by Julie Miller
Ethan had never backed down from those challenges growing up. He didn’t now. “Something, huh? I don’t see you engaged or married. As far as I know, you’ve never even considered it.”
Travis laughed as the moment of defending his impugned honor passed. “I get it now.” With a sagelike nod of his head, he circled the desk. “We need to have an advanced version of the birds and the bees talk.”
“Trav.”
He tapped Ethan’s shoulder and urged him down into his chair. Then he propped his hip on the edge of the desk and leaned in as if he was sharing the ultimate secret of the female species. “Here’s addendum 1-A. No matter what Dad told us in junior high, as adults, you don’t have to be in love with a woman to have sex with her. Sure, you gotta care about her on some level—as a friend, someone fun to hang out with, someone you’d like to get to know better—but you don’t have to promise the rest of your life to her just to get in the sack.”
“I didn’t say I was in love with J.C.”
Captain Smart-mouth ignored the protest. “Addendum 2-B. Women can have the same attitude about us.”
“I didn’t say—”
“You’ve got feelings of some kind, Ethan.” Travis’s sigh punctuated the allegation and resonated deep in Ethan’s conscience. “I think that’s what has you spooked. You wanted a business arrangement and you got a relationship instead.” He reached out and laid a commiserating hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Maybe if you got laid more often, you’d be a little less uptight about this whole sex thing.”
Ethan leaned back and glared at his brother. So he should take J.C. up on her offer and pray to God that whatever he was feeling didn’t come back to bite him in the butt when the affair was over? Whether it was his old-fashioned moral code or getting burned by Bethany that made him hesitate, Ethan didn’t get a chance to decide.
The sharp rap at his door switched him into business mode and put his personal life on hold. “Come in.”
He pushed himself up from his desk as his aide, Kyle Black, bustled into the office with a stack of reports and newspaper in hand. “Good morning, sir.”
Travis slowly stood up and turned, his wary posture suddenly more special forces than kid brother. “Captain Black.”
Black acknowledged Travis with a nod. At equal rank, no salute was necessary. But Ethan saw the slight hitch in his aide’s step upon recognizing Travis, and sensed an unspoken rivalry of some kind between the two captains.
“You two know each other?” Ethan asked.
Travis nodded. “We went through basic training together. It’s been a while.”
Whether that was merely a statement of fact or an overture to catch up on old times, Kyle ignored it. He set the memos and correspondence on top of the desk. “How’d it go with J.C. last night after the party, sir?”
Travis squirmed beside him, suppressing a grin at the innocent question. Ethan stayed tough. “That’s none of your business, Captain.”
“But you two had a good time, right?”
Oh, yeah. The limo ride home had been the highlight of the evening for her. And him. Travis ducked his head to hide his amusement at the unintentional double entendres.
“Dr. Gardner enjoyed her evening.” Ethan put an end to the personal questions. He nodded toward the paper in Kyle’s hand. “Is there something you needed, Captain?”
“I thought you’d want to see this.” Kyle rounded the desk and unfolded the paper on the blotter so that each of them could see. He pointed to the heart and fig-leaf logo marking the column at the top of the page. Ethan groaned inside. With his own screwed-up perception of relationships, he wasn’t in any mood to hear how the infamous Dr. Cyn might handle his situation. “Dr. Cyn’s started a new series of columns about dating men in uniform. Craddock’s pretty steamed about it.”
Ethan snatched up the paper and read the less-than-flattering editorial. Have your fling. But don’t count on a Marine. “Who the hell does she think she is?”
Travis read the same words over his shoulder and whistled. “She’s got balls. Telling it like it is.”
Ethan slapped the paper down on the desk. “It’s damn near libelous. A fifty-dollar bet to prove we’re a bunch of jerks?” He turned to his aide. “Is Craddock doing something about this?”
“He’s letting it ride for now. But he wants us to keep an eye out for any negative feedback in the ranks.”
“There’s positive stuff in there, too,” Travis insisted. He pointed to one line in particular. “‘Thousands of gorgeous guys in uniforms—all sizes, shapes and colors.’ She admits there are exceptions to the love-’em-and-leave-’em reputation, and she welcomes questions and comments from her readers.” Ethan steeled himself at the twinkle of challenge in his brother’s eyes. “Maybe you ought to go to Dr. Cyn’s Web site or write a letter if you feel so strongly about it.”
“I’m not going to dignify this woman’s misconceptions with any kind of response.”
Kyle chimed in, playing devil’s advocate, as usual. “Can you imagine what it would do to recruitment if people start believing this stuff? Men will second-guess going into the service if they think it’ll cost them a woman. I’ll bet that Dr. Cyn is a frustrated old biddy who’s not gettin’ any.”
Ethan wasn’t sure he liked the tone of Kyle’s humor. But Travis jumped in to defend the unknown writer before he could. “She states flat out that she plans to back up her allegations with research. Sounds to me like she’s looking for somebody to prove her wrong.”
Captain Black’s chest puffed out, and Ethan quickly asserted his authority to defuse the tension in the room. He rolled up the paper and tossed it into the trash where it belonged. “It doesn’t matter. Nobody will read this. Nobody will buy it.”
“Millie Craddock reads it,” Kyle stated. “If Mrs. Craddock thinks it’s worth pointing out to the general, then the general’s going to expect something to be done about it.”
Ethan grit his teeth. This was not the kind of business he wanted to attend to. But even though public relations wasn’t his area of expertise, he’d sworn an oath to protect the integrity of the Corps. “Put in a call to the general’s office,” he ordered. “I’ll find out how he wants us to handle it. Anything else, Captain?”
Kyle pulled a note from his pocket and handed it across the desk. “Yes, sir. I ran down those two names you asked for. Guerro and Rodriguez. Both men are stationed at Quantico. Mechanized support unit.”
“And they’ve been on leave?”
“Yes, sir. But they’re due to report back to camp today.”
Ethan nodded, pocketing the names and personnel information Black had gathered. “Follow up on that. Make sure their unit can account for them.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then get me Craddock on the phone. That’ll be all. Dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.” Kyle clicked his shiny black shoes together, then turned slightly to acknowledge Travis. “McCormick.”
Quantico, Virginia was an easy drive from D.C. Was that far enough away to keep them from pestering J.C. again? She’d had three locks on her apartment door. Did she worry about men like that? Or was she just practicing good common sense for a woman who lived alone? “Captain?”
Kyle turned in the doorway at the summons. “Sir?”
“Put in a call to my fiancée, too. I’ve got her cell number if you need it.”
“Will do, sir.”
J.C. could complain all she wanted about his old-fashioned sensibilities. He didn’t like her going home alone. Not at night. Especially not until he was sure Guerro and Rodriguez understood that accosting a woman in a dark parking lot was not an option he would allow.
After the door clicked shut, Travis sat on the edge of the desk, leaning into Ethan’s line of vision. “Problem?”
“I hope not.”
“You sure? You’ve got that look—like your gut’s trying to tell you something. And I trust your gut more than most men’s facts when it comes to sensing trouble.”
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br /> Ethan looked into those silver McCormick eyes that reflected the tension he felt. “You know me, I’m just being thorough.”
“Yeah, I know that about you. Well, whatever it is, make sure you include keeping an eye on Captain Black.” Travis stood and made his way toward the door again. “There’s something about that guy I don’t like.”
Ethan followed to see him out. “You mean beyond the fact he brownnoses to a fault?”
Travis looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Drives you nuts, too, huh?”
“Totally. But he gets his job done. I can’t complain there.”
“It just seems like he knows more about things than he should.” Travis stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “I’ll bet he could get the lowdown on that Dr. Cyn if you put him to the task.”
“Suppress the enemy by any means necessary?” Ethan shook his head. “I’m afraid he’d enjoy it too much.” The two men shared a laugh. “Let me talk to Craddock first. Maybe this will all blow over.”
Travis agreed. With a couple of playful punches to Ethan’s shoulder, he abruptly changed the subject. “Hey, when am I gonna meet this sexy fiancée of yours? I want to welcome her to the family before her two weeks are up.”
“Very funny.”
“I could give you better advice if I got to know her better.”
And expose her to the hipper, handsomer brother who’d had more female conquests than ribbons on his chest? Ethan opened the door for him and gave the smart-ass a well-deserved shove into the outer office. “Not gonna happen.”
Until he could figure out where he stood with J.C.—where he wanted to stand—Ethan wouldn’t risk the competition.
“CLASSIC DR. CYN!”
With arms open wide, Lee Whiteley greeted J.C. at the elevator doors before she even got to the Woman’s Word suite of offices. Lee wrapped J.C. up in a hug and danced back and forth, forcing J.C. to either join the excitement or get trampled.
“You’re selling papers, girl,” Lee praised. “The readers are eating it up!”
When J.C. got a chance to blink her spinning world back into focus, she tugged down the hem of her white blouse and offered her editor a wry smile. “I told you they might be controversial. So you liked the articles I sent in?”
“Liked? Oh, sweetie, your sarcasm’s showing.”
Lee linked her arm through J.C.’s and strutted through the office doors into the reception area. Today her editor wore a hot-pink velour running suit that clashed with her orange-red hair. The rings on all ten fingers were gold with gaudy cubic zirconia, and her eyes sparkled just as brightly with triumph and pride.
“The phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning, and orders for tomorrow’s issue have doubled. I knew it when I dreamed it.” She splayed her fingers in the air, picturing an imaginary marquee. “Love with a Military Man. It was a fantabulous idea, and you’ve delivered.” Lee stopped at the front desk. “Isn’t that right, Benjamin?”
“Absolutely.” The dark-haired college intern with the chunky build and intelligent gleam behind his thin oval glasses looked up from the note he was writing on his palm data organizer and smiled. “Morning, J.C. Looks like you’re a hit.”
She’d earned that same compliment last night. But it surprised her to realize she’d taken more pride as J. C. Gardner in pleasing Ethan and the committee than she did in knowing her alter ego had created a media sensation with her outrageous opinions and realistic philosophy about love and relationships.
“Good morning, Ben.”
A buzz on the headset phone he was wearing demanded his attention. He doffed her a two-fingered salute to excuse himself and answered the call. “Woman’s Word, the place where everything women want to talk about gets talked about. This is Ben. How may I help you?”
While Ben chatted with the caller, Lee reached behind the counter and pulled out a metal file basket filled to the brim with phone messages. “Ben’s been entering these and printing them out on the computer all morning. These are all for you, lady. Some good, some bad, and—sorry to say—a couple of ugly ones.”
“You’re kidding.” J.C. dropped her purse beside her feet and picked out a handful of messages to sort through. “All these are for me?”
“For Dr. Cyn. I told you military heroes were a hot topic.”
They were pretty hot in the back of a limo, too—though J.C. wasn’t quite ready to share the intimate details of her engagement to Ethan. She’d spent a restless night, alternately wishing he’d accepted her invitation to stay the night in her apartment and berating herself for wanting so much from him so fast. Was she no different than the women who’d thrown themselves at her father? Seduced by the striking uniform and fit, able body underneath?
The second-guessing still plagued her. Not just because she might have to concede to Lee’s assertion that military men made irresistible lovers. But she would have to rethink the harsh judgment she’d passed against her father. Not that she was ready to forgive him for hurting her mother and abandoning them both once his duplicity was uncovered. But maybe the temptation hadn’t all been one-sided. Earl Gardner might not have actively pursued every woman he ran across. Maybe he just hadn’t been able to say no if a woman came on to him.
“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?” Lee’s sympathetic prod brought J.C. firmly back into the moment. “I can’t imagine what your e-mail’s going to look like. People are a whole lot braver when they can write down a question or opinion and send it over the Internet than they are if they have to talk to a live person like our college wiz kid here.” She winked at Ben. “Isn’t that right?”
He gave her a thumbs-up and reached for his data pad.
J.C. thumbed through the messages. “Looks like there’s enough information here for a dozen columns.” She stopped at one. “Here’s a retired Air Force mechanic who says he’s been happily married for over forty years. He credits his wife for keeping them together and always giving him a reason to come home. He says he hopes others can learn from their example.”
“Isn’t that sweet,” Lee concurred, her eyes turning a little misty. “Sounds like my Bobby.” Just as quickly, a twinkle danced in her eye. “I think I’m going to win that bet. These readers are calling in to tell you they’ve had perfectly happy relationships with a military partner.”
“I’m not handing over the money just yet,” J.C. challenged. She held up another slip. “Listen to this one. This guy says he’s cheated on his girlfriend more than once—every time he gets shipped to a different camp. He wants to know if he should tell her.” She filed that one in a told-you-so pile. “He probably expects her to stay faithful at the same time he’s out ‘getting acquainted’ with the new neighbors.”
Lee’s jewels glinted in the fluorescent overhead lights as she waved off the lothario with the guilty conscience. “Pooh on him. He could be a traveling salesman and have a problem keeping it in his pants. The uniform’s not an excuse for fooling around on his girl.”
It had been the excuse Earl Gardner had used. It gets so lonely when I’m away from you, Mary Jo. was the explanation for his infidelities he’d given J.C.’s mother. You have to understand a man in my position has needs that have to be satisfied. You can’t expect me to do without for six months and still perform my duties to my shipmates.
J.C. had once read a quote by an admiral stating that every job on board a ship was vital to the safety and well-being of crew and country. Apparently no one else could fill the cheating jerk-face position on board if Seaman Gardner wasn’t satisfied.
Clearing the memories with a bone-deep sigh, J.C. quickly moved on to someone else’s trouble. Her heart went out to the woman who’d left the next message. “This one’s a young mother with three small children who hasn’t seen her hubby—or had sex—for over a year. Says I’m right on the money about the loneliness of her relationship.” She’d been that small child with an absent father. Her mother had been that virtually single parent. “It doesn’t seem fair.”
; “The services all have help groups and counselors she could contact for assistance,” Lee argued.
“I know. I looked up sources on the Internet this morning. I even called some of the local recruiting offices. They were happy to give me numbers for area support groups.” J.C. arched her brow. “She’s staying true to her man, though. She wants to know what kind of sexual aids I’d recommend for a woman in her position. That’s definitely something I’ll address in my column.”
“With three small children I’d settle for a baby-sitter and a nap.”
J.C. laughed out loud, along with Lee, until Ben shushed them. He returned his attention to the caller. “No, ma’am. For liability reasons, Dr. Cyn doesn’t answer questions over the phone. We encourage you to write a letter or contact her Web site if you’d like to express an opinion or ask for advice. Or I can take a message. Of course.”
While Ben worked, Lee took J.C.’s arm and pulled her into her office. Once the door was closed behind them, she urged J.C. into a seat and hurried around the desk to her own overstuffed chair. “Enough about Dr. Cyn. I want to hear about J.C. How’s the personal research going?”
“What do you mean?”
“Trolling for military hotties. Did you meet some? Talk? Touch? I told you they had hot asses, didn’t I?” Funny. J.C. hadn’t gotten around to checking out Ethan’s backside, but if it was built anything at all like the front, it would be magnificent. Not knowing made her instantly curious to see him again. In the daylight. From every direction. She considered all the possible visuals just long enough for Lee to get suspicious. “J.C.?”
She allowed herself half a vampish smile. “Well, I did meet someone.”
“Aha!” Lee waited several impatient seconds. “And?”
“And we’re seeing each other.” J.C. put up a protesting hand when Lee clapped. “For a little while,” she clarified. “He has no expectations of anything long-term, and neither do I.”