It was a wondrous, magical week, and the newlyweds quickly discovered they had each met their adventure soulmate, both of them up for just about anything daring and fun. They played hard during the day, basking in the hot sun and refreshing tradewinds, and then relaxed in the evenings with sumptuous meals of the local cuisine and Lauren’s new favorite drink – a Mai Tai with an extra floater of rum on top.

And of course they spent a great deal of time engaging in the sort of activities that honeymooners were notorious for – morning, noon, and night; in every room of the cottage; on the porch swing, the double hammock, and the hot tub; in their rented Jeep perched high atop a cliff; and on a deserted stretch of beach just before sunrise.

Ben had grimaced after that particular encounter, however, grumbling that it had taken three separate showers to get all the sand out of certain body parts. Lauren had merely laughed and offered to help him with any sand removal in the future.

It was their last night in Maui, their flight back to San Francisco due to leave late the next morning. They would spend a single night with Julia and Nathan before returning to New York. Ben had less than two months remaining in his editorial job, and would begin to train his replacement in about a week’s time. Lauren was scheduled to fly out on an assignment soon after their return – the second to last one she would embark on without Ben. And then, come January, they would be together all the time, every day and every night.

“You’re probably going to get sick of me,” she told him as they snuggled up next to each other in the hot tub.

“Impossible,” he assured her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Because this next year is going to be the best time of our life, sweetheart. At least until the next year begins. All of those things you told me you wanted to do six years ago – we’re finally going to have the chance to do them together. And it’s going to be epic. Sensational.”

Lauren heaved a blissful sigh and tilted her head back to gaze up at the night sky. “Every time I would stand out on the deck of the cabin, or on a hotel balcony – no matter where I happened to be in the world – I would always think of you whenever I looked up at the stars,” she confessed. “And I’d remember that night like it had just happened. You know the one I mean?”

“Of course I do,” he replied. “Out of all the memories I have of Big Sur, that one definitely makes the top five.”

She laughed softly, looping her arms around his neck. “And I think I’ve finally got all those damned constellations right. That one right there – it’s Gemini, isn’t it?”

Ben shook his head. “’Fraid not, sweetheart. It’s still Cassiopeia.”

“Dammit!” she swore, slapping her palm on top of the water and inadvertently splashing Ben in the face.

He gave her a mock glare before pulling her astride him. “That’s two things I have to punish you for now,” he teased. “Splashing water in my eyes, and still not knowing your constellations. Let’s see – what would a fitting punishment be? A spanking?” He swatted her butt.

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Really? I barely felt that.”

Ben grinned. “How about I find some rope and tie you up again?”

She gave him a scornful look. “You’d have to catch me first, Blue Eyes.”

“Hmm. Let me think then,” he drawled, tapping a finger against his chin. “I know. Just thought up the perfect punishment. No sex for a week.”

She gasped in outrage, just before laughing riotously. “Oh, that’s a good one! Like you’d really hold out that long. Honey, all I’d have to do would be to parade around in my underwear for five minutes and you’d forget all about your so-called punishment.”

Ben’s mouth moved to the side of her throat as his hands cupped her ass. “Especially since I’d be punishing myself at the same time,” he murmured in her ear, his tongue tracing a wet, erotic circle around the lobe. “So I think instead that your punishment should be you on top for the next seventy two hours. That way you can do most of the work.”

Lauren laughed softly just before grasping his fully erect cock and then impaling herself on him in one fluid movement. At the guttural sound that escaped from his throat, she bent and whispered, “Honey, if that’s your idea of punishment, then I’ll take that sort of discipline all day long.”

He couldn’t even try to dream up a witty comeback, for her lips claimed his in a long, dirty kiss as she began to ride him with slow, almost lazy movements, rotating her hips in one direction then the other. Her breasts were crushed up against his chest, her thighs splayed wide apart as she began to pick up the pace of her movements. Ben groaned beneath her mouth, his hands gripping her ass firmly as he urged her to ride him faster.

Their cries echoed through the night as they both came hard, Lauren’s teeth biting down almost savagely on the flesh between his neck and shoulder blade, but he was too far gone to even wince at the pain.

“It’s a good thing,” he told her raggedly a few minutes later, “that our closest neighbor is at least a quarter of a mile from here. Though as loud as you just were, it’s possible they still heard you.”

“Hey!” she protested, giving him a little shove. Tenderly, her fingers traced over the purple mark she’d left on his skin. “Oops, sorry about that. But at least now you’ve got a matching set of hickeys.” Her hand slid to his other shoulder, where she had left a similar mark two days ago.

“Bloodthirsty little witch,” he growled, giving her a much harder smack on the ass this time. “Now, look. You’ve got one more chance to redeem yourself. Tell me what constellation is right up above us.”

“Okay. I’ve got this one,” she assured him, squinting up at the night sky. “It’s – um – don’t give me any hints now. I know!” she exclaimed proudly. “It’s Sirius, isn’t it?”

Ben shook his head, the look on his face one of pure deviltry. “Nope. Still Cassiopeia. Looks like you’re stuck doing cowgirl for a few more days.”

Her green eyes were full of mirth as she whispered, “Yee haw” just before bending her head down to his for another kiss.

Epilogue

Four Years Later – Christmas Eve, Carmel

James Butterfield smiled as he and his wife observed their great-nieces and nephews as they excitedly opened the gifts that he and Madelyn had brought for them. All four children – a pair each of male and female twins – were around two and a half years old, having been born within just a few months of each other. Every adult here this evening was thoroughly enjoying watching the youngsters as they got caught up in the Christmas spirit, and James was no exception.

It still pained him each time he thought of the child that Madelyn had lost all those years ago – his child – and that she’d had to deal with the trauma and sorrow of her miscarriage all alone. And he deeply regretted that she had never had a child of her own, for he knew after seeing her with her nieces and their children what a wonderful mother she would have made. But she had assured him repeatedly that it didn’t matter any longer, that she not only had her sister’s children and grandchildren but James’s son and daughter and their offspring as well. More importantly, she had told him, they had each other after all those years apart.

“I do find it a bit odd, though, that both of the girls are such well behaved little angels, while the boys – well, I believe the word hellion fits them to a tee,” chuckled James. “Especially after all the stories you told me about their mothers – how different Julia and Lauren have always been from each other.”

Madelyn nodded, taking a sip of the very fine champagne that Julia and Nathan had brought. “It’s definitely not a case of history repeating itself with this generation,” she agreed, before adding with a chuckle, “in more ways than one.”