Asim trailed his fingertips over the curve of Elena’s hip, up over the dip of her waist, tracing the swell of her breast. He’d never seen the effects of pregnancy on a woman before, and being by Elena’s side through the end and then the birth and beyond was the most special and illuminating gift. He cupped her heavy breast, catching the glint of her eye in the moonlight.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, pressing his lips to hers. She often complained of her post-pregnancy body, but he hoped that she’d take his ceaseless appetite for her curves as proof of her perfection. He couldn’t get enough. And now, on the first night of their honeymoon in Hawaii, the need arose again, urgent and hungry.

“You’re eager for number two, it seems,” Elena murmured, laughing. She turned onto her back, welcoming him on top of her. The soft sheets rustled as he eased into place. They’d waited until the baby was six months old to go on their honeymoon, even though they’d married in the final month of her pregnancy. Safiya had been both amused and dismayed by the breach of tradition, but their wedding photos showed a vibrant, joyful family, including an immensely pregnant Elena.

“We should wait a bit longer for that,” Asim murmured, skipping kisses over her collarbone. “But I can’t wait much longer. You’ve made me the happiest daddy in the world.”

She giggled, hooking her arms around his neck, locking her ankles behind him. “You know, when we met, I never pegged you as the eager daddy type.”

“And I never pegged you as the frisky mother type either, but here we are.”

He covered her mouth with his, and they kissed passionately, drawing out each kiss, exploring the other as though it was the first time. Elena made a small noise, and he rolled onto his back, bringing her along with him. She sat up on top of him, arching a brow.

“You love me on top,” she whispered, tugging her nightgown off, tossing it aside.

“I love you anywhere,” he said, squeezing the flesh of her hips. Elena let out a throaty laugh and smoothed her hands over his chest. She leaned forward to align their parts and then eased back on top of him. Asim gave a jagged moan as his cock sank into her damp heat. Her head lolled back and she sighed slightly.

“Why is this the most heavenly?” She rocked slowly back and forth, a languid friction, one that somehow sparked even more heat than if she’d ridden him buck wild. He moaned low, his dick stiffening more inside her, enjoying this sweet, slow rhythm.

Something about it pushed him to the edge, far faster than he’d expected. Slow was sometimes desperate in its own way. He smoothed a hand up to her heavy breast, tweaking the nipple. “I’m close, darling.”

A grin drifted across her face, and she moved faster against him, pelvis knocking against the base of his cock, and he moaned low as the orgasm shuddered through his body. She clutched at his shoulders and whimpered as her pussy quaked around him, her hair shrouding her face as she came. When the pleasure subsided and they were both left panting in the afterglow, Elena tensed.

“Did you hear that?” She turned, looking toward the door of the master bedroom. They’d left it open a crack, in case the baby cried during the night. A crib had been set up in the second hotel bedroom.

Just as Asim opened his mouth to answer, the baby hiccupped and then began crying. Elena smiled a little, pushing off him. “I’ll go get her this time.” She pressed a kiss to his lips and headed toward the door. “Time to give mommy’s boobs back to little Eleanor.”

Asim laughed, flopping back onto the bed, listening to the small noises as Elena lifted Eleanor from the crib and murmured to her. After a few moments of quiet, Asim followed her to the other room, already missing both of them.

Elena sat on the couch nursing Eleanor, who looked around the dimly lit room with wide eyes. A grin spread across his face, the same reaction every time he saw his beautiful family together. Nothing could be more beautiful than his naked wife nursing their perfect creation. He eased onto the couch beside her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

“This is my favorite part,” he said, smoothing his fingers against Eleanor’s forehead. “Living proof of our family. Seeing you nurse. Watching our gorgeous child grow.” He kissed her shoulder again. “I love you both so very much.”

Elena glanced back at him, tears in her eyes. “I would tell you how much I love you if I had the words.” She sighed, gaze drifting down to Eleanor. “But all I have is our daughter and my paintbrushes to speak for it. The purest testaments of my love for you.” She smiled, welcoming the kiss he coaxed out of her.

Asim twirled a piece of her hair around his finger, grinning down at her.

“I bet you never imagined you’d actually end up with a wife that day you asked me to pose as one on the street.” She laughed, shifting Eleanor against her breast. They loved to joke about their unlikely turn of events. Truly, it was a story that would become legend in his family. Something to inscribe on the walls of the palace.

“Yet I ended up with both a wife and a baby.” He nuzzled his nose against hers, lodging the trifecta of the moment: Elena’s soft heat against him, the sweet sounds of Eleanor nursing at her breast, the slow pulse of contentment that accompanied him daily, ever since he’d laid eyes on Elena’s painting in Beirut. “And what’s more, I got exactly what I never knew I was looking for.”