask me, the only divas in this desert happen to be sitting right here in this Jeep.” When Maddie laughed, Mary Beth said, “Well, at least one of us could qualify as a diva, I suppose. In that costume you’re wearing, you look more like…”

“Someone prepared to spend a hot August day in the desert, perhaps?” Maddie lowered her binoculars and leaned back in her seat. “Only you, Mary Beth, would consider wearing a tube top and thong for this type of outing.”

“These are short-shorts, sister dear,” Mary Beth said, continuing their usual sisterly repartee. “Something you would know if you stopped playing professor long enough to get in touch with your feminine side.”

Maddie looked down at her own clothing. She had thoroughly researched what was considered proper attire for the time they would spend in the desert. Like her sturdy long-sleeved shirt that wouldn’t allow desert sun access to tender skin, and her khaki straight-leg pants that tucked quite easily into her sturdy new high-top hiking boots.

“Of course, it’s that pith helmet that really makes the outfit,” Mary Beth said on a giggle. “Yep, nothing turns a man on quite like a stylish pith helmet. It reels them in every time.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, it isn’t male attention we’re looking for,” said Maddie.

Mary Beth tossed her long, pale hair back from her face and dropped her sunglasses down on her tanned nose. “Speak for yourself. I’m always looking for male attention.” She held Maddie’s gaze for a moment with challenging blue eyes.

It was like looking in a mirror, Maddie always thought. They were identical twins, with Mary Beth being all of two minutes older. Yet, Maddie had always thought of them as the opposite sides of a coin.

Even as children, Mary Beth had loved the frilly dresses, the white tights and the patent leather shoes their mother had dressed them in. Maddie, on the other hand, had usually soiled her dress, torn the knees of her tights, and scuffed the toes of her shoes crawling around on her hands and knees observing insects of every size and description.

As they grew older, Mary Beth had been the social one, while Maddie kept her nose buried in the encyclopedia learning everything possible about the winged invertebrate population. Mary Beth had been the cheerleader and homecoming queen in high school, Maddie the valedictorian of their senior class. And while Maddie had plunged into college for a Ph.D. in entomology, Mary Beth had chosen an acting career.

We’re identical, all right. Identical opposites, Maddie thought, but offering a truce to the sister she dearly loved, she said, “I’ll make you a deal. I won’t say anything else about your short-shorts, if you’ll stop making fun of my pith helmet.”

“It’s a deal. But I wasn’t kidding about heading back to the hotel within the hour,” Mary Beth threw in as she gave their immediate surroundings another nervous scan. “This place totally creeps me out and you know it.”

“Do-do-do-do—do-do-do-do.” Maddie chanted the Twilight Zone theme in fun.

“Very funny,” Mary Beth grumbled. “But more than one eyewitness claimed a space ship landed in Roswell in l947. Some people even claim to have seen the bodies of those poor space creatures our government dissected for its own amusement.”

“And after fifty years of extensive investigation, the government concluded all those people saw was a weather balloon,” Maddie insisted.

Mary Beth sent her a shocked look. “You mean you really don’t believe other intelligent life is out there somewhere?”

Maddie grinned mischievously. “Maybe the surest sign other intelligent life does exist, is the fact they’ve never tried to contact us.”

Both sisters shared a good laugh before Maddie reached out and patted her twin’s shoulder. “You know, I really am glad you came with me on this trip. We never get to see each other now that you’re out in L.A.”

“If you want to be in pictures, you’ve gotta go where the action is,” Mary Beth answered with her standard reply.

“I know,” Maddie said with a sigh. “But we really do miss you, me and Mom and Pop. Though I have to admit they haven’t seen much of me, either, these days. I’ve been so caught up trying to map out the migration of the Deva Skipper, I’ve barely had time to eat and sleep.”

“And what happens if we do find this bug?”

“Butterfly,” Maddie corrected again. “It’s a rare species. There have been reported sightings in the southeastern part of New Mexico, but none have been confirmed. If I could find one, it could help pave the way to preserving future colonies.”

“And also advance your career a little, maybe?” Mary Beth accused with a grin. “Like that research team you’re so eager to be chosen for?”

Maddie didn’t deny it. “I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t kill to make my boss’s research team on…”

“On why an old bore like him can’t find a date?”

For the first time, Maddie sent her sister a stern look.

“Okay. Don’t get all huffy,” Mary Beth said as she downshifted and picked up speed. “We’ll look a little longer, but I mean it, Maddie. There’s no way we’re staying out here in UFO utopia after dark.”

“Afraid we might get probed?” Maddie chided.

“No,” Mary Beth said with a laugh. “I’m more afraid you’ll never get probed if this is your idea of how to spend your summer vacation.”

Maddie’s eyes cut to the left. “That wasn’t an invitation for another lecture about my love life.”

“What love life? Or have you finally determined celibacy is too grim a fate even for a workaholic like you?”

Maddie took up her binoculars again and refused to answer.

“I hope you know you’re fooling yourself. You think you’re safely hidden behind those saintly college walls playing professor, but one day some guy is going to come along and knock your feet right out from under you.”

“I’ll be sure to let you know the second anything like that happens.”

“But he won’t be some mental wizard like those stuffy professors you hang around with now,” Mary Beth predicted. “He’ll be all man. Total brawn from head to toe. And you’ll be so hot for this guy, even you would be willing to dance naked on CNN just to get his attention.”

Maddie laughed in spite of herself.

“Besides,” Mary Beth added with a sigh, “we aren’t getting any younger, you know. The big Three-O is just around the corner, and…”

“Age isn’t a subject I care to discuss, either.”

“Nor do I,” Mary Beth agreed. “I just hate seeing you waste your life away like your revered Dr. Fielding has done. And what has being devoted to his career really gotten your boss? When he’s ready to retire I doubt there’ll be any life left in his old caterpillar, if you know what I mean.”

“Mary Beth!” Maddie scolded.

“Well, I’m sorry, but that man gives me the creeps. Any man who would devote his entire life studying the sex life of the tsetse fly has to have a major mental problem. And what scares me most,” Mary Beth added, “is that your only goal in life seems to be to follow in the old coot’s footsteps. Don’t you want a family some day, Maddie? Don’t you want…”

“Stop!” Maddie grabbed Mary Beth’s arm and pointed up ahead. “Ease the Jeep up that hill. Near those thistles. I saw something. Get closer.”

As instructed, Mary Beth eased the Jeep forward and up a small rise that took them even farther away from the main road and deeper into the desert.

“Don’t get too close,” Maddie warned, still using her binoculars to search a patch of brush growing by a chain-link fence that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Is that a fence?” Mary Beth whispered, reaching for the binoculars when Maddie took the strap from around her neck.

Maddie ignored the question and substituted the strap of her faithful Nikon camera around her neck. Grabbing a small net from the knapsack sitting on the floorboard, she started to ease herself out of the Jeep when Mary Beth grabbed her hand and pointed to a sign fastened to the fence. Forcing Maddie to take back her binoculars, Mary Beth said, “Take another look. I told you we never should have left the main road. This is government property. I think we should get the hell out of here. Fast.”

Maddie looked through the binoculars again at the weather-worn sign that was faded, yet still official looking enough to cause some concern. Government Property—Absolutely No Trespassing—Violators Will Be Prosecuted—didn’t leave much room for any misunderstanding about the warning. However, Maddie made her decision when she checked the bush again and saw another flutter of movement.

“I’m not going over the fence,” she argued, prying Mary Beth’s fingers from around her wrist. “It’ll only take me a minute to get a specimen.”

“A specimen?” Mary Beth cried out. “I thought you said these butterflies were rare? And now you’re going to capture one? Cut its tiny life short? Isn’t that defeating the whole cause?”

Maddie drew her fingers to her lips in a quick sush. “The Deva Skipper only has a life span of a few weeks,” she whispered. “That’s why finding one is almost impossible. I have no intention of harming it, but how can I possibly save other colonies if I can’t prove the Deva was here to begin with?”

Mary Beth frowned. “All of you scientists are alike, aren’t you? Always hell-bent on getting a specimen. I bet that’s the last words those little green men heard, too. ‘Sorry we have to sacrifice your lives, you poor little green bastards, but we have to get that specimen.’”

“Save the drama for the silver screen,” Maddie said as she eased herself out of the Jeep. “I’ll be back in a flash.”

Taking her time, Maddie crept up the hill and along the fence line, butterfly net in hand. She was literally shaking with anticipation as she eased closer, marveling at the sheer beauty of one of nature’s most delicate creatures.

And it was a Deva Skipper, no doubt about it.

The fringe on its forewing was brown, its hind wing a whitish color, and the upper side wing a reddish-brown. And though she couldn’t see the underside of the hind wing from where she was standing, Maddie already knew it would be brown with a gray overscaling and a faint dark bar across its middle. In a single word, the little Deva was breathtaking.

And it was almost within her grasp.

Inching closer, Maddie adjusted the zoom lenses on her camera and snapped a few pictures as she carefully picked her steps over the dusty desert floor. She was trained, ready and skilled to take her captive easily and without doing the tiny creature harm. Holding her breath, she could almost taste the sweetest of success on her tongue. She was only one swoop away from capturing the find of her life when the flirtatious little Deva lifted itself upward and came to a perfect landing on the wrong side of the forbidding chain-link fence that now stood between them.

Without a second thought, Maddie stuck the butterfly net in the back pocket of her khakis and forced the toe of her hiking boot into one of the diamond-shaped holes in the rusted fence. She could hear Mary Beth yelling from behind her, but Maddie scaled the fence like a veteran climber and dropped nimbly to the other side.

“Maddie! Get back here! I mean it, Maddie. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you. You’ve been trying to boss me around our entire lives,” Maddie mumbled under her breath, “but this is one time I’m not leaving until I get what I came for.”

Easing forward, trusty butterfly net again in hand, Maddie was even ready to sprout wings herself if that’s what it took to complete her mission. “Come to me, little Deva,” she cooed, but when Mary Beth’s screaming grew even louder, Maddie glanced back over her shoulder in time to see the panicked look on her sister’s lovely face.

In fact, Mary Beth was literally jumping up and down on the front seat of the Jeep now, waving her arms wildly above her head like a crazy person. Maddie waved back impatiently, motioning for Mary Beth to pipe down, but a large shadow suddenly fell across Maddie’s path, blocking out the sun.

Startled, she looked up and immediately felt her breath catch in her throat. A huge metal object was hovering directly above her, yet the strange-looking aircraft was as silent in its flight as the tiny Deva Skipper that had lured her to the wrong side of the fence.

More curious than she was frightened, Maddie immediately grabbed for her camera. She was still snapping the shutter frantically when the aircraft swooped downward, instantly blinding her with a cloud of sand and dust. Maddie held tightly to her pith helmet, trying to shield her face from the caustic dust storm that was now choking off her airway and stinging her eyes.

She let out a strangled scream when something snaked around her waist and lifted her upward and into the air.

In less time than it took to worry about her twin sister’s safety, Maddie heard the loud clang of a door slamming shut. She soon found herself face-down on a cold metal floor, coughing up the dust as she tried to catch her breath. With her eyes still watering from the dirt and sand, Maddie couldn’t yet make out who or what was holding her captive. All she could hear was the definite whir of the unidentified flying object as it whisked her away to some unknown destination.

“Let me up this minute! I demand it!” Maddie started yelling, and she began struggling with such fervor the elastic strap on her pith helmet broke free, unleashing the long, pale hair stuffed under her helmet.

“Holy hell, Captain,” a shocked voice called out. “It looks like our spy is a she.”

Angrier than she’d ever been in her life, Maddie pulled herself up when the force holding her face down on the floor suddenly set her free. And it only took a split second to confirm that she really had been captured by mysterious green men, after all.

U.S. military camouflage green to be exact.

And World War Maddie was about to do battle with everyone responsible for making her lose what could have possibly been the biggest entomological find of her career.

AIR FORCE CAPTAIN Brad Hawkins jerked his head around in time to see a finger waving ninety miles a minute while their definitely female prisoner delivered a good tongue-lashing to his copilot.

Did she look like your typical spy?

Of course, she didn’t.

She looked, Brad decided, like an angry little girl with her cheeks blazing, her tangled blond hair in a windblown mess, and her chin jutted forward in defiance as if she’d just taken a nasty spill from her bike. Classic facial features. Haunting blue eyes. A curvaceous figure that even her “Dr. Livingstone” outfit, complete with a pith helmet couldn’t quite hide.

She was stunning.

And though he told himself it was only the shock of finding a woman on isolated government property that had left him so addled, it took several seconds before Brad could force himself to look away.

Turning his attention back to maneuvering the multimillion-dollar prototype helicopter he was flying, Brad aimed the large craft back toward the old air base on the outskirts of Roswell that the Air Force was using as a testing facility. She was still kicking up quite a fuss behind him in the belly of the chopper, ranting and raving about what? Butterflies? Had he heard that right? And something about a terrified sister? Was that who had blazed off in a cloud of dust so fast Brad had only caught a mere glimpse of a bright red Jeep?

Groaning inwardly, Brad picked up the microphone to his radio and mumbled, “There’s a suspicious tourist in a red Jeep along the south perimeter. Apprehend the driver. Do it quickly and quietly.” He signed off with, “I’ll meet you back at the base.”

Crap! He’d assumed they’d run across some nosey reporter. Some guy acting on a tip that the Air Force was conducting more than routine maneuvers at the old base. And that’s when Brad had made the decision to apprehend their trespasser. He’d planned to take the guy back to base, destroy the film and then threaten the reporter with serious charges.

But who would have thought that within just three weeks short of completing testing on the most advanced helicopter known to modern man, a woman, wearing of all things a pith helmet, and her runaway sister would stumble upon their operation and threaten to blow the cover on their highly guarded mission straight to hell and back again?

“And another thing. If you think for one minute I’m going to overlook the senseless, barbaric way you’ve treated me, you’re sadly mistaken. My name is Dr. Madeline Morgan. And for your information, I’m an entomologist, not a spy. I was doing nothing more than conducting necessary research on an endangered species of butterfly when you so rudely, crudely and unfairly abducted me!”

Entomologist?

He never would have pegged his lovely passenger for a lady with a bug fetish. Especially not with that sexy, Southern accent of hers. Yet, her unusual career choice made her even more intriguing.

Unfortunately her identity would only add another nail in his coffin. Apprehending a nosey reporter with a camera trained on a top secret aircraft was one thing. But hijacking a reputable entomologist? Doing nothing more than conducting important research on an endangered species of butterfly? Brad gripped the controls, just thinking about the consequences.

Not that being rudely, crudely and unfairly abducted, as she put it, wasn’t her own doing. Trespassing on restricted government property might have been overlooked, but it had been that damn camera of hers that had sealed her fate. Had she treated their accidental encounter like most people would have done and run for cover like her sister, he would have had no reason to bother her in the least.

In fact, the whole point of conducting testing at the old air base in Roswell had been Roswell’s tie to the UFO phenomena. Around Roswell people expected to see strange objects flying through the air. And it didn’t matter if those sightings were real or if they were only imagined. Roswell depended on UFO sightings as the main tourist attraction that supported most of the city’s livelihood.

A civilian actually having pictures of the current most top-secret aircraft in the United States military, however, couldn’t be tolerated. Especially when those pictures had the potential to fall into the wrong hands.

I made the right decision, Brad told himself with confidence, then skillfully landed what had aptly been nicknamed the Black Ghost on the helipad that was protected from view by the fifteen-foot concrete barrier walls that surrounded them.

Unbuckling his seat belt, Brad pulled himself out of the cockpit. He walked to the back of the chopper and stood with his hands at his waist, looking down at his disgruntled prisoner. She was still sitting where she’d landed on the floor, but she had managed to push some of her hair out of those dark blue eyes that were now as big around as saucers. Unfortunately those full, enticing lips he’d noticed earlier were now pressed together in a line so thin they almost disappeared.

“Captain Brad Hawkins. United States Air Force,” Brad said with as much authority as he could muster, and then he extended a willing hand to help his frowning passenger back to her feet.

MADDIE HESITATED FOR A moment, staring up at the imposing figure who was now towering above her. Oh, he was cute, all right. She’d noticed he was cute the second he turned around and looked at her. Yet looking at him now, Maddie realized referring to this man as cute was the equivalent of calling the brilliant Monarch butterfly a rather colorful moth. No, it was more like referring to Mt. Everest as a hill in the Himalayas. His dark hair was cut in that crisp, military fashion that commanded respect. The hint of a five-o’clock shadow crept up the full length of his jaw. A tight-fitting T-shirt and his camouflage fatigues only emphasized a fine-honed body that was lean, mean and nothing in between. And those arms—God, those arms. His biceps were literally bulging. Exactly the type of arms that would have the power to crush a woman to him and….

In a flash, Mary Beth’s total brawn from head to toe comment came rushing back to haunt her.

Maddie shuddered at the thought.

She reluctantly accepted his offer and pulled herself up to a height that barely reached his shoulder, ignoring a jolt of a different nature that colored her cheeks from the mere touch of his hand.

What’s wrong with me? Maddie worried. So, maybe he did have a hunkability factor of about a zillion. So what? He was also someone she should have been ready to throttle. She should have kicked both his shins and sucker-punched him soundly in the stomach. Hadn’t he literally kidnapped her? Terrified her poor sister? Possibly destroyed her chances of finding the Deva Skipper again? Maybe even ruined her chances for the biggest opportunity of her career?

Yet, here she was acting like a silly schoolgirl experiencing her first legitimate crush!

Shame on you! Maddie told herself, then purposely squared her shoulders and found the courage to say, “I’m Dr. Madeline Morgan, Captain Hawkins. And I’m certain the colonel or the general, or whomever is in charge will be absolutely appalled when he learns how badly you’ve treated a defenseless law-abiding citizen.”

His eyebrow raised slightly. “Law-abiding?” he repeated in a mocking tone. “I doubt my wing commander will call trespassing on private government property something a law-abiding citizen would do.”

He was toying with her and Maddie knew it, she could see the hint of amusement in his dark brown eyes. Dreamy eyes, she might add. Eyes that were currently staring at her so intensely Maddie felt her cheeks flame a second time. He’s openly flirting with me, Maddie suddenly realized. And though his flirting flattered her in one respect, it irritated Maddie in another.

“I prefer that your wing commander, not you, Captain Hawkins, make that type of decision for himself,” Maddie was quick to tell him before she added with another lift of her chin, “and if you’ll kindly escort me to his office, I’ll be happy to take the matter up with him myself.”

He stalled for a moment, seemingly amused that she would question his authority. “First, I’ll need to verify that you are who you say you are. Can you provide me with any type of identification?”

Maddie let him know exactly what she thought of such a stupid question. “Well, of course, I don’t have any identification on me,” she sputtered. “My purse was in the Jeep with my sister. And I’m sure you scared her to death when you had G.I. Joe reach out and grab me and then body-slam me to the floor of your stupid—” she glanced around her surroundings before she added “—your stupid whatever this flying contraption is.”

He glanced at his copilot, who had suddenly found something rather interesting on the toe of his boot.

“And what is all this spy nonsense?” Maddie’s hands were on her hips now. “Take a good look at me, Captain Hawkins. Do I look like a spy to you?”

When he purposely looked her up and down, Maddie wished she could snatch back the invitation to do so. She was sure he was thinking that she didn’t look like a professor, either. And she didn’t. She looked like hell is what she looked like, thanks to him and his partner.

Angry all over again, Maddie glanced briefly at the metal door to her left and made her move. She wasn’t quick enough. Captain Hawkins had the door blocked before she could reach for the door handle. And the scowl on his face told her trying to reach around him probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

Now what? Maddie wondered, worried for the first time that her impressive credentials might not be enough to get her out of her current predicament.

BRAD DIDN’T BOTHER admitting he’d already made the spy assessment himself. He had no doubt she was who she said she was. Even the way she carried herself let him know she was accustomed to giving orders instead of taking them. But Dr. Morgan was on his turf now. And the sooner she realized he was in charge, the better it would be for both of them.

Still, he couldn’t help but notice that her beauty was genuine. No heavy makeup, no frills, no polish or jewelry. None of the usual amenities most women felt were necessary to make them attractive. And her confidence wasn’t limited to her appearance, either. She’d been confident enough to make a break for the door. Which meant keeping her sequestered until he figured out what to do with her might not be an easy task.

Time to play hard ball, Brad decided. “Right now all I know is that you were trespassing on private government property. And,” he added as he reached out and grabbed the camera strap from around her neck, “you were taking pictures on government property without permission. Illegal pictures,” he said as he quickly flipped the back of the camera open and jerked the film out to completely expose it. “Pictures I’m personally authorized to destroy on behalf of the United States Air Force.”

The color drained from her face so fast Brad was prepared to catch her if she fainted. It was then Brad realized the Black Ghost wasn’t the only thing his pretty captive had been photographing on her expedition in the desert.

“Do you have any idea what you just did?” she gasped as her hand flew to her mouth.

“Yeah, I just did my job,” Brad told her.

“No, you just destroyed the only evidence I had to support the research I’ve been working on for the last six months.”

Destroying her research hadn’t been his intention, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Stuffing the exposed roll of film into his pants pocket, he slipped the camera strap carefully back over her head and said, “I’m going to have to detain you until I can verify your identity. Sergeant Baker will escort you to my living quarters. You can stay there until I notify you otherwise.”

“Your living quarters?” She jerked her arm away when the sergeant tried to take it. “If I’m under arrest, Captain Hawkins, then I insist you take me to the proper authorities!”

She could insist all she wanted, but Brad had his own problems to worry about. Like explaining to his wing commander how his test flight that afternoon had suddenly turned into a quasiespionage mission. A mission that had resulted in one suspect being apprehended, while a search party was now racing across the desert in hot pursuit of suspect number two.

Knowing he could no more divulge those details than he could successfully restore her ruined film, Brad folded his arms across his chest and said as calmly as possible, “Look, Dr. Morgan. If that is who you are. We can do this easy, or we can do it hard. It’s your choice. But you are going to go with Sergeant Baker one way or the other until I get this whole mess straightened out. Understood?”

Another lift of her chin told Brad she wasn’t even going to acknowledge his question with an answer.

Turning to his copilot, Brad said, “Wait at least thirty minutes before you make your move. Be discreet. Take her through the back way. And don’t answer any questions if anyone stops you. The fewer people who know she’s here, the better.”

“You’re going to regret this, Captain. I’ll see to it,” she threatened with a deadly look.

Brad held her gaze a second longer than necessary, then turned away. “Don’t let her out of your sight,” he called back over his shoulder before he opened the side door of his multimillion-dollar Black Ghost and slammed it soundly behind him.




2


“YOU DID WHAT?”

Brad squeezed his eyes shut when the powerful fist of Brigadier General Joseph Gibbons made contact with his heavy wooden desk and sent a loud crack echoing through the room. Still standing at attention, Brad took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry, sir. We were right on top of her before I even saw her. If she hadn’t picked that moment to play photographer, I could have been out of there so fast her head would still be spinning. But under the circumstances, I didn’t have any choice but to bring her back to the base.”

“And you destroyed that film?”

“The minute we landed,” Brad said, then took the exposed roll from his pocket and gave up his straight-back pose long enough to place it on the desk in front of his commander.

Gibbons, who had seen more combat action than Brad ever planned or hoped to see, pushed back in his chair and stood up, then began pacing around his office. Standing at attention again, Brad never moved a muscle.

“And you say she’s a professor?”

“A professor of entomology,” Brad affirmed, still rather impressed by the fact. “I did a quick background check. She teaches at a small private college in Georgia. She’s out here doing research on an endangered species of butterfly.”

Gibbons’s scowl made Brad take a deep breath before he added, “But there is another slight problem, sir. Someone else was with her. She says it was her sister. The sister split so fast there wasn’t any time to stop her. I radioed ahead and have a patrol out now to bring her in. She was way off the main road. I’m sure we’ll stop her before she gets back to Roswell.”

“You’d damn well better stop her!” Gibbons bellowed. “Do you have any idea what will happen if that woman hits Roswell screaming a strange aircraft carried off her sister? Hell, every news team in the country will be on top of us so fast we won’t know what hit us!”

Brad cringed. “That isn’t going to happen, sir. They should bring her in any minute now.”

Gibbons resumed his pacing, then stopped to glare at Brad again. “I want both of those women in my office within the hour. Do you hear me? We have a top secret operation to protect here, and I don’t intend to let a couple of tourists jeopardize our testing.”

Brad nodded. “I’m sure they can be convinced to keep silent, sir. It may take some fast talking, but…”

“Fast talking, hell!” Gibbons shouted. “I intend to scare the living crap out of them.”

“Well, we do have the upper hand here.” Brad threw that in for good measure, hoping he might spare his pretty prisoner and her sister some of the old man’s wrath. “I mean, the professor knows she was trespassing. I’m sure if you explain…”

“You leave those details to me.” Gibbons made another lap around the room, then flopped back down at his desk. “Now get the hell out of here and see if they’ve located that sister yet.”

Brad gave his commander a salute, turned on his heel and was one step from reaching for the door-knob when a loud knock brought him to a stop. The commander’s anxious-looking aide stepped into the room the second Brad swung the door open.

“Sorry to interrupt,” said the young lad who barely had a trace of peach fuzz on his face. “The patrol Captain Hawkins sent out just called in to say they weren’t successful in their search. They said you’d want to know.”

Brad prepared himself for the rage that immediately followed.

“Get your ass to Roswell, Hawkins. And do it now,” the voice of authority yelled from across the room. “And don’t step foot in my office again until you have this whole mess straightened out!”

After a quick salute Brad hurried from his commander’s office, already suspecting, however, that his new assignment would be his own personal version of Mission Impossible.

MADDIE CONTINUED TO PULL away every time Sergeant Baker tried to take her arm. “I’m perfectly capable of walking unassisted,” she told him in a frosty tone that should have turned the big goon into an ice sculpture.

“Just following orders,” Baker mumbled.

“Well, as far as I’m concerned your orders are every bit as ridiculous as you bailing out of the air to capture me like some common criminal,” Maddie huffed.

“You were trespassing,” Baker reminded her.

“And exactly what penalty does trespassing carry in the Air Force, Sergeant Baker? Does the rule book say jump out of the sky and pounce on your trespasser? Shove them facedown with their arms held behind them? Bruise and batter them? Does it say shoot those pesky trespassers if they dare try to run away?”

Baker didn’t answer. Instead he continued to shepherd her along in a lumbering fashion while looking straight ahead.

“And why is your captain so concerned about someone else seeing me?” Maddie grumbled when the man towering above her stopped only long enough to look up and down a long hallway before forcibly taking her arm again and steering her down the hall.

Again, Maddie wrenched her arm free, then sent a wistful look back over her shoulder. As luck would have it, they hadn’t seen a single soul since they’d emerged from the strange aircraft they’d been riding in. If they had, Maddie would have screamed bloody murder and begged for someone to rescue her. She even thought of screaming now, but the threat of being slammed to the floor again by a guy with the build of a professional wrestler kept her silent.

The big bully! Maddie thought with a frown.

Both of her knees were scraped, probably even bleeding, and it would be weeks before the skin grew back on her right elbow. And though it briefly occurred to Maddie that her injuries were mainly due to her own kicking and struggling, she much preferred to blame those injuries on her overgrown chaperone.

“Could it be possible Captain Hawkins told you to be so secretive about my existence because he knows keeping me against my will is totally illegal?” Maddie piped up again. “Tell me the truth, Sergeant Baker. Do the two of you routinely swoop down and pluck innocent women out of the desert and spirit them away to your private living quarters? Is Captain Hawkins the brains behind some type of illegal love slave trade the two of you have going on out here in the desert?”

Again, Sergeant Baker didn’t answer, but her whimsical assessment of the situation quickly filled Maddie’s mind with thoughts of what it might be like if Captain Hawkins did hold her captive as his love slave.

Would he be the type of man to aggressively force her into submission? Never, Maddie told herself, though her heart betrayed her and skipped a beat at the possibility of such unfamiliar excitement. Or would the hunky captain lure her into his arms with gentle whispers of the tantalizing things he planned to do to her while they made slow, unhurried love?

Oh, yeah. That would undoubtedly be his style.

In fact, her interaction with him so far left no doubt he was a man of few words, but exceedingly quick in the action department. Like the way his eyes had traveled daringly over her body when she’d made the mistake of asking him to take a good look at her. His intense gaze had left her breathless.

You idiot! Maddie scolded, when her apparently sex-starved mind began wandering again. And then she asked herself, Why on earth am I having these bizarre thoughts now?

She was an educated woman. A woman with the ability to stay completely focused on her career—a career that, thanks to Captain Fantasy, had possibly been sabotaged. Yet now, she was suddenly daydreaming about being this man’s love slave.

It was completely unlike her.

Totally preposterous!

Yet, so was her current situation.

For all practical purposes, she might as well have been spirited off to another planet, Maddie reasoned. Educated and focused or not, she was totally out of her element. Could she really expect herself to act normal? Expect to remain calm and collected when she’d lost complete control of the situation?

And, of course, there was also that stupid prediction Mary Beth had made earlier about some guy knocking her feet out from under her. That had to be what was jinxing her now and turning her into some wide-eyed silly twit because some hunky soldier had paid a little attention to her.

Damn you, Mary Beth.

But thinking about her sister also made Maddie wonder what her poor twin’s fate had been. She was certain Mary Beth had to have seen the soldier jump out of the aircraft and seize her. Was it possible Mary Beth was already in the commander’s office now pleading for her release? Or had Mary Beth gone back to Roswell to enlist the help of local authorities?

Which might not be a good thing, Maddie reminded herself with a frown. The local sheriff probably wouldn’t be any more lenient about her trespassing than the captain had been. A convicted felon certainly wouldn’t be a prime candidate for a federally-funded research team. Although making the research team was the least of her worries at the moment. Thanks to her own stupidity, she could possibly end up with a new wardrobe of striped prison clothes and staring out at the world from behind bars.

Maddie was still mentally kicking herself for being such an idiot when Sergeant Baker stopped in front of a door, opened it and pushed her inside a darkened room.

She blinked when he switched on the light.

The captain’s living quarters were certainly nothing like the barracks Maddie had seen portrayed on TV and in the movies. “How does Captain Hawkins rate his own suite at this inn?” Maddie wondered aloud.

As usual, Baker refused to answer.

She took another look around the room. The accommodations certainly weren’t elaborate. The walls were cement blocks and painted a puke-green, and to her dismay there wasn’t a window in sight. The main room was large enough for a sitting area, but the love seat and matching recliner had seen better days. A sagging bookshelf to her left held a TV, VCR and what looked like a CD player. A metal table and two metal folding chairs sat on the opposite side of the room. There was also a small apartment-size refrigerator. Instead of the standard military-issue cot, Maddie could see a double bed in an adjoining room.

She assumed the closed door off the bedroom led to the captain’s private bath. And a bathroom was certainly something she could use at the moment. Not only was she covered in dust and grime from head to toe, but her scrapes and scratches shouldn’t go long without attention. The way her luck had been going, gangrene could set in at any moment.

Maddie glanced at her bodyguard. “Does Captain Hawkins have his own private bath?”

“Off the bedroom.”

“And may I use that facility?”

Baker nodded.

“Alone?”

Baker blushed.

“Don’t you need to search the bathroom first?” Maddie jeered. “Make sure I can’t shimmy out a window or something?”

She’d only been joking, but to her surprise Baker motioned her in the direction of the bathroom. Only when they were standing side by side and peering into the small bathroom did he nod his approval. “Help yourself,” Baker said with a goofy smile. “I didn’t think there were any windows in this old block building, but thanks for reminding me to check it out.”

“You aren’t welcome!” Maddie stomped inside the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. She could hear the sergeant chuckling to himself as the sound of his footsteps left the bedroom. It irritated her that the big buffoon thought the situation was funny, but at least he’d had the decency to allow her a little privacy. Reaching down, Maddie locked the bathroom door just to be safe, then stood staring at herself in the small mirror above the sink.

Completely covered in dirt, Maddie decided she looked like one of those old Vaudeville comedians in black face makeup.

“God, I’m a mess.” She bent forward and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. The sand that peppered the basin made her yearn for a hot shower. The thought of stripping naked in the captain’s private bathroom, however, made Maddie more than a little apprehensive. Especially with the off-the-wall scenarios that seemed to spring to mind every time she thought about the handsome devil.

Like now.

Maddie could picture herself waterlogged and withered after spending hours waiting naked under a spray of water that had long since grown cold. Waiting. Hoping. Praying her mysterious kidnapper would finally burst into the bathroom to see if she had somehow managed to escape. He would throw back the curtain and grin wickedly when she only halfheartedly tried to cover herself. And then he would step into the shower with her and pull her naked, quivering body…

You, my dear, are a certifiable nut case!

Hoping to cool herself off from that mental image, Maddie jerked a towel from the towel bar, wet it thoroughly, then mopped it slowly over her dust-splattered face. The amount of grime and dirt she was leaving behind on his own personal towel made her smile.

After cleansing her injuries as best she could with a basin-type bath, Maddie studied the medicine cabinet above the sink. She had never been one of those nosey people who secretly went through other people’s medicine cabinets.

But under the circumstances?

Well, it was the captain’s own fault she needed medical supplies, she reasoned.

Boldly reaching out, Maddie opened the door and peered inside. The usual male toiletries stared back at her. His toothbrush and toothpaste told her even a big, strong soldier like him was just as concerned about the threat of gingivitis as everyone else. There was a can of shaving foam and a fancy-looking razor for that heavy stubble she had noticed earlier. And he evidently preferred aftershave to cologne, though his brand wasn’t cheap; Ralph Lauren would have been proud. Picking up the bottle, Maddie’s intention was to take a quick sniff.

She froze the second she saw the box of condoms.

Shoving the bottle back in place, Maddie slammed the cabinet door and stood staring into the mirror wondering how such a promising day had turned crazy on such short notice.

Instead of aliens, an overzealous Air Force Captain had snatched her out of the desert, destroyed her precious film and was holding her captive in his own private living quarters. Yet, was she fearing for her own safety? Was she worrying that her abductor might be summoning up just cause to put her behind bars?

Nope. She wasn’t even thinking up ways she might strangle Captain Hawkins for all the trouble he had caused her. Instead Maddie’s newly liberated mind kept flirting with the possibility of how much fun it might be to wrangle him out of those camouflage fatigues purely for her own pleasure and amusement.

“Who are you?” Maddie demanded of her reflection.

She hurried from the bathroom when the woman Maddie no longer recognized sent back an imaginary wink from the captain’s bathroom mirror.

BRAD STEELED HIMSELF against the long stream of curse words coming from his commander’s bared lips. With a grimace, Brad said, “With your permission, sir, I’ll beef up security. Now that the sister has involved the local authorities, it’s only a matter of time until the media starts questioning whether we’re really out here on routine maneuvers as we claim.”

“Well, let them question all they want,” Gibbons bellowed. “Just don’t let anyone step foot on this base.”

Brad nodded, feeling completely chastised.

The old man, as he was respectfully called by the men who served under him, had asked for Brad specifically on this final assignment that would take Gibbons into retirement at the end of the year. Brad knew the request had been made mainly out of respect for his father who had saved Gibbons’s life in Vietnam before being killed himself in a surprise attack. Brad had only been six years old at the time, but he’d been old enough to vow that, in memory of his father, he would become one of the best helicopter pilots the United States Air Force had to offer.

At thirty-four, Brad had achieved that goal by never allowing anyone or anything stand in the way of his mission.

“How soon do you think we can demobilize and move this operation?” Gibbons spoke up, jarring Brad back from memories he usually kept at bay.

“Three days. Tops,” Brad told him, still saddened that thanks to him, Gibbons’s exit from the military wasn’t going to be an easy one. “I’m just not sure how we’ll go about getting the Black Ghost out of here with a bunch of reporters watching our every move.”

Gibbons dragged a hand over his weatherworn face before his black eyes flashed in Brad’s direction. Though now in his sixties, he still resembled the young officer in the old photograph sitting on his desk. It was a photo Gibbons took with him everywhere he went. A group of young pilots, including Brad’s father, stood with arms slung around each other’s shoulders, squinting into the sun. Brad’s eyes rested fondly on the picture of his dad for a moment, then back to the photo of Gibbons. Same alert eyes, Brad noted. Same crew cut, though now the old man’s hair was completely gray. Same ability, Brad knew, to make split-second decisions without so much as the blink of the eye.

“We don’t have much choice,” Gibbons finally said, diverting Brad’s attention away from the photo and back to him. “We’ll take the Black Ghost out of here the same way we had to bring that spy plane back from China when we got our ass in a crack. We’ll dismantle and ship the sucker one piece at a time.”

“I’m really sorry, sir. About everything,” Brad said with a sigh of resignation. “Unfortunately we’re in an age of instant communication. Now that the sister is in Roswell yelling alien abduction, every news crew in the nation will pick up the story.”

“Bastards,” Gibbons swore. “Always shoving a camera in somebody’s face. Hell-bent on sensationalism.”

“I hate to say it, but the public is just as much at fault,” Brad mused. “Look at all those reality shows that have become so popular on television today.”

“Well, your damn reality is going to be keeping that professor quiet until we can get the hell out of here,” Gibbons said, suddenly angry all over again. “I’d intended to threaten those women with serious charges and send them on their way, but that isn’t possible now.”

Brad tensed. “Exactly what are you saying, sir?”

Gibbons pounded his desk in his usual pay attention style. “I’m saying we’ll have to keep the professor here until we can move our operation. After that, she can talk to the media all she wants. Once the evidence is gone, there’ll be nothing left to confirm her story.”

Keep her? Brad’s mind yelled in protest.

But that was crazy. They were on a temporary assignment, camped out at an old base that was virtually vacant most of the time. They didn’t have any military police here, much less any type of jail cell where they could house his accidental prisoner.

“But, sir, that’s impossible. If we keep her, then all hell will surely break loose. The local sheriff is bound to call in the FBI.”

“I’ll make a few calls to Washington,” Gibbons said, obviously unconcerned about the FBI. “It’s the damn media and the local-yokels who’ll give us a problem.”

“But, sir…”

Gibbons pointed a stern finger in Brad’s direction, and Brad didn’t miss the menacing twinkle in the old man’s eye when he said, “The way I see it, you grabbed her. Now, you baby-sit her.”

Under different circumstances, Brad would have shouted hallelujah at such an appealing opportunity. Baby-sit her? Hell, yes, he’d like to baby-sit her if the timing was right. He’d give those pouting Southern Belle lips of hers something to pout about. Like tempting her and teasing her until she realized there were much more exciting things in life than chasing butterflies across the desert.

But now?

When their entire top secret mission was in jeopardy? How could he possibly baby-sit the professor and make sure the Black Ghost was safely out of harm’s way?

“But keep her where, sir?” Brad finally summoned the courage to ask. “We can’t take the chance of letting anyone else even know she’s here.”

“Didn’t you say you had Baker take her to your living quarters?”

“Well, yeah, but what do you expect me to do with her?”

“You’re asking me that question?” the old man said with a laugh. “You? Mr. Love ’em and Leave ’em is actually telling me he doesn’t know how to keep a lady occupied for three short days? Cut the crap, boy. I know better.”

Brad flinched. Maybe he did have a reputation with the ladies. If a lady wanted a friend, he could be a loyal one. If she wanted a fun date, he was her man. A little sex? Sure, he could be persuaded to rise to the occasion.

However, it wasn’t likely Dr. Morgan would be interested in him, period. She was already fit to be tied over him destroying her film. But if Brad had to inform her that the two of them were going to be confined to his living quarters for the next three days? Hell, he’d come closer getting to first base with an angry barracuda than he would with the comely professor.

“We’re not talking about some lady I’m taking on a date here, sir. We’re talking about me keeping a highly educated woman in my own bedroom against her will. Aren’t you concerned about the lawsuit she’s bound to bring against us when we do let her go?”

Gibbons grinned. “What’s the matter? Afraid the professor is too smart for your usual lady-killer charm?”

Brad frowned. “I’m saying this isn’t your typical situation.”

“Damn right this isn’t your typical situation!” Gibbons boomed. “So the typical rules don’t apply. Got it?”

“But, sir…”

“Handle it, Hawkins.”

“How? Keep the professor handcuffed to me for the next three days?”

His outburst sparked another threatening gleam in the old man’s eye. “Hand me my briefcase.”

Brad obeyed his order. Gibbons searched through his briefcase for several seconds, then eventually produced a set of steel-gray handcuffs. Brad caught them easily when Gibbons threw the cuffs in his direction. A second later, Gibbons tossed Brad a key.

“I knew those would come in handy one day,” Gibbons said with a lopsided grin. “I took them from a snotty M.P. in Saigon one night when he tried to arrest me and your father for disturbing the peace. We’d just flown fourteen helicopter missions straight through the bowels of hell. We both decided no M.P. with a cushy security job was going to do anything but give us the respect we deserved. I took his cuffs away from him, and your father stuffed him in a trash can outside the bar. It still makes me laugh when I think about it.”

Brad wasn’t laughing. “And you really expect me to use these?”

“What part do you not understand, Hawkins? Handle it.”

“Sir…”

“That’s an order, Captain Hawkins. I don’t care how you do it. Just do it. Dismissed.”

Defeated, Brad saluted the man he had always called Uncle Joe in private. The man who had become a surrogate father to him after his father was killed. The man who had been his mentor, his confidant, his pal.

The same man who was grinning back at Brad now with an openly sadistic smile.

“ISN’T IT STANDARD procedure that all prisoners get at least one phone call?” Maddie asked Sergeant Baker who was now standing in front of the only door in the room with his legs wide apart and his hands clasped behind his back in a typical guard-type pose.

Still guarding her, of course, the accused spy whose only mistake had been to climb a fence in pursuit of an elusive butterfly that could have possibly furthered her career.

“You’ll have to take that up with Hawk when he returns,” Mr. G.I. Joe-cool finally answered.

“Hawk?”

“Captain Hawkins. It’s his nickname. But not just because of his last name,” Sergeant Baker added with a sly grin. “We call him Hawk because there isn’t a chick in anybody’s coop safe when Hawk’s around. The hens simply can’t resist him, if you know what I mean.”

Maddie felt her own feathers ruffle at that comment. She even clucked her tongue a few times before the lie slipped out in protest, “Then I guess I’m not your typical hen, Sergeant Baker. Because Captain Hawkins doesn’t appeal to me at all.”

Baker’s smirk challenged her statement. “Then I’ll be sure and pass it along that Hawk has finally met his match.”

Maddie was ready to cackle out a plea that Sergeant Baker do no such thing, but the door suddenly opened and the handsome hen thief himself stepped inside the room.

She was on her feet in a flash.

And how long had it been now? One hour? Two? Looking down at her watch, Maddie was shocked to see it had now been four long hours since she had unwillingly lost her freedom.

“I’m worried about my sister,” Maddie was quick to tell him before he had time to say a word. “And I’m sure she’s frantic wondering what happened to me. Now, please, Captain Hawkins. Take me to your commander so we can get this whole mess straightened out.”

His answer was to stroll across the room and force what appeared to be a neatly folded pair of camouflage pants and a T-shirt with the same irregular markings into her hands. On top of the T-shirt sat a new toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a small bottle of shampoo and a brush and comb.

“Standard government issue,” he said matter-offactly. “These clothes were the smallest I could find. I’m sure you’d like to clean up and get rid of some of that dust and sand.”

Refusing to let an act of kindness deter her in the least, Maddie looked down at the bundle, then back up at him. “You seem to be under some misguided notion I’m going to need these. But I assure you, as soon as I get to see your commander that won’t be the case.”

He accepted the bundle when she pushed it back in his direction, but they continued to face each other like two gunslingers prepared for a shoot-out. Maddie stared at him. He stared back. She tried to step around him and head for the door. He purposely blocked her path. With only inches left between them, Maddie had nowhere to look but up. And the second she did, she became lost in the dark brown depths of his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Morgan, Commander Gibbons isn’t available at the moment.”

“He isn’t?” Maddie managed to squeak.

She didn’t object when he took her gently by the elbow and began leading her away from the door and in the direction of the love seat. Just the touch of his hand was enough to make her knees weak. The faint smell of his aftershave didn’t do much for her addled thoughts, either. In fact, Maddie was mentally fabricating a letter of complaint to Mr. Ralph Lauren in protest of the intoxicating effects his products had on women, when she glanced back over her shoulder at Sergeant Baker’s grinning face.

In an instant, the words hawk and henhouse sobered her faster than a bucket of ice water.

“Now listen, Captain,” she said, pulling away from him in the nick of time. “Like you told me earlier, we can do this easy, or we can do it hard. It’s your choice. But I am going to see this Commander Gibbons one way or the other. Is that understood?”

He had the nerve to laugh.

“You think that’s funny?” Maddie demanded, shaking her finger in his direction. “You think you can hold me against my will, and I won’t march right out of here the first chance I get?”

He didn’t bother answering her question. Instead he turned to his buddy and said, “Why don’t you head over to the mess hall, Baker. I’m sure Dr. Morgan is hungry. Pick up a few sandwiches, some fruit and anything else you can find. And give us at least an hour alone. We need to have a little talk.”

Maddie sent an anxious glance after her bodyguard when he disappeared through the door. “What now, Captain Hawkins?” she asked with false bravado. “Is this where you send away any witnesses so you can rough me up? Are you going to force me to admit I’m some international spy when I’m not? Use some type of Chinese water torture, maybe? Try some shock therapy on me?”

Better yet, why don’t you just kiss me to death?

Maddie panicked. She couldn’t have these thoughts now. Not with him standing less than ten feet away! Still, her mind kept yelling I’ll admit to anything, for just one kiss. I’ll admit to being a spy. I’ll even admit to being a pistol-toting gun moll. You name the role. I’ll play it!

He kept looking at her so strangely Maddie feared she had actually spoken the words aloud. She breathed a thankful sigh of relief when he slowly shook his head and said, “You’ve seen too many old war movies if you really expect me to use any type of torture on you, Dr. Morgan.”

You’re torturing me now, just looking in my direction!

He walked calmly to the opposite side of the room and placed the clothing on the table. Then he reached inside the small refrigerator and pulled out two cans of soda before turning back to face her. “I think you’d better sit down for this conversation.”

Maddie accepted the soda, but not his suggestion. “I’ll stand, thank you,” she told him, deciding it might be safer if she stayed on her feet. Besides, she wasn’t taking any chances. Now that her usually suppressed libido had assumed a life of its own, something as innocent as sitting on the love seat might quickly turn into something else. Something like her stretching out seductively in a come-on pose and beckoning him to follow.

When he seated himself in the recliner a safe distance away, Maddie felt like cheering.

“First, I want to apologize,” he said, never taking his eyes from her face. “I’m sorry I had to destroy your film.”

He caught Maddie off guard with that statement. Especially since she could tell he was sincere. There was no trace of mockery hiding in those dark brown eyes of his. No hidden agenda. No game playing. No deceit.

“Apology accepted,” Maddie told him. She assumed his apology meant she was no longer a spy suspect. “I owe you an apology, too. For climbing that fence and for causing you all this trouble. And if there’s a fine for trespassing, Captain Hawkins, I’ll gladly pay it. But I can’t stress enough how important it is that I’m released as soon as possible. If I’m detained much longer I could lose any chance of finding—”

He cut her off before she could finish. “I’m sorry, Dr. Morgan, but there are a few complications you don’t understand.”

“What kind of complications?” Maddie asked suspiciously.

By the time he got to the top secret part, Maddie deeply regretted her question.




3


BRAD HAD KNOWN HE WOULD BE taking a big gamble if he told his prisoner the truth. In fact, under different circumstances he could have even been facing a court martial for divulging classified information. But like the old man had said himself, this wasn’t your typical situation. Typical rules, therefore, simply did not apply.

And that had been the deciding factor for Brad to place all the cards right out on the table. They were caught up in a bizarre situation. If he wanted her full cooperation, Brad knew he needed to tell the professor the truth. Instinct told him her own integrity wouldn’t let him down.

By the time he finally finished his lengthy explanation, Brad noticed she had wandered over to the love seat after all, and was now sitting stiffly on the edge of her seat with a panicked expression on her face. And then, from out of the blue, came the overwhelming urge to comfort her; to take her gently into his arms and kiss away the lines of worry that were now marring her beautiful face.

Whoa! Talk about a red alert.

He wasn’t the comforting type. Sure, she’d been handed a raw deal, but she’d have to suck it up and deal with it. Besides, only seconds earlier comforting her had been the last thing on his mind. He’d have to be dead not to find her attractive. Earlier, as he’d watched her pace around the room, all he could think about was wanting her naked. Plain and simple. Naked he could handle.

But being tempted to comfort her?

That was scary.

Purging any thoughts of comforting her from his mind, Brad said, “I hope you’ll agree protecting national security takes precedence over the research you were doing on your butterfly.”

She nodded, but continued sitting on the edge of the love seat with a vacant stare.

“And not to make light of things, but this is one of those situations where you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

She glanced in his direction this time. “I don’t agree with that statement,” she said defiantly. “In fact, I think I was in the right place at the right time, or I never would have found the butterfly I was searching for.”

“We could argue the point for hours, but it wouldn’t change the situation,” Brad tossed back. “The fact still remains protecting this mission has to take top priority.”

She frowned. “Tell me, Captain. If this mission is so top secret, how did you get permission to tell me all of the details?”

Brad smiled, having anticipated she would ask that very question. “What was the point in insulting your intelligence? You’ve already seen the Black Ghost. You’ve even ridden in it. You had to realize it wasn’t your everyday run-of-the-mill helicopter.”

She seemed pleased with his answer. “You’re right. And then when you destroyed my film…”

“You realized it was the helicopter I was trying to protect?” Brad finished for her.

She nodded. “I suspected as much.”

“I was counting on the fact that if I explained the seriousness of the situation, you’d be willing to give me your full cooperation,” he added for good measure.

“Well, of course, I’ll give you my full cooperation now that I know the circumstances,” she said, sounding insulted that he might think otherwise. “I am a responsible citizen, Captain Hawkins, despite my one bad decision to climb that fence.”

“Good. Because I’m going to need your full cooperation. And that’s an understatement.”

She sent him a blank stare. “Do I dare ask why?”

Brad tossed his empty soda can in a small waste-basket sitting by the recliner and left his chair. Walking toward the bookcase, he hoped what little ground he’d been gaining over the last few minutes wouldn’t be lost when the full magnitude of the situation was finally revealed to the woman with whom he was destined to be spending the next three days.

However, just to be on the safe side, Brad purposely sent her an apologetic look when he picked up the television remote and reluctantly punched the button.

MADDIE GASPED WHEN A close-up of Mary Beth instantly filled the screen.

“Thank you for being so patient with me,” Mary Beth told the handsome TV reporter in what Maddie immediately recognized as her sister’s theatrical voice. “I’m still shaking so badly, I can hardly sit in this chair.” As proof, Mary Beth held out her trembling hands for the reporter to see.

Maddie frowned.

“Well, of course, you’ve been shaken up,” the reporter sympathized as he reached out to pat those poor shaking fingers. “Who wouldn’t be after what you’ve been through?”

Mary Beth dabbed daintily at her eyes with a tissue one of the adoring police officers standing beside her suddenly produced, then sent another pitiful look directly at the camera.

“For those of you just tuning in, we’re here at the police station in downtown Roswell this evening with actress and model, Mary Beth Morgan, who most of you will recognize as the Evershine Girl,” the reporter said.

“The Evershine Girl?” Hawkins repeated, looking back in Maddie’s direction. “Hey, I remember that commercial.”

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you and every other man in the country who happened to be tuned in to the Super Bowl last year.”

Though his eyes turned back to the screen, Maddie knew that damn commercial was already running like a film strip through the captain’s head. Mary Beth riding out of the fog on a coal-black stallion. Steam pluming from the horse’s nostrils with every breath it took. Mary Beth holding on to its long black mane like Lady Godiva, with nothing to cover her nakedness but long blond ringlets of her damn Evershine hair.

In fact, it wouldn’t have surprised Maddie if the company had gone bankrupt from a legion of lawsuits filed by all those guys who probably choked on their tortilla chips when Mary Beth rode nude across their television screen.

“Was your sister really nude in that commercial?” he had the nerve to ask.

Maddie held her hand up to silence him when the reporter patted Mary Beth supportively on the shoulder and said, “I know this is very difficult for you, Miss Morgan.” His sympathy prompted another sniffle from Mary Beth. “But could you please tell our viewers exactly what happened a few hours ago on the outskirts of Roswell?”

When the reporter pushed the microphone in her direction, Mary Beth took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut, trying, Maddie suspected, to produce a genuine tear. It worked. The camera zoomed in to watch the droplet roll down her sister’s flawless cheek.

“I was with my sister, Dr. Madeline Morgan, whom I might add is one of the most respected entomologists in her field,” Mary Beth told her viewers, making no effort to wipe the fake tear away.

“And…” the reporter urged.

“We were out in the desert searching for…” A few false sobs erupted before she added, “An endangered species of butterfly. A species my sister is absolutely passionate about. One she even hoped to save by proving that they did exist right here in southeastern New Mexico.”

There were more pats on the hand, more eye dabbing before she added, “And Maddie thought she saw one. The butterfly, I mean. That’s when she left the Jeep.”

Hawkins glanced back in her direction again. “Maddie, huh? Yeah, Maddie suits you much better than Madeline.”

Maddie left the love seat long enough to drop her own empty soda can into the trash, then came to a stop beside him. “I’m sure Hawk suits you better, too.”

He laughed. “Sergeant Baker has a big mouth.”

“Well, I’m one chick Sergeant Baker won’t have to worry about,” Maddie said right back. “My hen-house is hawk proof.”

He sent her a we’ll-just-see-about-that grin, but the reporter spoke up again and turned their attention back to the television screen.

“Please go on,” the reporter encouraged.

Mary Beth’s lip did a little quiver before she looked straight into the camera again. “And that’s when I saw it.”

“The spacecraft, you mean?” the reporter clarified.

Mary Beth nodded, her eyes growing wide in an expressive fear mode. “It was huge,” she whispered. “Silent. Deadly. It swooped down so fast Maddie never knew what hit her. I couldn’t do a thing to help my poor sister. All I could do was scream.”

When Mary Beth dramatically covered her face with her hands and burst into tears, Maddie said, “I’m going to kill her.”

He sent her a puzzled look. “Kill her? But you said your sister would be hysterical about this.”

“Yes, but I know my twin sister. And what you see now is nothing more than a fine piece of Mary Beth Morgan acting. Probably her finest piece of work to date, if you really want to know the truth.”

“Twin?” he echoed in disbelief.

“Identical twin,” Maddie clarified with a frown that only got deeper when Brad looked directly at her chest then back at the screen as if he certainly didn’t believe her story.

Of course, she didn’t know why she would expect him to be any different. Like all of the other men hovering around Mary Beth on the screen, the dear captain had obviously been dumbstruck by the ample cleavage Mary Beth didn’t mind flaunting. And why did she care if the man standing beside her was ogling her sister’s partially exposed size 36D bosom? He was no one she’d ever be interested in, at least not seriously. A man nicknamed Hawk because of the way he swooped down on innocent women? Forget about it!

His look was questioning. “So? You don’t think your sister really believes you were carried off by aliens?”

“Of course, she doesn’t!” Maddie said a little too sharply. “Mary Beth’s an actress. She’s not an imbecile.”

“Then why is she making all the fuss?”

Maddie threw her hands up in the air. “Who knows? Maybe she was afraid to admit I was trespassing on government property. Maybe she thought if she told the police I’d been carried off by aliens they’d be more willing to take up the search. Maybe…”

“Maybe she couldn’t resist getting her own fifteen minutes of fame?” he threw in.

Maddie looked back at the screen. The thought had crossed her mind. “Well, she’s certainly getting that, isn’t she?”

“She certainly is,” Captain Hawk agreed. “And that’s why you can’t be released.”

Maddie paled. “What do you mean I can’t be released?”

He jerked his thumb toward the screen again. “That sister of yours has the entire country convinced you were carried off by aliens. We have no choice but to keep you here until we can demobilize our entire operation.”

“But how can keeping me here possibly solve anything?” Maddie cried out. “The only way to clear this up is to let me go back to Roswell and prove I’m safe.”

“I’m sorry, but we just can’t risk it.”

“Risk what?” Maddie demanded.

He took a deep breath. “To put it bluntly, we can’t risk you cracking under the pressure of the media.” His eyes softened a bit when he added, “But you have my word. As soon as we get the helicopter out of here, I’ll personally see you’re returned safely back to Roswell.”

“But how long will that take?”

“At least three days.”

“Three days?” Maddie repeated.

That would give Mary Beth three full days in front of the cameras. Three days to play her grief-stricken sister act to the hilt. Three days with the entire world convinced that Dr. Madeline Morgan, respected entomologist, had fallen prey to renegade aliens….

And only when her entire life started crumbling right before her eyes, did Maddie quickly turn to face him. Grabbing the front of his T-shirt, Maddie literally dragged him two steps in her direction. “Are you nuts? You have to let me out of here! This is my life we’re talking about.”

BRAD TURNED OFF THE TV and pried her fingers from his shirt, then led his shaken prisoner back in the direction of the love seat. In spite of the lecture he had given himself earlier, he couldn’t resist placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. He winced inwardly, however, when she leaned against him for support, pressing her warm, curvaceous body against him.

You can’t get personally involved with this woman, Brad kept telling himself as he guided her back to the love seat and took a seat beside her. He managed to ease his arm from around her shoulder, but she only grabbed it again and sent him a pleading look.

“Don’t you realize my career could be ruined if you don’t let me out of here?”

Brad almost missed the question. She kept squeezing his arm, making him imagine for a moment those same slender fingers caressing his back. Then clutching his shoulders. Her nails finally digging in, signaling he was close to pushing her up and over the next wave of passion.

“And what about my poor parents?” she worried, sending another anguished look in his direction. “While one daughter is trying for an obvious Emmy nomination, my poor parents will be worrying that daughter number two is being dissected by little green men from outer space!”

When she finally let go of his arm, some of the blood that had been directed elsewhere slowly returned to his brain, allowing him to respond. “You’re right,” Brad agreed. “This is a very unfortunate situation to be in, but…”

“Unfortunate?” she wailed, jumping up from the loveseat again. “It’s much worse than unfortunate! If you don’t let me out of here, I’m going to be a worldwide laughing stock! Everything I’ve worked for my entire life could go right down the drain.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but…”

“Then if you won’t let me leave, at least let me call Mary Beth at the hotel and get this whole thing straightened out!”

Again, Brad shook his head. “I’m sorry. I really am. But it’s totally out of my hands now.”

Her voice grew even more pleading. “Then let me see Commander Gibbons. Please. Give me the chance to tell him my side of the story.”

Brad squirmed at that particular request. He could tell she was finally beginning to see the big picture for what it actually was.

“Wait a minute,” she said slowly, her eyes narrowing. “I’m never going to see Commander Gibbons, am I?”

Brad didn’t answer.

“No. Of course, I’m not going to see him,” she said, slapping her forehead with the heel of her hand. “This is going to be ‘I never had sex with that woman’ all over again, isn’t it? If your commander never sees me, then he can technically deny knowing I was ever brought to this base.”

Brad knew his guilty look said it all.

“But what if I don’t cooperate?” she threatened. “What if I don’t keep this helicopter of yours a secret when you do let me go?”

“It won’t matter then,” Brad said simply. “It will be your word against the United States Air Force. And the more you force the issue, the less credible you’ll become. Especially since your sister has already gone overboard with her alien abduction story.”

If looks could kill, Brad knew the Air Force would have been making arrangements for his full military funeral.

“So, you’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?” she huffed. “You’ll discredit me and ruin my reputation even further if I expose your top secret helicopter. And you’ll claim my sister is just some weirdo with a screw loose.”

“I wouldn’t exactly put it like that.”

Brad was on his feet now. She was getting all riled up again and he needed to keep her as calm as possible. He tried to take her hand so he could coax her back to the love seat, but she quickly smacked his hand away.

“And stop trying to pull your ridiculous henhouse magic on me. It won’t work.”

Wanna bet? Brad thought, and to test her, he took another step in her direction. He smiled inwardly when her eyes suddenly grew wide with concern.

Yes, his military training had taught him well. He had always been good at finding his adversary’s weak point, though he found it rather funny that a woman with a degree in entomology turned into Little Miss Muffet when he got too close, acting as if he were some spider trying to frighten her away. Her obvious concern about his intentions, however, would be his trump card in keeping her under control. He would keep her flustered. Off balance. Keep her mind off everything else by making her deal with him one-on-one. Making her do the one thing Dr. Madeline Morgan obviously didn’t have an impressive degree in: interacting with the opposite sex.

“I’m always open to suggestions,” Brad teased, reaching out to run his finger along the curve of her chin. “Why don’t you tell me what will work to put you in a friendlier mood?”

“Your head on a silver platter, maybe?” she said and slapped his hand away again.

Brad only grinned. “Sorry, but you’re stuck with me. And if you’d lighten up a little, you’d realize we could have a pretty amazing time playing house together over the next three days.”

PLAYING HOUSE TOGETHER? While my entire life is going down the toilet? Maddie was so shocked by such an absurd suggestion words completely failed her. Unfortunately her wanna-be playmate took her silence as an invitation to step forward again.

And that’s when Maddie knew she really was in trouble.

He was standing so close she was sure he could hear her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She tried to move away, and she would have, had he not surprised her by reaching out to gently push a wayward strand of hair away from her face.

“So? How about it?” he asked, his voice husky and dangerous. “Wanna call a truce and play house?”

Maddie stiffened when one of his powerful arms slipped around her waist. He pulled her to him, forcing her to acknowledge every inch of his rock-hard body that was pressed against her own. A little afraid, but deliciously excited, for some reason pushing him away never entered Maddie’s mind.

And from that moment on, she was helpless.

She was powerless.

She was nothing but another willing chicken, after all, surrendering shamelessly to the ruthless hawk who now had her in his more than capable clutches.

Closing her eyes in breathless anticipation, Maddie waited for the kiss of a lifetime. His warm breath inched closer, teasing her, tempting her, and then finally cheating her when a loud knock on the door produced not a kiss, but a curse from his lips.

“Let go of me,” Maddie demanded when her eyes snapped back open. She did try to push him away this time, but Hawk held her against him long enough to whisper, “Make yourself at home, Sweet Maddie. This is just a sample of the fun we can have together over the next three days.”

BRAD WALKED OUT INTO THE hallway and closed the door behind him. He turned to face his copilot and found Baker holding a tray loaded down with enough food to feed half the men who were staying on the base.

“Anyone question you about the food?”

Baker, who was six-four and tipped the scales somewhere around two-fifty, looked down at the tray and laughed. “Are you kidding? Everybody knows I can eat this much food for a snack.”

“Good.” Brad ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. “Because we’re going to have an extra mouth to feed until we can demob and get the Black Ghost out of here.”

Baker sent a worried look at the closed door. “You mean the old man plans to keep her here on base?”

Brad nodded.

“Where?”

“Right where she is.”

“She’s going to bunk with you?” Baker barked in disbelief.

Brad frowned. “Yeah. You got a problem with that?”

“You’re the one who’s going to have a problem with it, Hawk,” Baker said, frowning back. “Hell, man, you might as well be sleeping with the enemy.”

Brad stared at the man who had been his closest friend since they were in boot camp together. They’d seen their share of good times over the years. Chased the ladies together. Held fast in their belief that the Air Force did and always would come first in their lives. But this was the first time Baker had ever voiced a concern that Brad couldn’t hold his own where a woman was concerned.

“What are you saying? That you don’t think I can be confined with a woman and keep my pants zipped?”

“It’s not your zipper I’m worried about, Hawk. There are ladies you play around with and ladies you don’t. This lady is your worst nightmare. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up chasing her right up until the time she catches you.”

Brad laughed. “That isn’t going to happen and you know it.”

Baker didn’t seem convinced. “Trust me about this, Hawk. Get this woman under your skin and the next thing you know, you’ll be back in civilian clothes and hurrying home every night so you can help out with the kids.”

Brad really had a good laugh that time. Him? Running home to a wife and kids? Not a chance. He’d made himself a promise when he joined the Air Force that he’d never make the same mistake his father did. Brad knew first hand how devastated he and his mother had been when his father was killed. His mother never really recovered. The doctors claimed her heart was weak, but Brad knew better. Her heart had been broken. And rather than hand down that same legacy himself, a wife and a family would never have any place in his future.

Jabbing a finger in the big man’s chest, Brad said, “Stop worrying about me and keep our prisoner confined while I go check on the Black Ghost. No one knows she’s here but you, me and Gibbons, and we need to keep it that way. But she’s determined to get out of here, Baker. Don’t let that happen. Got it?”

Baker sent another worried look toward the door. “Why don’t I go check on the Black Ghost, and you stay here?”

Brad laughed. “What’s the matter? Afraid you’ll fall under the professor’s spell?”

“Hell, no,” Baker grumbled. “But you weren’t the one trying to hold her down earlier. She’s stronger than she looks.”

“You have at least one hundred and thirty pounds on her,” Brad scoffed. “I think you can handle it.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Baker argued. “I’m telling you, Hawk, she’s a real handful.”

Believe me, she’s more than a handful, Brad thought with a frown, remembering the feel of her ample bosom pressed against his chest. He hated to admit it, but Baker was right about the danger he’d be facing over the next few days. Especially if he stuck to his plan to keep her off balance by coming on to her. There was always the possibility a plan like that one could backfire. But he assured himself he could handle the situation. “Stop stalling and get back inside. Someone might get suspicious if you’re guarding my door.”

Baker groaned, but finally nodded in agreement.

Brad gave him a playful salute and headed down the hallway. “Have fun,” he tossed back over his shoulder with a wink.




4


SLUMPED ON THE LOVE SEAT, munching from a bag of popcorn Baker had brought back from the mess hall, Maddie ignored the big gorilla who was again standing guard in front of the door. She was still stewing over the disastrous little tête-à-tête that had occurred earlier with the Hawk, though Maddie mainly blamed herself for letting her guard down. Which she positively wouldn’t do again, thank you very much!

Liar! the little voice inside her head yelled out with a snicker.

Okay. So maybe she wasn’t as strong as she thought she was. Maybe it would take everything she had to keep from clucking her silly head off when Mr. Let’s-Play-House walked back into the room. She was, after all, just a normal, healthy, still on the back side of thirty female.

Normal?

Okay. So maybe she wasn’t exactly your typical twenty-something female. She could admit that. She was dedicated to a fault. Focused more on her career than she was on life in general. But she still dated occasionally. She had to earn some points for dating.

Occasionally?

Okay. So maybe rarely was a better word. But she did date. And she did like men. She did! She just never had any time to fit them into her life.

What about the next three days?

Maddie pushed that question to the back of her mind, and continued to channel surf through a multitude of cable stations. She jumped to her feet when Headline News flashed her faculty picture, taken straight from the McCray-Hadley annual on the screen.

All Maddie could do was stare in horror.

She wasn’t sure if her terror was because they had chosen to display her absolutely most dreadful and unflattering picture of all time, or because Mary Beth’s idiocy had now been picked up by national television news.

“An all-points bulletin has now been issued for Dr. Madeline Morgan, a professor of entomology at McCray-Hadley College, one of the most acclaimed private colleges in the South,” the pretty news-woman said with a serious look when the camera switched from Maddie’s horrid picture back to her. “As reported earlier, Dr. Morgan was allegedly abducted earlier today by an unidentified aircraft near Roswell, New Mexico. Anyone with any valid information on the whereabouts of Dr. Morgan is urged to contact their local police authorities….”

“Can you believe this insanity?” Maddie cried out, prompting only a sheepish look from her bodyguard.

“And joining us now direct from a fraternity house near the McCray-Hadley campus is our own reporter….”

“Dear God,” Maddie moaned as a live shot of the Alpha Beta Pi fraternity house came into view.

“We’re here in Morgan City, Georgia, tonight,” the handsome reporter told the world, “but so far we’ve been unsuccessful in getting any statement from the dean of McCray-Hadley, or from Dr. Melvin Fielding, noted entomologist and current Department Chair, who is also Dr. Morgan’s immediate supervisor.”

“Of course, they don’t have time to make a statement, you idiot!” Maddie yelled at the screen. “They’re too busy trying to figure out how they’re gracefully going to fire me.”

“But we have been fortunate to locate several of Dr. Morgan’s students,” he added and the camera panned to a group of grinning students waving madly at the camera. One boy mouthed “Hi Mom” before the reporter extended the microphone in his direction.

“Are you a student of Dr. Morgan’s?”

“Yeah, man. She’s a really happening teacher.”

“Too bad your grades aren’t just as happening,” Maddie grumbled, digging into her popcorn bag again.

“Do any of you think it’s really possible Dr. Morgan has been kidnapped by aliens?” the pushy reporter inquired.

As luck would have it, a student known as “Reefer” for a very good reason jumped forward to answer that question. “Wow, man. I’m totally psyched over the possibility Dr. Morgan really has been abducted by aliens,” Reefer said in his usual far-out way of speaking. “Of all the people in the world, the aliens chose one of our very own faculty members right here at McCray-Hadley to represent our entire planet. It’s totally awesome, man. Totally awesome.”

“And do you have any speculation about why Dr. Morgan would have been chosen, if, in fact, she has been abducted by aliens?” the reporter said with a sinister smile that could have easily been caused by the overwhelming aroma that was usually reeking from Reefer’s wrinkled clothing.

“You bet I do,” Reefer said with a completely serious expression. “Butterflies, man. Dr. Morgan knows all there is to know about butterflies. Ask anyone on campus. That’s how she earned her nickname. Madam Butterfly.”

Maddie felt like she’d been slapped. Nickname? Reefer was the one with the nickname! Not her. Surely not her!

“Well, you’ve heard it here folks,” the reporter said with a lopsided grin as he practically shoved Reefer back into the crowd. “Students at McCray-Hadley are certainly wishing the best for Dr. Madeline Morgan, who is known around campus as Madam Butterfly.”

Maddie switched off the TV, smashed the popcorn bag with her fist and threw the remote control across the room. It landed on the love seat with such force it bounced several times, then toppled to the floor.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Maddie kept saying as she paced around the room. “This morning I was a respected entomologist, on the verge of the biggest discovery of my career, and in the blink of an eye a snide reporter on national news has the audacity to refer to me as Madam Butterfly!”

Maddie did a little more pacing, tossed the bag into the trash, then tentatively looked around the room for something to destroy. Her intentions must have been reflected in her frown, because her bodyguard suddenly cleared his throat to get her attention.

“I wouldn’t let that reporter bother me if I were you, Dr. Morgan. This will all blow over soon enough,” Baker said calmly from his post at the door.

Maddie whirled around to face him, hoping he couldn’t detect the wheels that had also started whirling around inside her head. She hesitated for a second, and then she said, “You know, Sergeant Baker, you’re absolutely right. Thanks for helping me put things into perspective.” Maddie sent him her most brilliant smile.

He seemed surprised, but he smiled back. Then he shrugged. Then he did a little shuffle from one foot to the other, more than a little embarrassed under her praise. “Hey, don’t mention it.”

Gotcha! Maddie thought. And though she certainly wasn’t proud of herself for turning on a big dose of feminine charm, Maddie knew she had to get back to Roswell before her career was so badly ruined she’d never recover.

“You poor, poor, man,” Maddie said, forcing herself to even bat her eyelashes a few times. “I’ve been so focused on my own problems, I never stopped to think how tired you must be standing at the door hour after hour.”

Baker stood up a little straighter and puffed his massive chest out a bit further, if that were possible. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“Don’t be so modest.” Maddie walked across the room toward the table. “The least I can do is bring you a sandwich. I’m sure Captain Hawkins doesn’t care if you eat something, as long as you guard the door.”

Baker licked his lips, watching as Maddie rifled through the contents on the tray. “That’s okay.” But there was a lot of uncertainty in his voice when he added, “I’ll get something later.”

Maddie waved a tasty-looking ham and cheese sub in his direction. “This is what I had earlier. And believe me, it was scrumptious.”

“Well, I am kinda hungry,” Baker admitted, just as Maddie hoped he would.

“And what about a soda to go with your sandwich?” Maddie asked in the sweetest voice she could muster.

“Yeah, that would be great,” Baker said, grinning back in appreciation.

Maddie withdrew a can of soda from the small fridge, popped open the top, then walked toward Baker with what she hoped was a pleasant smile on her face. “Here you go,” she said when she handed over the sandwich, but she purposely let go of the can before he could take it.

The contents splashed all over him.

Baker automatically bent down, grabbing for the can, and when he did, Maddie gave him a push with everything she had. Caught completely off guard, Goliath hit the floor with a thud.

Maddie never looked back.

She yanked the door open and headed down the hallway at a breakneck speed that would have put any Olympic sprinter to shame. Which way? Maddie kept asking herself frantically. The long hallway stopped at an intersection up ahead. Baker had brought her in from the left, through an exit door that would only lead her back outside to the helicopter pad. But if she went right, where would she be? Deciding her only choice was to take that chance, she turned right at the last second.

Colliding head-on with Hawk gave Maddie a glimpse of how her insect friends felt when they didn’t see the windshield until it was too late.

The impact bounced her backward like a rubber ball and landed her flat on her back. By the time she pushed herself up on her elbows and stole back her breath, both Hawk and Baker were standing above her.

Neither seemed amused.

“Dammit, Hawk, she tricked me,” Baker explained.

Hawk didn’t answer. Instead both men reached down simultaneously, hooked Maddie under each arm, and literally carried her back down the hallway. Once back inside her prison, Maddie was plopped down in the recliner before Hawk uttered a word.

“Give me your shoes,” Captain Hawk ordered.

“I most certainly will not!”

He bent down and had Maddie’s hiking boots off faster than if she’d been wearing a pair of slippers.

“Take these with you. I’m in for the night,” he told Baker who wasted no time grabbing her boots and making a hasty exit out the door.

Bracing herself for the lecture she knew was coming, Captain Hawkins didn’t disappoint her. Coming to a stop directly in front of her chair, he glared down at her with his hands at his waist. “You think this is some kind of a game, don’t you?”

“Game?” Maddie jumped up to face him in her stocking feet. “My entire life is being ruined, you’re holding me against my will, and you have the nerve to ask me if I think this is a game?”

They glared at each other for several seconds as if the brief intimacy they’d shared earlier never happened. Maddie was too worried about her career to even think about the kiss that almost transpired between them, and judging from his serious expression, Captain Hawk wasn’t in a playful little mood, either.

He surprised her when he said, “You’re right. You are the one who has the most to lose in this situation. That’s why I decided a call to your sister might not be such a bad idea.”

Maddie couldn’t believe her eyes when he pulled a cell phone from the pocket of the jacket he was now wearing.

“Get your sister to call off the search,” he instructed. “Tell her you’re okay, but nothing else. Understood?”

When Maddie nodded, he asked, “Where is she staying?”

“The Hampton Inn. Room 402,” Maddie told him, then held her breath when he called information for the number.

He checked his watch before he dialed the hotel. “It’s almost midnight, so it should be safe to make the call. Make sure she’s alone. If she isn’t, hang up.”

Maddie nodded in agreement again.

“Room 402,” he said when the hotel operator answered, and Maddie eagerly took the phone when he handed it over. He was standing so close, Maddie decided she’d be wise to follow his instructions to the letter. The second Mary Beth answered, Maddie said, “Are you alone?”

“Maddie? Is that you?” came the startled cry on the other end of the line.

“Answer me, Mary Beth. Are you alone?”

“Well, of course, I’m alone. My God, Maddie, are you okay? How much trouble are you in?”

“Not nearly as much trouble as you’re going to be in when I get my hands on you,” Maddie seethed.

“Now wait just a minute,” Mary Beth protested. “I’ve been worried to death about you. Where are you, anyway? Tell me! I’ll come and get you this minute.”

“Come and get me?” Maddie shouted. “I’ve been carried off by aliens, remember?”

“Okay, okay. I admit things have gotten out of hand. But you weren’t the one being chased across the desert by jeep full of soldiers with bazookas on their shoulders.”

“God, Mary Beth, how could you do this to me?” Maddie broke in, no more impressed than she usually was with her sister’s outrageous dramatics.

“I swear, it wasn’t my fault, Maddie. I was petrified when I saw that soldier grab you. And then when I realized I was being chased myself, I headed for Roswell so fast I had to be doing a hundred miles an hour.”

“And?”

“Well, that was the problem. After I hit the main road, I was pulled over by the local police for speeding. The second the officer walked up to the Jeep, I blurted out that my sister had been abducted.”

“Dear God,” Maddie groaned.

“I know. Saying the word abduction in Roswell is like saying you saw something strange swimming around in Loch Ness.”

“But why didn’t you explain what you meant, Mary Beth?”

“I tried to explain,” Mary Beth insisted. “But think about the answers I had to give them. A weird-looking aircraft? Out near the old Air Force base? Everyone got so excited, I decided if I just went along with the hysteria, those goons who grabbed you would forget all about your trespassing and send you straight back to Roswell to clear things up.”

Wishful thinking, Maddie thought. “And what about Mom and Pop, Mary Beth? Have you at least had the decency to call and tell them the truth?”

“They’re up at the cabin for the next two weeks. Didn’t they tell you? And you know Pop’s rules when they go up there. No radio. No TV. No phone. No outside communication, period.”

Maddie breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, at least that’s one thing in our favor. Hopefully this will all be over once you make a statement to the press in the morning.”

“Statement?”

“Yes, Mary Beth, you have to tell them you were mistaken,” Maddie stuttered. “Tell them you’ve heard from me and that I’m okay.”

“And are you okay? You still haven’t told me exactly where you are. Why haven’t they let you go, Maddie? Tell me what’s really going on.”

Maddie hesitated. “It doesn’t matter, Mary Beth. Just call off the media.”

“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?” Mary Beth yelled so loudly Maddie held the phone out from her ear.

“Of course, it matters. Tell me where you are and I’ll come and get you. Then we can both talk to the press. Don’t you realize we’re celebrities now, Maddie? There’s no telling where we could go with this. Think about it. Identical twin sisters? The media will love us. You could get a book deal. Maybe I could even get a picture out of this.”

“Have you gone crazy?” Maddie said through clenched teeth. “You have to call off the media, Mary Beth! Do it first thing tomorrow.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Just do it, Mary Beth.”

“Why? What’s really going on, Maddie? Tell me.”

“I can’t,” Maddie admitted, sending an anxious look in Hawk’s direction.

“What do you mean, you can’t tell me? You mean you’re being held against your will? By our own damn government?”

Maddie took a deep breath. “Something like that,” she said, but a warning look from Hawk told her she was already skating on thin ice.

“Then you can tell those camouflage-wearing morons for me that I’ll call off the media when I get my sister back!”

Maddie saw red. “Dammit, Mary Beth. My entire career is on the line here!”

“It’s always about your precious career, isn’t it?” Mary Beth accused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What about my career? Have you stopped to consider the exposure I’m getting right now?”

“Exposure?”

“Yes, exposure. This is finally the big time for me. I’ve had calls from Larry King. From Letter-man. Even Oprah’s people have been ringing my agent’s phone off the hook.”

Maddie didn’t answer.

“Don’t you see what this can mean to me? When all of this is over, you’ll still be Dr. Madeline Morgan and you’ll still have that impressive Ph.D. flowing behind your name. But what about me? If I don’t make the most of this opportunity right now, I’ll slip back into obscurity and spend the rest of my life scrambling around for occasional two-bit commercials.”

When Maddie still didn’t answer, Mary Beth said softly, “Don’t hate me for putting my career first, just this once. I’ve never hated you for always doing the same thing.”

“You know I could never hate you, Mary Beth.” Maddie let out a long sigh. “No matter what you did.”

“Then tell me the truth, Maddie. Are you really safe? Are you really going to be okay?”

Maddie took another look at the man who made her pulse race every time he looked in her direction. “I’ll be fine,” she lied. “I should be back at the hotel by the end of the week. Wait for me there. I’ll explain everything then.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here. My agent wants me here in Roswell where I’ll draw the most attention. He’s even working out details for satellite interviews he plans to sell to the highest bidder. Can you believe this, Maddie? Me? Being interviewed by…”

Mary Beth was still rambling when Brad reached out and took the phone, then disconnected the call. He then promptly removed the battery and slipped it into his pants pocket before he placed the now useless cell phone on top of the bookcase. Maddie watched every move he made, but she never said a word.

He leveled a look in her direction. “What about your parents?”

Maddie shrugged a shoulder. “They’re up at our family cabin in the mountains. My father insists on total solitude when they’re up there. But since Mary Beth won’t call off the search, it’s only a matter of time until someone from Morgan City heads up to the cabin to find them.”

“Any connection between the name of your hometown and your family?”

“Afraid so,” Maddie said with a sigh. “My ancestors founded Morgan City. My father’s the mayor. Of course, in a town the size of Morgan City, being mayor is more of an honorary title than anything else.”

His look was sympathetic. “And this sister of yours? She would really jeopardize your career and never give it a second thought?”

Maddie walked back to the love seat and flopped down with her head in her hands, the events of the day finally catching up with her. “I’m too exhausted to even think about that right now,” she told him truthfully. “But thanks for letting me at least try to talk some sense into her.”

She could tell he had hoped she could convince Mary Beth to call off the media. Without the media figuring into the situation, his helicopter would have been safe and his commander would have had less reason to keep her there. And he had to be just as eager to get rid of her as she was to leave. They couldn’t get along for more than five minutes at a time, mainly Maddie suspected, because they both liked being in control.

Well, I’m not giving in, Maddie vowed as she massaged her throbbing temples. But now that she had attempted to escape and he knew Mary Beth wasn’t calling off the bogus search, what would he do?

“How do you usually sleep? On your back? Or on your side?”

Maddie’s head came up to look at him. “I beg your pardon?”

“Do you sleep on your back? Or do you sleep on your side?” he repeated.

“Why on earth would you want to know that?” Maddie’s mouth dropped open when he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the handcuffs. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned, but he quickly cut her off.

“I’ve already thought about it,” he said with a frown. “After that stunt you pulled with Baker, I’m not taking any chances. And now that you know your sister isn’t going to cooperate, you have even a bigger reason to run. But I’m worn-out, and so are you. We’re both two mature adults, so let’s simply walk calmly into the bedroom and try to get a little sleep.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m dead serious.” And the expression on his face confirmed it. “Now, answer my question. Do you sleep on your back or do you sleep on your side?”

“I sleep on my side,” Maddie admitted, sending him an icy look.

“Right side or left?”

“Left,” she finally answered after a second to ponder.

“Good. I sleep on my left side, too,” he said. “This should be easy.”

He took a step in her direction, but Maddie moved farther away. It was the wrong thing to do. When she saw the muscles flex in his jaw, Maddie worried she may have pushed him a little too far.

“Are you purposely trying to be a pain in the ass? Or is this normal for you?” he asked with a grim expression. “I’ve gone out of my way to make you as comfortable as possible. I’ve seen that you have food. I’ve made sure you have clean clothes. And, against my better judgment, I even let you call your crazy sister. Now, I don’t know about you, but I think it’s your turn to do a little compromising. After all, I’m not the one who climbed that fence and set this whole fiasco in motion. You are.”

The flush of shame crept up her neck. “I don’t suppose you would take my word if I said I wouldn’t try to escape again?”

He threw his head back to laugh.

“And I guess it doesn’t matter that you’ve already taken away my boots?”

“It doesn’t matter in the least.”

“And you wouldn’t consider sleeping on the love seat, maybe? We could push it in front of the door. You’d be sure to wake up if I tried to climb over you.”

He looked over at the love seat and back at her. “I’m six foot two. How much rest do you think I could get on a four-foot love seat?”

“Well, you’re crazy if you think I’m taking off my clothes,” Maddie sputtered.

His grin was as wicked as his laugh had been nasty. “Suit yourself, but I’m taking off mine.”

“Fine. I’ll sleep on top of the covers.”

“It gets chilly out here in the desert at night,” he warned.

“Not that chilly.”

He shrugged, then motioned toward the bedroom. Reluctantly Maddie marched ahead of him like a prisoner on her way to the gallows. Dear God, what was she going to do now? He had rendered her senseless with the mere possibility that might kiss her. And now she was going to be handcuffed to him. In bed. With him naked.

Good Lord, Maddie thought, how am I ever going to survive the next three days? Stopping when she reached the side of the bed, Maddie turned around and faced him with both arms held out in front of her.

“Just the right arm, please,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Maddie rolled her eyes, but did as he instructed. However, when the cold steel clamped around her wrist, Maddie wondered if Hawk realized once he handcuffed them together he couldn’t escape, either. The thought of him being her prisoner brought a faint smile to her lips.

“Now, let’s see.” He rubbed a hand over the shadow on his chin that only emphasized his maleness. “If we both sleep on our left sides, that means I need to cuff our right hands together. Correct?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m just the prisoner,” Maddie was quick to point out. “You’re the mastermind behind this catastrophe.”

He ignored her comment, then bent down long enough to take off his boots. Then he turned her around and stepped up behind her so close, Maddie could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck. A tingle spread through her body so fast it almost made her swoon.

“Should it concern me that you just happen to have a pair of handcuffs in your possession?” Maddie quipped, trying to disguise her rapid breathing.

The chuckle was low in his throat. “I’m not into bondage, if that’s what you’re asking. Pleasure’s always been my game.”

Forcing her eyes shut at that comment, Maddie bit down on her lower lip, hard. She was trying with everything she had not to let her traitorous mind wander into the pleasure department. Not now. Not when she was only seconds away from crawling into bed with a naked man.

To her surprise, instead of shedding his fatigues, he clamped the cuff around his own right hand, leaned over and pulled back the covers and switched off the bedside light.

The room instantly became pitch-black.

“I thought you were getting undressed,” Maddie mocked when he didn’t go through with his threat.

He leaned closer, resting his chin on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to tempt you. You might take advantage of me.”

“By putting a pillow over your face until you pass out, you mean?”

He laughed, then found the small of her back with his free hand. “Be a good girl and climb in first. I’ll climb in right behind you.” Maddie didn’t move until he gave her a gentle push. “And then we’ll be just as snug as two bugs in a rug,” he added with another one of those husky chuckles that unnerved her. “Which is an appropriate way to be if you’re sleeping with a famous entomologist, I would think.”

“I wouldn’t give up my day job,” Maddie scoffed. “A comedian you aren’t.” She slid under the covers and scooted as far to the opposite side of the bed as humanly possible. It didn’t work. He scooted right in behind her. A piece of paper couldn’t have been wedged between them. Okay, you can do this, Maddie told herself. Like the man said, we’re both two mature adults. We’re both exhausted. And there’s no reason why we shouldn’t get a little sleep.

Not that Maddie intended to fall asleep. After all, she was handcuffed to a total stranger who had her sexual motor running faster than a turbo-charged Indy race car! But she would get some rest. Rest was important if she wanted to survive the next three days. Yes, she would just lie there in the darkness awake, still as a mouse, and pretend she was asleep. Maybe then he would stop all the snuggly-buggly crapola that was driving her out of her usually focused mind.

But God, he did feel good pressed up against her, she admitted with a mental moan. In fact, they were a perfect fit. She would never have pictured Hawk as a cuddler kind of guy. But lying there in the darkness in that intimate spooning position, suddenly made the whole point of cuddling crystal clear to Maddie. Until she felt an unmistakable bulge pressing against her backside.

“Okay, soldier. That better be a hand grenade in your pocket,” Maddie warned, hoping the nervousness she felt wasn’t evident in her voice.

The second he moved away, Maddie let out a deep sigh of relief. Or was it regret? Whatever! Maddie was simply too exhausted to sort it all out. Unable to suppress a yawn, she mumbled, “It’s going to be a long three days.”

“Hopefully, long enough,” he said with a yawn of his own.

Maddie didn’t dare ask, “Long enough for what?”

She had a feeling she already knew the answer.




5


THE SOUND OF THE BEDROOM door closing launched Maddie into a sitting position. Thankfully her iron bracelet and her bed-buddy were now both gone.

“God, what a night,” she groaned, glaring at Brad’s beside clock. It was only 6:00 a.m., but he had been up and on the move for at least an hour while she kept her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. Amazingly she had managed to stay awake most of the night, long after the sound of Brad’s even breathing told her he was out for the count; a fact that upset her whether Maddie wanted to admit it or not.

Yes, her, she mused. Dr. Madeline Morgan, the woman who only had time for her career, had actually been a bit disappointed that the handsome hunk who had taken her prisoner hadn’t been a little more persistent about his boastful house-playing threat.

And what would you have done if he had tried to get a little frisky? her pesky libido wanted to know.

Refusing to even ponder that question in her sleep-deprived state, Maddie scrambled from the bed and made a mad dash for the bathroom. The reflection she saw in the mirror a few seconds later, however, sent her fist to her mouth to stifle a scream.

Her hair, which had never fully recovered from the helicopter wind storm, looked as if she had contemplated dreadlocks but left the task only halfway completed. An ugly purple bruise the size of a quarter had popped out above her right eyebrow. And worse yet, the skin now seemed to be missing on the very tip of her nose. Praying her bloodshot eyes were only distorting her image, Maddie leaned closer to the mirror, then reached up and tweaked the bright red spot. An instant stab of pain told her bloodshot or not, her eyes still had perfect 20/20 vision.

“If this isn’t a day for heavy makeup, I don’t know what would be,” Maddie grumbled aloud, then remembered all she had with her were the clothes on her back.

Wonderful, she thought, frowning at her horrid reflection. No wonder she had awakened to an empty bed. The way she looked, she suspected Mr. Air Force was probably in the other room now, still hyperventilating over the shock of waking up next to Medusa, snake hair and all! Of course, the minute she thought of Brad, Maddie hurried back to the door to click the lock safely into place. And it wasn’t until she turned back around that she noticed the items he had offered her the night before were now sitting in a neat little bundle on the closed toilet seat.

Atop the bundle was a note.

Maddie walked over and picked it up. Shower and get cleaned up. By the time you’re dressed, I should be back with breakfast. Baker is back at his guard post in case you get any bright ideas about trying to escape again.

“Cute, real cute,” Maddie said aloud.

Yeah, he was a real riot, that Hawk.

She tossed the note into the wastebasket beside the sink, shed her rumpled clothing and pulled back the shower curtain that was still damp from the shower Brad had taken earlier. Stepping under the hot spray, she winced slightly when the water found the tender places from the manhandling she had suffered the day before. Too bad her arms and legs weren’t the only things bruised. She hated to admit it, but her ego was a little bruised, too, from the manhandling that hadn’t taken place the night before. And that’s what had her so puzzled.

Maddie couldn’t explain it, but in less than twenty-four hours she felt as if her entire life had done a gigantic flip-flop. Even finding a Deva Skipper seemed unimportant at the moment, although that could easily be explained thanks to Mary Beth and the media. Now, just holding on to her job had to be her main priority.

But what about all of the fantasizing? The funny feeling she got in the pit of her stomach every time she looked at Hawk? Not to mention the sudden concern over her appearance, which had never mattered one way or another to Maddie before.

Those weren’t her normal concerns.

Which was why, Maddie decided, she had to pull herself together and she had to do it fast. Captain Brad Hawkins was a luxury she simply couldn’t afford. Not if she intended to remain in control of her emotions and in control of her life. So, she simply wouldn’t give in to any further fantasies. Nor would she allow herself to obsess over her ratty hair and whether or not she had a big red wound on the tip of her nose. What she would do was start acting like the woman she really was. A competent woman. A focused woman. A confident woman. A woman with a kick-ass attitude, who knew what she wanted out of life and what she had to do to get it.

“Will the real Maddie Morgan please step forward?” Maddie said aloud, and stepped from the shower a woman renewed.

Thirty minutes later, however, she certainly didn’t look like the real Maddie Morgan. Her standard military issue fatigue pants were so large around the waist they fit like hip-huggers, and the T-shirt was so small it strained across her ample bosom like something you would wear to a wet T-shirt contest. Not that it mattered whether the T-shirt was wet or not. Since she’d rinsed out her bra and her undies along with the rest of her clothes that were now hanging discreetly behind the shower curtain, there was nothing to encumber the two distinct protrusions winking back at Maddie as she stared at herself in the mirror.

So much for getting back to my old self, Maddie thought. If anything, she looked exactly like Mary Beth.

Maddie rubbed her hand over her exposed midriff, thinking that all she needed now was Mary Beth’s belly-button ring. Yet, knowing there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about the situation or her new clothes, Maddie stomped from the bathroom like the true survivor she was, in search of one thing and one thing only.

Breakfast.

AFTER MAKING A MORNING check on Operation Demob, Brad had made a stop by the mess hall himself, then quickly returned to relieve Baker of his morning guard duties. He had chosen things he thought Maddie might like: cream cheese, bagels and a variety of fruit. He’d also picked up two containers of orange juice and a couple of disposable cups of hot coffee. He’d even remembered to grab a few packets of artificial sweeter and some creamer, since he found women rarely liked their coffee black the way he did himself.

Baker’s confirmation that he’d heard the shower running earlier told Brad his prisoner was already awake. Had she been one of the usual women he found in his company, Brad would have probably wandered into the bathroom and maybe even into the shower with her. But Brad had to remind himself that Maddie wasn’t one of his dates. She was his prisoner. And the fact they’d already shared a bed didn’t change a thing.

Especially since the bed sharing had been totally platonic; a fact Brad was still struggling with, even though common sense told him he needed to maintain the same resolve over the next few days. And that was going to be the hard part. Just like last night. He’d been teasing her, trying to keep her off balance, until the proximity to her got out of control and he accidentally let her know what was really on his mind. But who could blame him? What red-blooded American male could snuggle up with Maddie Morgan and not get aroused?

Smiling to himself over the comment she’d made about the hand grenade, Brad knew she had spent most of the night awake, most likely worried that his male urges would eventually get the better of him. Even when his own internal alarm clock had awakened him at 5:00 a.m., he could tell she was only pretending to be asleep. When he’d switched on the bedside light, he’d seen those long eyelashes of hers flutter ever so slightly like the butterflies she was so passionate about.

He’d been tempted to rattle her chain a little, let her know he was on to her by cuddling up next to her again, until thoughts like those evoked a response that sent him straight to the bathroom for a long, cold shower. In fact, just thinking about her now was enough to make Brad wonder if he shouldn’t come up with a Plan B and back off on the sexual advances. Those damn advances left him teetering on the fence every time he got close to her.

And falling for Maddie Morgan wasn’t an option.

He was a lifer. A military career man. He had made a solemn vow there would never be any room in his life for a serious relationship. Maddie was no exception.

At least, those were Brad’s convictions until the bedroom door opened and she stepped into the room. Then all thought of the Air Force and his convictions evaporated faster than a jet engine vapor trail.

Sweet Maddie, hell! Brad thought. The way her T-shirt was clinging to every curve, all he could do was stare at the two delectable mounds that seemed to be begging for his immediate attention.

“Yes, I have boobs. Now, close your mouth and stop staring at them.”

Brad swallowed, hard. “Hey, you surprised me, that’s all,” he lied.

She didn’t answer. Instead she padded barefoot across the room in his direction and headed straight for the local paper lying on the table. Her eyes narrowed when she picked the paper up and read the bold headlines THE SEARCH FOR MADAM BUTTERFLY CONTINUES.

“Were you expecting your sister to change her mind and call off the search?”

“Not really.”

“Well, I was sure hoping she’d change her mind,” Brad admitted. “If she’d been willing to cooperate, we might have been able to put an end to this predicament.”

When she didn’t comment, Brad changed the subject by motioning to the table he already had set and waiting. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” she said and tossed the paper into the trash can before she seated herself at the table.

Okay, Brad thought as he seated himself opposite her. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she was acting differently this morning. Sure, she had never seemed nervous or too timid to take up for herself, but still, there was something different about her. She was acting more…well, more aloof. Yeah, that was it. Today she seemed detached. Distant.

Which might be a blessing in disguise, Brad decided when his eyes wandered back to the two perfect peaks responsible for the activity that was going on under the napkin he had just placed on his lap.

“I hate to keep harping on your sister,” he said, testing the water a little further, “but you’re certainly being more charitable about her behavior than I would be if I were in your shoes.”

The look she sent him was as unyielding as the material stretched across her chest. “You don’t know the first thing about my sister. Mary Beth has been through some hard times. She craves validation…attention.”

“Don’t we all? In one way or another?”

“Not like Mary Beth,” she argued. “How would you feel if your childhood sweetheart left you standing at the altar in front of your entire hometown?”

Brad tried to answer truthfully. “That’s a difficult question for me. Because standing at the altar is something I never intend to do.”

She blinked. “Nor do I. But you have to admit being left at the altar could certainly shake a person’s confidence.”

Brad was still hung up on her first sentence. What? She never wanted to get married? He didn’t know why that would bother him, but it did, so he asked, “You mean you honestly don’t see a husband and a family in your future?”





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