Tease Me (9 page)

He turned off his phone and got up to
pace. He knew that while Tess kept things free and easy with other
men, he was different. He didn’t fault her because, well…he
believed in equal rights right down the line. But, with their
entanglements, and the way she gave herself to him the night
before…there was no doubt in his mind that she cared for
him.

Now, he just had to figure out a way
to get under her skin and get her to admit it. What he needed was a
good, solid plan.

Then everything would be okay. Bran
just had to make sure he didn’t screw it all up.

Tess dropped her fork on the floor and
barely kept hold of the plate she had picked up off the table. She
cursed under her breath as she leaned down to retrieve
it.

“
Are you okay?” Bran
asked.

She glanced up at him. Worry etched
his features and she understood why. She’d been a goofball since
his father and he had shown up. She looked back to the bathroom
door and saw that it was firmly closed.

“
I love your father to
pieces, but…I’m sleeping with his son.”

He smiled. “Yeah you are.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed
another plate before heading into the kitchen. He was carrying the
salad bowl as he followed her.

“
Is that all you think
about, Bran?”

“
Is when I’m around you.
And let’s face it. You’re the same way.”

She was. Worse, she had been having
inappropriate thoughts about Bran all during dinner. If Mr. J knew
what she had been thinking, he would have been appalled.

“
I will admit no such
thing.”

Bran opened his mouth, but his father
was walking down the hall. “Dinner was fantastic, Tess.”

She smiled. There was a little bit of
Mr. J in all the boys, and Bran had his smile. It was so easy to
see the resemblance between the two when he smiled; although, she
hadn’t seen him do it a lot.

“
Thank you. I know you
always enjoyed Mom’s vodka sauce with penne.” A quick call to her
mother had confirmed that little nugget.

“
And I appreciate it. I
know that dealing with Brandon this last week had to have been a
pain.”

Bran rolled his eyes and she laughed.
“Yep. You know what a moocher he is.”

“
I wish I could stay
later, but I have an early start tomorrow. I’m heading out to see
MJ and Leo. That drive down from DC seemed longer than the last
time I did it.”

“
Dad always says that
trips wear on the body three times more past the age of
fifty.”

He gave her a hug and a kiss on the
cheek. “Say hi to your parents for me.”

“
I will.”

He turned to leave and Bran
hesitated.

“
Brandon?”

“
Be there in a second,
Dad.”

His father nodded and caught the keys
as Bran threw them to him. He shut the door behind him, leaving
them alone.

“
What are you up to,
Bran?”

He shook his head but he had a serious
look on his face. She didn’t know why he had gone from the earlier
flirting to this, but she didn’t like it.

“
I’m not sure I’m cut out
for this
friends with benefits
thing you want to
do.”

The little jab pierced her heart. She
hadn’t expected him to be that happy about it, mainly because she
had been the one who had suggested it. Still, his decision now
blindsided her.

“
And why is
that?”

“
I…I guess we could talk
about this tomorrow after the old man leaves.”

She set a bowl down in the sink and
crossed her arms beneath her breasts. She needed protection against
this. It was going to happen sooner or later, she just didn’t
expect it to happen so soon.

“
I think you’ve made up
your mind.”

His brow furrowed. “In a way, but I
just can’t deal with this and the old man.”

“
Just go.”

“
Sure,” he said easily,
but the expression on his face told her he was still
irritated.

“
Don’t worry about it,
Bran. I won’t bother you any more.”

He shook his head and stepped closer.
“You bother me on so many levels, Tess, I don’t know which way is
up.”

She opened her mouth to ask him what
he meant, but he kissed her. Not passionately, but sweetly. A brush
of his mouth over hers and just enough of a taste to make her heart
melt. He pulled back and drew in a deep breath.

“
I would rather stay, but
Dad will be gone in the morning.”

She opened her mouth to say they were
done, that he had called it off. But he set his finger on her mouth
and gave her one his rare serious stares.

“
No. I’ll call
tomorrow.”

“
Don’t. I know your
answer, or can guess. I think it would be best to take a break if
you aren’t going to agree. It will make it easier.”

“
So, you’re giving me an
ultimatum?” He didn’t look happy about that fact.

“
Not an ultimatum. I just
can’t take the indecision. It makes me think that you just aren’t
that interested.” Suddenly she was so tired. She wanted to curl up
in a ball and just sleep. First cry like a baby, then
sleep.

“
Dammit, Tess, I can’t
handle these games.”

“
I’m not playing
anymore.”

She could tell he wanted to argue, but
both of them knew his father was waiting out in the car. Instead,
he stepped toward her, grabbed and kissed her again. This time,
though, it was a bruising kiss that left her head spinning and her
heart hammering against her chest. When he drew back, she had to
fight the urge to follow him to kiss him longer.

“
This isn’t over,
Tess.”

With that, he marched out of her
house. For a long few moments she stood there in front of her sink
trying to get her head back on straight. He had ripped her
well-ordered life to shreds and now she didn’t know what to
do.

Damn that man.

* * * *

“
You know when I met your
mother, I made a muck of it too,” his father said.

Bran glanced over at him then back to
the road. “What are you talking about?”

His father made the noise he always
did when he was irritated. “Son, if I already didn’t have an idea
you two were hot for each other, I would have known after tonight.
I may be old, but I’m not stupid.”

“
Hot for each
other?”

He didn’t look over, but he was pretty
sure his father rolled his eyes. The General had a lot of patience.
It was one of the things that helped make him the general officer
he was today. But, when it came to his kids, he had
none.

“
Why would you be a friend
with a girl in high school and college?”

He pulled up to the VOQ and put his
car in park. “What do you mean by that?”

“
Listen, I let it go
because…well, I figured you were being nice because her father
worked for me. But, now…Lord, Brandon, someone else is going to
scoop her up if you’re not careful.”

He gave up. His father might have been
a busy officer building his career, but he had a sixth sense when
it came to his sons. He always seemed to know when they needed a
nudge. Of course, with MJ, his father said he stopped trying to
figure her out about three months after she was born.

“
I got it under
control.”

His father actually snorted. “Didn’t
look that way to me tonight.”

“
Yeah, well, I’ve got a
strategy.”

His father studied him for a moment,
then shook his head. “You were never a thinker.”

“
Gee, thanks, Dad.
Supportive comments like that made me what I am today,” he said
without hiding the sarcasm. Instead of getting mad, his father’s
lips twitched.

“
You’re someone who just
springs into action. You are going against your nature here, son.
The reason you’re one of the best fighter pilots in the Marines…in
the military as a whole, is because you don’t think. It’s all
instinct. You were born with it.”

“
And, what has that got to
do with my personal life?”

His father studied him and all of the
sudden Bran was struck by how much his father had aged in the last
few years. There were more than a few gray hairs now…and his eyes
were really showing his age. Worry followed those thoughts. Did
this trip have to do with his father’s health? It would be just
like his father to keep it from them and go on some farewell tour.
Before he could ask, though, his father spoke.

“
Stop
thinking.”

“
What?”

“
Brandon Johnson, when you
think, you get in trouble. Don’t.”

“
She wants to stay
friends.”

“
Your mother was the best
friend I ever had.”

His father rarely 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.

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 contact with Bran, but since he’d never noticed her
before now, it had been easier somehow. Now though…this was going
to be tough. And she didn’t want to brood about it. It wasn’t like
her at all. Or cry, which was just what she was doing, she thought
as she wiped tears off her cheeks. Crying was for
wusses.