Watching his wife come apart beneath him was awesome. Michael slowed the thrusts as Piper had her release, but kept the artificial cock inside her for the duration. He imagined it was his dick and that he could feel her contracting around him.

In a blink, he was hard again.

Piper finally opened her eyes, smiling radiantly up at him. “Wow. That was so good.”

“It was just as good to watch.” He grinned. “It would’ve been nice to come together, but then we wouldn’t have had this experience.” He slid the strap-on out of her and set it on the towel on the side of the bed. “Come here. I want to hold you.” He lay down next to her, and she settled into his arms.

Piper’s lips touched his neck. “Man, I could get used to this. I like us. I don’t know where we’ve been, but it feels nice to be back.”

Michael kissed the top of her head as he stretched out. “I don’t know where we’ve been either. I’ve been trying to figure out where we went off track, but can’t really find the source.”

“That’s because I don’t think we went off track,” Piper said. “We just took a break from dealing with things for a while. There’s nothing wrong with that. Marriage is full of twists and turns. We had a twist, and now it’s time to turn toward something better.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Looking back at our sex life the last few years, it kind of feels like we were in a dream state or something. Like we’ve been in a daze, just going through the motions.”

Piper nodded into his chest. “I hear you. I don’t think I told you, but Marianne let me go. She said I don’t really need her anymore. It was right after the office sex.” She chuckled. “She thinks I’m on the road to figuring it out myself, but sadly, I don’t always feel like I am. But I do feel like we’re on the right track.”

“I think it’s great Marianne thinks you can handle yourself,” Michael said, caressing her hip. “That’s huge progress. And, to me, there’s no such thing as fixed. You weren’t broken to begin with. You were just trying to find meaning in what we did.” He moved his hand up and rubbed her back. “I think we’re finally figuring out who we are together and what really makes us tick. Some people settle into a rhythm right away. We just took our time to get there.”

Piper angled her head up. “Do you really think that was the issue? That it’s just taken us this long to navigate our marriage?”

Michael nodded, bringing his hand up to push some of her hair off her face, hooking it behind her ear. He gazed down on her. “I don’t think it’s that simple, and there are a lot of complex emotions, but that’s the essence of it. You have to admit, we were very spoiled people when we met. We were used to getting exactly what we wanted, when we wanted it. We landed our jobs on the first interview. We could sleep with anyone we wanted. Things have always been…easy for us, I guess. But marriage is a balance of two people, not one. And after ten years, I can officially say it’s not an easy thing to do.”

“That’s true,” she agreed. “We were spoiled in a lot of ways. And though I don’t like to think of myself as a selfish person, I totally was. We were two selfish, spoiled people who decided to get married. Man, saying that out loud, it could’ve been a disaster! We had no idea what we were heading into.”

He pulled her closer, enjoying the feeling of having her close and content. “We can’t change who we are totally, but we can improve and grow. We’ve always been suckers for the new, shiny thing, and that’s translated to our sex life in a big way. But I think we’re finally wising up in our old age. I don’t know about you, but I feel happier than I have in a long time. I’m having fun. I think there’s a way to keep the new and shiny but relax a little at the same time.”

“Yes,” Piper added. “Looking back I think I was terrified that if things got boring after we got married, we’d both lose interest and end up splitting.”

“I was right there with you. That very first party, a year after we got married, when the girl hit on me and I saw the look in your eye, something wild sprang from that. I had the same fear you did, and seeing your reaction in that moment solved it, at least for a time.”

“Yeah, a long time—too long, if you ask me,” Piper said. “Why didn’t we just talk about this before? I feel like we could’ve changed things up sooner.”

Michael shrugged. “I think we were lost to it. I mean, it was hot. It gave us that new fix each and every time. Then we got complacent.”

“No more being complacent. It bores us to tears.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Michael rolled his wife onto her back and eased up on his elbow, kissing her forehead. She reached one hand up and drew him down to her, her kiss tender and searching.

He matched it, losing himself for a long moment. He let her know he was hard by stroking his cock along her hip before pulling back. “Are we staying here for the night? If we are, I’m going to need that crème brûlée ordered. And once it comes, what I do with it will put your honey to shame.”

“The plan was to sleep here. I have another bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge. And unless you’re going to stick the crème brûlée where the sun don’t shine, and go in after it, I’m not sure you can top the honey.”

“Yeah, just watch me.”

15

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“Okay, I have to confess. If Michael wants to do a top-ten sex list every month, I will become an exhausted, overwrought housewife. Except I work, so I’m not technically a housewife in layman’s terms, but it’s no lie. I will become overwrought,” Piper told Caroline over the table at Enzi’s, an Italian fusion restaurant. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s totally fun right now. I’m up for seeing it to the end. But this can’t be our new normal. Good Lord, it’s exhausting!”

“I don’t think Michael expects that. But you’re going to have to tell him your concerns,” Caroline said. They’d gone out for this week’s STD meeting because Piper had invited Emma to join them and they were waiting for her to arrive.

“I know I’ll have to bring it up eventually, but I already kind of tried when we had a little heart-to-heart on Saturday and couldn’t. We’d just had the greatest sex ever, and he was so happy.” Piper picked up her drink. “We were wrapped up in orgasmy bliss and agreed we were finally on the road to sexual happiness. We were both excited. I couldn’t put a damper on that. My Debbie Upper wouldn’t let me.”

“Hi, guys.” Emma greeted them as she came up to the table. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Of course,” Piper said, getting up to give her a quick hug. “We’re happy you could make it. Have a seat.”

This was the first time Caroline and Emma had seen each other since what Piper referred to as Video Sex Night. Piper glanced over at Caroline, who was smiling widely. “It’s so nice to see you again, Emma,” she said. “It really is. I’m glad you could join us.”

Emma sat next to Piper. “Caroline, before we start,” Emma said. “I just want to let you know again how sorry I am for everything that happened. I’m glad I finally get a chance to tell you that in person. I know what we did was way out of your comfort zone, and I apologize.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I’ve been feeling terrible about it for months. If I could go back in time and change it, I would. I promise you.”

Caroline swished her hand over the table. “No worries, Emma. Really. I’m the one who needs to apologize.” She leaned in, keeping her voice low. Enzi’s had an open floor plan. “Honestly, I’ve wanted to call you and reach out, but I couldn’t get the courage up. I’m a huge chicken when it comes to stuff like that. But now that you’re here, I can let you know personally that you guys did us a favor that night. It all ended up being for the best. Jace and I couldn’t be any happier than we are right now. So I’m the one who owes you a huge thank-you, along with my humble apology for acting like a total witch the night we left.”