Whoever had taken that perfect face and marked it forever. With violence.

And she just wished... She wished they knew each other some other way. That she were normal, whole and easy, and he was a nice guy that she met at a café or a bar. Instead of what they were. Instead of all this brokenness. Instead of all this... Anguish.

“You don’t have any scars, do you?” He moved his hand up the center of her back, his calloused fingers tracing a line there. “None so anyone could see.”

She shivered. “No,” she agreed. “None so anyone could see.”

“Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?”

She shook her head. “Not in a nice way. My mother said before that my looks would get me in trouble. I did my best to cover up my... My figure. I never wore makeup...”

“You should show your body off with pride. You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And I am not a virgin, Tala. I’ve seen my share of women.”

“I don’t think I want to think about that.”

“You were honest with me, so I’m being honest with you. And I want you to understand that even though I’ve done this before... It still means something to me. It’s still more than just...” He cupped her face. “Hell, sweetheart. You saved my life. How many men can say that to a woman they’re holding in their arms.”

And he made her feel strong. He made her feel brave and important. He made her feel right. Just as she was. And that was a whole kind of miracle she hadn’t known she needed. He picked her up and laid her back on the bed, spread her out before him and looked her up and down. “You are so beautiful. And what I feel... What I feel right now, it’s not shameful. This is the purest thing I’ve ever felt in my life.”

He bent over her on the bed and cupped her breast, traced one nipple with the edge of his calloused finger. Then she shivered. He leaned in and took the tightened bud into his mouth, sucking it in deep. And she gasped, arching up off the bed as an arrow of pleasure centered itself right in her midsection, tightened between her thighs.

She had read about this. But reading about it wasn’t anything like experiencing it. She couldn’t control this. The speed of it. The heights. She had no say over which direction this fantasy went. It was his world. His hands. His touch. Creating a symphony of need inside of her, and she had no idea where or when the crescendo might be. It was the most terrifying, exhilarating, wonderful moment of her life. As he continued to lick and kiss and suck his way down her body, she surrendered herself wholly to the moment.

He kissed his way down to her stomach, below her belly button. Then down between her thighs. She gripped his head, arching against him as he tasted her deep. He growled as he tasted her, and she lifted her hips up against him, writhing in time with the stroke of his tongue. She looked down and watched him, and he looked up, his eyes meeting hers. And she gasped, her orgasm breaking over her like a sudden wave that came from nowhere. Sweeping her out to sea, leaving her storm tossed and breathless.