Chapter 19
SANTIAGO
In my office the day after I’d made the biggest mistake of my life, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. How could I have done that? I fucked a cadet, for God’s sake. Not just any cadet, either. I fucked Ron Perkins’s little girl.
I hadn’t just fucked her. I fucked her so hard that I thought she’d passed out for a minute after. Shit. I was like a damn animal with her.
It had been years since I’d lost control like that, and while she definitely hadn’t seemed to mind it, that only posed a bigger problem. Because not only was I now worried about having hurt her, but I also knew just how much she liked everything I had to give.
She was still so young, though. So young and so responsive, I was losing my mind thinking about it and since I couldn’t stop, I had no idea how I was going to keep training her.
When I started getting hard all over again as her moans echoed in my ears and I remembered just how hot and how tight she’d been, I buried my face in my hands. Get it together, Cortez. That’s your mentor’s daughter you’re fantasizing about.
To make matters worse, as if thinking about him had summoned him, there was a sudden knock on my door, and when I looked up, Ron was grinning at me from the doorway. “Rough night?”
“Yeah, I guess you can say that.” I motioned for him to come in and then got up to shake his hand, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the bulge in my pants. “What are you doing here, sir? Everything okay?”
He nodded as we shook. Then he sat down and looked around my office with a fond smile on his lips. “Everything is fine. The wife and I stopped by to take Layla out for lunch and I thought I’d check in with you before we left. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Not at all. It’s good to see you. You’re welcome anytime.” At least, that used to be true. Until your daughter rocked my world last night and now I’m in real trouble. Scratching the itch did not make it go away. I repeat, it has not gone away.
If anything, it was worse than ever. Like the salve I’d applied had turned out to be one I was allergic to. He grinned at me as he looked me over. “Are you okay? What on earth did you and Patton get up to last night? I can’t remember the last time I saw you look this bad.”
“Oh, uh, Neil wasn’t actually involved this time. It was just me. I tied one on alone to blow off some steam. The first few weeks of this session have been rough.”
He shot me a sympathetic smile that somehow managed to make me feel even worse. “Some are definitely more intense than others, that’s for sure. Your group, for example, nearly gave me a damn heart attack every day of your session.”
I chuckled even though I was pretty sure I might just puke instead. “Sorry about that. For what it’s worth, we’re glad you didn’t really have one. No one else would’ve been able to handle us.”
“You’ve got that right,” he said before letting out a sigh. “How’s my girl doing?”
Fuck. There’s no way he knows, right? Shit. Tread carefully, Cortez. “She’s doing well. Really well, actually. So far, she’s one of the shining stars of this class. She takes everything in stride and she excels at every challenge we set.”
Pride swelled in his eyes. “It’s great to hear it. She sure is something special. I’m just glad she’s in good hands here.”
Oh, trust me. She’s been in my hands, alright. My hands were all over her just—fuck! “She definitely is something special. You don’t have to worry about her, Ron. She’s going to make it through with flying colors.”
He gave me a sharp nod. “Thank you. Are there any of the guys trying to make it hard for her?”
Well, there’s certainly one guy who’s hard for her. I swallowed past a lump in my throat as I shook my head. “No, sir. I made an example of one little prick who was pushing his luck, and as a result, they’re leaving her alone.”
“Thanks. You made him quit?”
“Yes, sir. Gave him the good old, run until the sun sets order and he, uh, he didn’t make it to tea time.”
Ron laughed. “That one always works. It’s good to know some things haven’t changed.
Well, I should get going. The ladies are waiting on me and I wouldn’t want them getting antsy.
You know what they’re like when they want something and they’ve both told me that they’re starving, so I’m going to get them fed before I get in trouble. ”
“Yes, sir.”
I definitely knew what Layla was like when she wanted something. I still couldn’t quite figure out how she’d managed to break my resolve. One minute, I’d been absolutely determined to keep my distance from her, and the next, I’d been eating that sweet pussy like I’d been the one who was starving.
Somehow, she’d broken through all my defenses. She’d told me what she wanted and I’d given it to her without even really hesitating. I’d been a complete pushover for her, and I couldn’t afford for it to happen again.
As I walked Ron to my door and shook his hand again, he frowned at me. “You sure you’re okay, Cortez? It looks like there’s something other than just a hangover bothering that head of yours.”
“No, I’m good. Just preoccupied, I guess. We’ve got a long week ahead of us next week. I’m just sorting it all out.”
He nodded with understanding in his eyes, then gave me a salute and left. As soon as he was gone, I deflated. That had been too close. Not in any real way, but for me, emotionally, it had been too damn close.
Which only solidified my resolve. What had happened with Layla was never happening again. No matter what, I could not give in to her again. Even if it had to mean pushing her harder than ever before and pushing her away while I was at it.
My teeth ground together and my fists clenched, and then my door opened again. Holy shit. Can a man not have a moment in his own fucking office around here?
Neil gave me a weird look when he saw me, his head tilting as his gaze raked over me. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing,” I lied between clenched teeth. “What is it?”
My friend looked at me for another beat, then shrugged, grinned, and walked around me to drop into the chair across from my desk. “I just saw Ron Perkins on his way out. What was he doing here?”
“Checking in on his daughter,” I said honestly. “He wanted to know how she was doing and to make sure no one was giving her any shit.”
“Are they?” he asked curiously. “I suppose this new class doesn’t have any reason to hate her father the same way we do, but I’d imagine they’re still feeling something about her being in class with them. You haven’t been giving her any preferential treatment, have you?”
“No, and I’m not going to either.” Unless you count making her come so hard that she cried as preferential treatment. “I don’t even know if the cadets have figured out who her father is yet. If they have, no one has said anything to me about it.”
“They wouldn’t, though,” he said as if it was obvious. “Do you really expect them to run to you, complaining about how their classmate’s daddy is a legend and that they’re scared they’re not being treated fairly as a result?”
I huffed out a breath, but he had a point. As I walked back to my chair and sank down on it, I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to tell you that I saw Ron and that I gave him the finger.” When I gave him a doubtful frown, he smirked at me. “Well, you know, I gave him the finger behind his back—and in my head. Not in real life. That would’ve been career suicide.”
I shook my head at him. “He really isn’t a bad guy. Everything he did during training was to make us better and it worked. I don’t hear you complaining about how I treat my cadets and I’m every bit as bad as he was.”
“Yeah, but you’re you and he’s him. It’s different.”
“No, it’s not.” I sighed. “I’ve got to get back to work. Is that all?”
“It’s Saturday, Cortez. The Saturday of a three-day weekend. You don’t have to work.”
I shrugged. “Okay, maybe I want to get back to work then. How’s your stomach?”
He grimaced. “You don’t really want me to answer that question. Suffice it to say that I exploded, but I’m getting better now.”
“No beer for you today?”
He pulled a horrified face at me. “Definitely not. Oh, uh, there was one more reason I came to find you. One of the cadets brought a woman back to the Station last night.”
My eyes narrowed. “Who was it?”
“A guy who is now in the brig,” he said. “He got all cocky when he was caught. To be fair, he was pretty wasted at the time, but his attitude didn’t do him any favors.”
I sighed. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. I’ll take care of it.”
He nodded and stood, then waggled his brows at me as he grinned. “Make ‘em pay, would you? The dude really was an asshole, hurling all kinds of profanities at the officers who brought him in and even asking if we’d lock the girl up with him because he wasn’t done with her yet.”
I flinched. “You can bet your ass I’m going to make them pay. It won’t happen again. Why does there always have to be one in every class who pulls shit like that?”
Even as exasperation tightened my gut, I knew I was being a damn hypocrite. That cadet in the brig probably hadn’t gotten nearly as far as I had last night, yet here I was, talking about how I was going to make them all pay for his mistake and being annoyed at him for making it.
If anyone should’ve been in the brig this morning, it was me. The mistake I’d made had been much, much bigger, and if anyone had tried to interrupt me in the middle of it, I probably also would’ve asked if she could come with me.
Fuck knows, I hadn’t been done with her by a long shot—even by the time we’d left. Hypocrite or not, though, it was my job to make sure the cadets knew that they weren’t here to mess around, and come Monday, that was exactly the lesson they were going to learn.