What Piper Needs (4 page)

Mile High, if you’re interested
.

He glanced up to see her deliberately draw the curtain between first class and the front of the plane. The bathroom was behind that curtain.

Damn, he really should start wearing a wedding ring.

It actually delighted his wife that he didn’t wear one. He received a lot of attention because of it. But he was tired of it.

The guy next to him chuckled. “I bet that’s not the first time you’ve received one of those invitations. Me? Never. Not even in my prime. But that didn’t stop Patty and me from doing it like bunnies every time we could. She was the love of my life, that woman. I lost her two years ago this summer.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Michael replied, folding up the note and sticking it in his front pocket to show Piper later. He could already imagine her reaction and smiled.

“My advice to you, cherish what you have. Learn to enjoy it, because when you get to my age, all you can do is look back on the mistakes you made and wish like hell you could change them. It’s not fun, lemme tell you, because there isn’t any going back. You’re stuck with all the shit you’ve made forever.”

Michael nodded along to what the guy was saying. It felt like a long time since he’d cherished anything.

When had he gotten so selfish?

He did cherish his wife, but lately he and Piper had been wandering through life like a couple of robots on autopilot. Michael turned to his seatmate, suddenly curious. “What’s been your biggest regret so far?” he asked him. “If it’s too personal, I understand. You don’t have to answer.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” The guy waved off the question. “My biggest regret is not trying harder to have kids. We had some minor setbacks, but never decided to get any help. When we figured out kids were what we wanted, it was too late. The next one is not living every day feeling in love. When your spouse dies, that particular void never gets filled. When I look back, every single day together was a blessing. But we didn’t live like it was. We fussed at each other, got into fights, and the like. I wish I’d woken up each day of my life and rolled over and said, ‘I love you more than bacon,’ because it was the goddamn truth.”

When Michael spotted wetness forming at the corner of the guy’s eye, he turned his head to give him some privacy.

The man had spoken with such passion that it had touched Michael. How could it not?

Michael couldn’t imagine his life without Piper, and someday he might be in the same position as his seatmate. He’d be on a flight somewhere lamenting that he hadn’t told her every single day of his life that he loved her.

The flight attendant who had propositioned him pushed open the curtain, interrupting his thoughts once more. Not meeting his eyes, she resumed checking the cabin for their final descent.

The pilot came back over the speaker. “Thanks for your patience, ladies and gentlemen. We’ll be on the ground in just a few minutes. Make sure your seat backs are upright and tray tables are locked. We hope you choose to fly with us again. Good night and safe travels home.”

Michael made up his mind right then. He was going to start changing the way he did things. Piper was going to know every single day that he loved her. They were going to figure out this slump and get back on track. But first, he was going to fuck her hard.

His cock jumped at the thought.

For the fourth time today.

* * *

Piper had been racking her brain all afternoon trying to figure out how she and Michael could have exciting sex once he arrived home. She was actually relieved to see online that his plane had been delayed an hour, because all her thoughts so far had been extreme.

Too extreme.

Around four o’clock she’d finally settled on one.

The plan was smaller, but doable, and it had her libido skyrocketing. It was something she’d always wanted to try, but had never been gutsy enough to go through with it. Once she’d decided, she’d rushed home from work to do a quick change, and then ran over to Caroline’s to get her take.

“I think it’s an excellent idea!” Caroline had said. “It’s a great way to jazz up the excitement. Michael will be thrilled, I’m sure.”

“Jazz up?” Piper had snorted. “You know, if we get caught, I could get fired.” She’d lamented all her concerns to her friend.

“I thought risk-taking was the whole point?” Caroline grinned. “Plus, there are plenty of advertising jobs out there if you get fired. But you won’t. I’m positive of it.”

“No one is going to hire someone who got caught fucking in the conference room.”

“Honestly, who would tell?” Caroline replied. “Even if you got caught, it would stay on the down low, don’t you think? I can’t imagine that being broadcast, especially to anyone outside the office.”

“I’m not sure. If I got fired for it, it would go on my record.”

“What record? You don’t work at a police department!” Caroline laughed. “They love you there. You’re a hard worker who brings them tons of business.”

“True.”

“And don’t think for one moment that you’re the first one to do this. It happens all the time!”

“Not the way I’m going to do it.” Piper gave her a sly smile.

Caroline’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”

“I want it to be memorable, as in days later memorable. I’m planning on leaving a souvenir behind. A memento of our night. Just not something that marks it as
me
who did it. Half the fun is having people know about it.”

“No way!” Caroline exclaimed. “Why would you do something that? Why risk it? It’s already ballsy enough.”

“Because that’s the payoff. Duh,” she said. “I’m talking about giving myself an adrenaline rush that lasts. I want the fun to continue after the act. When everyone’s talking about it at work the next day, I’ll be turned on again. Then Michael and I can banter about it. And let me just admit this here, I like that it makes it more
risky
. In the past, seeing Michael out in the open with another woman at a work party was titillating, but it’s not the same thing.” She shook her head. “Looking back, I think I could’ve done things differently. I guess hindsight and all that.”

“Differently how?”

“I’m not sure if we really needed Emma and Pete, or Brad and Gillian, even though it was fun.” She winked. “And it really was fun, so I can’t regret it too much. I think I just need to learn to make sex exciting again between the two of us.” She threw in the next part because she’d wanted to bring it up before she left. “By the way, I saw Emma today, and you and I need to chat about her possibly joining us for some STD meetings.” Piper held up her hand, adding, “I know what you’re going to say, and I get it. But this whole thing today is her fault—in a very good way. She’s the one who nailed my need for risk-taking. Just give it some thought. We’ll discuss it next week. Bye, gotta go!”

Piper had hightailed it out of Caroline’s kitchen before she could a) Change her mind and try to talk Piper out of her new, titillating adventure, or b) Be mad she’d met with Emma and was even considering inviting her to their meetings, or c) Ask about Brad and Gillian. Piper had indicated in the past that she and Michael had spent time with other couples, but she’d never given Caroline names.

Now, after all her planning, Piper was finally seated at her desk in her office.

She was trying to catch up on some paperwork as she waited not so patiently for Michael’s plane to land. She knew he’d text her right when he hit the tarmac. When she’d arrived back at the office, there’d been a few stragglers working overtime, but they’d since cleared out.

It was a Monday night, so that helped.

When Piper had returned, she’d walked around to try to spot all the surveillance cameras in the building without seeming too obvious. All the common areas were monitored, as was the parking garage. Her building was located right in downtown Madison with security guards stationed downstairs.

She’d made sure to chat them up when she came in. She knew them both by name, as they’d worked here for years. While talking, she’d caught a glimpse of the small TVs they monitored under the counter. The screens were small and grainy, which would be to her benefit if her company wanted to investigate who’d been here tonight. She’d also played up her fear of walking through parking garages alone late at night, acting like a champ. They’d offered to escort her out when she was finished working, but she’d instead asked them if they monitored
all
the garage floors. They had admitted, albeit sheepishly, that one of their cameras was out on Level C, but it was due to be fixed in the next few days.

She’d assured them she had parked on Level B and left with a smile on her face.

Back on her floor, she’d spotted a few cameras in the main hallway and elevator, but that was it. If her firm had had more installed, she couldn’t find any. But if they had, they were about to be in for a surprise.

She shivered thinking about it.

Piper had never fit the cookie-cutter mold of what a typical female should be.

Ever.

That’s probably why she worked so well with Michael. She didn’t care if other women wanted him. She also didn’t care if anyone knew she’d slept around in her early twenties before she and Michael had become exclusive. She knew slut-shaming was misogynistic. Men rarely got any crap for sleeping around, so she had just shrugged it off and went about her business.

As for the women, in her mind, Michael either wanted her or didn’t.

It was that simple. It always had been. Not to mention, she
liked
it when he got attention. It made her giggle to think of anyone else being married to him. It would be nothing but misery for a jealous woman. Caroline had asked her once upon a time how she coped with it—saying that she could never do it herself.

The question had actually startled Piper. Jealousy was not coded in her DNA.

Piper sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, picturing her husband’s sandy-brown hair and perfect face. He was big, too, almost six-three. He worked out and had an awesome mix of good guy meets bad boy going for him. His face radiated good guy, but his body oozed bad boy. He also had a pair of ridiculous green eyes. He was the perfect specimen in every way, which was why everyone and their mother wanted to fuck him.

Piper checked her phone again, drumming her fingers on her desk. “Come on, Mikey. Where are you?”

She reluctantly set it down and busied herself with some paperwork. Not five minutes later, her phone beeped. She plucked it up and swiped it open.

FINALLY ON THE FUCKING TARMAC. WHERE ARE YOU?

She typed back, smiling wide.

WOULDN’T U LIKE TO KNOW?

He replied.

GIVE ME DIRECTIONS OR I’M HEADING BACK INTO THE BATHROOM TO STROKE MY COCK.

Piper adjusted herself in her chair, pulling her flimsy dress closed when the bodice flared open as she typed.

ENJOYED THE PICS, HUH? THERE’S MORE OF THAT WAITING FOR U.

Michael wasted no time replying.

HARD AS A ROCK. TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.

Piper texted back.

AT THE OFFICE. BUY A BALL CAP AT THE AIRPORT. HAVE THE CABBIE PULL INTO GARAGE. I’M PARKED IN MY SPOT. MOVE MY CAR TO LEVEL C, AWAY FROM ELEVATORS. USE MY OLD CARD TO SWIPE IN. I’LL BE WAITING.

Michael started texting immediately, but nothing came up for a moment.

Then her phone pinged.

She hooted when she saw the up-close picture of his hard cock poking out of his pants, gleaming a little at the tip. She licked her lips, letting one of her hands slide to her breast. He must be in the bathroom at the airport.

Either that, or he’d just flashed a lot of people.

Both scenarios were hilarious.

A vision of the very first time they’d met popped into her head as she eased back in her chair, her fingers running over her sensitive peak. Michael had mesmerized Piper with those eyes and body. It was like she’d fallen into a trance. She’d immediately started flirting. She had been aiming for a one-night stand with the guy—anything to get into his pants. It worked. They’d gone out for dinner that night and were in the sack by ten.

The sex had been wild and so good.

Damn
good.

But the biggest surprise for both of them had been their instant connection. They’d talked and laughed for hours, totally comfortable with each other, like they’d been friends for years. After that, they were hooked on each other, seeing each other daily and having sex over and over again, in every positon imaginable.

They got married four years later.

How in the world had they lost undeniable spark?

Piper had no idea, but she was determined to get it back. Her hand slid under her dress, pausing at the top of her lacy thong.

She was going to be primed and ready to go by the time her gorgeous husband walked through those doors.

4

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M
ichael parked Piper’s BMW on Level C, like he’d been instructed, and was sporting a new baseball hat tugged low. It was obvious from her instructions that she didn’t want him to be seen.