I leaned down and kissed her.
She ran her fingernails down the back of my neck, deepening the kiss.
I wanted to freeze time.
But I knew that wasn't possible. Time seemed to be speeding by. Our daughter was already two. But I could make this moment a little more memorable. I lifted Penny off the desk, carried her over to the wall, and pressed her back against it.
And I fucked her. Just like I had against that tree on that golf course so many years ago. Just like I had when we were first falling for each other. Back when we were wrong. Back when nothing we did made sense.
"James!"
"I love you, baby." Time changed us. It brought us closer together. We were a family now.
"I love you too," she said against my lips.
I grabbed her perfect ass firmly in my hands and slammed into her hard.
She screamed my name again as she came.
And I relished the feeling of her tightening around me. The feeling of being whole. The feeling that I knew was love. I exploded inside of her, a slew of curses leaving my lips. "Fuck, Penny."
She laughed, tightening around me again.
"God, you know how much I like when you do that."
"What?" she asked innocently, running her fingers through my hair.
"This," I said and tickled her side.
She squealed, trying to wiggle out of my grip, but I was still buried inside of her. And I had no intention of moving.
"We need to get dressed," she protested through her laughter.
"Or we could just stay like this." I dropped my fingers from her skin, knowing she was right. We were running out of time.
She sighed and pressed her forehead against mine. "James Hunter, you're impossible. Our daughter is going to run in here and see you with your pants around your ankles."
"She's three. She'll forget."
"Time is flying by too fast."
I gently eased her off the wall and placed her on her feet. "Then let's make sure to steal more moments like this."
She smiled. "Promise?"
"I promise."
I opened my eyes and stared at the empty chair.
Twitch.
That was the thing about time. It could change everything in the blink of an eye. She had been my student once. Then she became my wife. I opened up my eyes. Now she was slipping away.
I ran my palm along the back of my neck, remembering her fingernails digging into my skin. The room felt empty without her. Much more like a lonely library than her office.
I walked toward her desk like I was in a trance and sat down in her chair. I wasn't sure what I was looking for exactly. A sign that my lawyer was full of shit? That the doctor was wrong to point blame at her? She wouldn't try to kill herself. She just...wouldn't. We had come so far together. She wouldn't leave me, or Scar, or the new baby. I turned on the computer as I tried to ignore the image of my son that popped into my head.
A Word document was open. I stared at the last line she had written: