“I’m sure I can come up with something to work off those calories.” Cal smirked, leaning toward her and kissing her hard on the mouth. “By the way, what were you and that Tasmin girl talking about when we said goodbye? I heard Q’s name. It’s not the same bastard who threatened Sinclair, is it?”
Sully sat bolt upright. “What the fuck? Why were you talking about that French prick?”
Jess waved her hand impatiently. “It’s not what you think. Q is helping Elder and Tasmin with something.”
“Helping with what exactly?” Cal asked.
Jess looked away, her face flitting with nervousness.
I helped her out by blurting, “With adopting children.”
Sully barked a feral laugh. “Q? The same vigilante who likes to email strangers and discuss their upcoming murder? What does he have to do with children?”
“He saves women who’ve been trafficked. Some are pregnant. Some die and leave orphans. Some aren’t capable of looking after the products of a forced relationship.” Jess rubbed her arms. “Elder and Tasmin are adopting a little girl through him. A mute. She mentioned that there might be more...umm...children who need supporting, loving homes.” She swallowed hard. “She might’ve mentioned she could potentially suggest us as one of those homes...”
“Wow.” Sully leaned back, his intelligent gaze racing and already latching onto the same conclusion I had. Cal and Jess might get their dream of a family after all.
Cal froze and watched Jess with the intensity of a man who didn’t trust what he’d just heard but wanted to with every fibre of his being.
Judging by his reaction, that family might arrive sooner rather than later.
Cal suddenly stood and grabbed Jess’s hand. Yanking her from the couch, he guided her away from us, their heads tilted together as their voices travelled back over the sound of purring engines.
“Guess we better get building another villa on a different island.” Sully put his beer down, coming to help me remove the pizzas and plate up. “Tikus is free and a decent size with a good beach and fresh water source. It’s not too far but not too close either.”
“Tikus?” I rolled the cutting blade over a decadent pizza, creating slices.
“Mouse in Indo.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek. “As much as I love Cal and Jess, I have no intention of sharing our island with screaming kids.”
“I’m sure they only scream occasionally.”
His eyebrow cocked. “You saying you want ten of the damn things running around wild on Batari?”
“No.” I laughed. “But I doubt they’ll get ten. That’s like an entire football team.”
“I have no idea how many it takes to make a team. I just know that they won’t stop at one, and one is too many for me.”
I looked over to the railing where Jess and Cal remained deep in conversation. “They do look pretty committed already, seeing as they haven’t even emailed Q yet to see if they’d be ideal candidates.”
“Of course they’d be ideal. Whatever kid they adopt will want for nothing.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up into his incredibly handsome face. “And they’ll have the best uncle around.”
“And the sexiest aunt.” His head came down and his lips pressed to mine. “I’ll call the building firm I used to design my previous villas. I’ll get them to begin work immediately.”
I didn’t bother telling him that our thoughts had aligned once again. I’d had the same opinion about them needing their own island the moment Tasmin had mentioned Q’s help.
“Think they’ll mind being kicked off Batari?”
“Don’t really care.” Sully kissed me again. “You made me a better man in many ways, Jinx. But when it comes to humans—regardless of age—I can only live with so many before I lose my mind.”
I kissed him back, whispering, “I agree. Give me a thousand animals and I will share every inch of our island, but put a few children on there and I think we’d both be moving.”
He hugged me close, the pizzas forgotten. “I knew I married you for a reason.”
“More than one, I hope.”
“I can think of a few.” Kissing the tip of my nose, he glanced at Cal and Jess who were still oblivious to everything else but their discussion of a parental future. “I’m suddenly not hungry. Fancy going to bed?”
“Seeing as the sun is still shining, I’m guessing it’s not to sleep.”
“No.” He shook his head and nuzzled into my neck. “It’s definitely not to sleep.”
“What do you have in mind?” I shivered in his arms as he cupped my breast and pinched my nipple.
“I have an urge to swim.”
“Swim?” I tried to pull back. “Well, you might need to stay on deck then and enjoy the swimming pool.”
“Not that kind of swimming, Jinx.” His blue eyes flashed. “The kind that comes with bendable rules and mythical realms.” Dropping his fingers from my breast, he took my hand and tugged me toward the door that led to the elevator and the bedrooms below. “Come along my kinky wife, it’s time I delivered your fantasy.”