If Heaven had a place on earth, it was definitely right where I was standing.  The Hale Mauka Makai, though seemingly out of place in the middle of a vast amount of ocean, endless sky and beautiful scenery, settled almost gently in the midst of it all as if it did belong – contradicting anything said on the contrary. 

I inhaled the warm air slowly, eyes fluttering closed as I felt the Heaven, falling in love for the first time with a place that could possibly be my new destination for retreat and salvation.  I felt as if I were standing inside a “Wish you were here!” postcard, an interactive one that nearly had me wanting to stay forever.

If it hadn’t of been for Kira being thousands of miles away, I probably could have made that happen just by the same serene look on JC’s face as he stood merely inches away, his stress seemingly diminishing off his face with every slow intake of breath he took.

Stepping to him, I felt his arm move from between us and around my shoulders, holding me against him as we both just stared at the home and surroundings in front of us.  “You did good, Lil,” he said softly, “real good.”

I smiled, nodding my head towards our luggage.  “Why don’t we go and put our stuff inside?  Then we can go and gape at everything.”

He laughed, nodding in agreement but stopping when he grabbed my hand before I could lift the luggage, tugging me towards him.  “Hey.”

I grinned, blowing a strand of hair away from my forehead as I studied his gaze.  It was unreadable but warm.  “Hey, yourself.”

Leaning forward, he placed a lingering kiss to my forehead and then to my nose, capturing my mouth with his gently, one hand still holding my hand while the other held my face.  Once he pulled away, he leaned against my forehead, licking his lips and smiling.  “Thank you for this.  For everything.”

“You haven’t seen everything just yet,” I laughed, “but you’re welcome.”

“I know what’s in that duffle bag,” he stated, gesturing behind me at the dark brown leather duffle, “and I’m saying ‘thank you’ in advance for what I will be seeing every. Single. Night.”

Rolling my eyes, I mirrored his movements as he picked up the majority of our bags as I carried the last two, unable to peel my eyes from his backside this time and not the scenery.

I slowed as I watched JC stop ahead of me, dropping the bags in his hands at his sides as his head slowly turned, taking in the entire living space in front of us.  “Holy crap,” he murmured, eyes wide as the beauty of the entire space greeted us.  “I don’t think pictures do this place justice …”

I grinned, proud of myself for choosing such a beautiful location.  The living area was open and warm; ceilings high and hardwood floors stretching throughout.  The furniture all matched in color; couches in gold, green, purple and red – everything just seemed to fit perfectly.

“Lil, look.”

I brought my attention over to JC as he stepped away, taking my hand and leading me towards the back area where the kitchen was and through the backdoor, my breath hitching as we stepped out onto the back porch where a grill and patio furniture sat, the two of us standing only a short distance away from the ocean.   

“I may never want to go home,” he chuckled, eyes still set on the view in front of us.  “Let’s just have Charlotte get on a plane with Kira and drop her off here and Charlotte can go on her merry way after.”

I smiled, setting the bags down and walking to the window, looking at the beach in front of us that was very much secluded.  There was no way that we would be seen unless we invited guests.  The very bright light bulb of an idea lit up above my head as I grinned, turning to him as his gaze drifted from past my shoulders to my face, confused at my expression.  I didn’t say anything; taking his hand and opening up the door, half running, half skipping as he laughed behind me, letting me lead him into the unknown of the little paradise we had for the next ten days.

I finally stopped mid-beach, the water dancing at my toes as I felt him step closer into me, his chest against my back with his arms around my collarbone as I finally turned in his arms.  He raised an eyebrow at me, watching as I stepped away from his embrace and lifted my shirt above my head to show the halter tankini I had worn on the plane - a blue that almost matched the water - reaching for his shirt and pulling it off as the two of us stood there, staring at each other.

“Now what, Lil,” he asked, grinning, “you’ve got miles and miles of private beach and your husband standing in front of you.  What’s your next move?”

“My next move involves my husband and I half-naked and that water behind us,” I said, his eyes dropping as I unbuttoned my shorts, letting them pool at my feet as I stepped out of them, reaching for his hand as he accepted, gripping my hand tightly as he pulled me to him.  “The next move is in the water, Chasez,” I grinned, he shrugging as he kissed me, hands resting on my bare back just below the ties.  I broke the kiss before it could go anywhere, sticking my finger in his belt loop of his shorts and tugging him along as I stepped into the water that was as warm as a bath.

“You know what this reminds me of, don’t you?”

I looked over at him, barely making out his eyes behind the dark sunglasses that he had slid down onto his face from the top of his head.  “No, what?”

He smiled, reaching down and cupping some of the water and tossing it at me as I laughed.  “You, me and endless sand.  My birthday last year … after I told everyone I had married you.”

“Ah, almost one year ago to the day,” I smiled, nodding at him as I remembered, stepping into him and sliding my fingers into his belt loops and looking up at him as he nuzzled his face against my cheek, pressing his lips to just below my ear.  “Happy Belated Anniversary.”

He laughed, kissing my cheek as he pulled away, studying my face.  “You already said that to me, babe; you know … on our anniversary?”

I laughed as I ran my hands up and down his arms, gripping his biceps as I shrugged.  “Yeah, but you know … with a baby and a very attached mother, it’s kind of hard to really celebrate it.”

“We had a nice dinner –“

“In which we talked about Kira the entire time,” I corrected, watching as he smiled and nodded.  “This time, it’s about just us.  No one else.  Kira is with my sister and you and I are here.  With each other.”

He nodded, pulling me further into the water as I cringed, unable to feel the sand as comfortably between my toes as I had just moments prior.  I always had an irrational fear of deeper water; something I never vocalized and just steered clear of.  Today, it didn’t seem like I would be getting out of it as I watched him and how his eyes danced behind the darkness of his sunglasses, smile blinding me just as much as the sun was.  He must have sensed something as he stepped closer to me, his height in contrast to mine keeping him comfortably standing as I struggled to continue standing as he slid an arm around my hip, holding me against him.  “So,” he said softly, eyes settled on mine with a certain fire igniting behind them.  “It’s just me and you alone in paradise with no one in sight for miles.  What is the next step in this vacation?”

I bit my lip, somewhat distracted by his fingers that danced across my skin; one hand was still on my hip but the other was resting just at the small of my back with his fingers, his long, graceful piano-playing fingers, tucked into the back of my suit just barely, fingertips pressing into the skin of my backside.  “Well, I think I know what you want out of this next step,” I chuckled, feeling the familiar pressure against me as he pressed against me, my hands gently trailing down his stomach and to what had been pressing into me as he hissed at my touch.  “But that next step is not going to happen in a place where you and I both could contract something gross down there.”

He chuckled, eyes casting towards the house just moments before I felt him crouch, my legs giving way beneath me as I squealed, his arms holding me against his chest as he waded us both carefully out of the ocean.  “Then we are christening every single area of that house in these ten days,” he said, grinning as I dropped my head back and laughed at him, he not even putting me down once we hit sand.  When I looked at him questioningly, he gestured towards the sliding glass door for to pull open, he stepping in and gently setting me down.  “I never got to carry you over a threshold after we got married,” he stated, taking his sunglasses off and putting his index finger up, telling me to hold on as he disappeared back onto the beach, grabbing our clothes and tossing them onto the back porch.  “It was long overdue and now, as your husband, I will continue to carry you over that threshold as many times as I need to make sure that all bad luck and evil stay out of our lives.”

I chuckled, batting slightly at his shoulder at the ridiculousness (to me, anyway) of that statement.  “That’s just an old wives tale, Jace; just a tradition that people have followed for many years because of tall tales and –“

“I’ve always taken things seriously in my life, Lily,” he said softly, stepping into me once more and placing the back of his hand at my cheek in a gentle caress.  “My music, career, friends, family … but there is nothing more important to me than you and that little girl back home.  You and Kira are the two most important things in my life and I will take any precaution, be it silly and superstitious, to make sure that you are cemented here with me.  That Kira will grow up and see that her parents are the exception to the high divorce rates and splits; that we are still as madly in love as we are now.  That she, and any siblings that she may have, have two parents who have given her something to look forward to and push for when the time comes for her to fall in love … forty years from now.”

I grinned, stepping onto my tiptoes and wrapping my arms around his neck, cupping it gently as I kissed him.  “Then get to it, Mr. Chasez,” I said softly, still smiling as he grew confused, “carry your wife over that threshold to the bedroom and let’s christen this house.”

“I have a better idea,” he said simply, lifting me and turning, stepping towards the kitchen as I looked on in confusion.  He grinned as I cried out slightly, my back against the cool marble of the island-like kitchen table and pushed the chairs out of the way, pulling himself up and over me on that table, body leaning down and pressing his mouth to mine in a fiery kiss. 

I moaned against his mouth slightly, feeling his free hand trail slowly down my side and to the bottoms of my bathing suit, tracing lazy circles to the front of it as I raised my hips involuntarily at his touch.  My hands traveled south, popping the button of his shorts open and pushed them not-so-gracefully off of his body, his body heat a welcoming surprise to the coolness of the air conditioned home that had begun to give me goosebumps – though at the moment, I wasn’t sure if it was the air conditioning anymore or the man above me, pressing into me just right. 

He hadn’t worn a bathing suit like I had; the light gray of his boxer-briefs now a dark gray from the water, clinging to every possible piece of skin that it could – leaving little to the imagination.  And when I said little, it was only because I couldn’t see his back end. 

He got off of the table, peeling the wet garment off as I just stared, he grinning like a wolf circling his prey as he leaned forward, hands tucking into my bathing suit bottoms and pulling them down.  I didn’t have much time to react as I felt his hands pull me into a sitting position, untying the top of the tankini and pulling it up off of me.  My eyes dropped and hands reached up and tangled into his hair as I felt his mouth close on a nipple, gently nipping and sucking as his other hand kneaded and molded my other breast.  His tongue darted out to soothe moments after he nipped, lifting away from the nipple and gently biting at the tops of my breasts, kissing down the valley between them before doing the same to the other breast. 

While one hand held on to the other breast, I felt the other slowly creeping down my body, phantom touches placed against my skin as it circled to the small of my back and pushed me closed to the edge of the table before circling back, dancing against my pelvis.  “Jace,” I said softly as I felt his fingers slowly slide against my heat, teasing me.  Almost as if his name were the secret password, two fingers plunged into me, curling against my insides in a “come hither” motion, moving at a slow pace as he continued his ministrations against my skin.  His teeth dragged against the sensitive flesh of my collarbone before going to the sweet spot at my neck, eyes rolling to the back of my head as I pulled at him, hands still tangled into his hair, to me.  He nipped at my bottom lip, tongue slowly soothing it as he looked at me with hooded eyes.  “I love you,” he said, voice coming out low and primal – the wolf had returned, ready to launch at his prey.  “You are mine.  Just mine.  I’d do anything for you.  I’d put myself in front of a train if I had to; I’d die for you.”

I nodded, clenching the hair at the base of his neck, studying the blue eyes that I got lost in a multitude of times.  There was something different in them at that moment and I was somewhat unsure of what exactly was there.  Before I could question it, his mouth was against mine, tongue gaining access to my mouth and taking every breath I breathed with him.  His ministrations matched his mouth as I shuddered, feeling that familiar boil in the pit of my stomach as my walls clenched against him.  His thumb swiped at the sensitive bud, coaxing me to round third base and into home as I cried against his mouth as I came around him. 

He hadn’t even given me a moment to compose myself, crying out as he situated himself and thrust against my already sensitive area and grabbed at my hips, pulling me with him as he stood, pressing my back against the wall.  His words reverberated in my head as I tried to hold onto the wall somehow, his thrusts repeating just what his words said to me.  He was claiming me as his own, marking his territory to an unknown predator and I could only hang on to his shoulders as I silently questioned it, jaw slackening with each thrust.  “Mine,” he murmured against my lips, “Always mine.  I won’t let you go.”

I didn’t understand.  How had he suddenly changed colors?  First he was doting husband - well, a doting, horny husband; now he was this virile, animalistic man mirroring a jealous spectator trying to mark me as his own.  I was his; he didn’t need to urinate on the enemy to prove his point. 

Of course I would be thinking of this as we’re having sex.

I shook my head, willing the thoughts to go away as I turned my head, holding tightly to his shoulders as I felt his thrusts quicken – he was close and as his hand dropped between us, swiping against my clit again to put us both on the same track, I could only grind against him, crying out loudly as I came moments later, body still humming from the first climax.  He thrust a few more times, groaning my name as he released, releasing me gently as I slid down the wall, standing in front of him as he met my gaze momentarily before turning and pulling his shorts on, handing me a beach towel that had been hanging on the chair to wrap up in. 

He seemed to busy himself as he picked up after us, putting our clothes in a pile by the door and pushing the chairs back in, looking anywhere but at me.  Who was this man and where did he put my husband?  “Jace.”

He turned to me, idly scratching at the back of his neck.  “What’s up?”

The casualness of his tone startled me slightly.  “What’s going on?”

He looked at me quizzically, shaking his head.  “I’m not sure I know what you are talking about, Lil.”

I walked towards him, only a breath away from him as I studied his eyes.  That same look that I had seen earlier was still there.  It was almost as if he was scared and I had never seen him look scared in a way that it was almost like an anxiety.  If I thought about it, he was fidgety when we left for the airport this morning but it seemed to die off when we got in the plane.  I had excused it as excitement, but now, there was no excusing his unreadable gaze.  “There’s something in there,” I said softly, hands reaching up and cupping his face as he blinked slowly, trying to erase the look he knew I saw.  “Something is worrying you.  You’re anxious and territorial … and while it’s slightly a turn on to see you turn all primal because of me, there’s something else edging me out.”

He shook his head, hands coming up and grasping mine as he stepped into me and kissed me tenderly.  “I’m okay,” he said softly, a tone I recognized as one to reassure himself in the process of reassuring me.  “Just tired from the flight and a little overwhelmed the scenery.”

I didn’t want to ruin our stay, nor did I want to have a fight with him just when it all seemed to be falling back into place again, so I just nodded, stepped into him as he wrapped his arms around me tightly, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.  “Promise me you’ll talk to me if something really is going on?”

“You know you’re the first person I would go to,” he said softly, grip loosening slightly as he leaned down, kissing me again.  “I love you, Lily.  Don’t worry about me, all right?  I’m fine.  Just tired, like I said.”

I nodded, letting my arms drop as I reached for his hand, tugging on it as I grabbed our overnight bag, leading him towards the bedroom.  “Then let’s change and go to bed,” I said as he followed, stepping away from me as I looked on curiously. 

“I just wanna shower quickly,” he said as I arched an eyebrow at him, “my hair feels gritty from the sand and you know I can’t stand that.”

I nodded, standing in the same position for a few moments as I heard him move around in the bathroom, the water soon starting as I turned, dropping the bag to the foot of the bed and digging out a deep red teddy, slipping it over my head in wishful thinking and pulling on the matching panties, lying down and awkwardly attempting to make myself appealing in hopes of a second round in his return – hopes that perhaps he’d open up after this shower and I wouldn’t feel like a worry wart. 

He was in there about twenty minutes as I struggled to keep my eyes open.  It was only nine, but it felt like 3am – perhaps jet lag was catching up … that and having a child would probably do that to you when you’re used to napping frequently when the child does and I had not done that all day and had been up all night with her.  The light flicked off as I watched him approach, a growl rumbling deep in his stomach and out of his mouth as his eyes settled on me, pushing the bag to the floor as he crawled up the foot of the bed and towards me.  A hand slid from my kneecap to my hip, gripping it underneath the silk fabric the hid the panties, he pressing a kiss to my mouth before pulling me up into a sitting position.

“Sleep, huh,” he asked, eyebrow lifted in what I could only define as his cocky confidence in knowing exactly what I wanted.  “I don’t think sleep is on the menu when you’re looking like that,” he grinned, fingers dancing at the hem of the panties at the apex of my thigh.  “Busting out the naughty lingerie only does bad things to my brain, Lily Anne.”

“What kind of bad things?”

He chuckled.  “Bad things that make all blood leave my head and travel to my dick.  Bad things that ruin all thought process and I’m rendered into a state of horny teenager.”

I smiled, reaching down and taking his hand, holding it with both of my hands as he looked on curiously, eyes widening as I pressed at the heel of his hand to separate his fingers and make them stand at attention, gently sliding his index finger into my mouth, mimicking what I had done to his dick numerous times.  Removing his finger, I watched him as he knelt on his knees before me, frozen.  He didn’t lie – the lingerie was working wonders (or maybe it was the ministrations I had just done to his finger?) and he was literally just gaping at me.

I waved a hand at him as he blinked, looking at me in amazement.  “Lily –“

I grinned, reaching between us and tugging at the fabric until his already semi-hard member freed from its confinement.  He groaned as my hand wrapped around it, slowly sliding up and down and twisting, thumb swiping over the head before I knelt, wrapping my lips around him.  He cursed, one hand wrapping around my hair and holding tightly as the other held himself up.  Gently cupping his balls and giving them a less-than-firm squeeze, he murmured my name and shuddered slightly.  I knew he was close just by how his grip to my hair changed, pumping him faster and licking up the thick cord of vein that protruded, taking him in my mouth again as he cried out. 

He pulled me away before he came, kissing me hard on the mouth as I was literally dropped onto my back onto the mattress, his hands nearly ripping the fabric of my panties off as he plunged hard into me.  It wasn’t long before he came, nearly collapsing against me as he panted.  “You didn’t come,” he murmured against my breast, eyes wandering up to mine as I shook my head, giving him a slight shrug.  Before I could say anything, he was pushing himself up, body traveling lower as his head disappeared underneath the red silk and cried out as I felt his tongue, wet and hot, against my wet folds. 

His tongue dragged up against my heat slowly, mouth closing on the sensitive bud as he sucked and nipped gently, fingers thrusting in time with his mouth’s ministrations and as his fingers found that soft spot and pressed against it while still doing as he had been, I came.  He didn’t stop until I relaxed, sliding out from between my legs and looking at me with a devilish grin, wiping at the sides of his mouth.  I grabbed at him, pulling him to me as I pressed a hard kiss to his mouth.  When I broke away, he was still grinning, breathless.  “You don’t know how bad I just wanted to rip this entire thing off of you,” he murmured, hand resting at the bunched fabric at my belly.  “You don’t know how fucking sexy I think you are.”

I shook my head in disbelief, watching as he lay beside me, still naked.  Within moments, he was sitting up, pulling me back into a sitting position and pulling the teddy off, pulling me against him as I looked at him questioningly.  “What are you –“

“I want you to be ready for when I wake you up for round three,” he murmured, me already feeling the heat travel back between my legs.  “I want you to be ready for a lot of rounds, Lily.”

I pressed a kiss to his chest before lifting my head and kissing his mouth feverishly.  His tongue dueled with mine, nipping at my lips and grinning against my mouth.  “What?”

“This is a private beach,” he said as I nodded, already knowing the fact.  “I’m going to make love to you on that beach,” he said, giving me a knowing nod, “then I’m going to fuck you hard on that beach.”

“Such dirty talk for a new father,” I teased, he reaching up and pinching my nipple as I chuckled, reaching down and gripping his dick, he freezing.  “You know I’ve got you under my spell, Chasez,” I murmured, “you can’t deny it.”

“And you won’t be denying the very thing you’re holding onto when I give it to you hard.”

I grinned, releasing him as I lay back down, my earlier thoughts lost in a lust-filled haze.  “I’ll take it however you give it to me, Joshua Scott.”

“Good,” he murmured, already closing in on dreamland, “because I’m going to give it to you about a hundred different ways.”

I grinned at the mention of a hundred ways, the mention lost on him as I shook my head, snuggling closer into him as his grip on me tightened.  “I love you, Josh.”

“I love you, too, Lily,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to my head.  “Now sleep.”

And for once, I didn’t argue with him.