Hot SEAL, Alaskan Nights (SEALs in Paradise)

by Cynthia D'Alba

  Levi ran his fingers through his short hair. “What a bastard. Bailey’s ex, not Braverman,” he clarified.

  “Got that.” His dad checked his tablet. “Look at the time. I’ve got to go. You sure I can’t talk you into coming?”

  Levi smiled. “Next time.”

  After his dad left, Levi remained sitting at the table thinking about Bailey’s ex. Damn idiot should be thankful there were a few thousand miles between them or that sonofabitch wouldn’t see the dawn of the next day.

  His phone dinged with a group text. He smiled. A group text from their resident busybody.

  Rocket: No one snored in my room last night.

  Hawk: That’s what happens when your date goes home with another guy.

  Levi snorted. Damn, he loved these guys.

  Nitro: How’s your ass, Dutch?

  Of course, their SEAL medic would want to know.

  Levi: Found me a hot, sexy nurse to see to those bandage changes.

  Compass: I must have been a good influence all those years.

  Z-Man: Well, damn. I need some of that woman mojo.

  Kirk: Still dating your hand, Z-Man?

  Z-Man: [Laughing face emoji]. Fuck you and your sister.

  Kirk: Your sister says hi. So does your mom.

  Nitro: Speaking of sisters, keep your dirty hands off mine, Kirk.

  Levi threw his head back in a laugh. Kirk was off in Australia with Nitro’s sister as a tour guide. That should be interesting.

  Hawk: Your woman got a name, Dutch? A real name, not the one she uses on the pole.

  A string of emojis followed.

  [Thumbs up]

  [Eggplant]

  [Laughing face]

  [dog licking his balls gif]

  Levi: [Pile of shit emoji]

  Levi: Name’s Bailey. And before you ask, Compass, yes, she’s a real, flesh and bone female, unlike that blowup doll in your locker.

  Another string of emojis followed.

  T-Bone: How’s the house decorating going, Z-Man?

  Z-Man: Fuck me. Don’t ask.

  Compass: Gotta run guys. Thanks for the group text, Rocket. Gonna miss you guys. Stay safe. Hooyah.

  A line of Hooyahs followed.

  Levi set his phone down with a frown. With Compass and Hawk checked out after this last mission, Team Three had two new guys starting as replacements, not that Compass and Hawk could be replaced. Their close SEAL family would never be the same. He hated change. Not that he didn’t understand. He did. Hell, the ache in his ass and thigh was a daily note to his brain that maybe he might consider doing the same while he was still in one piece.

  Chapter 5

  Bailey snapped off her gloves and turned back to the patient on the table. “The next time you haven’t pooped in a week, you tell your mommy, okay?”

  Five-year-old Buster nodded.

  “And no more eating Play-Doh.”

  “But it tastes good,” her young patient protested.

  She fought the laugh that wanted to break out. She had to agree with Buster. She’d eaten her fair share growing up. While Play-Doh wasn’t made for eating, it was non-toxic and fairly harmless, unless the eater had an allergy to wheat. Luckily, Buster didn’t, and he was fine.

  “I’m sure it does, but it’s made to play with, not eat. When you get hungry, tell your mom, right, Mom?”

  His mom, Melissa Anders, nodded. “Right. Thanks, Bailey.”

  “Glad to see you again, Melissa. Next time, let’s do drinks at Alibi’s instead.”

  Melissa laughed. “Agreed. I’ll put together a girls’ night. What do you think?”

  “I’m in. Name the time and place.”

  “First drink is on me. Anyone who has to dig out my son’s hard poop instead of me gets booze.”

  Bailey gave her a thumbs up, and handed Melissa the charge slip off the front of the chart. “Leave this at the desk on the way out. Any problems, call me.”

  She went to her office to do the charting for her last patient. The minute her rear hit her chair, her cell phone buzzed with at least the twentieth text from Curtis. He’d been using friends’ phones ever since she’d blocked his number. She’d given up blocking each number. There were only so many she could block on her account. The texts had gone from “Baby, forgive me,” to “Bitch, call me.”

  Like that would ever happen. Hell would have to freeze over, and the sun burn out before calling him would ever be on her radar. She thought about reporting him to the police, but it was texts, and he was thousands of miles away. He was more an annoyance than a threat. She hated the thought of changing her number because she’d had it for years, and a new number would be such a hassle. But if he persisted with the texts, she supposed that’s what she’d have to do.

  She put her cell phone in her purse and zipped it shut.

  Finished with her notes, she was closing out the computer when the receptionist knocked on her door.

  “Doc Bailey.”

  “Yes?”

  “Levi Van der Hayden is here. Doesn’t have an appointment, but said you told him to come by today.”

  Bailey turned to look at Molly, her receptionist. Her face was flushed, and she would have sworn the girl’s breathing was fast.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Molly said. “It’s just that Levi Van der Hayden is here.”

  “So you said. Is that a problem for you?”

  “Not at all. It’s just that…I had such a crush on him when I was growing up.”

  Bailey smiled. “Really? What happened?”

  Molly scoffed. “I was just a kid. Levi was friends with my older brother, Mark. Both of them played on the football and hockey teams and I thought Levi was the dreamiest guy ever.” She laughed. “He didn’t know. He was so much older than me. First schoolgirl crush. You know how it is.”

  Bailey nodded, her smile growing wider. “I do know. I had one of those crushes, but mine was on a bull rider.” She sighed dreamily. “I thought he hung the moon.”

  “So, what happened?”

  “Nothing happened. He never knew I existed. He married his longtime girlfriend and had a dozen kids.” She chuckled. “Unrequited love.”

  “Exactly. Should I bring Levi to your office?”

  “No. Put him in exam room six. I’ll be right there. And Molly? How much younger were you?”

  “Eight years. I’ll go get him.” She turned to leave and then whirled back around. “He’s still gorgeous, isn’t he? Don’t tell him I said that or about my crush. My brother would never let me live it down.”

  “Of course, I won’t. My lips are sealed.” Bailey mimicked zipping her lips.

  Eight years’ difference. That would make Levi about twenty-nine, maybe thirty. She chuckled to herself. Look at her going all cougar at her ripe old age of thirty-three.

  Even though she wasn’t a vain woman, she checked her hair in the mirror on the back of her office door, touched up her lipstick, and made sure there was nothing in or on her teeth. Only then did she walk to exam room six.

  She knocked and opened the door. Levi was standing at the window looking out. This gave her another opportunity to study his backside, which was model perfect. A body with wide shoulders that tapered down at the waist and hips. The muscles in his legs were well-developed and defined, like a drawing in a medical text that displayed each and every muscle, tendon and vein. How she would love to trace each of those muscles with her fingers, and then her tongue.

  Abruptly she stopped her musings, which were so inappropriate for a medical professional to think about a patient.

  Firmly slamming the door on her thoughts, she slipped into her safe professional demeanor and said, “Levi. What can I do for you?” She entered and closed the door.

  He turned and her breath caught. Molly was right. He really was gorgeous. Of course, she’d noticed that last night, but he was even attractive more than she’d remembered.

  “Good morning, Bailey. I missed you when you didn
’t come back to the party. Is Joe Bob okay?”

  “He’s fine. I carried him to the emergency room. Once he was settled in and the doctors were with him, I decided to head on home.” She gave a careless shrug as though hearing he’d noticed she hadn’t returned wasn’t the highlight of her day.

  When he studied her, she felt as though he could see straight through her. Then he smiled and the room brightened as if a megawatt light had been turned on.

  “Well, you were missed. I came by because you said you’d be happy to change my butt bandage.”

  “Butt bandage.” She rolled her eyes, something she needed to quit doing. The action drove her parents crazy. “You need to own it and announce proudly your bullet wound or something.”

  He chuckled, and her belly flipped and dropped to her knees. He had a wonderful laugh.

  “I’ll remember that. Can you give me a hand?”

  “Of course.” She gestured toward the table. “Face the table and loosen your shorts. No need to drop them to the floor,” she added.

  As he walked, or rather stalked like a tiger, across the room, the square footage of her largest exam room seemed to shrink down to the size of the tiny half-bath in her office. The man filled the room. Took up all the space and air…or maybe she was simply having trouble drawing a breath. She made herself move toward the sink where she washed her hands before getting out the supplies she would need.

  When she turned around, he’d lowered the material on the left side of his hip, leaving the right side draped. She wished she’d kept her mouth shut about not dropping his drawers. Lord. He was commando again.

  Trying to regain her professionalism, she sat on the rolling stool and scooted up to his backside. “I didn’t get a great look last night. I can see better now.”

  She heard the words as they came out of her mouth and she waited for him to reply. She didn’t have to wait long.

  He snorted. “Take a good, long look, Doc. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

  She removed the bandage she’d put on last night. The tape came off without much tugging. “Whoever did your stitch work did a fabulous job. Tight, straight line. No redness or swelling in the area. This is healing nicely. I think you can leave it uncovered if your shorts don’t abrade it. You might try some underwear,” she said with a dry tone, “to help with keeping rough material off the stitches.”

  He looked over his shoulder with a grin that made her heart skip a few, or rather many, beats. “Underwear, huh? Damn. You’re the first woman to ever tell me to put on underwear. Usually, well, never mind usually. Guess I’ll need to do some shopping. I’ll need a professional medical opinion on what kind I need to buy.”

  She chuckled. “Soft. That’s my professional medical opinion. Now, let me see your leg.”

  He refastened his shorts and hiked up the material covering the exit wound.

  She removed the Steri-Strip she’d put on the previous night and cleaned the area with an alcohol pad.

  “Yeah, this one looks good too, even with one stitch missing. I don’t even think you need me to put on another one. I’m going to put on a Band-Aid because I’d like to give it a couple of more days of healing, but overall, I think you’re going to live.”

  He laughed. “Good to know.”

  She put one regular bandage strip over the area. “There. All done. I would suggest showers and no baths until the stitches come out, but otherwise, you can do whatever you want.”

  She stood, removed her gloves and dropped them into the trash.

  “What I want is to have dinner with you,” he said as he leaned his hip against the exam table.

  “As a general rule, I don’t date patients.”

  “Hmm. Do I have a medical chart? Are you charging me for this visit?”

  “No and no.” Her lips twitched, wanting to break into a smile.

  “Not a patient. A new friend. You can eat with a new friend, right?”

  She hesitated.

  “Come on, Bailey. I’m a wounded soldier home from fighting the war. Pretend you’re the only representative of the USO in the area.”

  She couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up from deep inside her. “How could any woman resist that kind of logic? Fine. One dinner.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up tonight at seven. That work for you?”

  “Sure.”

  “Staying at your grandmother’s place?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay then. I’ll see you tonight.”

  One long step and he was directly in front of her. He leaned in, gave her a quick kiss, followed by a killer smile, and walked out whistling.

  She sagged onto the stool. The last thing she needed was to get involved with anyone, much less someone from Alaska. In October, she was headed home. She belonged in Texas, and if one asshole hadn’t driven her away this spring, she’d be there now.

  Whether her ex knew it or not, he’d done her a favor and taught her a lesson…a painful favor and a hard lesson, but something she’d never forget. No woman should be controlled by anyone other than herself. No one had the right to put their hands on another person without expressed consent. And always, always press charges when someone hits you.

  Thankfully, Curtis and his jealousy were in her rearview mirror. She’d wanted a longer jail sentence than he’d gotten. However, the judge—male, of course—was of the opinion that Curtis had never done anything like this before—that had been reported. Plus, his Baptist pastor, Brother Roy Black, testified that Curtis was a good guy who’d been led astray—by her, no less. Therefore, it was the judge’s view that Curtis had learned his lesson and he would never do this again. He’d been given a six-month sentence, suspended, provided he go to anger management counseling…at his Baptist church, no less.

  Her parents had been livid, as had the prosecutor. Curtis’s family was middle class, and she doubted they had a ton of money. However, she’d always suspected his parents had contributed to the judge’s reelection fund, not that he was up for reelection any time soon.

  She checked her phone for the date. He should be out of “counseling” and free to prey on some other woman, God save her.

  The rest of her afternoon went as smooth as…well, as smooth as the skin on that SEAL’s luscious ass. She made it home by four with plenty of time to take a nap and shower.

  About six-fifty, she heard her grandmother’s laughter float up the stairs. That was followed by a deep male voice—she couldn’t make out the words—and another giggle from her grandmother. A giggle! Her grandmother did not giggle…ever. Bailey suspected her date was ten minutes early.

  After fluffing her hair and checking her teeth, she collected her purse and headed downstairs. In the living room, she found her grandmother sitting on the sofa with Levi beside her. Both wore bright smiles and were laughing at something.

  “Am I interrupting?” she asked.

  Ever the gentleman, Levi stood at her entrance. “Wow, Bailey. You look great,” was his greeting.

  Her shoulders rolled back as she straightened her back at his compliment. She pressed her palm to her abdomen to quell the nerves vibrating inside her belly. “Thank you, Levi.”

  “You didn’t tell me you were going out with the Van der Hayden boy. I’d have warned you off,” her grandmother said, wagging her finger at Bailey. “This one here is a wild child.”

  “Now, Mrs. Ellis,” Levi said, a twinkle in his eye. “You know you always liked me best.”

  Her grandmother cackled and looked at Bailey. “Caught this one and some gal skinny-dipping after midnight in the hotel pool.”

  “Ha. Shows what you know,” Levi said. “We weren’t skinny-dippy. We had clothes on.”

  “You had on underwear, and when it was wet, you might as well have been naked. Besides, Levi Van der Hayden, you’d have had that girl’s panties off in no time if I hadn’t discovered you two.”

  Levi laughed. “And then you sent Chris out there with a shotgun and a phone to call our parents.” He rub
bed his chin. “Now that I think about it, can’t say I ever went on another date with that girl.”

  Cherry laughed.

  Bailey rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. “Any more deviant stories I need to know about, Levi?”

  He raised both eyebrows, his eyes gleaming in mirth. “Are there more? Yes. Do you need to know them? God, no. Let’s go before Cherry tells another one.”

  “Yeah, like the time you borrowed a boat…”

  Levi was chuckling as he hurried across the room. “Let’s go, Bailey. She’s getting wound up, and you know that can’t be good for an old woman’s heart.”

  A pillow flew from the sofa and hit him on the back.

  “Grandma,” she scolded. “Behave. Levi’s a guest.”

  “Did you say Levi’s a pest?” Cherry asked and then howled. “You two have fun. Levi, bring her home in one piece. Where you taking her?”

  He glanced back at her grandmother. “Have reservations at the Saltry.”

  “Good decision,” she said with a nod. “You’ll like that place, honey.”

  Bailey frowned as she thought. “I can’t remember seeing any place with that name in Homer.”

  “Not in Homer, but you’ll see. It’s quite unique,” Levi said.

  “Boat, plane, or ferry?” Cherry asked. “Not that I don’t trust you, but if you don’t have her home by midnight, I need to know where to tell the chief of police to search.”

  “Private boat. I’ll save the plane for the next date.”

  Cherry hooted. “You Van der Hayden boys always knew how to impress the gals. Have fun.”

  With a backward wave, Bailey said, “See you later, Grandma.”

  Levi pressed his hand against the small of Bailey’s back as they walked out the door and down to his waiting truck. The warmth of his broad palm heated more than her back.

  He opened the door, and she slid in. As soon as he was in and started the truck, she said, “You were kidding about the boat and plane, right?”