Ryan placed his finger under my chin and tipped my head up so that we were staring into each other's eyes. "You're beautiful Bree. You've always been beautiful. That has never changed."

Tears rolled down my cheeks again. I didn't feel beautiful. I couldn't help but think about the last woman Ryan had been with. Laken may have been empty on the inside, but on the outside, she was pure perfection. Hell, she was a fucking lingerie model. She was probably strutting the runway as we speak, exposing all of Victoria's Secret's.

"Stop it Bree. I know what you're thinking. She could never measure up to you. Not even close, so do not compare yourself to her. You really have no idea just how beautiful you are, but more than that, you have a beautiful heart, and you have a beautiful soul. She was full of ugliness on the inside and you are just so pure and giving. You always put others ahead of yourself. She's got absolutely nothing on you." He gently wiped the tears from my face.

I nodded, moved deeply by his words, and I took a deep breath before pressing my lips to his. I let the kiss linger for a moment then broke free, resting my forehead against his. "Let's go to bed." I whispered against his lips.

I had fully expected the bedroom to be pitch black. With the power outage, none of the outside lights were streaming through the windows, but I had forgotten about the small bedside lamp that was on, courtesy of the back up generator. It wasn't much light, but it was enough. Enough to almost make me forget his beautiful words he had just spoken to me. Almost.

Should I ask him to turn it off? He hadn't even seen the worst of my scars. But maybe I should leave it on. I couldn't hide my body forever from him.

Once again, he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Do you want me to turn it off?" When I hesitated in my response, he went on. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but like I told you Bree, I don't care about the scars, or maybe you should call them battle wounds because you are a warrior. You fought a battle and you won."

"You can leave it on." I said softly. He sat down on the bed next to me. We looked at each other, then the floor and now the ceiling, neither of which were very interesting.

Why did this feel so awkward all of a sudden? God it was like two kids getting ready to have sex for the first time. Ryan and I had had a very healthy, very satisfying sexual relationship. Okay, so it's been a year and a half. We're both nervous. Should I make the first move or wait for him?

Suddenly we both turned our heads at the same time and looked at each other, then we burst out laughing. Not expected and definitely not the most romantic thing, but it is what it is. I was also hyper aware of the fact that I was completely nude from the waist up and I instinctively crossed my arms over my chest in a futile attempt to hide my nakedness.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be this nervous." He said, once he stopped laughing.

"Don't be sorry. I'm feeling it too. It's been a while Ryan. We are not the same people we were back then. We've gone through some emotional and physical changes. We've grown and now we are getting back to getting to know each other again. It's not going to magically go back to the way it used to be."

Neither of us spoke for another moment. The storm outside appeared to be worsening. The rumble of thunder was loud enough to rattle the walls and windows, and was immediately followed by lightning illuminating the dimness of the room. It left me shaking and quivering in fear. Instinctively, I moved closer to him, wanting to cling to him, but still daunted by the awkwardness that hung in the air between us.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, his hands rubbing my back soothingly to try and calm my fears. "It's okay baby. I've got you." He whispered in my ear and hearing those words that I had been longing to hear flipped a switch inside of my brain.

My lips sought his out almost in desperation, and just like that, the awkwardness turned to passion as he eagerly responded to my kiss, his own passion being fueled.

He leaned against me, pressing me down until I was flat on my back across the bed, Ryan hovering over me kissing me senseless, tongues battling, teeth clashing from the intensity.

Warm lips were now trailing along my jawline, down the side of my neck and finding my sweet spot. The storm raging outside now forgotten as I focused on those warm lips literally making me melt from the inside out.

I ran my nails along his bare back. Hearing his sharp intake of breath and feeling the strong muscles contract, I dug my nails in deeper needing something to ground me from the storm of emotions coursing through my body.

I tensed up when his lips moved to my breasts, knowing my artificial nipples had no sensation, but then I realized it didn't even really matter because his harsh stubble on my sensitive skin felt so sinfully delicious and it awakened my other senses.

Soft kisses were peppered along my rib cage and his head moved lower down my body, causing me to tense up again. There were several small scars on my abdomen from the laparoscopic portion of my surgery, and although small, they were still unsightly. Was I ready for him to see the big scar?

"So brave. So beautiful." He murmured, kissing each scar, and my heart nearly exploded over the tenderness and care he was showing. His lips were right above the waistband of my pants, and he hesitated for a moment, his fingertips just inside of the elastic. His eyes searched mine as if awaiting consent, and I finally nodded, raising my hips slightly to allow him to remove the pants, along with my underwear.

The scar was on my lower abdomen, between my belly button and pubic bone, and ran nearly hip to hip. It had healed well, but it was there forever. A stark reminder of everything I had lost. Everything I would never have. A tear escaped from the corner of my eye and I quickly brushed it away before he could notice it.

He didn't even flinch at the sight of the scar, he just covered it with soft butterfly kisses like he had done everywhere else, scarred and not scarred. God I was so wrong to keep this from him. My decision had cost us so much time together. Time that we could maybe make up for, but could never get back. The emotions were swirling through my head like a windstorm, but were quickly pushed to background when he gently spread my legs apart and placed soft kisses to the inside of each thigh.

I mewed and whimpered as he kissed all around the area I needed him most. I could feel just how wet I was. My juices coated the insides of my thighs and ran between my cheeks. I knew he liked to tease me, and I used to love it even though it infuriated me at times. Now, was one of those times. I was so needy.

"Ry...please." I whined.

To my complete and utter surprise, my plea must have gotten through to him because the second I felt his tongue separate my slick folds and lick up to my center I gasped. My gasp was quickly replaced by a moan when he began to rub my clit with his finger and he plunged his tongue into my wet pussy.

"Fuck." I hissed under my breath as he replaced his tongue with his fingers, twisting and curling just the way I liked it, hitting that magic spot inside of me that no one, not even me, had been able to reach. Only him. Always him.

He flicked at my clit with his tongue while his fingers worked their magic, and I finally felt that feeling I had been missing. The warmth flooding my body. The twitching and thighs quivering. The eyelids fluttering. The quickening in the pit of my stomach. It was building. It was climbing. Higher and higher. The pressure and feeling of needing that release. Then like waves crashing over a sandy shore, it peaked, crested and completely washed over me, until I was as limp as a rag doll.

He drank and slurped and licked the wetness pouring out of me. It was as if he could not get his fill. It had been so long.

As I was still relishing in my post orgasmic bliss, I did not even realize that he had moved away from me until I opened my heavily hooded eyes to see him standing at the side of the bed stripping out of his pants. His cock, long and thick, was standing proudly at attention and I opened my arms welcoming him. "I need you."

"I'm all yours." He replied. It felt so familiar as his warm body covered mine, and in one smooth thrust, he filled me completely.

"I'm home baby." He murmured against my lips.

"Me too, and I'm never leaving again."

The kiss he placed on my lips stole the breath from my chest and when he laced his fingers with mine, that stole my heart, although my heart had always belonged to him anyway.

He set a steady tempo, his hips rocking against mine as I wrapped my legs around his center holding him tightly to me. I meant it. I was never leaving again. Never letting go.

"I love you." I said, looking deeply into his eyes, my free hand in the back of his neck fingering his sweat-dampened curls.

"I love you too baby." Another deep, sensuous kiss and my orgasm washed over me prompting him to follow. His warm seed filled me, and I clung to him like my lifeline, because that's what he was. I didn't even care about the storm anymore because I had found shelter.