"You sure about that? Because I can't remember that last time our lead instructor flirted with one of his students, set up field day failures to get near her, and fell asleep on the job. You'd have someone's rank for falling asleep on duty. It's not like you, Alex"
"Like I've already said, there is nothing to fucking worry about," I grumbled, glaring at him before walking towards to the exit door.
"I'm just letting you know I won't stand by and lie about this shit."
I stopped just as my hand was grasping the knob.
"What did you say?"
"I won't lie about it. If a senior asks about this shit, I will not dishonor myself or my service. The Corps is bigger than one man."
My eyes dimmed as I walked back in his direction, stopping just before him.
"There won't be shit to tell because nothing has happened," I coldly responded, glaring my icy stare at him.
In body size, Jensen was my equal, so he showed no signs of being intimidated. We stood for what felt like a lifetime, staring at one another, willing the other to back down. With two alpha males in the same room, standing on opposite sides of the issue, the air was beginning to go stale.
"Let's just keep it that way," Jensen said, finally breaking the showdown before striding out.
All of my earlier attempts at putting my jumbled nerves on ice were completely thwarted. If it was this obvious for Jensen, then others must have noticed as well. It shocked me when that thought sprung to mind, but I couldn't find a fuck to give. Getting a taste of Bennett felt like a mission that I had to complete, and unfortunately for me, missions required a certain level of precision to attain, and I never abandoned one.
Ever.
On my way back to the classroom, Castillo stopped me, worry clouding her eyes as she stood before me.
"You alright, Cruz?"
"Just fine," I answered, not wanting to get into this with anyone else.
"Well hey, I know you've got duty tonight, I was thinking about skipping Coyotes. I can drop off dinner or something." A smile touched her lips, making me relax the rigidly held muscles in my face that had formed into a tight scowl.
"You really don't have to do that. I can manage."
She smiled again, this time larger.
"I know you can manage. Call it returning the favor. I owe you dinner, from our last date."
She smiled again, patting my shoulder as she walked by. We hadn't been on any dates, so I wasn't quite sure where that shit had come from.
My eyes followed her out of the courtyard, landing on Bennett not too far away—she had heard our conversation. The look on her face punched me in the gut, turning my stomach and making me weak. She looked at me with contempt in her eyes, and for the girl who I was ready to risk it all for, that was the last way I wanted her to see me. I wasn't about to let her slip through my fingers before I‘d even gotten the chance to have them explore her.
"Stay in tonight," I told her after casually making my way over to her. I didn't know what was going through her mind, but I was sick of fucking around with mine.
She looked at me, albeit briefly, then turned for the walkway as if nothing had ever even happened. I knew every time I got too close to her it was a reckless move, but I felt like I was losing ground. I needed her to know that I wasn't just having lewd thoughts about her; I wanted her. Even with the rules and consequences laid out before us, I was willing if it meant both of us getting to fulfill the ache that lay inside. I didn't want her giving that Dalton kid, or Castillo for that matter, another fucking thought, and by brazenly taking her and showing her that I meant business, I was pretty confident that I would accomplish my goal.
Chapter 8
Cassie
Sgt. Cruz must have thought I was a fucking idiot.
As much as Angelica infuriated me, she hadn’t been lying when she said she'd seen them together having dinner. Why would I have thought any differently? The way he’d come on to me at Coyotes could only mean he was aggressive in his confidence, and while he was intoxicatingly good looking, that confidence led me to believe that he had bedded plenty of women, so why would I be any different? He wanted in my pants from the moment he saw me. That wasn't the characteristic of a guy who wants to have a relationship.
The best part of all of this was that we hadn't gone too far, so my disgust with him would make it easier to avoid any more compromising situations. My focus should have been on passing this course and getting out and into a unit, not worrying about my instructor trying to fuck me, then turning around and fucking his co-worker. I don't know where I’d let my mind go, but it was time to reign it back in. Thinking about Cruz nonstop was taking its toll on me. My studies were being neglected, and it had showed in today's test. I couldn't think straight. My mind was all over the place, except for where it needed to be.
At one point, I’d even sat at my desk with his eyes burning into me from behind. Instead of focusing on radio signals and frequencies, my mind drifted to the kinetic energy that I wanted to create with him. His lips, besides other things that I've had the pleasure of feeling, were probably his best asset. Those lips had devoured me and sent chills up and down my spine with just the mere brush of them. Plump, moist, and soft, the next place I wanted them was in between my legs, sucking the life out of me. His tongue, the thick, moistness of it, held the same aggressive nature that he as a person, held. The way he used it, overpowering and inhibiting me, forced thoughts of it inside of me, licking and teasing my clit until I exploded all over him. These thoughts were consuming me, and in every way that counted, they were also destroying me.
He’d told me to stay in tonight, but after internally debating with myself and trying to channel my frustrations with him, there was no way that was going to happen. I would not allow myself to become my mother, waiting on the sidelines for a man while he was out exploring every piece of ass that walked his way. No fucking way. This had my mother written all over it. I didn't want to be anything like her, and my first step to distancing myself from her was joining the Marine Corps, even when she repeatedly belittled me, telling me how much of a failure I would be.
Those words were banging loud and clear. For the first time in a long time, something she had said to me was actually welcomed. Not in the sense that she was right, but her words were my reality check. Failure was not an option for me, but while I didn't have nearly as much to lose as Cruz, I did stand to lose something that I valued--my burgeoning career. As much I told myself that my career came first, I couldn't deny the pull that Cruz had on me and my body. When he spoke so brashly, my body responded, pleading with me to cure the ache and just let him ravish it. I had to work double time to stop the thoughts, to stop the feelings, and as difficult as it was proving to be, I was determined to get it done.
"Hey dreamer. You about ready?" Dalton asked, standing in the doorway of my room. He looked so much different out of uniform with his skinny jeans, black t-shirt, plain black slide-on Vans, and nerdy glasses. I couldn't help but smile at him.
"Yeah, I'm ready. Just let me lock up my locker."
"Shit. I heard about that. Sorry. Newsome can be kind of fucking crazy."
I laughed while locking up the locker and double checking to be sure that I wouldn't have another repeat of Field Day night.
"You're telling me. I thought he was going to put me through these brick walls in here."
"Well, his buddy isn't much better. Sergeant Smith chucked an apple at some Private's head today in class, then was on him like a bad rash after that, screaming in his face because he had dozed off. I thought he was going to pop a blood vessel."