Free Tease Me by Melissa Schroeder

spoke of the woman
he had loved so deeply. All of them knew her death had been a blow
to his father…and he never really recovered. Whenever he did talk
about her, all the Johnsons knew to pay attention. Still, he was
pretty sure he didn’t understand the situation.
    “ You don’t seem to
understand. She said…”
    Then he realized what he was about to
tell his father. A sure sign he was really screwed up in the head.
The woman had him all twisted up.
    His father studied him for a second,
then nodded. “Ah, something you don’t want to tell me? That’s fine.
You love her.”
    It wasn’t really a question, but Bran
nodded. He did love Tess and not in that best friend kind of love
he had always thought. She was sweet and kind, so dedicated to her
job. Not to mention, she was beautiful and damned tough. He didn’t
know if he ever wanted to go another day not knowing she was
his.
    “ Yes.”
    “ You sound
surprised.”
    “ I didn’t…well, it wasn’t
something I realized until recently.”
    “ Blind as a bat when it
comes to Tess.” His father shook his head. “You always were. Just
make sure you treat her right. Her father was a good Marine, but
both of her parents sucked.”
    He chuckled. It was always weird when
his father used words like sucked.
    “ I will.”
    “ Make sure you don’t wait.
That is one woman you will have to go get.” His father sighed. “I
should be getting in. That drive lasted forever.”
    That comment had Bran worrying again.
His father rarely mentioned age or how it affected him. “You’re
telling the truth? There’s nothing wrong.”
    His father gave him a smile. “Nothing
wrong. Just old.”
    He opened up the door and slipped out
of the car. Then, he stopped and leaned back in.
    “ You know I’m proud of
you, right?”
    Brandon nodded.
    “ I know I’m not a man who
expresses himself well. And while I think everything you have done
in the Marines makes me look good as a commander, I would much
rather have you happy, Brandon. Life is too short. Go get
Tess.”
    Then, as if he didn’t just order his
son to go get a woman, he shut the door and sauntered up to the
Visiting Officers’ Quarters.
    Bran watched his father until he
disappeared into the building. He backed out of the parking space
and started back to his hotel. He wanted to wait until he got there
to start worrying about what to do about Tess. He knew he was in
for the long haul, but he hadn’t thought about what that meant. He
came to a stop at a light and it hit him. It was like in that one
blinding second he knew exactly what he wanted—needed—to
do.
    Now, all he had to do was make sure
the woman he loved agreed with his decision. He just couldn’t see
living without her one more day.

Chapter Nine

    Tess wasn’t in the best of moods.
She’d tried exercise. The five-mile jog did nothing for her
mentally, so she went the opposite route. After spending the
morning baking, she made herself sick by eating half a dozen double
chocolate chip cookies.
    She felt like throwing up.
    And it had nothing to do with the
sweets and everything to do with the man.
    She had been sure that if she could
get Bran to agree to friends with benefits she would be
happy. Neither of them wanted to settle down, but that didn’t seem
to matter to her heart. They had only made love two times, but she
was in over her head already. Worse, she hadn’t heard from him
since dinner with his father.
    Mr. J had done everything he could do
to point Bran in her direction. Bran had joked about it, but he had
left in such a bad mood, she didn’t know what to think. She didn’t
know why he was so mad at her. Didn’t he have this arrangement with
other women? Why was she so different from them?
    Dammit, she had promised herself she
wouldn’t sit there and sulk. The fact that she smelled like a gym
and chocolate was disgusting. She’d never been one to dwell. Her
life had never permitted it. Sure, it had been rough cutting off
most of her