He placed his forehead against hers, grinning. “That was just a preview of what’s to come,” he whispered as the elevator pinged. He stepped back as the door opened, gesturing with a sweep of his arm. “Ladies first.”

She glanced at him as she walked out. “Who are you?”

17

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The restaurant exceeded Michael’s expectations. It was upscale, classy, and the ambience was excellent. Leave it to one of the partners to have wrangled a secluded table right by the window. The city was lit up below them. Madison wasn’t a huge town, but it still looked pretty at night.

“So, crème brûlée for dessert, then?” Piper teased as they both eyed the menu. “Wow, some of the stuff on here is so decadent. I’m not sure Madison is ready for lapin à la moutarde. I wonder if braised rabbit tastes just like chicken.”

“I’m sure it tastes a little woodier,” he said. “Why don’t you try it and find out?” Michael peered over his menu at her. “I think Thumper needs to be sampled.”

“No Thumper for me. I’m sold on the coquilles Saint Jacques to start and the blanquette de veau for my meal.” Piper closed her menu. “I’ve always wanted to try the famous French scallops, and you can’t go wrong with a good ragout.”

“I think I’ll do the pan-seared foie gras and the hachis Parmentier. I’d like to see how the French do shepherd’s pie.”

“I’m sure it tastes like heaven, served with dainty vegetables and topped with perfectly browned mashed potatoes.”

The waiter came up to the table. “Hello, madam”—he nodded—“sir. May I start you off with a beverage this evening?”

Piper began, but Michael cut her off. “We’ll take a bottle of the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.”

“Of course, we have two available years to choose from, 2003 and 2010.”

“We’ll try the 2003.”

Piper looked surprised, but happy. Michael liked seeing his wife happy.

The waiter left, and Piper picked up her water. “That was some fancy ordering, Mikey. Did you do a little research on the wine list before we came?”

“Not really.” He chuckled. “I just asked Don which he liked best, and he was emphatic about this particular champagne.”

“I figured. We know Don knows his way around a restaurant, and I love champagne.” Don Brady was the firm’s newest partner. He’d joined the company two years ago after heavy recruiting. He and his partner, Jerry, lived a few miles from Piper and Michael, and the Collinses had been invited over for dinner at their home several times. Don was a great cook and a wine connoisseur. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious. If you owe Don a weekend of work, I should invite Jerry out to the movies or something. He hates it when he’s left alone for the weekend when Don is working on a case.”

“That would be fine with me. But if you go, don’t mention that we took his reservation for tonight’s romantic evening. Don mentioned something about it being their anniversary, but he didn’t get technical.”

Piper covered her mouth. “You did not swindle Jerry’s anniversary dinner out from under him! If he finds out, he’ll be devastated.”

“So let’s make sure he doesn’t find out.” Michael grinned. Piper began to reply, but he cut her off, “Hey, Don didn’t have to give this up. He could’ve easily said no. But just so you feel better, he did say he’s booked a night here every other month for an entire year.”

“That bugger,” Piper gasped. “It’s people like him who screw it up for the rest of us non-self-starters. Though I wouldn’t want to book it that far in advance, because we have no idea what we’re doing next weekend, not to mention in six months.”

The waiter arrived with a fancy silver ice bucket on a stand and set it next to their table. He placed two champagne glasses on the table next, then plucked the cloth-wrapped champagne bottle out of the ice and uncorked it with a flourish. A bunch of steamy condensation flowed out.

He poured some into Michael’s glass, then waited for him to sample it. Michael nodded after he tasted it, and the waiter filled both glasses, put the bottle back in the stand, and bowed. “I’ll be back to take your order momentarily.”

“Did he just bow at us? Somebody pinch me.” Piper picked up her glass and swirled the champagne inside. The bubbles popped and fizzed.

Michael picked up his glass as well. “I’ll be happy to pinch you, just give me the word.”

“You can pinch me any time.” She took a sip of the champagne. “Wow, this is great. Dry, but just sweet enough.”

“I don’t think the waiter would bow for anything less than perfection,” Michael joked as he took a drink. Piper was right. It was perfect.

“You know”—Piper sat back in her seat, champagne glass still in hand—“I kind of wish our waiter was a girl. I’d love to watch her fall all over herself while she served you, all the while thinking about that hot elevator kiss.” She leaned forward and whispered, “The one that gave me a huge wettie.”

Michael’s dick jumped at her tone, as well as her words. “How wet are we talking here?” He relaxed back in his own seat and took a measured drink of champagne, while pinning a lusty look on his wife.

She rose to the occasion. “Drenched. You haven’t kissed me like that—a total mindless kiss—since we were first dating. My nipples are still hard, and my toes are still curled. If the door hadn’t opened, we would’ve had sex right there.”

“If you keep talking about your drenched panties and hard nipples, we’re going to have it right here.”

Her hair came down and curtained her face. “Who said I’m wearing panties?”

Michael groaned as he rearranged himself in his seat. “Piper, honestly, you’re going to make it too hard to have dinner. Emphasis on the hard.” He dropped his voice. “With the kind of sex we’ve been having lately, I have a boner almost constantly anyway.”

“And that’s bad how?”

Before he could answer, the waiter returned to take their order.

He complimented them on their decisions and left. Michael glanced around the room. The tables were spread out, all of them draped in thick, white linen clothes and set to the nines with multiple forks, knives, spoons, glasses, and big napkins folded in complicated shapes.

But the best part was the lighting.

The tables were dimly lit. Very few restaurants got the ambience right, in his opinion.

“What are you looking at?” Piper asked.

Michael’s gaze settled back on her. “I’m trying to figure out where I’m going to fuck you.”

* * *

Piper’s head fell back while she laughed, her nipples even harder than they’d been a few seconds ago. The feeling of them tight against her flimsy bra made her shiver. “You’re supposed to have a plan, honey, not randomly pick a place to fuck me.” She didn’t want to admit that the fact he didn’t have a plan was exciting in and of itself.

“I did…I mean, I do,” he said, shifting in his seat once more, his hand going down to adjust himself. She loved that he was so turned on. “But this place feels special, kind of like we’re on vacation. It makes me want to do something unexpected.”

“I love the unexpected. Bring it.” Piper was enjoying their banter immensely. Michael was so beautiful, he took her breath away. He looked so relaxed and happy, dressed in a dark blue button-up shirt that accentuated his eyes.

“Considering the size of my woody, it’s going to have to be something close by. There’s no way I’m waiting too long to sink myself into that luscious pussy.” He drew out that last word like a purr as he pushed his chair back, giving her a cocky grin. “Excuse me for one moment. I’ll be right back.”

Before she could stop him, he was up and striding toward either the bathrooms or the kitchen.