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

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?