Gage kept his word to himself and stayed out of Bryce’s and Sophie’s business for all of Monday and Tuesday. It wasn’t his fault Sophie kept a schedule a watchmaker would admire. He also couldn’t help the fact he always seemed to be in his garage, with the door open to admit a breeze, every evening just as Sophie started off on her evening jog around the neighborhood. And he couldn’t help but watch the clock until she returned. After all, he was just being a good neighbor.

On Wednesday, when Sophie set off on her regular evening jog, Gage glanced at the clock through habit. He had to admire a woman with that kind of discipline, even if he had sworn to ignore her.

He grabbed a beer and settled in the lawn chair to await her safe return.

After fifteen minutes had passed, Bryce pulled up in his car, once more with Red in tow.

Gage’s blood boiled at the thought of what Bryce was doing to Sophie, much less the redhead. He couldn’t just sit there, but he spent the next fifteen minutes agonizing over what he should do. What he wanted to do was march over there and punch Bryce in the face.

He glanced down the street and swore. Sophie was only thirty yards from her house. Before he could think of what he was doing, he found himself charging out of the garage toward Sophie, blocking her path and forcing her to stop.

“Sophie, have you got a minute? We need to talk.”

Sophie breathed deeply, still winded from her run. She walked in a circle around him, continuing toward her home.

“Sophie, stop, I mean it, we need to talk.” He reached for her arm to restrain her. She glared down at his hand, and he dropped it.

“Why?” she asked, her chin jutting out stubbornly. “I thought we said all there was to say.”

“Not quite. I’d like a word with you in private. It’ll only take a moment.”

Sophie arched an eyebrow but followed him as he led the way into his house.

“Gage, I don’t think this is a good idea. I thought we agreed we wouldn’t have anything further to do with each other.”

“Give me the benefit of a doubt, Sophie. I only want to talk, not jump your bones.”

“Okay, I’m here... It’s private...so talk.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and assumed a stubborn stance. The woman wasn’t going to make it easy for him to stall her. She also didn’t realize her arms were practically pushing her cleavage into his face.

Gage said the first thing that came to his mind. “About the other night...”

Sophie shook her head. “Gage, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I just wanted to say it was all a mistake, and we should forget it ever happened.”

“Consider it done. I had already forgotten about it. Goodbye,” she said, and turned to leave.

Gage forgot for a moment that he was trying to stall her, to keep her from catching Bryce with another woman. He couldn’t believe she’d already forgotten what he considered to be their unforgettable night of passion.

He snagged her arm again and turned her back toward him, before releasing her. “Wait a minute. You can put that night behind you that easily?”

Her lips thinned into a straight line. “Of course.”

He took a step toward her, closing the distance between them and stared deliberately down at her mouth.

Sophie took a tentative step backward. Her lips softened.

He was having more of an effect on her than she would admit. “I must say, I’ve thought of little else,” he whispered.

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and her gaze dropped to his mouth. “I pushed it from my mind as soon as I left...” Sophie’s voice trailed off.

Gage leaned closer. Before he could think with his brain, he claimed her lips in a kiss that barely leashed the passion raging through his body. Her lips tasted of salt and parted quickly beneath his. Upon feeling her response, he gathered her closer to deepen the kiss. Her body was damp with sweat; her skin was fragrant and womanly. He felt an immediate jolt of desire in that part of him that needed to be buried deeply inside her...now.

His hands smoothed over her, searching for bare, moist skin. He skimmed over her bare midriff.

Her muscles tightened and quivered.

Ah, yes, she was not immune.

Gage slid his hands down over her shorts to her slick, creamy thighs. Her knees buckled when he teased the tender inner slopes, his fingers stopping inches short of her cleft.

Sophie wound her arms tightly around his neck and skimmed her fingers over the close-cut hair at his nape, sending ripples down his spine. She moaned as his lips sucked on hers, and he caught her tongue, abrading its surface lightly with his teeth. He felt savage and carnal, and longed to slide his naked flesh against her sweat-slick skin.

Desire in complete control, he backed her to the wall next to the door and leaned into her body, rocking his hips against hers. He brought his hands up, and brushed his thumbs over turgid peaks, before cupping the firm globes of her breasts in his palms and squeezing. The tips were hard and pointed through the thin fabric of her sports bra.

She trailed her fingertips across the nape of his neck and lightly feathered down his back, until she reached the bottom of his shirt. Then she slipped her fingers upward, beneath the fabric, until she reached his chest. There, she threaded her fingers through the thick curling hairs. Sophie located the small hard nipples and circled them, lightly pinching.

Gage groaned, his cock straining against the loose material of his shorts and pressing into her soft belly. He shoved the lower edge of her bra upwards, exposing her breasts to the evening air. Their tips puckered outward, beckoning. He leaned and took one pebbled nipple into his mouth. He wet it with his tongue, and then blew softly over it, before continuing to nip and tease her breasts.

Her body quivered in reaction to the onslaught of his tongue and teeth. A moan escaped her lips and she clutched the back of his head to hold him closer to her breast.

Releasing one nipple, he performed the same sensual torture on the other before he came up for air. Then, he pressed soft kisses to her swollen lips.

She was shaking so much, Gage paused for a moment to make sure she could stand on her own. He smoothed her mussed hair away from her face and stared into her eyes. “Sophie...Sophie... What are we going to do about Bryce?”

The words were whispered softly, yet they had the effect of ice water sloshed into her face. She pushed him away from her, turning her back as she adjusted her clothing. She was trembling, but he couldn’t tell whether it was with passion or anger. When she turned to face him once more, he was certain. She was livid.

“Don’t you ever touch me again. I don’t want a relationship with you, or any other self-centered caveman who can’t even see what’s as plain as the nose on his face. Do us both a favor and just stay away from me!”

“Now, just a minute. You think I’m a caveman? It sure didn’t feel like you minded in the least.”

Sophie’s beautiful face was marred by an angry and confused frown, her mouth opening and closing as though she were at a loss for words. Her frustration at being unable to think of a fitting retort was apparent when she spun and reached for the doorknob, shouting over her shoulder, “I don’t have to justify myself to you. Just leave me alone.”

Gage caught a glance through the front window of Bryce handing the beautiful redhead into his car. Instinctively, he reached out and captured Sophie’s wrist, yanking her around and into his arms. “If I had wanted to use caveman tactics, it would have been more like this.”

Slamming her body hard against his, he held her arms tight to her sides, not allowing her to move. He crushed her lips, grinding his mouth against hers, even as he felt her twist and turn to escape his hold. Suddenly, her struggles subsided, and she kissed him back with a ferocity that matched his own. In the periphery of his mind, Gage heard the rumble of Bryce’s engine as he backed out of the driveway and pulled away down the street.

Finally, Gage tore his lips away from Sophie’s. He released his hold on her and backed up a step. “Those are caveman tactics. Don’t let the two confuse you, again.”

A red flush spread quickly over Sophie’s neck and face. Gage ducked quickly as she swung at his face with all her might. Assisting the momentum of her swing, he spun her, opened the door, and gave her a gentle shove onto the front porch. Before she could turn, he closed the door firmly behind her.

---

In stunned silence, Sophie stood on Gage’s front porch for a few moments, letting her mind catch up with the rest of her. Gage’s last kiss had been a complete surprise and a shock to her senses. Her own wanton reaction frightened her. He had manhandled her, and she’d loved it. The sheer strength of his embrace had taken her breath away. She’d been vulnerable and hadn’t minded one bit. Then, for him to brush her off, after leading her down the garden path, made her so angry she could spit. She had actually tried to bash him in the face.

That man is making me crazy.

Sophie drew back a fist and pounded it into his front door instead, regretting it immediately as pain shot through her knuckles and up her arm. “Ouch!” That hurt.

When there was no response from within, Sophie cradled her fist in her hand and, with tears welling in her eyes, she marched back to her house.

She needed to calm down and think. She set a kettle on the stove to boil. Her hands went through the automatic ritual of preparing a cup of hot tea. She always drank hot tea when she was upset or frazzled. Tonight, she would need an entire pot to calm her jangled nerves.

How had her life gotten so complicated, so quickly? Everything had been smooth and comfortable before Captain Gage Jenkins had stormed into her life and turned it upside down. How could she set it back to rights? She listed her alternatives one by one.

I could sell my house and move to another neighborhood.

She glanced around and shook her head.

No way. I’ve lived here longer than he has. Why should I be the one to move out?

Scratching that thought, she moved on to the next.

I could become a recluse, only leaving my house to go straight to work and back.

She considered that bright idea for all of five seconds before discarding it.

No, that would be burying her head in the sand and refusing to face her problems.

I could decide to become a catholic nun, take holy vows and remain celibate for the rest of my life...

Sophie paused.

There were positive aspects to the plan. No autocratic men. No men. There was also – no sex, no love. Hmmm...

The insistent whistling of the kettle pulled Sophie away from her musings and forced her to concentrate on pouring the hot water into a mug, without burning herself. She carried the cup of tea into her living room and set it on the coffee table.

Too anxious to sit, she wandered around the room, straightening level picture frames, moving pillows from one side of the sofa, then back again. A photo album lay on the coffee table. Sophie opened the album, stared at the old photograph and sank onto the sofa.

Standing in front of a statue of Mickey Mouse was her family. Her mother and stepfather stood side by side, behind the two children. Her eight-year-old image and her toddler brother smiled happily from the page. In fact, all the people in the picture were smiling—not just the smiles saved for the camera, but genuine, I’m-having-a-great-time smiles.

Her mother was lovely and gazed adoringly at her handsome husband, Sophie’s stepfather. Dad had taken leave from his duty assignment in South Korea to take the family on a holiday. She thought they looked radiant—like new lovers. And after their long separation, Sophie realized that was probably what it had been like for them. They were rediscovering their love—with two demanding children in tow.

Her thoughts drifted back to a time when she wouldn’t have dreamed of talking back to her stepfather or questioning his decisions. As a child, she remembered being disappointed in her mother. Her mother had made the majority of the everyday decisions, since her stepfather was in the military and often away from the family for long periods of time.

But when he came home, it seemed that all he did was boss them around. Reflecting now, she realized her stepfather hadn’t been any more controlling than her mother. The children had simply been conditioned to their mother’s guidance and orders and had taken her authority for granted. When their stepfather came home, he was a stranger they had to get used to all over again. When he’d raised his voice, they’d listened and obeyed, and the jarring sound had left a lasting impression.

From the time she was a teenager, she began to think of her stepfather as a crotchety military man who couldn’t separate his job from his family. He was inflexible and unbending. However, as she recalled, his inflexibility had always been in association with some incident that could have placed her in danger. He’d refused to let her go with her friends when he felt she could be hurt. She’d been resentful over the parties she didn’t get to attend, because the reputation of the kids throwing them led him to believe there would be alcohol or drugs there.

That’s why he didn’t want me in the Army.

The thought shook her to her very core. She’d always thought that her dad didn’t think that a woman was a man’s equal, therefore, a woman would make a poor soldier. She’d based this opinion on the belief that he expected subservience from her mother.

But her mother wasn’t submissive. If, instead, he objected to her Army service because he was just trying to protect her from harm, then her resentment toward him was unfounded. She may have misjudged him. If she had viewed Gage’s behavior through the same skewed lenses, then she had never really given them a fair chance to fall in love.

Oh, what was the use anyway? There was still the little matter of fraternizing with her commanding officer that was keeping her from throwing herself at Captain Gage Jenkins.

---

Gage kept a vigil over Sophie’s house for the rest of the evening. He had a mission, and that mission was to give Bryce a piece of his mind.

How could Bryce cheat on Sophie? And what made it worse was that he was conducting an affair with Red right under Sophie’s nose—in her own house. Bryce didn’t even have the decency to try to sneak around. He was openly flaunting the redhead. Not that Gage condoned two-timing, but he’d hate to see Sophie get hurt.

He struggled with the feeling he should stay out of their business, but he was filled with a need to protect Sophie. With her temper and strong will, he knew she wouldn’t appreciate his protectiveness. And yet, he sensed she had a vulnerable side, and he didn’t want that side exposed to Bryce’s philandering ways. He knew he wasn’t making any sense. Sophie had cheated with him, for heaven’s sake. But that was different.

He recalled the dazed look on her face after he had kissed her earlier. She was fighting her attraction, but she was not immune to him, any more than he could just turn off his feelings for her. She was in his blood and on his mind all the time, like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

So, there he was, watching his neighbor’s house through his window, like some paranoid old lady, waiting for his chance to speak to Bryce alone. He wouldn’t allow Bryce to treat Sophie so shabbily. Bryce didn’t deserve her.

He had a long wait. After the sun had set, he finally spied Bryce pulling into the driveway of Sophie’s house.

Gage ripped open the front door and waved at Bryce. “Bryce. Hey, Bryce. Got a minute?”

Bryce closed the car door and sauntered over, following Gage into the house.

“What’s up Gage? Are you having problems with the cat again? You got a beer?”

Gage ignored the questions and closed the door before turning on Bryce. “I saw you with the redhead again today, Bryce. Just what do you mean by bringing that woman into Sophie’s house? Sophie deserves better than that.”

Holding his hands up in front of himself as if to ward off blows, Bryce frowned. “Slow down, slow down, what are you talking about, man?”

Gage clenched his fists, his eyes blazing. “Don’t play dumb on me. I saw Red with you today. How could you? It’s not even your house. Don’t you have any more respect for Sophie than that?”

Bryce’s face relaxed, and he broke out in a smile. “Oh, you mean Tisha? Is that what’s got you all bent out of shape? She’s my study partner.”

“Study partner, hell. Well maybe if the subject is anatomy. You forget, I’ve seen how friendly you two are. You can’t tell me you don’t have something going with her.”

“Well, maybe I do. But what’s the big deal?”

“Big deal? Big deal!” Clenching his fists, Gage spun and walked to the other side of the room to put some space between himself and Bryce. He wanted to wrap his fingers around the younger man’s throat and squeeze—hard. Taking a few calming breaths, he glared at Bryce and raised his hand, pointing his finger. “If you hurt Sophie, you’ll have me to contend with. Do you understand?”

Bryce reacted to the threat by popping off a sharp salute and shouting, “Sir! Yes, sir!” He was grinning broadly.

Gage was dumbfounded. The man had no common sense. If he only knew how close he had come to being used as a human dust mop... “You may think this is funny, but I assure you I don’t. I’m dead serious.”

Bryce’s eyebrows rose into his shaggy hairline, and he nodded vigorously. “Oh, I believe you, don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt Sophie. That I can promise. Now, how about that beer?”

Gage forced himself to relax. He didn’t understand the relationship between the strange couple next door, but he could see Bryce didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He might lack for horse sense, but he was a likable guy. “Come on, I’ll get you your beer, and we can catch the NBA finals on TV.” At least he’d have Bryce where he could watch him.

Bryce slung an arm over Gage’s shoulder. “Now you’re talking, pal.”

Gage felt better knowing the longer he kept Bryce busy, the less time Bryce had to be alone with Sophie.