Fraternizing (29 page)

When the door
closed and we were left alone, I stood and swiftly made my way over to her,
standing directly in front of her, and laying into her.

"I fucking
warned you. I fucking did. You decided to interject yourself in matters that do
not concern you."

She swallowed
fast and furiously.

"Why the
fuck did you think you could go around spreading lies, telling Pfc. Bennett
shit that never happened? Did you think I would just let that shit slide?"

"I… I'm
sorry." Her feeble voice was uncharacteristic for what I had grown to know
of her.

"You're
sorry?" Her apology further pissed me off. My knife hand came
out—all fingers extended and joined with my thumb along the side—as
I used my whole hand to point in her face.

“You have the
fucking audacity to spread a fucking rumor about a NCO and think there will be
no consequences. Then you stand here and give me this bullshit apology. Who
told you I slept with Castillo?"

She stood
stunned, not moving and not speaking. Her silence was grating my nerves. I
reached into my pocket and pulled out the paper with the heading Humboldt
County. I unfolded it and shoved it into her face, making her painfully aware
that I knew all about her and the skeletons in her closet.

"You want to
fuck with me, I'll fuck with you. How the fuck did you get into the Marine
Corps with this assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapons charge?”

Her eyes bulged
as she took in the evidence in my hand that could do her in.

“It means you
fucking lied about it, and you had a shitty recruiter who didn't check
thoroughly. Or maybe he did, and you both lied about it. Either way, this
constitutes a fraudulent enlistment and could land you in the fucking brig
right alongside me."

I pulled the
paper from her face to see a tear falling from her eye.

"You tell me
who the fuck told you about Friday, right now. I'm so far gone that if you ran
and ratted on me, I wouldn't even give a fuck, but I'm bringing all of you down
with me. You understand that?”

She swallowed
hard again as another tear fell.

"Castillo,"
she whispered.

"What was
that?"

"Castillo. I
overheard her talking to Cpl. Collins."

"Castillo
said I fucked her Friday night?"

"Yes."

I should have
known. The way she tried to play things off on the phone Saturday morning was
too easy going.

"How did
this come about?"

"I was in
the gym kickboxing. She was working out with Cpl. Collins and they were talking
kind of loud. I heard everything she said.”

"And you ran
back and told Bennett?"

She nodded her
head.

I couldn't have
been more thrilled that Ruiz was singing like a canary. To know that Leti had
probably orchestrated all of this was fucking infuriating, but didn't come as a
shock. She was conniving when she wanted to be. I was only now realizing it.

"Your
assault charge stays between me and you as long as you keep your fucking mouth
shut, you understand that?"

She nodded her
head furiously.

I walked over to
the door and pulled it open, motioning for her to step outside. When she did, I
quickly shut the door and pulled out my phone.

Me: I need to see you. This shit is getting
cleared up today.

To my surprise
Cassie responding immediately.

 
Cassie:
There is nothing to clear up, Alex. You've made your bed, now sleep in it.

Me: I'll make you see me if I have to. But
I'd much rather you do it on your own accord.

A few minutes
passed before my phone buzzed again.

Cassie: Where are you?

Me: Secondary room. Go the back way.

I took a long,
soothing, sigh of relief that I was finally getting to see her again. I was
fully prepared that she was probably going to come in hostile, but that didn't
matter to me. I just wanted to see her, to smell her, to touch her.

A couple of
minutes later, she was pushing the door open and sneaking in. Her cammie pants
and her green t-shirt clung tightly to her body, accentuating what I had fallen
for and, unfortunately, had been missing.

"Sit
down," I softly ordered.

She looked
reluctant to do so, but finally moved over to the table and pulled out the
other chair, taking a seat while glaring at me. The whiff of her vanilla smell
tickled my nose, causing me to inhale deeply. I had missed it, and I could have
sat enthralled in the light, sweetness of it for hours.

"I know
what's going on. Castillo spilled everything to Collins, Ruiz heard it all and
came to you, rubbing it in your face."

"So you
fucked her. Who cares how I found out? You did it."

"I didn't
fucking sleep with her." My voice was growing low and harsh, not what I
wanted when speaking to her. I quickly caught myself. "I did not sleep
with her. I made a huge mistake, but I didn't fuck her. I'm being completely
honest with you."

"Okay. So
since we’re on honesty, and you say you didn't fuck her, what happened?"

I looked into her
cold, lifeless eyes. I owed her everything she wanted and more. Taking a long
hard swallow, I finally blurted out, "She sucked my dick. But I stopped
her after a couple of minutes. I couldn't go through with it."

A hammer went
straight to my stomach with the admission of what I had stupidly allowed to
happen outside of The Tavern. Her eyes closed tightly, and she exhaled. I
wanted her to say something, anything. Even if she was going to tell me how
fucking filthy and disgusting I was, I needed to hear it come from her.

But she didn't
say anything.

"I never
meant for it to happen. I was stupid.
I was told by Major
Kinsley
that I was getting NCO of the Quarter and everything I had done
with you came flooding back in, contradicting everything that I had stood for. I
handled it in the worst way possible, and I'm so fucking sorry."

She sat staring
at me for a minute longer before responding.

"Anything or
anyone else? You've already dug the knife in, go ahead and twist it."

Her words were
punishment enough, and if I wanted any shot at getting her back to my side, I
had to be completely honest.

"There was
some random at the bar that night that kissed me. But that was it."

She nodded her
head.

"I'm laying
everything out, Cassie. I fucked up royally, and I'm trying to fix it. Please
let me fix it."

She stared at me
with what looked like disgust on her face.

"This
weekend is a long weekend, it's Labor Day. Come with me and let me make all of
this bullshit up to you."

"I’m not
going anywhere with you."

That wasn't what
I wanted to hear, so I stood and briskly walked around the desk and took her
hand, pulling her up to me. I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her face
in my free hand. The feel of her body in my arms once again sent pleasurable
jolts through my body, even if she wasn't feeling the same way.

"You're.
Coming. With. Me,” I muttered, using slow, deliberate words.

The look in her
eyes finally shifted to what I needed to see—intense arousal.

 
“I fucked up—badly, but I'm owning
it. You’re mad, and you have every right to be. I can accept that, but I can't
accept that you’re shutting me out. I
won’t
accept that. And yes, it's
hypocritical, but I'm selfish. I need to be with you, Cassie Bennett. I need
you to let me back in."

Her eyes were
lightly shut, her body loosening in my arms. I let out a deep breath and pulled
her closer, placing my lips on her soft and delicate earlobe, before
whispering, "I don't deserve you, Blondie. I already know that. But just
because I don’t deserve something doesn’t mean I don’t want it. And when I want
something, I don’t stop until I get it.”

She pulled away
from me, stepping back and gently narrowing her eyes.

“You don’t get to
do that, Alex. What happens if I had been the one to suck someone else’s dick? How
would you react to that?”

The question
stung and sent my thoughts into a rage.

“You don’t even
want to know my answer to that,” I answered, my voice frosty with a touch of
bitterness.

“See? So how can
you expect me to just forget that you put yours in her mouth? It just doesn’t
work like that.”

She had me
stumped, and I could give that to her. But while she was absolutely right, I
couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t accept it.

“We need to get
away. We’re both too wound up and need to release our frustrations while you
let me fix my mistake.”

"I don't
know, Alex. We're so far up shit creek right now--"

"Exactly! So
what else do we have to lose?" I watched as she went into deep thought,
contemplating what I knew she already wanted, but was too stubborn to relent
on. "You don't have to answer me right now. But think about it. I want you
with me. I've pretty much signed my brig time with people finding out about us,
and I'm willing to serve it. But I'm not willing to let you walk. If I have to
be punished for being with you, then I at least want to have you… every last
sweet tasting inch of you."

 
She still didn't say anything, but her
expression softened, making me suck in my bottom lip. That look, the innocence
shown with it, always weakened me.

"Just think
about it."

She nodded her
head and then turned for the door, twisting the knob then walking out of the
room. I wasn't sure what was running through her mind, but I knew what was
running through mine. I was ready to throw away six years of strict, dedicated
service, and the thought of it didn't even scare me. It actually made me smile.

Chapter 18

Cassie

As infuriating as
Alex could be, I had to admit his words pulled me.

Did I have a right to be angry with him?

Absolutely.

Did he deserve to have me fall into his arms
and forget about his selfish, erratic behavior?

Absolutely not.

Did I want
to?

I was conflicted.

On one hand, I
knew just how much his rejection hurt. It was a flash to my past and how I’d
failed at protecting myself where my feelings were concerned. After Colton, I
promised that I would never again place myself in a position to be walked over
like a dirty doormat again. My fragile nerves couldn’t handle it, and it was
time to put me first. Sadly, I’d allowed myself to get right back to that
place.

How I’d fallen
for Alex so quickly was a mystery even to me. Maybe it was his brash nature,
the pit bull exterior with the teddy bear inside? Even as I sat there,
completely agitated with him, his presence, the touch of his warm, smoldering
body, his decadent smell and those strong, adept hands, I couldn’t help but
break down a little on the inside. The man did things to me that I should have
lambasted myself for. How I was hurt, angry, annoyed, and aroused was truly
beyond me.

Now he wanted me
to go away with him for the long weekend? The words pouring out of his mouth,
rolling off of his dexterous tongue, sent shivers over my body. Running off
with him for the weekend seemed like the perfect way to finally get some alone
time together without the constant threat of someone finding us.

But his
confessions
..
.

Castillo, of all
people, was like a knife in my back. Finding out that she touched him, in his
most sacred spot, twisted the blade as it plunged even deeper. She had gotten a
piece of him, and it made my heart lurch, causing a thrash of pain to spill
over my chest. I didn’t want to believe that Angelica was right, and even
though she was only partially correct, Castillo formulating into the equation
in any way possible was enough to make my insides turn on me. The random kiss
from the stranger could be overlooked, but Castillo was like a hard slap to the
face, a hit on my pride, and a tear in my ego.

 
How could I look past it? I knew I
wanted to. I just didn’t know how. Seeing her in the schoolhouse walkway this
morning sent prickles down my arms. I saw red with her smirk, but oddly, she
didn’t say anything to me. My cold good morning greeting and her grin and nod
was all of the interaction shared between us, and even though no further drama
ensued, I was a bit taken aback by it.

Angelica had
grown even more reclusive. Tearing
herself
away
whenever she got the chance, never saying much to me. I’d asked her what Sgt.
Cruz had wanted, but the panic in her eyes, the heaviness of her breathing with
my words, told me that whatever it was, it was in her best interest to keep her
mouth shut.

It was times like
those that I wanted to look past Alex’s stupidity and love all over him. Because
when he wanted to be, he could be very protective and endearing—two
things I didn’t have much of in my life.

It was late
afternoon when our tests from Friday were passed back. A ninety-seven percent
was placed on my desk, along with a sweet, yet seductive grin from Alex. I
smiled back, feeling the joy of finally performing the way that I knew I was
capable of. Angelica received her test, a ninety percent, but she refused to
look at Alex. I could see the restraint, and my interest was piqued. I needed
to know what had happened between those two, and why the sight of him all of a
sudden struck deep fear in her.