“Well, no need.”

“Um, we have to—”

“Those fucking plans have changed, Lance Corporal. You are no longer needed here,” I angrily bit out. My eyes burned through him with the urge to shove his ass out of there, and he slowly backed away. I watched him leave, then turned back to Cassie’s room. She opened the door as she was putting something into her purse.

“I’m ready now, Andrew…” Our eyes met, and her smile faded. “Where is Andrew?”

“Andrew? I don’t know any fucking Andrew.”

“Where the hell is he, Alex?”

“Who the fuck knows? I need to talk to you,” I growled. I took her hand and pulled her back into her room, closing her door behind me.

“Alex you don’t get to—”

I rushed her and took her in my arms, then crashed my mouth down on hers before she had a chance to finish whatever ridiculous statement she was hoping to say. I knew I had no right to stop her from anything at this point, but that was beside the fucking case. Whether I had the right or not was irrelevant.

I was Alex.

I was going to fucking do it anyway.

Cassie tensed in my arms, but quickly relaxed as her hands held strongly to my head, cementing the kiss. My hand took hold of her hair, tugging roughly as she pushed her tongue further into my mouth. The deliciously sweet vanilla aroma did me in, jolting my dick against her, sending violent sensations throughout my lower half. Cassie tasted of everything sweet, succulent, and refreshing.

I was done with having her dominate me. That shit would never fly. I tugged on her hair, giving myself the space to overtake her. My free hand went straight for her ass, squeezing as I pushed my tongue further into her mouth, lapping up every bit of her. Everything wrong in my world instantly became right. Cassie had that ability to do that me, even with little to no effort. My hand on her ass slid up to her waistband and snuck inside her pants.

Heaven.

She was wearing a skimpy thong, allowing my hand to get a warm feel of her perfectly toned ass cheeks. My cock moved again, aching with the desperate urge to fucking release. I tugged on her pants, pulling them down just enough to expose the top of her ass, when she moaned and released from my hold. She was panting hard, but the look in her eyes was what had me troubled.

“Alex,” she breathed, running her hands over her hair. “What the fuck are we doing?”

“What we should have been doing all along instead of fucking fighting.”

She stepped back and looked at me, looking confused, then laughed. “You’re a piece of work, Cruz.”

“Don’t call me, Cruz. Too fucking formal.”

“Whatever. You don’t get your way, throw a fucking fit, try to start something up with your legal help, then have the audacity to come here and demand shit from me. You are laughable.”

“You weren’t laughing a minute ago when you were down my throat. And anyway, I haven’t started shit with my legal help, but I see you’ve moved on rather nicely.”

“I haven’t moved on to anyone. I was—”

“I don’t care to hear the explanation, Cassie. The fact of the matter is that little shit ran as soon as I barked, so I highly doubt he’s what you need.” I inched closer to her, slowly closing the gap. “We’ve got our shit to deal with, yes, but we aren’t fucking done. Not by a long shot.”

“I don’t think that’s your call to make, Alex.”

“I don’t have to make that call,” I said, completely eliminating the gap. I put my lips to her ear and felt her exhale. “Your body tells me everything I need to know. It knows me. It wants me. It betrays you for me. Everything else is irrelevant.”

I palmed her pussy through her pants, feeling a rush that I hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. This was my safe spot, my sanctuary. I knew I had her, but I also needed to remove the lingering fear from my own mind. Baby steps, Alex. Baby steps.

“This is no longer of any use to you,” she said, taking my hand and removing it. “You can’t get back in there.”

“Doubting me, Blondie?” I asked, smiling sardonically. “I think we both know better than that.”

“I don’t know much of anything anymore.”

Her pessimistic attitude was beginning to grate on my nerves. She was playing hardball, and I had to give it to her, she was doing a good job of it. But I played harder, and this was a game that she would not win.

“Well, let me fill you in. This is mine,” I said, cupping her pussy again. “It’s mine, and always will be. I’ve been so far up in there, pounding away so frequently, that my fucking name it etched on your walls. When you come, that’s me, and when you writhe with sensation, that’s me. This is mine, Cassie, and I fucking dare you to tell me otherwise.”

She stood still, lightly exhaling as my fingers began massaging her through her pants. “Alex,” she called in a breathy tone. I intensified the movement of my fingers, feeling her get wet in my hands. Her tits perked and her nipples formed into two solid pebbles, poking through her tight-fitting t-shirt.

I licked my lips, completely turned on by the look of her getting off on my fingers. Cassie was a fucking prize, and I felt so lucky to be the recipient of everything she had to give me.

“What, Blondie?” I asked, moving to her neck and nibbling. “What do you need to say?”

She pulled away, once again panting and rubbing her hands over her face. The temperature in the room had spiked tremendously.

“Alex, we can’t do this. The physical shit is always going to be there, but there is so much more to our relationship.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

“Okay, so tell me how we move forward without fixing everything else.”

“There’s nothing to fix, Blondie.”

“Are you kidding me?” she cried out, erasing that dick jolting look of pleasure from her eyes. “Alex, you ended us. And now you want to come back here because you’re jealous, and for some strange reason feel as if someone is trying to claim your territory, but you aren’t coming one hundred percent.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means you’re withholding.”

“Withholding?” I wasn’t sure what she was getting at, and now she had my interest.

Her green eyes darkened as she turned around and kicked her bed. “When were you going to tell me that you were deploying? When is that happening, huh? You’d think if you were in a relationship with someone, they’d be the first person you told.”

Shit! Fuck! Damn!

How the fuck had she found out? I was going to tell her, but with everything going on, I wanted to be squared away before throwing that bombshell out and having to deal with the aftermath of it. “Who told you that?”

“You didn’t. So it doesn’t matter who.”

“It does fucking matter, Cassie. Who. Told. You?”

She folded her arms in front of her chest, glaring at me as if she were trying to burn holes through me. “Why didn’t you tell me, Alex?”

“I’m not answering any fucking questions until you answer mine.”

She rolled her eyes but finally relaxed her arms. “That stupid fucking guy in the Admin office.”

“What guy in the Admin office?”

“Vernon! He came and said something to me at the pool, and when I went to pick up my orders, he mentioned you deploying. Castillo and her snide fucking face was there too.”

Anger immediately went off inside of me, spilling out in waves. “Fucking Vernon? I’m going to shut that fucker’s mouth once and for all.”

“Alex, you don’t need any more trouble. I just wish you had been the one to tell me.”

“I had my fucking reasons, but that’s beside the point. It’s not his job, nor is it legal for him to give away orders. If I were a bitch, I’d run up the chain of command, but this problem has been long brewing, and now I’m finally going to handle it. Fucking depraved jarhead style.”

“Alex, no, fuck that. If you want anything with me, you won’t do it. You’ll let it go, and move on.”

“Don’t throw those silly ass ultimatums out at me, Blondie. He’s been a thorn in my side for far too long, and now this limp dick is meddling where you are concerned. If people want to come after me, bring it the fuck on, but where you are concerned, that shit is off limits. He’s thrown himself into it, and I’m going to fucking help get out of it.”

I took out my phone and texted Castillo, asking where she was and if she knew where Vernon could be found. Cassie was afraid that the charges I had just beat would come knocking at my doorstep again, but I wanted to beat this fucking idiot to a bloody pulp. Everything that had built up to this moment went beyond a couple of words that he’d spilled to Cassie. This was years in the making.

“Look, I’ll call you later. I have to go and find this asshole.”

“You’re taking me with you.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. If you think I’m going to sit in here and let you go fuck yourself, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Don’t you want me to go and fuck myself? I’ve been given those orders a couple of times now.”

She smiled, laughing off my sarcasm. “Shut up, Cruz. Take me with you, or you stay here. Either way, I’m not letting you go like this.”

I reached out for her and took her hand, kissing her perfectly pout lips. “Then let’s go, Blondie because I’ve got a fucking issue that needs to be rectified, and I’m not missing out on my opportunity.”

Chapter 14

Cassie

Alex drove over to the gym, but stayed in the truck after he’d texted Castillo to let her know he’d arrived. I wasn’t exactly sure what he had up his sleeve, but the look in his eye was downright murderous, and if the people who he had in his crosshairs weren’t two people who I wholeheartedly despised, I would have feared for them.