“Ever?” I teased.
“Possibly. Just think how many issues we could avoid and problems we could solve if you and I just stayed here and never moved again.”
“I think I made a similar suggestion several months ago, when we were still on the island. And you made fun of me.” I gave his ribs a much gentler poke than what he’d gotten earlier from my elbow.
Nicky’s eyes half-opened, and he blinked at me. “Ky, you’re brilliant.”
I tilted my head. “Clearly, but what makes you say that right now?”
“You’ve just given me the most fantastic idea.” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “I need some dedicated recovery time, and you and I need some couple time. Alone. Away from work and family and reporters and duties.”
“I agree with you,” I said cautiously, still not sure where he was going with this.
“I think you were completely right when we were on our honeymoon. We never should’ve left that island. So ...” A beatific smile settled on his lips as he gingerly settled his head on the sofa cushion again. “I’m taking you back there—to the island.”
“You are?” I frowned, surprised.
“Yes, I am. You and I, my darling, are embarking on a second honeymoon.”
“THIS WAS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, the best idea you ever had.”
Nicky and I lay together in a huge white hammock on the beach, the rhythm of the crashing waves providing a soundtrack to this utterly perfect afternoon. A soft breeze wafted over us, and the sun shone down warmth that seeped into my bones. I was relaxed in every possible way.
“I think technically it was your idea. I’m just the one who made it possible.” Nicky trailed a line of kisses down my neck, nudging the neckline of my cotton dress a little lower to give him more access to my skin. “I was happy to oblige.”
My hand wandered down from its spot on Nicky’s shoulder blade to stroke the curve and muscle of his backside. “You are very obliging in every good way.”
“I’m glad you feel like that, because I’m willing to oblige you again in just a few moments.” The palm of his hand brushed over my breast, making me shiver as the nipple hardened. “Or maybe even sooner.”
“You’re very ambitious, Prince Nicholas.” I arched my back, bringing our bodies more closely into alignment, so that the part of him that was growing longer and harder rubbed seductively against the part of me that was beginning to throb with need. “I like that in a man. I particularly like that in a husband.”
The hammock swung a little bit more wildly, tilting us to one side as Nicky’s movements became less controlled and more daring. He balanced himself over me so that I gazed up into his intent blue stare.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” He dipped his head to tease me with a kiss. “Do you have the slightest notion of how deep and wide and absolutely wild my love for you is? When I look at you, my Ky, all I can see is ... joy. And the kind of peace I’ve always dreamed of knowing.”
Tears burned my eyes, and I blinked them back. “I love you so much, Nicky. I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow, I love you more now than I did the day we got married. And I promise you that I never thought that was possible, because I loved you to absolute distraction that day. But it has. Living with you, being your wife, being part of your family ... everything we’ve shared and experienced and fought and lived through ... it’s made me fall so deeply in love you all over again that I can’t imagine loving you more. But I have a funny feeling that I will, every single day. For as long as we both shall live.”
Nicky made a small noise in the back of his throat just before he slowly and gently lowered his body over me. He took my mouth in a kiss that was a promise, a renewal and the most fervent, beautiful vow I could ever want. For a long moment, we lingered in that kiss, simply being.
And then his lips nudged mine open, and his tongue wandered in to stroke over mine, to ask for more. I was eager to give him exactly that, and as our mouths played and dared, I slipped my fingers underneath the waistband of the loose swim trunks he was wearing. Nicky grunted in pleasure and encouragement when I wrapped my hand around his hard, thick length.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to lift up your dress, darling.” He nuzzled just below my ear, the brush of his breath against my neck making me tremble. “In this position, if I try to do it myself, I’m afraid we might tumble out of the hammock.”
“I’m more than happy to help.” Shooting him a smile that I hoped was sultry, I groped for the hem of the cover-up dress and pulled it up to my waist before I wriggled out of the bathing suit bottoms beneath it, kicking them away blindly. “There. I don’t think I can do more than that. If I try to take off my top, I might elbow you in the eye.”
“I can work with this.” Nicky bent his head to suckle at me, soaking the material of both the dress and the thin bikini top. It was entirely different sensation, feeling the friction of the cloth as well as the pull of his lips and tongue, and I shivered, moaning a little in my appreciation of his efforts.
As he moved his head to the other side, I carefully raised one foot and hooked my toes to his trunks, pausing just long enough to ease the bathing suit around his jutting erection.
“Your talent knows no bounds, Ky,” Nicky breathed, raising his eyes to meet mine. “I had no clue you could do that with your feet. We might have to explore some ideas I have in that regard.”
“Do you have a foot fetish, Your Royal Highness?” I asked coquettishly.
“Only one pair of feet turn me on, love.” He canted his hips until the smooth length of his sex lay heavy against my core. “One pair of feet. One set of breasts. One ... glorious ... and insanely sexy woman.”
On that last word, he raised up, and finding my entrance, plunged deeply into me in one perfect thrust. I arched my back and braced my feet on the edges of the hammock, desperately seeking a way to be able to move my body to the rhythm he was setting for us.
“Relax, sweetheart,” Nicky murmured. “Let me love you. I’ll take care of you ... always.”
