Unconditional Love (Journey of Love #1)(5)
Author: Kelly Elliott

Dark secret. Who was I kidding? I was a 26-year-old woman who had yet to lose her virginity because of some silly idea that I had to wait for the one guy who made me feel…different.

I glanced over toward the back door and saw Lark standing there talking to some girl who looked like she was about nineteen. Lark was the only man who ever made me feel different. He made my body ache to feel his touch almost from the first moment he spoke to me.

“Azurdee? Are you even listening to me?” Paul asked. I pulled my eyes away from Lark and tried to smile at Paul. “Um…I’m sorry, I just keep thinking about all the clean up and everything.”

Paul smiled and said, “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? I don’t mind at all.”

Oh for the love of all things good. This guy is not getting the hint that I want him to leave. “No, really, it’s taken care of. Thank you so much though. I guess now it’s just trying to get everyone to head on home so we can start cleaning up,” I said, hoping he would get the hint.

“I think I should stay. I could crash on the sofa after I help clean up, if you’d like,” Paul said as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down. Ugh. What did I ever see in this guy?

“We’ve got it covered. You can head on back to Austin now. I’ll be sure Azurdee is well taken care of.”

I immediately felt the goose bumps cover my body when I felt Lark behind me and heard his authoritative voice. I was pretty sure my cheeks flushed when I thought of how Lark would be taking care of me.

Paul looked at Lark and then me before laughing and looking at Lark again. “And who might you be?”

Oh shit. Lark laughed and said, “The guy who isn’t a pussy and afraid to say he most certainly will not be sleeping on the sofa tonight but will be sharing a bed with…”

I quickly grabbed Paul’s arm and lead him away from Lark. “Okay well, Paul, let me walk you to your car,” I said as I turned and looked at Lark, who was standing there with a huge smile on his face. As much as I wanted to be pissed off, I couldn’t be. Something about his smile has always been my weakness.

As I walked Paul to his car, he stopped right before he got in and spun around and looked at me.

“Azurdee, are you going to be okay tonight? I mean…”

I smiled and nodded my head, “Yes, I’m going to perfectly fine. Thank you so much, Paul.”

He nodded and got into his car, shut the door and started the engine. He rolled down the window and asked, “May I call you? Maybe we can meet for dinner this week?”

Damn it how do I get out of this?

“Azurdee? Honey, we have a slight problem and need you right away!” Ari yelled from the front porch.

I gave Paul a weak smile and said, “I have to run but maybe I’ll talk to you soon.” I quickly turned and headed toward Ari, who was standing there giving me a shit-eating grin.

Ari was one of Jessie’s closest friends here in Mason, along with Ellie, Heather, and Amanda. They were all friends but acted more like sisters. I stopped right in front of her and asked, “How did you know I needed rescuing?”

She gave me a Cheshire cat grin and said, “Please, bitch, I saw the way you and Lark were dancing earlier. Too bad your date didn’t notice the hotness between the two of you on the dance floor. I knew you were trying to ditch the date and I was pretty sure when I saw him roll down that window he was asking if you would like to meet for coffee sometime?”

I chuckled and said, “It was dinner.”

Ari rolled her eyes and said, “Stupid bastard must have been the only one to not see you and Lark practically humping on the dance floor.”

“Oh my God, Ari! It wasn’t that bad…was it?”

She gave me an evil smile and said, “Let’s just say I’m wishing I would have started a bet among the girls because I have a feeling someone is going to be coming over to the…” Ari looked around and then looked back at me and whispered, “My-cherry-was-popped side.”

My mouth dropped open and I stood there frozen. “I just don’t even know what to say to that, Ari.”

“I get that a lot. Okay, just make sure the bastard gives you an orgasm before he sticks his…”

I held up my hands and said, “Please stop! Really, I think I’m going to be okay without your…tips.”

Ari laughed and said, “Okay, seriously though, it does help you relax. Are you on the pill? Please tell me you are at least on the pill.”

My heart started pounding and my hands started sweating. “Um…yeah, since college. Just to be safe. I dated a guy in college for a while and thought he might be the one but turns out he was far from the one.”

Ari’s mouth dropped open. “You haven’t had a boyfriend since college? My God Azurdee, do you just not like men?”

I laughed and pushed her back some. “Yes, bitch, I like men. I just haven’t met a guy who did it for me. One that made me want to give myself completely to him until…”

Ari wiggled her eyebrows up and down and said, “Mysterious and handsome Lark Williams has though, hasn’t he?”

I let out a sigh and walked over to the porch swing and sat down.

“Oh my God, Ari. I don’t know what it is, but when I’m around him my body just goes into overdrive and I have to do everything in my power to keep from jumping him. It’s been like this from the beginning. I’ve dreamt about him, I’ve thought about him while driving, working, out on other dates. I cannot get him out of my head. He is my weakness.”

Ari sat down and gave me a weak smile. “Is it just a sexual thing? I mean…do you have other feelings for him?”

I nodded my head. “No, it’s not just sexual. I mean, a big part of it is of course, and the fact that I pretty much threw myself at him tonight has my stomach dropping. But there’s more to it. When he enters a room, I swear I have to take a deep breath. He brushes by me or touches me in the slightest way and my stomach flips around like I’m on a damn thrill ride. His eyes…oh my God. I get totally lost in them. I swear—if he had told me to strip down and let him make love to me on the dance floor, I would have done it.”

I threw my head back onto the swing and thought about earlier when Lark and I danced.

I walked back outside and looked around. Lark was sitting at a table, and two of my college friends were talking to him. He looked bored out of his mind, and I didn’t think he was even listening to them.