I break away from Melissa’s lips, licking my own when I see the fire burning bright in her eyes.

“Shut up, Ash,” I growl and give my wife one more chaste kiss before helping her take her seat again.

“’Shut up, Ash,’ he says.  No, ‘thank you, Ash, for reminding me that I can’t drive the boat into the canal in the middle of family dinner’?”

It takes me a second.  For one, I can’t stop looking at him as if he’s lost his damn mind, but mainly he sounds so much like Coop right now that I have to remind myself who is speaking to me.

“HA!  You just called his…hotdog a boat!”  Dee starts laughing so hard she’s bent over, banging the table with her fist.

Beck just shakes his head with a smile, looking at his fiancée’s actions.

“I bet it’s more like a tugboat!”  Izzy chimes in, gaining Axel’s and Chelcie’s laughter.

“Seriously?  A tugboat?”  I should have known better than to let them get the best of me, but really, my pride wouldn’t let me sit there with them calling my dick a tugboat.  Melissa’s hand rubs my leg, trying to keep me from giving these fools what they want.

“No, no…you’re right.  I was too generous with the boat analogy.  I’m sure you’re still paddling around with something more like a canoe, right?”  Ash smirks before taking a big gulp of his beer.

“Fucking canoe,” I grumble under my breath.

“Canoe might be giving him a little too much.  Don’t they make starter kayaks?  Nice and short.  Not much girth to those suckers!”  I gape at Dee, only making her laugh louder.

Melissa laughs under her breath.  “Don’t.”

“Are we really sitting around, discussing the size of my wiener?”

Melissa’s eyes get as large as saucers before she covers her mouth with her hand and bursts out laughing.  It takes me a second to figure out why the hell she’s joining in with a table full of laughter at me calling my dick a wiener because I’m too busy looking at her belly bouncing with each giggle that escapes.

“Daddy!  You said wiener!”  My head shoots over to Cohen, who is currently standing in his chair and pointing at me with a big smile on his face.

I’m pretty sure that every single person in the restaurant is looking over at us now.  The whole situation gets even more ridiculous when two-year-old Nate starts banging his sippy cup on the table, chanting, “Wiener, wiener, wiener!” over and over.

“Jesus Christ, kill me now.”  I cross my arms over my chest and wait for everyone to stop laughing so we can get this dinner over with and I can take my wife home.

Melissa leans over, kisses my cheek and whispers in my ear, “I love you—and your tugboat.”

Turning my head before she can lean back in her seat, I frame her face in my hands and bring her lips back to mine in a kiss hot enough to burn the building down.  Pulling back, I look into her dazed eyes, let a smile full of wicked promise take over, and growl when her face goes soft and her eyes shine bright.

“I’ll remind you tonight just what kind of machine I’ve got between my legs, Beauty.”

Her cheeks flame, she closes her eyes on a moan, and right before she turns back to the table, I hear her mutter, “Beast” under her breath.

We’ve been lucky with her pregnancy so far.  According to her doctor, we can continue our sex life—just a little more carefully.  Thank Christ.  I’m not sure I could last seeing her like this and not be able to sink deep inside her body.

The rest of the dinner passes by with more laughter—not at my expense—loud conversation, and a whole lot of love.  These are the moments with my family and friends that I remember just how blessed I am.

I look around the table, feeling a pang in my heart from knowing that we’re missing some important people.  After we lost Coop, we decided there wouldn’t be a week that passed without having a family dinner at least once.  It wasn’t easy at first.  The first few months, Asher was more or less a ghost, sitting there and drinking his dinner in whatever he could grab.  He’s come a long way, but I can still see the fire to avenge his brother burning deep within him.

Maddox has been to a few here and there, but he’s made it clear that until he can get Emmy back home he won’t be around.  It’s been about two weeks since he took off after her, and last I heard, things weren’t going well.  Having both of them gone has left a large void in our group.