Fraternizing (17 page)

"Now, Alex.
He is a damn good Marine, one of the best I've known, and a
very
good friend of mine as well,"
her emphasis on the word
very
made me
want to hurl, "so I would never get him caught up in this mess, but
you--" she paused, looking me up and down, "--you, my dear, your baby
career can be sent tumbling down the highest mountain if I open my mouth and
let the higher ups know that you're trying to trap an instructor." She
moved closer to me, circling while smiling in my face.

"Whatever it
is you think you know, you couldn't be more wrong. And I'm pretty sure that
instructors shouldn't be hooking up in the workplace, so don't think I won't
run my pretty little mouth on you either."

My response
surprised her, sending wrath and fury into her eyes, and replacing the earlier
bitchiness that had been laid out before me.

"I'm giving
you a fair fucking warning, Bennett. Watch your fucking step before I send your
ass packing to whatever little piece of shit hometown you come from. I'm not
one to be fucked with."

"You'd be
wise to heed your own warning, Sgt. Castillo. Now please leave my room before I
let the duty know that you came in here threatening me."

I held the door
open for her and watched her walk out. My nerves were on high alert, frazzled
and
short circuiting
, even though my demeanor didn't
hint at it.

She was right.

If she decided to
run her mouth, she could hurt me while protecting Alex, and what would he do? Would
he fight for me, thus putting
himself
out on the line,
or would he fall in line with her, saving his career while using me as cannon
fodder? The thought was mind numbing, drilling home the reality that I was a
nothing in the Corps and would be viewed as such should Castillo decide to run
her mouth.

I stomped back
into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and putting on a slight hint of mascara
and chapstick. I grabbed my id card and forced it into my back pocket as I
turned and swung the door open with all of my might to walk down to Dalton's
room.

 
"Whoa! Where are you going?"
Alex asked, catching me in his arms just as I was beginning to storm out the
door. He caught me in total surprise, looking like he was just about to knock
on the door.

"I'm off to
the chow hall. I'm hungry, and not all of us have the luxury of home cooked
fucking meals every day," I barked out, hanging on to his arm as he held
me up under my chest while shutting the door behind him. It was an
uncomfortable hold, and I wanted to get out of it, but he wouldn't let go, not
until he had me near the bed and he was able to lie me down.

"Stop that
shit, Blondie," he grumbled, his hazel eyes piercing into me from where he
stood. "I didn't ask for this shit. In fact, I told her I didn't need her
bringing me anything."

"Okay. So
why are you here?"

"I got called
back in and on my way out, I saw Castillo making her way down the stairs, so I
knew I needed to see you. And because the rest of my fucking morning has been
hell since I was interrupted just before finishing you off."

I sat up on the
bed, still fuming mad at everything that seemed to be happening around us. And
in that moment, I remembered that Dalton should have been there by now, but he
wasn't. My mind drifted back to Alex and what he said about
making shit happen.
He could have done
anything to keep him away from me this morning. Standing up, I paced the room,
feeling the intensity of it closing in around us.

"Where is
Dalton?"

"I'm not
here to talk about him right now."

"I don't
care. Where is he? He was supposed to be meeting me for breakfast, and he's not
here. Where is he?"

He ran his hand
over his freshly shaven face, blowing out a deep sigh as he did so.

"I've got
him busy. You'll need to make new plans for breakfast this morning," he
said,
wryly twisting his lips into his characteristically
smug grin, further angering me. He pulled me towards him, running his hands
over my back and down to my ass before whispering in my ear.

"He's
sniffing up the wrong tree. This one is already taken." He cocked his head
to the side, the honey hue of his eyes growing darker by the second. "He'd
be doing himself a favor by backing the fuck up."

The moist flesh
of his delectable lips skimmed the bottom of my ear lobe, sending a flash of
warmth through me.

"I want you,
Cassie Bennett. I've wanted you since the night you rubbed that beautiful
little ass all over me on that dance floor at Coyotes, and I'll be damned if
you're going to tease me with that fucking prick to try and prove a
point." Slow breaths left him, crashing down over me as he pulled away and
burned his high intensity gaze into mine. "You've got me right where you
want me, and I damn sure know I've got you, so stop with the games and tell
that little dude to blow his load elsewhere."

Somehow those
words made me excited.

And limp.

A
nd angry
!

He was so
presumptuous, yet so right as well. I didn't need him seeing that he and his
words, the feel of his lips, and the strong protectiveness of his arms had me
hook, line, and sinker. No. As much as I wanted him, I wasn't going to fall at
his feet as soon as he said something that enticed me.

"You
couldn't be more wrong about Dalton, Alex," I said, finally letting out a
laugh. I pulled out of his grip and moved a couple of steps away from him. "You
should watch Leti," I bitterly responded, causing his eyes to narrow in
snake like slits and his face to contort in anger.

He let out a
haunting laugh that had me feeling on edge. "Don't take that tone or get
too bold with me, Blondie. I have ways of shutting that shit down."

I shook my head. The
arrogance in his tone was beginning to get under my skin. "Go fuck
yourself
, Alex," I called out, rolling my eyes at him.

He quickly
detained me, moving with the fierceness of a ravenous animal and grabbing my
waist, pulling me into him.

"I've tried
fucking myself. It's not working. That's why I'm here." Anger was
noticeably absent from his hazel eyes
;
seductive lust
filling the void. "I. Need. To. Fuck. You." he rasped, our chests
rising and falling in sweet succession. He placed soft kisses down my neck and
over my collarbone as one of his hands worked its way through my hair, down my
back, and over my ass. For a second, I gave into him and turned my head to give
him more access, but I quickly remembered where we were and why this was still
such a bad idea.

"Is that
it?" I asked, working my way out of his arms. "You just want to fuck
me and be done with me?"

He stepped
closer, closing the gap between us while taking a tiny piece of my comfort zone
with him, the darkness of his pointed eyes worrying me more than anything else at
the moment.

"Well?"
I asked.

He moved even
closer, lecherous thoughts flashing through his eyes. I tried not to match his
gaze, hoping to show him that he didn’t intimidate or entice me in my moment of
anger. That sly grin crept back onto his face, further confusing and
frustrating me when it came to him.

"Is that
what you think? That I just want to fuck you and move on? Do you even realize
what I stand to lose if anyone was to find out what we've got going on here? Even
though I haven't had the pleasure of fucking you 'til you can't speak
anymore?" His eyebrows shot up, almost as if he were waiting on a
response. "I'm selected to pick up Staff Sergeant in a couple of months. That
shit would be gone faster than I can blink. I'd probably be busted down in
rank, restricted to the barracks, lose pay, and possibly face brig time all
over frivolous fucking with some random student of mine." The words came
out with a hiss, his teeth clenched as the veins bulged in his neck. "Now
does this sound like the need to fuck and run to you?"

My mind couldn't
quite wrap around what he was telling me. I knew the consequences would be
steep, but the fact the he was due for a promotion and would so callously risk
it to be with me, had me confused in ways that I couldn't quite understand.

"You have so
much going for you. Why would you risk it to be with me?"

He looked me in
the eye before answering.

"I don't
know," he said, before pulling me back into his solid chest. "You're
like a piece of forbidden fucking fruit, and somehow I just can't seem to stay
from you."

My willpower was
beginning to break down. I wanted to turn around and give myself to him, let
him have me right where we stood so that the ache no longer burned inside of
either or us.

"Now grab
your things so I can replace your breakfast plans."

He backed away
from me and sat down on the bed, his eyes stabbing into me with more intensity
than the morning sun that had all but seared me out on that mountain.

"We can't go
out on a breakfast date. Are you nuts?"

"Possibly. But
like I already told you, I make shit happen. You understand that?" He
stood and walked to the window, peeking out as I grabbed my wallet and purse
from my
night stand
. "Meet me down at my truck in
five. I'm in the back by the dumpsters."

He planted a wet,
passion filled kiss on my lips, wrapping my hair in his hand, prompting me to
grab for his, but I came up empty since his hair was much too short. He grabbed
my ass, squeezing and tugging with each swirl and twirl of our tongues, and
moaned out his pleasure as I felt the hardness of his cock poking into me.

"We better
hurry up and get out of here," I breathed, trying to speak and catch my
breath at the same time.

He pulled away,
but not before planting two smaller kisses on my lips.

"Hurry up. I
can't wait to get you out of here." And before I could say another word,
the door flung open, sending Alex jumping back and waiting with me in blood
curdling anticipation to see who was standing on the other side.

Chapter 11

Alex

My
eyes shot open as I jumped back, feeling a burst of wind with the forceful
opening of the door. I stood rigid as steel, eagerly anticipating the figure
that would be stepping through the doorway and blowing the roof off of us. My
heart was beating erratically, pounding on the walls of my chest, begging to be
set free.
 
Whoever was about to set
foot through that door was coming with nothing but a promise of bad news
because the only two people who needed to know about Bennett and me were
Bennett and me, and we were both standing right there in that room.

Stealing a quick
glance at her, I watched her normally sun-kissed skin morph into a lobster
shade of
red,
her innocently alluring green eyes
sprout wide as a lotus flower while she swallowed incessantly. If I could have,
I would have taken her and held her in my arms to shield her from whoever was
coming, but half of my brain was still functioning by that point and I knew
better than to be caught with any part of my body touching hers. It would be
more ammunition to the already raging fire.

 
A gym bag was thrust into the room and
then there she was, Pfc. Ruiz, strolling in, her eyes bulging at the site of
me. Her lips instantly formed into a tight pout like she was plotting something
that very instant. My blood began to boil. I knew that this girl would be up to
no good and that whatever was about to come out of her mouth was probably going
to be something that would take the restraints of a saint to hold me back from
her.

"Well…well…well.
What have we here?" she asked, her lips curving into a sinister grin.

There was no way
in hell she was going to know that her presence affected me in the slightest
little bit. No way.

"I thought
something was going on between the two of you. I just didn't think you'd be
stupid enough to do anything here on base."

"You don't
know shit," I hissed, matching her cold and calculating gaze. We stood
glaring at one another like an old fashioned staring contest. Neither of us
wanted to blink and yield to the other, thus handing over the upper hand.

I sure as shit
wasn't going to let this P.F.C., get under my skin and intimidate me. She could
throw every accusation under the sun at me, and I'd fend them off like a
warrior in battle, moving along and waiting for the next obstacle to come my
way.

"Angelica,
whatever you think you know, you couldn't be more wrong," Bennett managed
to sputter out, her voice frail and mousey. Looking at her signified her fear
in what stood before us, so I took the initiative to calm her down, showing her
that there was nothing to be worried about.

"You don't
need to convince anyone of anything, Blondie--"

"Blondie?"
Ruiz laughed, a sick, stomach turning,
knot inducing
laugh. The devil himself would have flinched at the tone of her laugh. "Nothing
is going on, but you have pet names? And a cute one, might I add?"

I glided over to
her, feeling weightless in my moment of wrath and partial despair. I was beyond
pissed off and overly annoyed with her games and was ready to squash whatever
she had in mind like a fucking bug that served no purpose in my world.

"You better
watch yourself and presumptions about an NCO and your instructor at that. False
accusations can land you in a shitstorm of trouble, and don't think that, for
one second, I wouldn't turn your life upside down for trying to destroy
mine." My voice grew lower and gruffer with every word spoken, but the
more I had to say, the more infuriated I became.

"And another
thing, do you think your overnight absence won't be reported as UA because it
can and more than likely will." Moving even closer, I leaned in close
enough to touch her ear with my lips, working diligently to avoid doing so
since that was an intimate move I often made with Cassie, and didn't want to
spoil with the toxic flair that this chick passed off. "You fuck with me
or her, and I'll fuck you, and not in the way that you want me to." Taking
a few steps back, I stared her in the face and twisted my lips into a sardonic
smile before striding out of the room without so much as a glance back.