She blushed as she slipped the T-shirt on. It fell to the middle of her thighs and it was probably sexier than the damn corset she just took off. I slipped my boxer briefs on and she put her hand on her hips as she tilted her head and said, “Hey. How come you get to wear underwear and I can’t?”
I shrugged and took her hand in mine as we made our way down to the kitchen. I sat down at the bar as Azurdee began looking around. She let out a giggle and said, “French toast?”
I did a fist pump and said, “Yes! Perfect first meal as husband and wife.”
She nodded and said, “I agree.”
I watched as my beautiful wife began whipping out French toast almost the exact same way as the first day I met her. I watched her every move and thanked God for the blessings in my life at least five times as I watched her cook.
She set two plates down in front of us and we both ate in silence. Azurdee only ate half of her French toast while I finished off mine and the rest of hers. I loved her cooking so damn much.
I threw my napkin down on the plate and smiled as I said, “Done! Woman, get me a beer now!”
Azurdee laughed as she rolled her eyes.
“What were you thinking about? While we were eating, I mean?” she asked as she ran her fingers along the edge of the T-shirt.
I shrugged and said, “Us. How much I love you. How much I love your cooking.” I said as I wiggled my eyebrows up and down. “How much I want to make love to you on this kitchen island.”
She placed her finger in her mouth and her eyes turned almost black with desire. I gave her a look and said, “Why, Mrs. Williams, would you like for me to take you on the island?”
She nodded her head and said, “Very much so.” I took the two plates and put them in the sink and then turned around and picked her up and set her down on the island.
“Move back baby, and spread your legs open.”
“Oh God, Lark.”
We ended up making love on the island and then in the living room where I took her from behind as she leaned over the leather sofa. Then on the stairs and finally in the shower where we both collapsed to the floor and just sat there with the hot water running on us.
“I think you have officially worn me out,” I said as I pulled her closer to me.
“I’m so tired I just want to sleep in the shower,” she said with a yawn.
I got up and turned off the shower. I reached down and pulled her up. We stepped out of the giant shower and I wrapped a towel around me as I dried her off. I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. I pulled the sheets back and gently laid her down on the bed and covered her up. I sat down on the bed and ran my hand down along her face.
“If I haven’t told you, you looked beautiful today.”
She smiled and said, “Mmm…you have. Like a million times.”
“I wish I could rewind this whole day and relive it again.”
She opened her eyes and said, “Me too.”
I leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips and said, “I haven’t given you my wedding present yet. We have to be home for you to see it.”
She barely smiled. “Mmm. Okay.”
I smiled to myself knowing how happy she would be. Ralph had told me Azurdee had been looking shortly after the fire into buying a coffee shop that was for sale in Marble Falls I bought it and was planning on surprising her when we got back home. I couldn’t wait to see her face when I pulled up and she saw the new sign.
“Go to sleep, baby. Rest up. We have ten more days of this.”
“Mmm…can we just stay in the bedroom the whole time?” she said as she closed her eyes again.
I let out a chuckle and said, “If that’s what you want, baby, that’s what we’ll do.”
She shook her head slightly and said, “No. I’d like to see the beach at least once.”
I ran my hand through her hair and whispered, “Thank you.”
She snapped her eyes open and looked at me. She sat up and asked, “For what?”
I swallowed hard and said, “For always loving me. For making me feel like I deserved your love. For accepting me for who I was and never judging me.”
“Lark…I will love you forever. Our love is and will always be a lasting love.”
I kissed her gently on the lips and began pushing her back down until she was lying down again.
I stood up and stripped my towel off and crawled into the bed and next to my wife. I’d never felt so much love from one person in my life.
“Azurdee…I love you so much.”
I slowly pulled her up against my body and wrapped my arms around her.
“I love you too, Michael.”
I listened as her breathing got deeper and slower. When I closed my eyes and began drifting off to sleep I dreamed of a brunette with shoulder-length hair walking along the beach with her hands resting on her swollen belly. I walked up to her and when she turned around she smiled the biggest smile I’d ever seen. My knees about buckled and my stomach did that weird little flip it does when she smiles at me like that.
She looked down and then back up into my eyes and said, “We’ve been waiting for you.”
I smiled and placed my hands on Azurdee’s stomach. “You don’t have to wait anymore, mi amor. I’m here.”
One Year Later
I walked along the beach and tried my best to listen to Joyce go on and on about how excited everyone was.
I would say the occasional “Oh I know.” Or “I’m so excited, too.” Every now and then I’d have to throw in an “Aww…that is so sweet,” when she would talk about something someone in the family was making for the baby.
I placed my hand on my stomach and felt my little angel. She was super active today and I was pretty sure it was because daddy woke mommy up this morning with a good hard fu…
“Azurdee? Darling, are you listening to me?”
I stopped and looked at Joyce and said, “I’m sorry. I was lost in thought. I was thinking about this morning.”
“What about this morning?” she asked.
Nice Azurdee. What are you going to tell her now? Oh you know Joyce, I was thinking how your son had me on my hands and knees and fucked the hell out of my almost nine-month pregnant self.
“There is my favorite girl,” Lark said from behind me. I turned and smiled as I saw Lark walking toward me. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me with the strangest look. I tilted my head and asked, “Are you okay?”
He walked up to me and ran his hands through my hair. I had Joyce cut it for me this morning in preparation for the baby. It fell just below my shoulders now.
“Your hair,” he whispered. He placed his hand on my stomach and looked into my eyes.
“Do you not like it shorter? I just had to get it cut—your mom did it for me earlier.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in that oh so sexy way of his as a smile spread across his face.
He shook his head and said, “I love it. It just…it reminds me of a dream I had about you…twice.”
I made a goofy face and said, “Oh. You dreamed I cut my hair?”
He smiled and nodded his head.
He put both hands on my stomach and dropped to his knees in the sand. “¿Cómo está mi niña?”
I ran my hands through his hair as he talked to our daughter. I loved his hair a bit longer. He had grown it out a bit after he got out of the Corps. It wasn’t too long, but it was long enough to where I could run my fingers through it and grab it as we made love.
Lark stood up and placed his hand behind my neck and pulled my lips to his. I was still shocked at how passionately he would kiss me in front of people, especially his parents.
“How do you feel?” he asked against my lips.
I nodded and said, “Good. She’s kicking a lot today. She’s been very active since this morning.” If I hadn’t known any better I would say my husband just blushed.
Joyce clapped her hands and said, “Okay, your father and I are leaving in a bit, so you two are
going to be okay, right?”
Lark rolled his eyes and said, “Yes, Mom. We’re heading back today too. With Azurdee getting so close to her due date we are going to hunker down.”
Joyce grinned from ear to ear and I could see the excitement in her eyes. “Your father and I will plan on coming up after the baby is born. I want y’all to settle in first before we come bursting in and intruding.”
Lark nodded his head and said, “If only the other grandparents thought that way.”
I hit him in the stomach and said, “Stop it.”
We all headed back to the beach house, where we said our good-byes to Joyce and Peter and began loading up the new Toyota Sequoia we had bought.
“How many kids are we planning on having again? “ I said as Lark helped me into the passenger seat. He shrugged and said, “I would think no more than two.”
I nodded my head. “So tell me why we needed this tank?”
He looked at me like I was stupid as he answered, “It’s safe.” He shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side. For the next thirty minutes I had to hear all about the safety features of our new car…again. I finally put my head back and slowly drifted off to sleep.
One Month Later
My eyes snapped open when I heard Akayla start crying. I went to get up, but Lark reached for my arm and pulled me back. He leaned over and kissed me as he whispered, “Rest, mi amor. I’ve got this.”
I fell back and let out a sigh. “Thank you.” Lark had been so amazing with the baby. She was almost a week old and the apple of his eye. I giggled as I thought about Scott and Jessie coming over and Lark not wanting to give Akayla to Scott. I’d never seen Scott look so mad in my life.
I closed my eyes and attempted to go back to sleep, but I could hear Lark talking to the baby. I got out of bed and quietly made my way to the kitchen. I stopped around the corner and listened to him talking to her.
“There are so many things I’m going to teach you. One is how to shoot a gun.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled as I shook my head.
“Then I’m going to teach you how to hunt. Your mommy will have to teach you how to cook it all though, ‘cause daddy is no good at that kind of stuff.”
He got quiet and I peeked around the corner. He was walking while he fed her, and he had stopped to look at a picture. The picture was of he and I when we first started building this house.
“I have so many wishes for you my sweet little angel, but one of my biggest wishes is that you find a love like your mommy and daddy share. I love her so much and sometimes I’ll watch her, and she doesn’t know I’m watching her, and my heart just overflows with love. I mean it just pours over. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. Every morning when she wakes up and smiles at me I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
I put my hand up to my mouth and tried to hold back my tears.
“I want that kind of love for you. Now I know that no man could ever possibly love you as much as I do. And we will have to make it known to all boys who even have an interest in you that I’m a trained killer. And a damn good shot.”
I giggled and shook my head.
“Akayla, my sweet little angel. I never thought I would be able to love someone like I love your mother. And when I let her into my heart I couldn’t imagine there would be room for another until your mommy showed me her pregnancy test and told me I was going to be a daddy. I didn’t even have to see or hear you to know that I loved you so much.”
When I heard his voice crack I walked into the living room and he turned to look at me. I could never sneak up on him. I wasn’t sure if it was his military or CIA training or if he just felt my presence when I walked into a room, but sneaking up on him was nearly impossible.
I walked up to him and looked down at our baby. I kissed her on the forehead and then kissed him.
“I love you, Lark. I love you so much.”
His eyes filled with tears and it was the second time since I’d known him that I saw a tear slip from his eyes. I reached up and wiped it away.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?” I asked.
“For loving me. Believing in me and standing by me, and every crazy idea I’ve had and you’ve supported. Thank you for this beautiful and precious gift in my arms.”
I ran my finger along her cheek and said, “You had a hand in that last one.”
He chuckled and looked down at our daughter who stopped drinking and stared into his eyes. The way they were looking at each other caused a shiver to run through my body.
“I’m going to make the same promise to you that I made your mommy. I promise to always protect you and love you.”
He pulled his eyes away from Akayla and looked me in the eyes as another tear traveled down his cheek and he whispered, “Unconditionally.”
Book Two in the Journey of Love Series
Coming Fall 2015
Tristan
I had been sitting on the beach for the last hour just staring out at the black ocean. I tipped the beer bottle back and drank the last of my beer.
“Well hell. Looks like I have to go back,” I said as I got up and brushed the sand off my pants. I turned and looked back at the house. Lark and Azurdee had left two hours ago for their honeymoon and I couldn’t take watching Ryn another second.
I sucked in a deep breath of salty air and slowly let it out. My phone went off and I pulled it out of my pocket. I sighed when I saw it was Liberty.
Liberty: Just letting you know I’m thinking about you. If you want me to join you I’ll come down. Just text me back and I’ll be there.
Me: I think I just need some time to think, Liberty. We need this time apart.
Liberty: I didn’t mean to push you. I’m always pushing you, I know. I just really wanted to see your parents and would have loved to have seen the wedding but I understand you have your reasons for going alone. Things haven’t been so great with us lately. I’ll work on that. Promise.
Me: We’ll talk when I get back to Austin.
Liberty: Okay. I love you, Tristan.
I let out a sigh and shook my head. I’ve never told Liberty I loved her. I wasn’t sure anymore how I felt about her. All she had been doing is pushing an engagement ever since she found out Lark and Azurdee were getting married. When I thought of my future I didn’t see Liberty. I only saw…Ryn. That scared the piss out of me.
I turned my phone to silent and shoved it into my pocket. I started heading back to the house and began putting on my game face. The one I’d been wearing for the last ten months. The one where everyone thought I was happy, but deep down inside I was the unhappiest I’d ever been in my life.
I walked up the stairs to the deck and the first person I saw was Ryn. She was leaning against the railing with her head back and her eyes closed. There was no one else out here.
She looked tired. I smiled when I thought about what I had overheard earlier when Mom and Jessie were talking. Ryn had taken a two-week vacation and was renting a condo on the beach just two houses down from here. I already began planning ways to ‘run into her’ while we were both here.
She hadn’t talked to me in over ten months. No matter how many times I called and left her messages begging her to call me, she never would.
Her cell phone rang and she quickly answered it. I walked around to the other side of the deck and sat down to where she couldn’t see me.
“Hey Dodge. Are you on your way? Yes. I thought I could, but I can’t. I need you.”
Dodge? Who the fuck is Dodge?
She laughed at something he said and then she let out a sigh. “Well, considering I still need my RFB, I’d say yes…it’s been a sucky last three days.
I peeked around the corner and saw her smiling. She reached her hand up and began playing with her nipple.
What the fuck?
“That sounds like heaven. Yes. I’m going to need it a lot. I don’t know, you’d think after all this time you
’d have been able to fuck him out of my head and heart. Maybe you’re not as good as you think you are?”
My mouth dropped open and I quickly turned back and stared out in the night sky.
She laughed again and said, “I’m still at the wedding. Yes. It was hard to see him. I don’t know. Maybe, I’ve thought about that. Yes. I realize I only use you for sex to forget about Tristan but maybe I’m falling for you and just want your company. You ever think of that?”
My heart started beating faster and I wanted to pound this asshole’s head in.
She let out a sigh and said, “Okay. I’ll see you then. Oh trust me. I’ll be waiting and I will most certainly be ready for you. Yes naked. Hey Dodge? Hurry please. I need to be fucked in a bad way. Bye.”
She let out a sigh and then I swore I heard her crying. I slowly stood up. She was looking out toward the ocean. Her shoulders were moving up and down and when I saw her wipe away her tears, my knees about buckled out from underneath me.
I started making my way toward her. I didn’t want to walk up on her crying, so I cleared my throat and asked, “May I join you?”
She quickly wiped her tears away and looked the other way.
“It’s your house,” she whispered.
“How have you been, Ryn?”
She turned and looked at me. If looks could kill I’d be laying on the floor right now.
“You’ve ignored me for three days and now you ask how I’ve been?”
I shrugged my shoulders and said, “I wasn’t sure you wanted to talk to me.”
She let out a small laugh. “Usually people attempt to talk to a person before they make that assumption.”
“Well, considering I’ve been calling you for months, and you ignore my calls…”
She took a step back and shook her head. “You’re seeing…another…girl.”
“It’s not like that. We are kind of off and on. I mean…I’m not seeing her right now.”
She rolled her eyes and then looked into my eyes. “Do you have any idea how much you hurt me?”
I swallowed and said, “I just thought…I wasn’t planning on…” I looked away and then back into her eyes. “I thought you just wanted to have fun, Ryn. Then you started acting different and I started having these feelings and… I was confused.”