"Lucas!" Danny was calling as he approached, some blonde flavor of the month on his arm. I shoved my phone, where I'd been staring at my three unanswered texts to Piper, back into my pocket and looked up at my primary investor with a forced smile. "There you are. And alone, is it? Damn, I was hoping to finally meet this elusive wife of yours."

"She's on her way," I told him, hoping that was true. But Piper hadn't told me she'd left the house and I honestly had no idea if she were on her way or making a run back to LAX this very moment.

"Of course. The CEO's wife must arrive fashionably late," Danny replied, raising a brow as he watched me over the rim of his glass.

"Excuse me," I said, more curtly than I'd intended. I gestured to my empty glass and strode off toward the bar for a refill, gritting my teeth all the way.

Danny had invested heavily into my company when it was just another big-dreamed start up in Silicon Valley. In the beginning, I'd owed much of Denodado's success to him. If I hadn't had the capital to hire more programmers, more artists, we never would have been able to make Retribution what it was today. But he'd become insufferable since, always forcing me to attend board meeting after board meeting where they would ask me the same ten questions about IOI and analytic yields and budgetary forecasts. I hadn't started this business to be the CEO. I had started it to design games. The business end was something I tolerated. But lately, it was taking up more of my time than I cared to admit and I had come to see Danny as the sole reason for that.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out as I gestured for the bartender. I looked down to see Piper's name flash across my screen.

Chill out, Vega. I'm here.

I smiled at the text and raised my eyes to see the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on smiling at me from across the room as she slipped her phone into her little black handbag. My eyes must have bulged out of my head.

"Piper?"

She was intoxicating in a slinky little black number with a slit that showed every inch of her gorgeous legs as she walked toward me. Her dark hair was slicked back into a modern marvel of shining hair gel. Her lips were a tantalizing dark red, puckered and perfect. Her eyes were shadows, shimmering in the dim light of the high class bar. When she reached me and leaned forward to order her own drink from the bartender, I saw her full back and nearly passed out right there.

"Wow," I said, appraisingly. She pushed out a hip and did a little bow and I grinned, eying her from head to toe, unable to stop myself. "Incredible. Truly, I'm speechless."

"I doubt that," she answered, rolling her eyes as she took her martini and sipped. I watched her red lips leave a stain on the crystal clear glass and cleared my throat. I'd never been so jealous of a beverage before.

"Fair enough," I replied, leading her away from the bar with a hand against her lower back. When I touched there and felt warm skin, all of the blood in my body rushed south and it was everything I could do not to wrap my other arm around her and pull her in for a passionate kiss so deep that she could feel my years of pent up desire right then and there.

But I was reminded that we were currently at a work function surrounded by my esteemed colleagues at the approach of Arthur Silver, a prominent member of the board and one of the only ones who had ever been kind to me. I smiled up at him as he approached, his lovely wife of forty years on his arm.

"Arthur," I greeted him with a smile and a raised glass. "So good to see you. And you as well, Tiffany. Might I introduce my beautiful wife, Piper?"

"Pleased to meet you," she replied, shooting Arthur a dazzling smile that made my heart hammer against my chest. I grinned from ear to ear, beaming with pride like a man with a pedigreed show dog. "I've heard such wonderful things about you."

"Have you?" Arthur asked, raising a brow as he turned to her. "How curious. We've heard so little about you."

An awkward silence descended upon us but only for a moment before Tiffany swooped in to save the day.

"An affront that must be remedied, to be sure," she said genuinely, placid smile on her face as she reached out and squeezed Piper's hand.

"Of course, of course," her husband waved with a nod in my direction. "I only meant this one doesn't like to share much about his personal life outside of the office."

"I like to keep my personal life... private," I replied as if that were any sort of explanation for keeping Piper away from my company and parties like this for the last six years. But Arthur and Tiffany had the grace to nod and move politely away from us and to other colleagues and members of the board. Piper released a breath I wasn't aware she was holding as they strode away and looked up at me in a blind panic.

"Are they all going to be like that?" she asked, suddenly terrified. "So prying?"

I chuckled and stared at the brown liquid sloshing about in my glass.

"Yes," I answered honestly. "They're businessmen with heavy investments in Denodado. I'm the captain of the ship they've poured millions of their hardearned dollars into. They're worried that, if I'm not steady enough, I'll run us aground."

She blinked at me, stunned.

"They don't think you're capable?" she asked as if genuinely surprised that anyone could possibly think I wasn't in total control of my company. Her belief in me was almost more than I could take. That look of admiration in her eyes, that pride, that honor she felt for knowing someone who had accomplished as much as I had in so short a time reminded me of why I'd ever done this in the first place. It was a feeling I needed, and one that I could get all too used to.

"Come with me," I said then, grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her forward, away from the center of the party and off to the edges. "There's some people I want you to meet."

She didn't say a word in response, just strode gracefully after me, interested in where I was taking her and trusting me to find out.

"Nate," I said when I approached him. He had been standing up, holding his drink in one hand and gesturing to exaggerate the story he was telling to the group of young men and women gathered in the chairs in front of him with the other.

"Boss man," Nate replied as he stopped his story and turned to face me. He was grinning but hsi smile faltered slightly when he caught sight of Piper. "Whoa. Who's this goddess you've graced us with the presence of tonight?"

Piper giggled and I smiled as I pulled her forward, into the light.

"Piper, this is Nate, my lead game designer," I introduced. "Nate, this is Piper, my wife."

Nate's eyes widened. There was a soft gasp and a few whispers from the open mouthed men and women behind him.

"And this is Nate's team. Designers, all of them," I told Piper, pointing out each of them individually as I spoke their names. "Naomi, Richard, Tim, Priya, Mark, and Merissa."

"So lovely to meet you all," Piper replied pleasantly.

"If he hired you, you can tell me," Nate said suddenly and Piper chuckled at the joke. His smile broadened at her laugh and, encouraged, he continued. "No, seriously. Blink twice if this man has kidnapped you and forced you to tell a room full of snobby upper crust that he's your husband."

Nate leaned down and looked into Piper's eyes as if waiting for the blinks and everyone laughed along at the joke as soon as I chuckled first.

"Actually, we've been married for six years," Piper cooed delicately and then curled into me, her leg wrapping around mine as her hand pressed against my chest. I had to focus on my breathing to remember to do it. "Tomorrow."

My eyes snapped to her face to see her lucious lips curled into a devilish smirk.

"Oh shit," Nate said and then guffawed. "He forgot!"

I blinked at her, trying to force my bloodflow back to my brain for the following thought process. May seventeenth. She was right. How could I have forgotten that?

"I'm certain he didn't," Piper lied for me, batting her eyelashes up at me like a newlywed. "Lucas always plans the best anniversaries."

I saw what she was doing now. Having a bit of fun at my expense while also making us look like a real, true married couple. Well. Two could play that game.

"Ooh, do you Lucas?" one of the designers, Tim, called out. My gaze snapped in his direction and he fell silent, worried he'd taken it too far. Maybe he had. I hadn't totally been lying when I'd informed Arther that I liked to keep my personal life and my professional life separate.

"Tell them about last year, love," Piper cooed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. I resisted the urge to grin. Oh, she was going to pay for this later.

"Last year," I repeated, buying myself some time. "Let's see. Our fifth anniversary. When I took you on a helicopter ride through the valley and then landed for some tacos at your favorite shop in downtown LA. What's it called? Oscar's?"

Her smile faltered a bit and she blinked back at me, surprised that I had remembered the little taco shop in LA that she'd brought me too every time we left campus to go and visit her mother.

"And after that," I continued, raising a hand to cup her cheek. She froze for a moment but then leaned into the touch. Our eyes met and I gave her my most dazzling smile. "Well, I can't really tell them what happened after that."

Then I winked and drew away from her, as much as it pained me. Her lips parted when she realized what I had said and she cleared her throat and blushed.

"That's so romantic," Merissa gushed.

"Yeah," Piper muttered quietly. "It is."

I grinned.

"Well, we're here boss man," Nate said suddenly, changing the topic from the mushy stuff to get down to business. "Our one annual required after hours work event. We've made an appearance. So you can stop breathing down our necks about it until next year, eh?"

"Fair enough," I told him. "I appreciate you guys coming. It's good for them to be reminded of who really does the work around here from time to time."

They all nodded in agreement and I bid them goodbye and led Piper away with my hand on heer lower back again. I still hadn't gotten used to the contact. It flooded my brain with all sorts of inappropriate ideas every time I touched her. But I had to maintain control. That was what she wanted, after all. She had said enough the night before. But now, the way she was watching me as we made the rounds and spoke to everyone in the room, the way she leaned into me when someone else drew too close or touched me when she laughed, it was sending different signals to my brain than what was being sent below my belt.

"Excuse us," I said to the last of many groups we'd greeted this evening and, as I steered Piper away, I whispered into her ear. "Now that I can properly formulate words, I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to whatever shop you found that dress at."

She giggled and pushed me away.

"Unfortunately, you're going to have to submit your appreciation in writing. I'm never going back there again," she told me, taking a sip of her wine.

I cocked my head to the side and watched her, confused.

"Why not?" I asked. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson and I wanted so badly to know why. But we were interrupted that very moment by none other than Danny Abadía himself.

"Oh, the beautiful wife we've heard so little about," Danny exclaimed as he pulled his model girlfriend alongside him. "Danny Abadía."

"Piper, er, Vega," Piper replied, glancing at me, unsure. Shit.

"Piper er Vega, how interesting. Is that a family name?"

I grit my teeth and stepped forward protectively. If this asshole thought he was about to treat my wife this way, he was going to experience a pristine Italian leather shoe right in his gut.

"No," Piper answered with a chuckle, waving off the insult as though it were nothing. "You caught me off guard, Mr. Abadía. Forgive me, I've introduced myself to so many people tonight, I'm forgetting which is my name and which are theirs."

She laughed lightly at the joke, turning to me. I smiled back at her.

"I've also perhaps indulged a bit more than strictly necessary tonight," she admitted, holding up her third empty martini glass. "The bartender is fantastic."

"Hm," Danny replied, unconvinced and unimpressed with her pivoting. "Well, Lucas, perhaps you could tear yourself away long enough to meet with some of the board. They have a few follow up questions regarding the projections for the third quarter."

"Actually, I'd better get Piper home," I said. "I promised no work tonight. It is our anniversary tomorrow, after all. But it was nice to see you, Danny. I'll be in touch."

Without another word, I lead Piper away from Danny and out of the bar.

The moment we stepped into the lobby, I was dialing Kevin's number, and then we stepped outside into the warm California evening. Piper watched a couple nearby make their way down the steps, staggering to a waiting car, and then turned to me.

"How foolish was I?" she asked in earnest, her tone no more cooing and lovely but stern and focused. I turned to her in surprise.

"What?" I asked, actually caught off guard.

"I know I sounded like a preening idiot in there. So tell me. How bad was it?"

"Well, you weren't yourself, that's for sure," I started and she frowned. "You were actually kind and polite."

She punched me in the shoulder and I laughed, grabbing it with my other hand and pretending it hurt.

"Piper, you were wonderful, truly," I told her, staring into her eyes as I did. "Every man in that room was jealous of me tonight. I got to show off my beautiful wife and have fun doing it. I couldn't have asked you for more."

She couldn't help her smile, though she tried to mask it, as Kevin pulled up. He emerged to get the door but I waved him back inside and opened Piper's door for her myself. She thanked me for the chivalry but I would be lying if I didn't admit how fantastic the view of her incredible ass was as she climbed headfirst into the back seat and then I climbed in with her, wondering how I was ever going to survive even a moment more in her presence without grabbing her and shoving my tongue down her throat.