Unconditional Love (Journey of Love 1)

I paused. I had no clue what Lark did. None. All I knew was he flew helicopters, he had been in the Marines, and whatever it was he did, he sure didn’t talk about it to anyone.

“He was in the Marines.” I rolled my eyes and flopped down on the bed and hit my forehead with the palm of my hand.

“The Marines, huh? Your father will like that. What’s the young man’s name?”

“Lark Williams. Hey Mom, listen I hate to cut you off, but we’re fixing to leave.”

“Okay, darling. Will you be back at the coffee shop tomorrow?”

“Yes. I’ll be there at opening and then heading over to the new place to check on things.”

“All right, dear. Practice safe sex.”

I shuddered and said, “Yuck, Mom…too far. You went too far!”

My mother let out a loud laugh and then said, “Bye, darling. Have fun today with Lark.”

I hung up and threw myself back onto the bed. “Oh God! My mother knows I’m having sex!”

I felt the bed move and Lark was laying on me laughing. “But does she know how fucking hot the sex is?” he asked as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down. I giggled and decided I liked the playful Lark. A lot.

“I held that part back.”

Lark placed both hands on the side of my face and kissed me so sweet and gentle. When he pulled back, he lifted his eyebrow and looked at me and pushed himself into me. I raised my eyebrow back and asked, “What do you feed yourself to have such stamina?”

He laughed and pushed himself off of me and then reached for my hand and pulled me up.

“Thank you for this morning. It was amazing.”

I nodded my head and said, “Yes, it was.”

I looked him up and down and somehow managed to keep the moan I wanted to let out buried deep down inside of me. He looked amazing. He had on Lucky jeans that fit him perfectly, a dark blue T-shirt and his cowboy boots. He looked hot as hell.

“You look…good,” I said as I licked my lips. He smiled slightly and said, “You look beautiful. Come on, the day is young still and I have lots I want to do today. I have to leave town tomorrow.”

My smile faded and my heart dropped. I wanted to let out a childlike nooo and stomp my foot and demand he not leave again. He walked up to me and lifted my chin up and brushed his lips across mine. “I don’t want to leave, mi amor, but I have to.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him as we both kissed each other like we wouldn’t see each other for days.

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine. “Azurdee…I hope you know how much you mean to me.”

“I do. I hope you know as well,” I said as he slowly slid me down his body. He grabbed my hand as I reached for my purse.

“Leave it…you won’t need it. Oh wait. Grab your driver’s license.”

I reached in and took out my license and pushed it into my back pocket along with some money. My mother always told me to never go anywhere without a few dollars in your pocket.

We made our way to the elevator. I glanced at the small table and thought about last night. I chewed on my bottom lip as I tried to decide what I liked better. Lark making love to me or Lark fucking me. I looked at him and he was smiling at me, almost like he knew what I was thinking.

“I like it rough too, but I love making love to you more than anything.”

My mouth parted open slightly and I was washed away with what he said. Just when I think I know him he goes off and swoons the hell out of me.

The elevator opened and we stepped inside. He swiped his card across and hit the fifty-sixth floor button.

“I’m having a key card made for you. I want you to know you can stay here anytime you want. Especially when I’m in town. I really liked waking up with you next to me.”

I smiled and felt the butterflies go off in my stomach. The elevator opened and Lark motioned for me to go first. “Turn to the right.” I headed to the doors and opened them. It was the gym.

“I know how much you like to workout and run so I wanted to show you the gym. The other side is the yoga and workout room.”

“Wow. This is amazing.” All the exercise equipment faced the windows. “Who wouldn’t want to work out with this view? I swear.”

Lark laughed and said, “Come on, two more floors to visit.”

Lark hit the tenth floor and within seconds the door was opening and he was showing me a theater room, a game room, a spa, and the pool.

“Maybe when I get back we can barbecue down here by the pool.”

I nodded my head and said, “Or my place.” His smile faded for a brief second and then it was replaced by a wider smile.

“Or my ranch between Johnson City and Marble Falls. I meet with the architect in a few weeks to talk about the house.”

“I forgot you owned land out that way.” I looked out over the city and thought about each of our futures.

“I’d love to show it to you,” he said as he took my hand in his. I knew that was huge for him. I smiled and said, “I’d love that. Maybe when you come back I can show you my new restaurant.”

His smile grew wider and he said, “I’d love to see your new place.”

We walked back to the elevator and made our way to the fourth floor. As we walked into the parking garage, I glanced at the yellow bike. My heart did a little drop. I wasn’t sure why I thought motorcycles were sexy as hell. This one was beyond sexy. I made my way to the truck as Lark made his way to the bike. I stopped and just looked at him.

He looked at me and winked. He lifted the back seat and pulled out a helmet and walked up to me and handed it to me.

I just stood there staring at him and his drop dead gorgeous smile of his. Oh. My. Word. This is his bike. I think I just had a mini orgasm at the idea of being on that thing with him.

“You said you wanted to go for a ride, mi amor. You still up for it?”

I took the helmet and let out a laugh. “You’re kidding. This is your bike, Lark?”

He looked back at it and said, “Yes ma’am, it is. I love the feel of being free and just going as fast as I can on her.”

I snapped my head over and looked at him. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’d heard Scott talk about how Lark lived life on the edge with the partying and fast living.

“Um…”

He laughed and pulled me over to the bike. “I promise not to go too fast. I have precious cargo.”

I put the helmet on and my heart began pounding with excitement. Lark got on and started the motorcycle. Eminem’s “Berzerk” began playing and Lark yelled, “Fuck yeah.”

I wrapped my arms around him and smiled. I closed m

y eyes when he started going and he yelled for me to hold on. “Here we go, mi amor.”

As we rode around Austin, something in me changed. It felt like it was a new me. I’d never done anything like this before, but with Lark, he made you want to live life to the fullest.

For lunch we went to Home Slice pizza. Then we hit Amy’s for ice cream before we were back on the bike and heading to the hike-and-bike trail. We walked for a bit and then I sat and watched Lark play a quick game of sand volleyball. A group of guys he knew were playing, and though he had just come down to watch, he somehow got talked into playing. I saw Jason, Lark’s friend who he said he worked with, playing. I tried not to make eye contact with him, but when I did, he politely smiled and waved. I gave him a quick wave back.

A blonde was sitting next to me and smiled at me when I sat down. We sat in silence for a few minutes as we both watched the game. I finally asked, “Is one of them yours?”

She laughed and said, “Yep.” She pointed to the only other guy who looked like he might have been in the military. “That’s my Ron. He’s normally stationed in California, but we’ve been here for the last two weeks. Some kind of training.”

I nodded my head and said, “Do you know what the training is for?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Nope. Ron is a sniper in the Marines. I think Lark and Jason are training him for something.”

I turned and looked at Lark. I knew he could shoot well because I’d heard Scott talk about it. Why would Lark be training him?

“Is Ron going out of town tomorrow?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, I think he is in some kind of meeting all day.”

I smiled at her and looked back at Lark. His eye was still really black and blue from where he fell.

I didn’t take my eyes off of Lark when I asked, “Did Ron go out of town a few days back?”

“Yeah, he did. Said he had a training mission to go on. He just got back…um…the day before yesterday, I think it was. Yeah.”

I turned and stuck my hand out and smiled. “I’m sorry, how rude of me. Azurdee Emerson.”

She reached for my hand and said, “Lisa Kentwood.”

“So Ron is active duty Marines?”