markings of what looked like a rabid animal. My heart lurched at the realization that something physical had happened, and I hadn’t been around to protect her. Sure, she was a Marine and was more than capable of defending herself, but that shit didn’t matter to me. Marine or not, and it was my job to make sure she was secure no matter what the circumstances.
I sat festering in my own self-anguish. Ungodly thoughts stabbed my brain as I thought about her altercation and how I was going to handle it once I had found out the story. I was sick to my stomach with queasiness, and even angrier with the fact that I wasn’t around for her and that she hadn’t even contacted me to let me know about it.
Had I lost her?
Had my own self-pity made me lose out on the one thing worth fighting for? I wouldn’t allow myself to believe that. I was just going to have to work that much harder to get her back even if I had to lose every so-called friend that I had.
I was going to get her back.
Newsome dismissed the class for lunch, and I promptly stood, making a hasty exit out the back door. I caught sight of Cassie, her emerald green eyes locking with mine. The emptiness that lay in them before was gone; her gleam was back. I walked right over to her, not caring about all of the eyes and ears that were probably trained on us, and quietly said, “I need you, in my office, now!”
Before she could say another word, I walked away, down the corridor, and into my office, where I took a seat and waited. A few minutes passed, and there was still no sign of her. She hadn’t texted to let me know that she wouldn’t be coming, and I was starting to get pissed by it all. Another five minutes passed and still nothing, so I stood and yanked on the door, prepared to go and find her if I had to.
Just as I swung the door open, there she stood, looking just as fucking beautiful and delicious as the first time I had seen her. No anger or bitterness could be found in her face. I couldn’t stand there staring at her. I had to get her inside, get her speaking again, hear her angelic voice tickle my eardrums.
I gently grabbed her hand and pulled her into my office, shutting the door behind her. The scratches on her forehead, while nothing too serious, sucker punched me and snatched the air away from me, leaving me grasping for it. My hand immediately floated up to them, and my fingers traced them as I grew more and more pissed by the second. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve any bullshit that I had inadvertently brought her way.
“I’m fine,” she finally said, her soft and delicate hand wrapping around my wrist, pulling my hand away. She smiled, easing me down from the anger filled ledge that I was standing on. “They’re just a couple of scratches, that’s all. No biggie.”
“Who did this to you?” My voice came out a menacing growl, definitely not intended.
“It doesn’t matter,” she replied, moving around me and taking a seat at my desk. I turned and watched her, my heart beating like it was on a sugar high. I couldn’t take her reply for an answer. I needed to know whose head I needed to rip off and stomp down.
“It matters to me. I don’t like seeing you hurt, Blondie. It’s killing me to see this on you.”
She lightly smiled. “I have been hurt far worse than this, Alex. I’ll survive.”
There it was.
A dagger for my heart.
Piercing stabs hit me with her dig at what I had done to her. It was well deserved, but even with that admission, it didn’t take any of the sting out of her words.
“I’ll take that. But I can’t take this. Someone deliberately went after you, and I’d lay my life on the line before I allowed that shit to happen again.”
“It won’t happen again,” she said, casually dismissing it. “Anyway, why was it so important for you to see me?”
Her casual response to whatever had happened had me a bit worried, but she wasn’t interested in divulging any information, so I bit my tongue—for once in my life—and went on with why I really wanted to see her.
“I haven’t heard from you since I asked you to go away with me. I’m growing impatient. I need you with me. Especially after seeing… this.” I pointed to her scratches again which she dismissively shook off.
“I don’t know, Alex. Your words and your actions are two different things. I let myself get caught up in you once, and you fucked me over. I’m not ready to go for seconds.”
She wasn’t holding back. The thick whip her tongue lashed at me made me feel like the piece of shit that I knew I had turned into with my one night of drunken stupidity. There wasn’t a damn thing in the world that I wouldn’t do to take that night back.
“You don’t owe me a goddamned thing, Blondie, but I’m asking you to take another chance on me. Remember what I was capable of doing to you within a few seconds of our eyes locking, our bodies touching, our hearts melding. I’d light my fucking face on fire if it meant I could take back all the bullshit, but I can’t. I just need you to take a leap, to see that I’ll catch you. I won’t let you fall.”
Her eyes squinted as she cocked her head. The wheels were turning; I could hear the pins moving with every turn. Before she had a chance to counter me, I placed my arm around her waist and pulled her into me. She let out a quick breath, my knee jerk reaction taking her by surprise. I sprinkled light kisses on her lips, her cheeks, and her neck. There wasn’t a place on her body where I didn’t feel like my lips belonged.
“You do shit to me that no woman has ever been able to do. And I won’t stop fighting to find my place back into your heart because that’s where I belong.”
She softly exhaled before gently whispering, “You never left my heart, Alex. I’m just not sure you deserve all of it anymore.”
I ran my lips up the side of her dainty neck, back over her jaw, up to her ear, over her heated cheeks...she was feeling every ounce of heat that I felt. Our chemistry could not be denied, but I needed her to let go of her inhibitions. I needed her to see that I was a dumb ass who made a hasty, irrational decision that was haunting me. I needed her to see that she was the one who could save me from my idiocy and ultimately save me from myself. I just needed her.
As I softly ran the tip of my tongue over her impeccably soft lips, I used my free hand to undo her belt, freeing her cammies from the stranglehold the belt had on them. I deftly worked the buttons undone with one hand, then pulled away and looked into her eyes. They were burning with passion, and apprehension at the sight of me reclaiming what was mine and doing it in such a daring manner.
“What are you—“
“Shhhh. Don’t question it.”
I swiftly picked her up and placed her down on my desk as I worked her pants and panties down her legs. Her scent had my libido on overdrive. I wanted to dive into her like a vicious predator finally getting a meal, but there was more to getting her back than just hasty fucking. I wanted her to see my sensual, caring side. I wanted her to see me.
She lay on the desk, looking aroused and nervous all at once. I stood over her, standing in between her legs and smiling down on her. “Don’t be nervous,” I softly whispered, peeling her inhibiting clothing down even further. I thought about the door and that it was still unlocked, but I was too caught up in the moment to care.
“You’re the only body these lips are touching,” I whispered as I lowered myself to eye level with her insanely beautiful pussy. I took my lips to her legs, dotting light kisses along the interior of her thigh. The sweetness exuded from her, tickling my nostrils, making me want to dive right in, but I told myself to be patient. This was all about her right now, and I wasn’t going to ruin the feeling for her.
I placed one hand at her entrance, finding her clit and rubbing until moans came from her deliciously, fuckable mouth. My heart raced with every sound, sending the signal to my cock that she did indeed want me, but right now was not the time for her to have me. I continued working her clit as my lips slowly but surely made their way to her entrance, stopping just outside, before looking up to her and asking, “am I allowed in?”
Her eyes were tightly shut, her teeth holding down her bottom lip as she whimpered and nodded her head. I didn’t give her another second to possibly change her mind before dipping my tongue inside, once again feeling the smooth warmth of her luxurious core.
My tongue drove deeper as my fingers continued to rub her clit. She was beginning to buck on the desk, her moans growing louder and more forceful. I quickly removed my fingers from her clit and grabbed her t-shirt, forcing it up to her mouth. “Bite on that,” I mumbled into her. She took it, her moans now muffled sounds that still turned me on. I used my tongue to swirl around inside of her, lapping her up, trying to take every ounce of the
