I set my phone down and lean back on my couch. I’ve been home for only half an hour, and have been on the phone the whole time, setting up appointments to get the old house in working order. Someone is coming to check out the furnace tomorrow, another to clean out the chimneys the week after, and I left a message with an electrician to check on the old wiring.
The thought of paying for all that makes me cringe, but taking care of things properly has always been the way I roll. And I’d rather not have the furnace burst into flames or die from toxic fumes filling the fireplace. Rubbing my temples, I lean back on the couch, pulling a blanket up from the floor. The sun is setting soon, and I need to pack a bag, get food, and find a place that sells firewood.
I’ll get up in one minute, after I rest my eyes for just a moment. I don’t mean to drift off to sleep, but I do. My dream takes me to a weird and foreign place, where I’m running over rocky ground. Rain falls around me, and red eyes glow from the trees in the forest behind me.
Time is running out, and though I don’t know what’s going to happen, dream-Ace does, and she’s desperate to get to him before it’s too late. The vampires emerge from the trees. There are hundreds and there’s no way I can escape.
Something flies overhead, making the vampires slink back. Strong arms wrap around me, lifting me off the ground and out of harm’s way. I don’t need to look up to know it’s Jacques. There’s something familiar about his touch, about the way his arms fit around me perfectly.
He’s held me like this before.
We fly over a lake, past an unkept field, and land on the edge of a cliff. He takes my hand, leading me into the woods to a small cabin. His large wings hardly fit through the door. As soon as he’s in, his monstrous appearance gives way and he’s a man.
Just a man.
A good-looking, half-naked man, and the dream sets the perfect mood.
“Braeya,” he breathes, taking me by the waist. This is why his touch felt familiar. We have done this before. My arms fasten around his neck, and he leans in, putting his lips on mine. The kiss burns all the way through me, making my heart skip a beat and warmth tingle between my thighs.
We fall back on blankets laid before the fireplace, and Jacques moves on top of me, pulling the laces on my bodice. So many emotions surge through me, with the main one being lust.
But I also feel sadness, both his and my own. And overwhelming longing starts to take over, to have him sexually and to just be together. Slowly, he unlaces the bodice until it falls to the sides and pulls the chemise under it down. Licking his lips, he looks down at my bare breasts. I feel his cock begin to harden against me, and heat grows inside of me.
Bringing his head down, he takes my breast in his mouth, tongue flicking over my nipple. I moan softly and buck my hips, pressing myself against his hardness. His mouth goes to mine again, kissing me harder than before. The feeling that time is running out presses down on me again, and I put my hands on his chest, moving him away.
He sits up and I move, shoving him back onto the blankets. I hike up my skirts, part my legs, and straddle him, hands going to the tie on his pants. Keeping my eyes on his, I move his pants down, freeing his large cock. I look down at it, body aching to have him inside me.
I run my hands up the smooth shaft of his cock and move down, taking him in my mouth, licking the salty pre-cum from the tip and sucking him hard. Jacques groans with pleasure, reaching down and taking a tangle of my hair in his fingers. I cup his balls in one hand and take him in as deep as I can, then move up and swirl my tongue over the tip. His breathing quickens and I feel his balls tighten in my hand. I suck hard again as he comes, swallowing everything he gives me.
Wiping my mouth, I lie back, craving my lover. Jacques swiftly removes my skirts and rolls me over onto my stomach. Starting with my shoulders, he massages his way down, then runs one hand over my ass until his fingers sweep over my clit.
Pleasure explodes from his touch. I’m so turned on. I need him. Now. His gentle touch gives way and he flips me over and parts my legs, bringing his face to my pussy. His tongue lashes out against me and I moan loudly. He closes his mouth around me and sucks, while at the same time rapidly flicking his tongue over my clit.
I’ve never felt anything like it. The pleasure builds inside me, winding so tight I know it’s going to feel fucking amazing when it finally springs free. He puts a finger inside me, finding my G-spot right away. He presses, rubs, and I’m just about to—
My phone rings, jolting me awake. I’m disoriented, having to look around to remind myself where I am, and turned on. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a man, and I crave the touch as much as that girl from my dream.
Braeya. It’s not the first time I heard the name spoken from Jacques’s lips, and—oh my god. I just had a sex dream about a gargoyle. Heat rises to my cheeks, but it’s in second place compared to the heat that’s still going strong a little lower. Dammit. Why did I wake up?
Oh, right. Phone. Shit. I really am out of it.
I reach over and pick my phone up from the coffee table. I have a missed call and a message from work. Sitting up and working hard to ignore the way my jeans are rubbing me in just the right way, I hit play on the message.
It’s Samantha from the lab, telling me the reports are in on our victim from last night and I’ll want to call as soon as possible to hear. I stand, still feeling like I’m in a fog, and go into the kitchen. I’ve had vivid dreams before, but this felt more like a memory.
I call Sam back and go into my small bedroom, getting another overnight bag ready for myself.
“Hey, Ace,” she says in her usual upbeat tone. The girl is way too peppy for someone who slices open murdered bodies on an almost daily basis. “You got a minute?”
“I do. What’s going on with my vic?”
“Dude. It’s weird.” I can hear her moving around the lab in the background. “So, official cause of death is blood loss. Looks like he’s been slowly bleeding for a week. The puncture wounds on his neck are all in various stages of healing. They’re bite marks, and we got different hits on human saliva. If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone took fang-banging a little too far.”
“What about the bones?”
“You mean the lack thereof? That’s even weirder. They were chewed from his arms. The flesh was cut along his inner arm, a relatively clean cut, but not clean enough to make me think it was done by a surgeon or anything. The skin was peeled back, muscles and tendons torn. And the teeth marks on the bone: human.”
I’m not surprised, because I knew that’s how vampires work. “We’ve gone past weird to fucked up,” I say.
“Right? I don’t even know where to start with this one.”
I do, and I already have a good idea where to go next. “Yeah, it’s a mess.”
“You’re telling me. I’m going to run some tests on the newest vic and see if I can get any DNA matches. I’ll call you if I get a match.”
“Thanks, Samantha.” I hang up and close my eyes again. Images from the dream flash before me. “Stop it, Ace,” I mutter to myself. I need a shower. A cold one. Or maybe a hot bath, take care of myself and get it out of my system.
Unless that makes it worse.
I plunge my hands into the warm soapy water and scrub a plate. The old estate doesn’t have a dishwasher, and though the dishes in the cabinets looked clean, they’ve been collecting dust for years. While I’m not a clean-freak by any means, giving the dishes a quick wash before I use them is a must.