Steam Heat (2 page)

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?”

Ian is staring at me as if I am some odd specimen to be dissected and studied. “I don’t really give a crap whether you believe me. You can’t deny the burning that has been eating away at your soul,” I say, jabbing Ian in the chest with my finger. “You also can’t deny that it eased up when we were together. So until we figure out exactly what is going on and if we can fix it, I am staying here.” With a glare in his direction, I plop down in the chair we had recently been using for other purposes and begin unlacing my mud-caked boots.

“I have more important things that require my attention. Like saving the entire American grid from extinction.” Ian jams his fingers through his hair, sending it shooting up in even more chaotic spikes. “How did you know about my heart condition?” Ian asks, accusation thick in his tone.

“Because I have the same damn one and it turns out it isn’t a heart condition. I guess we are soul mates. Romantic, isn’t it?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Oh shit, it’s you! I have heard rumors of the soul-sharing, but always took them as myth. My mother took me from the commune to get me away from all the mystical nonsense. Science is where I can prove things—such as that sharing a soul with a soulless monster doesn’t really happen.” Ian sinks into another chair and lets his head fall into his hands, a sigh of defeat escaping his lips.

“I will spare you the obvious and point out the multitude of para-folk that roam the land and the fact that a green man is the vice president. Just take a deep breath, have some whiskey and man up. Also, if it is any consolation, I can help you out with that powering-the-crystal situation.” Not waiting for an invitation I get up and walk over to a small wooden table housing a decanter of what looks like whiskey. Selecting two tumblers, I pour a generous amount in each, stealing a swallow from one. The delightful trail of fire running down to my belly warms me through. I hand one to Ian and raise my glass to him. He grudgingly responds.

“How can you help with repowering the crystal?” He seems less than convinced.

“Because, love, I am a half-succubus and my energy is renewed by sex. The greater the sex, the more energy I get. And I have heard a rumor that with you, oh soul mate of mine, I can achieve the level of power necessary to recharge the crystal.” The glass edge of the tumbler clinks against my teeth as I down another healthy swallow of whiskey.

“So you are implying that we must engage in sexual activity to power the crystal? Also that we must remain together or perish?” Ian looks less than pleased at the notion.

“That pretty much sums it up.” As I stand, every muscle in my body screams in protest. “Now you can either show me a place to sleep or I can find one myself.” Not waiting for Ian’s reply I stumble towards the immense mahogany staircase, “You are welcome to join me if you wish,” I throw over my shoulder as my foot lands on the first step.

My eyelids crack open against my will and the blinding sunlight streaming through the window has me snapping them shut again. “Fucking Christ,” I mutter under my breath. Where the hell am I and why do I feel as if my head is being pounded with a sledgehammer?

“It’s about time you woke. I don’t have an eternity to wait for you and neither does the country.” Ian’s voice drawls.

“Are you still here?” I ask sitting up, my eyes still tightly closed against the morning light.

“Yes I am.” Ian replies matter-of-factly before shoving a steaming mug of coffee into my hands. “I was pondering the information you gave me while you slept. I suppose it is possible. We are going to need to run a few experiments though. Testing is required to see if your energy levels will rise enough to recharge the crystal.”

“Testing? What kind of testing?” I hastily gulp a mouthful of the strong black coffee and am rewarded with a scalded tongue. “I think I need to wake up a bit more before we talk testing and science and such.”

“No. It can’t wait another moment. I have already sent a telegram to Tesla. He is currently in his home in Colorado Springs, but he promises to hop the next steam speeder headed this way.” Ian throws a pile of clothing down beside me on the faded quilt. “I don’t have much in the way of women’s clothing, but you can help yourself.” Ian shoves his hands into the pockets of his coffee-brown trousers and looks oddly shy at being in the presence of a woman.

Glancing down, I realize I am completely nude from the waist up. “Oh, come on, Ian. It isn’t like you haven’t become intimately acquainted with my breasts already.”

“Dreams and reality are two different things, ma’am.” Ian clarifies, studying the toe of his boot with extraordinary interest.

“Dear God, you weren’t a virgin, were you?”

“Of course not, but working in the lab for weeks on end doesn’t afford much time to study matters of the flesh.” Ian confesses.

Great, my soul mate is inexperienced in the sex department. Lucky me. “I guess we will just have to play teacher and student to catch you up. Although you seemed perfectly adequate yesterday as I recall.”

“Yes, well something tells me
adequate
isn’t going to generate the power we need to recharge the crystal.” With a serious furrow in his brow Ian holds up a small voltage meter. “We need to figure out exactly what brings your energy forth and what makes it the strongest.”

“You are saying that we need to fuck for your little experiment?” With a clatter of china I set my coffee mug on a small wooden bedside table. “Why didn’t you say so? Fucking just happens to be a specialty of mine.”

“Just wait a minute, woman.” Ian demands impatiently. “I need to set up a bit, and I don’t mean to be picky here, but you could use a bath. I took the liberty of heating one for you. It is in the room just down the hall and to the left.”

“Well aren’t you a gentleman?” I ask with a sneer. After a quick perusal of my mud-smeared body, I decide that maybe Ian has a point. I slide out of bed and stretch, working the kinks out of my back and neck. I smile a bit when I catch Ian staring at me in all my nude glory. “I’ll be back in a jiff, darling, don’t start without me.” My bare feet make muted thuds as I traverse the carpeted hallway. This is definitely a man’s house. It is all dark wood and sparsely decorated. I prefer this to the decadence exhibited by the aristocratic circle.

The simple washroom, with steaming water in an enormous white claw-footed tub, is the most beautiful room I have ever seen in my life to this point,. Just for me. That is a commodity hard to find and a welcome treat. The ache in my chest has eased to a dull annoyance. I still think it should be completely better; that old woman must have lied to me. Oh well, I guess everyone has to die eventually. The deliciously hot water envelops me, lapping over my body in seductive strokes. An overactive libido is one of the drawbacks of being half-succubus. Even the gentle caress of the water starts an ache of epic proportions in my core.

My body slides beneath the surface, my head following. I lie here in the liquid haven of the bath and contemplate my options. I can run off and live what little life I have left as I always have. Or I can stay here with a man I don’t even know and see if we can save each other. I let my head break the surface of the water, each bead of liquid trailing a path over my skin igniting a fire. Rising from the tub, I grab a large sheet of fluffy cloth and wrap myself in it. I guess I should go see what Ian is up to. We have work to do.