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  His lips pushed down on hers. She responded to his kiss by thrusting her tongue into his mouth to taste the exotic spice that he was made of. He twisted her nipple harder and increased the rhythm of his fingers inside of her. Her hips thrust up to meet him stroke for stroke. She craved to have his dick inside of her so her pussy could clench around it, but he never obliged that desire.

  “Please, Master. Let me see you. Let me fuck you. I need to feel your cock inside of me. I’ve done everything you wanted.” Valerie wanted to cry out his name. He’d told her it once, but she didn’t remember what he’d said.

  He nipped at her throat and began rubbing her throbbing clit. Dark spots appeared in her vision. “Yes, you have. You’ve been a delightful minion. So eager to fuck and please. Maybe I’ll give you what you’ve been begging for.” He ran his tongue over her teeth and lingered a little longer before he pulled away.

  Strangled cries of passion passed her lips, despite her trying to contain them. He let her ease down from her orgasm and trailed a studded wheel across her belly that made her quiver. The cold metal raised goose bumps along her skin. The pain also brought her back to some reality.

  “Why are you doing this? You don’t need me anymore. You’re free. I invited you into the real world so you could save us.”

  “That’s true. I don’t need to feed off you anymore to manifest, but I missed our little tête-à-têtes. Your cries make me want to fuck you. Your smell is wonderful when you come. I love your screams. This is the best medium for our affairs for now. I’d love to taste you in the flesh, but there’s much to do before then.”

  “Like what?”

  “The first part is already done. You’ve come back to me. You felt the pull between us the same way the others have, the undeniable urge you couldn’t help but follow, and here you are. Such a very good girl.” He began to rub her clit in slow, agonizing circles, building her up again. He kissed her stomach.

  She could feel the coldness of his body. His lips locked on to the spot right below her belly button. A sharp stab went through her, and then she got all tingly. He began to suck on her faster. Her hips lifted off the bed. She was falling into the pleasure of torture. She had to stay focused. Valerie squirmed on the bed, wishing she were free of the restraints. “Why? What others?”

  “That’s a surprise, but I do need you to do one more thing for me.”

  “I won’t do anything else until you fuck me.”

  He didn’t respond, but began fingering her throbbing nub faster. She was hit hard with an orgasm that hurt, it came over her so rapidly. Valerie thrashed on the bed, fighting the sensations overtaking her. She tried to catch her breath, but he was assailing her with bliss. Her toes curled into the sheets and began to cramp until he stopped, and then she collapsed on the bed. Sweat lined every inch of her body and made the blindfold stick even more to her face.

  “You can punish me any way you want. I won’t do anything!” she said in a growl.

  “That wasn’t punishment, dear one. I would never hurt you intentionally. All I need you to do is give the others a message. I can’t make it right away to the party, so I was hoping you could be the hostess. Don’t worry, it doesn’t involve you serving tea and finger sandwiches.”

  Valerie didn’t like the sound of it, but one message didn’t seem harmful. He wasn’t insisting that he possess her. “What message?”

  Light made her wince once he removed the blindfold. She gazed at his dazzling smile and crimson eyes. He cupped her cheek, cooling her. “I knew you’d ask.” He bent over, kissed her lightly on the lips, and then whispered in her ear. Once he whispered his message, the words suddenly evaporated into her mind. However, she had the sense that she would know them when she needed to.

  “Yes, Master. I’ll tell them. Please fuck me. I’ve been a good girl.”

  His fingers ran along the curve of her arm. He was contemplating what to do. She could see it in those red eyes of his. His olive skin was perfect without any blemish. He was completely naked. Not a black hair was out of place. He had a wide jaw with no beard. His lips were sensuous, and he oozed sex. He smoothed the hair from her face.

  “Oh, lovely one. I’d love to do that, but there’s no time. When all of this is said and done, then I’ll claim you for mine.” He leaned over her to press his lips to hers.

  Before she could return the kiss, she was falling. When she landed, she found herself standing at a crossroads. To her right was a motorcycle with a large wolf sitting on the back of it. To her left was a car that had a blood-red coffin on top of it. In front of her was a sword, stuck in the ground with wings attached at the hilt.

  What in the world is this? She walked to the sword and was going to touch it when she was zapped. A blue arch of energy crackled around the hilt, and the wings began to flutter in the breeze. Valerie sucked on her finger from the electric charge. Ouch. That hurt. She stepped toward the wolf, but it bared its teeth and snapped at her.

  “Okay. I get the point. You don’t want me any closer. God, I hate dreams.” She turned around to look at the other road. At the end of it was a run-down building. She couldn’t make it out because it was too far off. Then it dawned on her. This was the place where she was going. She looked at the other things, at the crossroads. He mentioned others, but who are they? Maybe each thing is a representation of who they are. But they can’t be the other creatures I dreamed about, can they? Who believes in vampires and werewolves? Then again, who believes in demons that can vanquish evil genies? Maybe they are real. She took another step toward the wolf and began snapping her fingers.

  “Nice, wolfy. Don’t you want to come over here and let me touch you?”

  It nipped at her again. She inched closer. At that moment, the wolf lunged at her.

  Valerie reacted to the sudden leap. She opened her eyes, hitting her forehead on the window she was leaning her head against. It took her a moment before she realized that she was awake after their long drive. She took in a deep breath to calm her already ragged nerves. Glancing around, she saw that James wasn’t in the car with her. His seat was empty. The engine was off. The keys were still in the ignition, so he wasn’t far away. He always runs off when he discovers something interesting. It has to be the cop instinct in him to investigate. I can only imagine what he was like when he was a child. His mother must have had her hands full raising him.

  She sighed, seeing the mess in the back. Bottles of water lay on the backseat, along with bags full of snacks to munch on. Empties and wrappers had somehow escaped the trash bag she had put them in. Small pools of water dotted the seat. Bits of chocolate were melting on the floor. Shaking her head, she knew it would be hell to get the chocolate out of the upholstery. Good thing the car was James’s. Now that she began to move, her bladder signaled she had to pee, but that could wait a moment. She studied the landscape. There was nothing around them save a run-down building. They had pulled to the back of it to give them some shade and take a nap because they had driven through the night. Now the sun was baking the roof of the car.

  Valerie opened the door and got out to stretch. As she stretched, she studied the building. It seemed more familiar now. Then it dawned on her. It was the same one from her dream. It all came back. Being tied down again with her subconscious self begging to be fucked. The sudden pleasure of the remembrance blasted through her. She was wet just from the memory of it. Damn it. I thought I was free of him. But what he said was true. She had craved his touch. No matter what, she still hadn’t told James about her dreamtime trysts with the man who ruled her body. The sudden blast of wind reminded her of him pressing his mouth to her ear and whispering in it. She strained to remember what her dream lover had told her, but it was gone from her mind. Maybe I forgot it for a reason. Or maybe it’ll crop back up on me when I least expect it. She held her hand over her eyes to shade them from the light and studied the vast wasteland around her. There was nothing but a few tumbleweeds and some cacti. The blue sky clashed against the drab sand. A
few wispy clouds floated by, but there was nothing impressive about the place. The sun began to burn the back of her neck, and she didn’t see James anywhere. Valerie turned and looked at the ramshackle tavern. The sense she got from the tavern was dark. Her instincts kicked in. All she wanted to do was run from the place.

  Once her sister, Niki, had been cleared of all murder charges and she was back on her feet again, able to take care of Kennedy, Valerie had begun having dreams about the tavern and how to get there. She wrote about her visions in her dream journal. She was even able to draw a map. Those were the dreams she had been having for the past two weeks. Now she understood what they were for. He was summoning her. A cold shiver ran down her back. They weren’t alone. She spun around. On the porch she spied a woman with a grim expression dressed in a blue burlesque costume. Her red hair was pinned back. Feathers matching her dress stuck up from the middle of her bun. Her feet were clad in old-fashioned granny boots. They locked eyes. Valerie sensed the intelligence in them. This woman wasn’t just a memory locked in the environment. She was a true spirit trapped at the location. The ghost raised her arm and pointed straight at her. Valerie was about to address her when James walked right through the spook. Great. All I need. Phantom lovers and now ghosts. What more is going to happen here? In my dream he said there would be others. Did he mean the ghosts? Or are the wolf, the coffin, and the sword representations of the characters I’ve been seeing in my dreams? A religious werewolf, a fallen angel dominatrix, and an atheist vampire. They can’t be real. Can they?

  “Hey, you’re awake. You gotta come inside. There’s some awesome stuff in here. I’m surprised no one’s robbed this place with it being out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  Valerie gave him a small smile. The ghost was gone, but her uneasy feeling hadn’t lifted. I bet I know why no one has stolen anything. Because if they did, they would be haunted to death. Or this place would kill them. Why didn’t I listen to the tarot cards I pulled before we left? The spread said danger was coming and to stay put. Of course, she hadn’t listened. No, I never listen to my smart instincts. The man in her dreams had brought her here on purpose. She played some part in his plans. He mentioned there would be a party. With the sense of evil she was picking up the longer she was there, she could only imagine what this place had seen.

  When she told James about her dreams of the tavern, he was all in for an adventure. Hesitantly, she strolled toward his open hand. When Valerie stepped onto the porch, she tripped over a splintered board. Her hand landed on one of the supports for the porch. The image of a man leaning against it drinking and smoking flashed before her eyes. He was waiting for someone. The anger she associated with him nearly ate her alive. He was going to kill whoever he was waiting for. He took a swig from the bottle in his hand. Before he could completely enjoy the alcohol, pain landed between his eyes. The sudden jolt brought Valerie back to the present.

  “You okay?” James asked.

  She gave him a wary smile. No, I’m not okay. We have to get out of here. But she couldn’t make herself say those words, no matter how much she tried. “Yeah, fine.”

  He returned the smile and escorted her through the open door. The interior was surprisingly cool. Before her was a bar with a place for a mirror that was no longer there. Old, dusty bottles lined the shelves, and some of them appeared to be full. Several tables and chairs were scattered around the room, and there was a small stage in the far corner. A dark shadow floated by the stage. She gasped when she saw another shadow dart through the door at the back of the stage. Above her she heard loud footfalls echoing through the place. The bottles behind the bar began to clink together from the vibration of a person walking above them.

  “Did you hear that?” James asked. His face was alight like a kid in a toy store.

  God. You’d think I’d get engaged to someone who feared ghosts and didn’t desire to run head-on into one. This would only happen to me. She nodded. “Yeah. The place is haunted. I’m not exactly sure with what though. I saw the ghost of a burlesque dancer before we came in. There was a dark shadow by the stage a moment ago. And something else in this place that I’ve never felt before.”

  “Was she naked?”

  Valerie punched him in the ribs. “Shut up! She was not naked. You want to get it on with a ghost now, is that it? Is that all you can think about?” She began to tickle him.

  He squirmed until she had him pinned against the bar. He was laughing so hard he held up his hands. He rested his hands on her hips and drew her close. “I give. I give. No, I don’t want to screw a ghost. I’m very happy with my psychic fiancée who keeps evil genies at bay and protects her sister and niece.”

  Valerie tried to step back, but didn’t want to leave the comfort of his arms. He reminded her that she was with him and not stuck in some dream. “You remember the djinn? I thought that you didn’t know anything about it. All of your memories were wiped clean. And reality changed because of it. Even I don’t remember exactly what happened after we got back to the house.”

  James shrugged. “I didn’t, honestly, until a few days ago. It’s weird. I went to sleep and had a dream where a guy dressed all in white was whispering in my ear. When I woke up, I remembered what had happened at the hospital. I can’t recall every word the guy told me though. It’s like I relived every moment from finding you gone in the room and then Kennedy calling to tell me where to find you with that doctor your sister also kidnapped in the run-down part of the hospital. I’ll never forget the horror I felt when I thought I had lost you.”

  “Did he have red eyes? The guy in your dream?”

  James hugged her closer. “No. He was normal-looking. And there was a glow around him. You don’t have to worry about it anymore. The djinn is dead. He can’t bother us anymore. Thank God for Kennedy. Poor thing. She’ll be okay, though, until your sister goes off and does something stupid again.”

  Valerie rested her head against his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat. “Kennedy is strong. Niki just has to keep it together. Hopefully this time she’ll realize not to get involved with any supernatural creatures. Maybe she’ll even teach Ken how to use her abilities. If not, we’ll watch over her.”

  He tilted her face up to peer into her eyes. Valerie loved his thick red hair and his piercing blue eyes, even down to the smattering of freckles on his cheeks. “Maybe she can become part of our family. For good. If you want and your sister agrees.”

  Valerie kissed him lightly at first, but then deepened her kiss. For a moment she braced herself for the cold tingling along her back that signaled her dream lover was close, but nothing happened. She pushed her worries aside and pressed herself against James. His hands slipped down her back and rested lightly on her ass. She yearned to have him be rough with her. She could never tell him the longing she had for her dream lover. It wasn’t love by any means, only lust, but her body craved what he could give her. She welcomed all of them. Her fiancé wouldn’t understand. James was soft with her. She never figured he would be one for tying her up and beating her with a paddle, even if it did get her all hot and bothered. They had talked about it, but still, he was hesitant to try anything new with her. He wanted to keep her safe, and handcuffing her to the bed was a little out of his range. One of these days, I’ll get him to whip me.

  “Ahh, excuse me. I hate to interrupt you, but…”

  Valerie broke their kiss. They both looked to where the voice was coming from. Three figures stood on the small stage. They had appeared out of nowhere.

  “Are those ghosts?” James whispered.

  “No.” She reached out with her senses and ran them over the people on the stage. Her psychic feeling told her that they weren’t spirits, but they weren’t human either. At least not altogether.

  When she tried to probe them more, she was hit with an image of the sword she had seen in her dream. The blue aura arched around the one man and the woman. Something was off about the man in the white suit. The woman had long thin braids pulle
d back into a ponytail. She was medium height with an athletic build. The man next to her in white had faded bruises on his face. His white suit was rumpled, but there was a glow around him that showed in Valerie’s inner vision. She swore he had fake eyelashes on. As she studied him, she was able to see that there was more to him than met the eye. He was very familiar to her. He met her gaze and then smiled. Something about the gesture made her wince. The other man was shorter with dark hair, tanned skin, and a rugged appearance. He was more appealing. The blue glow around him was warm and inviting.

  “Sorry, are we trespassing? We didn’t see any signs outside. If so, we can leave.”

  “No. Not at all. You’re most welcome here.” The man in white stepped down from the stage and walked toward them. “Actually, I was wondering if you were Valerie?”

  They glanced at one another. Who in the hell are these three? James tightened his grip on her hand. She felt his muscles tense against her. His hand went to his side, an instinct to draw his gun at the sign of danger. She broke away from James and went a couple of steps forward, shortening the distance between them. “I’m Valerie. How did you know that?”

  “My name’s Vangelis. Everyone calls me Van.”

  The closer he got, the more her senses dinged. She should run out the door and not look back. Something in her said if she tried, then they would be on her before James could stop them or she could escape. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the burlesque dancer. The ghost pointed at her again. She pulled her gaze from the ghost and looked at the man in white. The glow around him was visible now to the naked eye. She took his hand and shook it lightly. It was warm and made her feel comfortable, as if she had no more cares in the world. “Well, Van. It’s nice to meet you too. Now, what do you want?”

  He smiled at her. Before she knew it, Valerie was yanked into his grasp. His fingers wrapped around her throat and he began to squeeze. “It’s not about what I want. It’s about what we all need. Forgive me.”