A Major Attraction Read online

  A Major Attraction

  A Good to Go Novella

  By Marie Harte

  A Major Attraction

  A Good to Go Novella

  By: Marie Harte

  Published by Fated Desires Publishing, LLC.

  ISBN: 978-1-62322-097-6

  © 2014 Marie Harte

  Cover Art by Valerie Tibbs

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  A Major Attraction

  U.S. Marine Major Kyle Waters has recently returned home after months at sea. He desperately wants some well-deserved rest, but his pleasant dreams turn from downright sinful into a nightmare when he wakes up, his arms full of a deliciously naked and thoroughly panicked Olivia Cava—the woman he’s been fantasizing about for months.

  Kyle’s scheming ex-girlfriend has maneuvered Olivia into rooming with the sexy man of her dreams. Olivia’s a professional, a career woman who finds herself drawn to Kyle, as she’s been since she first laid eyes on him. But growing up the daughter of a career military man, she’s vowed never to get involved with a Marine. Yet Kyle stirs something inside her, and she finds herself saying yes when she means to say no.

  Their life goals seem worlds apart, but love will find a way. Until Kyle’s past relationship threatens to ruin the future he has only just found in Olivia. Can the truth set him free? And can Olivia put aside her five-year plan and her heartache to forgive a stubborn Marine bent on loving her…forever?

  Dedication

  To all those who served and continue to serve the Corps. Semper Fi.

  Chapter One

  Major Kyle Waters sighed with pleasure as he looked at his house, washed in moonlight. It had been eight months and four days since he’d first left North Carolina aboard ship for the Mediterranean. Marines called it “going on float.” The exact opposite of a luxury cruise, he thought with wry amusement, just grateful to be stateside.

  He walked up three steps onto the porch, comforted to see the gray stone that still needed repainting, and approached the screen door. It opened without a murmur, and he hastily unlocked the heavy oak door barring him from home.

  Once inside the small foyer, Kyle dropped his bag and closed the door. Leaning back against it, he closed his eyes, contentment blanketing him with warm homecoming.

  After months at sea training to become special operations capable, he was more than ready for some rest and relaxation. He’d been stuck in his office for the past week, going over reports and overseeing their debarkation. His homecoming—and his house—had to wait. Now, though, he was finally home. A few hours of administrative work tomorrow, then he was looking at a solid month of leave.

  “Outstanding.” He stretched and yawned then trudged up the stairs, discarding his uniform as he climbed. By the time he’d reached his room, he’d dropped all but his trousers and underwear.

  Exhaustion beat at him as he walked through the trail of moonlight filtering through the original paned glass of the bedroom window. The light made a shadow of the bed, so that half the room lay under the blanket of night, a peaceful respite for a travel-weary warrior.

  Kyle dropped the rest of his clothes where he stood and eased into bed. He closed his eyes the minute his head hit the pillow and dreamed of her again, as he had from the first moment he’d seen her.

  ****

  Olivia Cava blearily opened her eyes when she heard a rumble of sound. She blinked into darkness and closed them shut, relieved she still had time before she needed to wake.

  After the day she’d had, a good rest had definitely been in order. Protesting the cool October air, she snuggled deeper under the covers, curled on her side. She floated back into a dream world where her coffee and muffins rated an article in her favorite foodie magazine Bon Appétit, where her days never started before ten in the morning, and where her fantasy man held a healthy appreciation for both her work and her luscious —his description, not hers—body.

  She hummed with pleasure when his callused palm cupped one of her full breasts, toying her nipple into a tight little pebble. He pressed his iron-hard erection against her ass, sliding a large shaft between her soft cheeks.

  “Mmm.” She groaned and arched back into his touch, needing more. His hot breath brushed her ear before his tongue delved into the sensitive canal, causing her belly to flutter. A rush of moisture flooded between her legs, and she wanted to melt into him.

  Then his hand moved lower, skimming through the curls at the apex of her thighs and slipping between the folds of her sex. He rubbed with slow pressure, stirring her body into fiery arousal. God, it had been so long since she’d felt this good.

  “So sweet,” a hoarse voice murmured as he dipped one finger into her, then another. In and out, with deep strokes that not only brushed her clit but that sensitive spot inside her, he played with her until she came with a soft moan. The intense pleasure consumed her, and he pushed harder against her backside, sliding dangerously near virgin territory. Finding purchase in the tight, puckered hole, he prodded for entry.

  The intrusion startled her into consciousness. Suddenly, her dream became all too real. Panic filled her when she realized the hand palming her belonged to an actual man, that she lay naked next to a stranger.

  Struggling to overcome the hazy state between sleep and wakefulness, Olivia desperately recalled the defensive moves drilled into her by the men in her family.

  She reached for the stranger’s hand between her legs and gently removed it. Then she found his thumb and, with a wrenching twist, bent it toward his wrist.

  A menacing curse shot from his mouth when she let go and fought to escape the bed. The covers around her hampered her movements, and before she knew it, the elbow to his gut and knee to his groin had served only to enrage him.

  Easily evading her blows, her attacker wrenched away the tangled covers and shoved her onto her back, looming over her, an indistinct shape in the shadows. He scared the hell out of her when his fully naked and aroused body pressed disturbingly against hers.

  Terrified he’d rape her, she struggled for all she was worth.

  “Damn it,” he seethed. She flailed, her too-short nails raking him across the chest instead of the eyes for which she’d aimed. “Stop moving!” He suddenly found her wrists. Pinning them to either side of her head, he growled, “One more move and I’ll knock you out. Understand?”

  She nodded then realized the futility of the gesture, considering the heavy blackness around the bed. “Yes,” she whispered in a small voice, praying for freedom.

  She shifted to get away from his nudity, and he swore.

  “Don’t move unless you want to get really close.”

  She froze.

  “Good.” He pulled away from her, for which she was decidedly grateful. The earlier eroticism of her dream had faded the moment she realized her dream lover was in fact an all-too-real stranger.

  “Wh-who are you?” she managed.

  “Who the hell are you? Why are you in my bed, in my house?” His voice sounded deep, dark, and threatening.

  “Your house?” Surprise alleviated her fear for the moment. “This is my house.”
Silence descended, and she cringed. Good going, Olivia. Now the lunatic will rape you then kill you.

  He sighed. “I really don’t need this.” She felt him leave the bed. “Let me put some clothes on and try to figure out what the hell is happening here. Make one move and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”

  Something thudded onto the ground and clothing rustled. Olivia had a feeling the stranger was just waiting for her to contradict his order. Thus far fear had kept her still. But thoughts of what might happen if she didn’t move terrified her. With desperation, she shot off the bed toward the moonlit doorway. From her vantage, she had just as much opportunity to escape as he had to catch her.

  Praying for an extra burst of speed, she had almost reached the hallway when a muscular arm roped around her stomach and hauled her back against a rock-solid chest.

  She screamed and pried at his hands. Before she could do any damage, he shoved her against the wall, effectively stealing her breath.

  As she tried frantically to fill her lungs with air, he entered the light.

  “Olivia?” he asked in an incredulous voice.

  “You,” she rasped. She didn’t know his name, but she recognized the short brown hair cropped to frame a handsome face. He had the same sculpted cheekbones, square jaw, and full lips. His green eyes blazed with surprise, as opposed to the warmth that used to greet her not so long ago.

  “Oh shit.” He immediately released her. “I am so sorry,” he began in earnest before his gaze traveled down her body. “I had no idea it was…you,” he ended in a husky tone, making her extremely aware of her nudity. Her nipples tightened, her thighs slid against each other because of the hot, wet desire he’d aroused in her, and her womb suddenly ached for the long, thick flesh between his legs.

  “Could I have my robe?” She forced herself to stare only at his face. As she pointed to the garment’s place by the door, a rush of renewed lust both confused and embarrassed her.

  “Oh, sure.” He fumbled against the darkened wall but eventually reached the hook holding her terrycloth, mid-thigh robe and handed it to her. He watched her put it on without blinking.

  She tied the robe tight then knotted it for good measure. “Now that the immediate crisis has passed, maybe you can explain what you’re doing in my house.” She crossed her arms over her chest, uneasy when he continued to stare at her with such intensity.

  His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “Your house? Honey, I’ve lived here for three years. I have the mortgage papers to prove it.”

  If he paid the mortgage, then that meant…“Don’t tell me you’re Major Kyle Waters?”

  He smiled, a dark grin that rekindled his sensual allure. “In the flesh.”

  Kyle couldn’t believe his good fortune. Oh sure, waking to find his thumb nearly ripped off by a strange woman hadn’t been enjoyable, but finding the strange woman to be Olivia Cava, a naked Olivia Cava, couldn’t have been better. The things he’d done to her thinking it was a dream...

  Both dressed, they sat in the kitchen drinking coffee as they tried to make sense of the situation.

  “Tell me again what you’re doing here.” He took a swallow, his eyes drinking in her tousled hair and voluptuous body wrapped in a skimpy robe.

  “This is so awkward.” She clutched the neck of her robe with one hand, her other gripping a mug. “Rebecca Morris sublet to me six months ago. Since Cava’s Java is just down the street, this location seemed perfect. Rebecca was moving and thought I’d make a great replacement, at least until the lease runs out in another three months. I can’t believe she tricked me like that.”

  “Yeah, about that. How did you not know I owned the house?”

  “Rebecca always called you—her boyfriend—Ky. She never told me you and her landlord were the same person. I mean, I made my checks out to M.K. Waters, so I never made the connection.”

  “Mitchell’s actually my first name, but everyone’s always called me Kyle.” Now he understood the confusion. Freakin’ Rebecca.

  Cava’s Java, the coffee shop Olivia owned, had been Kyle’s favorite morning stop before he’d left for the Med. He and Rebecca had often shared an evening treat sitting around the shop, talking with friends and neighbors before they’d broken up. He grimaced at thoughts of Rebecca and Olivia becoming friendly. He could only imagine their discussions, none of which would paint him in a favorable light.

  “The house is mine,” he explained. “Becca leased it from me while we were dating, until the day I found her screwing the guy down the street. She hasn’t lived here in months, so she had no right to lease you what she no longer had claim to.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened. No doubt she’d heard a different version of events from Becca. “But I don’t understand. I made the checks out to you. Didn’t you wonder why I gave you any money?”

  “Olivia, I’ve been at sea for the past eight months. I had my brother handle my finances while I was gone. He knew Becca owed me some money. He probably thought she was using you to pay it back. God knows she has no problem using others to bail her out of trouble,” he muttered. He still couldn’t believe how naïve he’d been about the woman. Beneath those innocent blue eyes and simpering smile lurked a shark.

  Olivia’s gaze clouded. “You know, I thought it was odd that she suddenly seemed to warm up to me. When I’d see her in the shop, she seemed cold.” She shrugged. “But when she offered me this place, it seemed like a godsend. I didn’t think to ask if she had the right to sublet to me. Geez, I even helped her pack her things.”

  Kyle rubbed his eyes, worn out from his trip yet wired from their earlier encounter. He looked up and found Olivia staring at him as if he were an ogre. The thought bothered him more than it should have. Surely she could see none of this was his fault?

  “Look, Olivia, you’re not blaming me for this, are you? Becca took us both for a ride.”

  “It’s not that. Of course I don’t blame you,” she said without hesitation, and something within him eased. “It’s just that, well, I’ve seen you before, in the coffee shop, but I never could have imagined meeting you like this.” She gave him a wry grin before focusing on her coffee.

  He flushed, both with shame at how he’d manhandled Olivia earlier and with the arousal that refused to fade when around her. Damn, she’d been so tight, so wet around his fingers. And her breasts were even more perfect than he’d imagined.

  He coughed and cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “I’m, ah, really sorry about my rough treatment earlier.”

  She blushed and stared a hole through her cup.

  “I was having this incredibly erotic dream,” he said, unable to resist mentioning it. “Then someone bent my thumb back at an impossible angle.” He rubbed the tender digit. “I reacted to a threat. Had I known it was you, I never would have thrown you against the wall.”

  He still couldn’t believe he’d done that. For the past nine months he’d been fantasizing about Olivia Cava. And this was what she’d remember from their first encounter in a private setting?

  “Oh, your thumb.” She let go of her cup and leaned over him. Taking his thumb in her hands, she caressed him, gliding silken fingertips over the reddened knuckle.

  Heat flared in his body, and a telling response rekindled the throbbing between his legs. She leaned down to get a better look under the diffused kitchen light, and her robe gaped. He could see the cleavage he wanted to explore with his tongue.

  “I’m sorry about your thumb,” she said in a husky whisper that drew his attention.

  She looked guilty. And highly aroused.

  His heart rate increased. He wanted nothing more than to push her up against the wall, to plunge in and out of her until he had her screaming his name and coming all over him. But he’d made enough mistakes for one night. One more wrong step toward her and he chanced ruining something he finally had an opportunity to pursue.

  With a heavy heart, he forced himself to ease away from her. �
��You know, it’s late, and we both need rest. What do you say we sleep on it and decide what to do about this tomorrow? I’ll take the couch.” Thoughts of the short couch made him want to groan, but he resolved to suck it up. A Marine credo rang in his mind—What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. No, the couch wouldn’t kill him, but it wouldn’t help his aching body any. The last time he’d fallen asleep on the thing he’d been kinked up for a week. And that was without the hard-on from hell.

  “It doesn’t seem right.” She shook her head, raven-black hair flowing like silk over her shoulders. “You said you just got back tonight?”

  Her brows drew close with concern, the way he’d remembered so often while staring at the ceiling of his small quarters aboard ship. Her full lips parted, and her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip.

  Sweat broke out at thoughts of that tongue.

  “No,” he said hoarsely. “I’ll take the couch. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?” He smiled and turned, awkwardly hiding his erection. Before she could say any more, he stiffly left the kitchen and entered the living room.

  An hour later, he lay on the couch with his legs hanging off the end, a wool blanket for warmth. But when he closed his eyes, visions of Olivia naked mingled with memories of her sexual response. He closed a hand around his turgid length and finally gave himself the respite he needed. Minutes later, he fell into a deep sleep, dreams of Olivia warming him throughout the night.

  Chapter Two

  “What?” Olivia’s best friend, Maria, stared in shock. “You’re kidding! That man? The one you used to obsess over whenever he walked in here?” She opened the oven door and pushed in another tray of peaches ‘n’ cream muffins. “He’s been gone for so long I assumed he’d changed duty stations.”