OBSESSION

Obsession
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A very, very big thank you to everyone that has taken the time to review...All your kind words are very much appreciated. I’m so pleased you all seem to like it, even those of you who have twigged the real names of the two main characters lol.....Hope you all continue to enjoy......
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Chapter 10

The journey to camp seemed to take forever. And the uneven road we were travelling on made me keep bumping into the General. My arms and legs kept knocking against his, and I don’t think he was very happy about it, because he kept looking at me, his stare burning into the side of my face.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I mean, it was punishment enough knowing he was angry at me, without turning and seeing the disappointment he obviously felt for me reflected in his eyes. And besides which, if I didn’t look at him, he wouldn’t speak to me. And if he didn’t speak to me, then he couldn’t tell me he thought it might be better for everyone if I didn’t stay.

So I kept my head lowered to the floor.

That is, until he shuffled to the edge of the seat. He must have felt uncomfortable, having me crammed up so tight against him. I had taken up his extra space. Great, now I had something else to feel bad about. Maybe I should have declined his offer of sitting up front with him.

I started to turn, to tell him that it was okay if he wanted me to move into the back….But…

Oh no! He must have been having private thoughts about his boyfriend, Lieutenant Pike…because he…Well, I mean…He had a huge lump in the front of his trousers…And I don’t think I was supposed to see it. I felt myself begin to blush.

I turned my head quickly, and stared out of the side window of the truck. Oh god…Oh god….I had seen the General with an erection….How fucking embarrassing was that? Had he seen me look? No….No I didn’t think so, I’d only turned my eyes for a moment … Besides, if he had, he would have yelled at me, I’m sure. He would have shouted at the driver to stop the truck, and he would have booted me out and left me to fend for myself in the middle of the desert.

As I tortured myself with thoughts of what he would, or could, do to me, I felt my leg nearest to him begin to quake. I dropped my hand down, and took a tight hold of my trousers, trying to stop my shaky limb from moving. I hated to admit it, but the man I was sat beside terrified me. He was so tall, so good looking, so…so….powerful…

The truck went over a really big bump, and the General hit me quite hard with his knee. He kept his legs open, almost as if he were forcing them as far apart as he could. I think he was trying to tell me he wanted more leg-room. So I moved over as close to the door as I could, giving him more space. I was practically hugging the door. I couldn’t have moved over any further if I’d tried.

I wondered why he needed to open his legs so wide. But then…It had been a big bulge…And I suddenly caught myself wondering how it would look without the confinement of his trousers.

Shit Shit Shit….. The thought of the General’s arousal was giving me my own erection. I couldn’t let him see I was getting excited, I just couldn’t…I would never live it down. I shut my legs together and discreetly covered myself with my hands. Damn…Why the hell would this be happening to me?

Now I was really blushing. My cheeks felt like they were on fire, and I knew he was looking at me again, I could just feel his eyes boring into the back of my head. If he were to see my face, he’d know I’d seen him….And he’d know too what I’d just been thinking……my embarrassed expression would give me away. I was going to have to keep my face averted from him, so I fixed my gaze on a tiny spot of dirt on the pane of glass in front of me…

I wasn’t going to turn and look at General Zaphara for anything!

“Aspen….An unusual name.”

Oh crap…Of all the times for him to want to start a conversation. I answered without looking at him, hoping he’d take the hint and leave me alone.

“Had any trouble settling in?”

Okay, so he wasn’t going to take the hint Again I responded without looking at him. I knew it was rude of me to do so…but…. He asked a few more questions, and I replied to each of them the same way…kept the answer short, kept it simple. It seemed to work…for a while.

“So….Commander Jake…Has he instructed you how to behave while you’re here with me?”

Commander Jake? My head shot round to finally face him, my erection forgotten as panic gripped me. Why would he bring up Commander Jake’s name now? Unless….unless it was because…because he thinking of him. And why would he be thinking of him?

As far as I was concerned, there was only one reason for him mentioning my commander. He was asking me if I thought I was up to the high standard required for this mission, knowing full well I wasn’t. I just had to plead with him…I just had to beg him to let me stay. Swallowing down my fear, I took a deep breath.

“Sir? I’ll try so hard to be good…You won’t be disappointed with me, I swear.” It was hard for me to get the words out. If he said no….. I was shaking all over with trepidation at what his reply would be.

For a moment, I thought he was leaning in towards me. But then I realized that the truck had just stopped too quickly, and the General was moving with the motion of coming to an abrupt halt. And he wasn’t none too happy with the way the driver had braked so suddenly either, judging by the angry reaction he gave.

He yelled at the poor man, shouting and swearing at him right up in his face. I watched in silent dread, as the General reached up a gloved hand….and ripped an earring from out of the drivers ear. That must have hurt like hell, but to give the injured man his due, he never even made a sound. All he did was cup his hand over his wound and try to stem the flow of blood from falling onto his shirt.

I decided to get out of the truck, pronto…before the General could turn his anger back towards me. I grabbed my backpack as quick as I could, and made my escape, running across to where the others were beginning to gather….Safety in numbers!

Lieutenant Pike was issuing orders as I approached. He was sending everyone off to fetch and carry various things. I was no exception. As soon as I neared him, he turned to me and barked out a command.

“You boy….Assist those men out over there.” He nodded towards the truck he had travelled in. “You can help carry stuff, can’t you? Or would you like me to give you a hand?” he asked. Was he being sarcastic? He hadn’t offered his assistance to any of the others…..Why offer it to me?

“No Sir, I’m sure I’ll be able to manage,” I replied politely, even though I was seething inside. I turned away from him, keeping the scowl off my face until I knew he wouldn’t see it. “And my fucking name is Aspen…not ‘boy’,” I hissed under my breath.

I made my way the short distance across to the truck he had indicated. The cargo it contained was being unloaded, and there were already several, quite large crates lying upon the hard sun baked ground.

“Ummm….Is there anything I can do?” I asked nervously, as some of the men turned at my approach.

“Yeah, you can bend over for me,” one of them replied. Laughter rang out at what he’d said. I couldn’t see the joke myself.

“Lieutenant Pike sent me to help you,” I told them, as if I needed to explain my presence there. This piece of information just seemed to amuse them even more.

“You bending over would fucking help me,” the same man said, to which the others laughed even louder. “And when you’ve finished ‘helping’ me, you can then ‘help’ all the others…How about it lads?” The men began to whoop and holler at his suggestion. I just stared mutely at all their leering faces.

“Hey come on fellas, don’t be so mean to the little guy…. give him a chance,” one of them said, silencing the others. The man mountain that spoke in my defence came towards me, and put his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll tell you what,” he said, leaning down slightly to talk to me. “See that last crate on the back of the truck?” I nodded. “You move that crate on your own, and show us what you’re made of…and we’ll treat you like an equal. If not….” His grip on my shoulders tightened, as he spun me around to face his comrades. “If not….He becomes the camp slut…. Everyone agreed?”

“What?” I pulled myself from out of his traitorous grasp and glared at him, as the uproar began again. They were all laughing and cheering now, and making gross gestures at me. God they were all so crass.

The man that had held me leant down and whispered in my ear. “And I get dibs on fucking you first.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I snapped back at him, swinging a punch towards his face. I realised at the very last minute that he could very well snap my puny body in two with one hand, but I was just too angry to care at that moment.

“Ooooh, the kitten has claws,” he laughed, easily dodging my blow. “Okay, okay…You don’t want to be our little plaything? Then prove your worth to us….Move the crate, that’s all you have to do. You don’t even have to get it out of the truck…Just move it to the edge. Fair enough for you?”

I glared at him. I’d show them…. I could do it. After all, how hard could it be? The crate was almost at the edge already anyway. There was only a few inches to go. I’d have their respect in no time.

As the men began to gather round, I climbed into the back of the truck and took up my position beside the crate. Placing both hands firmly against one side of the wooden box, I pushed as hard as I could…..It didn’t budge!

I leant my shoulder against it and dug my feet into the floor of the truck, trying to move it by using short, sharp jerks. Still nothing…I didn’t even make it rock. I stopped trying that after my shoulder began to bruise.

“Admit it Blondie… You can’t do it, can you?” someone shouted out. “The only thing you’re good for, is shagging.”

“Come on out here,” another piped up, as he began unzipping his pants. “We’re waiting for you.”

Well, they could wait on….I wasn’t giving up that easy. Going towards the front seat of the truck, I then charged at the wooden box, slamming my body up against it, again and again. I struggled really hard to move that crate…but I couldn’t even shift it one fucking centimetre.….

“Cadet Aspen…. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” It was Lieutenant Pike. At his arrival, all the others dispersed like early morning mist, making themselves look busy elsewhere. “You can’t possibly move one of those crates on your own boy,” he continued. “They’re far too heavy. It takes two people to move them.”

“But…but they said…”

“Who? The men? Ignore them. They know these boxes can’t be moved by one man alone. They’re just messing with you. Come on,” he said, as I jumped out of the truck. “Let’s find you something you can help with.”

Bastards! If looks could kill, each and every one of those soldiers would be dead by now. The look I threw them as I walked away was one of total dislike. How could they tease me like that? Why?

“Aw come on pretty boy, can’t you take a laugh?”

“Nah, the only thing he’s good at ‘taking’ is cock.”

Their mocking words and laughter chased after me, as I followed behind the Lieutenant. I’d show them……one day. I wouldn’t always be a weakling.

Lieutenant Pike led the way towards a large tent that was in the process of being put up, and stopped in front of one of the big burly men there.

“Hi Sampson. Any chance you can give this kid something to do? Keep him out of trouble?” he asked.

Kid? Keep me out of trouble? What the fuck….I wished he’d stop treating me like I was someone straight out of kindergarten! I fumed silently while the man named Sampson looked me over.

“Here Princess,” he said finally, holding out a large wooden mallet towards me. “You know how to use a hammer, don’t you?”

“Yes Sir,” I replied ignoring the insult, taking the hefty instrument from his hands and almost dropping it, surprised at how heavy it actually was.

“Right then Cadet, as I go around pushing the stakes into the ground, you follow behind me and whack them in good….You okay with that?” he asked. I nodded. Didn’t sound that hard to do.

Alright…. so I was mistaken. After hammering in just the first few couple of stakes, I was puffed out. It wasn’t fair….The ground was too hard and dry, it was like bashing away at solid concrete. And the mallet was beginning to feel like it weighed a ton.

I stopped to wipe my sweaty brow with the back of my sleeve. Which was a complete waste of time really, because as soon as I wiped one lot of sweat away, a fresh lot took its place. I stared up into the late afternoon sky….Wasn’t the sun ever going to set?

“Why don’t you just take it off?”

I spun round to see Lieutenant Pike watching me.

“Your shirt, Cadet. You’ll be much more comfortable if you take it off. And besides….You’ll only look out of place if you don’t.”

I looked about me. He was right….I was the only one still wearing upper clothing. Even he had taken his shirt off, and his bronzed body glistened in the sunlight. I was surprised at how hairy his chest was, considering he didn’t have a single hair on top his head. And I couldn’t take my eyes off his bulging biceps as his hands came towards me and his huge fingers began undoing my buttons.

“Take it across to Belford…He’s been appointed wash duty,” he said, as he undid the last one.

Belford? Who was that? I looked around as I slipped the garment off my shoulders….And saw ‘button boy’ sat upon his knees behind a large pail of soapy water, surrounded by a huge pile of dirty, sweaty clothing. Belford….so that was his name.

“Give it here, I‘ll take it over to him,” Lieutenant Pike said, taking my soiled shirt from my hand. “You carry on with your task…..You’re doing a good job of it.” Wow…..Praise! I hoped he’d tell the General how well he thought I was doing…..That would definitely go in my favour. Smiling, I went back to work with renewed vigour.

Finally the last tent was put up. Just as I’d bashed home the very last tent peg, one of the men grabbed my hand, making me drop the mallet in surprise as he dragged me around to the front of the canvas shelter I had just finished staking.

“There you go….The two little love birds have got their very own little love nest all set up for the night,” he said laughing, as he shoved me forward, hard. I almost fell over…I would have fell over…if ‘button boy’ hadn’t been there to catch me.

“Well, what do you think Aspen?” he said, holding on to me tightly. “This is going to be our first night…sleeping…together. Oh god, I’m so excited.”

I didn’t have a chance to utter my colourful reply.

“This is no time for slacking Cadets,” barked Lieutenant Pike. “Get your asses over here, there’s potatoes that need peeling.”

Potatoes!

After that day, I didn’t want to ever see another potato again in my life. I spent the next couple of hours scrubbing, peeling and cooking the damn things….

I was surprised at how cold and dark it was getting, as the sun began to sink. I slipped my clean dry shirt back on over my head as I felt goose bumps begin to rise on my rapidly cooling flesh . Someone had got a campfire going, and after everyone had finished eating, they began to converge around the warmth and light that radiated from it. I was about to follow suit, when a restraining hand was placed upon my arm.

“Dishes Aspen…You and me, now.” It was Lieutenant Pike again, issuing yet another order at me. I followed him meekly back towards the designated ‘kitchen’ area. I got stuck with the washing up, while he stood there with a drying towel draped over one arm.

“I’m really glad you’ll be coming with me tomorrow Cadet….I like you,” he said, as he began wiping the cleaned dishes. I looked at him. ‘With him’…What did he mean by that? “General Zaphara will be splitting us up into two groups tomorrow…I’ll be leading one team, and he’ll be leading the other,” he explained, giving me the answer to my unspoken question.

“Why?….Why are we splitting up Sir?” I asked, puzzled.

“To see how well we do when faced with the challenge of fewer and fewer men” he answered. “The day after tomorrow, the teams will be split up a final time…leaving just two people alone together in each new team, to look after and fend for each other. It’s a great test of comradeship and trust.”

Oh god, I thought… I know just who, with my blasted luck, I’d end up paired with…‘button boy’. The gods would never be so kind as to let me end up with someone else.

“Will Butt….I mean, will Cadet Belford be going in the Generals team Sir?” I asked, keeping my fingers crossed for a positive answer.

“I don’t mean to sound patronizing Aspen, but…..you’ll both be in my group tomorrow. Zaphara only ever takes the best of the men with him in his team,” Lieutenant Pike answered. “Not that you haven’t pulled your weight or anything today. Its just….Well, he can be a bit of an egotist sometimes.”

I rinsed my hands off with some clean water, and the coldness of it made me shiver. That, and the thought of spending any time alone in the company of the brown haired boy. Lieutenant Pike laid down his cloth, and placed his hand gently against the small of my back.

“Come on,” he said, “you’re freezing…Lets go sit by the fire.” He kept his hand pressed against me all the way there.

“Hey…I wondered where you got to….Come over here, I’ve saved you a spot next to me.”

“I don‘t think so,” I said coldly to ‘button boy’, and I made to move away from him. A chorus of jeers immediately went up from the watching men.

“Ohhhhh….Are we going to witness another lovers quarrel?”

“Are you two little bitches gonna have another brawl? Fifty on the blond to kick the brunettes ass this time…”

No….I couldn’t get into another fight…I just couldn’t. How much more unruliness from me would the General tolerate?

Unwillingly, I sat down beside Cadet Belford, and the jeering immediately stopped as soon as he put his arm around my shoulders. I had taken my rightful place, as far as those bastards were concerned! I didn’t like it, and I felt uncomfortable, but at least it was less humiliating than being sent back to face Commander Jake, and explaining to him what a failure I had turned out to be.

It was getting quite dark now, and the men had begun singing songs. I didn’t know the words to any of them, but Belford did…and he joined in with them loudly. I just wanted to crawl into my bunk and sleep, I was so tired…but I didn’t want to be the first one to leave. To stand up in front of everyone first would be like admitting I was the weakest…

I glanced up, and saw the General standing just inside the front of his tent. He seemed to be looking for someone…. Lieutenant Pike, of course. I wondered if his earlier displeasure towards his lover had ebbed yet.

Suddenly, Belford remove his arm from around my shoulders and stood up. “Time for us to go to bed,” he whispered, holding out his hand to me. I looked up, about to open my mouth and throw some verbal abuse at him, when I felt someone staring at me….It was the General, and he had that angry glare on his face that he always seemed to wear whenever he looked at me. Why did the sight of me always make him so angry?

I looked across the flames at him. Did I really want to piss him off even more by making a scene? No…But how I wished he’d come to my rescue, and save me from this annoying boy again. I realised that wasn’t going to happen when the General just stood there and watched, not saying or doing anything. So, reluctantly, I lifted my hand, and let Belford pull me to my feet….I let him wrap his arm around me….and let him lead me to our designated tent, all the while hoping and praying that the General might still intervene….

Once inside the darkened tent, I felt around my bunk, trying to find my backpack. I had an emergency pair of pyjamas folded in there somewhere. I didn’t get a chance to find them….As soon as Belford had secured the night flap, he pounced on me…pushing me to the floor and knocking the wind out of me. His hands were all over me, tugging and pulling at my clothes. His mouth was all over my face, his tongue licking my skin, his teeth nipping and biting.

I felt cold air hit my chest, as he ripped my shirt wide open. I struggled beneath his manic grasp, trying so hard to resist the urge to call out for help, still not wishing to make a scene….Then I froze, as I felt his hand trying to wedge its way down the front of my pants.

I panicked…and picking up the first thing my fingers closed upon, I brought it crashing down upon the back of his head. I’d hit him with my heavy duty torch. It must have dazed him, because he was moaning…. but his hands were still moving….So I whacked him again, a couple more times, until he stopped moaning…and he stopped moving….

I scrambled away from him quickly, breathing deeply and trying to calm my pounding heart. Had I killed him?

Nervously I re-approached him. He was alright…..I could hear him breathing. I gave a deep sigh, and left him alone, crawling fully clothed into my bunk, pulling the blanket right up to my chin.

“PIKE….”

It was the General….calling for the Lieutenant. Had he heard the rumpus? Did he know what I’d just done? Were they coming to arrest me?

“Get your ass in here……..It’s needed….”

Oh gods, I’d almost fainted…..I began to breathe again……He just wanted the company of his lover! Slowly I began to relax. They weren’t coming for me, after all.

I heard the sound of their tent being zipped up. And soon after that I could hear the sounds of grunting and groaning. They were doing whatever it was lovers do. I found myself wondering what kind of lover the General was. Was he a good kisser? What did he look like, naked?

The noises coming from the tent were intensifying…. the soft gasps and low moans intoxicating….What were they doing? Whatever it was, it sounded like they were both enjoying it immensely.

As I listened to their love making, I felt myself begin to harden…and I lowered my hand down.