Unconditional Love

  I went and sat down in the living room and saw my jeans lying on the floor. I pulled out my phone and made one quick phone call. As I hung up I looked up and saw Azurdee coming down the stairs.

  She was dressed in a navy blue strapless dress that hugged her body in all the right places but was free and flowing right around her knees. She had a white sweater on and her hair was pulled up with a few curls hanging down. My eyes moved down her perfect legs to see she was wearing a pair of black wedge shoes. My breath caught in my throat as I said, “Wow. You look beautiful.”

  She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and spun around and said, “I wasn’t sure where we were going for dinner, so I dressed kind of in the middle.”

  I walked up to her and reached out for her hands. I stood back and looked her body up and down and smiled.

  “You hungry?” I asked.

  She quickly nodded her head and said, “Starved. All that sex worked up my appetite.”

  I laughed and said, “Oh, there is plenty more of that after dessert.”

  “Well, we better bring home leftovers then,” she said with a wink as we made our way out to my truck.

  I opened the door for her, shut it, and said a quick prayer that I didn’t fuck this evening up.

  Lark and I walked along the beach after dinner and I could tell he had something on his mind. There was also the elephant in the room that neither one of us wanted to bring up again. I took a deep breath and just asked.

  “When do you have to leave?”

  He gripped my hand tighter and said, “We have to head back to Austin tomorrow.”

  My heart sunk and I could feel the tears building in my eyes. I hated that I was so emotional around him. “I thought you were on leave?”

  “I have to go back for…something.”

  I nodded my head. I knew getting into this relationship with him meant that there was the big secret of his job. The fact that he told me he was still in the Marines, coupled with the lifestyle he led had me piecing things together. It was almost like he was a secret agent type person. Living a life that he wasn’t really living. I was a part of that pretend life and I wasn’t so sure how I felt about that.

  “Will I ever get to meet your boss?” I asked.

  Lark let out a chuckle and said, “Skip?” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “Maybe.”

  I nodded my head and asked, “Is Jason or Paul going with you?”

  Lark stopped and looked at me. “Why?”

  I shook my head and said, “I don’t know…I’m just trying to make small talk about your job and since I only know bits and pieces of it…”

  “Can we change the subject?” he asked as he looked out into the black sea of water.

  “Of course we can.”

  We walked a bit longer in silence when we stopped and Lark turned and looked at me. “My father talked to me on Christmas night about something.”

  I smiled and nodded my head. I remembered when he asked to talk to both Lark and Tristan. After that conversation was when Tristan became really distant with Ryn and Lark’s mother smiled at me like she knew a secret.

  I nodded my head and said, “I remember.”

  He smiled and shook his head. “My father and mother both knew the moment they saw us together that I loved you. Me on the other hand, I was nothing but scared and unprepared for falling in love with you.”

  He looked down and then back up at me. “I think I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. Something happened and I fought like hell for almost a year to push it away. I’d find myself just sitting there thinking about you. I wondered what you were doing. If you were happy, sad, lonely. I prayed like hell you weren’t dating anyone.”

  I grinned as he smiled at me. “I’ve lived my life on the edge for so many years, Azurdee. Not caring if I died or not because I thought I didn’t have anything, or anyone, to live for. Then I met you and everything changed. It was like I was a blank page waiting for you to write our future together on it.”

  I swallowed hard and wiped away the tear that was making its way down my cheek.

  “You think about our future?” I asked.

  He smiled and nodded his head. “Yes. Do you?”

  I felt my cheeks heat up as I nodded my head. “Probably more than I should,” I said.

  He took my hand in his and said, “Let’s go back to the house. I have to tell you about the journey.”

  I looked at him confused. “What journey?”

  He laughed and said, “That was my response, too.”

  We walked into the house and Lark led me into the kitchen. Each time we walked into the beach house I couldn’t help but smile. It was decorated in a beach theme but was also a tad on the fancy side. I could easily see this house sitting on the shore of Nantucket. It was not decorated like Lark’s parents’ ranch house at all. The whites and light blues made it completely relaxing. I fell in love with it the moment we walked in.

  Lark motioned for me to sit down on the stool at the kitchen island. I glanced down and saw a bottle with a cork in it sitting on the island.

  Lark sat down across from me. “My father asked me what my intentions were with you.”

  I swallowed hard. “I would think that would be my father asking that question.” Lark smiled and nodded his head. I knew he was nervous about meeting my parents. It looked like he was going to get out of meeting them again, depending on how long he would be out of town for.

  “Do you want to know what my answer was?”

  I got that weird feeling in my chest again where it feels like my heart is just dropping to the ground. Did I want to know what he said? No! Yes! No! Yes!

  I nodded my head and took a deep breath.

  “I told him I wanted to marry you someday.”

  I let out a gasp as Lark looked intently into my eyes.

  “I want to see you walking toward me dressed in a beautiful white gown. I want a future with you, Azurdee. I want to wake up every morning and feel you in my arms. I want to fall asleep with you whispering that you love me. I want…”

  He took a deep breath and gave me a smile. “I want to have kids with you. I keep dreaming of touching your stomach when it’s swollen with our child. I want to give you everything you want. I want to support you in your dreams, hold you when you hurt, make you laugh when you’re sad, and make love to you every day. I want to start our journey of love.”

  I covered my mouth and began crying. Lark placed his hand on the side of my face as I dropped my hands from my mouth. “I’ve never had anyone say such amazing things to me before.”

  He looked down and reached for the bottle. “My father told me that his dad had talked to him about something called the journey of love. My father told me that when I was ready to start my journey, I needed to talk to you about it. There is this tradition in my family that starts this journey.”

  I nodded my head and said, “What is it?”

  “My father brought my mother to the beach when he knew she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, when he knew he was ready to start his journey of love. They both were in separate rooms and wrote each other a letter about their hopes, dreams, doubts, and goals for their love. They put the letters in the bottle and they put it in the ocean. The idea is that each journey is different. It’s filled with calm seas and rough seas but together you can weather anything.”

  He laughed and shook his head as if remembering something. “I was confused after I walked out of that room about the whole bottle thing, but it just all clicked. All of it made sense when I was telling you.”

  He looked into my eyes and I realized I was holding my breath. His beautiful green eyes were filled with nothing but pure love.

  “I want to share this journey with you and only you, Azurdee. I love you.”

  I smiled and wiped the tears from my eyes. “I love you too. Fate has already stepped in…you’re who I’m meant to be with, Lark. I knew it the moment you first touched me.”

  He sto
od up and walked around the island and grabbed me and pulled me up. He looked into my eyes and whispered, “You’re mine.”

  I nodded my head and said, “Always.”

  He picked me up and began walking toward the stairs. I looked back at the bottle and said, “I thought we were going to write our letters.”

  As he took the stairs two at a time, still carrying me, he said, “After I make love to you.”

  I stared down at the piece of paper and looked at my shaking hand. I closed my eyes tightly and thought back to just an hour ago when Lark made such sweet love to me. I placed my hand on my neck and could almost feel the warmth of his breath on my skin as he whispered how much he loved me.

  I opened my eyes and smiled. I reached for my phone and sent him a text message:

  Me: Are you done?

  Lark: No. Are you?

  Me: No. I have a question. Are we reading each other’s letters?

  Lark: Nope.

  Me: K.

  Lark: Does that make a difference?

  Me: I don’t think so. For some reason I’m really nervous.

  Lark: Me too!

  I laughed when I read his last text. My big tough Marine. I couldn’t imagine him nervous about anything.

  Me: You’re nervous? That turns me on.

  Lark: Oh yeah? How turned on are you?

  Me: Let me check…yep, pretty turned on.

  Lark: Fuck.

  I hugged myself as I let out a chuckle. I could just picture him now adjusting his hardening dick. I let out a breath and tried to contain my uncontrollable urge to go find him.

  Lark: Are you touching yourself?

  Me: Are you?

  Lark: Yes.

  Oh. My. God.

  Me: Then so am I.

  Lark: Tell me what you feel like.

  I slipped my hand under my dress and down into my panties as I pushed my fingers inside. I let out a moan and dropped my head back as I moved my fingers in and out.

  My phone pinged and I looked at the text.

  Lark: I’m waiting, mi amor.

  Me: I’m wet. Very wet.

  Lark: Taste yourself.

  My stomach dropped and I set my phone down and pulled my hand from my panties. I bit down on my lower lip and sighed how it turned me on when he talked dirty like that to me. I wanted nothing more than to put my fingers in my mouth and do what he said.

  My phone pinged and I glanced down at it.

  Lark: Touch yourself again, Azurdee.

  I pushed my fingers down into my panties again and began finger fucking myself.

  I closed my eyes and imagined Lark’s lips down there.

  My phone pinged again and I opened my eyes to read his message.

  Lark: I’m imagining my cock deep inside you. It feels so good.

  Oh God. How does he do this to me? One minute he is so utterly romantic and the next…

  Lark: Are you getting close to coming baby?

  Me: Yes.

  Lark: Tell me how it feels.

  Trying to type with one hand while my other hand was bringing me so close to an orgasm proved harder than I thought. I carried on though, breathing hard.

  Me: I feel myself getting wetter. The sound is turning me on.

  Lark: I’m so close. Fuck yourself harder and faster.

  Just seeing his words caused me to move my hand faster and I could feel the build up growing stronger.

  Me: I’m coming!

  I let out a scream as one of the most intense orgasms ripped through my body. I heard the door open and before I knew what was happening I was on the desk getting my panties ripped off of me and Lark was moving in and out of me.

  The next orgasm hit me even harder as I screamed out, “Oh God! Yes! Oh God, I’m coming again. Yes!”

  I looked at Lark as he grunted and moaned. He pulled out and slammed back into me so hard I let out another scream.

  I was so lost in what he was doing to me I hardly noticed him pulling me off the desk and turning me around.

  “Put your hands on the desk. I’m going to take you from behind.”

  I put my hands on the desk and Lark pushed back into me. He grabbed onto my hips and fucked me hard. I could feel another orgasm building. When he reached up and grabbed a fistful of hair I began calling out his name as he called out mine.

  “God…Azurdee…I’m coming. Feels so fucking good.”

  When he finally dropped on me we were both panting like we had run a marathon.

  “Holy shit,” he said between breaths.

  I attempted to breath, but was panting. I turned and looked at him and smiled. “That was…kind of…hot.”

  He pushed himself up and looked at me as he raised his eyebrow. “Kind of?”

  “Okay, it was hot as hell.”

  He stood up and pulled up his pants and winked at me as he leaned over and kissed me quickly.

  “Stop bugging me. I’m trying to write a letter here,” he turned and walked out of the room and shut the door. I got off the desk and began looking for my panties. I was so worked up when he walked into the room I didn’t even remember him taking them off.

  I looked around and saw them and my piece of paper on the floor behind the desk. I smiled as I reached for both. I slipped my panties back on and sat back down in the chair and put my blank piece of paper in front of me.

  I heard my phone ping and started looking for it. After crawling around on the floor I finally found it under the chair across the room. I expected to see a text from Lark, but it was from my mother:

  Mom: So, how was it meeting his family? Were they nice? Did they treat you well?

  I rolled my eyes. I didn’t really want to get into this now with her.

  Me: Hey Mom. Christmas with the Williams family was amazing. Lark was amazing as he always is and he is so excited to meet y’all. He’s been called out of town with work though and we are cutting our trip short. Heading home tomorrow. We might not make it there for the New Year’s Eve party.

  Mom: No! Oh no, we were really looking forward to meeting the man who has swept my daughter off her feet. ☹

  Me: Soon, Mom. I’m sorry I missed Christmas and now New Year’s Eve.

  Mom: How is the restaurant coming along?

  Me: Good. A few setbacks but I think we will be back on schedule after the new year. I’m meeting with Dan in a few days.

  Mom: Good. Do you have time to chat? Can I call?

  Shit.

  Me: Wish I could Mom, but I kind of have to run. In the middle of a family tradition.

  Mom: How fun! Okay well enjoy yourself, sweetheart.

  Me: Trust me Mom, I am!

  Mom: See you soon, Azurdee. Love you.

  Me: See ya soon, Mom. Love you back.

  I put my phone down on the desk and picked up the pen. I closed my eyes and thought about Lark. I thought about the first time he made love to me. The first time he called me mi amor. The first time I heard him say in his sleep he needed to guard his heart. An overwhelming feeling rushed over me and I began to write.

  I read through the letter and decided to not change a thing. I wrote from my heart and that was important to me. I got up and walked over to the copy machine that was sitting on the other desk and made two copies. I knew we weren’t supposed to read each other’s letter but something told me I needed to do this. I made the copies and folded one in half and walked over to all the books. I looked to see if my favorite book was here. I smiled when I saw Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I opened up the book to chapter three and tucked my letter in there. I closed it and smiled as I placed the book back onto the shelf. My phone went off and I quickly folded up the other letter and slipped it into the small pocket of my dress.

  I picked up my phone and smiled.

  Lark: Done! Did I win?

  Me: Nope. I’ve been done for a few minutes.

  Lark: What? Well what have you been doing?

  Me: Reading my all time favorite book ever.

  Lark: Winnie the Pooh?
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  Me: Haha. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, if you must know.

  Lark: Classic. Come find me. I may or may not be naked.

  I laughed as I made my way out of the library in search of Lark.

  After searching for fifteen minutes, I gave up and sat down at the kitchen island and stared at the bottle. I heard the sliding glass door open and Lark walked in with a smile.

  I tilted my head and said, “Well hell. I didn’t think to look outside.”

  He laughed and said, “Nope. Good thing I wasn’t really naked though. The old man next door came over to say hi.”

  I held up my letter. He smiled and held up his finger. “Give me two minutes.”

  I nodded my head and got up and headed to the refrigerator and took a beer out as I looked for something to snack on. I glanced around the kitchen and took in the beach décor. I grabbed a handful of grapes and made my way back to the bar and waited.

  I let out a smile when Lark wrapped his arms around me and then placed his letter on top of mine.

  “You ready?” he whispered against my neck, causing goose bumps to pop out all over my body.

  I nodded and he reached for both letters and put them together and handed them to me. My hand was shaking as I took them and began rolling them up. I slid them into the bottle and Lark set glue down onto the counter. He must have gotten some when he came in.

  I bit down on my lower lip as I watched him put glue onto the cork and push it into the bottle. Then he put a bead of glue around the outside of the bottle and cork.

  “It’s marine glue, so I’m thinking it’s leak-proof or my father’s boat is in a heap of trouble.”

  I laughed as I watched him put just a little bit more glue on. He grabbed my hand and we made our way out the sliding glass door and headed down to the beach.

  As we got closer to the water I could hear the seagulls. The salty ocean air made me smile as Lark squeezed my hand harder. We slipped our shoes off and made our way into the chilly waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I looked at Lark and said, “What if it washes back in?”

  He looked out to the seas and then at me. “Shit. Should we take the boat out?”