As Long As I Have You

~ Chapter Nineteen ~

"You really didn't have to cook anything special. Take-out would have been fine."

"I know how much you enjoy hamburgers, but I thought I'd risk something a little more complicated." He turned his attention back to the cutting board and resumed slicing vegetables into thin strips. "I'll splurge on McDonald's for our next date."

Kirsten laughed, but at the same time thought to herself, How can we be on a date when we're married?

Maybe the better question was how could they be married when they'd never been on a real date?

Evan was focused on his task at hand and finished with the last of his cutting just in time to catch the dance of emotions leaping across Kirsten's clearly troubled brow. Understanding peoples' thoughts and motives may have been a talent of his, but it certainly didn't take a mind reader to know what his new bride was thinking about, especially given last night's drastic turn of events. Hell, he couldn't deny his own thoughts walked the same complicated path.

Unlike Kirsten though, he wasn't stuck on the how of it all. He was more interested in when; when he could get close to her, and when he would be able to touch her again. A fuse had been lit the moment they first kissed in the elevator, and he knew even then an explosion between them would be inevitable.

Oddly enough, the first 'when' happened on the flight home, and sparked into life with the faintest of kisses he had impulsively placed just below her ear as she turned to watch the neon strip fade into the distance from the jet's small window. His tongue had connected with her skin in that most sensitive of places, and the inevitable transformed into the undeniable.

He had been adamant about not making love to her on the plane despite her reassurances that she knew what she was asking for. And without wanting to take her back to her place in such a state and the pre-dawn hour of the day, he brought her back to his place with the intent of putting her to bed and to sleep. But laying her gently onto his own bed awoke her and reignited their passion as if only a moment passed, and it wasn't before long that the explosion threatened to consume them all over again.

His willpower was pushed to its limits, but he managed to restrain himself and instead found his pleasure in making love to her with his hands and mouth, listening to the climaxes break in her throat and feed his self-inflicted torture with aching, unfulfilled results. He satisfied her need over and over again while starving himself even as she writhed in his arms, soft and inviting, wet and hot to the touch.

It was somewhere between searing chicken and boiling water that he concluded properly seducing his wife would be the best way to get her out of his system once and for all. He reasoned that he was obsessed with bedding her simply because he hadn't been able to do so yet. If he could quench his thirst for her he wouldn't feel so damn parched whenever she was near.

Now he just had to figure out the right approach to execute his plan.

"I know we have a few things to talk about tonight, but I imagine Travis Enterprises is at the top of the list. I made some calls while you were sleeping this morning and I'll have a draft agreement for the stock purchase on my desk by noon tomorrow. Once I've reviewed it I'll email you a copy and courier over originals. Assuming everything is in order and Travis Enterprises agrees to all of the terms the funds will be transferred by the end of the month. Then it should be back to business as usual for everyone."

"So quickly? How do you know it will be there?"

He looked genuinely surprised by her question and smiled. "Because I said so."

"Oh." She fell silent for a thoughtful trio of seconds. "Do people always do what you want them to do?"

"You did," he said with a quick wink.