Jack and Crush: A One Night Stand Military Romance: Carter's Bar, #1

By Lara Norman

Come for the first steamy night, stay for the HEA!

 

Fletcher Bennett, a stoic military man haunted by his time in Kandahar, seeks solace after discovering his fiancée's infidelity. In a chance encounter, he meets Lillie King, a vibrant and audacious woman whose magnetic personality draws him in.

 

Their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something more as fate brings them together time and time again. Their connection deepens, forging a bond neither expected. But just as their relationship blossoms, Fletcher is abruptly summoned for another dangerous mission, tearing them apart and leaving Lillie with a sense of impending loss.

 

Will their passionate encounter become a mere memory, or can they turn it into a lasting love? As they navigate the uncertainties of life and love, both Fletcher and Lillie must confront their fears and fight for what they truly want.

 

*Set in the enchanting small town of Abbott, Texas, Jack And Crush is the first installment of the captivating Carter's Bar series. From heartwarming romances to scorching chemistry, each book in this series celebrates the power of love, laughter, and soulmates. The men in these stories are affectionately dubbed with nicknames inspired by their favorite spirits, while the women use aliases, concealing their true identities until they are ready to admit they have found love. Dive into the enchanting world of Carter's Bar, where love is always on the menu.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LPN Publishing
• Release date: Oct 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9798201695712

Lara Norman

Lara used to scribble her fictional characters down on legal pads in high school, and then not show them to anyone. In recent years, she started posting her work in public forums for feedback, which gave her the courage to publish professionally.  She needs copious amounts of coffee and chocolate to survive. She enjoys eavesdropping on the character conversations in her head, which she has been assured doesn’t make her crazy. She always gets the best ideas while in the shower, driving, or about to fall asleep. Though she’s a Florida girl at heart, Lara currently resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband of twenty years and their three children, where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age fifteen.

Book preview

Author’s Note:

Thank you for taking the time to read the very first book I published. Jack And Crush was originally written in Third-Person Omniscient. I have since edited the entire book, removing most of the extra ‘voices’ where it was appropriate. During the editing process, I fell in love with Fletcher and Lillian all over again, and I hope you will too.

The remaining books in this series are written in Third-Person Limited.

Chapter One

It was especially hot that mid-November day; an Indian Summer. Fletcher remembered being surprised by the way the heat smacked him in the face as he stepped off the bus that brought him from Ft. Hood. The sky was hazy, like a portend to something more fierce. It wasn’t unusual for him to take the bus from Fort Hood, since he lived about an hour from the base in Abbott, Texas. He was coming home early, surprising his fiancée, and he couldn’t wait to see her; he’d been overseas for eight months. It was a lot of work to Skype with the time difference, but he’d emailed her every other day and sent pictures when he could. Ava had seemed just fine with him leaving that time around, and he was happy she was adjusting well to his deployments.

Fletcher had grown up with Ava Wilder, and they had a relationship that was easy and comfortable. She wasn’t clingy, which was perfect for someone who worked late hours and every few months had to run a mission in Baghdad. He was a geospatial intelligence imagery analyst in the United States Army, with the rank of Corporal. His C.O. informed him before he left that he would most likely qualify for Sergeant after the end of his leave, based on the hard work he’d put in while in the desert and his seniority.

Running up the steps to the blue Colonial two-story house, he unlocked the front door and dropped his duffel bag on the floor. The air conditioning made it feel like heaven in there after the unusual heat, and the emotions of being home were overwhelming. He’d noticed Ava’s car in the driveway, but didn’t see her as he made his way around the staircase to the farmhouse kitchen at the back of the house. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, he wandered back to the staircase. Trailing his hand on the hard, cool wood of the banister, he climbed the stairs, anticipating how they would reunite. Ava was his first and only partner, and they had a pleasant sex life. But it had been eight months, and he was worked up at the thought of releasing so much sexual tension with his soon-to-be wife. They weren’t known for being wild in bed, but they were comfortable. His absences made their reunions more exciting than their usual encounters.

The second stair from the top always squeaked when stepped on, and as Fletcher avoided it he thought he heard a noise from the general direction of the main bedroom. Grinning, he moved faster down the hall, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He reached the bedroom door and paused, listening.

He heard Ava laugh; a high, girlish sound. Then he distinctly heard a male voice in response.

A male voice.

In his bedroom. With his fiancée.

Nothing he did from that point on was done with conscious thought: the turning of the doorknob, the door swinging open, his feet carrying him into the room. Everything felt surreal as he stood there at the footboard, staring at Ava and Jax.

Ava was the first to see him. She gasped and sat up abruptly, her pale breasts bare in the light from the window before she covered them with the sheet. One hand scooped her blonde hair out of her face before she shoved roughly at Jax’s arm. He was under the sheet, and Fletcher refused to think about exactly what he was doing. Jax sat up, spotted Fletcher, and his dark brow raised. Not in surprise or even shame, but defiance. A challenge.

Jax was the size of a linebacker, and he knew Fletcher would not try to take him on. Fletcher had never been in a fist fight, despite being combat trained. Jax had once been considered his friend; at the very least, they were acquaintances from high school. The all-American jock was in bed with the former cheerleader. Fletcher felt like the world’s biggest fool.

His body turned away, his heart denying what his brain was processing.

Fletcher took the keys to his Mustang S197 off the hook by the back door, grabbed his duffel, and tore out of the yard. There was only one cure to the images flashing through his head. Whiskey.

OF COURSE LILLIE NOTICED the walking sex god come into her bar. He wore a disheveled army uniform with hair that looked as if someone had already fucked him thoroughly that day. He came right up to her favorite stool and sat down.

What can I get you? she asked.

He admired her long dark hair and the plethora of tattoos clearly visible. What he needed was to forget. Whiskey, neat.

Fuck, even his voice was sexy. Of course it is, she thought to herself. Some people are just genetically blessed. She grabbed the Jack Daniels and poured him a generous three fingers.

Whatever you want, sugar.

When she handed the glass over, he threw it back like a pro and slammed the glass back down. So he’d had that kind of day.

Lillie raised one eyebrow. Another?

He nodded vigorously, then scrubbed his hands over his face in irritation. Lillie couldn’t help but notice the gold and green flecks in his sad blue eyes. He was not a talker, so she moved away to work and serve the other customers.

Several minutes later, he addressed her as she drew nearer. Ma’am?

I know you’re not talking to me, cause I ain’t no fucking ma’am, Lillie fired back. His expression was a bit stunned as she stood in front of him. She was used to that look. Welcome to the club, dude. Her mouth often got her in trouble.

I-I’m sorry? he stuttered.

You should be, she retorted as she slapped another glass in front of him, this time leaving the bottle. Lillie walked away, feeling his perplexed gaze as it followed her ass down to the other end of the bar. And stop staring at my ass! she yelled behind her. They always stared at her ass.

As the evening moved into the wee hours of the morning, and the soldier still sat there brooding, she knew there would be a problem at closing time. Lillie was closing solo that night, but, luckily for her, a Louisville Slugger kept her company behind the bar and the Glock in her purse got her home at night.

Although, she doubted she’d have any real trouble from him. He didn’t appear to be mean, just lost and very depressed.

Last call, sweet cheeks, she announced after everyone else had cleared out for the night.

Shit, already? Fletcher signed the tab she’d kept running for him and stood from his stool. You coming? he asked, putting his hand on top of hers as she took his receipt.

She rolled her eyes, huffing at his arrogance. Like hell.

I meant, are you closing?

Yes. Where do you live? I’ll call you a cab. Lillie picked up the portable phone she kept near the register.

His face clouded over; she found it heartbreakingly beautiful. I’m not drunk enough for a cab, but I don’t have a home.

Uh, what? He was clearly not homeless. His voice sounded achingly forlorn. "No comprendo."

I don’t have a home to go back to. Not anymore. I need to find a place. The expression on his face was devastating.

Drumming her fingers on the bar, she contemplated her next move. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into if she offered him her couch. Fine, let’s go.

Go where? he asked, his eyebrows pulling together.

Lillie thought he had gorgeous eyes. She also knew she was spending too much time looking at how handsome he was. You can crash at my place. No funny shit, either, or I’ll wrap your balls around your throat and choke you with them. It was doubtful she’d have to follow through on the threat; she’d do anything the hottie asked of her and more.

You have a dirty mouth, he pointed out, as though she didn’t know this already.

No shit. Now let me lock the doors, and we can leave through the back.

He waited patiently for her, trying to build up his fortitude for what he wanted to do. When she started to walk down the alley, he put out his hand to stop her.

Wait. He fished in his pockets until he came up with a set of keys. You should drive, just to be safe.

Deal. When they rounded the corner and the only car out front was a bright blue Mustang S197, Lillie creamed her panties at the thought of driving it. Oh, what a beautiful lady you are, she crooned, running her hand over the hood.

She hit the key fob to unlock the doors and then shivered at the way the night air had cooled so drastically from the day. Her ass cheeks were going to freeze in her short skirt. They climbed into the car, and she roared to life under Lillie and Fletcher.

Jesus, Lillie breathed, her hands caressing the steering wheel. The leather seats were cold on her ass, but soft like butter.

Are you going to drive home, or make love to my car? he said in a demanding voice.

Both. Duh. What do you do for the fine folks at the army? she asked conversationally as she pulled away from the bar. She’d looked over his fatigues for any sign of his rank, but she didn’t know enough about it to make an educated guess.

I read maps. I was just at Camp Al-Istiqlal, he enunciated carefully. The air base in Baghdad.

Wow, say that three times fast, she joked.

Mmm, was his only response.

When they got to her place she let them in, turning on the light above the stove and setting up the coffeepot. Soldier boy walked around her small living room, looking at the walls.

I like your art, he said, and he sounded sincere.

Lillie couldn’t say why that pleased her so immensely. Most people didn’t even notice her art. Thank you, she told him fervently.

The warm smell of coffee was permeating the air when she felt him. His tall, lean body was directly behind hers, a pulse of sexual energy flowing between them. Lillie took a deep breath in, holding for a count of five, and let it out slowly.

We should have coffee first. I don’t want to take advantage of you.

He laughed. Believe me, I wish I was drunk enough to get the images of my cheating fiancée out of my head. I would rather focus on you. He just wanted to prove to himself he was man enough to please a woman. Was that so wrong?

When she turned to face him, his hands immediately grasped her face, and their mouths melded. His lips branded hers, searing the tender flesh. When she gasped, he thrust his tongue in her mouth, and she finally reacted. Her arms went around his neck, and she buried her hands in his fuck-me hair. She’d been dying to touch it all night, and it was just as silky as she’d imagined it would be.

When his hands went to her ass, lifting her up onto the countertop, she didn’t protest. Instead, she braced her hands on the Formica behind her, watching as his eyes darkened and traveled down her torso to her short skirt, down her exposed thighs to her knee-high boots. As he kneeled, her heart leaped to her throat. His fingers moved down her smooth thigh until they reached the zipper fob, pulling it down the boot and sliding the whole thing off, causing it to thunk heavily to the linoleum. Racing frantically in her chest, her heart echoed the sound.

Fletcher repeated with the other boot, then his hands were on her feet, stroking the arches, roaming up her calves, massaging the muscles, finally reaching her knees. One at a time, he lifted her legs and swirled his tongue over the crease at the back. Lillie whimpered as her panties flooded with her arousal. When he straightened, she slid off the counter and took his hand, leading him to her bedroom at the back of the house.

Standing barefoot in front of him, Lillie slipped her skirt down her legs, kicking it off. She reached for the hem of her tank, then whipped it off and stood in nothing but her skivvies.

Fucking beautiful, he murmured. She was the complete opposite of his fiancée, and that was exactly what he needed; dark hair and dark eyes, tattoos and piercings. His fingers roamed the ink on her collarbones, which she somehow found incredibly erotic.

Fletcher watched her, his irises dark and lethal, as she slowly unbuttoned his camouflage shirt. When she had it free, she moved on to his undershirt. He helped her pull it over his head since he was so tall she couldn’t reach. Kneeling, she untied his boots and pulled them off, followed by his socks. When she remained on the floor but reached for his belt, he hissed. When she unzipped him and slipped her hands in his pants, he growled. The pants came down his lean hips, and she pushed his briefs down quickly after. He stepped out of his clothes, but she could only stare at the enormous cock that sprang free.

Lillie swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth at the sight of him. Leaning in, she glanced up at him from under her lashes. He had an earthy scent, some kind of manly soap, and she inhaled before running her flattened tongue up the length of his cock. Thrusting one hand into her hair, he closed his eyes, his face scrunching up. She fondled his balls with one hand, stroking his length with the other hand. He moaned, and the sound went straight to her lady bits.