Page 14 of Gone Away Home

“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 sighsand 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 aspossible. 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.

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