A Major Distraction (2 page)

Everyone in the G2 loved the guy. And he was hot. Capital H-hot to his bones. Tall, dark, handsome, and so friggin’ studly he caused her ovaries to stand up and, on a daily basis, cheer that she’d been born a female. Something about the man made her feel ultra feminine. And also put her back up. She’d seen the condescension in his eyes the first time they’d been introduced. That look that told her he’d seen her as no more than a redhead with tits and ass.

She’d been around enough chauvinistic men to know how to handle them. She gave them no quarter. Business only. Cava didn’t like her ideas or her handling of a situation? Tough shit. He could take it up with their boss.

So far so good. She’d been leading him by the nose for the past two months, and he hated it. But he hadn’t made any inappropriate comments or tried to intimidate her by force. The man knew his occupational specialty, for sure, but he didn’t know the tech field like she did.

Realizing her attraction for her next-door performer had bled over into the attraction she still had for Major Annoying, she forced herself out of the bedroom and went downstairs again. Though she had no lights, she had a flashlight to use if the moonlight and ambient streetlights didn’t provide what she needed.

At this point, she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. She’d no doubt have a long day ahead of her tomorrow. But then she had the weekend to finish unpacking.

With a sigh, she dodged a few boxes, found her way to the couch, and settled into sleep. Unfortunately, dreams about a certain well-hung neighbor and Major Cava lingered well into her work the following day.

“Hey, Ms. St. James. I put that system change request on your desk,” one of the sergeants said.

“Thanks.” She moved past the Marine to get more coffee. Already noon and she’d been too busy to grab more than one cup. Her caffeine threshold hadn’t been close to being reached.

After filling up, she added cream and sugar, took a sip, and sighed.

“Figures. I’m looking for you and you’re in here goofing off.”

She tensed at the familiar growl. Turning, she pasted a sweet smile on her face. “Major Cava. What a lovely surprise.”

To her bemusement, he smiled instead of frowning at her. That was a new one. “You know, St. James, if you were less of a miserable perfectionist, we might just get along.”

“Funny how the thought of us being besties is enough to get me through the rest of my day without killing myself.”

Someone cleared his throat behind her, and she turned to see Colonel Drey standing there with a wide grin on his face.

She felt her cheeks heat. “Oh, uh, hello, sir.”

“Genevieve.” He nodded at Major Cava. “Brad. I need you two in my office in ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir.” Brad grabbed a cup and stared at her.

“I’ll be there, Colonel.” Genevieve nodded, and the colonel left. To
Brad
, she scowled. “What?”

“You’re in the way.”

She stepped aside, brushing by him. She had the bad luck to breathe him in when their bodies touched, and hers went into immediate lust overload. Cava wore some kind of subtle cologne that made her want to lock him in a dark closet and do bad things to him.

Yikes.
After seeing that sexy show last night, she blamed her libido for choosing the wrong man to notice.

“What’s that look?” he murmured as he poured himself coffee.

This close, she could see his eyes weren’t a dark brown, but an amber. Like whiskey—sharp, strong, and with bite.

“Just curious as to what you wanted.”

He took a sip of coffee, watching her all the while. Damn the man for having a perfect mouth too. Genevieve had a sudden urge to watch him sip from
her
.

“Now that’s a loaded question.” He held up a hand. “Before you report me to HR for harassment, I should tell you I
want you
…to fix the problem I identified last week.”

She frowned. “I thought Marcy had already taken care of that.”

“Marcy? Oh. Well…” He looked uncomfortable, which surprised her.

“What?”

“Never mind. I’ll fix it myself.”

Before she could ask him anything more, he darted around her. Then she remembered a piece of gossip she’d tried to ignore not long ago. Apparently Marcy and Major Cava had dated a time or two long before Genevieve had arrived on station. Though their courtship hadn’t lasted, anytime Marcy caught sight of him, it seemed to Genevieve at least, the woman did her best to catch his attention. Nothing more had ever been said about them, and Cava acted with all professionalism and decorum whenever they dealt with each other.

But still… Genevieve never had that kind of problem because she didn’t dally where she worked.
Kind of hard to have a problem when you never dally
anywhere
,
her annoyingly honest conscience reminded her.

With a sigh, she grabbed her coffee and returned to her desk. After seeking out one of the sergeants to fix another problem in record time, she hotfooted it to the colonel’s office.

And her aggravating day went from bad to worse.

As if thinking about him when she shouldn’t wasn’t bad enough, now Genevieve had to work on a project with him?

As she drove home after her worst day at work since arriving in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she realized she recognized the SUV in front of her. The dark blue vehicle belonged to the man burrowing under her skin like a tick. Major Cava drove
over
the speed limit all the way…home?

He parked next door to her, and she pulled into her driveway blocked from his view by her house. She parked the car and sat, pondering the implications of her knowledge. Naked guy jerking off next door. Brad Cava lived next door.
God, let him have a roommate. Please.

Before she could fully fathom how bad it would be to have him living so close, he pulled open her door. “Were you following me?”

She stepped out of her car and had to push his chest to get him to move back. Again, unfortunate that he smelled like sex and temptation. And now she knew his chest felt like iron.
So
not helping her tone down her attraction. “I happen to live here.”

He blinked down at her. “You do?”

“Yes. I do.”

His eyes narrowed. “When did you move in?”

She prayed her cheeks didn’t look as hot as they felt. “Yesterday.”

“Yeah? I didn’t see any lights.” Great, now
his
cheeks looked pink.

“The electricity was powered back on today. Made it hard to move around last night, so I slept downstairs on my couch.”
Oh yeah, totally not anywhere near that upstairs window watching you pleasure your fine self.

He seemed to relax, and then he grimaced. “You’re my new neighbor?”

Insulted by his reaction, she glared at him. “If I’d known you lived next door, you can bet I’d have passed on the lease.”

“You can’t be any worse than the last guys, I suppose.” He sighed. “Just keep the noise down and have your boyfriends park in your driveway, not in front of my house.”

“Why? Does your roommate need the extra space?”
Please say yes so I know I wasn’t ogling you yesterday…

“Nope. It’s just me.”

“Terrific.” Oh hell. Her lust skyrocketed, and her ability to be distant around the man threatened to crash and burn, big time. She could still envision him holding that massive cock, taking himself…

“You okay?”

“Fine.” She coughed to clear her throat and realized he stood way too close. “Mind giving me some room?”

“What?” He stared into her eyes, and she hated that she had to keep jerking her gaze from his mouth. “Oh. Sorry.” He stepped back then followed her when she walked up her porch steps to the house.

“Something I can do for you?” She turned and arched a brow.

“I’m thirsty.”

She just stared at him.

He huffed. “Damn it. You’re in the South now. You have to be neighborly. It’s code.”

“Code for what?” Aggravating?

“Just invite me in for a sweet tea and we’ll be fast friends, I’m sure.”

“Sweet tea. Right.” Not wanting to fight with him, especially since he stood intoxicatingly close, she hurried inside and made a beeline for the fridge. “How about a lemonade?”

“That’ll do.” He glanced around, and she looked with him. In the light of day, the place looked cramped. She hadn’t had a chance to put her bed together or do anything but stack things out of sight, really. And some of those boxes were
heavy
.

“Do you have anyone to help you unpack?”

She bit her lip, wishing she could say yes. “I, um, no. I was going to hire Mr. Norris’s kids to help me move stuff. He has two high school boys he offered to help.”

“Is Norris in the blue house?”

Two doors down on the other side of her, away from him. “Yes. He’s a nice older man and has a terrific garden in the back.”

“Uh-huh.”

The pitiful look he shot her put her on the defensive. “What?”

“I think it’s a little sad you don’t have any friends to help you move, that’s all.”

“Sad?” Incensed, she poured a lemonade—like a good hostess—and shoved the glass into his hand. While he drank, she poked him in his hard, muscular chest. “For your information, Major Cava, I have plenty of friends. Just because I choose to be professional at work doesn’t mean I’m friendless.”

“Oh?”

She fumed. “Yeah, oh.”

“Name one.” He smirked at her.

“One what?”

“One friend.”

She came up blank then said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Maria’s a friend. Olivia too.”

“Who?”

“Two very nice women who work at the coffee shop in town.” Swansboro was small enough that mentioning
the
coffee shop
didn’t cause confusion.

“Is that so?”

Knowing him, he’d probably slept with both women. Now she felt she had to make a point. “Yes. Good friends.”

“So they’ll be helping you settle in, then.”

“If I asked. But I hate to be a bother.”

“You going to lift that all by yourself?” He pointed to several large boxes she’d forgotten to tell the movers to place upstairs.

Not to mention her bed in pieces and the heavy mattress in her bedroom leaning against the wall.

“If I have to.”

He shook his head and gave her a thorough onceover that left her breathless—
annoyed
.

“What?” she snapped.

“Typical redhead. Stubborn.”

“Excuse me,” she said, her voice icy. “Redheads aren’t exactly known for being stubborn. We have tempers.” She poked him in the same spot as before.

His eyes burned. “Honey, you touch me again, I’m going to think you’re inviting me to something else.”

“Like what?” She crossed her arms over her chest so she wouldn’t be tempted to stroke that sexy chest.

He leaned closer, and his gaze flickered to her mouth before settling on her eyes. “Like maybe you want to give me a return show. Something similar to the one I gave you last night.”

She gaped like a dying fish, her cheeks hot enough to catch fire.

“Yeah, I thought so.” His slow smile did nothing to ease her discomfort. “I’ll be putting another one on tonight. Stick around and be entertained.”

The bastard finished his lemonade, staring at her all the while. He set the glass on the counter, turned, and left. Over his shoulder he added, “You need any help with those big boxes, let me know.”

Once he was out of sight, she sagged against the counter. Talk about having no kind of poker face whatsoever. She should have pretended she had no idea what he was talking about. But
nooo
. Genevieve had to stand there staring at him, guilty as charged.

“Great. Now I’m a hapless voyeur.” Yet every fiber in her being insisted she not miss tonight’s entertainment. She shivered, shook off her fascination with the man—or at least tried to put him to the back of her mind—and checked her watch. She had another hour before the coffee shop closed. With any luck, she’d catch Maria or Olivia behind the counter.

She entered the shop to see Maria manning the place. Not too many others sat around drinking. Genevieve had spotted a bunch outside, staring at the waterway not obscured by the large buildings down the street.

“Hey, lady. What can I get you?” Maria asked, a twinkle in her eye. She came to Genevieve’s chest, looked like a pixie, and had the most sincere smile. Like a bundle of caffeinated joy. Genevieve had liked her at their first introduction.

“I need a favor and a latte.” She plopped down a few dollars for a cup of coffee, even though she didn’t need another buzz to fry her already jumpy nerves.

“Hit me.” Maria fixed her a drink—Genevieve’s usual—then winked. “What can I do for you?”

Genevieve slumped. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Sounds right up my alley then.” Maria stepped around the counter and led Genevieve to a side table, where they both sat. “What’s up?”

“I’ve been here since March, but I’ve been working so hard I don’t know too many people.”

“Small towns can be tough,” Maria agreed. “And small military towns are impossible if you’re not military or born there.”

“Yeah. I’m a civilian contractor, not military. I work with a lot of Marines, but I felt awkward about asking any of the guys for help.”

“Afraid that help might come with a few strings?”

Genevieve nodded.

“You’re not married. No boyfriend?” Maria asked.

“No. I’m happily single. I’m also nothing but professional at work and want to keep it that way. Problem is I don’t know anyone I could ask to help me move a few things at home. I just relocated from the temporary apartment I had in Jacksonville to a house up the street. The rest of my relatives live in Maryland, so it’s just me here. And there are a few boxes and pieces of furniture too big to handle on my own.”

“Good call on leaving Jacksonville. We’re much closer to the beach here in Swansboro.” Maria smiled. “So you want help moving some stuff?”

Genevieve nodded. “I know it’s an imposition. I feel stupid even asking. I don’t know you all that well. I was going to hire my neighbor’s kids to help me, but this idiot I was talking to made me feel kind of pathetic for not having friends to help.”