He rubs his nose up the length of my neck. “Does that mean you won’t get any more since I’m never leaving again? Even if you toss me out on my keister?”
“Sorry. I’m afraid it’s inevitable. I got my hair from Dad and he was mostly salt with little pepper by forty-five. That doesn’t leave you many years with a youthful-looking husband.”
I’m imagining Jack Henry with gray hair in place of his near black. I’m certain he’s going to be like Richard Gere and only get better looking with age. “So when people see us together ten years from now, they’ll think I’m some sweet young thing on the arm of my sugar daddy?”
He’s laughing. “No, they’ll see our swarm of mini-Laurelyns buzzing around us and know I was smart enough to make you mine while I was still young and had a chance with you.”
“Exactly how many children are in a swarm?”
His lips next to my ear, he whispers, “Several.”
I won’t be distracted by the stir his nearness causes in my groin. “‘Several’ is a number that may vary quite a bit depending on who you’re talking to.”
His fingers lace through the nape of my hair and his thumb rubs that spot below my ear. “You once told me you saw yourself with three.”
“Three is a few—which isn’t several.”
“I know but I’d like to talk you into more.” He runs his nose down the length of my neck again and I feel his warm breath on my skin. He knows how much that turns me on. “And I’d like to persuade you into starting on the first one right now.”
He didn’t want a wife or children when we met. Somewhere in the theory of my future, I wanted a husband—which I now have—but I’d like to wait on the children. I want to enjoy us before a baby is added to the mix. “Why are you so anxious? We haven’t been married a full day yet. Don’t you want time for the two of us?” He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling. “What’s going on with you and this rush to start having babies right away?”
He sighs and turns onto his side so we’re facing one another. “Dad’s side of the family has a significant history of heart disease and heart attacks. He’s fifty-five and has already had his first episode. His brother wasn’t fifty when he had his first heart attack. I’m afraid that’ll be me in twenty years, so I feel like waiting to start our family is wasting time I could be spending with our children while I’m still young and healthy.”
This is the reason he hoped I was pregnant. He’s afraid of dying young. I had no idea he had this fear bottled inside him. “You don’t know that you’ll have those kinds of problems.”
“You don’t know that I won’t.” He reaches for the back of my neck and pulls my face to his. “Promise me you’ll think about it.”
This beautiful man wants to create a life with me—little people that look like us. Isn’t that what he once told me he saw when he imagined his future with me? I want him to have everything his heart desires—and this is something only I can give him—so how can I not consider it? “I’ll think about it. Promise.”
“Thank you.” He kisses my mouth so lovingly. It isn’t urgent as many of our kisses are. It’s sweet, and he makes me feel so beloved. “I love you so much, L.”
“And I love you but I need you to promise me you’ll share these fears and concerns. I’m your wife and I want to know everything. Your hopes. Your dreams. And especially your fears.” He needs to see he shouldn’t keep these things from me.
He touches his finger to the tip of my nose. “You. You’re what my hopes and dreams are made of.”
I pull him back on top of me. “You know exactly what to say to get into a girl’s panties.”
He runs his hands over each of my bare hips. “I think you’d need to be wearing knickers in order for me to get into them but you’re not, Mrs. McLachlan.”
“Oops.” I cover my mouth with my fingers. “You’re right. Mr. McLachlan took them off hours ago.”
“You never put them back on and now you’re under me, completely naked.”
I bring my legs up and squeeze him closer. “For good reason. Easier access.”
He rubs the back of my thighs, squeezing them. “Easier access. I like that. You should go without knickers all the time.”
“Maybe I will.”
Jack Henry possesses my mouth as I lower my hands down his back until I have two handfuls of his perfect ass. “I love your … bum.”
He moves from my mouth to the side of my face and then on to that special place below my ear. “My bum, huh?” His voice is a breathy whisper. “Is my Yank wife turning Aussie so soon?”
“Maybe.” His mouth creeps down my neck. “Probably. I see no reason to fight it since I’m here to stay.”
I feel a sudden drop in the plane’s altitude. Jack Henry lifts his face to look at me but he doesn’t appear alarmed. “I think we’re descending.” He leans over to take his phone from the bedside table. “Dammit. The flight is right on time.”
A pilot’s voice comes over the overhead speaker. “We’re beginning our descent into Maui so our flight will be landing as scheduled in approximately fifteen minutes. It’s been a pleasure serving you, Mr. and Mrs. McLachlan. Looks like you’ll be having beautiful weather for the duration of your honeymoon. Maui is currently seventy degrees and sunny with a high of eighty-three later today.”
I make my pouty face. “Only fifteen minutes.”
“I know. It’s not enough time for me to do what I want to you. And we still have to get dressed and be in our seats for the landing.” He gives me one last kiss. “We’ll have plenty of time to do everything we want once we’re on the ground. We’re here as long as we want to be.”
He kisses me chastely and gets up. He’s naked, his back to me as he stands, searching through the suitcase for a change of clothes. I take a few seconds to admire his physique. He’s so beautiful. And all mine.
I get up and walk over to grab something to wear. I opt for the first outfit I find since the clock is ticking. A strappy floral sundress with a fuchsia cardigan packed right on the top. It should look lovely with the lei I’ll be given when we land.
We’re dressed with clean faces and freshly brushed teeth when we buckle into our seats. We have maybe one whole minute to spare, but I plan on indulging in a long, hot bath—hopefully with Jack Henry joining me—once we arrive at our hotel. I hope our suite has a huge shower to accommodate both of us because I have lots of naughty things I want to do to him.