Sgts. Newsome and Jensen walked up, looking like two angry pit bulls ready to attack on command. They stopped at the door, greeting both Angelica and me, before removing their covers and walking into the room, scouring every inch of it. My breath caught as nerves settled within me.  I thought Sgt. Cruz's absence would quell the nervous flutters inside of me, but it did quite the opposite-- it intensified them. I knew he was around, I just didn't know where or when he would pop up, and that uncertainty escalated my anxiety.

After waiting in the hallway for what felt like a lifetime, Sgts. Newsome and Jensen were finally making their way back to the entrance of the room, effectively signaling that we had passed our inspection. Just as I exhaled the daunting breath that I had been holding, I saw Sgt. Newsome turn his head and begin yelling.

"Why the fuck is this wall locker not secured?"

His thunderous voice shook me, sending ice through my veins as I knew he was referring to my locker. I was certain that I had locked it up.

"Pfc. Bennett," he called out, jolting me back into the room.

"Yes, Sgt. Newsome?"

"Is this your wall locker?"

"Yes, Sgt."

"Then why in the fuck is it not secured?" The veins in his forehead were beginning to bulge as his entire face went beet red.

"I thought it was, Sgt."

His eyebrows twitched as flash of anger went off in his face.

"You thought?" he yelled out, moving closer to the locker before placing his hand and on the unsecured lock. "When you think without follow-up, people die, Bennett. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Sergeant," I quickly replied.

Without another word, he opened the locker, looking around at the contents before grabbing and violently flinging it down onto the ground, expelling all of my personal belongings from inside. There were clothes, body sprays, lotions, hair essentials, make-up, jewelry, detergent, books, and many other things that lay strewn on the ground. I wasn't sure if I should move to pick them up or wait until I was given the order to do so. Instead, I stood there, eyes locked on Sgt. Newsome as he went into a long tirade on how sloppy I was and how my absentmindedness could someday cost the lives of my fellow Marines.

When he finished, he ordered that I clean up the mess and secure my fucking wall locker before stalking out of the room. Jensen followed, never saying a word to me while Angelica stood to the side, probably unsure of where she fit into all of this, but glad to see me being ripped in half.

"Well, I'm cleared, so I'm going to run down to the vending machine. Thank God he didn't trash my shit too, or I would have been pissed at you."

I turned to look at her, her shit stain smirk properly staining her face.

"Shut the fuck up, Angelica," I said, standing to place my wall locker back to its upright position. "My wall locker was secured. You probably unlocked it in hopes of this happening. Well, it happened. You happy? Congratulations."

"I didn't do shit," she quickly defended.

"Right. Casper came in here and did it."

She turned and walked out of the room without another word. I was pissed and damn near certain that she'd had something to do with that. I knew I had secured my wall locker, so for it to just magically be unlocked wasn't adding up for me.

"Private First Class Bennett," a voice growled, making me freeze in my tracks. It wasn't the voice of intimidation; it was the sex oozing voice that had done nothing but distract me since I had first heard it, and now was no exception. "My instructor tells me that you had an unsecured wall locker."

"Yes, Sgt. Cruz. I did," I replied, taking hold of my shaky voice. "It won't happen again."

He moved further into the room, determination shelling every inch of him. My heart began beating erratically as tiny droplets of perspiration coated my hands, neck, and face. He was only inches away from me, that strong, husky scent of his infiltrating my nostrils, sending my overworked and unsatisfied libido into a tortuous overdrive.

"It won't happen again. I already know that." He moved even closer, his rock hard chest skimming my shoulder as he stepped around and to the back of me. "Do you know why I know that?"

"No, Sergeant, I don't," I replied in an embarrassingly breathy tone, taking quick swallows and trying desperately to rid myself of the nerves that had flushed in like a catastrophic wave.

His lips were at the nape of my neck, making the hair stand up. All blood in my body seemed to be rushing to my clit, making it nearly impossible to continue standing there holding on to what little self-control I had left.

He placed his lips on my neck, the moist plumpness thrilling every inch of me with the boldness of the move. He gently skimmed, sending prickles all over my skin. My breathing picked up, and I shut my eyes, hoping I could reign myself back in, but that wasn't happening. I was falling deeper and deeper into the trap that this man seemed to have set for me, and I wanted him to just take me. I wanted him to forget about all of the boundaries and just make good on the desire that we were both withholding from one another.

"You won't do it again because I said you won't, and I can already tell the effect I have over your mind and body whenever I say anything to you," he huskily whispered, further weakening my already fragile hold on self-control.

His answer was certainly not what I had in mind.

I had no response.

I stood there, awestruck and yearning, hoping he would throw caution to the wind and rip my clothes from my body and lay into me.

That didn't happen either.

Instead, his hand made its way to my hip and gently slid up my torso, stopping in between my breasts. His lips were still gently placed on my neck, expelling small breaths that were working to unravel what little composure I seemed to have left. My head drifted back to meet his and I ever so softly placed my hand on his, guiding it over my now rock hard breasts that desperately wanted to be licked, sucked, and manhandled. I felt his cock spring to life and just as I reached back with my free hand to grab it, Angelica's voice startled us out of our moment.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," she called out, just before stepping into the room. Her eyes were full of suspicion, looking from me to Sgt. Cruz, then back to me again.

Luckily, he had moved ever so slightly away from me, and I grabbed the first thing I saw and acted as if I were still stacking things back into my wall locker.

Sgt. Cruz cleared his throat. "Make sure you keep your wall locker secured whenever you are out of the room, you understand that?"

"Yes, Sgt. Cruz," I answered feebly, making Angelica narrow her eyes at me.

I watched him stride toward the door, his big, strong hands dangling on the side of him before he placed his cover on his head just as he made his way outside. I swallowed hard, amazed that we had done what we had done without a care in the world for the burdensome consequences that could have followed our getting caught.

Angelica sat down on her bed, her lips puckered as she watched me move about the room. I didn't want to look at her, not because I was afraid of what she might have to say, but because I couldn't wipe the smile from my face at the thought of what took place, and what could have taken place, had we been in a different location with more time. As much as I knew that our interaction could cost both of us greatly, I was knee deep with longing, needing to get a taste of Sgt. Cruz to crush that feeling.

Friday morning came with little to no sleep. Flashbacks of Sgt. Cruz's hands and lips enticing my body were all I saw every time I closed my eyes, and I showered at least twice in the middle of the night, trying desperately to calm the urge to have him inside of me long after he left.