Is Forever Enough?

Chapter 84

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you?" Meredith asked from her perch at the island counter top. She watched as Derek buzzed around the kitchen, adding spices to sauces and chopping vegetables.

It had been two days since they had first held their daughters, and in that two days, they had held them so much that it was as if they had been holding them since the day they were born. Both Meredith and Derek were well rested, and almost giddy with the happiness holding their babies brought to them.

"I want the food to actually be edible." He shot back, and sent her a playful look over his shoulder.

Meredith made an offended noise in reply and stood up to step closer to him. "I've gotten better at cooking! I sort of had to feed our daughter something while you ate dinner at the hospital every night." She teased back at him, but her joke fell flat and he fixed her with a somber expression.

"Meredith..." He started, but once she realized the pain her words had caused, she shook her head and came to his side in order to plant a kiss on his stubbly cheek.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, not being able to handle the crest fallen look he had on his face. "I was just teasing." He stared at her for a second, his sauce completely forgotten. His eyes darted back and forth, searching hers for any sign that she was lying. Finding nothing but playfulness, he smirked at her and went back to his sauce.

"I was teasing too, you know. I know you can cook."

"Hmm...for some reason...I don't believe you..." Meredith mocked, but before she could say anything else, he held his wooden spoon up to her lips and encouraged her to sample the red meat sauce that lay on it.

Derek watched in fascination as her tongue slipped out of her mouth and moistened her dry lips. He could have sworn he saw a wicked gleam in her eyes as she used her tongue to lick the tasty sauce right off the spoon.

The grateful moan she let out shot right to his groin and he sent her an evil look. Reading his features, she giggled happily and stepped away from him. "What? It was good." She teased, causing him to narrow his eyes further.

"You're hopeless." He shook his head, trying to ward off any possible thoughts of what wonders Meredith's tongue was able to perform on parts of his body.

"You won't let me help! That's your punishment." She was behind him, and she let her hand roam over his muscular back. His body tensed at her touch, every nerve ending overly aware of where she was touching him.

Not wanting to give into her game, he fought to keep his voice as calm as possible. "I just figured since I invited Mark and Addison to dinner...I'd be the one cooking. I wasn't going to make my wife still recovering from surgery do the cooking."

He had a point there, and she was almost glad he didn't expect her to help...because cooking really wasn't something she enjoyed doing. But, torturing Derek was proving to be too much fun to tell him that.

"Awww...Derek. You're so good to me." She said in mock sarcasm as her hand traveled down to his ass. He jumped, nearly knocking over his sauce in the process.

Turning the stove off and moving the pot to another burner, he turned to her. His face was serious, but his eyes were filled with lust. He couldn't even remember the last time they had been intimate. It didn't affect him. He had newborn daughters and Meredith was okay. He was grateful for that. He would wait as long as it took for her to be comfortable again....but her teasing drove him mad.

"Meredith....if you hadn't just given birth to two babies...I would bend you right over that counter and take you right here." His words were low and intense, telling her that he meant what he said. It sent shivers through her entire body, and for the first time since the babies were born, she imagined herself making love to him.

Her mind had been too full to even think of sex before, but holding the babies let a happy calm wash over her. They were real, healthy, and thriving. With her worries less consuming...she could focus on other things.

Swallowing hard, she felt the urge to lick her lips again, but she didn't dare. The look in his eyes was dangerous and she knew her teasing time was over. "Okay, I'll stop." She relented, but he closed the gap between them and crushed his lips against hers.

Their tongues battled, moving in and out, and mimicking the movements their bodies couldn't do. His pants tightened. He couldn't help but be turned on, Meredith did that to him. They would have continued kissing, but a figure had padded into the room and her voice made them break apart instantly.

"Love things again?" Ava asked them, her voice echoing in the kitchen. Staring at each other, trying to catch their breath, Derek let Meredith go and she wiped her lips before she faced her daughter.

Derek turned his back to Ava, hiding his obvious arousal by tending to the pots simmering on the stove. "Daddy was just teaching me how to cook." Meredith lied, and smirked at the playful look he sent over his shoulder.

Ava had a curious look on her face, letting Meredith know she was about to interrogate her with questions. Before she could though, the doorbell rang, and Meredith was saved as Ava darted out of the room, eager to greet her aunt and uncle.

"You'll pay for this later." Derek mumbled, trying to get the tightening in his pants to die down. Even as he said it, he knew he was bluffing. There was no way he'd be able to tease her without giving in...and giving in wasn't an option.