Surrender: A Little Harmless Military Romance by Melissa Schroeder Read Free Book Online Page A

face.
    "And let's get back to Dupree. I thought you swore off military men."
    She had. While her brothers and her father had always been faithful to their women, she knew a lot of them weren't. She knew that the faithfulness of men in the military wasn’t any different than civilians. She had proven that with a long line of cheating exes. But with the military, there had to be trust. More trust than civilian marriages. People outside of it just didn’t understand that. She had promised herself not to ever marry, but especially not military. Well, except for Mal.
    She choked on her sip of water again. Oh, no. Dammit. She was losing her grip on reality.
    "You're not getting sick are you?" her brother asked, panic threading his voice.
    "What?"
    "You look a little green around the gills there."
    She shook her head but it didn't really dislodge the thought of having Mal as a husband. Hell, what was she thinking? She couldn’t even handle someone like Kyle, keep him happy. Granted, he wasn’t Malachai Dupree, but he had been sexy as hell, and she had wanted him like no one before. Until Mal.
    Dammit.
    "He's a member of Capital Punishment,” her brother said.
    That caught her attention. "What?"
    "Capital Punishment, that BDSM club."
    “Hmm.” Then it hit her that her brother knew of Mal’s membership. "How do you know that? You didn't go through his records, did you?"
    He shook his head. "No. Even if I wanted to, I’m not sure I could get into them. He has one level higher security clearance than I do. It would raise too many flags."
    “That means you thought about doing it.” She slapped his thigh. “Then how did you find out?"
    He frowned, and she knew that he was unhappy with the direction of the conversation. He sighed. "Think about it, Mandy."
    The only way he would know about Mal being a member was…"You're a member? Really?"
    "No. Well, I am, but lately I haven't been able to get in there and away from work. I know the owner so I get in easily."
    "Really?" she asked, unable to fight the excitement.
    "No. I don't think so. I am not about to get my kid sister a complimentary membership."
    She pouted at him, but she knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere. "Spoilsport."
    He shrugged. "Either way, I don't think your Seal is looking for a Domme."
    "He's not my Seal. And why do you think I'm a Domme?""
    "Really? I mean, Mandy, you run everything. You run my life, Addy's life, the business...you always like to be in control."
    That was true, but there had been a part of her that knew something was missing in the bedroom. Guys always expected her to take charge, and it was something that didn't always sit well.
    "I'm going to call in and make sure the colonel knows I'm here in DC again. I left a message, but just to check in."
    She nodded but barely noticed when he rose to leave her alone. Her mind was turning over the idea of herself as a Domme. She wasn't. Okay, maybe in the real world she was, but she had always wanted someone to take charge in the bedroom. Kyle had called her cold. She would get aroused but she couldn't seem to be that into what they were doing. And it had been because he wanted her to take charge.
    The thought of Mal being in charge of her, of taking charge of the situation, had her pulse skipping a beat. Was that the important factor that had been missing in her marriage? There had been little time for them to figure it out. They met while she was in California, married in Vegas, and he was gone before she had unpacked from the trip. The few months they had spent together before that ill-fated mission had been…stressful. They barely knew each other, and even then they both knew it had been a mistake. But then he got called back for that last mission.
    And maybe he expected more out of her in the bedroom. She guessed she had wanted someone who took charge, and marrying a Seal, she thought she had.
    “Hey, you okay?”
    She shook her head to clear it of the tainted memories of her marriage.
    “Fine.