Don't Need You - Lilian Monroe Page 0,81

over again.

“Serena,” he finally says, pulling away. “No. No, no, no. Don’t think that. Don’t feel like you’re not enough because you had one lost pregnancy. That’s not why I love you. It’s not why I’ve been lost without you for the past six weeks. It’s not because of your childbearing capacity that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” He holds my face, staring deep into my eyes. “I. Love. You. Not your womb, you hear me?”

I snort, trying to laugh but crying too hard.

“Do you understand? Do you understand what I’m telling you? You are good enough without any children. I want you. I’m not ready for kids, anyway. Eventually, sure, but now? No way!”

Relief washes over me like I’ve never experienced. Kit’s face is so earnest, his words so perfect, that all the guilt I’ve held onto just breaks away. Running my hand up Kit’s cheek, I let out a long breath, and with it, all my fears.

I’ve wasted so many years thinking I wasn’t good enough. I’ve been broken and cut down, and I thought Kit would only see that version of me. Instead, Kit sees me for who I am. Truly.

“I want to take things slow,” I say. “My feelings are so strong for you, Kit, and I want to move to Woodvale, but I don’t want kids right now. I don’t want to get married right now. I just…I need time. I don’t even know how much time. It might take years for me to heal. Therapy. I don’t know.”

“I get it,” Kit says, and I believe him. He knows I’ve been broken. Ten years with Angelo ruined me, and it might take another ten years to fix myself up again. “I’ll be here,” he says softly, tilting his head toward mine.

When his lips touch mine, I give myself over to his kiss. I melt into his arms, opening myself up to the love I didn’t think I deserved. I cling onto his shoulders, knowing that this is exactly where I belong.

Scooping me up, Kit carries me to the bedroom. He lays me on the bed, pressing his body on top of mine. One hand runs down my side as our kiss becomes deeper. More insistent. Needy.

I realize, then, that Kit needs me as much as I need him. I wasn’t helping him by pushing him away. I was hurting him. The last remnants of my armor dissolve away, and I’m completely his.

Tearing at his shirt, I start to unbutton it. I need him to know, now. I need him to understand what he does to me. My heart. My body. I need to feel his skin beneath my palms, and finally feel him inside me. This needs to be consecrated. We need to be one.

My breath is shallow. “Has anyone ever told you how good you look in your pilot’s uniform?”

“Tell me.”

“It’s hard to control myself.” I undo the last button, pushing his shirt off his shoulders and tearing at his undershirt.

“No one asked you to control yourself.” He hovers over me and I let my hands roam over his hard, beautiful body. His eyes are soft, like he’s drinking this moment in. My breath catches as my fingers trail lower, hooking into his belt as I start to unbuckle it.

“You’re beautiful, angel,” Kit says, kissing my neck. His breath is warm and sweet, and it sends goosebumps rushing over my skin. Kit slides his hands beneath my shirt, taking it off and letting it fall to the floor on top of his. With darkening eyes, he surveys my body. I’ve pulled his belt out of the buckle now, and my hands claw at his zipper.

“I want to enjoy this, Serena,” Kit says, putting his hands over mine to still them.

“You can enjoy it every day for all of eternity. Right now, I need to feel you. All of you.”

I need it so badly I can hardly explain it. All the emotion inside me, all the worries and fears, they’ve come to a head, and there’s a sort of desperate insistency inside me. I need something physical to take the edge off my emotions.

Kit. I need Kit.

He groans, dropping his lips to mine once more. His kiss is harder now, bruising my lips as he drags his tongue across mine. His hands grip me, sinking into my flesh as he tears my bra off and cups my breasts. I love hearing him grunt and moan as he touches new parts of