The Marine

A/N — Thanks for the feedback and comments left so far. Glad some people are enjoying it. Plenty more to come too.

*****

Hannah and I were out in Manchester. It was three days before Christmas. It was around 7pm. The pub was heaving already with revellers, out to enjoy themselves, plenty of laughter and conversation, full of Christmas spirit. At our table were the six friends I’d met previously, more than once by now. This time, four of them had their boyfriends with them, the other two were single and quite obviously looking for some fun. Whether just for the night or something a little longer, only they’d know.

The four boyfriends knew I was on the verge of joining the Royal Marines Commando. There was a mixture of respect and, not to blow wind up my skirt, they were a little intimidated. No real surprise, to be honest. I was only 19 and a half, but taller and broader than all of them. My forearm was the width of their bicep, at least on three of them. I hadn’t bought any new shirts and the one I was wearing practically showed off every muscle on my broad chest.

Hannah couldn’t keep her hands off me.

I was already walking around with head held high, absolutely confidence in myself. God knows what I’d be like at the end of training, but having gone through just to make selection, I knew the next twelve to eighteen months of my life would be absolutely life changing. This time next year, I wouldn’t be a civilian. If I made it all the way through, and the only thing that would stop me being injury or death, I’d be a soldier.

I’d be a fucking Royal Marines Commando. I would restart the torch carried by my family since the days of Wellington and Waterloo. The Great War and World War Two. I’d do what my father had intended but he chose our family. I respected and loved him for that. If he hadn’t stayed with Mum, there was a chance I wouldn’t be here at all. But I was on the verge of doing what I’d wanted to do since I was a little kid.

“When do you leave?” Tim asked.

“Training starts January 10^th. From there, officer training lasts around 15 months. From what I’ve read, there are three specific specialisations for an officer. Being a Mountain Leader is interesting, but I’ll need to read up more about it before making a decision.”

“How hard was just getting selected?” Tom asked.

“Hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done. I spent at least three years preparing body and mind, and it was still nothing like I’d done before. And I haven’t even started yet. I’ve received plenty of paperwork about what to expect. There are three phases totalling 32 weeks where I’ll be alongside regular recruits, while also doing officer training. I then do a further 28 weeks of specific officer training.”

“You get to come home, at least?” Greg wondered.

“Occasionally. It’s a regular job, so we get holidays, public holidays, pension plan, and numerous other benefits, but those mostly kick in once we’re through training and graduated. And they also won’t want us burning out if we’re just on the go 24/7. Yes, the training will be intense, physically and mentally exhausting at times, but while the body will adapt, they can’t push us all day, every day. Everyone breaks eventually but it’s about physical and psychological endurance. Strength of body, strength of mind.”

“Fuck, not sure I could do it,” Tim said, shaking his head, “But fair play, mate. Doubt they see too many Aussies come over to join either.”

“No, most would join the Australian Army and, if they’re interested in joining a special forces unit, they’d join the Australian Special Air Service (SAS), the 2^nd Commando Regiment, or Special Operations Engineer Regiment (SOER). But the family, at least on my father’s side, has always served the British Army or Navy, with at least half serving with the Royal Marines. I wanted to follow the tradition.”

The conversation moved on as I didn’t particularly want to keep discussing what loomed on the horizon after Christmas and the new year. I wanted to spend these last few days of freedom still preparing mind and body, but also enjoying the relative peace and quiet. Hannah had moved out of her sharehouse for the festive season and, unsurprisingly, moved in with me at our grandparents’ place. They loved having her there, obviously knew we were together, and they didn’t care. “We haven’t seen her this happy in a long time,” Grandma said.

We didn’t take off too early that evening as Hannah likely wouldn’t see her friends again for a little while, at least until after new year, as we intended to spend most of our time with the family until I left for training. Ended up in a nightclub that was open until the next morning. I didn’t drink too much but Hannah had a blast with her friends. I did find myself dragged onto the dancefloor occasionally, feeling her hands all over me, which certainly made me chuckle, and also rather turned on as she had no problem kissing me deeply and give me quite the fondle.

Leaving sometime in the middle of the next morning, we had to take a taxi all the way back to Altrincham, which wasn’t cheap, but Hannah slept most of the way. Though I would have liked to fool around, by the time we were in our room, managing to undress her first, I was out like a light by the time my head hit the pillow.

Someone had a hangover when we woke up, and it wasn’t me. I managed to drag her into the kitchen for breakfast, fed bacon, sausage and beans, before we had a shower together, then I put her back to bed. I stayed with her most of the time as she just wanted to snuggle, while also looking for sympathy. “Take advantage of it now. I’ll return a complete hard arse,” I joked.

That’s when she got serious with me. “Nate, if I were to meet someone…”

I kissed her forehead. “Then like how it was with Amy, we’re having fun, Hannah. But if you meet someone you fall in love with…”

“That’s isn’t you…” she said softly.

“That isn’t me, then you will absolutely have my blessing. Whatever I had with Amy was never going to work. She was my sister. You’re my cousin, and while it’s legal, people will still freak the fuck out. Our grandparents don’t mind, and your parents don’t seem to mind, because they see we’re happy, and perhaps realise this is only temporary.”

“Part of me wishes it wasn’t.”

“Me too, Hannah. I’d be heartless to think otherwise.”

She was with it enough that night after dinner that we did head to bed early, thankfully after our grandparents had already retired for the evening. Having sex in the same house as them was a little weird, to be honest. But once we were naked, Hannah on her back with her legs spread, my cock buried inside her as we made love, all that was forgotten.

As I slowly pumped into her, I found the way her breasts moved mesmerising. She knew it too, joking at my expense afterwards that I loved watching her big tits jiggle. Thing is, they were big but they sat on her chest perfectly. And the bra she wore always made sure she had terrific cleavage.

Fingers digging into my back, I kissed her to help her keep quiet as she was now moaning quite loudly, needing to break it to urge me on to fuck her harder. Thankfully, the bed only squeaked a little bit and that was the only noise we had to worry about.

“Fuck, I love your cock,” she moaned.

“Well, my cock just loves your pussy,” I whispered back, earning a smile.

“Would it love my arse?”

“I’m not sure. I do love watching your arse as we walk along.”

“I’ve never done it before, but I’d love to try with you, Nate. Maybe my little parting gift before you head off?” She paused a moment. “Have you?”

“Yeah, this one girl I used to have fun with. She liked to try all sorts of different things and I was the main beneficiary.”

“Friends with benefits situation?”

“Something like that.”

She kissed me. “Am I more than that?” she asked softly, feeling her legs wrap around me.

“Hannah, you are my drop dead fucking gorgeous cousin. Of course you are.”

A broad grin broke out. “Good. Now cum in me, then we can cuddle for a while.”

Good thing I wasn’t in any rush to cum in her, so she ended up riding me for a little while, my mouth attached to one of her breasts as she enjoyed an orgasm first. It was a good one, wearing her out as she relaxed above me, running my hands down to her arse and that’s when she was fucked just like she wanted. We both made a bit of noise then as I was almost grunting and growling, her eyes wild with desire as she enjoyed yet another orgasm before I finally exploded inside her.

Needed a shower after that, both of us quietly chuckling before returning to our room for some well-earned sleep.

The gym I used remained open every day except Christmas and New Years’ Day, and I headed out for my twice daily jog every day, except those same two days, believing I earned at least a little rest. Christmas Day wasn’t the white Christmas I was hoping for, but I had been informed that snow during Christmas was a rare event in the UK. I’d asked Hannah to spread word that I really didn’t need gifts considering I’d be heading off within a couple of weeks. I was happy just to spend the day with family I had only spent time with three times in my life. I did get to experience a true British Christmas dinner though. A big turkey and also a ham hock. A pile of potatoes cooked perfectly. All the trimmings one would expect. Pigs in blankets are the greatest gift given to humankind. Ate far too many of them. Grandad broke out the whiskey once dinner was over and we were soon sitting back, chatting about his service and what I should expect. Hannah barely left my side except when playing with our younger cousins. All of them were still interested in who I was, this tall, tanned man that spoke with a funny accent.

Hannah and I made love… no, correction. Once the families had departed, and our grandparents were fast asleep, Hannah and I fucked. She seemed to have one thing on her mind. Face buried into the pillow, arse in the air, my cock filling her pussy as I pounded her from behind. She eventually asked me to pull her ponytail, which she’d done with her hair specifically, begging me to slap her arse as hard as I could. When I did, even I winced at the red mark I left. She loved it though, begging me to pound her until I just exploded.

“Pull harder,” she moaned.

“Hannah…”

“Please, Nate…”

I pulled harder. Slapped her arse something fierce. Her fingers were fondling her clit furiously, the orgasm that tore through her body almost turning her into jelly. But still she begged me to keep going, despite the fact I’d already cum inside her. She couldn’t get enough that night, aware I had more than enough stamina to keep going. Letting go of her ponytail, I leaned forward until my head rested next to hers. “I’m going to nail your arse soon enough, dear cousin of mine.”

“I have plenty of lube ready,” she murmured, “I’ve done some reading of what to do too.”

“I can help, gorgeous.”

“Cum in me again… please…”

I lasted quite a while, and I was really nailing her by the end, driving my cock into her as deep as I could manage. She couldn’t get enough of me though. We’d enjoyed plenty of great sex already but this was something else entirely. When I finally exploded inside her again, she joked about taking a double dose of the morning after pill considering how much I’d left inside her.

We had a last minute change of plans for the new year, managing to snag a hotel room in Manchester City centre. We only travelled in for the evening, taking a small backpack each, though there was only one reason why we were staying in a hotel. Enjoying an early dinner, we stopped at an off licence to grab some alcoholic drinks and snacks, before returning to our room.

Enjoying a shower first, Hannah had only one thing on her mind to do first. After drying off, she laid back on the bed, spreading her leg and gesturing for me to join her. After a little fooling around, my mouth ended up between her legs, savouring her taste yet again. I’d been with half a dozen women in my life to that point, and I can say, hand on heart, my sister and cousin were simply better.

Once I’d helped bring her to orgasm, I turned her over, raising that perfect tight arse of hers into the air. Grabbing the flavoured lube, I poured some of that and immediately got to work on her. The moans she released suggested she was loving it. Tongue at her little rosebud, my fingers continued to slide into her pussy. My cousin could barely contain her excitement. I’d done this a couple of times with Amy, but we never did more than fingers. I don’t think Hannah would accept anything less than my cock.

Suitably relaxed and turned on, I slid a couple of fingers into her arse, letting her get used to the new feeling. Took her a little time to get used to it, just like Amy when we did it for the first time, but once she was settled down, she absolutely loved it, soon begging me to fuck her faster with my fingers, while her fingers were inside her pussy. “I’ll cum again, then you have to fuck me,” she moaned.

Sliding a third finger into her arse had the desired result, as she had two fingers in her pussy, her other fingers fondling her clit, and she came hard. Probably one of the best orgasms I’d seen her enjoy during our time together. As soon as she had recovered, I removed my fingers, applied some last minute lube to my cock, which was already glistening, as I lowered her down so we were both comfortable.

Pressing against her rosebud, she glanced back and smiled as I ever so slowly slid my cock inside her arse. First, just the head, letting her get used to that, before sliding my entire length in her over the space of a couple of minutes. There was only one position I wanted to fuck her arse in, leaning forward until I was almost crouching, changing the angle even more.

“Oh fuck,” she moaned.

“I’ll start slowly, gorgeous,” I whispered, kissing her cheek, “I’ll only change when you want me too. If it starts to hurt…”

Starting to gently thrust, the only sounds she made were one of enjoyment, gasping and moaning as I did enjoy the sheer tightness of her, until then, virgin arse. I was already rather excited and knew I wouldn’t last long, but I knew she’d probably want to do this half the night. We’d brought wet wipes and other things as we both knew what not to do.

Within a few minutes, I could feel that familiar tingle, and when she urged me to go faster, I didn’t need to be asked a second time. Hearing my skin slap against hers, she started to moan louder. “Oh god, fuck my arse, you magnificent bastard!” she cried.

“Your arse is fantastic, cousin.”

“My cousin has the best cock ever!”

“I’m about to cum in my cousin’s arse.”

“God, yes, Nate! Spray my insides!”

Holy shit, I loved my British cousin at moments like that. And she got what she wanted within five minutes, growling into her ear as I almost drove my cock into her those last few times before unloading. Once I was finished, feeling my cock slowly deflate, she turned her head to smile at me. “Okay, we are doing that again before you go!” she exclaimed.

“And tonight?”

“I’m riding your big, fat cock with it buried up my wrong’un.” She kissed my cheek. “I’m glad it was with you, Nate. I love you.”

“I love you, Hannah.”

Pulling out, I grabbed a couple of wet wipes to wipe off the lube, no other issues thankfully. Relaxing on my side, she cuddled into me, enjoying a very long, sensual kiss, her hands all over me as usual. “You’re going to come back after all your training just hard muscle and a big cock,” she said, giggling away.

“Sixteen weeks basic just to start with. That’s nearly four months. So…”

“If I meet someone, so be it, Nate. But if not, you’re coming back to fuck me senseless.”

“Deal.”

Making out some more, little wonder I was rock hard again rather quickly, and after a little more lube, she happily climbed on, my cock slowly sliding back inside her arse, and I had the delight of watching my gorgeous cousin just bounce up and down on my cock for what felt like an hour and more. She started slowly but, by the end, she was bouncing as fast as if my cock was inside her pussy. “Okay, this is a little fucking addictive,” she moaned.

“So is your tight little butt.”

She giggled. “I got tits but my arse isn’t quite that big.”

“Hannah…”

She giggled again, putting a finger to my lips. “Nate, I know you think I’m beautiful. But I’m a young woman and still worry about it, even if you were to tell me every ten minutes that you think I am. I love my tits. My arse is fine how it is. You love my body. That’s all I want.”

After enjoying a couple of orgasms, not exactly from just the anal as she fondled her clit at the same time, she eventually leaned forward and wanted me to fuck her hard. I kissed her softly, a firm hand on each cheek. Meeting her eyes, an unspoken question of if she was sure… then I fucked her hard. Again, nothing but a smile on her face, as I was anything but gentle until I came inside her. Only then did she say, “Well, I might find sitting on the train home tomorrow difficult.”

We burst into laughter, then helped carry her into the bathroom, where I ran the hot water and we soaked in the tub for an hour. Sitting back on the bed, we enjoyed a couple of drinks and watched the television, counting down to the new year by making love, slow and sensual lovemaking as the clocks struck midnight. The look in her eyes as we brought in the new year suggested a depth of feeling I’d seen from my sister, but also acceptance that it wasn’t going to last much longer.

Breakfast was fantastic the next morning, surrounded by plenty of people nursing a hangover. Returning home to Altrincham, we spent the day doing absolutely nothing again, aware that the rest of my time at home would be spent getting myself ready. That night at the hotel was almost our way of wishing each other farewell. Though we remained together until the morning I was due to depart, and we made love at every opportunity, I could sense us both slowly pulling back.

But I also walked into our room more than once to find her softly weeping. I’d hug her immediately, of course. She’d suggest she was just being silly, but she was going to miss me no matter what. I freely admitted I’d loved the time we’d spent together, and that part of me hoped she would be single after basic training so we could continue having fun.

The night before I left, the entire family took me out for a last meal. Everyone had seen the change in my physique and fitness since I’d arrived. Every day, I had run further and further. At the gym, I was rowing further, cycling further and faster, lifting heavier weights. The one thing I didn’t really know yet, as I simply hadn’t asked with everything else going on, was what the diet would be like as a Royal Marine. I figured it would be the sort of food that would provide a slow release of energy. My grandfather made suggestions but he assumed the diet on offer would be far better than when he’d served.

Hannah and I made love that last night together though only the once before she just wanted to cuddle me for as long as possible. No surprise she started to cry softly. Neither of us needed to say anything otherwise. I was going to miss her as much as I still missed Amy.

Tony picked me up before dawn the next morning to take me to Manchester Piccadilly, Hannah coming along to see me off. Everyone else had wished me goodbye the night before. He parked up and shook my hand, wishing me luck, before Hannah escorted me to the ticket barriers. I already had my ticket, everything I required in my bag or pocket. Civilian clothing for the few times I wouldn’t wear uniform. Toiletries, as they would not be provided. And all the paperwork required as I wanted to be paid!

She hugged me tightly as I held in my arms one final time. “I’m going to miss you something fierce, Nate.”

“Once I’m allowed, you’ll hear from me and I’ll come back whenever I can. Got my phone and we’ll have free time, but I honestly don’t know what it’s going to be like. I have a good idea though.”

“You’d better at least text me!”

I kissed her a final time before I let her go. She walked away first, glancing back once. Thankfully, there was only a smile on her face, followed by a rather shy wave farewell, before I passed through the barrier and walked up to the platform. I was full of nervous excitement travelling on the train, needing to change a couple of times as the journey from the north-west to the south-west of England wasn’t a straight journey. But the final leg, I was on the train with numerous other recruits, and like last time, introductions were made and there was already an air of comradery in the air. We’d all been through the same shit to get to the point we were.

There were sixty of us in our training block. Fifty-five of were regular recruits, five of us were young officer candidates. Having been to CTCRM before, we had an inkling of what life was like, but we obviously knew nothing. We were still civilians, wet behind the ears. To be honest, looking back, we were utterly fucking clueless as to what we signed up for.

Phase one of training, for all recruits, is simply to turn us into partially trained soldiers. As proof that a Marine would not enjoy privacy, we would be accommodated in the Foundation Centre, a dormitory where all sixty recruits would spend their first two weeks. After a lecture from the base commander, we were introduced to our drill instructor, Corporal Anderson. He was a fucking unit. Blue eyes like ice. Looked capable of killing a man with one strike of his fist.

The first night was all about administration, paperwork, and the pledge of allegiance to the service, Queen and country. Considering the Queen was the head of state of Australia, it wasn’t weird for me to do so. There were more medical and dental exams, glad I’d already passed at least two medicals, while my teeth were fine, so no problems there. We ate dinner as a group, more introductions being made, and certain accents stood out, mine in particular.

Reveille at 0500 the next morning didn’t seem to shock any of us, up and about quickly. First stop was to the barber to have my head shaved. I wasn’t too worried as my hair wasn’t particularly long anyway. We were still dressed in civvies for the first couple of days until we were all given out kit and uniforms.

The first week was all about our fitness, and that’s when we learned what we signed up for. I thought I was fit. And while I was, they pushed us until we were all about to collapse. Corporal Anderson was a motivator. It was his job. He’d see among us who was determined and motivated to make it, and who might be the weak link in the chain. While we would be moulded to work as a part of a team, it was also about the individual. Everyone had to pull their weight. We were all meant to be the best.

It was the simple things that fucked us over that first week or two as we learned the basics of how to be a Royal Marine. Simple shit like etiquette, housekeeping and personal hygiene. How to keep time was of vital importance. If you were even one second late, you were doing push ups. Badly made bed? Exercise. Kit in poor condition? Exercise. Failure to address an officer correctly? God damn, they’d punish all of us. Don’t iron your uniform as instructed? Exercises. Everything had to be perfect, every single time. Just the folding back of the bed sheet over the blanket was important. Anderson would wander around with his tape measure. If it was wrong, he’d tear off everything and order it done again properly. The seam wasn’t correct on your trousers? Iron them again. If you’re late, it’s your fault, go do some push ups.

The pride on all our faces when receiving our military uniform and wearing it for the first time meant the world, to be honest, including the blue beret. We all knew we’d earn the green beret when passing the commando course in another 30 weeks.

There were not meant to be any cliques, but I got to know the four others training to be officers rather well. They were all Brits — two Englishmen, a Scot and a Welshman. We were all around the same age. None had attended university as they were determined to serve as soon as possible. We were all tall, confident though not arrogant, but wearing that uniform, the swagger was easy to see. But we were already so busy, we barely had time to think about anything anyway.

The first week flew by. Test after test, assessment after assessment. We collapsed into bed exhausted each night, but it was amazing how quickly we adapted to be woken at 0500, though we then spent half the day trying not to fall asleep if we were not in the idle of exercises and drills. More than one of us heard jokes about Royal Marines falling asleep while in lectures due to the sheer exhaustion. Once they stopped and sat down, we could apparently fall asleep immediately. Long as we were not on the job, so to speak.

The end of the week ended with a practice inspection of our kit for the foundation final inspection at the end of week 2. Unsurprisingly, most of us failed. I would say ‘none of it was major’ but that didn’t matter. It had to be perfect, every single time.

The second week began with the first time I’d ever handled a weapon. Same went for nearly everyone. A couple did have experience with shotguns as they’d go shooting during the hunting season, otherwise, we were all virgins. There was no live firing, it was all about how to handle our weapon safely plus the care and maintenance of our weapon. The basic personal weapon of a Royal Marines Commando is the L85A2 assault rifle. 30 rounds per STANAG magazine, 5.56mm calibre. Capable of firing up to 775 rounds per minute. Weighing in at less than 5kg, I was surprised at how light it was.

On the second night, we had our first night in the field, known as ‘Exercise First Step’, and that’s where we were instructed on the wet/dry routine. Simply put, when operating in the field, a Royal Marine should always ensure they have a dry set of clothes, so when out of our sleeping bag for duty or sentry, we put on our wet kit to leave a set of dry clothing when sleeping. I’ll be honest, we all thought it sucked, but Anderson assured us it would one day save our lives.

Everyone believed him. He was a hard taskmaster, as expected, and would never be a friend (yet), but we already respected the hell out of him. He’d earned his stripes going through exactly the same thing. Everything he told us was from his own training, his own experience. Unlike what you might read or see in films, no-one gave him lip. He wasn’t there to bullshit us. Whatever he said came from his own hard graft.

Close quarter combat was all about fighting with hand or blade. I’d say it started out ‘easy’ in the sense we didn’t have to kick the shit out of each other immediately, but most of us already knew that you wouldn’t always have a rifle or pistol and that, sometimes, war was still barbaric at its core.

The Friday of week 2 was all about experiencing a proper kit inspection. Everything had to be rolled out. Everything clean. Our weapon properly maintained. We knew this had to be passed to move on. I scrubbed and polished everything more than once. My kit was laid out just as instructed. But I wasn’t the only one with butterflies in the stomach as eagle eyes checked every single piece of my kit. I saw the glances from others around me.

“Officer Cadet Smith,” Anderson’s gravelly voice stated.

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“Pass.”

I stood further at attention if possible. “Sir.”

Over the weekend, we moved into our training block, which would be our permanent accommodation for the rest of our training. And from week three, we were assigned our training team and became part of a Troop. There was Troop Commander (Captain rank), Troop Sergeant (Sergeant rank), Four Section Commanders (Corporal rank), One Drill Instructor (Corporal Anderson, who would remain until we graduated) and One Physical Training Instructor (PTI, also a Corporal).

From then on, honestly, the weeks just melded into one. Our entire lives were dedicated to training. If we were not training, we were thinking about training. If we weren’t thinking about training, we were asleep. There was no time to think about anything else. Discussions were about everything we’d learned, how we could improve, motivating each other, particularly if someone had a bad day. Everyone had a bad day from time to time. Even our instructors knew that. Sure, they yelled at us constantly, but it was to motivate us, and make sure we learned from our mistakes. But even those had to be moulded out of us. There was no time for emotion. We had to think logically, tactically, strategically, all for the cause. We cared about our fellow man in uniform, but what mattered was the objective.

In addition to training with the regular recruits, as a Young Officer, I had even further pressure on my shoulders as I was expected to leave after 60 weeks capable of not only carrying out orders effectively, but being able to lead and motivate men out in the field. Confident in my abilities, and able to project confidence into those men under my command. Though there are plenty of reasons, in a short conversation with Anderson, he said I was to be trained so the men I led would know I would never ask them to do something I could or would not do myself.

Week 5 saw our first proper time out in the field. ‘Exercise Quick Cover’, from the Monday to Wednesday, everything we leaned put into practice including field craft and close quarters battle, in addition to the daily morning inspection of kit, the wet/dry routine, sentry and patrolling. Thursday was all about preparing for the Friday, which was the end of Foundation Training. Of the 60 that had arrived on that first day, one recruit had abandoned training due to injury, two others had handed in their chit and left. But that didn’t matter. What mattered on Friday was that it was also Families Day.

My grandparents and Hannah drove all the way down from Manchester to see me. All of us wore our dress uniform. We performed our marching drill in front of them before we were dismissed for the afternoon. Hannah made a beeline straight for me, though she stopped short as she looked me up and down, her eyes almost bulging.

“Phwoar, how fit do you look, Nate!”

Then I noticed my grandfather and the look in his eyes. He stopped before me and offered a salute. I came to attention and returned it, one retired Royal Marine to a recruit, before we hugged it out. “Your father would be proud,” he said, hearing his own pride in his voice.

“Thanks, Grandad.”

Grandma needed to hug me too, holding me by the upper arms. Nearly everyone was heading to Exeter, which was the nearest city to CRTCM, though there was Exmouth to the south. That’s where most recruits headed if they were given a pass. Hannah simply didn’t want to let go of my hand as we found a quiet pub to enjoy lunch. I hadn’t touch a drop of alcohol since arriving, so made sure I sipped at the pint I was bought, but I had a healthy appetite and enjoyed the steak I tucked into.

“So… when are you required back, Nate?” Hannah wondered.

I smirked, glancing at our grandparents. “From what I remember, you do get tonight free,” Grandad said, “This will be one of the few weekends you’ll have free until you graduate, Nate. Take advantage of any free time you can get. You should have Easter off in a couple of weeks too.”

I nodded. “Yes, our Troop Commander informed we’d leave Thursday before Good Friday, expected back during the Tuesday after Easter Monday.”

He smirked. “Sounds about right. Most of us would probably have expected a week off. ‘You want to pussy around for a week off, join the actual fuckin’ navy’ is what I was told.”

“Will you come home for Easter?” Hannah asked.

“Of course. Probably end up sleeping the entire time though.”

Once we finished lunch, we spent a little time wandering around Exeter as I’d been through the city on a train but never explored it. But Hannah was clearly getting antsy, so by the time light was fading, we were wishing my grandparents farewell, finding myself dragged to the hotel by an obviously incredibly horny young woman.

As soon as we were our room, I practically tore off her clothing while she did enjoy taking off my uniform, amused when I laid it on the back of a chair so it wouldn’t crease. She dropped to her knees as soon as my cock sprang free, desperate to just suck me off to an orgasm before anything, surprising me even more by pulling my cock from her mouth and having me finish on her face.

Returning from the bathroom to wipe her face down with soap and warm water, we tumbled onto the bed and I made my way south straight to her pussy. Her scent was intoxicating and I wasted no time delving her depths with my tongue. She was so turned on, I must have made her orgasm within five minutes, and she demanded more. Much more. I happily ate her out until she’d had enough, only then kissing up her body to meet her eyes.

“Hello, gorgeous,” I whispered.

“You are so fucking hot,” she whispered back, “I mean, you were hot before, but now you’re just like… Nate, I need your dick more than my next meal.”

So I slid my cock inside her, both of us grinning as I buried and stopped, just enjoying the feeling of her hot, tight pussy around my cock once again. Then…

We spent the rest of the night fucking. Easiest way to put it. I might have felt tired, but stamina won out. I only stopped when she had to cry enough, laughing away when I finally pulled out after I came inside her again a third time. “Holy shit, Nate, you’ve destroyed my pussy. In a good way, a very good way, but I’m going to be walking rather funny all day tomorrow.”

“Glad to know I’ve left my cousin a well fucked woman.”

Training continued for two weeks until Easter, including ‘Exercise Marshall Star’. In some ways, it was similar to ‘Exercise Quick Cover’, but far more detailed and everything we’d learned in the previous seven weeks was put to the test. What didn’t help was the bad weather, which meant we had to pack up camp three times to find somewhere to camp.

Many of us admitted that we didn’t particularly want to halt our training for Easter. We were in a groove, things were going well for some of us, others were struggling slightly, and they were the people who definitely didn’t want to take their foot off the gas. But Easter and Christmas were two times of the year that everything did stop. Family was considered important. Every soldier needed to feel grounded, feel like they had a home to return to. They fought for their fellow soldier, but also fought for those who remained at home.

Travelling back to Manchester by train, I didn’t mind wearing semi-formal uniform, and I knew many of my companions felt the same way. Wearing ‘half lovats’, it was made up of a stone-colour short sleeved shirt, green coloured trousers, blue beret, belt in the colours of my corps, and black boots rather than shoes. Like nearly everyone else, getting used to wearing boots had left my feet in awful condition the first few days. Now I was so used to them, I felt weird wearing anything else.

The family knew I was returning, and I’ll admit seeing everyone waiting for me at Manchester Piccadilly pulled at the heart-strings. The one thing that saddened me was that those back in Australia would not be around for moments like this. Hand shaken, kisses on the cheek, the young members immediately asked plenty of questions.

“Where’s Hannah?” I wondered.

“University doesn’t let out until later today. I know she has a lecture and a couple of other classes.” I grinned and Tony knew why. “Guess we could always go get her now.”

Pulling up outside the main university building, I got out of the car and, after placing the blue beret on my head, marched into the building. I noticed the glances in my direction as I headed to administration. The lady I spoke to was rather taken aback by the Officer Cadet approaching her, asking where Hannah was in class. She pointed me in the right direction, ending up standing outside what looked like a regular classroom.

Carefully opening the door, the woman in charge of the class glanced my way. Putting a finger to my lips, she smiled as she likely assumed it was a surprise. Taking out my phone, I sent Hannah a text simply saying ‘Look at the door’.

She heard her phone beep, taking a quick glance to see I was the one who sent the text. She opened it and turned right to look straight at me. She then screamed, stood up and sprinted towards me, leaping into my arms, feeling her arms and legs immediately wrap around me. When she started to cry, I had to joke, “You knew I was coming back!”

“I was expecting you at home, not here!”

Then I heard the questions about who I was, though Hannah didn’t hear them, far too busy hugging me. To my amusement, the lady in charge cleared her throat and suggested everyone should just pack up and go home, considering it was mid-afternoon and people had to head return across the UK to see their families. I let Hannah go, placing her feet back on the ground, using a thumb to dry her cheeks before escorting her back to her chair so she could pack her things.

Taking my arm, I led her out of the building. I noticed she didn’t look where she was going, far too busy looking at me. It was a quick drive back to Altrincham, appreciating the fact I would have my own room for at least a few nights, though Hannah would obviously be spending as much time with me as possible. I was keeping the family back home abreast of the situation, sending them a quick email of what I’d been up to, how training was going, and updates about life in general. They knew when I’d graduate, all being well.

It was another family dinner out, and I’ll admit, I sat in silence most of the time, happy to listen to all the stories of ordinary life. And they learned about how a Royal Marine could fall asleep just about anywhere, as I practically passed out with pint in hand. Hannah gently shook me awake, giggling away. “It’s even worse when we’re in a lecture,” I joked.

“How difficult it is, scale of one to a hundred?” Tony wondered.

“Oh, I’d say around one hundred thousand,” I replied, amused when his face fell, “But honestly, I absolutely fuc… er, I mean, despite how exhausting it is, it’s utterly brilliant. I haven’t regretted it for a single damned second. They push and push and push, because they knew what we’re capable of. I’m doing things now I didn’t even know existed. I thought I was fit when I joined.” I scoffed. “We must be some of the fittest people on the planet. Every day is exercise, in one form or another. The runs I used to do in the morning would barely be considered a warm up. Try marching five miles over rough ground, in full kit, in the middle of a thunderstorm. That sorts the men from the boys.”

“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” my grandad said, “Even to this day, remember the name of every recruit in my Troop. Good men, one and all. Most of us are still alive too!”

Returning home, Hannah and I enjoyed a hot shower before heading to bed. To my slight surprise, all she wanted was to spoon against me and have me hold in her my arms. I was fast asleep in second, only waking up when I felt soft lips against mine. “Now that’s a better way of being woken up rather than reveille,” I murmured.

After making love for a good hour or so, we got up to find breakfast ready. Bacon. Sausage. Egg. Hash Brown. Mushrooms. Black Pudding. Toast. Grandma insisted I eat until I was done, warning I’d eat them out of house and home if they weren’t careful. As it was a sunny day, we headed out into town, though most things were closed. I wore civvies but always wore my beret. A few recognised it, a respectful nod or two in my direction.