Page 21 of Her Selfless Warrior (Omega Sky)
Kostya’s smile was fast in coming. She’d agreed.
“Lark, normally I’d be coming to you and I’d be paying for everything, but I can’t right now, I’m on standby, so I’m paying for your hotel room.”
“Look, you big oaf. You can pay for the damned plane ticket, you can pay for dinner, but I’m paying for my own hotel room, you got it?”
“Text me your details so I can make your plane reservations, and I’ll send you the confirmation. I’ll pick you up from the airport.”
She took so long to reply he had to look down at his phone to make sure she hadn’t hung up.
“You know this is a bad idea, right?”
“You’re wrong; this is the best idea I’ve had in ages. Now don’t forget to text me.” Kostya hung up before she could change her mind.
* * *
Why hadshe let Amy convince her this was a good idea? She knew Kostya thought he’d done the convincing, but it was really Amy. She knew Lark’s background, she knew about the overgrown step-grandfather Lark had had to live with for the majority of her early childhood. Amy knew all the ugly stories, yet went right on ahead and just shoved her out of the nest.
“You’re the one who said you were over it, but based on dweebs one through thirty-nine, you’re not. You also don’t believe in counseling, so off you go into the deep end. I’ve got just the dress.”
Lark knew she was stuck.
Stuck. Stuck. Stuck.
“You do realize this isn’t the deep end, it’s the middle of the ocean?”
“He’s a SEAL, he can save you.” Amy pulled a blue body-con dress out of her closet and shoved it at Lark. “Now, quit with the whining, you’re giving me a headache.”
“This is too small,” Lark whined.
“What did I just say about whining?” Amy demanded to know as she shoved Lark into the bathroom.
That was three hours ago.
Lark hefted her backpack up higher on her shoulder as she pulled her carry-on behind her. She looked down to make sure all of the buttons on her overcoat were buttoned. They were. She looked up and saw Kostya’s blond head high above the crowd. He was easy to spot because he was taller and broader than everybody else waiting at the bottom of the escalator.
She felt a shiver run down her spine—his expression was positively hungry. This wassonot a good idea.
Then why the hell am I here?
Lark squared her shoulders as she stepped off the end of the escalator, making sure that the heel of her thigh-high boot didn’t get caught.
Goddamn, Amy!
“Let me take that,” Kostya said as he gently pulled her backpack off her shoulder.
He smells good.
“Thanks,” she muttered as she kept her eyes on his chin. “You could have just texted and picked me up outside at the curb, you didn’t have to park.”
Somehow Kostya was carrying her suitcase along with her backpack and still had one hand at the small of her back while the crowd parted for them as they headed to the exit. “It’s easy enough to park.” At the sound of a smile in his voice, she risked looking into his eyes. She saw the raw heat emanating from his gaze.
She missed a step, but he was there and he caught her around the waist, steadying her.
“Thanks for coming, Lark.” His voice, his accent, the power and fire almost had her stumbling again.
What the hell?
She gripped her handbag until her knuckles turned white. Kostya stopped steering them toward the parking garage. Instead, she found herself pressed into a corner, his heat surrounding her.
