“Okay. Gimmie that present so we can go consummate our marriage.” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down as I plopped down next to her on the couch.

“Wow. That was romantic,” she teased dryly.

I reached for the black box on the coffee table, barely lifting it before she slammed her hand down on the top, ripping it back toward her. “I’m not ready.”

“Yes, you are. Give it to me.” I laughed, lunging for it.

She held it out in the other direction, forgetting that my arms are longer than hers. I leapt toward her and tried to snatch the box out of her hand, accidentally knocking it to the floor instead. “Look. Now you made me drop it,” I joked as I walked around to pick up the piece of cloth that fell out of it. Kacie sat up straight on the couch, hugging her legs to her chest.

“What is this?” I twisted the Minnesota Wild jersey in my hand, trying to make sense of it as Kacie watched me like a hawk. I finally found the shoulders and held it out in front of me. It was in fact a Minnesota Wild jersey, the tiniest #30 I’d ever seen, with Murphy stitched onto the back.

Holy. Shit.

I lowered my hands and stared at Kacie as my heart started pounding like an engine roaring to a start, all pistons pumping.

“Is this what I think it is?”

She nodded as she covered her eyes with her hands, peeking out from in between her fingers.

“You’re—” I froze, unable to form any more words.

She nodded again, still hiding from me.

“When did you find out? How long have you known?” I held the little jersey up again, wondering how the hell anything could fit into it.

“I just found out last week. You don’t want to know what I had to pay to have that shipped so fast.” She was looking down at her lap, playing nervously with her new wedding band. Her eyes swept back up to me and she took a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

“Okay?” I roared, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I fist pumped the air. “I’m better than okay. I’m fucking fantastic!” I ran over to my window and raised it as high as I could, sticking my head out into the warm summer air. “I’m gonna be a dad!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. I was sure it would be in the morning papers that Brody Murphy lost his mind and was screaming out of high-rise windows, but I didn’t care. Turning around, I dove at Kacie, knocking her onto her back. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed as hard as I could. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” I rested my hand on her belly. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No.” She laughed as a tear dripped from her eye.

“Why are you crying?” I shifted to my side and wiped the tear that was rolling down her temple.

“These are happy tears, Brody. I was worried you were going to be upset.”

I shook my head fast, moving my hand on top of hers. “I’m surprised, sure… but elated. After how much I love being a dad to the girls, I couldn’t wait to make a baby with you. This is the best wedding present ever.” I bent down and kissed the tip of her nose, the same cute nose I prayed our baby would have. “How do you feel? Are you okay?”

“I’ve actually felt really good, except for one annoying side effect.” She chewed on the side of her mouth, trying not to smile.

“What’s that?”

“Well, I have a lot of hormones going through my body right now, and I’ve been very…”—her eyes searched the room as she looked for her wording—“uh… needy.”

“Needy like horny?” I rejoiced, unable to keep the grin off my face.

“Mmhmm.” She nodded.

“I can totally help with that, like right now.” I stood up, reaching for her hands.

“Where are we going?” She sat up and unzipped her hoodie.

“In the bedroom. I’m not making love to my wife for the first time on the couch in my living room like some drunk, horny frat boy.”

She slipped her hoodie off her shoulders and dropped it on the couch as she took my hand, following me to the bedroom.

I closed the bedroom door behind us and she started giggling as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“What?” I looked around the room, trying to figure out what she was laughing at.

“You. You closed the door.”

“Yeah?”

“The girls aren’t here.” She bit her lip seductively, turning me on with just her sexy eyes. She’d had a sexy glow to her all night. I thought it was from the wedding, but now I realized there might be more to it.

“That’s right.” I whipped the door back open dramatically as I reached up and pulled my T-shirt over my head. Stalking across the room, I crawled over her as she scooted backward up the bed.

Gently resting my body weight to the side of her, I slid the strap of her tank top off her shoulder, kissing her smooth skin. “How does this work?” I asked in between kisses.

“Um… We’ve done it before. Have you forgotten?” She giggled again.

“No, I mean… is there anything special I need to do, or not do? Like, I don’t want to bump its head.”

Kacie’s belly bounced up and down as she laughed hard at me. “It doesn’t have a head yet. It’s about the size of a blueberry right now. And no, sex can’t hurt me. It’s actually good for me.”

“By all means, I want you to be as healthy as possible,” I teased as I slid the other strap of her tank top down, exposing her lacy white bra. Grabbing the hem of her tank top, I lifted it up and over her head in one swift motion while I took her bra off with my other hand.

My hand immediately went to her exposed breast, cupping and squeezing it as she closed her eyes.

“Does that feel good?” I asked, growing harder by the minute.

“Yeah.” She breathed heavily, lying back on the bed. “They’re very sensitive lately.”

I raised an eyebrow at her and licked my lips. “Good to know.” Lowering my mouth just above her nipple, I decided I wanted to have a little fun with my new wife, take my time with her newfound sensitivity.

My tongue swirled the tip of her nipple very softly, just barely touching it. She responded by arching her back, forcing herself against me harder. I pulled back and switched to the other nipple. Repeating the same soft movements with my tongue, teasing and licking all the way around it. Every time she pushed herself against my mouth, silently begging for more pressure, I backed off just out of her reach.

“You’re driving me nuts,” she moaned.

“I know.” An evil grin flashed across my lips. “This is fun. You’ve never reacted like this before.”

“We haven’t had much sex since I’ve been pregnant. Between all the wedding planning and stuff going on, our love life has been… lacking.”

“I’m about to make up for that right now.” I clamped my mouth down on her nipple and started sucking, hard.

“Oh, God.” She moaned, arching her back again, except this time I didn’t pull back. I kept circling her nipple with my tongue, alternating pressure as I flicked her other nipple with my thumb. The harder I sucked, the louder she moaned, until eventually she started bucking her hips against my thigh.

“Are you—”