going to move for a while. She drew a deep breath and then fidgeted. Ok, maybe she was going to move. Itchy wasn’t conducive to post-orgasmic bliss. She pulled her hair out from behind her back and flopped it away from her. “Is it crazy that I’m looking forward to two weeks with my family, but I don’t want to be with them all the time?”
“No. Besides, Joseph’s place is huge, and we can play tourist on the island. We only have to be as social as we want to be.” Nic rolled so he was facing her.
“Yeah, I’m not sure about that. You know how things happen—they make grand plans and we’re dragged into them.”
Nic chuckled. “Like how you planned our wedding and made every one of your brothers and sisters help?”
Jade narrowed her eyes and rolled to face her husband. “Yeah, like that. Watch it, DeMarco, or you’ll end up in the doghouse before we even leave for Aruba.”
“Isn’t that my permanent residence?” He laughed when she swatted his arm. Nic enfolded her into a hug and kissed her forehead. “Your family is a mess, but they’re wonderful. We’ll have a great time. Zane was talking about maybe having a guys’ day out or maybe doing some deep-sea fishing.”
Jade tipped her head back to look at him. “Will that be okay with the roll and the pitch of the boat?” His stride was almost perfect. No one would know he had a prosthesis, but sometimes his equilibrium played hell with him and that was because of the percussion of the explosion. An inner ear imbalance that they hadn’t been able to correct.
“I think so, and if I plant my ass in a chair all day, that is fine, too.”
“Oh, by the way, you’re babysitting with me when we go to Aruba. We are on the hook for one day out of fourteen, so if that deep-sea fishing thingy happens on the day we get stuck with watching the kids, you’re staying on dry ground, copy?”
Nic lifted on his elbow and stared at her. “You volunteered to watch the kids?”
Jade snorted and rolled her eyes. “They forced me into it. Mob mentality is alive and well, along with one too many mimosas. We’re taking turns so the people who brought the little buggers into the world can make more of them.”
“Well, practice makes perfect. Joseph and Ember are expecting again. That’s cool.” Nic smiled and bent down to kiss her.
When he lifted away, she pushed out the question before she could stop herself. “Are you upset that I don’t want kids?”
“What?” Nic blinked and then shook his head. “No. Why would you think I was?”
She leaned up on her elbow, too. “Because you like kids and I know you wanted a big family before we got married and I’m the one that just made the unilateral decision not to have any and––”
“Whoa, stop right there. Damn, you got yourself all worked up over this, didn’t you?” He pushed her hair out of her face and cupped her cheek. His warm hand grounded her to him, slowing the tornado of thoughts whirring around in her mind. “How long has this been bothering you?”
She shrugged. “A while. But at Mal’s wedding, when you and the rest of the guys were dying, the Coven had breakfast.”
“I seem to recall something about that. Barely.” Jade laughed in spite of herself. Her husband wasn’t a big drinker, and when he spent time with her brothers, they all paid for being stupid in public.
“We found out Ember was pregnant and the conversation just kind of grew along those lines. Everyone was open to having kids or more kids except me.” She sighed and dropped her head against his chest.
“Everyone? Really?” He carded his fingers through her hair and tugged it a little when she didn’t answer.
Finally, she nodded. “Joy said she wants a kid. Joy! That shocked the fuck out of all of us.” She sighed and shook her head. “I feel like I should want them, but I don’t. You really got a prize when you married me, DeMarco.”
“First off, I knew exactly who I was marrying. I didn’t marry you to change your mind or make you a different person. You are who you are, and I am who I am. Hell, you don’t try to stop me from playing my stupid zombie games or coddle me when we do our training or rehab, and woman, you know I wouldn’t put limits on