And yet this is all I care about. This is my future, right here on my knees with this woman. She’s been the center of my world for long enough I don’t know how I could ever live without her now.
She leans forward and kisses me. Her lips part and her taste floods me, sweet and honey, light and airy, heaven right here on earth, more than I ever thought I’d have and sure as hell more than I deserve. I hold her tight thinking, yeah, that’s a good enough answer.
But she pulls back, flushed. “I love you, idiot.”
“Love you too.”
“But you better still take care of my parents.”
“Wouldn’t dream of changing a thing.”
“Good.” Another kiss. “Maybe we can keep that in writing?”
“Deanna,” I snarl and she laughs at me.
“Kidding.” A harder kiss.
“I got more news before we celebrate too much.” And by how hard I’m getting, that celebration’s coming soon. I gently move her back and look her in the eyes. “The company’s going to downsize a bit. Stellan levied some big fines and took some property, which means we’ll have to be lean for the next few years.”
“That’s fine. I have a list of people we can axe, starting with Jason from sales. Seriously, that guy sucks.”
“Consider him fired and murdered.”
“No, not killed!”
“But baby, listen to me.” I tilt her chin so she has to look into my eyes. “I have to fire you too.”
Her mouth drops open. Surprise and panic hits her. She pulls away, waving her hands in the air. “Wait a second, hold on, Ilikemy job. I mean, my boss is a prick, but?—“
“I can’t afford a personal assistant anymore, but I was thinking, I really do need a partner. Arealpartner, with her own name on all the documents, with an actual stake in the company and the ability to make decisions.”
She goes deadly still. Her face drains of color. “Hold on a second. Prime, I didn’t even go to college.”
“I didn’t either.”
“Still, you can’t just… make me a partner in your company. That’s insane!”
“I actually already did.” I show her the second set of documents. “What do you think?”
She thumbs through them and stops, gagging when she spots her salary. “What the fuck, Prime?!”
“Not enough?” I frown, peering down at the number. “We could probably add a five right here?—“
“No! I mean, yes, obviously, but no! That’s not what I mean.”
“Tell me you’ll do it. You’ve been running the office since I brought you on. We both know you’re the brains behind the operation.” I touch her cheek, stroking slow. “You’ll be the legit half. I’ll be the dark half. We’ll run our empire together.”
She breathes deep. “This is nuts.”
“You’ll do it?”
She exhales. “Do I get to fire Jason?”
“Fuck yes, you do.”
She wraps her arms around me and I fall into another kiss, and this one isn’t ending for a while, because I’ve been patient but a man has need, and my only real need is my wife’s legs wrapped around my waist with her moans in my ears and her sweat-slick skin pressed to mine.
EPILOGUE: DEANNA
