Sky's Lark (13 page)

Long moments later, he released his hold, bringing their still-joined hands to his mouth. He pressed his lips against her knuckles even as he sucked great gulps of air into his lungs. "Damn, dove."

She sat up and stared down into his face, a twinkle of mischief sparkling in her eyes as her short hair clung to her sweaty brow. A slow smile appeared. "You like?"

His smile matched hers. "Couldn't you tell?"

"Well…" She wiggled on his slowly deflating tumescence, sending another jolt of pleasure through his system.

He clasped her hips tightly, holding her still. "Just like a thoroughbred, full of vim and vigor and the stamina to race all-out over the distance."

Her head tilted. "Which makes you what? An old plow mule?"

Bryce laughed and playfully slapped her rear. "Keep that up and I'll take up Spoon's suggestion of spanking."

The corners of her mouth turned up. "Oh, really?"

Instead of snapping her back in line, his mild threat seemed to have stumbled across a naughty fantasy if the sultry expression on her face meant anything. His libido took notice, shunting blood from his brain to his nearly-recuperated cock.

With a regretful shake of his head, he pushed lightly at her hips. "As much as I would love to stay here and explore that little gem, I have to get up and get moving."

She complied, sliding off his body, to sit on the side of the bed. "What do you have to do?"

He followed suit, absently sliding the used condom off and tying the end. "I have to check out of the third-rate apartment I used while undercover. There's some clothing and such I need to retrieve there, too." Sliding off the bed, he tossed the rubber in a nearby wastebasket and began pulling on his wrinkled clothing from last night. "I need to head home for a bit, make sure the house is still standing, pay some bills, and go grocery shopping."

Zipping up his jeans, he turned back to Lark, his gaze traveling her nude body from head to toe and back again, lingering on the dark blonde curls between her legs and her perky breasts with a delicious raspberry topping each one. A healthy shot of desire zinged straight to his cock, causing his jeans to bulge from the sudden erection.

Lark's gaze fell to the area. She grinned and licked her lips. He groaned loudly, fighting a losing battle with his lust-filled body and the insatiable seductress sitting naked in front of him. "You're going to be the death of me."

"Yeah, but what a way to go."

I can't argue with that.

Chapter 19

"My parents still own a working ranch in Montana." He shoved a hearty chunk of T-bone steak into his mouth.

By the time they'd climbed out of bed, morning had come and gone. Both hungry, they opted to swing by a local steak house for lunch and then run Bryce's errands while Lark tagged along for company.

"Working ranch? As in real live cattle and horses?"

He grinned. "Yes, city girl. Real live animals." Pausing a moment, he asked, "I don't suppose you've ever been horseback riding?"

She shrugged. "I've been horseback riding before."

"And?" He picked up on her less than enthusiastic tone.

"Why would I want to ride a horse when I could be riding the cowboy?"

Her words sent a bolt of desire straight to his cock. He shook his head ruefully. Even after half a dozen rounds in the past twenty-four hours, she still could excite him to rock hardness with just a look or an off-the-wall phrase. He wondered if he would always respond so quickly and easily to her after twenty or fifty years.

Fifty years?
While the thought surprised him, it didn't send him backtracking and searching for the nearest exit. Instead, the idea of spending that long with the gorgeous blonde Wind Warrior clicked into place, like a final puzzle piece to complete the whole picture. Not truly impulsive, he preferred to make big decisions carefully, waiting several months while running through pros and cons until reaching a conclusion. He didn't need to do any of that with Lark since she already carried a portion of his heart in her hands.

Always before he'd scoffed at the notion of love at first sight, believing such a thing only existed in movies, books, and in the minds of romantics in love with the emotion, not necessarily the person. Now, he stood in the opposite camp, staring at the woman who had caught his interest, motivated him to take dangerous risks in order to protect her, and amazed him in and out of bed.

Shifting in his seat, he attempted to ease the tightness of his jeans. Lark cast him a look of amusement, knowing full well the reason for his actions. The little imp could tease him way too easily and obviously enjoyed doing so. Maybe he would spank her after all. Later.

"And your family? Let me guess. Military?"

Lark nodded and grinned. "My father is a general in the Army. All my brothers have served, Marshall and Deacon decided to make it a career and still serve active duty. Ryan and Luke both left the Army, taking other jobs. As you know, Ryan is with the FBI. Luke works as a cop specializing in cyber-crime so he can be home with his wife and son as much as possible."

Bryce processed the information and understood where Lark's fighting spirit came from. Heck, her father probably taught her to shoot and clean weapons before she began kindergarten, providing equal education for his sons and only daughter. No wonder she appreciated all the new toys her job provides.

He didn't have any such family tradition, being the only person in his family to choose the military and he still drooled over the latest gadgets and noise makers the Wind Warriors played with on a daily basis. "So you always knew you'd join the Army?"

"Yep." She waved her hand. "Oh, don't get me wrong. Mom made sure I learned everything she deemed a girl should know and we talked about my decision more than once. The honest truth was I wanted to do what my brothers did, only do it better."

He'd already seen her competitive nature when she refused to be cowed by a powerful drug kingpin set on brutal paybacks. "Did you?"

"Mostly." She shrugged. "Marshall and Deacon have skills out the wazoo. I'm not sure I can match up with them."

"I'd say you have some fine assets." He smiled slightly, his gaze locked on her barely exposed cleavage displayed in the V-neck sweater she wore.

She snorted and pointed to her face. "Eyes up here, soldier."

"Marine."

"My Marine."

Her soft tone full of possession sent a wave of happiness through him. "Oh, yeah. Definitely yours." His gaze locked on hers. "My soldier."

She waited a beat before whispering. "All yours for today and always."

The declaration shot him to cloud nine in a heartbeat. Delighted they walked the same path in their relationship, he smiled widely. "Well, soldier mine. If you're finished, shall we get to those errands?"

"Eager to get me to your house and have your way with me?" She coyly glanced up at him from under her lashes.

Swigging a last swallow of his soda, he placed the empty glass on the table. "Hey, you're the one all set on riding a cowboy."

"True."

Standing, he wrapped an arm around her back to guide her toward the entrance. "I'll even put on my favorite pair of cowboy boots just for you."

With an eye roll, she led the way out the door. "Keep talking like that and we'll end up making out in that supermarket parking lot again."

"Hmm." He pretended to consider the idea and received a solid thump to the chest for his playfulness. Rubbing the spot, he arched an eyebrow at her. "Is that a no?"

Trotting around the vehicle, she didn't answer until they both sat in the front seat of the car with seatbelts buckled. "I much prefer to stay out of handcuffs and jail because some little old lady caught us half-naked in the car and fainted."

"Handcuffs?"

"Now who's the kinky one?"

He chuckled. "Never denied it, dove."

By the time they pulled into his driveway, the midafternoon sky had turned gray and beads of sleet dotted the windshield of the agency's car. They dropped off the car he'd used for his stint undercover after picking up a handful of belongings from the apartment he also claimed for a brief time. Since they didn't have transportation home, the rental agency offered to deliver them home in the same vehicle, then the worker would drive it back to the company. Bryce jumped on the sensible opportunity.

"Here you are, sir." The young red-headed man put the car in park and waited for his occupants to evacuate the backseat.

"Thanks." Bryce gathered his backpack while Lark, purse and duffel bag in hand, climbed out of the car. He followed holding three plastic bags full of food. Enough to get by for a day or two. Giving a small wave to the driver, he turned his attention to his house.

Home. Finally.
The three-bedroom brick ranch house didn't resemble a castle in any way, shape, or form, yet suited him perfectly. Ample room inside and out gave him plenty of space while easing the penned in feeling that he got from living so close to others after leaving a spread-out Montana ranch. Sitting on one acre, the house had a six-foot-tall privacy fence surrounding the entire backyard filled with trees, bushes, and perennial flowers. He never claimed to be a landscaper, but the person he'd purchased the house from had certainly possessed a green thumb.

The roof extended to cover a back patio, shading the area to a comfortable temperature even on the hottest summer days, allowing him to sit outside, watch the birds, drink a beer, and ponder life. In the winter, a fireplace coupled with central heat kept the temperature inside toasty and comfortable. A two-car garage provided more than sufficient space for his truck along with a work area for any projects he latched onto.

The rooms proved fairly ordinary for the suburbs. Three bedrooms, one of those he used for an office. Two full-sized bathrooms complemented the average square footage. The kitchen contained fairly new appliances and the living room sported decent furniture, not fancy or new, but broke in and cozy.

The best part lay in the fact the house, so far, proved easy maintenance. He mowed, cleaned now and again. Once in a blue moon he even got enough gumption to wash windows. Besides that, no major problems cropped up. A blessing in his opinion.

"Nice." Lark's gaze traveled from one end of the house to the other.

A brisk wind blew, causing Lark to shiver. Noticing the small signal, he hastened her toward the garage door. "Thanks. Come on, let's go inside where it's warm." Flipping open a side panel, he pressed buttons until the automatic garage door rose. Ducking in, he pulled Lark with him toward the door leading to the kitchen. He paused momentarily to push another button, lowering the garage door, and checking to make sure his truck sat just where he'd left it weeks ago when he accepted the recent assignment.

He opened the door and ushered her in ahead of him. "It's chilly. I'll turn up the heat. Oh, and remember I've not been home in a few weeks, so there's probably some pretty big dust bunnies lurking under the furniture."

She shot him a grin. "What? They only grow when you're gone and not when you're actually here?"

Bryce tossed down his backpack on the kitchen floor, set the groceries on the table, and made his way to the living room, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Yeah, well…"

"Uh, huh."

Setting the thermostat, he turned to find Lark had trailed him through the first portion of the house sans shoes. He peered down at his own plain tennis shoes and cringed. No telling what he'd walked through between the streets, the warehouse, and the drug headquarters. While not a clean freak, he refused to soil his home with nastiness from his work. Immediately sliding the shoes off, he walked over to the empty trash can and tossed them in. "Remind me to hire carpet cleaners tomorrow."

Lark's blue gaze flickered across the room before meeting his. "Tomorrow? I'll still be here tomorrow to remind you?"

"I'd like that. Besides the fact I want you to stay, it's starting to sleet big time out there." He gestured toward the large living room bay window. "Roads will get slick fast. Too dangerous to drive in that mess for no reason."

She walked over to stand at his side. They both watched the small pellets bounce off surfaces before settling on the ground. "Yow. No kidding."

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he spun her to face him, snug in his embrace. Lark fit perfectly against him, the warmth of her body heat marginal compared to the fire building inside him. Lower parts took notice, transferring blood from his brain to his rapidly growing arousal. "You can borrow one of my shirts to sleep in." He sincerely hoped she would decline his chivalrous offer of clothing and spend the night in a display of mutual passion, learning one another's deepest desires and plundering the depths of their sexual stamina.

"I would rather borrow your toothbrush and toothpaste." Blue eyes danced with lazy amusement interlaced with sexual tension.

His cock jumped at the simple statement, bucking the tight constraints of his jeans in a bid for not only freedom, but for Lark's hands and mouth to explore every inch.

"I'm sure we can come up with something," he whispered against her lips before meshing his mouth over hers, reveling in the instant sultry possession and her eager response when his tongue invaded her mouth to seek her depths and another taste of her deliciousness.

* * * *

A loud bird chirp broke them apart.

Lark pulled back, reaching for her cell phone as Bryce arched an inquisitive eyebrow.
His timing stinks.
Just as they were getting hot and heavy, Ryan had to call. As much as she wanted to ignore him, she dared not.

Shooting him an apologetic grin, she answered. "Hello?"

"Lark? Where are you?"

"If you must know, at Bryce's house."

A long pause carried across the line. "Boy, howdy. Wait until I tell Mom. She'll be calling all her friends and telling the rest of the family. Hell, I bet she'll start planning the baby shower today. Next time you talk to her she'll have invitations, party favors, and a half dozen baby outfits. Maybe even designed your nursery and found you a new home right next to them."