Battlescars (11 page)

But that night in bed, she wasn’t thinking about anything but Dyson.

He danced relentlessly through her dreams, appearing here and there, until he finally came to stay. Even though she woke a time or two, each time she fell back to sleep, he was there, as if he were waiting for her. In her dream he hadn’t walked away the night before but instead had come upstairs to her bedroom, where he looked around the room for a long moment, taking it all in before he turned to her.

“So this is where you dream about me,” he teased.

Kayla took one step toward him and looked up into his eyes. She put her hand on his chest and felt the heartbeat there, moving faster than it should have been, showing her how much he wanted her. No matter how much he teased and tried to play it cool, that heartbeat didn’t lie.

Her hand still on his heart, he leaned down to press the softest of kisses to her forehead, her nose, cheeks, and finally her lips. She melted into him, the whole length of their bodies coming together.

There was something else that didn’t lie, too.

Bolder in her dreams than real life, Kayla reached down to touch him through the denim of his jeans. He sucked in a deep breath and pushed against her hand. He was hot and heavy, filling out his jeans in a way that made her own breath come faster. She slowly pulled down the zipper and slipped her hand inside. He wore cotton boxers, warm from the heat of his body, and she felt the whole hard, hot length of him through the thin cotton. She looked up at Dyson, a seductive smile on her face.

He ran his hands over her hips. “Do it. Please.” he said, hoarse with desire.

Kayla unbuttoned his jeans for better access and reached inside his boxers, aching to feel his bare skin.. He shuddered and let out a long, low moan as his eyes drifted closed. Kayla felt the surge of power, the sweet thrill of bringing a man such pleasure and knowing that the pleasure had just barely begun. She watched Dyson’s face as he opened his eyes again and smiled at her.

“My turn,” he whispered, as he reached for her.

He made short work of her blouse, untucking it with one tug and running down the buttons until he could slip the shirt from her shoulders. Holding her at arm’s length, he drank in the sight of her in her favorite black bra that made the most of her curves. Pulling her back toward him, he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans in one quick motion, and before she knew it, he was slipping her jeans from her hips.

While he admired her, Kayla took the opportunity to reach for the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head. Though she’d seen him shirtless at the gym, his muscles nearly took her breath away. Before she was even close to being finished appreciating the sight of his lean, beautifully defined abs, Dyson scooped her up and deposited her gently on the bed, where he wasted no time in climbing on top of her.

She opened her mouth to voice her disappointment – he was moving way too fast! – when he gave her a wicked grin and started to kiss his way down between her breasts, stopping to play with each nipple for only a single frustrating moment before he kissed his way down her belly. She realized where he was going and sighed, lifting her arms above her head, ready to give herself over to the intense pleasure she was sure a man like Dyson could give her…

The moment his tongue touched her, Kayla arched toward him and uttered a groan. The thrill of it coursed through her like slow lightning, sending a tingle up her spine. She reached down and ran her hands over the muscles in his arms, savoring the feeling of each ridge and curve as she writhed under the pleasure of his tongue.

“Dyson,” she said, over and over again, until it was a litany of pleasure. He didn’t let up, didn’t even slow down, and she was soon right on the verge. She begged him not to stop, begged him to keep going, begged him to do this forever and ever and ever…

Kayla woke up covered in sweat, heart pounding just as she climaxed in real life with a shout and a shudder. As her breathing slowed, she tried to hold on to the delicious sensations of her dream that had seemed so real that she could almost taste Dyson on her lips.

Though Kayla wasn’t a complete stranger to pleasuring herself, she had never been brought to orgasm by a dream. It had been so powerful that she felt both elated and drained, and a little embarrassed at how loud she’d been. The walls of her apartment were so thin that she was sure her neighbors had heard her cry of pleasure, and realizing that she simply had been unable to control herself, Kayla dissolved into laughter – the deep, satisfying laughter of release. Realizing that she couldn’t be held responsible for her wanton behavior in her dreams, she decided to just enjoy the aftermath.

One thing was certain: Dyson was definitely getting to her.

T
he next day, Dyson woke up long before his alarm, and the first thought on his mind was Kayla.

She wasn’t the kind of girl he typically dated. Dyson had always been a looker, and that meant he was blessed in a way that only the luckiest of men were – he effortlessly attracted women, and he was always in control. Though some of his acquaintances would complain about dry spells in which the only action they saw was with their own hands, Dyson had never found it difficult to find women who were all too willing to share his bed. Even women who claimed to never jump in the sack right away tended to change their tunes when Dyson turned on the charm. Dyson knew that it would have been easy for him to be a player and abuse the trust of the women he spent time with, but he was always scrupulously honest. He didn’t lie, and he never made promises that he had no intention of keeping. He was honest, even when that meant telling his partners that he wasn’t looking for a serious relationship. He’d slept with a lot of women, but Dyson was a thoughtful lover, and when the relationships had ended, his partners left satisfied and unable to complain about the time they’d shared with Dyson. Though a few had moved on reluctantly, they couldn’t complain that Dyson had treated them poorly.

Women enjoyed Dyson, and he certainly enjoyed finding women to share his bed, but that was as far as the relationships ever went. He never let a woman get past his physical charms to forge a deeper bond. He was definitely emotionally unavailable, and the first time a woman had used those words on him, he had immediately agreed. He was friendly and kind and courteous, but when it came to emotional depth, he didn’t let anyone see what he was really like. Dyson wasn’t particularly conflicted about his choices. He knew that the distance he put between him and the women in his life was intended to protect him from rejection.. He knew that women liked what they saw on the surface, but once they knew who he really was – once they knew what he was capable of doing – would they really be as enamored with him?

He was almost certain they wouldn’t be, so he had never bothered to find out.

But this girl…Kayla was something different.

Though he wasn’t sure how much she knew about him, he was pretty sure she was the kind of girl who did her homework. And even if she didn’t, he learned through the long day at the animal shelter that Kayla believed in giving second chances. She might have dealt with one hell of a childhood, but she had a sweetness about her that said those experiences hadn’t broken her. Even so, she understood what it meant to be through hell and back.

Dyson thought that maybe, just maybe, she might be the one woman who could see past the stigma of his past and look toward a future that he hoped would be bright.

He smiled up at the ceiling as he thought about it. Maybe that’s why he was okay with moving slowly. Since Dyson had wanted to avoid emotional entanglements, he’d gotten down to business and wasted no time getting horizontal with his one-night stands. Kayla was a whole different story. He was surprised to find that he was not just willing to tolerate a slower pace, but he actually looked forward to drawing out the anticipation of making love to Kayla. Making love – rather than getting laid – was new ground for Dyson, but he thought he might be ready.

When Dyson thought back to the kisses they had enjoyed the night he walked her home from the bar, the way she moved against him, the way she grabbed his hair and pulled him closer to her, the way she had kissed him with everything she was worth, holding nothing back…he questioned how long he’d be able to keep his desire in check. All signs indicated that Kayla was liable to go off like a firecracker the moment she completely opened up and let him in.

“In every sense of the word,” he murmured, and grinned mischievously.

Ever since their date, Dyson had been on a sexual edge that was both delicious and frustrating. He would have given anything to take Kayla to bed that night, but he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he had done that. The walk back to his car and the drive home had actually been painful because of the his hard on, and he could hardly wait to get home and relieve his sexual frustration – not once, but twice. Both times, it had been Kayla’s face and Kayla’s body that he’d fantasized about, and he couldn’t help but add the excitement of pleasuring her in a public place like the couple they’d watched on the balcony.

Dyson was surprised how often he thought about Kayla and how often he imagined her in a variety of ways – dressed up in a dress and high heels, in a sexy little scrap of lacy lingerie, or even just in the jeans she’d been wearing when he met her – perfectly fitted and molded to her curves. When he awoke, she was the first thing on his mind, and as he slid his hand under the covers to reach for his morning erection, he wondered about what she wore to bed, what she looked like without a stitch of clothing on, and what he would do to her once he had her that way.

Oh, he had plans for that. The only problem was deciding which plan he wanted more than the others. He closed his eyes and tried to pick a scenario, but all of them seemed so delicious that he wanted to combine them all into one long, slow night that would fulfill every fantasy he had ever had about Kayla. Since he couldn’t have it all – yet, anyway – he settled for the visions in his head of her on her knees before him, looking up at him with those eyes that fixed him and made it impossible for him to even think about looking away.

He imagined her opening her mouth and teasing him with it, while touching herself at the same time, and the sight of her slipping her finger inside herself threatened to make him come before the fun even started. He watched as she licked her lips and gave him that particular grin of hers, the one that he already knew so well – the one that said she had a naughty streak inside her.

Then she leaned forward and took him into her mouth with slow licks and kisses, taking her time, taking more of him into her hot, wet mouth until he was buried deep. He imagined her tongue swirling in circles, just the way he liked it. He could envision her gliding up and down, looking up at him while she did it, her mouth full and her eyes wide.

Soon his breath was short and his body was tense. His hand moved faster and faster, and then, finally – he closed his eyes and imagined Kayla bringing him right to the brink, then taking him all the way in when she brought him to climax and made him come hard, right into her mouth…

Dyson did come hard, gritting his teeth, his hand pumping furiously as he went over the edge. His breath caught. His chest heaved. He lay tense and hard on the bed, until finally it was over and he slowly relaxed. He took deep breaths while his body calmed down and his mind stopped thinking about dirty things – for now, anyway.

Dyson was smiling from ear to ear as he climbed out of bed, hit the shower and headed for the car. He had to seriously concentrate on the road to make sure he stayed within the lines and the rules, because the thoughts of her had him so distracted. He parked near the little restaurant and headed down the sidewalk, whistling a happy tune, the very picture of a man who had the brightest of horizons spread out before him.

Dyson slowed as he approached the tables. Sure enough, there she was, and at the same table they’d shared before – the one with the spectacular view! Heart pounding, Dyson waved to the hostess and pointed to the table at which he planned to join Kayla before he realized that she wasn’t alone. A man sat across the table from her.

Dyson stopped short and took a step toward the building, instinctively trying to blend in so that he wouldn’t be seen. He needn’t have worried, though, because Kayla was facing the man in front of her, shaking her head slowly, talking with such intense focus that she was oblivious to everything else.

Dyson watched as the man reached out to put his hand on top of Kayla’s. She paused in her speaking, but she didn’t pull away. She took a deep breath and smiled, then looked up at the guy with obvious relief. The man laughed, a deep and rumbling sound, and Kayla laughed as well. All this time, Kayla left her hand under his, clearly not eager to break her physical contact with him.

What the hell was this
?

Dyson told himself that he’d seen all he needed to, but still he lingered. Was he torturing himself? Unable to tear his eyes from the scene before him, all he knew was that he had to watch to see what else might happen. He got his answer when the man took the check from the waiter. He waved away what was obviously an attempt on Kayla’s part to pay, and she gave him that grateful smile again.