ALEXANDRA let out a soft moan from deep in her throat.

Sebastian whispered in her ear, “Alex, you’re so sexy. I want to pleasure you at night, and bring a smile to your face every morning. Tell me what you want, Alexandra.”

Alexandra felt his hot breath on her neck, and the kiss he pressed just below her earlobe. She could barely think.

“Mmmm. Oh God, Bash. Just take me,” she said, gasping as he licked and caressed her neck. “Take me, then hold me. I need you, Sebastian.”

He didn’t wait a second longer. He took her neck and ravaged her collarbone, sucking and gently kissing her with his lips and tongue and breath. She ran her hand through his hair, gripping him tightly at the base of his neck. She moaned when he pressed his hand firmly on her back. He lowered his head down between her breasts, caressing and teasing her as he made his way to her stomach. She ran her hands down his back, loving the contact between their bodies.

Sebastian moved lower still, devouring the tender skin below her belly button. Her stomach pulsed as he kissed her. She felt his hands slide up and down her sides, caressing her rib line and down to her hips, trailing across her sensitive skin. He tilted his neck to look in her eyes. Alexandra met his gaze, and her lips parted. Her hips began to move under him, drawing him in closer.

“Close your eyes Alexandra. I’ll take good care of you.”

She did.

She felt him move his hands down to the tops of her inner thighs, massaging her as he went. She parted her legs at the feel of his tongue at her pelvic bone. He ignited her to the core. His hot skin against hers aroused her, filling her with abandon and need and pleasure all at the same time, sending her to another world.

He slowly moved between her legs, kissing a path down her lower stomach to her inner thighs. Her hips rocked without her permission, her center begging to be touched and entered without saying the words. She wanted him—needed him. She was going crazy with desire, but reminded herself they had all night, and she would love every minute of waiting.

He made his way down her legs, kissing every spot, teasing and tempting her all the way down to her toes. She gasped and hissed, and tilted her hips, already close to the edge from only his touch. She was losing control of her need. She had to have him. Her body craved him. She was panting and squirming under his touch; almost gone from her mind. Her whimpers became pleas.

“I need you, Bash,” she cried.

He moved back up her legs, slowly, deliberately, whispering that he would give her pleasure to last all night, and take her to new heights over and over again. She surrendered to him now.

All her need was expressed and on display, beckoning him. There was no more waiting, no more tempting; there was just the two of them, ready to satisfy each other, ready to hit the heights of pleasure. He grasped behind her knees and pulled her gently into position underneath him.

His skin was scorching hot against her. He held her hips firmly. She was so close, so ready to be set free. She threw her head back as they joined together, each moving with the other, rocking in synchrony, matching each other’s rhythm, becoming one. They found their heights together, their voices connecting as much as their bodies, each one shaking through the waves that rolled through them. He held her afterwards, wrapping her in his warmth, protecting her from the outside world.

“I love you, Alexandra,” he said in a whisper. “Why did you leave without telling me who you really were?”

Alexandra opened her eyes and sat up with a jolt. Bash wasn’t there. She had been dreaming. She collapsed back into the bed. She wished she had just told him last night. Even her guilt had invaded her dreams.

* * *

Alexandra was hot. It felt like she was back in the humid rainforest set where she had filmed her last music video. The air was suffocating, stifling her ability to breathe. The place was beautiful, but all that beauty hid something terrible. She couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong. She choked back a cough, and swatted at oversized leaves as she tried to make her way forward.

“Where are we supposed to go?” she heard her father’s voice.

It was close but also far away. She searched for him, but couldn’t find him. She reached out, and their hands touched, but he was pulled away. Someone was chasing her. There was nowhere to escape. She had to get her father out, so she kept reaching, searching in the darkness, coughing, stifling in the humid, thick air. No matter which way she turned, she felt as though she had already been there. She was prolonging the inevitable.

“Dad! Come this way!” she screamed.

As she heard the sound of her own scream, she knew she was dreaming, except this dream was washed in red and orange, like bright sunlight was piercing through the canopy of leaves overhead, sending down heat and steam and humidity that made her clothes stick to her wet skin.

“Daddy, please, we have to get out of here!”

Suddenly, she heard the roar of thousands of hands clapping. She was whisked away to a huge stage in the middle of a black arena. The audience went wild with applause. The noise was deafening. Terrifying. The scene was familiar, yet touched with danger. She whipped her hair around, but her knee-length hair was replaced by short curls close to her head.

“No, I’m Alex.”

The blinding spotlight pointed to her. It was hot enough to make her break a sweat. She looked around in alarm, still trying to find her father.

“No, this is wrong. I’m not supposed to be here.”

“You’re on fire, Lexxi!” Rick exclaimed from behind the curtain. He flashed her a thumbs up.

“It’s too hot, Rick. I can’t stay here. Get me out!”

“Lexxi! Lexxi! Lexxi!” The crowd chanted maniacally.

“No.” She shook her head again, backing away.

A loud crash made her jump and the microphone in her hand fell to the floor with a thud and whistle of static. Pyrotechnics exploded behind her. Rick kept repeating, “You’re on fire, baby!”

“Fire,” she murmured. “Fire.”

“Alex!”

Her eyes fluttered open and she was overwhelmed by a blast of smoke to the face.

“Fire!” she screamed, awake now and back in her bedroom. It was as hot as an oven. Her panicked eyes quickly scanned the bedroom, but there weren’t any flames—just smoke pouring in from beneath the crack of her door.

“Oh my god!” she screamed. “The house is on fire!”