And there it was. Noah flopped back on the sofa, lightness bubbling up in his chest, pushing that weight back off his shoulders. He knew what Jude said was the truth. There really was no sneaking into this group. You earned it through love and loyalty and selflessness. No matter what, these men—his new family—would have his back and he would fight for them too. No questions asked.
Above them, Rowe and Snow’s laughter was punctuated by a splash and the patter of water hitting the deck above them. Apparently, the tequila brothers had found their way into the hot tub.
Jude pushed to his feet and winked at Noah. “I’d say that marks the halfway point of the tequila bottle. I think I’ll go round up the General and see if he wants to make some noise.” He started to turn away from Noah and then stopped. “And if you want the lube, I hid it under the apples in the bottom drawer of the fridge.”
“You?” Noah gasped, pointing at Jude. Both he and Rowe had been one hundred percent sure that Snow had been the one to raid the houseboat for all the lube.
Jude just chuckled as he headed for the stairs, but Noah barely heard it over his own laughter. They might all be crazy, but it was a good family to be a part of.
Shoving to his feet, he headed straight for the kitchen. He’d grab some lube and then see if Rowe was interested in making some noise of his own.Chapter 5Rowe kicked his bare feet out onto the small table and stretched his arms over his head and basked in the bright sun shining directly overhead. He and Noah had snuck out before sunrise for a little fishing. They were back for lunch and swimming before jumping into the shower…separate ones. Their group was burning through their water supply too fast with their joint showers so they’d decided that they all now had to be solo. It sucked, but he’d tackle Noah when he got out.
After spending the day playing out on the lake, they’d all fallen into the habit of an afternoon nap. Rowe smirked. Well, some people did more sleeping than others if the moans and shouts of pleasure were anything to go by. It was like being stuck on a floating bordello.
Footsteps on the stairs drew Rowe’s attention and he smiled to see Lucas coming up to the deck with a silver case tucked under his arm. Andrei was on his heels, carrying two bottles of water. His COO gave him the evil eye as he and Lucas walked over to the long table under the awning. Andrei was still salty over Rowe’s latest prank, even though Rowe hadn’t been aiming for the poor man. While they were making lunch, Rowe had snuck a habanero pepper onto a sandwich he thought Lucas was making for himself. But when Rowe realized it was Andrei, he didn’t open his mouth to warn him.
Andrei had not been amused, and Rowe might have been dumped back into the lake by Lucas. But it had been worth it.
“Plotting more pranks?” Lucas said as he pulled out one of the chairs. Before sitting, he pulled off his shirt and draped it over the seat next to him. His eyes naturally skimmed across the broad expanse of Lucas’s back. Despite the fact that he spent the majority of his time behind a desk or on the phone, Lucas was still fucking built like a mean motherfucker with hard, thick muscles.
But his favorite was the ink on Lucas’s back. He’d been there when Lucas got the tattoos—the same tattoo artist had added a bit of work to his own shoulder design that day. He’d teased Lucas mercilessly for days, taunting him that the Japanese kanji actually meant “Eat at Joe’s” or “Exit to the Left” or “Call Me Daddy.” Lucas never blinked an eye at it or wavered an inch, and Rowe fucking loved him for it. There were more than a few drunk nights, sprawled in a bed with Lucas and Snow after the Army but before he found Mel—when his hand would drift to that tattoo. Brother. Warrior. Heart. Those symbols meant that he was a part of something, that he always had a home and a safe place that he belonged.
“Hey!” Rowe dropped his feet to the deck and sat up straight, his eyes narrowing on Lucas’s back. “You added a new symbol!”
Lucas stopped in the process of sitting down and looked over his shoulder at Rowe. “Popped into a shop a few weeks ago and had it done.”
Crossing the deck, he bent closer to look at the single new kanji that was just above the middle of his back. Any redness was gone and the black ink was slightly darker than the other older tattoos. “What’s it mean?”