"Why is your shirt long enough to be a dress on me?" Grace tugged at the hem of his shirt on her.

  "Man, it was probably a bad idea to let you wear that." Zain sighed.

  "Oh? Does it look bad?"

  "On the contrary; you look too hot like that. I know we just had—"

  Grace held a finger up to his lips. "We're almost at the vacation home; we're not doing anything more right now."

  Zain pulled her over to sit on his lap and hugged her. "We can stay like this though, can't we? 'Cause I don't want to let go of you..." He kissed the top of her head.

  "Okay," Grace sighed and leaned back into him. "It's a little weird that you're missing your shirt, though." She smirked.

  "I'll get it back later, but I think it's in a better place now."

  Their limo pulled up to a giant cabin in the middle of the woods. The door to the back opened, and their driver waited for them. "Sir, Madam."

  Zain shimmed over to the edge, not willing to set Grace down, and lifted her up as he got up out of the limo.

  "I don't think I've ever seen a cabin this big..." Another mansion. Grace stared at the wooden cabin with wide eyes. "On that note, why do we need one this big in the middle of nowhere?"

  "So we can all hide here if need be."

  "Oh... Right; forgot it was one of the hideouts."

  "Once in a blue moon, Boss vacations here with as much as the family that wants to come."

  Zain walked up to the front door. "Keys are in my... your pocket."

  Grace went through his jacket pockets and pulled out a set of keys. "Do you keep all the house keys on you all the time?"

  "Yes; how else can I run to a safe house if it's locked?"

  "Good point."

  "The one labelled three."

  "Thanks." Zain leaned closer to the door so she could unlock it. "You know, you could've set me down. Aren't you worried about your shoulder, carrying me around like this?"

  "It's our wedding day; I have to carry you to the bedroom."

  "Even though we've already been up to no good?"

  Zain chuckled. "Yes; this is different. The official wedding night." He kicked his shoes off at the door and carried her upstairs.

  "Wait, what about our luggage?"

  "Grace, chill; everything is set up. And don't worry, we'll have our privacy."

  "We probably need it since you get a bit loud." Grace smirked.

  "I'm loud? We'll see about that." Zain kicked the door closed and dropped her on the bed. "I'm certain I can turn you into the loud one." Zain smirked as he crawled onto the bed over her. "I hope you're ready for a long night."

  "Bring it."

  Grace and Zain lay together snuggled up in bed, glowing from their long night together as the sun peeked on the horizon.

  "That was the best night ever." Zain sighed and rubbed her arm. "I'm glad Boss pushed for this to happen so fast. Honestly, I'd say I wished I'd gotten to meet you sooner, but I don't think I was a good enough man back then. At least I could've been there for you, though." Zain twirled a strand of her hair around his finger.

  "Yeah... I don't know how that would've gone, since I was a cop. There's a reason we didn't get along in the beginning, you know?"

  "I'm not sure being a cop was the issue, so much as I kidnapped you at first. I know it was for Boss, but still... Even I question my methods, but he was adamant about bringing you to the estate and away from the people after you as soon as possible."

  "If he was trying to save me from people, why try to marry me off? I still don't get it."

  "As a way to decide the next leader. He wanted his blood to be attached to the title. That... That and it might be because of your lack of dating. He knew your dating history, or for the most part, lack of dating, and he didn't want you to be alone. Can't complain though, since we fell in love." Zain kissed her cheek.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "I still can't believe I'm married. It's not that long ago that if you told me I'd get married this year, I'd look at you like you had two heads. By the way, how long do we get for our honeymoon?"

  "Two weeks. Boss wanted us to have time together away from the rest of the family, and I plan on us spending most of it here."

  "I assume we can at least explore the area; you know I like going for my daily run."

  "True, and I can join you if I'm awake. Honestly, I'm still a little worried about you going out on your own, even though you're good enough to take me down. My size alone makes me less likely to be targeted."

  "Zain."

  "Yes?"

  "We're on Bertolottis land, and there's no way to stop me from going out on my own, is there?"

  "I guess you're right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. At least make sure you have your cell phone with you and call me if you need anything. Even if you hear a noise in the woods and think there might be something there, call me, and I'll come running."

  "That's good to know." She gave him a quick peck on the lips. Too bad calling for help normally comes after I start investigating on my own.

  "You're not going to call for help, are you?"

  "If I remember to."

  "Geez... I need Pez to put a tracker on your phone or something in case you vanish for too long without contact."

  "Who would've thought the big bad mafia underboss was such a worrywart?"

  "Grace, I know you well enough to know trouble follows you, and I love you, so of course, I'm going to worry."

  "Fine, you can track my phone or whatever. I don't really care. Other than my run, you're probably going to be nearby most of the time, anyway."

  "True, since you'll be the new boss. I hope I get some good bonuses for being the boss' husband." He trailed his hand down her side.

  "Sure." Grace gripped his chin. "But you're going to have to know when to keep it professional."

  "Nothing that would make others think or speak badly of you. Trust me, I know all about being an underboss."

  "But you didn't date my grandpa."

  "No, but you both have me on a short leash."

  Grace couldn't help but laugh. "A leash? Makes you sound like a dog."

  "I was already your guard dog, so I guess it matches."

  "Well, my loyal dog, how about we have some more fun?"

  Zain woke up on the second week of their honeymoon to find Grace gone again. "I don't know how she manages to go running even when on our honeymoon." Zain groaned and rolled onto his side. Grace had gone out every single day of their honeymoon for a run, trying a new direction each time.

  His hand landed on something on her side of the bed. "What the...?" Zain grumbled and picked them up. "Swim trunks? We don't have a pool here, so..." Zain sighed as he sat up and stared at the swim trunks. "She wants me to join her for a swim?"

  Unlike Grace, Zain hadn't wandered off to learn the area, so he pulled up a map of the area on his phone.

  "I guess I've got a long trek ahead of me. I hope it's worth it."

  "Man, why did she have to go so far away?" Zain grumbled as he made his way through the woods, swerving around trees and hoping he didn't get lost.

  Slap.

  He smacked another mosquito on his arm. "She should've warned me I'd be eaten on the way there..." Zain climbed over a fallen tree and spotted an opening to a beach by the lake. "Finally!" he cheered as he ran onto the beach. "I feel like I've been walking for hours!" Zain laughed and looked around. "Grace? You're around here, right?"

  Splash.

  The water in the lake splashed around as Grace emerged from underneath the water. She wiped her hair back out of her face and looked at Zain, staring at her with his jaw hanging.

  "Aren't you going to join me in here?" Grace called out to him.

  Zain tossed the shirt he had hanging open onto the beach and splashed through the water as he approached her. "Never ever wear that in front of other people, even if they're a part of the Bertolottis family." Zain bit his lip as he stared at her.

  "What are you going on about?" Grace stood with her hands on her hips.

  "That bikini! It's too sexy! I'd rather not have other men drooling over you."

  "Then what do you expect me to swim in? Would you prefer I swim naked?" She tugged at the string to her bikini to tease him.

  "When it's us alone, and we know no one will disturb us, sure, but you know what I meant. You're too—"

  Splash.

  Grace splashed water at Zain and laughed. "Of course, I know what you meant; I know how jealous you get. Besides, I don't like being ogled by strangers, and I don't go swimming often." She splashed more water at him.

  Zain blocked his face with his hands. "Is that how we're playing it?" He used both hands and sent a wave of water at her.

  "Ah!" Grace squealed and retreated deeper into the water.

  "A game of cat and mouse now?" Zain growled and chased after her.

  Grace and Zain lay on the beach after tiring themselves out.

  "I'm surprised you're such a good swimmer," Grace huffed and closed her eyes.

  "Same to you, especially since you said you don't swim much. But do we have to turn everything into a competition?"

  "You're only complaining 'cause you lost."

  "I didn't lose! You were already swimming when you said to race, which is cheating."

  Grace laughed and stretched out in the sand. When's the last time I went on a real vacation? She felt Zain move and could feel him leaning close, staring at her. She peeked with one eye. "What's up?"

  "It's nice seeing you so relaxed. I feel like I've gotten to see your playful side out here. You always seemed too serious, but I guess you know how to have fun. And next time you want a race, how about we use the pool at the estate? We can even bet on it... like master for a day or something."

  Grace smirked. "Funny, I thought I already was your master."

  "Technically, not until you take over the boss' job."

  "Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "Not saying I wouldn't do things for you if you asked, but it'll be different when you take over. Okay, okay, stop giving me that look. I guess we both know I'm weak to you, and you could ask for almost anything."

  Grace wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. "I have a weakness for you, too."

  "Ha... Still tempting me even out here..." Zain sighed.

  "You know what I want to do right now?" Grace bit her lip.

  "Oh, so tempting... especially with no one around—"

  "I want to make a sand castle. I haven't done that since I was little."

  Zain's jaw hung open. "Seriously?! That is not where I saw this going. You just pulled me in for a kiss... and bit your lip like that. Damn, woman; don't screw with me." He tried to pull away, but she kept her arms wrapped around him.

  "Are you saying you don't want to play with me?"

  "No, because you teased me too much, and I need to go for a cold swim again." He pulled a hand off and kissed the back of it. "You have fun with your sand castle; I'll be back in a little while." Zain took off back to the lake.

  Aw, I think I teased him too much. "Oh well; I guess I'll build the sand castle on my own."