My heart ached for the man in front of me. I loved him so much, it made it hard to breathe when I could see him in so much pain.

The trauma of what we had been through still lingered.

“You would have been better off never meeting me,” Sin sighed deeply.

The memory waking up in his bed, unsure of what had happened resurfaced, carrying back all those emotions.

I shook my head. “That’s not true,” I argued.

I knew how much he had change my life and the path we had lived to get to his point. I would not allow Mack to break us.

“It is. You just don’t want to see it.” His voice heavy. “Both of you will be better off without me.”

“That’s not true.” This time I repeated my statement, my voice a little louder. “How can you even think that?”

He raked a hand through his hair. He stood tall and broken at the same time.

“I wouldn’t be here without you,” I whispered, searching his features.

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t have had to save you if I hadn’t let them back in my life.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” I murmured.

He studied me.

“I’m talking about the first time we met.” It felt like a lifetime ago.

“What are you talking about?” His eyes glittered with pain.

The same pain I wanted to take away.

“The night when someone spiked my drink.” Not that I could remember much other than waking up up beside him, convinced something had taken place between us. It heated my cheeks when I thought back to how naive I had been.

If I had met the wrong type of man, he would have taken advantage of the situation and things could have been very different.

But I had been lucky enough to meet a man who stood by his convictions, knew the difference between right and wrong and who stood up for the people who couldn’t.

He remained quiet.

“You took care of me. That night if you hadn’t been there who knows what would have happened to me. Someone else might have taken full advantage of a girl who couldn’t protect herself.” It was still a difficult thing to talk about. “I was so vulnerable then, so new to how the world worked that I don’t know if it was something I would have survived if someone had taken advantage of me.”

It was something that happened far too many times. I had been very lucky.

He had brought so much good to my life, I had to make him see it.

“If I hadn’t thrown the party, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place.” He was really trying to stay firm in his belief that without him I would be better off. But he didn’t understand how he had affected me in such a positive and life changing kind of a way.

“The night I escaped and Jeff found me. You sent him to look for me. If you hadn’t, I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t found me. When I was so lost, you sent the man who saved me.” I swallowed hard. I remembered how frightened I had been. My life had hung in the balance. Who knows if Eric would have found me. He would have ensured I would have not been able to escape again and that would have sealed my fate.

“You saved yourself Taylor,” he corrected. “You are stronger than you think. The trauma you have been through would have crushed a person but not you. You don’t need anyone to save you Taylor. You’re strong enough to save yourself.”

My heart was bursting with love for this man. I smiled. His words made me feel like I could conquer anything, including the doubt that plagued him now. I would not allow us to fall apart in the wake of Mack.

“I know if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have had the strength to do any of this. Leading a normal life, wanting normal things. The stuff I’ve had to endure would have made it impossible.” I took a breath. “Right now I don’t know how to be a mother or how I’m going to be able to protect our son from the evil I know exists in the world. I need you. I can’t do this without you.” I began to tear up.

He didn’t know how messed up I felt most of the time. It was only when I was with him I felt like I could accomplish anything. He gave me that.

“God Taylor,” Sin moved to hug me. “Don’t cry. It breaks my heart.” His hold engulfing.

“I need you Sin. I need you to be strong when I’m weak. I need you to remind me that there is good in this world. I need you to show me that love conquers all. I need that more than anything.” I breathed him in with my face buried against his chest. He hugged me tighter.

He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

I put my arms around him and hugged him close. It felt so good to touch him, to have him near. His touch soothed me in a way I couldn’t explain.

“What if I can’t keep you safe?” Sin asked, softly as he continued to hold me. “I would never be able to live with myself if something happened to you.”

“I can’t see into the future but I know I have a better chance with you than without you. You saved me.” I felt a loss of words when I remembered the moments when I wasn’t sure he would pull through. I had come far too close to losing him.

I didn’t want to think about what I nearly lost. It was enough to take the breath from my lungs.

“You got shot trying to save us from a mad man,” I reminded.

He sighed. “If I was half the man you think I am, I would walk out of here and never look back.”

I moved away slightly to touch his cheek as he stared down at me. “It takes a stronger man to stay and love me.”

He gave a me a ghost of a smile. “That’s the easy option, trust me,” he scoffed.

“In a few months it’s not going to be easy at all.” I got overwhelmed when I thought about our son and what lay ahead. “I’m scared I’m not going to get this right Sin. What if I screw things up. I didn’t have a mother long enough to feel any confidence that I can be one.”

“I know you, better than anyone. You will love him with all of your heart and that’s all he will need.”

He had experienced a rough childhood, my childhood had been traumatic. I wanted nothing more than to give our son the childhood filled with love and patience.

He pressed a kiss to my forehead and I sighed.

“I can’t promise we won’t have tough times but I will always put you first. You mean everything to me.”

My heart inflated with warmth. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I was starting to think there was something wrong with me,” I admitted softly, allowing him to see some of my insecurities.

“Why would you think that?”

“You’ve barely touched me…” I held his gaze as I swallowed.

He frowned.

“At first I thought maybe it was because of the pregnancy.”

He shook his head, as he moved to touch my stomach gently by placing a hand on it. “There is nothing more beautiful than you right now, growing our son.”

He sighed as he leaned his head to mine. “I felt responsible for everything that happened. I hated myself that’s why I couldn’t touch you. I didn’t feel worthy of you.”

“You are. Never doubt that,” I said to him softly, needing him to see himself the way I did.

I raised myself up onto my tiptoes and touched my mouth to his, needing him.

His response was immediate and intense. His mouth covered mine, with the deep thrust of his tongue as he deepens the kiss while I groaned.

It felt heaven. Everything felt right.

His arms wrapped around me holding me close. I didn’t want him to ever let me go. I wanted to stay in that moment till the end of time.

It was perfect.