Chapter 1: The Dreamer's Descent
The dream came to her like a tide she couldn't fight, pulling her under into that familiar heat that had become her nightly obsession. Elona's body arched against the silken sheets, her fingers tracing the glowing patterns that pulsed beneath her skin. She could feel him before she saw him—that presence that had haunted her for fourteen consecutive nights, filling her sleep with visions so vivid they felt more real than her waking life. Her breath caught as the dream shifted into focus, and there he was.
Albert.
The human male from her visions stood before her in the dreamscape, his dirty blond hair tousled, his piercing blue eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her core clench. He was older than the males she knew, weathered in a way that spoke of experience and pain, but his body was lean and athletic beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. Her fingers tingled with the memory of touching him, even though they'd never met in the flesh.
"You're late," she whispered in the dream, and her voice echoed strangely in the shifting void around them.
A crooked smile tugged at his lips. "Some of us have chains to drag around, princess."
The words confused her, but before she could ask what he meant, he was on her. His mouth crashed against hers with a desperation that stole her breath, his hands gripping her hips with a roughness that made her moan against his lips. She could taste the salt of sweat on his skin, could feel the coarse texture of his stubble scraping against her soft cheeks, and it was so real, so achingly real.
Her fingers found the hem of his shirt and yanked it upward, desperate to feel his skin against hers. He helped her pull it over his head, and then his chest was pressed against hers, his warmth seeping through the thin silk of her nightgown. She could feel his heartbeat—rapid, frantic, alive—and it synchronized with her own until they beat as one.
"Tell me what you want," he growled against her throat, his teeth grazing the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder.
"If I tell you, will you give it to me?"
"Ask and find out."
But she couldn't speak, couldn't form words as his hand slid beneath her night-gown, rough fingers tracing the curve of her hip before finding the heat between her thighs. A gasp tore from her throat when his thumb found her clit, circling it with a precision that seemed impossible for a human male. But the dream had never been about what was possible.
"Say it," he demanded, pressing harder. "Say what you want, Elona."
The sound of her name on his lips—that human voice wrapping around her alien syllables—made her shiver. "You. Inside me. Now."
He didn't waste a moment. His hands hooked into the waistband of her underwear and tore the flimsy fabric aside, a sound of pure masculine satisfaction escaping him as his fingers found her slick, open folds. She was soaked, aching, so ready for him it bordered on painful. The dream always did this to her—built her up until she was desperate enough to beg.
"Please," she whimpered, gripping his shoulders. "Please, I need—"
He cut her off with another kiss as he positioned himself at her entrance, and then he was pushing inside her, inch by agonizing inch. She felt every ridge of him as he filled her, his thickness stretching her in ways that made her see stars behind her closed eyelids. He was longer than anyone she'd ever taken, and when he seated himself fully inside her, she could feel him pressing against a spot so deep it made her toes curl.
"Fuck," he breathed against her lips, his voice ragged with need. "You feel incredible. So goddamn tight."
The filthy words sent a shock of pleasure straight to her clit. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper, and he groaned, a sound that vibrated through his chest and into her own. When he began to move, it was with a rhythm born of pure instinct—thrusting into her with a force that rocked her entire body, each impact driving him even deeper.
"That's it," she gasped, arching into him. "Don't stop. Don't you fucking stop."
His laugh was dark, possessive. "Wouldn't dream of it, princess."
That word again. Chains. Princess. Human words she didn't fully understand, but the context felt wrong, felt like something she should be concerned about. But his cock stroking that sw