Are Men From Mars?

“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.