"What issues?" Hutchins asked, looking overly concerned. "I live next door to him."

Just as I was about to explain to him what had happened that night in Dalton's room, all of the instructors stepped out, calling for attention and prompting us to assemble ourselves in formation.

"You are taking your first test on the information that has been presented to you over the course of this last week. Hopefully you all studied because from here on out, the information will only come faster and will grow more and more difficult in succession," Jensen yelled, his characteristic bulldog persona on full display.

Sgt. Cruz stood there, scanning the crowd with his eyes, but holding his head steady so as not to gain any undue attention. When he spotted me, he licked and sucked on his bottom lip, putting my conscience on high alert as I tried inconspicuously to see if anyone else had caught on. No one seemed to notice until my eyes locked with Sgt. Castillo. Her eyes seared me as she looked between me and Sgt. Cruz, trying desperately to figure out what was going on between the two of us.

Before long, the formation was calling out, "Yes, Sergeant," and I missed it all because I was lost with my mind elsewhere.

The formation began breaking down with everyone moving to their respective classrooms. Dalton made his way over to me before turning right for his class and folded his arm, placing his elbow on my shoulder.

"Transformers is showing at the base theater tonight. You coming with us?"

"I hadn't even thought about it, I'll let you know," I replied since I had no idea what it was or what it was about.

Footsteps pounded the ground, bringing a strong presence closely behind me.

"You should be thinking about the test you're about to take," Cruz said lowly, surprising both Dalton and me as he stood firmly behind me, looking at Dalton.

Dalton's eyes enlarged, almost as if the fear of God had been put into him. He stepped back quickly, surprise and fear thickly laced in his eyes. I couldn't see Sgt. Cruz's face as he stood behind me, but from what I could read from Dalton, Cruz wasn't taking too kindly to his movie invite.

"Yes, Sgt. On my way now," Dalton said, giving me an inquisitive look before turning to make his way to his classroom. He looked back at me as he walked away, still puzzled by whatever had just transpired.

I slowly turned around to meet Cruz's all-encompassing stare, flames flaring up inside of me as I stood so close to him but unable to actually touch him. An internal battle struck as I had to remind myself that I couldn't just reach out and touch him, even though it was all my tingling hands wanted to do. The imaginary barrier placed between us, courtesy of the Marine Corps, had a strangle hold on me, causing my breath to hitch.

"Don't make me jealous with that little fuck," he said, trying to keep his voice down but unable to do so.

"Excuse me?" I asked, a bit taken aback by his statement. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I mean. I don't play nice when someone tries to take what's mine," he whispered in my ear, then stepped back, smirking at me.

I took a deep breath, feeling every syllable of his words wash over me, flooding me in need and want. He had just stood there and claimed me, and I was all too willing to let it happen.

He turned and walked away, leaving me standing with a lazy grin, feeling like I had been left in a drunken stupor. I watched as he walked away in his Service Charlies, the three, heavily starched lines on the back of his khaki shirt bulging with every movement of his profoundly defined back. His green pants hugged his rock hard ass with every step he took, forcing my mind to think of what I would do if I were ever given the opportunity to grab a hold of it.

Finally realizing that I was one of the last few to make my way inside, I picked up my binder and turned in the direction of my classroom, my eyes landing on Sgt. Castillo who looked like she was ready to attack. She had seen our interaction, and the ferocious glare she shot in my direction served as a warning that things were probably about to become a bit more challenging. 

Alex

I was beginning to get a tad bit too cocky for my own fucking good, but even with that acknowledgement, I couldn't find the self-restraint to hold myself back from testing the waters and seeing just how far I could get with Bennett. Sure, my fucking promotion would be snatched away from me quicker than I could take my next breath, and I could quite possibly lose my current rank, my pay, and be court martialed, but none of that seemed to matter whenever she was around. Her presence was the fog on my brain that left me unable to think. I tried to forget about her, but it drove me fucking insane.

Every free moment I had somehow drifted to her. Her long flowing hair, that gorgeous fucking smile, and the sweet, soothing sound of her voice, all of it had me in a trance, one that I didn't know how, nor did I want to find my way out of.

With the vigorous restrictions set up to prevent situations like the one that I now found myself in, I had to get creative with ways to get some alone time with Bennett. Unbeknownst to her, Newsome was sent into her room to find something, or in this case, create something that could turn into a screaming rage fest for him, thus bringing me into the room. I heard his tirade as he laid into her, and even though he thought she was just the lucky one that I had picked to make an example out of, he enjoyed that shit far too much and I had to keep myself from running into that room and bashing his face into the ground. He had done what I'd instructed him to do, but I didn't like the level that he took it to, and it pissed me off thinking of how angry or scared she may have been in that moment. Newsome is a big guy who can come off as an overly intimidating asshole.

The second I was able to be alone with her, all of the anger subsided, bringing a relative calm over me. That calm was the fucking problem because when it struck, it put my thought process on hold and allowed me to do shit that I knew for a fact I shouldn't be doing, like running my hands up her torso while I kissed her sweet fucking neck. Doors were wide ass open as I stood there, ready to seep into her, knowing damn well that I wouldn't be able to. All common sense escaped me when she came near, making me do stupid shit that could jeopardize everything for the both of us. I needed to reign my shit back in, but I found I was severely lacking the will power, and it would ultimately destroy me.

 I just knew it would.

Sitting in the back of the classroom as they took their tests, my mind wandered back to Dalton and the smile that seemed to creep onto his face every time he got near her. His fucking hands, no matter how harmlessly they touched her, sent my mind to a place that I didn't need it to be. I meant what I said about not playing nice when someone tries to take something of mine, and even though I may have come on too strong, or overly aggressive, I was done with the bullshit. It was time to stake my claim and cement that shit.

Thinking about sitting on duty all night on a fucking Friday night when all of the guys would be at Coyotes, and she would be off enjoying her time with that little dipshit, was frustrating me all over again. Could I make her stay in? As her instructor, absolutely. Would I? No. But that didn't mean that I couldn't find some way to steal some time away with her.

"Time," Jensen shouted as the timer on the desk went off.

I stood in the back of the room near the door, waiting for the students to turn in their papers before walking out for their break.