Lucas
Band of Bachelors
SEAL Brotherhood
Sharon Hamilton
Author’s Note
One of the important things about writing romantic suspense is that the stories have to be believable, to be compelling drama. And because it’s romance, we add the elements of the romantic relationship that is every bit as important as the suspense. I don’t pretend to guess what the proper formula is. For me I guess I weigh heavier on the romance. My justification is that falling in love is every bit the mystery as anything else, and highly suspenseful too as the chemistry brings two strangers together in ways they never could have imagined.
I’ve had some famous mystery and suspense authors say they can’t write romance.
Well, love is the biggest mystery of all, isn’t it? The chemistry that joins two people from that first kiss to the blending of the hearts and minds until that soulful connection is matched on the inside, as it is on the outside.
I take liberties with facts. I take liberties with news accounts. But if you were to ask me if something like what happened in this story could happen in the U.S. today, I would tell you that it probably is happening.
I am grateful to the men and women who protect us at home and abroad, for without them, we are not truly free.
And I’d be out of a job.
Sharon
Sonoma County, California
September 11, 2015
Copyright © 2015 by Sharon Hamilton
Kindle Edition
ISBN: 978-0-9857599-9-5
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. In many cases, liberties and intentional inaccuracies have been taken with rank, description of duties, locations and aspects of the SEAL community.
License Notes
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Dedication
I always dedicate my SEAL Brotherhood books to the brave men and women who defend our shores and keep us safe. Without their sacrifice, and that of their families—because a warrior’s fight always includes his or her family—I wouldn’t have the freedom and opportunity to make a living writing these stories. They sometimes pay the ultimate price so we can debate, argue, go have coffee with friends, raise our children and see them have children of their own.
One of my favorite tributes to warriors resides on many memorials, including one I saw honoring the fallen of WWII on an island in the Pacific:
“When you go home
Tell them of us, and say
For your tomorrow,
We gave our today.”
These are my stories created out of my own imagination. Anything that is inaccurately portrayed is either my mistake, or done intentionally to disguise something I might have overheard over a beer or in the corner of one of the hangouts along the Coronado Strand.
Wounded Warriors is the one charity I give to on a regular basis. I encourage you to get involved and tell them thank you:
support.woundedwarriorproject.org
Table of Contents
Title Page
Author’s Note
Copyright Page
Dedication
Trailer for Band of Bachelors: Lucas
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
About the Author
The SEAL Brotherhood Series
Other Books by Sharon Hamilton
Click here for the video trailer for Band of Bachelors: Lucas.
Click here for an audio snippet for Band of Bachelors: Lucas.
Chapter 1
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LUCAS WOKE UP with the sun slicing daggers of light into his eyes.
Fuck me.
He rolled over to shield his face from the bright morning and fell off the couch, right onto his tailbone.
Goddamit. The sharp pain added to the bruise he’d already created from previous sleepless nights. His ass had made divots between the second and third cushions of the sectional, which was as equally uncomfortable to sit on. The couch’s grey scratchy fabric was Scotchguarded, making his back and balls itch. His buddies on SEAL Team 3 had picked up this wonderful piece of loungery for two hundred bucks four months back. The San Diego Goodwill had been so happy to get rid of it, they gave the team the matching loveseat without charging a penny extra.
From the floor, Lucas stared eye-level at the hunk of junk he’d battled with all night long and knew it would still go up like a torch regardless of the Scotchguard. As he pulled his body up, the matching loveseat veering off to the right gaped at him, its bent footrests looking like huge gumless jaws. The thing was laughing at him.
It was nothing like his king-size bed with the Egyptian cotton sheets at home—the home he’d been kicked out of a month prior. He hadn’t expected to have to sleep on his buddies’ couch this long. When he’d first been shown the door, he hadn’t been too worried, convinced Connie would soon change her mind and invite him back.
He’d envisioned that ‘welcome home’ party every day and night, in spite of the fact that his last vision of her was of her screaming at the top of her lungs, those delicious blue veins at the sides of her neck protruding like they were fat, blue birthday candles. His sobbing three-year-old daughter stood next to her mother, burying her face in Connie’s thigh as the toddler screamed in her arms. It broke Lucas’ heart to see his wife clutch the baby, his horror-filled expression showing fear and confusion.
That was one shitty day, but he knew in his heart of hearts that at any time, she’d soften and he’d be back home, in their bed, sliding against her smooth thighs and kissing the place between her legs, making her scream his name. Oh, he was the candy man, all right. His dick got hard just thinking about it. She’d never had a man go down on her before they got together. She’d been a good Catholic girl, and the nuns had filled her head with stories of how the germs from his hot tongue would poison her womb.
As if they knew.
His arousal meant only on
e thing: he’d have to finish it in the shower or he wouldn’t be able to get his jeans on without pain.
Someone swung open one of the four bedroom doors with enough force they nearly ripped it off its hinges. “What the fuck just happened?” asked Jake, his mop of black hair sticking straight up like an unclipped Mohawk. “We just have an earthquake, Lucas?”
Lucas grimaced. “No, that would be my ass hitting the ground.”
“Would you quit that? You’ll wake up the whole fuckin’ household.”
Lucas stood in his shorts, bare-chested and barefoot. He inclined his head to the side, arms outstretched, palms up as if listening for the complaints—which didn’t materialize—from the other three rooms. “And your point is?” Lucas asked, after a few seconds of silence.
“Geez, Lucas, would you put your fire hose away? I’ve seen it, remember?” Jake pointed to Lucas’ groin.
Standing at full attention, Lucas’ unit had found freedom from the hole in his American flag shorts and was ready to par-tay. He quickly tucked it back in, but it popped out again. That time, he turned his back to Jake, properly stowed his cannon, then whipped around to find that Jake had disappeared back into his room.
Only two of the bedrooms had their own private bath with a shower, since the guest bath only contained a toilet with a cracked seat and a sink. Lucas didn’t want to wake anyone else up, so he headed for the half bath, looking forward to perhaps working on his aim while studying the raunchy posters pinned up all around the little room. They didn’t have to worry about entertaining females in the men’s club of an apartment, since most of the SEALs who lived there had sworn off any women, except professionals who would definitely not be looking at the posters.
He washed his hands twice, feeling more relaxed, then padded into the kitchen to make some coffee. He covered the coffee grinder with a towel to muffle the sound and inhaled the only luxury the boys allowed themselves: fresh ground coffee.
He paused his musing to glare at the coffee pot, performing its death gurgle. He surveyed his temporary ‘home sweet home’. The garbage can was overflowing—even the recycle side—with beer bottles, pizza boxes, and half-gallon plastic orange juice containers. A wet bath sheet and t-shirt hung over an old, paint-splattered folding chair, one of four, surrounding a square card table with coffee rings stained into it. Their big-screen TV sat on top of two pallets they’d hauled from the dumpster. The light beige rug was mostly dark beige from oil, food, and coffee stains, and one plate-sized red stain from someone’s Hawaiian Punch spilled a week back. They’d been trying to clean up each little accident, until the punch mishap. After that, they understood that when they deployed, they’d not get their deposit back on the apartment. Ryan said they might even owe the landlord something.
Look at me…already considering myself part of this sorry band of bachelors.
Lucas chastised himself for even considering this to be the case. He’d be out of there so fast it would take them a couple of days to miss him.
Sorry-assed sailors. Unlike his Connie, the bachelor frogs had only themselves to blame for their poor choices. Jake had children littered all over the world, just like their old pal, Gunny, who used to own the gym they all trained at. He wasn’t exactly sure how many he’d fathered, but knew it would take two hands to count.
The coffee pot began to shut down, as he took stock of his friends.
Cory Brown was a preacher’s son, way too trusting, and had started dating girls from his father’s church after high school, until several parents complained he was deflowering the future generation of Sunday school teachers. And then he knocked one up, and that was it. Reverend Brown made sure the right thing happened. That marriage didn’t last more than a month after the baby was born, and then Cory was being sued for child support that would take over half his pay, including his SEAL bonus.
Ryan and Alex got married in a double ceremony in Las Vegas, and had similar stories of woe.
No, none of them had spent much time finding a fine, quality girl like Connie. Yes, she was a bit hotheaded, but Lucas kind of liked it when she got steamed up, as long as it was something he could wiggle his way out of. The unfortunate bachelor party in Vegas was the last straw, though. And the stripper he’d had his photograph taken with turned out to be a transvestite, not that it made any difference to Connie. Lucas had been hoping it would.
But all that would be over soon.
He turned off the coffee maker, poured himself a cup, added a shot glass full of real Half and Half and walked out onto the deck overlooking the valley below and Coronado Island in the distance. He considered getting the boys up because a Specialist from Virginia was coming to do some training with them, even though it was Saturday. The military didn’t observe weekends if the upcoming mission was urgent. This one apparently was.
Below him in the parking lot, a sweet brunette in an impossibly tight, short skirt stepped out of a cherry-red VW convertible. She looked up at him, shielding her eyes with one hand and slinging her large bag over her shoulder with the other. Lucas straightened himself up and sucked in his gut, smiling as her gaze found him and gave him an appreciative perusal.
He told himself it wasn’t really a bad thing. One thing to look, another to, well, partake. He didn’t want to blow his chances of sliding back into Connie’s expensive silk sheets, or being buried deep inside her sweet little jellyroll. But looking was okay. He’d just not chat her up. So he waved.
Her grin was fine. She looked like the kind of girl who had all manner of dirty little thoughts. She licked her lips, straightened her upper torso and smoothed over her tummy and hips with those palms of hers. One wrist had a charm bracelet that tinkled in the distance. Without an invitation, she headed straight for the entrance to the upper floors, right below him.
Holy hotness. Did she think I invited her up?
Inside, he found Ryan, Alex and Cory up and showered, making a barefoot line in the kitchen like old men at a rescue mission.
“I say strawberry waffles before we head over to the base,” said Cory as he poured his coffee.
“Ask them to leave the whipped cream can this time,” said Ryan.
Jake exited from his bedroom, followed by a cloud of steam, matching the shirtless wonders in the kitchen.
Cory nearly spit out his mug of Joe. “Dayum, Shipley. Good thing we’re not shooting this morning. I’m going to be shaking for a week,” barked Cory.
“Use more cream,” was Lucas’ answer. “Hey, guys, you know anything about this Thom guy? He’s some kind of security expert?”
“Something to do with a little pod of terrorists they encountered over in Mosul.” Alex sat down on the floor, back straight against the wall, his feet out in front of him. Ryan soon joined him.
“Kyle said they’ve got information the group plans to do something here in California. A retaliation,” added Jake.
“Helluva thing to do on a Saturday, haul us in there,” said Cory.
“What the fuck difference does it make?” Jake wrinkled his nose and forehead. “Not like I’ve got a date.”
Lucas snorted. “Oh, so you call those hookups ‘dates’ now? You really go on dates, Jake? Man, I must be rubbing off on you.”
“You should talk.” Alex and Ryan were punching each other in the arm, which escalated into a coffee fight. Alex continued, caramel-colored liquid dripping off his chin. “Don’t see you dating anytime soon, shitface.”
Lucas hated the fact that his last name had taken the ugly moniker ever since the unfortunate bachelor party he didn’t remember.
“Geez. I hang around you guys too much and I might stop believing in true love.”
Lucas was pelted with coffee, one of the SEALs throwing the ceramic mug itself, which hit him at bicep level.
“Okay, okay. I get it. It’s just that I’m not ready to give up on my marriage like you guys. I may not have as many kids as you do, Jake, and I may only have known her a little bit longer than you two knew your wives, Groves
and Nowicki, but I definitely know how to fuckin’ use a condom, Cory—especially if I’m gonna screw a girl in the back of my father’s sanctuary.”
“Hallelujah, praise the Lord,” someone shouted.
“A fuckin’ religious experience, I call it,” Jake said as he high-fived Cory.
“See, that’s where you guys go wrong. You don’t treat women with respect.”
No one said a word. Then the unofficial spokesman for the group, Jake, inserted his opinion. “So, if you feel like you don’t fit in, why don’t you fuckin’ leave?”
The silence that followed made Lucas nervous. He could sense more than a couple of his buddies felt he’d crossed the line. There were some hurt feelings they often didn’t verbalize, but he sure could feel it. He knew he had to be careful.
“You don’t know a damned thing until you’ve really walked around in another man’s shoes. Or, in Cory’s case, his high heels.” Lucas delivered it straight and for just one second he thought he’d made thing worse.
But then the catcalls began, which was a signal things were returning to normal. Lucas relaxed enough to apologize and make it sound like he meant it. And he did. The doorbell buzzed.
“You know,” said Jake, who walked over to Lucas and fist-bumped him, “you’re probably right. You’re the one who’s gonna make it in this relationship game. For us assholes, well, I think we’re pretty much fucked.”
All of them laughed.
The doorbell buzzed again twice this time, and Cory jogged over and opened it. Lucas couldn’t hear anything but a sweet voice asking if she could talk to Lucas. He didn’t know how, but he just knew it belonged to the lady in the red VW. She knows my name? He was flattered, until he remembered his situation, and Connie.
“Sure, come right in, ma’am,” Cory offered, showing her the way with his arm.
Her bright red lips were the same color as the VW. She had the whole ladybug thing going on—with her black skirt, the black and white polka-dot blouse that was a bit sheer, showing him she wore bright white, lacy underthings—his personal favorite. She kept her knees together as she carefully stepped over their dirty carpet, her spiked heels making her balance a little difficult. She extended her hand with the charm bracelet softly clinking, and he extended his.
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