by Bella Juarez
Black Ops Brotherhood 1
Rapid Dominance
Engineering student Victoria Saenz lands a dream job as a housekeeper while she attends graduate school. Major Reese Thompson, USMC, is no ordinary master of the house. His hard body and strict military manner are male perfection.
Reese is stuck in a loveless marriage with a hypochondriac wife. He returns from Iraq to divorce papers left with his maid. Victoria agrees to stay, to help him pick up the pieces, but Reese’s attraction to Victoria grows every day as the house seems to get smaller. The brunette beauty is there at every turn, tempting him.
They discover a deep, sometimes dark love for one another as danger looms. The terrorist cell Reese has worked tirelessly to take down has a secret weapon in their war against Reese. Will Reese and Victoria's love withstand the storms of war, despite all the forces threatening to tear them apart?
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Length: 91,829 words
RAPID DOMINANCE
Black Ops Brotherhood 1
Bella Juarez
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
RAPID DOMINANCE
Copyright © 2012 by Bella Juarez
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-787-2
First E-book Publication: November 2012
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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DEDICATION
There are so many people who make big projects possible. I am lucky to have people in life who want to see me successful and have helped me to achieve my goals. First and foremost my thanks go out to my biggest fan and technical advisor on all weapons and warfare, my son Dane. To my husband John who tolerated being ignored while I wrote, wrote, and wrote some more. My BFF, Shelly, who always told me I had it in me. Thank you to two wonderful authors who took me under their wings and encouraged me to be more than I ever thought I could be, Heather Rainier and Corinne Davies. A big thank you to Siren for taking a chance on a new, unknown author. To my mom, Yolanda, and my dad, Augie, for giving me wings and always encouraging me to “go for it.”
Finally to the extraordinary men and women serving past and present in the United States military that inspire the heroes and heroines in the stories I write. Thank you for your service.
Bella
RAPID DOMINANCE
Black Ops Brotherhood 1
BELLA JUAREZ
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Victoria wanted to shout with joy when she got back into her car. The job was almost perfect. It would be easy. She simply had to cook, wash, and clean for a married couple with no kids. She would have room and board and a small salary. The house wasn’t that big and the man of the house traveled a lot. At least that’s what his wife had told Victoria. The woman, she had a feeling, could be high maintenance. Maggie Thompson had just spent an hour telling Victoria how sick she was.
There was one very bizarre requirement to the job. Victoria could only speak Spanish—no English allowed, ever. Whatever. Victoria shrugged. She spoke and read fluent Spanish, and if it got her the job, so be it. This job would give her plenty of time to work on her thesis and finish up her master’s degree from George Washington University. Mrs. Thompson had told Victoria she could start tomorrow morning and move in. It was a good thing, because Victoria was running low on money and really didn’t want to dip into her savings again. She decided to get back to her efficiency, pack up her few possessions, and be ready to move in with the Thompsons by tomorrow.
Victoria had lived very sparingly and could move within a day. The lease on her small, furnished efficiency was up in a couple of weeks. This job was just in the nick of time. As she gathered her clothes into a pile on the bed, she decided on what she would take to the Thompsons and what she would give back to charity. Thrift stores had been her best friend since coming to the DC area three months ago. Things were finally beginning to turn around for the better.
* * * *
“I’ve hired a housekeeper,” Maggie informed Reese.
“Why?” Reese asked, annoyed.
“You know what my situation is, Reese. I can barely walk, and you expect me to cook and clean?” Maggie whined.
Reese had just had a really shitty day. He had just been handed orders to Iraq, again, for at least eighteen months. This would be the longest stint that he had been on in some time. General Petraeus, in all his infinite wisdom, had decided to do a “secret surge” ahead of the larger one that would be announced six months before his outfit would come back. This one would involve a giant push to gather intelligence and soften up the areas that were problematic, mainly Fallujah and Najaf.
This would be the second time the Marines were in Fallujah. It was getting bloody and would come to a head if something wasn’t done. Great idea, but it sucked for those having to carry it out. The operations planned had code names like Al-Fajr and Phantom Fury. Thanksgiving and Christmas 2004 would be spent inv
olved in a military offensive halfway around the world. Reese would be coming home as the larger surge started.
Of course, claiming to be sick all the time, Maggie couldn’t do any cooking or cleaning, so she had to have a maid. All these supposed illnesses were getting on his nerves. This new bullshit move of Maggie’s was doing nothing for Reese’s mood. He had learned a long time ago, like most pussy-whipped husbands, not to argue. He would get nowhere, and it would just piss her off.
There was always something wrong with Maggie. She had this pain or that ache, and she was in and out of the hospital and on and off drugs for almost the entire history of their marriage. If she wasn’t suffering from a migraine then she came up with fibromyalgia. It was always one bullshit excuse after another. Which, for Reese, meant sex on a regular basis was out of the question.
All men in any sort of relationship understood the concept—the Bermuda Triangle. He thought quietly how it kept men scared, in line, and on their knees. The little Bermuda Triangle that women had between their legs was a powerful weapon, if used effectively. He often wondered how it could be used in full-scale war. Just the fear of it should be able to drive most men into submission. There was an old Gunny that once told him, “that pussy pulls trains, boy.” He was right! Reese considered with some regret just how stupid men got when it came to the Triangle. With this last move to Virginia, Maggie had decided to drop all the pretenses of a communal marriage and moved into her own bedroom. At the time, the move didn’t surprise Reese. In fact, it was a relief. He tried to compensate for the lack of attention at home by immersing himself in his career. He applied and went to every training school he could. Reese found himself taking every assignment that was passed his way. He even contemplated how lack of sex and attention was great for his career.
Reese and Maggie had drifted apart. When the intimacy faded, their communication went with it. He was alone in what had turned out to be an emotionally exhausting relationship. She seemed to take more pills and see more doctors, and he took on more dangerous assignments. He had been to Afghanistan and Iraq more times than he could count.
Reese thought about how women must have a little secret class that holds lessons on how to deal with men. His father always told him there were two direct routes to a man’s heart, his stomach and his dick. Both have to be treated equally. If you can fuck a man, feed a man, and give a man a place to sleep in relative peace, he will gladly go out and slay dragons and lay the world at his woman’s feet. With some pussy and skills in the kitchen, a woman could name what she wanted.
What the fuck! Reese raged at himself. I ain’t getting any and I ain’t going to get any, so why the hell am I keeping my mouth shut in fear of some creature that claims to be sickly all the time? Nope, not today! It was a turning point for him as he realized he had nothing left to lose. I am the one with the paycheck, I am the one who takes said paycheck and pays the bills, and I am the one leaving in four months. What the fuck!
Reese quickly decided that if Maggie decided to walk, it would be worth giving her half of everything just so he could be free to seek an occasional pleasure in another, more willing Triangle.
“Maggie, I’m not paying for a housekeeper. You need to get off your ass and do your job. You stay home all day. I expect this house clean and my meals cooked when I come through that door at night. If you want to pay a housekeeper, you go get a job and you pay them,” Reese said firmly.
“What?” Maggie whispered.
“You heard me,” Reese said, standing his ground.
It took Maggie a full minute to realize the line in the sand had been drawn and Reese was not budging. Not one inch.
“You selfish bastard! Neanderthal!” Maggie screamed.
Reese knew Maggie was not used to being denied any whim she had. She was officially pissed. And for the first time in ten years, he didn’t care. He was tired, and in his own way, started the ball rolling for things to come. He watched as the tears started and thought with disgust, what an overused trick. That was not going to work anymore. He turned and walked up the stairs, unfazed, to his bedroom, and changed for his evening run. He heard the door slam as she ran to her bedroom and began to cry in earnest. Reese figured somewhere in her mind Maggie realized her power over him had waned. Her worst fear had come to pass. He was thinking with the right head, and she needed him a hell of a lot more than he now needed her.
Reese went for his run, took a shower, and made himself something to eat. The door to Maggie’s room was still closed when he passed on his way to bed. That was the good thing about her moving to her own room, he pondered as he lay down in the middle of his king-sized bed. There would none of her bitching about moving around or touching her and how bad it hurt her. Life was good. He passed out and slept like a rock only to wake with a start in the middle of the night when someone touched him.
“What!” Reese demanded.
“Reese, I’m sorry darling, but I need to go to the emergency room,” Maggie said weakly.
Reese turned and looked at the clock. It was two in the morning. Is she serious? his sleep-addled brain screamed in protest. He didn’t need to ask that question out loud. If he refused to take her, Maggie would call an ambulance. She had him. Again. Yes, she does, he thought with despair, because he could never be sure how much was real or fake. He got up and dressed without a word.
“What’s up, Maggie? What’s wrong?” Reese asked as they drove.
“Do you really care?” Maggie asked in a weak, sulking voice.
“Maggie, please. Just tell me what’s wrong,” Reese said, defeated.
Reese saw the first toe had just stepped over his line in the sand. Damn it! This woman can play me like a fiddle. This was another one of Maggie’s sick games and he knew it.
“I’m in so much pain, Reese. I can barely lift my arms. That stupid doctor at Cherry Point misdiagnosed me. I think I have ALS,” Maggie said as she began to cry softly.
“I hope not, Maggie,” Reese said reassuringly.
Jesus Christ! Why would someone wish that on themselves? Reese was disgusted as he quietly wondered if he could fly Dr. Kevorkian down for a long weekend and end it for both of them. Maggie is sick all right, but her illness requires a quiet stay in a nice white room with lots of pillows.
Within a few weeks after moving there, she had become a regular in the ER. So they took her to the back, and he waited for them to update him on her status. Reese assumed his usual position in front of the ER television, watching CNN.
Reese started musing about Maggie and how it was when they first met and how it ended up where it was today. He was midway through the Naval Academy, and she and he had double-dated with some friends. He always thought she was pretty. Maggie was tall and thin. She had dark red hair and a face that looked pixyish. She always looked attractive and was very picky about how she dressed.
Reese mentally kicked himself because he should have seen the signs way back then. Maggie barely let him even kiss her while they were dating. She had him so frustrated after two years that he finally put a ring on her finger to get laid. What a mistake that was! As he looked back on dating her, it was always her way and never really much fun. She never wanted to be alone with him. When they finally got married, she really got off on being an officer’s wife and the whole Officers’ Wives’ Club thing.
They did a lot the first year they were married, with other people. Maggie tapered off the sex about a year into being married. Her excuse was she was sick from this, that, or the other. He was in love, or thought he was, and didn’t see the games she was playing then. If I ever get out of this and hook up with someone else, it will be different. Reese’s musings were interrupted as the doctor walked out of the emergency room and sought him out.
“Well, she’s extremely distressed and says she’s in a lot of pain. I guess I can start her on a drip for the pain, and you can pick her up later this afternoon. Do you want to go back and see her?” the doctor asked.
No, I want to go home
and get some sleep, Reese wanted to say out loud but didn’t. Of course he knew how to keep his mouth shut. He was a properly whipped husband.
“Sure,” Reese said instead.
When Reese walked into the room, the first thing that hit him was how radiant Maggie looked. She was happily chatting with the nurse who was with her. She was positively beaming at the attention directed at her. She didn’t immediately notice him, so he watched her for a while. When she did notice, something striking happened. Her mood plummeted and her demeanor turned dark. Suddenly, she was deathly ill again. He saw it for himself. This time was a fake. Had she ever told the truth about anything? The nurse tending to her stopped.
“Mrs. Thompson? Are you okay?” the nurse asked.
“I’ll be all right,” Maggie said weakly.
Usually, Reese kept his revulsion to himself, but he simply could not do it this time. He shook his head openly, at first for him, and decided that he was cashing in and not playing anymore. He walked to her and gently kissed the top of her head.
“I’ll be here in the afternoon to pick you up,” Reese said.
“Thank you, darling,” Maggie said weakly.
“Good night, Maggie,” Reese said as he walked out.
When Reese got home it was almost four in the morning. He was emotionally exhausted and at the end of his rope. He didn’t undress and he lay in the middle of his bed. In another hour he would wake up no matter how much sleep he had managed. But today was different. Since Maggie’s dark cloud didn’t hang over the house, he relaxed a little too much. He didn’t wake up until he heard a distant ringing. He jumped up and looked at his watch. Shit!
