Rank & File (Anchor Point Book 4)

by L. A. Witt

  I laughed. “Yeah. I’d say so.”

  We turned to each other and laughed. He found my hand between us, and once we’d made that connection, I needed more, so I slid closer to him.

  As I draped my arm over him, he kissed my temple. “For the record, I don’t only top. You ever want to switch, say the word.”

  I wriggled against his hot skin. I loved being on top, but bottoming for Will was addictive. “Maybe eventually. If you want to switch, say so.” With a wink, I added, “So you don’t think I’m hogging all the good stuff.”

  He laughed. “The good stuff? Oh, I’m getting plenty of that.” His fingertips drifted up my thigh. “I am more than happy to fuck you into next week anytime you want.”

  Any witty response I might’ve had disintegrated into a little moan.

  “And if you give me a few more minutes,” he murmured, “I am definitely planning to fuck you like that again tonight.”

  All I could manage was, “Yeah.”

  This was going to be one long night. And tomorrow was going to suck.

  I grinned.

  Bring it on.

  During slow days, it wasn’t unusual at all for me to kill time with Noah. He was a chief whose office wasn’t far from mine, and we both probably spent as much time in each other’s offices as our own. It was frequently work related since we worked in the same department and I was his supervisor, but there was a lot of shooting the shit too. Rank had its privileges sometimes.

  Today, we were in my office, lounging after he’d dropped off some vehicle reports and an update on the harbor patrol boats that were still malfunctioning despite the “best” efforts of Port Ops. Fucking idiots. We sipped our coffee and caught up, pausing whenever the radio on my desk crackled to life in case it was something we needed to address. Not that there was much going on. The only radio chatter so far had been routine check-ins from watch commanders and one FYI about a fender bender in the Navy Exchange parking lot, but that could all change in a heartbeat. Only took a second for a major wreck, a gate runner, or a domestic to have us on our feet and out the door.

  So far, so slow.

  As we talked, I took a moment and just looked at my friend. Some days, I still couldn’t believe it, but he was a different man than he’d been in all the years I’d known him. He’d finally stopped drinking earlier in the year, and he was so palpably in love with Anthony that even the guys around the precinct had noticed. That man had saved Noah’s life too. I’d tried for years to get Noah to control his drinking, and even issued him an ultimatum after I’d busted him postbender one too many times.

  It was really Anthony who’d driven it home, though. When Noah had realized his career had been on the line and the man he loved had been gone, he’d pulled himself together faster than I’d imagined possible. There’d been bumps and setbacks, but I was pretty sure he hadn’t touched a drop of booze in months. A few weeks ago, when a nasty cold had dropped him on his ass for almost a week, he’d refused to take any of the good stuff for it because of the alcohol. That was when I’d known for sure he was in this for the long haul. When he’d rather suffer through days on end of not being able to breathe than risk a single shot of Nyquil, he was serious about staying clean.

  Now, his eyes were clear and he seemed healthier—especially since he’d been using the gym as an outlet—not to mention happier. Being sober and in love was a damn good look on him.

  “So how goes the move?” I asked.

  “Slow, but it’s coming along. Anthony’s got a couple of job interviews this week, so hopefully something will pan out.”

  “Really? He found some nibbles in this town?”

  Noah shook his head. “Portland, mostly, but they all allow telecommuting. The one he’s really hoping for requires him to be there one week out of the month, but they’ll pay some of his moving expenses to Oregon so he doesn’t have to fly back and forth from Denver. The salary is more than he’s making now too.”

  “Wow. Sounds like a sweet deal.”

  “Very.” Noah held up his hand, his fingers crossed. “They really like him, so we’ll see how it goes.”

  “Tell him I said good luck.”

  “Will do.” Noah sipped his coffee. Then he kicked back in his chair and rested his boot against the edge of my desk. “Somebody got laid this weekend.”

  I nearly choked on my own breath, which he’d probably hoped for. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Bullshit.”

  “What makes you think I got laid?” I looked down at my blue camouflage blouse and tugged at my lapel. “I have a cum stain or something?”

  Noah snorted. “Please. Like you’d ever let someone come on your uniform.”

  I lowered my hands. “Well, it must be something.”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “You just seem different. I was starting to think you’d lost interest in the entire male species after that dick-wad left, but you look . . . different this morning than you have in a while.”

  “Maybe I’ve been getting more sleep or—”

  “Stop it, Will. You’re not fooling me.”

  I grinned to hide the nervous pounding of my pulse. “Okay. Maybe I am getting laid. Doesn’t mean I’m divulging the details, though.”

  His eyebrows arched impossibly high. “You’re doing someone you shouldn’t be, aren’t you?”

  Oh, you could say that.

  He stared at me, and he was about to say something, but then our radios came on, making both of us jump.

  “Charlie one, this is Alpha eight.”

  Noah scowled, then pushed the button on his radio. “This is Charlie one. Go ahead.”

  “Yeah, we need some assistance down on Pier Three. Dispute with shipboard security.”

  Of course. The never-ending dick-waving contest between landside and shipboard MAs.

  “Copy. On my way.” Noah released the button and scowled at me. “Well, damn.” As he stood, he wagged a finger at me. “This isn’t over. I’m going to figure out what—or who—you’re doing.” It was playful, but there was a note of concern too. Like he was genuinely worried I’d gone off the deep end.

  Maybe he was right.

  I had a meeting with Commander Wilson this morning to go over some changes to our admin procedures, so at around eleven, I strolled over to his building. On the way, I tried to ignore the fact that this was the department where Brent worked. No one would see us and magically put the pieces together, but we couldn’t be too careful.

  I didn’t see him, fortunately, and made it to Commander Wilson’s door. I knocked, and when he let me in, I said without thinking, “Good morning, sir.”

  Sir.

  Oh God.

  I suppressed a shiver. When had that word become electrically charged?

  Around the time I started using it as dirty talk in the bedroom, that’s when. With my officer fuck buddy. Crap.

  Wilson apparently didn’t notice. “Good morning, Senior Chief.” He gestured at a chair, and I took a seat.

  Our meeting wasn’t terribly exciting—they never were—but I couldn’t shake that squirmy feeling that had shown up after I called him sir.

  Throughout the meeting, I slipped in a few casual sirs to desensitize myself again. By the time Wilson dismissed me, I managed a professional “Thank you, sir” without any kind of embarrassing response. Maybe I could get used to “sir” again after all. Maybe.

  I stepped out of the office to head back to the precinct, and—

  There he was.

  In blue camouflage, focused on something another officer was telling him, the man I’d spent last night riding like he was the last man I’d ever fuck.

  He looked so official and put-together. His uniform was as squared away as I’d expected—he’d struck me as someone who, despite breaking all those regulations last night, was as by the book as I was.

  I shivered and kept walking before he noticed me. Seeing him like this made the sex we’d had a
hundred times hotter. It was no longer the high school equivalent of cutting class with one of the football players to make out under the bleachers (something I’d done more times than I could count during my teenage years). More like sneaking off with the class president and fucking over the principal’s desk—wilder, hotter, and a lot more dangerous.

  I grinned to myself and stole a glance over my shoulder before I turned the corner. It was stupid to get this turned on by doing something that reckless. But, hell, maybe after this many years of being a good little Sailor, I needed some rebellion. As long as no one found out, then what was the harm?

  Idiot.

  All the way back to my office, I couldn’t get the image out of my head of Brent in his uniform. Our base hadn’t switched over to the green camouflage yet, though several Sailors who’d recently transferred in were already wearing them, so he and I were both still in blue. Not that it mattered if we were wearing green or blue at this point. Ever since the Navy had switched to camouflage utilities across the board, the distinction between officers and enlisted had blurred a little. From a distance, we were indistinguishable from each other. Just generic blue-clad members of the same rank and file. Up close, when insignia were easier to see, it became more obvious. The gold anchors on my lapel signified my rank as a senior chief. The pair of silver bars on his made it known he was a lieutenant. Two tiny pieces of insignia that very firmly established our places on the food chain.

  It had always irritated me on some level that an officer like Brent was technically senior to me. I probably had a decade more in the Navy than he did. He was an O-3. I was an E-8. If he’d been an E-3, I’d have outranked the ever-loving fuck out of him. But that O not only meant he got paid probably twice what I did, it meant that I—with more years, more promotions, and more time at sea—would have to salute to and obey him.

  I had to admit my chronic annoyance with the officer-enlisted bullshit was significantly placated in this case. Yeah, if we ran into each other outdoors with our covers on, I’d have to salute him and call him sir. Yeah, if it came down to it, he could give me orders I’d have to obey.

  But that was much easier to swallow when I knew and he knew that he’d been bent over a mattress last night, naked and hard and begging for my dick.

  Who’s in charge now?

  I grinned to myself and suppressed a shiver. A little voice in the back of my head was trying to pipe up and remind me why I needed to stop doing this, but I ignored it.

  A few more hours, sir, and then you’re all mine . . .

  Another day. Another meeting. I’d grown up going to Navy events and listening to the brass drone on about . . . stuff. I’d learned to tune most of it out by the time I’d been in kindergarten. These days, I actually had to listen to it. Today, the three captains—base, carrier, and supply ship—had spent a full hour arguing about whether to move the carrier to Pier Two or leave it at Pier One. Then after that, another thirty minutes hashing out if the move should happen now, or if it would make more sense to wait until the ships went to sea, and switch them when they came back. So. Boring.

  Plus the supply ship captain’s nose whistled when he breathed.

  Funny how the instructors at Annapolis never bothered to mention this part of the job. They probably thought us poor cadets had been hazed enough.

  Eventually, we were dismissed. I was surprised when I checked my phone and realized the meeting had only gone on for two and a half hours. I legitimately thought I’d been in there long enough for an empire to rise and fall.

  Commander Wilson and I walked back together, shooting the shit on the way, and after he’d gone into his office, I continued toward mine. There, I dropped into my chair and stared up at my Annapolis diploma. Not because I thought I’d find some inspiration or motivation in it, but because it was there. In my line of sight. Something to look at besides the gray wall or the paperwork I was supposed to be doing.

  Coffee. I needed coffee.

  So I abandoned the paperwork and went in search of coffee. When I’d found that, I came back and forced myself to start slogging through the forms and reports and whatever else had been thrown my way.

  At exactly twelve o’clock, I wasted no time getting the hell out of the office. For a long time, I’d brought my lunch to save money and be healthier. Then I’d figured out that if I brought lunch, I’d eat it in the break room or at my desk, and it didn’t feel like a break at all.

  So, more often than not, I hit up the officers’ club or the food court over by the Exchange. Today, the latter. I’d have to go for a run this afternoon to make up for it, but that was okay. Good way to kill time before Will came over.

  Will. I shivered, hoping no one else in the Subway line noticed. And then, of course, a couple of MAs picked that exact moment to walk by. Everyone on base wore the same digicam uniform, but the MAs were easy to spot. The bulky police belts, black bulletproof vests, and sidearms strapped to their thighs were a dead giveaway.

  Normally I’d ogle the hell out of them because why the hell not. Today, I made sure to look anywhere but right at them. I didn’t want anyone catching on that I found anything attractive in an MA. After all, that might make them think I found something attractive in one MA in particular.

  That was ridiculous. My paranoia was beyond stupid. No one had any reason to suspect Will had ever given me so much as the time of day, never mind some of the most powerful orgasms of my life.

  This was a tiny town and even tinier base, but there were still several thousand people here. I didn’t know what Lieutenant Commander Bodner did once he left the office. I had no idea what Commander Wilson and his husband got up to after dark. Ensign Green could be teaching French at the community college and doing magic acts at kids’ birthday parties on the weekends for all I knew. Once the day was over, that was it.

  Which meant none of them had any reason to believe I was burning up the sheets with Senior Chief Curtis.

  And somehow . . . that made everything we were doing a lot hotter.

  So much for suppressing that shiver. I was probably blushing too. Whatever. The thought of what I was getting away with—wild sex with a man I wasn’t supposed to touch—was way more of a turn-on than it should have been. I took my career seriously. I didn’t take regulations lightly.

  But this one act of rebellion? This one thing no one had to know about but us?

  Is it time to go to his place yet?

  Finally, it was five o’clock.

  And finally again, around seven thirty, Will’s shift was over.

  But when I walked into his apartment, something in his expression made my gut clench.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked as he shut the door.

  “I . . .” He sighed. “I was thinking today. About what we’re doing. And, my God, it’s hot, but . . .”

  “But it’s a risk.”

  Will nodded. “Yeah. It is.”

  “We knew that going into it.”

  “Right, and it hasn’t changed. One minute, I’m turned on just thinking about it. The next, I start really thinking about it, and . . .” He met my gaze. “Are you sure you’re still on board with this?”

  “Are you?”

  His expression didn’t change. “I asked you first.”

  I gnawed the inside of my lip. I’d been climbing the walls all afternoon, waiting for us to finally be behind closed doors so we could fuck. It’d been all I could think about.

  Now that he’d put that thought out there . . .

  It was still all I could think about.

  I stepped closer and put my hands on his waist. He didn’t back away, thank God.

  “Yes, I’m still on board.”

  He looked in my eyes, and the Are you sure? in his expression must’ve been visible from space.

  “If you don’t want to do this,” I said, “say so.”

  Will shook his head. “It’s not about wanting, believe me. Just . . . second thoughts, I guess. Or fourth or fifth. Whatever.”

 
; “I get it. Don’t worry.” I sighed. “And, listen, I’m not taking it lightly. I promise I’m not. But the thing is, from the time I was ten and started Sea Cadets, my entire life has revolved around the Navy. Setting myself up for a shot at the Academy. Then graduating the Academy as close to the top of my class as I could get. Now, moving up the ranks and checking all the boxes so I can get to the top.” I ran my palms down Will’s sides. “This is the one thing I’ve done for myself in all that time. And I can’t get enough.”

  “Even if it jeopardizes everything you’ve worked for?”

  “It only jeopardizes my career if people know. As long as we keep our mouths shut and do this all behind closed doors . . .” I curved my hands over his hips. “There’s no reason to worry, is there?”

  Will’s lips pulled tight, but he couldn’t hide the way he shivered when I let my thumb brush just shy of his cock.

  “I live and breathe the Navy.” I stroked him through his pants. “This thing we’re doing? I want it for myself.”

  “So you get off on bending the rules, do you?” The growl in his voice was subtle, but it was there, and it reverberated straight to my balls.

  “Not usually. But everything I do with you?” I moved my hands around to his ass and squeezed the firm muscles. “It’s hot, and the more we do it, the more I want.” I regretted the words as soon as I’d said them. Just what I needed—Will catching the scent of desperation and thinking I was going to be clingy.

  He grinned, though, so he must’ve understood what I’d actually meant. He backed me up a step. Then another. When my shoulders hit the wall, he pressed against me, pinning me there and sending a tremor through my entire body.

  “I’m not usually one for breaking the rules.” His lips grazed mine. “But I’m willing to make an exception.”

  “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” God, don’t question it. Just go with it.

  “Why?” He kissed me harder. “Because being in bed with you is worth it. Every time.”

  “Fuck . . .”

  “And now that I have you here, you know what I want to do?”