Anchored To Love

by S. M. Stryker

  “Hey baby, sorry for keeping you waiting. I wanted to make sure Dad was still planning on meeting us,” Raven says as she descends the stairs.

  “Is everything still okay?”

  “Yes, but I wanted to make sure we were still on. I figured we could meet him at Heritage Park.”

  “Okay, that works for me. We better get going if we’re going to make it up there in time. Are you and Carson sure, you don’t want to go up? I know Beckett really wanted his family up there.”

  “Yeah, I wish we could, but we really need to work things out, and he is still pretty sore and the drive wouldn’t be very good for him. Please give Beckett and Harlow our best.”

  “I’ll tell them, take care of our man. Bye, Charlie.”

  “Thanks, T.”

  I close the door and turn my back to it, leaning against it. Zain’s parents’ home is amazing, but I know that I can’t stay here much longer. I need a place of my own. Even though they aren’t here, I still feel like I’m walking on eggshells.

  I take a deep breath and resolve myself to talk to Zain about it this weekend. He’s been locked in the office off and on this whole week. Maybe he’s rethinking the arrangement too.

  I decide I will fix breakfast and I will talk to him then about moving out. In the kitchen, I pull eggs and sausage out of the refrigerator and a few potatoes out of the bin. I put a pan on the stove and turn it on to start to get hot. I place the sausage in the pan and cook it until it is in little pieces. After removing it from the pan, I add a little oil to the pan and place in the cubed potatoes that I cut while the sausage was cooking. Once the potatoes are cooked, I add the sausage back in and warm it up again. I start to crack eggs into the mixture. When the eggs are cooked, I dish it out, add a little shredded cheese on the top, set it on a tray with a cup of coffee, and take it upstairs to his room. I lightly tap the door before slowly entering. Although I am living in the house with him, I stay in a separate room.

  He’s still asleep, so I set the tray on the dresser and walk to his bed. He’s lying on his side and as I look at him, he is so beautiful. My heart starts to race and my breath catches just looking at him, and although we were really only together for the one weekend, what happened to me, I think changed the way he thinks about me. I know how I feel about him, but I can’t allow myself to think about that now. I feel my core clench just looking at him. God, I have to get out of here. I set my hand on his shoulder to wake him up to eat and before I know it, he has grabbed my arm and pulled me into his bed. An unexpected squeak escapes my throat.

  “God, I’ve missed you. I’ve tried to give you space and time, but I just miss touching you and being with you, so God damn much. Am I scaring you?”

  I shake my head no, as I feel the tears behind my eyes burning, trying to escape. “I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”

  “God damn it, Char. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not going anywhere?”

  “But …” I look down from his face. “But after Duke.”

  “Char, not even in death will I stop loving you. I lost you six years ago; I refuse to lose you again. You are the blood that runs through my veins, without you I am nothing.”

  “But you wanted to die.”

  “No,” he takes my face in his hands and says, “I would have gladly given my life if it meant that you would live. I would sacrifice all that I am and all that I will ever be to make sure you are safe, Char. There is a BIG difference between that and wanting to die.”

  He leans down and kisses me softly. My pulse races, my breathing quickens, and his smell infiltrates my senses as my sex clenches. I run my fingers through his blonde curls and grip, hard, trying to pull him closer to me. I need to feel him, to touch him, and for him to touch me and fill me. Our tongues are dancing and twirling together, fucking each other.

  He pulls away; he’s panting, trying to catch his breath, like me. He looks into my eyes, searching, and his brow furrows. “God I love you, Char. Can I touch you? I need to touch you, please?”

  I nod my head, still too out of breath to talk. He pulls my T-shirt off; I hadn’t dressed for the day so I didn’t have a bra on yet. He looks at me, then down at my breasts as he places a warm hand on each, massaging them. God, it feels so good. I close my eyes and arch my back, forcing my breasts higher. I gasp then moan as he takes one on my nipples in his mouth, sucking it, and teasing, pulling on the bars that are sticking through each nipple as he pulls it with his teeth and tongue. The moans don’t stop, everything he does to me, every touch, is making me long for more. Then he switches sides, pulling and teasing my other nipple ring. He slowly kisses down my tummy and does the same with my belly button ring. I feel my shorts getting damp. “God, I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve been right here waiting for you, baby.”

  He shifts in bed and is now between my legs. He takes the waistband of my shorts, slowly pulls them down my legs, and drops them on the floor. He continues down to my pussy, kissing and licking as he goes. He takes my knees, and bending them, he spreads them. I hear him inhale and he groans. Using his thumbs, he spreads my pussy open as he starts to lick and suck on me. “Fuck.”

  “Oh baby, yes, we’ll get to that too.”

  My hips start to move to their own rhythm at the feeling of his tongue on my clit. I can feel my body tighten up, I’m on the edge. “Oh, stop,” I say.

  “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Zain looks up at me with a concerned look on his face.

  “No, I just want to cum with you inside me. I need to feel you inside me, please?”

  “Oh, Char, you will cum with me inside you, but first I will make you cum this way.”

  He goes back down on me, and the orgasm that melted away is back at full force. He then pushes a finger inside, then a second one, and finds that spot that makes me go crazy. “Oh God, Zain. Ah, oh yes.”

  “That’s it, baby, cum for me now!”

  I explode. I don’t think I have ever been so loud in my life, screaming out Zain’s name, and God knows what else. While I’m still coming down from my orgasm, Zain slides into me, hard, and it kicks me into another orgasm, this one deeper. My orgasm keeps going, as he continues to thrust into me, harder and harder. Now he’s groaning. I grab his ass, pulling him into me harder as he hits my core. I scream in ecstasy, then a deep growl escapes from deep inside him. “Oh fuck, Char, oh God, you feel … oh, oh.”

  I can feel him cum, feel him shoot inside me so hard I cum again, as I hold him deep within me, feeling his cock twitch inside. I close my eyes and try to catch my breath.

  I know he didn’t use a condom, and I know it wasn’t the responsible thing to do with me starting back to school, and not just any school, but medical school. But I would have told him not to use one. I needed to be his, in every way possible. To erase my memories, I also wanted him to know that I will always be his.

  He kisses me and I feel him twitch inside of me, his recovery time is unbelievable, but this was a one-time shot, anything after, a condom will be used.

  “Char,” he says gently. “We had this happen before and it didn’t go down well.” He looks at me with a concerned look in his eye.

  “I know, Zain. I knew when you entered me. You made me yours today, and I let you because you will always be mine. If I get pregnant, we’ll deal with it. I just needed to feel you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, but from now on, we use a condom until I can get on birth control.”

  “Okay.”

  We lie in bed for a little while longer until I hear Jaxon fussing. I get up to take care of him while Zain goes down and warms up breakfast. Jaxon is getting to the age where a bottle isn’t enough for him, so I have been adding cereals with fruits and veggies to his diet. He likes them, although he is still learning how to eat off a spoon.

  After getting ready for the day, I thought I would broach the subject of getting my own place. Surprisingly, Zain seems fine with it. “Do you want to play today?”


  “What kind of play?”

  “I thought that we would go look at houses like we would if we won the lottery and then look at furniture to fill our new home. Let’s just spend the day together dreaming.”

  “That sounds like a lot of fun. Is Jaxon’s stroller here?”

  “Yes, it’s in the truck along with the car seat.”

  “God, you’re good at this.”

  “At what?”

  “Being a daddy.”

  Zain leans over and kisses my cheek. “That’s because I would love to be his daddy,” he whispers in my ear. Just hearing him say that sends shivers down my back and my stomach gets butterflies.

  “I’ll put him in the truck if you get his diaper bag and a bottle.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I say.

  As we pull out of the garage, Zain asks, “So if you could pick a place to live, where would that be?”

  “Wow, there are so many that I like, but I would have to be practical too. I would want to live where there are good schools, close to a hospital, a nice neighborhood where the houses aren’t on top of each other. I don’t want to have to worry about working in the kitchen and looking into someone’s bedroom or bathroom. Well for that matter I don’t want to be close enough to see anyone like that or them me. I would want a large fenced yard with a play structure in the back for him, because before we know it, he will be walking all over the place.”

  “I think I know an area you might like. What about Raven? You know it won’t be too long before her and Mitchell are married. Are you going to have a hard time with her not living with you?”

  “We all have to grow up someday. Yes, I would miss her, but this is just pretend so I would pretend that all of our friends live next door to each other.”

  “Who would those people be?”

  “Well, like you said, this is all pretend and it won’t be long I’m sure before Raven has a ring on her finger. So, Mitchell and Raven, Beckett and Harlow, Richard and Nicole. And even though I don’t know them as well as the others, I would still include them in my friends list, Davis, and LeDoux. They both did so much for me. I would love to get to know them better.”

  “So what type of houses do you like? Victorian, ranch, craftsman, split level?”

  “I love the craftsman style, with the river rock posts. I love mission style.”

  “Well, I knew that without you telling me.” Zain starts to laugh.

  I slap his arm. “You’re bad.”

  “I strive very hard, to be bad.” He glances over at me and raises his eyebrows, with a big smile on his face.

  “I’m not saying anything else after that.” I laugh.

  “So if you like Craftsman style homes, are you telling me you like rustic furniture too?”

  “I love miss …” I giggle. “I’m not going there again. Yes, that beautiful mahogany color with the hammered handles. What do you like?”

  “I like the rustic look too. I saw a house that had a big tree trunk as a beam across the roof, and it had rod iron handrails for the stairs and hickory railings.”

  “Oh, I love hickory. I love to see the different colors of the wood.”

  We drive up to Forest Park. There are some new houses that we are going to look at and play as if we were rich. “So what kind of car would you want in the garage?”

  “I don’t know what I would have. I don’t know that much about cars, but I guess I would want something with either four-wheel or front-wheel drive if I were to live up here, or something that’s safe. What would you want?”

  “I would just keep my truck. It works for me. I can’t believe you’re going to be a doctor. That is so cool. I am so proud of you. I knew you would get there.”

  “Really, do you think I can do that and be a good mom?”

  “You don’t know the word fail, Char. You have worked so hard to get where you’re at. You heard Dr. Singer, you’re a natural. Char, this is the brass ring, you have to grab it. Things will work out.”

  We get to the houses and Zain takes the car seat and carries it for me as we look at the different homes they have for sale. The homes are on two-acre lots, so there is a lot of space. I stop walking when I see the house of my dreams—at least it is on the outside. We walk into the house and Zain takes my hand. “Let’s take the grand tour.”

  We walk through mission-style double doors into the open entry with a vaulted ceiling. Off to the side is a staircase with a wrought iron and hickory railing, to the right is an office with glass panel French doors, to the left is the formal living room. After walking through the entry, there is the kitchen on the right with a breakfast bar. Hanging stained glass pendant lights hang over the bar. All the cabinetry is hickory, the countertops are granite with a glass backsplash, and all the appliances are stainless. The kitchen is open to the family room. A river rock fireplace with a hand-scraped mantel finishes the rustic look. The whole outside wall is glass doors that open out to a large expansive deck overlooking a huge backyard with a play structure and swings. There is a formal dining room off the right of the kitchen. “Let’s go upstairs.” As we reach the top of the stairs, there is a hall to right that houses a large master bedroom with walk-in closets and an en suite bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and a large steam shower with glass doors and slate tiles.

  The second bedroom is next to the master. It’s a nursery with a mural painted on all the walls of a jungle and an entire array of animals painted around the room. There is a lion lying in the shade under a tree where a monkey swings from the branch. A giraffe is on another wall with an elephant and gazelles; there are some stork-like birds standing in the water where a hippo is munching on grass. Another wall has a zebra snacking on tree branches with a tiger walking through the shrubs.

  We move to the office that has bookcases and two large desks, laptops on the tops. Down low, by a little chair and table set, is a section of children’s books. “There’s more but I think you get the idea.”

  The nursery has a Jack and Jill bathroom that is attached to the nanny’s room. It is nice-sized too. We look at the rest of the house and I fall in love with it. Six bedrooms in all, a theater room—each room has its own bathroom, other than the nursery. This is exactly what I would buy if money were no issue. The house butts up against a green space that will never be developed.

  “Well, you just wrecked me for any other house.”

  Zain laughs at me. “That was easy. Give you a little hickory and some rocks and call it good.”

  I laugh. “Yep, that’s me, give me a million dollar home, and I’m all yours.” Zain pulls me close to him, kissing me on the top of the head. I stop and look up at him. “I love you, Zain. Thank you for today.”

  “I love you too, baby, and thanks for dreaming with me today.” He kisses me gently on the lips.

  We walk back to the truck and Zain locks Jaxon’s seat back into the base as we get back into the truck. We spend the rest of the day just dreaming. Going to a furniture store, car dealer, we played it all the way. I feel bad about wasting the salespeople’s time, but it was still nice to learn about what I like. I am surprised that Zain and my tastes are very similar. I am exhausted by the time we get home and I know Zain has to be too. I catch him wincing when he carries Jaxon, but he assures me that he is fine.

  I feed Jaxon, give him his bath, and put him down to bed before I pick up my latest book that I started reading before I was taken. So much time has passed that I decide to just start it over. Zain is in the office working on something; he’s always playing on the computer. He’s been carrying a little notebook around with him, I notice, and every so often, he writes in it. He says it is for ideas for new computer apps.

  I must have been more tired than I thought because the next thing I know, Zain is carrying me upstairs. He takes me to his room. We haven’t shared a room since … since I was taken. He later tells me he wanted to give me the space he thought I needed. But, I needed him. I wanted him to hold me, touch me, and tell me he still wanted me.
When it didn’t come, well that was this morning, when I honestly didn’t think I should stay here and I was going to get my own place. Then he showed me just how much he wanted me. This communication stuff is a lot harder than I thought.

  He stands me up beside the bed and unbuttons my jeans, sliding them off as he pulls my shoes off with them. Then he pulls my T-shirt over my head and tosses it on the floor. He picks me up and lays me on his bed. A few seconds later, he slides in behind me, pulling the covers over both of us. I take a deep breath, breathing in his scent that is so Zain. That’s the last thing I remember until I wake to the most wonderful feeling of Zain spooning me, his hard erection at my back. I slowly slip my panties off and quietly feel in the drawer for a condom. I rip it open and get it ready, as I think to myself that this would have been so much easier if I were on birth control.

  I slowly remove his boxers from around his nicely sized morning erection. Taking the condom, I slowly slide it on. He stirs, and I freeze in place. He settles on his back. Perfect. I slowly move to straddle him as I hold his cock in my hand to align myself with him and slowly sink down on him. Oh, God, he feels good. I haven’t had him this way since, well before. I continue to ride him and his hips start to move. He is so deep this way and a moan slips from my lips. Zain’s hands slowly slip up my calves to my thighs. By the time he is at my hips, he is moaning as much as I am and our movements are as if they were choreographed. We are so in sync with each other. I start to feel my core tightening. I’m looking him in the eye as he sticks his thumb into his mouth and sucks it. When he pulls it out, he places it on my clit and starts to circle it. I explode around him as I arch my back and absorb the feelings of electricity lighting all my nerve endings as I scream his name.

  He then sits up and turns me onto the bed, and he’s now on top of me. He’s thrusting hard and I feel the build-up again. He leans down, taking one of my nipple rings into his mouth. I let out a loud moan then feel his cock shudder, which pushes me over the edge as we both cum together.

  Zain collapses on me and I bite his neck, and whisper in his ear, “Will I ever tire of what you do to me? You are amazing.” I bite his earlobe and I feel him twitch inside me. God, I’m a lucky woman.