Disclaimer: Characters that you recognize don't belong to me.

Thank you all so much for the reviews and favorite/follows. I'm horrible at replying to them, but I read every single one of them. I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying this story so much! Keep the reviews coming.

OH...there is a little smut in this chapter...just warning you.

Still no beta so all mistakes are mine and mine alone! I hope there aren't too many.

Lifetime of Love

Chapter 16

The next morning came entirely too soon. Zero left to go back to Haywood well past midnight. We spent the time before that cuddled together on the couch. I still couldn't have sex for a couple more weeks which was okay with me. I didn't really want to rush into that type of relationship again. We kissed and that's all. Well, we kissed A LOT and there was some groping, but that's all. I Promise!

I had AJ packed and ready to go to the airport by the time Zero knocked on the door. He looked relaxed and comfortable in his faded jeans and old Army T-shirt. Well, honestly, he looked yummy and when I subconsciously licked my lips, I saw his eyes darken and his gaze turned hungry. I guess we both were a little starved, but we still had to wait to feed those beasts.

"I've got to throw some things in a bag for myself. Will you watch AJ?" Zero nodded and walked toward me. He gave me a passion filled kiss that had my knees buckling. We were both breathing heavy when he finally pulled away and held me at arm's length away from him.

"Good morning, Breá. I would be happy to watch him while you finish packing." He kissed my nose and patted my butt toward the bedroom.

"I won't be long." I yelled as I finished throwing my stuff in my suitcases. I fixed my disheveled appearance and wheeled my bags to the front door.

Zero was adjusting AJ in the car seat and I watched in absolute fascination as he snapped him in with no problems. It took me at least a week to figure out how to get him into that damn thing and get everything buckled. Zero had him in and buckled in 3 seconds only using one hand. RangeMen could do anything I guess.

"I'm ready if my boys are." I peeked over Zero's shoulder to see AJ almost asleep in his seat. "He'll sleep until we get to the airport, but he'll need to eat soon after."

"Let's go then. The private jet is waiting for us." I grabbed the car seat and Zero somehow managed to grab all the suitcases. I'm not a light packer, so that was a feat of strength.

The flight to California was uneventful. AJ slept most of the time after eating and Zero and I talked more about his family. We were meeting his dad and wife for dinner that night after we arrived. His two half-sisters were away at some sports camp, so I would have to meet them later. The next day was lunch with his mom and her husband at a local diner. We would be on our own the next three days then we would drive up to his brother's house in Medford, Oregon for Thanksgiving dinner with the whole family. It shocked me that both his parents would be there with their spouses. He explained that the divorce was mutual and they remained friends afterwards. I shuddered when I thought about being friend's with Dickie.

When we landed in California, there was a shiny black SUV waiting for us on the tarmac. Inside was the base to AJ's car seat. I would really need to ask Ranger how he managed to do everything so quickly. It was almost like he thought about it, and it happened.

Zero loaded our luggage in while I locked in AJ and we drove off toward town. Since this was the town that Zero grew up in, he had to take me by all of his old haunts. When we passed the sign for the town, I almost pissed myself laughing so hard.

"You grew up in Weed? How did you not turn into a stoner? I think I would smoke all the time if I lived in a town called weed." He laughed with me and shook his head.

"There's a lot of pot grown around here, but I never touched the stuff. It never appealed to me. I have a friend who owns his own pot farm. I might just take you by there later." I was shocked.

"How doesn't he get arrested? I thought pot was illegal." It was illegal in Jersey at least. That's why I have to pick up Mooner and Dougie on a regular basis.

"It's legal to grow out here and smoke for medicinal reasons. There are some pot shops that sell a variety of stuff. The local government has regulations on their growers, but it's not too bad. My friend doesn't smoke his crop, just sells it." I was dumbstruck now. I would lose two constant FTA's if they heard about this town.

"Don't tell Mooner and Dougie. I don't want to lose them as regulars and if they heard about this dreamland, I would never see them again." He laughed and shook his head because he knew it was true.

We pulled into the driveway of a nice looking house. It was an older ranch style, but it was well maintained and the landscaping was immaculate.

"This is my house." I turned and looked at him. I had no clue he owned his own house out here.

"I don't get out here very much, so my neighbor takes care of it for me. I like to have a comfortable place to stay when I come visit my family." He unloaded AJ and we walked, hand in hand, up to the front door. Zero unlocked it and turned off the alarm.

"You look around while I unload the suitcases." He dropped a kiss on my head and disappeared out the door. The inside of the house was amazing too. The kitchen was large and inviting with new appliances. The dining room held the biggest table that I've ever seen. I guess he liked to entertain here too. The living room was comfortable with a huge TV on one wall and an amazing couch on the other. I sat AJ down and flopped into the cozy material. I could live on this couch. It was amazing.

"If you think the couch is comfortable, wait until you feel the bed." Zero was watching me with a look of amusement. I rolled my eyes and stood up off the couch. I took AJ out of his seat and walked around with him to finish my tour.

"You want to finish giving me the grand tour?"

"Absolutely. Then we can relax until dinner." Zero kissed me and led me to the rest of the house.

The master suit was off the kitchen. The bed was a cherry sleigh bed and huge. I could tell just by looking at it that it was going to be comfortable. I handed AJ to Zero and with a running jump, I flopped onto the bed. Zero wasn't lying. This bed was fan-freaking-tastic. I might not get out of it.

"That sounds like a good idea to me." I was enjoying the bed and didn't realize that Zero had sat beside me. His voice so close to my ear made me jump which made him laugh. I finished exploring the master bathroom and then walked back out to the kitchen.

Zero led me to the other bedrooms in the other half of the house. Two were decorated comfortably and looked inviting for the guests. The last room we looked in shocked me. It was the perfect nursery for AJ. The furniture was dark and the colors were perfect. It wasn't the sock monkey room back home, but it was equally as gorgeous.

"How did you do this? You didn't even know about him." I stood shocked in the room.

"The second I found out, I sent my decorator on a mission to get this room done. I was surprised when she said she had it finished." He walked over to me and closed my mouth with one finger. "It helps to have a whole lot of money to spend." He laughed when I rolled my eyes. AJ stirred and started to wake up so I decided to feed him so maybe I could catch a nap.

Once I got the baby put down, Zero and I retreated to the master bedroom with the baby monitor in hand. I hadn't been that far way from AJ before, so I was a little worried. Zero assured me that he would be just fine. We both fell onto the comfortable bed and I curled myself into Zero's embrace. I fell asleep almost instantly being wrapped in the arms of the man that I love. What could be better?

I woke up hours later, well rested and confused. Where the hell was I? Oh yeah...Zero's house in California. I glanced at the clock and jumped out of bed. I slept 5 hours. AJ was probably screaming for food.

I rushed into the nursery and found AJ sound asleep in Zero's arms. There was a bottle sitting on the floor and I smiled at the man in the chair. I had pumped some milk into bottles to use tonight at dinner, but I guess Zero wanted to let me sleep.

"Hey sleeping beauty. Feel better?" I kissed his lips and AJ's head.

"Much. Thank you for taking care of him." I sat on Zero's lap and rested my head on his firm shoulder.

"I'll always take care of him and you." He gave me a gentle kiss and I felt my hormones stir which wasn't good. I was still on restrictions.

"What time do we need to leave?" I whispered. Not because of the baby sleeping, but because I didn't think my voice was strong enough. That kiss fried my brain.

"We've got about an hour before we need to leave. I can get AJ ready, you just worry about you." He kissed me again and I knew I needed to get off his lap and away from him. I was ready to forget the restrictions and screw him on the floor of our son's nursery. What kind of mom does that?

"I'm going to shower then. Let me know if you need help with him." Zero nodded and I made my retreat to the bathroom.

By the time I showered and fixed my hair, I only had about fifteen minutes to get dressed. That caused me to run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Zero had told me not to worry about what I wore. It was just dinner at his dad's. What he didn't understand is that I was meeting his dad for the first time, so I wanted to make a good impression.

I settled on wearing a comfortable wrap-around dress and some low heals. I grabbed a sweater, just in case it got cold. Few swipes of mascara and I was ready to go.

Just like Zero promised, AJ was clean, dressed and strapped in his car seat. Zero looked unbelievable sexy in jeans and a light blue button down shirt. His sleeves were rolled up past his elbows and the top two buttons were left undone. I wanted to lick that patch of skin that was visible under his collar.

I didn't get to lick, instead we all got bundled into the car and drove to his father's house. It was also the house that Zero grew up in so I was excited to see his old room. When we pulled up in the driveway, Zero turned and looked at me.

"I haven't told anyone about you or AJ so they're going to be shocked. But don't worry, they're all going to love you." I was nervous, but excited at the same time.

Zero took AJ out of the back and I met him around the front of the vehicle to walk to the door. Before he had a chance to knock, the door was forced open and a big man was smiling at Zero.

"There's my favorite youngest son." Zero sat AJ's seat down and was engulfed in his dad's arms. I could tell that they had a good relationship just by watching their interaction. When they finally broke apart, his dad noticed me for the first time.

"Did you bring me a present, son? You know I'm already happily married although, I will say that this one is a knock-out." I blushed as Zero took my hand.

"Dad this is Stephanie Plum. She's my..." He turned to me with a look of question on his face. "...girlfriend?" I smiled and nodded. His father took my hand and shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Stephanie. Noah's told us about you, but I didn't realize that you two were together." I think I caught a blush on Zero's face, but wasn't sure.

"Yeah, well things change Pop. I also want you to meet my son. Allen Jacob. We call him AJ." Zero's dad stopped and stared at AJ sleeping in his seat. He didn't look happy.

"I think you two have some explaining to do before we eat. Come in and let me hold my first grandson and we can talk while Melody finishes dinner." We followed him into a huge living room and were directed to sit down. His wife Melody introduced herself and brought us each a drink then retreated back to the kitchen.

Allen Sr. was sitting in a chair holding AJ. He looked at Zero and I sitting on the couch together and smiled. "Now...tell me how this little guy got here." We spent the next hour telling him about our relationship, about the assault, about me running away and having AJ. I even told him the story of CJ and how he saved our lives. Through the whole story, he just sat there staring at AJ. When we were finally done, he wiped a tear off his face and looked at us.

"Thank you for giving him life, Stephanie. I know that it wasn't easy, but from what Noah has told us about you; you are an exceptional woman. So you two are going to give this relationship a real shot?" Zero answered that question for us.

"Yes, we are. We love each other and I think everything is going to work out perfectly." I nodded in agreement. Melody called us to dinner right after that.

Dinner was a wonderful experience. Allan and Melody asked about my life and were genuinely curious about me. We spent the time talking and learning about each other. Melody took her turn holding AJ after we ate and she fell in love with him immediately, just like everyone else who held him before her.

"You know your brother had a daughter about three months ago. Have you told him about Steph and AJ?" Allen asked and Zero shook his head.

"He'll find out when we drive up there in a few days. He's going to kill me for surprising him." Allen shook his head and laughed in agreement.

"Damn straight he will. That is if your mother doesn't kill you first. She's going to flip out tomorrow. Luckily you'll be in a restaurant so she can't kill you right then. She will have to plan her attack. I would be scared if I were you. Your mother can be vicious." We all laughed about that and spent another hour talking. I loved Zero's family already and I haven't even met the majority of them. I knew the next day was going to be fun.

When it got late, Zero and I excused ourselves and headed home. We would see his dad and Melody in a few days for Thanksgiving dinner at his brother's so it wasn't a goodbye - just a see you later. AJ passed out on the drive back to the house and I followed suit. Even with my nap, I was still exhausted.

I don't remember walking into the house or going to bed, but I woke up the next morning wrapped in Zero's arms. I snuggled back into his embrace and my butt brushed against something very hard. I let out a moan and brushed against him again. I heard a growl from behind me and slowly turned to face him.

"Good morning, sexy." I kissed him gently on the lips.

"Good morning, Breá. You are an evil woman, but I love you anyway." I feigned hurt and gasped.

"Evil you say? Evil would be doing this..." I quickly slipped under the sheets so my head was at the level of the poker. He gasped and rolled onto his back as I stroked him through his boxers.

"Baby, you can't do that. We can't...holy fuck." I slowly pulled his erection out of his boxers and took him into my mouth. Just because I couldn't have fun didn't mean I couldn't have fun. Know what I'm saying.

I loved tasting this man. He was so hard, yet his skin was so silky soft. I greedily licked the moisture that gathered on his tip and sucked it into my mouth. I heard him groan and cuss under his breath. Right as I was taking him fully into my mouth, the baby monitor began to scream. I heard a groan and then Zero's hoarse voice.

"No baby. Daddy needs mommy now. Shit." I knew AJ could wait a second and from the look of things, it wasn't going to take long to relieve Zero of his not-so-little problem.

I upped the suction and the speed of my assault. I knew just how to get him off. Sure enough, it didn't take long before he was spraying his hot seed down my throat. I continued to suck him gently and licked all the mess off of him while he tried to calm his breathing. He was whispering in another language so I assumed I did good.

When he was clean and put back into his boxers, I crawled back up and placed a kiss on his cheek. I made the move to get out of bed to get AJ, but was pulled back and was shocked when Zero's mouth crushed against mine. His tongue caressed mine and my hunger for this man grew. When I moaned, he pulled back.

"You stay. I'll bring him to you after I change him." He kissed me again and then crawled out of bed. I laid there panting with my hormones screaming for him to come back and finish what he started.

"Now who's the evil one? Jerk!" He laughed as he walked through the house to get our son.

I took the time to run to the bathroom and did my morning business. I was laying back against the headboard when Zero walked back in with AJ. He passed the crying baby off to me and watched as I pulled out my breast for him to eat. I saw the look in his eyes and had to giggle. No matter how many times he had seen it, it still turned him on.

"Daddy's jealous of you little guy. He has to share mommy with you." He chuckled and crawled up beside me. His hand caressed AJ's hair gently while he ate and my eyes watched Zero. He was obviously in love with his son. Any fool could see that. He turned his head up to me and I saw that same love in his eyes when he looked at me.

I saw everything in that gaze. I saw his hopes for our relationship. I saw his dreams of building our family. I saw his desires and his needs. He loved me, that I'm sure. He wanted to ask me something and I could see the internal war going on in his head. I wanted him to ask because I already knew the answer. Right that minute I said something that I knew was right.

"Yes." He looked at me shocked.

"I didn't ask you anything." He whispered.

"No, but you're going to. The answer now and will always be, yes." Tears filled my eyes when I saw his smile. I watched him climb out of bed and go the dresser and open a drawer. He climbed back in bed with a little black box.

"Stephanie. When I met you, I fell in love with you. I never thought that we would ever have this opportunity and I am thanking God every day that He gave it to us. You have become more than just my love. You have become my life. I don't just want you, I need you. I love you for all that you are, all that you have been, and all that you're yet to be. Will you marry me?" I knew my answer was yes, but hearing those words made me speechless. I swallowed the lump in my throat and croaked out my response.

"What did I tell you before? The answer will always be yes." He wiped the tears off my face and placed the ring on my finger. It was a gorgeous princess cut diamond set on a platinum band. There were multiple smaller baguette and round diamonds on each side.

"A wise friend once told me that love is like war; easy to begin but very hard to stop. I began falling in love with you that very first night and I've never stopped. You say that you need me, well I need you too. I love you with every ounce of my being." The words came flowing out of my mouth before I could stop them. We kissed again and then settled back into our places to watch our son eat.

It was an amazing feeling to finally understand that I've gotten everything that I ever wanted. I didn't know that I wanted a baby until I learned I was pregnant and I didn't know that I wanted to get married again until I saw the love this man had for me. It's a humbling feeling. One that I hope doesn't disappear anytime soon.

A/N - Sorry that this is a little shorter than normal. To make up for the length, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow. : )

Also...I took a little creative licensing for the town in California. I have no idea if pot is legal to grow there or not. I know that in some places in Cali, that it is legal to grow.