Gone Away Home (Bringing Home Trouble)

CHAPTER 3

DUSTIN

Fuck. I can’t believe I’m standing in front of Zayla right now. She’s close enough to touch, but it doesn’t seem real. She’s right there.

Her pretty, pouty lips open and close. Apparently, my greeting really stumped her. Not like I can blame her since we haven’t had any contact in nine years and haven’t seen each other in 14. I suppose, if I hadn’t planned on seeing her, I would be just as surprised as she is right now. But she’s the only reason I’m back in our hometown.

Her voice wavers and her eyes glaze over with unshed tears, “Holy shit. Dustin?”

I don’t think. My arm shoots out and hooks around her waist, pulling her flush against my chest. The little yip of surprise she lets out is adorable as fuck.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I whisper, “it’s been a long time. I missed you every single day I was away and I’m sorry I stayed away so long.”

My words break through the fog of her surprise, and she wiggles in my arms as her hands come up and push against my chest. The contact is doing nothing but making me harder for her, not like I need any assistance in that department. My cock has been like steel since I decided I’m done running away from what I know is between us and come home.

“What?” Shove. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Shove. “Are you okay? Did you get injured or something on your last deployment?” Her tone is full of concern, but she still backs the question up with a shove. “Let go of me,” her voice goes up an octave and is right underneath a dog whistle register.

I sure as fuck don’t let go. I don’t move a fucking inch. I’m not sure it’s something I’m capable of doing. Not now when I finally have her where I’ve wanted her for so damn long.

“No,” my tone holds no room for argument as I move us through her open doorway and into her home. I kick the door closed behind us when we’re far enough inside and look over my shoulder to glare at it. When I turn back to her, her eyes are narrowed slits, and expression I match. “Did you really open the door without looking to see who it was first?”

“Dustin,” outrage drips from my name on her lips, but it’s still the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, “what the hell are you talking about? I’m a grown ass woman. If I don’t want to look to see who is at my door, then I won’t. In case you’ve forgotten or are so out of touch after you’ve been away so long,” those words are sneered at me and make pre-cum drip from the tip of my cock, “Jasper Ridge isn’t really a hot bed of criminal activity.”

“If you’re trying to tell me you keep your door unlocked or something equally ridiculous, then I can’t be blamed for what happens,” there’s a real threat in my words and by the way she’s shooting lasers at me from her eyes, she is not amused.

The thought of her ass colored by my handprint while she’s over my knee almost takes me to the ground. Fuck, talk about hot as hell. My hand, the one splayed open on the small of my woman’s back, itches with the need to move lower and feel just how round her ass is.

I hold back but fucking barely.

Zayla rolls her eyes. “I don’t keep my door unlocked,” she grumbles.

When I bend down and bury my face in her neck, she stiffens in my arms. I get it; this is new, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. My lips graze her skin with every word, “I’m fine. I wasn’t injured, sweetheart.”

She slumps into me and the show of relief makes me want her even more. She’s too good for this world; she’s too good for me. That’s not going to stop me from being with her and soaking up all her sweetness. I’ve earned it after denying myself for years and all the shit I’ve seen.

Zayla is the spoils of war and I’m claiming her.

“Good,” she whispers, “but that doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. My heart is racing because this could go several different ways. I’ve been dreaming of this moment, fantasizing about it, for years. She could reject me and tell me to get lost. She could laugh in my face. She could break my heart.

“I’m here for you, Zayla,” the words slip from my mouth, and I can hear the earnestness in my voice. I hope she can too. Her eyes flit between mine like she’s trying to read my mind. “Maybe this will come as a surprise to you,” I press my forehead against hers, my words coming out as a whisper, “but I had plans. From the moment I saw you on the first day of your freshman year, I knew what you are to me. I had plans.”

As she grips the sides of my shirt right at my waist, I can feel the tension in her hands. Her voice is a rasp filled with something like hope, “What was your plan?”

“I was waiting. I wanted you to have the chance to get comfortable in high school. It’s a big change and I remembered how difficult it was for me. I felt like I had been thrown into the deep end without knowing which way was up. I didn’t want to make it harder for you which is why I watched and waited.” I close my eyes, feeling the pain of how it all went wrong washing over me. “I was going to ask you to be my girl at the start of the next school year,” I admit, something I’ve never done out loud before.

She gasps, “You were?”

When I open my eyes and look into hers, a few tears have slid past her lash line and down her cheeks. “Yeah, sweetheart. I was. Then I wasn’t going to let you go.”

She nods slowly, her gaze going unfocused for a moment before she grimaces and jerks back, breaking the connection between us. “Then the day in Millie’s happened,” her voice is flat, and I hate it.

“Then the day in Millie’s happened,” I echo. “It killed me. I’m glad Dad found Janice, don’t get me wrong. He deserves to be happy and so does she, but them being together ruined everything. I felt like I was drowning.”

“I had the biggest crush on you and then-,” she shrugs one shoulder like she’s not sure how to finish her sentence. Her eyes sharpen and I wish I could see inside her mind to know what she’s thinking. “Is this why you enlisted and left in the middle of the night? Is it why you never came back?”

I cup her face, needing to feel her soft skin under my fingers. “I’m sorry,” my voice breaks, “but I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t be in the same house as you, be that close, and try to pretend to be a family. Not when all I wanted to do was kiss you and make you mine.”

Her tears stream down her face and it breaks me. She nods sadly like she understands. “I,” she sobs, “I missed you so much.”

One of my hands slides back until I’ve tangled her dark hair between my fingers, holding her in place. “I’ve got you now. I’m never letting go, Zayla. Never.”

“Dustin,” there’s a plea in my name being murmured from her lips.

We move closer like magnets seeking out true north and we don’t fight it. I don’t think we could anymore, not with the truth breathing between us like a living thing, a hidden truth, a secret which has come to light.

There’s more for us to talk about, but it doesn’t need to happen right now. All I need is for her to know I won’t be letting her go. All she needs to know is I’m here to stay. Everything else will work itself out.

My lips hover over hers for a perfect, blissful second. Our breaths mix in that space between what was and what is to be.

She tips up on her toes and I am blessed to feel her soft lips against mine for the first time. Electricity zings through my body and I feel alive again, a feeling I’ve been missing since that day in Millie’s. Nothing else matters. Not our parents. Not the opinions of people who think this is wrong.

This is right. It’s perfect.

Unable to help myself, I deepen the kiss. Our tongues tangle and play, a dance so fucking natural it feels like I’ve been kissing her my entire life. But I haven’t. It’s just her, us, and everything else is stardust.

I knew it would be this way with us.

With my free hand I reach down and grip the back of her leg and lift. When she jumps, her legs wrap around my waist, and she fits perfectly against me. I can’t get enough of her lips. Who needs to breathe anyway?

“Bedroom,” I demand.

“Please,” she gasps. I pull away and arch an eyebrow at her as I take in the dreamy look on her face. There won’t be a day that goes by, from now on, when I don’t see her like this. “Oh,” she cringes slightly, “second door on the right.”

My lips meet hers again and I start down the hallway, not needing to look where I’m going. “I’ll get the tour later,” my words are a promise.

Her bedroom door is open, and I pull away from her and stare into her eyes. I need her to see how serious I am about this. I won’t accept her giving me anything less than everything. I can’t; not after all this time.

“Zayla,” my voice is a coo, “you need to know once we step through this door, that’s it. I’m claiming you as mine. We’ll be together the way I always knew we were meant to be. We might face people who don’t understand and who want to tear us down. I won’t allow it to happen. I’ll fight for you, and I’ll win. I don’t give a fuck who we’re going up against; I’ll win . Do you understand? Do you want this?”

Her brown eyes flare with heat and then soften in understanding. She melts against my body, her hands running from my shoulders and up until she’s cupping the back of my neck. Having her touching me makes it hard to concentrate, but I need this. I need the words.

“I’m scared,” she admits softly, letting me see her vulnerability, “but nothing has felt right in 14 years, longer really. I tried to tell myself it was just a silly crush. You weren’t the only one who lost hope. I’ll stand with you and fight for us.”

It’s all I need to fucking hear. After I step over the threshold, I don’t stop until I can put her back on her feet next to the bed. I snag the bottom of the shirt she’s wearing to rip it from her body.

“Fuck,” I breathe out as I take in the sight of her perfect tits in the bra she’s wearing. It’s simple, but it’s perfect. “You’re gorgeous, sweetheart,” I rasp.

A pretty blush steals its way up her cheeks and her hands shake as she reaches for me, helping me out of my shirt. The hunger in her eyes as she takes in my chest makes my cock throb behind the fly of my jeans.

“Wow,” she reverently whispers. Her fingers go to my ribs where I have her last letter tattooed on my skin in her handwriting. She won’t be able to see enough of it to know what it is yet, but she’ll see it in time. “You’ve really grown into yourself Dustin.”

I smirk at her as I undress her the rest of the way, taking in every creamy inch of her skin I uncover before I shuck my clothes like they’re on fire. “You have no idea,” there’s a dangerous edge to my voice which has a shiver running up her spine.

When we’re naked, she closes the distance between us and presses her body against mine. Fucking hell. I plunder her mouth, taking everything that she can give me, as I lift her and lay her down on the bed. The way her hair fans out over the pillow is like a damn dream.

“I’m already on edge,” I grit out through my teeth. “I know I should be taking my time with you, but I can’t.”

“I don’t need you to take your time, Dustin. I need you to show me who I belong to,” her voice is breathy with need.

I slide a hand down the front of her body, sliding over her collarbone and down to her tit which I squeeze before moving on. When I get to her pussy, I swipe a finger along her slit to find her dripping wet for me.

“You’re soaked,” it’s not an accusation, just a statement of fact.

Her eyebrow arches, the challenge on her face matching her words, “What are you going to do about it?”

After I line myself up at her entrance, I push past her glistening pussy lips and start to sink inside of her inch by fucking inch. “I’m going to fuck you so good you’ll forget everything other than my name and how fucking good it feels,” I growl.

Her back arches and she moans my name, loudly and full of desire, as her fingers grip my shoulders. I can feel the way her body is begging for more when I’m buried to the hilt. I rotate my hips, pushing impossibly deeper, before pulling out slowly.

When I fill her again, it’s faster and her answering groan of pleasure makes my control fray. Her walls squeeze around my length and it’s the single best thing I’ve ever felt in my life. Our bodies move together, the forbidden, the taboo of it all, spurring us on to fuck harder. Every movement is needy.

Our mouths meet, all teeth and tongue, as I fuck her. My balls are ready to explode as they draw up closer to my body. I swear I see stars as I plow into my woman and claim her.

I won’t hide her away. I won’t allow her to be some dirty secret.

“That’s right,” I growl, “you’re close.” The whimper she lets out in response has me punching my hips forward faster, needing her to tip over the edge with me. “Zayla, you’re going to come all over my dick. Yes, sweetheart,” I encourage and praise her, “just like that. Milk my cum from my cock.”

I’m aware that I’m not wearing a condom. I won’t do it. Not with her.

Since I won’t do anything to put her in danger, ever, the only real question is whether she’s on birth control. The thought of her pregnant with my child, of giving breath to the love between us even if we haven’t said those words yet, has me fucking her harder and faster. I want it.

I want it all.

“Dustin,” the scream is ripped from her as her pussy walls undulate around my dick and pull me over the edge with her.

“Fuck yes,” I moan and bury my face in her neck, tasting her with every word, “knew you would take me so fucking perfectly. You’re mine, Zayla, and I’m never giving you up.”

And I won’t. Not now, not ever.

I’ll take on all of Jasper Ridge if I have to. I’ll take on our parents without a second thought.

“You’re mine,” I murmur softly after I’ve rolled off my woman and pulled her to me until she’s half-way draped over my body.

It feels perfect and, even if only for this moment, I can forget about everything else we need to talk about. If she wants me to shout in the middle of town about us being together for everyone to hear, I’ll do it.

“Yours,” she echoes.