Mr. Insatiable (23 page)

The realization made him catch his breath. It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t have children. Beatrix had told him that was how it was going to be, and he had to like it or lump it. But Enya’s decision had been taken from her. And now he understood–she’d tried to keep herself distant from him because she hadn’t wanted him to have to make the choice between her and a family.
That
was what his father had told her the morning before they flew out. John had told her to keep away from him. She
did
love him. And that was why she’d been so torn in two.

They’d both acted in his best interest, he knew. He couldn’t blame either of them for wanting the best for him. But it was time to put aside everyone else’s wishes and needs. For once, he had to be selfish and think about what he wanted. What was more important to him? Having children of his own flesh and blood? Or having Enya?

Kit lay there as day turned into night, staring into the darkness, until the answer became clear.

Chapter

19

The next day, Kit sat on the porch outside Enya’s house until she arrived at three in the afternoon. It was raining, and he felt cold and stiff from sitting for so long. As her car pulled up, he stood and groaned, feeling old.

She looked across at the house and saw him. Her eyes widened, and she looked down for a moment, as if wondering whether she should get out and confront him, or drive off. Eventually she got out, however, and he walked up the path to meet her.

She wore jeans and a green jumper that complimented her hair perfectly. She looked pale and wary, but so beautiful she took his breath away.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before a single word left her lips, he put his arms around her and held her tightly to him.

“Kit!” she gasped.

Pleasure flooded through him at the feel of her soft body pressed against him. “God, I’ve missed you.” He kissed her ear. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” To his relief, she didn’t push him away, but melted against him. “How long have you been here?”

“Since nine this morning.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Yes. Out of my mind with worry at the thought of losing you. I haven’t been able to think of anything else.”

“Kit–”

He pulled back and pressed his fingers to her lips. Rain poured down over them both, but he hardly noticed it. “I’m sorry I let you walk away without saying anything the other day. I was upset and confused, that was all.”

“That’s okay, I–”

He kissed her to stop her talking. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Kit, but I–”

He kissed her again. “Will you marry me?”

She stared at him. There was a full ten seconds of silence as the rain soaked their hair and clothes. “What?” she said eventually.

“Honey, I can’t bear to think of being apart from you. I want you to be in my life forever. And ever. I love you. I want to grow old with you.”

“But what about children?” Her voice was little more than a whisper. “You want your own family. You’ve always said so.”

“I know.” He brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. “But Celt? I want you more. We can adopt. Or foster. We’ll look into the options. I don’t care. Being a parent’s not about having the same blood, Enya–it’s about loving and caring for your children. I realize that now. All I want is to be with you.”

“Oh.”

She didn’t look as thrilled as he’d hoped. She looked completely shocked. His heart gave a strange stutter in his chest, and he frowned and stroked her cheek. “I love you.” He swallowed. Had she decided she definitely didn’t want to be with him while she was away?

She cleared her throat. “I’ve got something to tell you.”

“What?”

“Can we go indoors? I’m freezing.”

He blinked, finally seeing she was completely soaked through. “Christ, I’m sorry, of course, yes.”

They ran up the path and she let them in and closed the door. She turned to him with wide eyes, looking apprehensive, her lovely red hair hanging in wet strands around her pale face.

His heart in his mouth, he asked, “What is it?”

She looked up at him. “I’m pregnant.”

* * * *

Enya’s heart thumped so fast she had to lean against the wall in case her legs gave way.

Kit couldn’t have looked more shocked if she’d slapped him with a wet fish. “What?”

She swallowed. “I’m pregnant. Not far–I’ve only just missed my period. But I’m always regular, and up at the beach house I realized I was late, so I took a test and it was positive, and I thought...” She let her voice trail off. She was talking too fast, and he didn’t appear to be listening.

“But...” He stared at her stupidly. “How?”

“You want a diagram?” He didn’t smile, and she bit her lip. Now wasn’t the time for jokes. “I don’t know. The doctors said I would probably be infertile. But I guess nature found a way.”

Still he stared at her.

“It’s yours, by the way,” she clarified.

Still nothing.

“You’re going to be a daddy, Kit,” she said softly. “Aren’t you happy? I thought you’d be happy.”

His gaze dropped to her stomach. It stayed there for a long moment before lifting back to hers.

And then he smiled. Enya’s heart soared as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, long and heartfelt, before releasing her lips and holding her, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

“Are you smelling my hair?”

He laughed and pulled back, holding her face in his hands. “I can’t believe it. It’s like a dream come true. My head’s spinning.”

“It’s very early days,” she said hesitantly. “There’s obviously a chance of miscarriage and we shouldn’t tell anyone yet.”

He nodded. He had a wondrous look in his eyes, as if she’d said she’d seen an angel.

She still had to ask, though. “Are you sure about this? Is it what you want? I mean, I know we didn’t plan it, and we did originally say we’d finish things when we came back to Auckland...”

He stopped her words with a kiss.

“But I–”

He kissed her again.

“I just meant are you sure–”

He kissed her once more, laughing this time. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive today.” He brushed away the tears that ran down her cheeks. “Don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it. I can’t believe you were willing to give up on having a family for me.”

He’d shocked her speechless when he’d told her. Although she’d been fairly certain he wouldn’t be upset that she was pregnant and would look after her, part of her had wondered whether he would feel as if he had to stay with her because of the baby. But when he’d told her he wanted her even though he hadn’t thought she could get pregnant, her doubts had fled.

He stroked her cheek tenderly. “I thought about it all day yesterday, trying to tell myself I should stay away from you because I’ve wanted a family for so long, but I couldn’t get you out of my head, or my heart. I’ve loved you forever, Enya O’Donnell. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before. And the thought of being apart from you... Well, it’s laughable. You and I–we’re meant to be, I know that now. And once I realized that, there wasn’t a decision to make. I love you.”

Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. “I love you too.”

“So, will you marry me? You haven’t answered me yet. Way to keep a guy on tenterhooks.”

She laughed, exhilaration flooding through her even as the tears continued to run. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Kit Fawkes.”

He kissed her again. And then he held her, and she rested her cheek on his chest, so happy at the outcome she thought she might explode.

She felt his hand move to her stomach. He kissed her ear. “I still can’t believe it. We’ve made a baby. That’s kind of fantastic, don’t you think?”

He sounded so thrilled. She sniffed and wiped her face. “You won’t be able to blow things up when it’s sleeping.”

He kissed down her neck, his tongue lacing against her skin. Her lips started to curve. Mr. Insatiable was getting in the mood. “That’s okay.” He walked her backward along the corridor to her room. “I guess we’ll have to keep the fireworks confined to the bedroom. Fancy letting off a few rockets now?”

“Time rains or gold spiders?”

“Wedding rings,” he clarified. “Mrs. Fawkes-to-be.”

She sighed as he took her wet jumper in his hands and lifted it over her head. “With a surname like that, I suppose you couldn’t have had any other sort of job.”

“I draw the line at blowing up the Houses of Parliament though.” He tore off his own top and pulled her into his arms. “Ready to see some stars?”

“Always, with you.”

Kit lowered his lips, and Enya prepared herself for the pyrotechnic display.

Other Lyrical Books By Serenity Woods

Whistling Dixie

About Serenity Woods

Serenity lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand. She’s been to Beijing and Xi’an, and has visited most of the sites included in the story. She famously gave up the chance to spend two hours traversing the Great Wall of China, choosing instead to spend the red-hot summer day drinking lemonade in the tearoom. She adores fireworks, but doesn’t drink tea.

Serenity loves writing contemporary romance, and she’s won several awards for her work, including first place in the RWNZ First Impressions contest in 2011, and second
and
third place in the RWNZ Great Beginnings contest. Her favorite tropes are best-friends-to-lovers and brother’s-best-mate, both of which feature in this book.

Serenity’s Website: http://serenitywoodsromance.com
 

Mr. Insatiable

9781616504359

Copyright © February 2013, Serenity Woods

Edited by Ann-Marie Smith

Book design by Lyrical Press, Inc.

Cover Art by Renee Rocco

First Lyrical Press, Inc. electronic publication: February, 2013

Lyrical Press, Incorporated

http://www.lyricalpress.com

eBooks are not transferable. All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

Published in the United States of America by Lyrical Press, Incorporated

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