I have been taking this same flight on the second Friday of every month for nine months now. Every month, when I see my wife, I watch a little more of the old Emma fill her body again. Last month, for the first time since visiting her, Grace agreed that Emma could stay off-site. I found a secluded cabin, so we could be away from everything. I wanted to go on long walks with her and, of course, have loud sex anywhere and everywhere we wanted. Of course, I didn’t consider that it was July in New fucking Mexico, but that only meant we did it like rabbits in the cool air conditioning of our cabin.

However, now I’m planning something slightly more romantic. I want to ask her to come home. It has been almost a year, and I need her home. I have even asked Nick and Justine if Emma can stay with them if she isn’t ready to start full-blown mom duty. I have it all planned. More so, I want to start over; I want to say our vows again. I bought a large emerald ring as a sign of the love that created Aspen.

When we are together, we discuss Aspen for about ten minutes, and for the past three months, she has asked for pictures, pointing out how much our daughter looks like her.

One difference about this weekend is that Ems is borrowing one of the retreat’s vehicles and meeting me at the airport. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms. As I’m exiting the terminal and security, I see her waiting for me with a big smile on her face. I sure hope the hotel I booked is a close drive because the second I see her, I realize I need to be inside her.

She rushes toward me, and I drop my bags right then to hold her. People must physically skirt around us, but I don’t care. I’m holding my girl and cornered within the here and now. Pulling back, I take her in, every bit of her, and find the sparkle has returned to those almost black irises of hers. “Hell, Ems, I am so fucking happy to see you, sweetheart.”

“Come on, let’s get going.” She stands on the tip of her toes and whispers in my ear, setting my whole body on fire. “The quicker we get there, the sooner I can give you a blow job.” Her little evil grin is only a bit of what is making me need to adjust my pants. Stifling a moan, I grab her closer and drop a kiss on her forehead.

“You read my mind, Ems.” And with that, we leave the airport, and I have never been so happy I had only my carry-on and didn’t have to wait at baggage claim.

* * *

On the elevator, I can barely keep my hands off her, and to make matters worse, a family with small kids rides the elevator with us to the floor below ours. She is shocked I reserved the penthouse for the weekend but not as concerned as she is about how long it is taking to get to our room.

As soon as the family leaves the elevator, I bring my wife to me, quick and hard, and force my mouth against her lips. I worry I may bruise her beautiful lips, but she is just as needy for me as I am for her. My hands find my way to her ass as the doors open, and thankfully, we are alone in the hallway. Finding our room, as it is the first of the few penthouse rooms on this floor, I insert the keycard. The minute the door closes, I push her up against the wall. She is a willing participant in what we both need—quick and dirty and fucking right now.

“I need you, Ty. I can’t even wait to get to the bed. I need you.”

As much as I want her to keep the promise about my impending blow job, my need to taste her takes over everything we both want. I’ve never been so happy that my wife is in a dress as I am now. Dropping to my knees, I see the lust in her eyes for me. As I dip my head into the body of her dress, I see she’s bare for me, and I swear loudly, very thankful for her.

“Shit, fuck, hell, I wish I would have known. I would have made you come on the car ride over.”

Laughing at my words, she reminds me, “I was driving, Ty, remember? I would have crashed.”

“I guess that is true.” But why am I talking when I need my tongue on her wet folds? Circling her clit, Emma’s moans make me want to come, too. With one hand, I find her tit, which is not restrained by a bra. Apparently, my wife has no need for undergarments, and I’m fine with this little change in her. Squeezing her tit a little harder than I have in the past makes her let out a seductive low growl, and I swear, she’s wetter and sweeter. Taking my other hand, I work it inside her and find her G-spot immediately. I know what gets her off, and I work three fingers inside her, all around inside her, and I feel it starting in her stomach. Now, with just my finger, I pull back to watch her. I can tell when she’s about to come because her body has always been mine, and like anything that is mine, I know how to best handle it for the optimum results. As her pussy begins to quiver, I see her sexy lips turn up and her eyes roll back in her head. I know she’s about to explode, and I’m right as she screams my name, holding my head, roughly raking her fingers through my thick hair.

“We aren’t done. Not by a long shot, Mrs. Hunter.”

“I hope you are right. I don’t plan to do much more than fuck my husband for the next four days,” she says, and holy fucking smokes, I’ve hit the lottery. But I knew that years ago.

“We do have to eat, Ems,” I say since dinner one night is very much a surprise for her.

“I know, but then we can fuck some more,” she says.

Pulling her in tight, I only say, “Man, I missed you too so much, and I love your plan. Let’s work on it now.”

* * *

Friday night comes and goes. We don’t leave the room and barely the bed, ordering room service. Now as the morning sun creeps in to show the highlights on Emma’s dark hair, I watch her chest rise and fall while in her slumber. Last night was some of the raunchiest sex we have ever had, and it was beautiful, wonderful, and about a million other things I can’t quite put into words. But tonight is the big night when I ask her to be a part of our lives again—mine and Aspen’s.

Before we finally fell asleep in each other’s arms, I pulled out my phone to show her the recent pictures of our sweet girl. At just fifteen months, her smile does me in every time. Emma tried to act as if she cared by saying all the right words, but I think she will respond differently after she spends some time bonding with our daughter. Aspen can’t help but capture one’s heart.

As I watch her finally stir and stretch, she smiles at me. “What time is it anyway?”

“It’s a little after ten.”

Pulling me in close, she kisses me on the cheek. “Sorry, I should probably go brush my teeth, but I can’t tear myself away from you.”

“You were sleeping so deep last night. Are you not sleeping well?” I ask.

Yawning and stretching some more, she begins, “Well, I am. I was up with Reagan last night so Jolie could get some sleep and then I ended up crashing on her couch with the baby next to me, so I think I just didn’t sleep that well.”

I pull back from her instantly. “What are you talking about?” My voice is both clipped and stern when I see her eyes flash to my own. I know the name Reagan, she mentioned her in passing as her old roommate’s newborn, but I wasn’t aware she was hanging out with this little duo. My hands are sweaty, and I try to push myself up, keeping my eyes locked on hers.

“Um, it is nothing really,” she starts, and I know Emma enough to recognize when she’s backpedaling. “Jolie, my previous roommate, she’s exhausted, and I volunteered to help her this once. She has not been sleeping for the past two weeks, and she’s more than exhausted.”

I want to begin with so many words, hurtful words, because you know who else is tired when OUR baby isn’t sleeping well? Me! I don’t say that, but I do hop out of bed instantly, pacing back and forth. She’s staring at me as if I lost my mind. “How many times have you done this since HER baby has been born?”

“I’m not sure, Ty. A couple. I’m just trying to help a friend.”

“So you can help a friend, but I see how labored it makes you to ask a couple of questions about OUR daughter. Hell, you can barely look at the pictures I show you!”

Now, she’s mad. I know the I’m so furious look the second it flashes across her face. “I feel guilty, Ty. Don’t make me bonding with a child that isn’t my own something it isn’t.”

“So you are capable of bonding with a child, just not our OWN?” I yell when I sense the perspiration building on my forehead.

“What the fuck, Tyler? What a horrible thing to say to me. I’m trying here, like hell. I want this. I want to be with you and the baby. Have you ever thought that maybe me bonding with Reagan is a way to help with our own child?”

I want to throw something. My temper has always been nonexistent, but right now, my need to take the lamp next to me and smash it against the wall is great. “Like fuck, it will. How old is this baby, three months?”

“Almost five,” she says, wincing, and she must know me so well she’s aware of what is coming next.

“After five fucking months ...” Lifting my hand in the air, I hold out my five digits and say again, “Five months. If that was the case, it would have taken, Ems!” I am not done, not in the least. “You can’t even call our daughter by her name, yet you can say another baby’s name over and over again.” I catch her off guard as if I’ve never noticed she says the baby or our daughter when it comes to Aspen. Yes, I caught onto that a fucking long time ago.

“So what do you want from me?”

Without thinking through my next words, with her on the bed we made love on countless times last night, I kneel in front of her, “Come home with me. Start over with us, with Aspen. I know it’ll take time but give our girl a chance. She will steal your heart if you only allow her to. You can stay with your dad and Justine for now, but please come back to Spokane with me?”

I try to reach for her hand, and she pulls it away. “Ty, I’m not ready, not yet.”

“That’s bullshit. You have been working on this for so long, and yes, in the beginning, I wasn’t as supportive as I could have been, but you have gone through nine months of intensive treatment. You are using the retreat as a crutch, as a reason not to return to your normal life because you know it’ll be hard at times, but, Ems, we are worth it. We are fucking wonderful, remember?” I reach for her hand, and even though she tries to pull away, I hold on extra tight. She’s no match for my grip.

“Just a little bit longer, Ty. Please, just a little bit longer.”

“No, because you will always say that. It is time to shit or get off the pot, right now, today. Let’s drive back to the retreat center right now. I’ll pack your shit up, and we can leave on the next plane for Spokane. Hell, if you don’t want to live with Nick and Justine, then I’ll find you a little apartment for now. I want you back where we can work on this together. That is the only way we will get past it.”

She lowers her head, and that is when I ask the one question I have been dreading for a while now. “You’re planning on coming back, aren’t you? That has always been the plan, hasn’t it?”

When she doesn’t answer, I grab the jeans she took off me last night, sliding them on. Reaching for a t-shirt and my tennis shoes, I slip them on and walk out of the room. “I’m giving you some time to think, but when I get back, I need an answer.”

I want to shake this girl silly and shout at her to come back to me, to us. But like Emma has made it clear, it is not that easy.