The rain is streaming down my face in a thick curtain and chilling me through. The bare limbs of the trees do little to shield me from the torrential downpour. I suppose I should be grateful we made the transition to spring so I don’t have to deal with snow. The peaks are still coated with thick blankets of snow, but since I am just in the foothills of the mountains, I have only seen an occasional lingering patch.

My chest aches a little more with each step I take and my mood is becoming infinitely more abrasive the longer I go without a swallow of whiskey. I drained my flask about ten miles back. A twinge of hope flickers through me when I see the roof of a large building peeking through the dense trees. I don’t give a shit where I am at this point in time. I am staying here and getting something to drink. Even if the most hideous being is inside that building, I am going to have sex with them and get my fix. I don’t think I can go on without it. The energy I absorb during sex is what sustains me.

The steps that take me closer to the looming stone building are agonizingly slow. I am going to be crawling up to the front door if things keep progressing this way. This would be a completely undignified way for me to be seen. I am a badass assassin who works as a saloon girl on the side. I am tougher than this. As I stumble up the slick stone stairs, the heavy wood door swings open slowly with an ominous creak. The face that materializes behind the curtain of rain is vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place it. Thank God it is a male; it will make luring him into the sack so much easier. I could really use a boost right now.

“Are you real?” he asks, looking slightly perplexed. There is a faint drawl to his words.

“Last time I checked. Can I come inside or are you going to make me freeze out here?” The eyes are the things that seem so familiar, those smoky hazel eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“I don’t feel like discussing it in the rain,” I shove the hair back from my eyes and catch his gaze with mine and let the seductive call of the succubus in me do the rest.

“Of course. Come in.” Stepping back from the door he admits me to the interior of his home. “My name is Ian. Although you should know this, you scream it often enough. Are you playing games with me, Angel?”

“Ian?” Is this my Ian? If it is, shouldn’t the feeling that my soul is being eaten be going away? The ache is still prominent and the weakness taking over my body is still weighing me down.

“This has to be a dream.” Ian grabs my arm and pulls me close, dampness from my soaked clothing seeping into his disheveled but dry ensemble.

“Wait a second,” I untangle myself from Ian’s enthusiastic embrace and survey the man in front of me. His dirty-blond hair is sticking out in chaotic spikes and a pair of goggles are shoved up on his forehead. A stained and torn cotton shirt conceals his broad muscular chest and a pair of pinstriped trousers finishes off his look. Somehow I had envisioned him a little more suave, I have only seen him naked until this point.

“Angel, don’t play games with me. We have this same dream every night. Do I have to tie you up again?” In one swift stride he is next to me again, pulling me close as he wraps a hand around the back of my neck and captures my mouth with his, his tongue probing deep.

I can’t keep the moan of satisfaction from being pulled from my throat. Sex has become a chore to me, except in my dreams with Ian, apparently this works in real life too. I consider telling Ian this isn’t a dream, but now that the itch has been planted, I need to scratch it and I could use a boost anyways. I wrap my arms around the familiar width of his shoulders and pull him close enough to feel his erection, already hard and ready, pressing against me.

“This is the first time you have ever appeared like this,” Ian breathes into my mouth.

“I am here, but you can pretend it’s a dream if you want.” I grab a handful of his cotton shirt in each fist and quickly tear it away from his body. My fingers, free to roam the smooth skin stretched tautly over his nicely muscled chest, run lightly over the surface. With a wicked smile directed at him, I scrape my nails over his skin hard enough to leave marks in their wake.

“You are a dirty girl, my Angel.” He quickly pulls the leather trousers over my hips and I kick them off over my boots.

“Both figuratively and literally at the moment,” I say as I curl my tongue around the outside of his ear. A low moan lets me know he appreciates this caress.

“I don’t have the patience for games today, Angel,” he growls out as he grabs both my thighs and hoists me up.

I comply, wrapping my legs around his waist while awkwardly trying to undo the clasp holding his trousers up. “Quick, get your pants off,” I pant out. I can’t wait either.

“Your wish is my command,” Ian says with a chuckle, shoving his pants down around his ankles. In one smooth movement, he thrusts the full length of his cock inside me.

The instant we join, I feel the ache in my chest ease and the burning lessen just a touch. Shit, I am going to be dependent upon a man. Barely containing an eye roll, I hold on tighter for the ride as Ian rocks me back and forth on him. “Jesus Christ, you know how to fuck,” I gasp out as my lungs fight for air.

“Why else do you keep invading my dreams?” Ian asks, pausing long enough to fall back into a plush armchair.

In control now, I begin to move up and down his shaft slowly enough to drive him insane. The flow of power from him clashes with the tingles of pleasure surging through me at his touch. The fire ignited within as his cock glides into me is too much. The singular melting sensation, accompanied by the feeling of an electrical current flowing through each vein, indicates I will not be able to hold back much longer. I am so close.

“Too slow,” Ian grabs my hips and begins to move me faster on top of him as his mouth clamps down hard on the tender flesh of my neck. His teeth sink in enough to send a jolt of pain through me. His mouth begins to work, suckling my tender flesh, and the rush of pleasure chases the pain.

My body shudders and my pussy clamps around his cock. His body answers my call as he comes inside me with one final thrust. Our bodies shudder in unison. My forehead settles against the sweat-soaked skin of his chest as we both try to collect our breath.

“So I guess you are real,” Ian says, pulling me more firmly onto his lap. “You have never stayed in my dreams long enough for me to finish before.”

“Yes, I am real. and it is better this way.”

“Yes it is. Now why are you here and what do you want?”