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  Jett pretended to think the question over. “Hmm. No one comes to mind.” He met her gaze dead on. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re too serious?”

  Her eyebrows rose adorably high. “Just about everyone I’ve ever met.”

  “Then it should be your call sign.” He eased out of his chair and towered above her. Closing the small distance between them with a half step, he liked the fact she didn’t retreat and allowed their bodies to be less than an inch apart. “Unless ‘ball breaker’ isn’t being used.”

  The sweet smell of honeysuckle tickled his nose and became, yet one more surprise about the intriguing woman, mainly because he considered the sweetness a contradiction.

  “You have to have balls in order for me to break them,” she responded with her stone-face seriousness.

  He laughed at the quick retort. “Do you give every man that’s interested in you this hard a time?”

  Finally, she looked taken aback and Jett drew great pride in scoring a direct hit. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve been a soldier so long that you’ve forgotten how to be a woman.”

  Annoyance flashed across her face. “This conversation is over.” She turned on her heel and proceeded to march out of the now empty classroom.

  Jett wasn’t about to let her go so fast and strolled behind her and clasped her wrist to restrain her. However, he was not prepared for her to round on him with the fierceness of a caged animal.

  “Un-hand me, soldier,” she snapped.

  He was quickly reminded of the difference in their ranking and his hand fell away as if releasing a hot poker.

  “Let’s get one thing perfectly clear, Lieutenant.” Her sable eyes darkened to polished onyx. “While other women may like that cockiness you call charm, I certainly do not. From the moment I met you, you’ve done nothing but belittle my intelligence, place my life in danger, stand me up and now attempt to manhandle me. I don’t know what rock you crawled out of or what village is missing its idiot-”

  Jett kissed her. He had to in order to shut her up. And just as he suspected, she melted into him and moaned when he flicked his tongue against hers.

  That wasn’t to say she wasn’t having her own effect on him. His pulse showed no signs of slowing and the heat rushing through his veins refused cool now he had her in his arms. It was just another confirmation she was like no woman he’d ever known before.

  All sort of erotic images floated through his head. By the way she pressed against him; he knew her body to be toned and her breasts to be as soft as pillows. And though he had initiated the kiss, he could feel her slow shift to take control.

  Surely, she would be the same way in bed.

  One thing for sure, the longer he kissed her, the harder it became to think. His lung sang in relief when she broke the kiss; but for a fleeting moment, he was afraid that she was going to start talking again.

  Instead, she spun on her heels and marched out of the room.

  Jett smiled and shook his head as his gaze swept her backside view through the door’s glass window. Still loving what he saw, he released a low whistle to himself. “This is going to be the best nine weeks of my life.”

  Chapter 8

  After the kiss, it took everything Sydney had to walk out of the classroom in a straight line. A thick fog muddled her thoughts, her knees felt paper thin, and the taste of Jett Colton lingered on her lips. What was worse, she could still feel his heavy gaze move up and down her backside. What was he thinking? Did he approve of what he saw?

  Now, why in the hell should I care?

  She burst through the building’s doors and closed her eyes to fill her lungs with Nevada’s dry air. The act did nothing in curing her ailments; if anything, it made things worse.

  “Nine weeks,” she mumbled under her breath. How in the hell was she going to avoid him that long?

  Once you’ve seen one chow hall you’ve seen them all so Sydney didn’t devote much attention to casing the place. She selected her lunch, found an empty, secluded spot, and sat down. Making new friends had never been a priority on her list and she saw no reason to change now.

  She twirled her fork through her Spaghetti bake and told herself to review what was covered in class that morning; but her mind rebelled and the kiss replayed in her head-not once, not twice, but several times.

  After awhile, she slowed the picture of Jett’s full lips descending toward her as though she controlled everything by remote control. Each time their lips met, her body experienced the same scorching heat as though it couldn’t tell the difference between memory and reality.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Sydney’s eyes snapped up at the husky feminine voice and she felt much like a deer caught in headlights. When she reminded herself the woman couldn’t see inside her head, and most likely didn’t know about her romantic daydreaming, she relaxed. At the same time, the woman seemed to be waiting. “Excuse me?”

  Captain Trenese Post, according to her nametag, handsome face split with a wide smile. “Mind if I join you?”

  “No, no. Go right a head.” Sydney moved her tray closer and gave her new lunch-mate more room.

  Post took her seat and then jutted an arm across the table. “I’m Trenese, by the way. Friends call me Niecy.”

  Syd mentally recoiled from the woman’s sunny disposition, but stretched her hand across the table to accept the greeting. “Sydney.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  Not knowing what else to say, she returned her attention to her half-eaten meal.

  “I see you’ve made another friend today.”

  Syd’s eyebrows dipped together as she brought her head up; however, Niecy wasn’t looking at her. Sydney followed the Captain’s line of vision and was knocked off guard when her gaze crashed into Lt. Colton. Forcing herself to remain calm, she turned back around.

  “Talk about undressing someone with their eyes,” Niecy commented. “I’d say he imagining you naked and draped across his bed.” She swung her smiling brown eyes back to Syd. “I guess that makes you the luckiest woman in the room.”

  Speechless, Sydney took another bite of Spaghetti.

  Captain Post smirked while she took the first bite of her meal. By the time she swallowed, she seemed confident with herself for having vetting Sydney’s character.

  “Lt. Colton and I were at McDill in Florida together a few years back. Our next stop after training is Afghanistan.”

  “Been there. Done that. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” Niecy took another bite of her food and then continued. “First time I laid eyes on him I thought I died and gone to heaven.” She chuckled and continued on with her story without paying heed to the fact Sydney looked anything but amused. “You won’t believe the trail of broken hearts he left back at McDill.”

  Sydney no longer tasted her meal, but continued to eat.

  “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Post said. “In the three years I’ve known Lt. Colton, I’ve never once seen him look at a woman the ways he’s looking at you.”

  Despite Sydney’s determination to be indifferent, Niecy’s compliment caused an embarrassing heat to rush up her neck and burn her cheeks. What could she say? What should she say?

  “So what are you going to do about it?” Trenese probed, taking another bite of her meal.

  For Sydney, opening her mouth was easy; forcing words out of it was another thing entirely. However, as she held the woman’s gaze, a thought occurred to her. “Did he send you over here?”

  Niecy laughed. “Quite the opposite, I assure you. If he knew what I just told you, he’d have my hide.”

  “So you’re a friend of his?”

  Niecy fell into a brief silence--the first since she’d taken her seat. “Once.”

  Sydney’s gut twisted with jealousy as she rolled her eyes. This felt very high school. Now that she thought about it, it seemed like the perfect juvenile game Jett would revel in. “Then you won’t mind telling your friend something for me.”r />
  Niecy’s smile dimmed.

  Sydney cast a glance over her shoulder and just as she suspected Jett’s steady gaze remained leveled on her while men around him chatted away without his participation.

  “Tell him, I find his antics: silly, his so-called charm: dull and immature, and his pretty-boy looks: a complete turn off.”

  Captain Post stared, blinked, and then rocked her head back with a hearty laugh.

  Sydney wondered whether she lunched with a mad woman.

  “I get it,” Niecy declared.

  “I’m happy for you.” Sydney grabbed her tray and pushed back her chair.

  “Wait.” Captain Post placed a staying hand on the corner of Sydney’s tray. “You’re mad. Don’t go.”

  “I’m not mad,” she lied. “I just don’t like playing games.”

  “I swear to you, Lt. Colton didn’t send me over here. Though, right about now, he’s probably wondering what I’ve said to set you off.”

  Sydney studied the stranger’s face and questioned her own mental health. Why should she care whether or not the woman spoke the truth?

  “Please. I was out of line. I apologize.”

  Aware that a few unwanted gazes skittered her way, Sydney gave the woman a slow nod, and then pushed her chair back up to the table.

  Niecy’s smile returned, brighter and wider than before. “Are you really not interested or are you playing hard to get?”

  Sydney released a long frustrated sigh. “Are you really this annoying or are you just pretending?”

  That comment successfully shaved a few inches off of Captain Post’s lips. “Look-”

  “No. You look.” Sydney leaned forward, determined to end this childishness for once and for all. “I’m not interested in anything you have to say concerning Lt. Colton. Not now, not ever. And while we’re at it, I’m not here to make new friends either. I have plenty. In the sky, in combat, you’ll never have to worry. I have your back. I’ll risk my life for you and for my country. None of that means we have to be friends. In fact, I’d prefer that we weren’t.”

  The women’s gaze locked and held.

  “Bullshit,” Niecy proclaimed. “You don’t have any friends.”

  Against her will, Sydney’s poker face melted. “You got me.”

  Curiosity and fear was killing Jett as he watched Captain Post and Captain Garrett whisper and toss narrowed glances in his direction. Before Trenese joined the equation, he honestly gave himself a fifty-fifty chance of charming his beautiful fighter pilot. Now, his odds lingered somewhere in the realms of ‘a snow ball chance in hell’.

  Lunch ended all too soon. He watched the women as they gathered their trays and clustered together during the walk back to class.

  What was Post telling her? What wouldn’t she tell her?

  His mind raced over the possibilities-and there were a lot of them.

  Jett believed Trenese had seized an opportunity to thwart whatever plans he had for or with Sydney because he had turned down several of Captain’s Post advances. ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorn’, Jett’s older brother, Xavier, drilled into his head. Why hadn’t he listened?

  Sarah, Cathy, Nancy, and Melanie had all been friends or associates of Trenese, much to his dismay-more so now than ever. Jett could just imagine the horror stories his former friend took great delight in rehashing to Sydney.

  Jett Colton was a dog, a smooth talking ‘playa’ who’s after one thing. He stopped his wild musing scenario and reflected for a moment. Maybe there was some truth in that description.

  A few times Jett tried to focus on what Maj. O’Keefe’s speech.

  “The mission of the 414th Combat Training Squadron is to conduct air power training exercises known as Red Flags. A red flag is a realistic combat training exercises involving the U.S. and its allies.”

  Jett’s attention boomeranged back Sydney. He studied and committed to memory her studious profile. He rather liked the long, graceful line of her neck, the inviting softness of her skin, and the long, lush curl of her eyelashes.

  If he had to use one word to describe her beauty, it would be: perfection. What made Captain Garrett so intriguing was either she didn’t know or didn’t care about her effect on the opposite sex.

  “Any questions?” Maj. O’Keefe thundered as his dull green eyes searched the faces of his captivated audience.

  When no hands shot up, the major nodded his satisfaction. “Good then I will see everyone here tomorrow morning at 0700 hours-make sure you remember to bring your flight suits. We’re hitting the skies. Dismissed.”

  Everyone sprung from the chairs and filled the classroom with a low murmur as they filed out of the door. Once again, Jett remained his seat.

  He waited and prayed to catch Sydney’s eyes; however, as she gathered her things, Sydney’s gaze darted in every direction-but his.

  Captain Post was another story.

  Jett felt her heavy gaze long before he looked at her. When he did, Niecy resembled a cat with canary feathers protruding from her mouth. He narrowed his gaze and gave her the slightest nod, signaling his declaration of war.

  Captain Post moved next to Sydney and the women fell into another easy stream of conversation. When they walked past his desk, Jett strained to hear Sydney’s words.

  “You can have him,” Sydney said and marched out the door.

  Jett closed his eyes and groaned. This might be the shortest war ever fought.

  Chapter 9

  “So do you like him?” Steven’s question filtered through the phone line.

  “Of course not,” Sydney’s indignant voice bounced off the bathroom tile and boomed back at her. As if chastened, she sank deeper into the lavender and honeysuckle scented bubbles and scrubbed the same clean spot on her knee until it glowed red raw. “Haven’t you’ve been listening to what I’ve been telling you? The guy is an arrogant ass.”

  Steven chuckled. “I like him already.”

  “Will you get serious?” she snapped. “I have to spend the next nine weeks dodging this jerk. He’s lucky I didn’t report his manhandling to our C.O.”

  Steven said nothing as Sydney launched onto a new soapbox.

  “When women bitch about the military’s overly testosterone jerks it’s viewed as we can’t handle the heat,” she ranted. “If I file just one complaint it will sink my career, and you know it. Let’s not talk about what could have happened if someone walked in when he was kissing me!”

  “Wait. He kissed you?”

  Sydney cursed under her breath. She hadn’t meant to share that tidbit of information.

  Amusement seeped back into her brother’s voice. “Did you kiss him back?”

  “No,” she stressed and ignored the prick of consciousness for lying.

  “Uh, huh.” Steven’s doubt resonated through the line.

  “Forget it.” She straightened up the tub and shook her head. “I don’t know why I bother talking to you.”

  “Because you don’t have any friends,” he laughed. “I’m your brother, your best friend, and your diary all rolled up into one. Lucky me.”

  “I’m hanging up,” she threatened, but had no intentions of doing so.

  “Oh, c’mon. Don’t be like that,” Steven pleaded with a soft laugh. “How do you expect me to act when you tell me this guy kissed you and you didn’t punch his lights out i.e. Bobby Blalock?”

  Sydney rolled her eyes at the memory of her senior Academy Ball. “He tried to do more than just kiss me,” she reminded him.

  “Most guys do on prom night, but none of them end up in the emergency room with a broken arm and rib.”

  A laugh tumbled from her lips. “Okay, maybe I overreacted.”

  “Ha!” he barked. “Now you admit it?”

  Her smile widened. To tell the truth she was rather proud of herself for teaching Bobby “Octopus Arms” Blalock when a woman said ‘no’, damn it, she meant ‘no’. “I admit nothing,” she chuckled.

  “Figures.” Steven relea
sed a long exhalation. “So what are you going to do about this ‘Jett’ character? If you’re afraid to report-”

  “I never used the word afraid,” she corrected. “I said it would sink my career. There’s a difference.”

  “All right. You want your big brother to fly up there and put this guy in his place?”

  “No, I don’t need anyone to fight my battles,” she sulked and played with what few bubbles remained in the tub. “I just wanted to vent. That’s all.”

  “Venting accomplished, Captain,” Steven said gruffly. “Now if you don’t mind, it’s time for me to hit the sack. I have an early morning appointment.”

  “You?” She asked not bothering to mask her astonishment. “Wait. What do you consider being early?”

  “Noon.”

  She laughed. “I should have known.”

  “Don’t hate. I’m not interested in ‘doing more than most people all day by nine a.m.’ I’m quite content to study the back of my eyelids around that time.”

  “I just bet you are.”

  Steven’s ability to just go with the flow was one of the things Sydney loved about her brother. Routine, regime, and discipline smothered him. He was never meant to work for ‘the man’ as he liked to put it and he sure wasn’t going to join his military. It was strange, Steven, the spiting image of their father, inherited their mother’s free spirit, where Sydney, who was her mother’s replica, inherit her father’s personality.

  Steven emitted his first yawn of the evening. “So. What you’re going to do?”

  “Do?”

  “About your Romeo.”

  An instant image of Jett’s penetrating golden eyes somehow knocked the chill off the tub’s cooling water. “There’s only one thing I can do. Stay the hell away from him.”