The loud booming sound of another thunder rumbles outside, making me jump in Tyler's arms. His hold on me is steady but incredibly soft.

I hate storms, but I can't help but chuckle. Something about the way this huge fighter is carefully touching me never ceases to amuse me.

"What?" he murmurs, his lips brushing over my temple.

"You're like a wall of muscles."

He pulls away a little to look at me, his brows raising in surprise. "I've been called worse..."

"I hate storms." I look into his eyes, and he tilts his head to the side.

For a second, he just studies me in silence. Then he slides one hand up my cheek and runs the pad of his thumb under my eyes. "I hate seeing you cry."

"Stop..." I let out a playful groan, my head shaking when he gives me a charming smile.

"What do I have to do to show you I'm completely into you?" He stares at me; his eyes open and searching.

"Tyler..." I place my palms over his heart. How can I tell, or rather, how do I explain to him I'm so broken that having someone like him wanting me this much feels... not right?

"Please." He searches my eyes. "Help me understand."

"We don't really know each other..."

He kisses me. Hard and deep. And when I'm practically melting off my feet, he lifts me by hitching one arm beneath my butt, so I have no option but to wrap my legs over his waist.

He carries me over to the couch, but instead of placing me back on the floor, he sits down himself and urges me to straddle his lap. "Then, let's talk."

"You're ridiculously strong."

"Tell this to my trainer, please." He squeezes my knees, a little smirk on his lips. "Come on, ask me anything."

Tilting my head to the side, I study his face. His eyes are focused on me, but there's something there that looks a bit like apprehension. I might not be experienced when it comes to relationships, but I know men tend to be less vocal about themselves. So, him asking us to play twenty questions catches me a little by surprise.

"You're really willing to do this?" I ask, and he lets out a knowing smile.

"Babe, I've been surrounded by strong-willed women... My mom, my grandma, my sister... If there's something I know about women is that talking helps a lot."

"You don't sound like a talkative kind of guy, though." I circle my arms around his neck; just because it's impossible to resist him when he's looking at me with so much adoration as he is right now.

"I'm not." He chuckles. "But I think that's the only way to make this work."

"What do you mean?"

"You were ready to kick me out of your life a while ago." He raises his eyebrows as if to prove a point.

Pressing the tip of my finger to his nose, I take a deep breath. "I'm way out of my comfort zone with you. I've never done this before."

"That day at my place... Was it too much? Is that it?" He swallows hard, his eyes worried.

"I've never... You know.... I've never gone that far with any other guy before... But no. That was not what I'm talking about."

"So, what is it? Am I going too fast somehow, or...?"

"God, no! You're... you're perfect, Tyler. When it's just us, like this, I can't get enough of you, and it gives me hope that our relationship can flourish."

"But?"

"But then... Well, rumors like those sites are spreading about us bring all my insecurities out; ones I didn't even know I had."

"Oh?"

"I come with so much baggage... So much. And I can't help but see how different we are. How to make it work when we come from such different places."

He doesn't say anything for a while, but when he finally does, he catches me by surprise. "My mom died when I was six years old." He closes his eyes for a second, but not in time to hide his pain. "I don't remember much about her, but I remember her baking me peanut butter cupcakes and red velvet cookies often. I don't know who my dad is or much about my mom's family. She got pregnant at eighteen and her parents wanted nothing to do with her from what I got years later."

"I'm so sorry..." I let out a quick breath, taken aback by his revelations.

"Yeah." He slides his hands to my waist, looking down. "So, I went straight to the system and... God, I was so mad, you know? I caused so much trouble that for years after I was adopted, I wondered why my parents would want me."

"You were grieving..." I murmur, and he looks up. When our eyes connect, something deep passes between us. "Are your brothers adopted too?"

"No. Alice was two when I joined the family, and Dylan was born a couple of years later. I just..."

"What?"

"To this day... I... Sometimes, I still feel out of place when we're all together, you know? Like I don't belong with them." He lets out a humorless chuckle, and something in me finally clicks.

We are more similar than I had first realized.

We both lost our moms and the impact it had in our lives was extremely traumatic. We both had no choice in the course our lives would take and we both had to deal with whatever fate threw our way. In my case, it was an abusive father. For him, it was entering the system.

Staring into his eyes, I see the lost little boy he hid so well behind his muscular figure and well-crafted demanding posture. A shiver moves through me and I swallow past the lump in my throat as I finally understand what he sees in me now.

He looks at me like he gets me because he's also been working hard to put his life back together. He's also putting up a front to the world, but hiding so much pain inside.

All this time, I thought what I saw reflected in his beautiful brown eyes was pity. I was so caught up in my own issues that I couldn't recognize what was right there under my nose since the first time we met.

A true understanding.

A deep awareness coming straight from our souls since the first time we locked eyes together. Only Tyler saw it first. He recognized it right from the beginning.

Yeah, it took me a while, but I see it clearly now.

People walk around hiding their masks so well we usually think they have it all together. We think we're the only ones trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together. But we're definitely not.

They say everybody is battling a war no one can see, and I guess it's true.

Meeting Tyler, you would never have imagined the trauma he's hidden so well inside. You would never imagine a guy so famous and successful as him could be just like me.

But it all makes sense now.

I misinterpreted his signs, and it planted a seed of self-doubt in my mind, making me feel inferior to him.

In theory, I knew that being raised by a man like my father — a man who treats you like shit — would cause lots of damage. But only now, I see how deep my scars are.

Men like my father are subtle in the art of undermining someone's self-esteem. They chip away a little every so often; one day you're so full of holes you believe you're broken.

Then, the illusion you'll never be able to put things back together again is created and cemented so deep inside your mind. It makes you question your value. It makes you self-sabotage every time something good happens to you.

And then, a guy like Tyler comes your way, and instead of feeling cherished, you feel inferior. You feel undeserving.

Because you're used to being at the lower end of the scale.

And that imbalance would never allow for you to fully open your heart to someone.

But now...

Now something in me moved, making room for feelings I would never allow otherwise. Making room for me to open up and take a leap of faith, reminding me I'm the one in charge. Not my past.

"Say something," Tyler murmurs, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"Thank you for opening up," I murmur, pressing my lips to his. "I know how hard it can be."

Leaning onto the couch, he cups my cheeks. "Are we okay?"

"We are." I nod, running my hands down his chest through his t-shirt.

My fingers trace the hardness of his muscles as my mouth finds his again for another kiss. The hard length of his erection ignites a deep need for him, so I rock my sex over his, rocking my hips against him.

His breath hisses out, and he catches my wrist when I touch the fly of his pants, stilling my movement. "You drive me crazy. Do you know that?"

"Is that so?" I say breathlessly, trailing kisses from his jaw to neck and inhaling his delicious scent.

"Very much so." He releases my wrists, allowing me to free one button, then the zipper of his pants. "I'm not used to relinquishing control like this."

Laughing softly, I free his erection, loving when he lets an erotic groan. I can see how much being in control means to him now. He lost every sense of normality when he his mom passed away and entered the system.

Being in the same boat, I know unpredictability is one of the scariest feelings to deal with. And the moment you regain some control of your life again, you won't give it away so easily.

That's why I love how, even though he's always in charge, he allows me to set the rhythm of things when we are together. I've been stripped of my voice and wishes after losing my mom, so him making sure I also hold the power when we are together means everything to me.

But what is life if not the art of compromising?

"And what would you do if you were in charge?" I bite his earlobe and he grabs my thigh, his hand sliding upwards beneath the edges of my dress.

His thumbs find the edges of my pants; the pad sliding through the slickness of my sex. "I would tie you up and spread you out. Lick you cunt until you were begging me for my cock."

Gasping, I throw my head back when he pushes the tip of his thumb inside. "God, you have such a dirty mouth."

"Just telling the truth, babe," he whispers, his lips brushing over my neck.

"Hmmm...." I moan.

"Question is..." One of his hands squeezes my waist, his eyes shining as he lets out a sweet but wicked grin. "Will you let me?"

And there goes my heart, opening up fully to him. There goes him, breaking the walls I have built so carefully around myself.

Pressing one of my hands to his cheeks, I allow myself to trust I'm worth so much more than the lies I was told.

"Yes," I say, feeling brave after a long time.

____

A/N: I LOVE them together! What about you?

Please remember to vote! <3

XOXO

Celeste