Free Somebody's Angel (#5 in a Military Romance / BDSM Romance series) (Rescue Me) by Kallypso Masters Page A

evenings. Almost as effective as a spanking to relax her.
    “Over the next few years, I gained a reputation among her friends—and then their friends—for a willingness to play the Dom in their fantasies. I was more their Service Top, if you will. In-the-know female guests would call me to their rooms or cabins. I wasn’t attracted to the women. I would call this my Dom-in-training period.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound. He’d been so fucked up back then. The women had given him a sense of purpose, twisted though it had been.
    Angelina was so quiet he had to push her away and lift her face in order to gauge her reaction. Tears shone in her eyes. Shit. Had he blown it again by not telling her about this part of his past? There were many things he was ashamed of and would rather not reveal to Angelina, but…
    She reached up and stroked his cheek. “They used you, Sir.”
    That she addressed him as if they were being formal surprised him. Perhaps she had a need to nurture him at the moment, bringing out her submissive side. Even more surprising, though, were her words. Obviously, she’d misunderstood.
    “No, it wasn’t like that. They didn’t use me. I probably used them more than anything.”
    She touched her index finger to his lips to quiet him. “You were nothing more than a plaything to relieve the lack of excitement in their lives. To fill the void left from the emptiness of their loveless marriages.”
    Marc tried not to think about this period in his life. The only void he’d been trying to fill was the one in his own life. She made it sound as if he was a victim. Hell, he was seventeen. Lots of his friends were doing worse things sexually than he was doing with those women at that age.
    “They had no interest in helping you understand your innate need to dominate. They exploited you.”
    Hell, in retrospect, he wasn’t sure he had dominated anyone. They had topped from the bottom, getting whatever they wanted, not necessarily what they needed.
    Probably not what Marc needed, either.
    “I’m not sure my need to dominate was innate. It was a diversion at the time. I was bored.”
    She smiled. “Oh, Sir, you very much have a natural need to dominate. Karla and I talked about it a couple of months ago. You, Adam, and Damián use the lifestyle to establish control over yourselves and your lives, especially since your last deployment.”
    “You girls have been talking about your Doms behind their backs?”
    She glanced away. “Sometimes you leave us to ourselves too long. Subs talk.” She shrugged and grinned as she looked back up at him. “It helps us improve as submissives to learn to please our Doms better, so we share information.”
    Marc wasn’t sure if she was bullshitting him and making excuses for gossiping with her friend but one thing he knew was that he’d fought a losing battle trying to get those women at the resort to allow him to take charge of the scenes the way a more experienced Dom might have done. Still, something changed in him during his time with the cougars. Afterward, he was able to stand up to Mama and choose a degree that fit his personality better. He may have even used that newfound inner strength to make his decision to join the Navy and set a new course for his life.
    “I didn’t truly find Domspace until I met you, pet. I just went through the motions.” For Angelina, he wanted to be the best Dom he could be. After merely playacting at the role for so long, he still wasn’t sure he knew what the fuck he was doing. In truth, he’d learned more about what it meant to be a responsible Dom by watching Adam and Damián in recent years.
    “I hate that they took advantage of you, Marc.”
    Wanting to get off this topic, he stroked her cheek. “It’s the past. I must say, though, I like your possessive streak.”
    She quirked her brow at him in question.
    “The way you stood up to Melissa…sublime. Thank you for believing in me, amore .”
    She