Battlescars by Ann Collins

might to push away thoughts of having someone special in her life, Dyson was finding his way around the wall in her heart. She liked that he was doing it without even really trying – it was just happening. What a wonderful feeling!
    “The usual place,” she repeated, and they said their goodbyes.
    She listened to the silence for a moment before she hung up. She suddenly wished she had someone to share all this with. A friend, a pet, even a counselor.
    A mother.
    Kayla dropped the phone onto the bedside table and rolled over on the bed, pulling the pillow to her face. How she could go from elation to such sadness was beyond her, but it was happening. She let out a sob as she thought about the things she couldn’t share with the one person in the world who would have cared the most.
    ***
    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