Tease Me

A man who thinks he has what
he wants.

Bran Johnson always knew he wanted to
be a Marine. What makes it even better is longtime gal pal TK is
now stationed at the same base. Unfortunately, Bran is having a
hard time dealing with his feelings when he realizes that TK is
considered a hot commodity on base. Worse, he finds himself taking
a backseat to her admirers.

A woman who always wished
for more.

Tess Keller has loved Bran since they
were in high school. The former football captain always treated her
like a friend so she tried to move on. Unfortunately, he’s in her
business constantly now. One passionate argument leads to more than
either of them expected. Tess knows it isn’t going to last because
Bran is never going to settle down. So, to save face, she suggests
they stay friends, only with the side benefit of being sometime
lovers.

A Marine determined to win
at all costs.

Bran agrees to the friends with
benefits idea just to keep himself close to Tess. She might think
he’s not around for the long haul, but this is one Johnson brother
who knows exactly what he wants…and just how to get it. And what he
wants is Tess in his bed and in his life forever. Nothing will stop
him, not even Tess herself.

Tease Me

Semper Fi Marines, Book 1

Melissa Schroeder

Dedication

To all the Santini lovers out there.
It is because of you this series is possible and I hope you love
them!

Mel

Tease Me, Semper Fi Marines, Book
One

Copyright © 2013 by Melissa
Schroeder

Published by Harmless
Publishing

DIGITAL ISBN:
978-1-939734-09-9

Smashwords Edition

Edited by Victoria
Kennedy

Proofed by Noel Varner

Cover by Brandy Walker

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of
this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First digital publication:
September 2013

This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents either are the product of the
author’s imagination or are used factiously and any resemblance to
actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.

Author’s Note:

Here are a few acronyms and words that might
not be that common to non-military folk:

PCS
: Permanent Change
of Station-when military members more

TDY
: Temporary
Duty-short term assignments, usually shorter than 6 months. Many
times it is for training.

Deployment
: When
someone is sent to work usually in hostile areas, but they still
have a permanent base at home they are assigned to.

Exchange
: The base
exchange or post is usually a small version of a discount store. In
the early years of the military, the bases were often built in
desolate areas and families needed a place to shop for household
items and clothes. They often have a small food court.

Commissary
: The
military version of a grocery store.

MEU
: Marine Expeditionary Unit
or a unit comprised of air, land and sea components that are ready
to deploy at a moment’s notice. They are smaller than the regular
battle group for that reason.

TLA
: Temporary Lodging
Allowance

Dislocation Allowance
:
Extra money to help with move

Per Diem
: Money given
per day to help pay for food and gas.

Bran Johnson spotted the golden halo
of short curls first. It was always easy to find his best friend
from high school by her hair. Not many people had that shade of
blonde—not naturally. She was walking down the path in front of the
Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital heading to the parking lot and she wore
scrubs.

He slowed his Camaro and wound down
the window. “Hey, there, good looking.”

As she glanced at him, Bran had the
pleasure of watching her expression change from irritation to
complete happiness. Her dimples appeared and joy lit her green
eyes.

She jogged over to him. Bran was
delighted that she still had the sprinkle of freckles dancing over
the bridge of her nose. “Hey, yourself. When did you get here? I
thought you weren’t due in for another week.”

He shrugged. “I had enough of family
life in DC for awhile.”

She nodded. If there was one person in
the world who knew about how his family worked, it was Tess. Time
with the Johnsons was fun, but exhausting—especially when spending
time with The General.

She leaned back and looked at his
convertible. The little humming noise she made caused him to itch
from the inside out.

“
So, this is the new
car?”

In high school, she’d been one of the
few girls who appreciated cars. Of course, her father’s hobby had
been rebuilding old cars, and she’d been his constant
companion.

“
Come on, I’ll take you
for a ride.”

She didn’t hesitate and jumped right
in.

“
Nice to see you pilots
still know how to waste money.”

He sighed as he shifted the car into
gear. “You always give me shit about my cars and I know it’s
because you secretly envy them.”

“
No. I wouldn’t be able to
deal with something so low to the ground. Give me my Silverado any
day.”

“
So where were you off to
so fast?”

“
Lunch. I thought I’d run
over to the exchange and grab a bite to eat. Needed to get out of
the hospital for a bit.”

“
Sounds good,” he
said.

“
Excuse me, but I don’t
think I invited you.”

He laughed. “Okay, Tess. Can I please
come to the exchange with you to partake in lunch?”

She chuckled and he felt a funny shift
in his chest. It had been like that the last few weeks as he’d
PCS’d from one base to the other. Any time he talked to Tess on the
phone, he’d had odd feelings. He’d written it off as nerves about
the new job, but it didn’t explain why his palms were
sweating.

“
Okay, since you are new
in town and well, I know you can’t get a woman. Plus, I’ll be happy
to let you pay.”

“
Did anyone ever tell you,
you’re rude?”

“
Yep. But I ignored him.
He doesn’t count.”

“
Who called you
rude?”

“
Your brother, Jack. He
said, ‘You don’t act like a girl. You’re rude.’ Then I told him to
suck it.”

“
When was this?” He
asked.

She motioned with her hand. “Take the
next right. This was in high school. None of you knew how to handle
a girl who didn’t faint at the sight of your pretty faces. Well,
Jesse could to a point, but you and Jack couldn’t.”

He pulled into a parking space and
turned the car off. “We became best friends.”

“
Yes, but not before I
gave you a bloody nose.”

“
That is another example
of being rude.”

She looked at him, her eyes dancing
with humor. “Well, Johnson, don’t ever tell a girl she can’t punch
like a guy. There’s a good chance she’ll have to prove you
wrong.”

With that, she slipped out of the car,
her laughter filtering back to him. He smiled. Yep, it was good to
be stationed there with Tess.

* * * *

They were eating lunch when Tess
asked, “So, did you find a place to live?”

He shook his head. She curled her
fingers into the palm of her hands to resist brushing back the
small lock of hair that fell forward. It was a sure sign he was in
need of a haircut.

“
I’ve got a few leads from
that realtor you put me in contact with.”

Then he smiled at her. Even ignoring
the way her pulse skipped, she knew what was coming. He’d used that
smile on every girl in school when he wanted something—and not just
sex. The boy could charm a nun into participating in an armed
robbery. She couldn’t handle him in her house. That was too much to
ask of her. Plus, she couldn’t afford the amount of food he
ate.

“
No.”

He tilted his head. “Come on, Tessy.
You have a three bedroom house.”

“
And you have a pilot’s
pay and TLA, Dislocation Allowance and per diem.” Every time
someone PCS’d, they were given extra money to help with the move
and for a single guy, it was more than enough to pay for things. “I
don’t need you in my way.”

He opened his mouth to say something
when Jed Sawyer stopped by the table.

“
Hey, Tess. I didn’t know
you were working today.”

Jed was a nice guy and she had gone
out with him several times in the last couple of months. He was
infantry and it showed in his build. He was just at six feet tall
and Tess was sure he would top the scales at two-thirty—most of it
muscle. He had chocolate brown eyes, wavy blond hair and a very
talented mouth. Lord, the man could kiss and it had been one of the
reasons she’d agreed to another date. In fact, they had a date that
night.

She smiled at him. “Jed. Yeah, I
wasn’t supposed to work, but I traded shifts with someone. Her
little boy has the stomach flu and her husband’s
deployed.”

He glanced in Bran’s direction then
back at her. “Oh, Bran, this is Jed Sawyer. Jed, this is that old
friend I told you about, Brandon Johnson.”

Something close to relief moved over
Jed’s face. “Ah, nice to meet you.”

Bran nodded, but said nothing. Very
strange for him, especially since they were going to be in the same
battalion.

Tess noticed Jed was holding a tray
filled with food.

“
Why don’t you join us?”
she asked.

Jed shook his head. “I’m eating with
Reynolds and Gonzales,” he said, motioning to a table. She turned
around, smiled and waved at the guys.

“
Okay.”

“
Still on for six
tonight?”

“
Of course.” When he left,
Tess turned around to find Bran frowning at her. “What?”

“
I just thought we could
do something tonight,” he said, sounding a little put
out.

Oh, and Prince Brandon didn’t like
having his plans ruined. “Sorry. I made that date last week, not
breaking it.”

“
Oh.”

And because they had been friends for
almost ten years, she gave in. “Okay. You can stay with me; on the
condition you mind your own business. Oh, and you have to buy food.
I can’t afford to feed you. And, no women. You want sex, you go
somewhere else.”