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Brianna
“Welcome back to Hugo’s, Mrs. Lambert. It’s nice to see you again so soon.”
Brianna struggled to remember the waiter’s name. It was the same one who’d served them the fateful night Markus brought her here before dropping her off at The Punishment Pit. She wasn’t happy with her husband’s choice of restaurants. They lived in a city known for hundreds of award-winning restaurants of every cuisine, yet he had to bring her back to a place with painful memories.
Markus’s voice pulled her out of her negative thoughts. “Brianna. You’re being rude. David asked if you’d like your usual Cosmo. She’d love a Cosmo, David, wouldn’t you sweetheart?” Her husband watched her intently.
Forcing a strained smile, she replied. “Yes, thank you very much.”
David missed the meaningful look shared between the spouses as he pivoted to greet the other couple. “It’s great to see you again, Mr. Mitchell. Would you like your usual?”
“You bet. And please bring a Cosmo for Tiffany, too, if you would, David.” Lukus reached to squeeze her hand in her lap, letting the server subtly know he’d be making the choices for her tonight.
David didn’t seem surprised by the men’s authoritative demeanor. “Of course. I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”
Markus dismissed him. “Don’t rush. We have plenty to keep us entertained while we wait.”
David flashed him a knowing smile before slipping away discreetly.
Markus had his hand on Brianna’s upper thigh as they sat flush against each other in the massive round corner booth. “David seated us in my favorite booth.” Her husband displayed a humorous glint in his eyes as he continued. “I love bringing rival counsel here to conduct negotiations. There’s only one way into the booth, and I arrange it so my rivals have to scoot uncomfortably around the large table. Then I move in last so I have them trapped. It gives me a subtle edge. I’ve even been known to refuse to let them out of their seat until they listen to my side of the argument.”
Lukus snapped back quickly. “Asshole. We’ve sat here almost every time we’ve come here together, and you always make me slide in first.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” The two men shared a good-natured laugh, while Brianna struggled with her resentment of her husband’s choice of restaurants.
“So what are you gonna try to negotiate out of me tonight, since you put Tiff and me in the back?” Lukus said.
Markus grasped Brianna’s hand, bringing it to his lips, waiting for her to look up into his brown eyes. “I didn’t come here tonight to negotiate anything. I came here so Brianna and I can replace our shitty thoughts of the last time we were here with some better memories of being here with our best friends.” His humorous grin suddenly turned serious. “I can tell you aren’t thrilled with my restaurant choice, Brianna. I confess; I’m being selfish. This is one of my favorite restaurants. It’s close to my office, and I usually come here at least once a week with clients. I’ve been avoiding it since… well, since we were here that night. I thought maybe coming back with you again would help.”
Knowing his motivation made all the difference to Brianna. “You’ve been avoiding it? But why?”
“For the same reason you’re not thrilled to be here tonight. I didn’t want to have anything remind me of… that day.”
Brianna felt tears stinging her eyes. “Me either. I wish I could just go back in time and erase it forever. You have to know that, Markus.”
“I know, but I’m glad we can’t. As shitty as it was, I’m glad it happened. It opened our eyes to the hidden layers of each other. We were both concealing too many secrets. I brought us back here tonight to prove we are in a much better place because of all we’ve gone through in the last few weeks.”
“Oh, Markus. I don’t deserve you.” Brianna launched herself into her husband’s arms. She could hear his heart pounding strong and steady as she pressed her cheek against his chest. It comforted her.
Tiffany had been doing so well at reigning in her sassy self since leaving the loft, but she apparently couldn’t let the opportunity to comment pass by. “I’ve been telling you that for weeks. Markus might have forgiven you, but I’m not sure I have. You took years off my life scaring me half to death by going anywhere with that asshole.”
Brianna extracted herself from her husband to fling it back. “Oh no, you don’t. You don’t get to give me shit about it anymore. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be here snuggled up to Mr. Bossy over there. I think you two need to buy me a gift or something for bringing you together.”
Lukus snorted. “A gift? How about another round on stage? It sounds like you could use a little reminder about how a proper submissive talks to a Master. Did you just call me Mr. Bossy? Really?”
“Okay, sorry. That might have been a little rude,” Bri admitted.
“You think?” Lukus said, smiling.
Brianna was relieved he hadn’t gone off on her. “I’m sorry. I’m just having trouble trying to balance things tonight. Here, in public. Are we here with our best friends, or as subs and their Doms? I’m confused.”
Lukus turned reflective. “Honestly, I think we’re all in uncharted territory together on this one, sweetheart.”
Tiff asked Lukus quietly, “So you aren’t going to add to my number for unleashing sassy Tiff on her?”
“No, baby.”
She exhaled. “What a damn relief.”
