Touch to Surrender by Cara Dee Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t videotape ourselves this morning." Now I suddenly miss our girl like crazy, but my arms and legs feel too heavy to move.
    "She loves you—wants what's best for you," he murmurs. "There's no telling how excited she'll get."
    "Ugh." Fine. All right. "But I can't move." Too tired. "And where are we even gonna meet up with her?" I crack one eye open.
    "She likes that place on 16 th Street." Now it's Mark's turn to yawn, but he's got better self-control, 'cause he still begins to get up. "Come on, baby boy. Let's shower before we head out. We can text our girl on the way."
    Well, at least we're relatively close, since Mark lives in the Haight.

Chapter 5
    About an hour later, Mark and I get away from the cold December weather and order sodas and sandwiches before taking our seats by the large window in the bohemian-looking café. The sun is out and the sky is blue, but it's fucking frigid outside.
    I shrug out of my jacket, dressed casually in jeans and a Henley, but I keep my beanie on. "I'm starving." I lean forward in my chair and immediately dig into my ham and Dijon mustard sandwich, nearly burning my tongue on the melted cheese. "Damn, this is good."
    Mark runs a hand through his hair, dropping his own beanie on the table, but his eyes are trained on his phone, and there's a smirk on his lips.
    "What?" I ask, curious.
    He chuckles and shakes his head, pocketing his phone. "Just Rio. He's in the neighborhood with his little brother who's picking out engagement rings for himself and his boyfriend." He unwraps his grilled cheese, amusement in his eyes. "Rio despises shopping, so he's sending me sarcastic comments about salespeople."
    I snicker and return to my sandwich. "I thought Doms liked to be in charge of what their subs wear and stuff. Shopping is involved there, isn't it?"
    "The internet is a fucking amazing thing," he deadpans before he grins and shoots me a wink. "Besides, look where we're at. You've met Rio and Gabriel."
    True. From what I've seen, Rio—or Mr. Kelly or Master Kelly as I know him—is kind of a reserved man. But last week when Mr. Kelly's brother visited Switch, it was easy to see that Gabriel was the opposite. They share the same features—although Rio is a lot taller—with the alabaster skin, very green eyes, and close to raven-black hair, but Gabriel is certainly not dominant. One word to describe him would be flamboyant.
    "So, you've got Gabriel high on life and with a million friends," Mark says, grinning, "Rio tagging along, and where are we?"
    The Castro, also San Francisco's gay district.
    "Mr. Kelly is straight," I state unnecessarily.
    Mark shrugs. "He's done his experimenting like most of us, but yeah, he's only into women. Why?" He cocks his head and places an arm on the back of my chair. "You g otta relax with the labels, pup. It's not a big deal."
    "I know," I mumble and look at my food. "I'm trying." I let out a soft breath and pull off my beanie. "But I'm not gay."
    "Of course you're not." He smirks, not missing a beat. "You're fucking obsessed with Evangeline's pussy."
    I flush and look around us, hoping no one heard him. "And you call Lina shameless," I mutter and shift in my seat.
    I'm so sore, it's not even funny.
    "Hey." He nudges me and leans closer. His expression is serious now, but it's still soft and patient. "Would it be wrong if you were gay?"
    "No," I insist honestly. My shoulders drop slightly. "It's just—" I sigh in defeat. "It's up here." I tap my temple. "How I grew up. My dad…" Fuck, am I really going into all that now? Here ?
    "Your dad, what? Tell me." It's not a demand this time. Just a request. He wants to know but won't push me.
    "He caught me when I was seventeen," I admit, tensing up. "There was a guy I liked—we fooled around, had sex, no big deal, but…" I make a face and look down. We only had sex one time. He topped me. Before that, it was just kissing, touching, fooling around…
    "Your father made it a big deal, and since then , he's been