Unconditional Love (2 page)

I walked out of the restroom and ran my hand through my hair as I smiled. The blonde I’d just fucked walked out right behind me. “Lark, please tell me we can make that a daily thing.”

I smiled as I kept walking toward the bar. It was still hard for me to get used to people calling me Lark instead of Michael. After Nikki’s death I vowed to never let another woman say my name when I fucked them. So I started going by my middle name. “Sorry darling. I’m not interested in a relationship.”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. She looked around and then looked back at me and licked her lips. “I’ve never been fucked that hard and good before. I just want a fuck buddy. That’s all.”

I smiled and looked her perfect body up and down. “A fuck buddy? That’s it. No strings attached?”

She smiled back and nodded her head. She handed me her business card and when I looked down I smiled.

“So, Sherry, you’re a lawyer?” I asked.

She winked and said, “My first year. And, might I add, I’m pretty good at it.”

I nodded my head. “I’m heading into the Marines, so I won’t be around a lot.”

She bit down on her lip. “No problem. When you’re in town, just give me a call.”

I had to fight the urge to make plans to meet up with her again.

Guarda mi corazón siempre.
Guard my heart always.

I slipped her card into my pocket and winked at her before turning around and heading to the bar. I grabbed a beer and made my way over to my best friend Scott, who was still talking to the same damn girl he’d been talking to all night.

I walked up to the table and Scott looked up at me and smiled. “Where did you disappear to?”

I shrugged my shoulders and sat down. It wasn’t lost on me how she was eye fucking the hell out of me. “Went and had a quick fuck in the bathroom.”

Scott sat back and sighed. “Jesus, Lark.”

I smiled at him and took a drink of my beer as I watched the girl sitting across from me lick her lips and raise her eyebrows.

Women are all the same. I will never fall in love with one of them again. All they are good for is a good hard fuck.

I stood up and slapped Scott on the back. “I’m leaving in the morning. We better get out of here.”

Scott nodded and looked at the girl and said, “It was a pleasure talking to you, Lorie. See ya around.”

As Scott began heading out of the bar, I held back a second before I walked up to Lorie. She looked up at me and her blue eyes were begging for a good fucking.

She handed me a piece of paper and winked before turning and walking off. I laughed and made my way out of the bar. I glanced down at the paper and saw she had written down her number.

Yep. They’re all the same. There would never be another Nikki. Ever.

As I stood there and listened to yet another girl ramble on and on about how much she loved my eyes, I glanced over to Azurdee. She looked beautiful. Her long dark hair was pulled up and piled on top of her head with just the right amount of curls hanging down and framing her face.

“So, you and Scott have known each other since college, huh?” the girl asked. I’d been trying to shake this girl the whole reception. I was the best man at my best friend’s wedding. Scott and I had known each other since our sophomore year of college and I’d been spending more and more time out at his ranch in Mason, Texas. It had been almost a year since he’d called me asking for my help in finding Jessie, who was now his wife.

Of course, seeing Scott wasn’t the only reason I had been coming to the ranch to visit. Azurdee Emerson was the other reason. Jessie’s best friend from college had been the only girl since Nikki to make me feel something I had buried deep down inside of me long ago. One mention of her in Mason and I was on my motorcycle busting my ass to get a chance to be around her.

Azurdee Emerson.
She filled my thoughts almost daily, except when I was on a mission. That was the only place she hadn’t invaded my world.

The young girl touched my arm, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glanced down at her and smiled. “So, are you busy later tonight?”

I gave her a smile and wink and said, “Yes, ma’am, I have plans.” Her smile faded and she looked away but then quickly looked back at me.

“That’s a shame. I was hoping to show you around Mason, and other places.” She ran her tongue along her bottom lip and I rolled my eyes before I looked back at Azurdee. She was talking to the dick she brought as a date. I was hoping she was telling him to take a hike.

She turned and looked directly at me and gave me a weak smile. I was instantly brought back to the day I met Azurdee right here at Scott and Jessie’s house.

“Skip, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it when I get back to Austin. Just let me enjoy my leave, please. Yep. I know it’s back to work on January fourth. Yes, I know our work doesn’t take a vacation. January fourth, we are heading to Columbia at oh-five-hundred. I’ll make sure everything is ready to go.”

I heard the buzzer for Scott’s gate go off.

“Listen, Skip, I’ve got to run. If anything comes up, I’m just a few hours away from Austin, and I can get things up within a matter of hours.”

The gate buzzed again.

“Have to run. Stop stressing. Fuck, in our line of work, how have you not had a heart attack yet? Talk to ya later.”

I walked up to the intercom and pushed a button. “Talk to me.”

“Hey, Scott! It’s Azurdee. I’m so sorry that I’m a day early.”

I smiled and shook my head. I glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine, and I was pretty sure that Scott and Jessie were going to be home soon.

“Come on up. I’ll meet you on the front porch.”

“Okay!”

I quickly walked to the front door and out onto the porch. I perched myself up against the post and waited to lay my sights on the P.U.R.E. Azurdee. Jessie made sure to let me know Azurdee was off-limits. She made the mistake of telling me that her best friend was a virgin and I’d give anything to be the one to strip her of her P.U.R.E. title.

How in the hell does a girl in her early twenties stay a virgin these days?

As I saw her Toyota Camry pull up and park, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it was a hybrid. The moment she stepped out of the car, she stretched, and my knees about buckled. I grabbed on to the railing.

Holy fucking shit.
That hasn’t happened in a long time. Get a grip, for Christ’s sake, Williams. She’s just another pussy. You’ve seen one; you’ve seen them all.

I watched her as she took her hair down from her ponytail. She had long, wavy dark brown hair that went down to the middle of her back. She pulled it back up into a ponytail as she turned and saw me standing there. I followed her eyes as they moved up and down my body. When her eyes caught mine, she smiled.

Jesus Christ.

“You most certainly are not Scott,” she said with a smile.

It took me all of thirty seconds to get my wits about me. “No, ma’am, I am not. You must be Azurdee,” I said as I made my way down to her car.

I put my hand out, and she shook it. I was pretty damn sure she felt the same thing I did when we touched.

She looked away quickly before glancing back at me and focusing in on my lips. “You have an advantage on me, it seems. Mister…”

“Lark Williams, old college friend of Scott’s. Going to be staying for a few days.”

I purposely licked my lips and bit down on my bottom lip. She sucked in a small breath as her caramel eyes darkened. They were breathtaking, and I swore they sparkled.

Those are the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen. I wonder what they would look like when fucking her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Williams,” she said with the cutest damn smile I’d ever seen.

“Lark, please call me Lark.”

She nodded and looked around. “Azurdee Emerson. Are Jessie and Scott here?”

She seemed nervous as hell, and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“I promise I won’t bite, sweetheart,” I said with a wink.

“Azurdee.”

I tilted my head at her.
Feisty.
“You don’t like the word
sweetheart
?” I asked.

Now, it was her turn to lick her lips before biting down on her bottom lip. She tilted her head back as she said, “Oh, I love the word
sweetheart
. I just don’t like it coming from a guy who probably bags at least two girls a week.”

My mouth dropped open as she pushed past me. She opened her trunk and started to pull out her suitcase. Then, she stopped and looked at me.

Pure, my fucking ass.

I walked over and took the suitcase from her. I made my way into the house and up the stairs as she pulled out her cell phone and called Jessie. From the sound of it, Jessie was freaking out that Azurdee was here alone with me.

“Honestly, Jess, I’m fine. It was my fault for coming in a day early. I finished up work, and I was so excited to see you that I didn’t even think of calling.”

I made a beeline straight to the bedroom next to mine. Before I walked into the room, she cleared her throat. I stopped and turned around to see her standing outside the bedroom at the end of the hall. She smiled and pointed into the room.

Fuckin’ A
.

“Yep, and Lark is being such a gentleman by carrying my suitcase.”

She let out a laugh, and when I walked by, my arm brushed up against hers.

Shit! What in the hell is with the weird feelings every time I touch this girl?

I put her suitcase down on the bed, turned, and ran my hand through my hair. I didn’t like the way I felt when I was around her, and I’d only been around her for about ten minutes. When I looked up, I saw she was staring at me.

“Oh, um…what did you say, Jessie?” She quickly looked away. “Okay, I probably will because I am starving. Okay, see y’all soon.” She hung up and looked at me again. She gave me the sweetest smile. “They’re, um…they’re going to be heading back soon. Have you eaten dinner?”

My heart dropped to my stomach, and I was starting to get pissed off at how my body was betraying me. I just needed to either fuck this girl or completely ignore her.

“Nope,” I said, cursing myself the moment the word came out of my mouth.

She nodded as she set down the two bags she’d carried up with her. Then, she turned and walked out of the bedroom. I followed her out and down the stairs to the kitchen. I sat down as I watched her open the refrigerator. She took a quick look, and then she went to the pantry and looked around. She pulled out powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and the bread. She walked back over to the refrigerator and pulled out some eggs.

“Do you like French toast? I’ve been craving it so bad the last few days.” She pulled out a bowl and began cracking eggs into it.

I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could talk. “I love French toast.” Nikki used to make me French toast all the time.

“Hey, are you okay?” Azurdee asked as she placed her hand on top of mine.

I instantly pulled it away. “Yeah. Why the fuck wouldn’t I be?” I snapped.

The hurt in her eyes made me instantly regret snapping at her. She took a deep breath and went back to mixing everything in the bowl. She got out a frying pan and put some butter in it.

“Jesus, you sure do know where everything is. Do you come here often?” I asked, trying to make up for being short with her.

She gave me a weak smile and began dipping the bread into the egg mixture.

“I’ve only been here a couple of times. I made Scott and Jessie dinner a few times. I love to cook, and I’ve been told I make a pretty damn good fettuccine alfredo,” she said as she wiggled her eyebrows. “All from scratch, I might add.”

I let out a small laugh as I shook my head. “I think maybe I need to be the judge of that.”

She flipped the toast in the pan. “You got it. I’ll make it while we’re here. When are you leaving? I’m staying until the third and then heading back to Austin.”