At noon, the troops broke training for a thirty-minute lunch. Morale was high, despite the fact that field rations, MREs, were being served.

“Hey, Plotkin, do you know what MRE stands for?” called one of the soldiers.

“Meals-Ready-to-Eat?” Plotkin responded.

“No, Meals-Ready-to-Erp. Man, what I wouldn’t give for a hamburger. Anything’s better than this reconstituted, regurgitated slop.”

Sophie sat at a picnic table in the shade of an oak tree, toying with her plastic spoon and the olive drab package of food. She enjoyed the jokes and high spirits that always seemed to be a part of drill weekend. It was a time when the members of the units could get away from their everyday world and do something totally different. Many of them were desk jockeys, who enjoyed the physical challenges of a drill weekend. Others thrived on the social interaction of the unit.

“Mind if I join you, Lieutenant?” a voice said beside her.

Startled from her musings, she looked up into Gage’s face. She nodded, dumbly. After all, what could she say? No, Captain Jenkins, I don’t want you to sit next to me because you might figure out that I’m the woman who threw herself at you a couple of weeks ago... Or... Sit at your own risk. I’ve been known to attack men for sex.

“I wanted to tell you that I observed your CPR training lesson this morning, and I thought you handled it very well.”

Startled by the unexpected compliment, Sophie replied automatically. “Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t you ever get ruffled or embarrassed by all the dirty jokes and sexual innuendoes these men dish out?”

“Not really. I’m used to it. I know they don’t mean any harm, and I’m glad they get along and know how to make this fun.”

“You also handled the situation with the winded private, well. You seem to care about all of them.”

“They’re my troops. I’m interested in each and every one of them.” This was a safe subject, and one Sophie felt strongly about. “I’ve spent a lot of time with these soldiers. They’re good people. I don’t mind their playfulness when we do things like this, because it helps keep their morale high. Their camaraderie makes them work harder when the situations warrant they step it up.

“I also make it a point to know what motivates each of them. For instance, Private Johnson is attending a community college at night to learn how to be a computer programmer. He works for a telemarketing firm during the day. He wants to improve his life through education, which is one of the reasons he joined the Guard. The Guard is helping to pay for his education.”

Nodding toward one of the sergeants standing a few yards away, she continued. “Sergeant Palmer has a Masters in Business Administration and teaches at a local university.”

She paused, and her gaze swept the men in the yard of the armory before she continued. “Many of the people in this unit are highly educated. I don’t consider myself better than them because of my rank. I respect them for who they are and what they’ve achieved. We work as a team to accomplish the unit’s mission. What more could I ask?” Sophie grinned sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get up on a soap box.”

He watched as she jabbed her spoon into the brown pouch, stirring the unappetizing food.

Why didn’t he just go away?

“I take it you don’t like MREs, either?”

“Not particularly. I guess if I was hungry enough, though, I could eat anything—with the exception of my own cooking.”

As soon as the comment left her lips, she clammed up. Recalling the night of the spaghetti disaster, she hoped she hadn’t goofed and revealed too much. She sat in silence, praying he would go away before she opened her mouth again and stuck her other foot in.

Her prayers were answered when the first sergeant interrupted to tell the captain he had a phone call from the battalion commander. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sophie reminded herself she needed to have as little contact with him as possible, or he’d put two and two together.

---

When she stepped out of the shower that evening, Sophie tiredly congratulated herself on successfully dodging Captain Jenkins’s notice as she’d slipped out of the armory and into her car. She knew he’d been looking for her after the final formation, but she hadn’t wanted him to delay her, and then for her car to be one of few remaining in the parking lot.

When she arrived home, she headed straight for the shower to wash the rubbery smell of Resusci-Anne and alcohol pads from her skin. She scrubbed her lips and brushed her teeth several times until all of the taste of the doll and the rubbing alcohol was cleansed away. Finally able to relax, she padded around her house in a pair of flannel boxer shorts and an over-sized T-shirt, with the logo of a rock band on the back. What she needed was a big glass of ice water and a good night’s sleep. The stress of the day had taken its toll. The muscles in her neck were stiff and achy, and she had her annual physical training test bright and early the next morning. Frankly, she didn’t feel like she could do one situp, much less the number needed to pass.

As Sophie twisted the handle of the faucet on her kitchen sink, she noticed water seeping from the base of the faucet handle. Before she could form another coherent thought, the handle shot into the air, forced skyward by a geyser of water.

Startled, Sophie screamed and immediately tried to put her hands over the gushing water to deflect the stream back into the sink and protect the rest of the room from damage. All her hands managed to do was to shoot the water in more directions until she was as soaked as the rest of the room was one big wet mess.

“Where’s Superman when you need him?” Sophie moaned and blinked as water sprayed into her face.

---

Gage was in his garage, bench-pressing free weights when he heard the scream. When he realized the sound came from Sophie’s house, he almost dropped the weights on his head. He quickly replaced the weight-laden bar on its rest and jumped up from the bench seat, moving with lightning-speed to cover the distance from his house to Sophie’s.

Without pausing to knock, he threw open the front door and dashed into the kitchen where he heard her frantic plea for Superman. When his feet hit a large puddle of water, they shot out from under him leaving him flat on his back on the hard tile floor, drenched in water.

Sophie abandoned the geyser and rushed over to him, dropping to her knees beside him, her face filled with concern. “Gage, are you all right?”

Lying still for a moment, he let his brain take inventory of all his body parts, searching for signs of something broken. It seemed as if messages were returned from his outer extremities in slow motion. When he felt certain nothing was broken, he looked over at Sophie. He noticed that she was drenched from head to foot. “What the hell’s going on? Are you all right? How come you’re all wet?”

She moved to the side and let him see the source of the water that had almost cost him his tailbone.

“I see.” He climbed to his feet, moving carefully toward the kitchen sink. He quickly ducked below the geyser, reached beneath the sink and turned a knob, effectively stemming the flow. After a thorough examination of the defective hardware, he took charge and issued orders. “Get me a crescent wrench, a Phillips screw driver and a lot of towels. We’ll have this fixed and cleaned up in no time.”

Sophie retrieved the items and went to work cleaning up the water, while Gage replaced a washer and the faucet handle.

They didn’t speak as they worked, but the air felt thick with the electricity of their awareness.

When all the water was sopped up and the towels were thrown into the washing machine, Sophie returned to the kitchen with a dry towel, which she held out to Gage.

He didn’t move to take the towel. He just stared at her, drinking her in like a dehydrated man at a desert oasis. He felt like he couldn’t get enough of just looking at her. He shook his head. This kind of obsession couldn’t possibly be healthy.

Her hair was loose, damp and curling from the unexpected shower she’d received. With her standing in front of him, he couldn’t help but notice her T-shirt was sticking closely to her skin. Her bra-less breasts were clearly visible through the thin wet material, causing an immediate reaction below his waist.

Slowly closing the distance between them, he pulled the towel from her hands and began to rub it over the parts of her that were wet. As he gently patted her cheeks dry, he stared into her eyes. Then he leaned forward, placing little kisses on her lips and earlobes, then moved slowly down to her neck. Following the path of the towel, his lips caught the drops of moisture the towel had missed.

The towel slipped lower and rubbed over her breasts, the tips growing more pointed from the gentle abrasion.

Sophie’s head tipped back, and she moaned, exposing the silky skin of her throat. She slid her arms around his waist, pushed her breasts harder into his hands and closed the gap between her hips and his.

His hard shaft pressed against her belly, and molten fire shot through his veins.

All thoughts flew to the winds as their desire escalated into a frantic need. Hands flew to peel away layers of soggy clothing as they worked their way into the living room. The bedroom door was only inches away from where they finally fell to the soft carpet.

Naked, Gage straddled her slim hips and continued to kiss and tease her fevered skin. He captured her lips in a passionate kiss, pushing his tongue past her teeth to glide over hers. His lips sealed hers, and he sucked at them. Then he greedily slid his mouth over her chin to her neck, nipping and tonguing the sensitive flesh.

Apparently, Sophie lost patience with his methodical assault. She threaded her fingers behind his head and pulled his face firmly to her breasts. She guided his lips to suckle and tease each hardened bud in turn. Her hands remained at the back of his head, tensing and releasing with each spasm that rocked her body.

Gage captured her hands and placed them around the leg of the coffee table above her head. “They stay here.”

Her fingers wrapped tightly around the table leg as he lowered his face to the juncture of her thighs.

He parted her legs and then raised them to drape over his shoulders.

Her back curved off the floor in sharp response to the first light brush of his tongue across the bud of her desire. Her body bucked and trembled with each teasing touch.

Unable to withhold any longer, Gage grabbed for his jeans, removed his wallet and surfaced a foil packed. In seconds, he had the condom rolled down over his hard staff. Then he slid up her body to sheath himself to the hilt in her tight, moist warmth.

Sophie crossed her ankles behind his back and pulled his head towards hers in a kiss that mimicked the motions of their lovemaking, tongues darting and plunging.

He held her buttocks firmly, controlling the pace, raising and lowering her in time with his hard thrusts. Gage was so incredibly deep inside her, he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. He felt the first blinding burst of his release surge forth. He thrust again, and one more time, burying himself in her warm wetness, riding the wave of his orgasm until he floated back to earth, spent.

Gage smiled at seeing that she still had her hands wrapped in a fierce grip around the table leg. When he pried her fingers loose, her arms fell limply to the carpet. He raised himself on an elbow and looked down at her.

Her eyes remained closed, and her breath still came in ragged gasps. The last tremors of her climax shuddered through her, and she lay still.

He dropped his forehead to rest against her shoulder for a brief moment. With a sigh, he rose above her, stripped off the condom and dropped it in a nearby wastebasket. Then he rolled to the carpet beside her and gathered her into his arms. Their legs entwined, and he held her in a loose embrace, her head resting on his shoulder, until their breathing slowly returned to normal.

---

Sophie finally stirred back to life. She nestled in the curve of his arm and gently smoothed her hand over the tightly curling hairs covering his chest. He really was beautiful. The light sheen of perspiration was golden in the lamplight. She smoothed her hand over broad shoulders and well-defined biceps. The man was big all over.

She moved her hand down the length of his torso and skimmed the tight muscles of his abdomen.

He tensed and then relaxed.

Glancing lower, she discovered evidence there was still a little life left in him. She curled her fingers around him and learned what pleased him by his moaned encouragement of her efforts.

This time, she assumed control and straddled his body, rubbing her sex against him as she trailed her tongue across his chest, nipping at his small brown nipples.

He reached up to massage the dangling globes of her breasts. As his desire rekindled and hardened, he attempted to capture her hips to position himself to enter her.

Sophie backed away, teasing him. She had other things in mind, and wanted to do some exploring of her own. She continued to move hands and mouth over every inch of him, learning the flavors and textures of his skin and hair.

When she couldn’t stand it any longer, she let him grasp her hips and drive upwards into her. She arched her back and rose and fell with each thrust, riding him through the storm, then collapsed on top of him when she’d reached her zenith and fell back to earth.

He lifted her off his staff, and before he came he crushed her to his chest until his body relaxed.

Feeling the warmth of bare skin and coarse hair against her cheek, Sophie inhaled his masculine scent and sighed. She was in trouble. At what point in time had she fallen in love with this chauvinistic but physically gorgeous man? What was she going to do?

She’d let him believe the lie about her relationship to Bryce to shield herself from him. She’d known from the very first he had the power to hurt her deeply. He believed she and Bryce were lovers. How could she tell him the truth without losing him entirely?

When he finally discovered she had lied, he might never learn to trust her. He would believe this had been an elaborate game, and that she’d made him out to be a fool. So, how could she tell him? He was, basically, an honorable man. She understood he didn’t like the clandestine attraction they shared. He would want to claim her openly. If only it were possible to start all over again. I’d never tell another lie!

There was one more problem—he didn’t know she was the klutzy lieutenant from his unit. There again, he would know she had misled him, and he would hate her all the more. She was caught in a tangled web of her own deceit. No matter what she did or said, she was destined to lose him.

Suddenly depressed, her eyes stung with unshed tears. Still lying on top of him, she pressed her face harder into his chest, before rolling off of him to lie next to him on the carpet. She had to tell him, but not now. She would wait until the drill weekend was over before confronting him with the news that Sophie was also Lieutenant Keaton, and that she and Bryce were brother and sister.

That decision made, she rose to her feet. She didn’t have the courage to look into his eyes. “I have an early day planned for tomorrow. I think you need to go.”

He rose to stand in front of her, frowning. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. I’d better go.”

Gathering his discarded clothing, Gage pulled his pants on and carried his shirt to the door. He paused with his hand on the knob and turned back to look directly into her eyes. “We will talk, later.”

It was not a question for debate, but a statement of fact, leaving no room to argue. Sophie nodded.

Gage slipped through the door, disappearing into the night.