Gone Away Home (Bringing Home Trouble)

CHAPTER 6

ZAYLA

This book has me held in place with my ass firmly planted in my chair. When I get to edit books like this, it’s a double-edged sword. I’m damn proud to be included in the process and excited about what is about to happen for this author. As long as they can find their reader, it’s going to be a success.

I can just feel it.

The other side of things is it makes me worry about my own skill. That file is still sitting there, staring at me with all the accusations of deferred dreams. It’s scary to think there’s no way I can produce something as good as the authors I edit for.

Shouldn’t I be more confident?

Yeah, I know all about imposter syndrome and how pretty much everyone is a victim at one time or another. But is being paralyzed by it normal?

My mind wanders to Dustin and something stirs in my mind. Inspiration? Maybe. He’s certainly given me plenty of mind-numbing orgasms in a very short period of time. I’ll be able to write about those at the very least.

Hopefully, the rest of the story will flow. I do feel lighter than I have in a long time. I’m not about to lie to myself either; it’s all because of him.

Was it only days ago that I was feeling stuck in my life and like something was missing? Then Dustin swept back into town and said things I had wished on shooting stars to hear. The best part? I knew he was being honest about everything.

He wants me, and not just for a little while. He’s looking at the future and making plans for us to be together for the rest of our lives.

I’m excited about finding out what happened at the range and whether he was able to get a job there. Knowing Jasper, I’m sure Dustin was hired on the spot. I chuckle to myself and shake my head as I push my arms up over my head and stretch.

My hands drop and I let out a groan as I realize I probably should have mentioned how Mr. Porter retired from running Precision Point Shooting Range and it’s now in Jasper’s hands. They were friends in high school and it’s information he would have definitely wanted.

I just didn’t think about it because I was focused on trying to get a little bit of space to myself. Not only am I on a deadline to get these edits back to the author but having Dustin pop into my life out of nowhere has been kind of overwhelming. He’s been right there, in my face, which is much better than him being halfway across the world, without a doubt, but it has felt like I’m not standing on solid ground.

I’m the kind of person who needs to be able to process and one of the best ways for me to do it is to focus on something else and let everything percolate in the back of my mind.

That doesn’t mean I would change anything that’s happened with Dustin. I wouldn’t. It’s a dream come true and even better in reality than the fantasies I’ve allowed myself over the years.

The only thing I’m worried about is how our parents are going to react. I can’t imagine it’ll be good, and the thought makes me feel nauseous. As I reach out and grip the edge of my desk, I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to get my body under control. Now is not the time to throw up and it certainly isn’t the time to regret anything that’s happened.

It’s not like I could anyway.

I’ve been in love with Dustin for a long time and now I have him. He’s back in Jasper Ridge. He’s looking at me like I’m his everything.

“You look a little green, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”

Dustin’s voice makes me scream and levitate over my chair. My eyes snap open as I press my hand to my chest. I’m sure my eyes are wide and wild as I take him in. He’s leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on his face.

“Dustin,” I hiss admonishingly, “you scared the hell out of me. You can’t just sneak up on me like that.”

“Sneak?” The smirk on his face turns downright wicked as he pushes himself off the door jamb and starts to close the distance between us. “I was standing there and watching you for a few minutes, Zayla. You were lost in your own little world.” When he gets to me, he crouches down in front of me and smooths out the worry lines between my eyebrows. His eyes are soft as he looks at me, but they’re also worried. “Are you regretting,” he motions between us, vulnerability coating his words, “this?”

My hands cup his jaw, and I feel the stubble from his five o’clock shadow under my fingertips. I love the way it feels. It’s even better when I feel it between my thighs. “I don’t regret us, Dustin,” I tell him honestly.

His shoulders sag and he presses his forehead against my chest. I cradle him there, my fingers running through the short length of his blonde hair. The way he hums, a sound of pure fucking contentment, has me melting for this man.

He already knows I’m worried about our parents. I don’t need to voice it again. I’m fairly sure I know what he’d say anyway. I almost giggle as I picture him puffing up his chest and telling me how he’ll fight anyone who tries to get in our way, including our parents.

Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but it’s nice to know he’ll have my back no matter what. At least, he thinks he will. I’m not sure whether he’ll let me down or not, but only time will tell.

“Come on, sweetheart,” his words are muffled against my chest, “we have something to celebrate.”

“Oh?” I try to sound innocent even though I’m almost positive I know he got hired at the range, “What do we have to celebrate?”

“You know. Don’t be coy,” he pulls back enough to look in my eyes and rubs his nose against mine, “even though it’s adorable.” I smile and his eyes narrow slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me Jasper took over the range?”

My cheeks heat with a blush and I shrug. “Sorry. Honestly, I had forgotten about it and how you two were friends. I didn’t even think about it until a little while ago. I would have told you but it’s not like I go to the range often,” I huff out with a roll of my eyes.

“We’ll have to change that,” he hums. “You shooting? Talk about a turn on,” his voice drops an octave and takes on a husky quality.

I laugh and shake my head at him as he stands and offers his hand to me. I don’t hesitate to slip my hand into his, trusting him. My head should be spinning, and I should be pumping the breaks on everything that’s been going on, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

“Come on, sweetheart,” he murmurs, “it’s date night.”

The idea of going out fills me with panic. I need more time to feel more secure and to wrap my head around the way my life has changed. Dustin coming home was not something I imagined happening. Then for him to confess his feelings about me? It wasn’t even on my radar.

His soft lips meet mine and he coaxes me to kiss him back. I melt into him, giving him everything because it’s not in me to hold back. “Don’t worry, we’re having our date night in tonight.”

I cringe and feel tears fill my eyes, but I won’t let them fall. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” he insists fiercely, “don’t you dare be sorry. Zayla,” he sighs and gently grips my chin to tilt my head up to meet his eyes, which are filled with compassion, “I know what I’ve done here.” My eyebrows pull together in confusion, and he kisses me right there. “I’ve blown into your life after years of being gone with no contact between us. Then I confess things I probably had no business confessing given the circumstances. I’m not going to take them back and I sure as hell am not going to feel a certain way because you need a little time to feel like your world isn’t tilting wildly. I don’t blame you. This is on me. I just,” he sighs and presses his forehead against mine, “I couldn’t stay away anymore.”

“What changed?” I give voice to a question I’ve been struggling with.

Because he’s right—we haven’t had any contact for years. Sure, he had feelings for me, but he could have moved on. He was focused and driving toward a future far away from Jasper Ridge. He didn’t have to come back. Staying gone for the rest of his life was a real possibility.

“Life is short,” he whispers and the pain in his eyes guts me. My knees feel weak, but his strength keeps me standing. “A mission was FUBAR. People died. It wasn’t the first time, but it hit me then how I was wasting my time.”

“But I thought you loved serving?”

“I did. I’m glad I did it, don’t get me wrong,” he assures me. “But I also knew the entire time I only enlisted because I was running. I have no idea where my dreams would have taken me if I hadn’t been running from the way I feel about you. Seeing people die, people with wives and kids? It broke something in me this last time. It made me take a hard look at what I was doing and what I was giving up under the guise of doing the right thing, even though it felt so damn wrong.”

I tilt my head up and kiss the underside of his jaw, thanking him without words for trusting me and sharing with me. It means the world to me.

“Come on, sweetheart,” he coaxes me out of my office and into the living room.

I gasp when I take in what he’s done to the space. The furniture is pushed as far away from the center of the room as possible. And in the middle, right in front of the TV, is a veritable mountain of cushions, pillows, and blankets. There’s food set up to the side of the big snuggle pile of fluff he’s created. The spread includes all my favorite snacks, ones I don’t allow myself to indulge in often.

My voice wobbles, “You did this for me?”

“I’d do anything for you, Zayla,” his voice holds reverence in awe which has me tearing my eyes away from the room to look up at him.

He’s there, already looking at me, with a soft smile on his lips. “How about a movie marathon?”

“Only if they’re all romances,” I deadpan.

Dustin freezes and I can practically see the wheels turning in his head. After a moment he nods, but it’s reluctant as hell. I can’t take it anymore and I start laughing.

He narrows his eyes at me and then the next thing I know, I’m sailing through the air and landing on the soft pallet he’s set up for us. Not even a heartbeat later, he’s followed me down to tickle me. While I thrash and scream, he doesn’t let up.

“Do you concede that was a dirty trick? Do you agree to watch all the Marvel movies?”

“Fine,” I shriek, but he doesn’t stop. “Yes. It was a dirty trick. I’ll watch whatever you want,” I shout. I’m panting when he stops tickling me and my face is hot; there’s no doubt my hair is wild and sticking to my skin.

While I know I probably look ridiculous and a little gross, Dustin looks at me with love filled eyes. “That’s what I thought,” he nods, confident as fuck.

“Are you kidding,” I tease, “watching Chris Evans for hours is such a hardship.”

His beautiful moss filled eyes narrow to slits and he raises his hands again as if he’s going to tickle me, but I roll away.

I don’t get far before he’s covering me with his body and pinning me to the cushions underneath us. “Change of plans,” he growls, “I was going to wait until after food and at least one movie before stripping you and filling you with my cum, but now I think I’ll do it first. Then, we’ll lay right here, naked, and eat while watching something before I fill you up again.”

My body shudders when he talks about him filling me with his cum. Realization hits me like a fucking freight train, and I start to wiggle underneath him. I cover my mouth with my hands, terror and embarrassment making me feel like I’m drowning.

“Dustin,” I hiss, “we haven’t been using any protection. I’m not on birth control because,” I scrunch up my nose and admit, “well, I didn’t need it and saw no reason for it if I wasn’t with someone or being sexually active.”

Possessiveness flashes in his mossy eyes, but panic is taking hold, and it feels like I can’t fill my lungs fully. How could I have been so stupid? I’m a grown ass woman, it’s my responsibility to take care of that kind of thing for myself. I wasn’t even thinking.

“You are not stupid,” he growls. I freeze and look up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. “Prevention does not only fall on your shoulders, Zayla,” he barks.

His movements are slow, but I’m hypnotized by his eyes, not even realizing he’s pulling and tugging my clothes off until I’m naked underneath him. When he reaches back in a move that is always hot and pulls his shirt off, I moan when our skin meets.

Then, with one thrust, he’s filling me suddenly. My back arches and I press my tits against his chest, my hard nipples dragging along his heated skin and making me feel like I’m on the edge already.

“If you don’t think I knew what I was doing, Zayla,” there’s a warning in his voice, “then you’re wrong.”

“What?” I whisper-moan, my mind already scrambled and now getting lost in how fucking good it feels to have him inside me.

“I wanted to fill your pretty little pussy with as much of my cum as possible. I’ve been banking on the fact that you’re not on birth control,” he grits out through his teeth.

Before I can even begin to process his confession, he takes my mouth in a kiss which is as delicious as it is devastating. When his hips start to move, the slow drag of him pulling out and then gliding back to fill me completely has me tilting my hips to meet his thrusts.

“Gonna fill you with my cum every day until you’re pregnant with our baby and then I’ll keep filling you up because watching my cum drip from your slick pussy is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” the feral edge to his voice has my pussy clenching around his length, trying to entice him to stay inside me.

The next time he punches his hips forward, I gasp and dig my nails into his shoulders. If I don’t then I’m going to float away into nothingness.

“Yes,” I moan, “please Dustin.”

“You want my cum sweetheart? You want me to put our baby in you?”

I stare up into his eyes, they’re dark with the desire zinging between us and filled with promises of forever. “You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted to be the father of my babies,” I admit, my voice husky.

Somehow, someway, he fucks me harder and faster. It’s like he’s possessed with the need to get me pregnant and it’s a huge turn on. I’m wetter than I’ve ever been and the sound of him plowing into me is obscene.

“Gonna breed you, Zayla. Fill you with my baby. Make you mine forever and you’ll never be rid of me,” his babbles are promises, groaned out and backed up by the way we move together.

“Oh fuck,” I pant as bliss washes over me and steals my breath.

My eyes roll back in my head as I come and all I can do is hold onto him. He’ll keep me steady and safe, he’ll never let anything hurt me if he can help it.

“Zayla,” he roars, and I feel every jet of his cum deep inside of me.

Warmth spreads through my body. My world, which has felt a little off kilter since I opened the door to find him on the other side, rights itself.

We end up doing exactly what he said we would do. The entire time we eat and watch movies, we lay in each other’s arms naked. Much to my surprise, he spends a lot of time pushing his cum back inside of me.

At least, until I’m unable to take it anymore. I climb astride his hips to impale myself on his length and ride him until I can’t feel my legs.

When I fall asleep in his arms, right in the middle of the giant pile of softness he built for us, it’s with a smile on my face and not a single worry tarnishing what we just shared and the future we will have together.