She’s sitting at one of the tables, looking like a model or movie star in that Tom Ford dress. I have good taste, if I do say so myself. Speaking both in terms of the dress and the woman.

Her finger traces the edge of the glass of champagne in front of her and I admire the silhouette she creates.

The music in the bar at the Sexton is loud and thumping so she doesn’t hear me whistling Won’t You be my Neighbor until I’m practically kissing her ear.

Prynne jumps in surprise, then slaps me on the chest with a laugh.

“So, I hear you’re trying to write a romance novel?”

She laughs again. “That’s the line you’re going with?”

“Well, it is what first brought us together.”

“That book…goodness,” she blows out of her mouth as I sit to join her. “It’s been sitting on my computer half-done since we first met. So much has been going on I couldn’t focus on it.”

“Well,” I say, leaning in closer to her. “Why don’t you finish that champagne and I can…reignite that imagination of yours.”

She smiles then stares at me. “I’ve missed you.”

I settle back in my seat and look at her. “I’ve missed you too.”

She grabs the champagne and downs it in one swallow. “I can’t hear myself think in here.”

I laugh and pull out my wallet to pay for her drink, before she can even get the bartender’s attention.

“Aww, how chivalrous of you,” she teases with a twist of the lips.

I lean in and whisper in her ear. “That’s to make up for how unchivalrous I’m about to be with you once we get to the room.”

I can sense her body tremble with anticipation next to me. After the drink is paid for, I grab her hand and lead her out of the crowded bar.

In the small foyer in front of the elevators, I pull her in close to me, not caring about the sprinkling of people surrounding us, who have had their fill of the bar as well.

“So, you ready?”

We’ve been on the phone every night since Prynne returned to New York, talking for hours at a time. This night has been discussed ad nauseam, but I want to make sure she’s ready. Plus, I like the anticipation of talking about it.

“I am,” she assures me with a dazzling smile. I feel her heart beat a little faster against my chest, the rise and fall of her breasts as her breathing intensifies, the way her arms squeeze me a little tighter. Again…the anticipation.

The elevator arrives and we pile in along with everyone else. We’re the only couple to stop at the sixteenth floor. I lead Prynne down the same hallway she stomped down that first night to bang on my door.

When I open the door to the room, I flip the switch and the room is presented to us with that Sexton flair. The curtains are wide open to remind us why we chose this hotel in the first place. New York and all its eight million residents await us on the other side of those windows.

Prynne walks in ahead of me to look out on the city. I come up behind her to stare out as well.

“So, are we going to do this the same as usual?” she asks.

“Well, this is hardly the usual,” I point out. “Maybe some things are left to the imagination.”

“Hmm,” she says, nodding against my chest. “On the other hand, what fun would it be without at least the hint of danger?”

“Really?” I ask, wondering if she actually wants to go there tonight of all nights.

She turns around in my embrace and looks up at me. “Rhys, I want this. I really do. I don’t want you to change anything just because there might actually be someone out there watching us.”

“And I don’t want you to be tense the whole time wondering if there is actually someone out there.”

“Well…I guess that means a compromise,” she says, then reaches out to draw the curtains until they are a little more than half-closed.

“Ohh…just a tease,” I croon. “I like it.”

“We’re so bad,” she laughs.

“Wicked,” I say with a grin.

“Perverted,” she replies with a giggle.

“Sinful.”

“Depraved.”

“How far do you want to go?” I lean down and whisper in her ear.

Prynne looks at me reflected in the sliver of window visible through the mostly drawn curtains. A wicked smile appears on her face as she answers. “All the way.”

“Well then…” I reply and begin pulling the zipper to her dress down.