He sucked in a sigh, giving in with a nod. "Alright," he rose to his feet. The narrow space made them have to stand so that they were basically brushing against one another.

"Great! Thank you so much, Aiden!" she leaned up and kissed his cheek quickly, making him blink. A second later, she moved over to the table by the door, pulling out her phone. Half a minute later, she came back, placing her phone on the dresser. "Okay, I'll start the music now." She hit the screen of her phone, turning back to him with a happy smile. She motioned for him to join her in the larger space between the feet of the beds and the dresser. Once he had, she stepped forward and placed her hands on his shoulders as he slowly dropped his hands to her waist.

He shivered at the contact of her skin, closing his eyes briefly in amazement of how good she felt to him. She shifted, making him open his eyes. "You're really warm," she murmured in shock. "Wow, you really weren't lying when you said your family is hot-blooded. How did you manage to survive under all those layers?" she asked in concern. Her brows furrowed. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't have a fever, right?"

He began to smile, a warm, pleasant feeling running along inside his heart. "Are you worried about me?"

She nodded her head firmly. "Of course I am, Aiden. Why wouldn't I be worried for you?"

He shrugged. The music shifted to some pop song about being crazy and in love. He glanced down to her face, surprised to find that her eyes were closed, a happy, relaxed expression making her look a little younger than she was. Her lips were mouthing the words and he paid a little more attention to them. As the song ended the first repeat of the chorus and the female singer began to repeat 'uh-oh, uh-oh' he felt Willow's body sway against his. He blinked, focusing back on her, as her fingers began to run over his chest, back up along his shoulders, wrapping around his neck again. Her eyes were open now and though she didn't say a word, her lips still moved to the song as she stared up into his eyes, smiling softly. "The way that you know what I thought I knew, it's the beat that my heart skips when I'm with you. But I still don't understand, just how the love you're doing no one else can."

As the chorus started back up, her hands traveled back down his body for half a second. She pulled away, out of his arms, backing up, raising her arms above her head, really getting into the song. Her hips rocked side to side, making her breasts sway and bounce, and he found it hard to focus on much else for a few seconds. She tossed her head back and forth, her hair half-covering her face, before stretching her hands back out toward him.

The chorus ended and a male rapper started up. "C'mon, Aiden. Be crazy in love with me. Be foolish with me," she crooked her finger toward him.

He stared at her, shaking his head. "There's no way I could-"

"But isn't that how you're feeling right now?" she asked in a strange voice. "Isn't that how the both of us are feeling right now?" He shut up at that, unable to say a word. "Don't deny it, Aiden. Just embrace it. Feel it. Love it. We can think about everything else after this night. But for right now...Just be with me..."

He swallowed as the song came to an end. "I..."

After a second, another song came on and Willow's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, this is the perfect song right now!" she breathed in amused delight. Her dark eyes clashed with his. "Pay attention to the lyrics and move your body with me," she instructed as she moved back to his side. She slowly began to rock her body against his, running her fingers over his chest as the music kicked up a little more, the singer-who he recognized as being the same one from the last song-coming on.

"Every night I rush to my bed, with hopes that maybe I'll get a chance to see you when I close my eyes. I'm going out of my head. Lost in a fairy tale; can you hold my hands and be my guide? Clouds filled with stars cover your skies. And I hope it rains, you're the perfect lullaby. What kinda dream is this?" Very slowly, feeling the words hit home, he moved his hands to Willow's hips and began to sway and move with her, holding her close.

Gods, if this is a dream, don't ever wake me up...

"You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare...Either way I don't wanna wake up from you. Sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Somebody, pinch me-your love's too good to be true. My guilty pleasure-I ain't going nowhere. Baby, 'long as you're here, I'll be floating on air 'cause you're my...You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare, either way I don't wanna wake up from you."

"See why it's so perfect?" Willow asked huskily, running her lips over his chest.

He let out a shaky laugh. "Maybe," he grinned. "Just a little..."

"So which are you going to be? A sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare, Aiden?" Willow's voice was so soft Aiden very nearly missed it as the next verse of the song started up.

"I mention you when I say my prayers. I wrap you around all of my thoughts. Boy, you're my temporary high. I wish that when I wake up you're there to wrap your arms around me for real and tell me you'll stay by my side. Clouds filled with stars cover the skies and I hope it rains; you're the perfect lullaby. What kinda dream is this?"

He struggled to think past the sudden swell of emotion that was trying to overcome him. It was something more than lust-though there was definitely plenty of that. Especially with how their bodies swayed together, how Willow fit against him, the feel and smell of her. But beyond that, he felt as if the question she brought up really did matter. He fought to find his voice as the chorus repeated. "I'd prefer to be a sweet dream," he answered gently. "I know you'll be for me. Nothing about you is a nightmare, beautiful or otherwise."

She raised her head slowly from where she'd been hiding it against his chest. Her lips shook as the song came to an end and yet another started up. Hearing it, Aiden's lips lifted into a smile. "You really like this singer, don't you? What's her name? She's honestly not bad."

Willow let out a shaky laugh. "You don't know the Queen Bey? You know, Beyonce?" When he continued to look down at her blankly, she shook her head sadly. "I'm glad I was finally able to help your musical education then," she said in a voice that was very obviously fighting to stay steady. Especially with how close to tears Willow suddenly looked. She was blinking rapidly as the singer began.

"Remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they're tumbling down, and they didn't even put up a fight. They didn't even make a sound. I found a way to let you win, but I never really had a doubt. Standing in the light of your halo, I got my angel now."

"She has some really emotional songs," Aiden murmured, staring down into Willow's eyes.

She nodded firmly. "She honestly does. I can almost always find a song of hers to fit every mood I'm in..." Her arms wrapped around his neck and she stopped grinding against him. Instead she simply leaned into him, watching him with a strange, almost scared light in her eyes as Beyonce kept singing.

"It's like I've been awakened. Every rule, I had you break it. It's the risk that I'm taking. I ain't never gonna shut you out. Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace. Baby, I can see your halo. You know you're my saving grace. You're everything I need and more. It's written all over your face. Baby, I can feel your halo. Pray it won't fade away."

He leaned his head down closer to hers as the soft, romantic music continued to fill the room. He breathed in the scent of her, that heady, sweet scent of strawberries that seemed to drive him just a little closer to the edge. His fingers around her waist tightened slightly as they swayed to the music, bodies almost, but not quite, latched to one another. "I'm amazed. I'm amazed I'm here right now, that all of this is happening. Is this real?" he questioned quietly. "What if we could make this real?" he found himself asking before he could stop the words.

She was quiet for long enough that he felt the nerves in his stomach so badly he feared he'd be sick. Her expression was filled with longing, hope, and fear as she slowly lifted her face. Her eyes stared into his and he felt like the world began to slow down as she started to speak in a shy, heartbroken voice. "I know this is stupid. I know that its' because of all this alcohol...But I've never done something like this before. I've never just sat down with a guy and tried to get to know him like this. I've never just danced, half-naked, for the sheer fun of it. I've never wanted to before. I've never laughed this much before. I've never felt like this before."

Her eyes bore into his. "It's terrifying. It's insane. It's dangerous..." she swallowed, her voice cutting off. "Aiden, you have to make sure you don't ever kiss me," she told him. "If you do...if you do, I could never forgive myself. But I can't stop it...Not with how I feel right now." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'd just burn you away...You'd never be able to love me, would you?" She shook her head. "Of course not...It's impossible. It's crazy. I shouldn't even be saying this...I shouldn't even be here right now. I shouldn't be..."

He forced her to stop, cupping her cheek, rubbing his thumb along the soft skin. "Could you love me?" he asked just as quietly as before.

She let out a soft sob. "I think I already might, just a little," she sucked in a sharp breath. "Yes, Aiden. I want this to be real," she admitted. "But it can't ever be. We're just...we're just really drunk. Maybe if we'd met another way, in another world, in another time and place." She let out another broken sob. "We're not even going to remember this in the morning...Not with the potion I slipped into the wine when you weren't looking. I just meant to have some fun and forget about it later. That's all this was suppose to be..."

"What have you done to me?" they asked at the same moment. They gazed at one another, two pairs of dark eyes filled with many confusing, conflicted, terrified emotions.

Aiden was the first to break the silence. "If this is only going to last for one night, I want all of it, Willow. Why can't I kiss you?" he asked softly.

She let out a broken sob. "I'll kill you if you do..."

"You're killing me now. Nothing you do to me could ever be worse than how I'm feeling right now. I should leave, walk out that door right now. But the feelings you've been evoking in me since I caught sight of you...I don't know how to fight them. Please...give me yourself, Willow..."

She swallowed, her black eyes filled with longing and terror. "If I say yes and you die...I'll never be able to forgive myself. D-don't you realize how dangerous it is to get close to me? The more I care for people, the closer to loosing them I get. That's how it is...how it always goes..."

He leaned down, until his lips were brushing over hers. "Please, Willow," he begged. He lifted his other hand to cup her face fully.

She let out a soft breath of surrender. "T-take it s-slow..." she instructed before pushing up slightly.

Their lips pressed against one another, hesitant and uncertain. Willow tilted her head to the side, running her tongue over his lips. He groaned at the taste, the contact...He opened his mouth, allowing her to kiss him deeper. His head spun at the taste of her. Sparks of energy, need, and hunger shot through his body. He lowered one hand down her back, pressing her body into his, loving the feel of her nipples brushing along his chest. She let out a low moan and he felt the flame in his body shoot up. He struggled to hold back his need, feeling his erection growing, hardening, pressing into her stomach.

She moaned again, shifting so that she rubbed her stomach against his boxers. He groaned in pain. "Gods, Willow," he choked out as he broke the kiss. He blinked rapidly, his head still spinning. After a second, he lowered his lips back to hers. "I'm not dead yet. I need more of you," he pleaded.

This time he was the aggressor, slipping his tongue into her mouth, lowering his arm around her until he was cupping her ass. He rubbed her body against him even more. She whimpered at the friction of his erection against her, her fingers reaching down to tug at his boxers. He didn't pause in his slow, lazy exploration of her mouth as he used his free hand to clumsily jerk off his boxers. Once the offending material was gone, he pressed her against him once more.

She let out a hissed breath at the contact of his hot erection touching her skin. Her fingers moved to wrap around his erection and he froze. His breath caught in the back of his throat. She used his moment of weakness to wrap one of her legs around his and deepen the kiss, sweeping her tongue into his mouth. After a second, he regained his breath, his body shuddering violently at the exquisite feel of her touching him. He shifted his hold to wrap his arms around her back, pulling back just slightly.

She refused to let him get away though. She moved her other leg around his and he immediately realized what she wanted. He moved his hands so that he could support her as she rose up so that her legs were wrapped around his hips. She let out a short laugh, breaking free of the kiss. "This is the longest I've ever kissed someone before," she observed in heady shock, her face spilt in a smile of amazement. "You taste so good...I could kiss you forever." To prove it, she did just that, her arms around his neck pulling his face back to hers.

Aiden's hand at her hip tightened as his erection pressed against the opening at her thighs. He could feel the heat, the way her body was growing wet for him. It made his blood burn, made his lust rage for her even more. He let out a choked snarl. "I don't think I can wait..." he pulled back from her lips.

She pointed to a small stand with a single drawer in between the two beds. "Condoms are in there," she told him, before pulling his face in for more hot, intense kissing.

Aiden struggled to think, to breathe, to move. The more she kissed him, the more he felt as if the world was spinning. Everything else was getting hazier and hazier, but the one thing that remained firm was the feel of her in his arms. All his senses were in overdrive, focusing on taking in everything about Willow. The way she smelled, the way she tasted, the way her body was shaped, the curves of her sides, stomach, hips.

He managed to suck in a large gulp of air when she reluctantly unwrapped herself from around him, standing on shaky legs. She moved to the bed he'd been sitting on, shoving his clothes off the side without a second's pause. While she climbed up into the bed, he moved to the drawer and pulled out a condom, noticing there were about four in the drawer. After he got the protection on, he turned to her. She was slipping off her lacy panties, revealing her black curls at the meeting of her thighs. He groaned in longing. "Gods...how are you so beautiful?"

She glanced up at him as he climbed onto the bed, moving to kneel between her legs. "Do you honestly think I'm beautiful or are you just saying that?" she asked in an almost hurt voice.

He smiled, looming over her, cupping her cheek with one hand. "Willow, you're so damn beautiful, it makes my heart hurt," he answered truthfully. He really wasn't lying. Gazing down at her dark body, his heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest. And damn it all...he knew he had no reason to feel this way. It made no sense, but if all he could do was gaze at her for the rest of eternity like this, he knew he could be happy. "If I knew how to draw at all, I'd put your body on a canvas."

She chuckled quietly. "Promise?"

"I swear it," he smiled. He leaned down and kissed her again, feeling just as drunk off the taste of her as he did with all the alcohol. Her legs lifted up, wrapping around his hips. She pressed her opening against his erection and his jaw tightened. Their tongues danced together furiously as he very slowly let himself slip inside her. He kept her still with one hand at her hip, making sure she wouldn't try to move around too much.

As her warm, wet passage opened up more and more for him, his eyes closed in ecstasy. He let out a quiet groan of surrender, feeling an overwhelming sensation of release, unlike anything he'd ever experience before come over him. His fingers at her hip loosened as he felt some of his energy lag a bit in response to the release. Set free, Willow's hips rose up and forced him fully inside her. His eyes popped open in shock, especially when she began to suck on his tongue, their lips still locked tightly together. She let her hips lower a little before lifting them up again, pulling a pained groan from him.

His head was spinning like crazy now, his breath struggling to reach all the way to his lungs. A weight in his chest was pressing against his rib cage. Holy fuck, my heart really is going to burst, he thought in a second of panic. He gasped and, very suddenly, Willow pulled away. "Oh, God, don't kiss me anymore, Aiden!" she cried out in a mixture of fear, loss, and longing.

He blinked, staring down at her face as she lowered her head to the pillows. Her black eyes were gold now, with black rings inside them. "W-wha-?" he gasped.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she very suddenly increased the speed of her hips. Her arms and legs around him tightened to a nearly painful grip and he felt the fire in his blood ignite. "Oh gods..." he cried out. He moved his hands to her hips and began to meet her thrust for thrust, rocking against her.

"You feel so damn good," she moaned. "You're an addiction. I can't get enough. What did you do to me?" she asked in a low groan. She rose up, clinging to him as she ran her lips over his chest. "It's like the taste of you just keeps driving me insane."

He chuckled richly, shifting so that he could reach a better angle with his thrusts. When he did, she sucked in a sharp breath, letting out a soft, strangled cry. He watched in surprise as her eyes grew wide and her lips parted in a pant. He moaned in startled delight as her body tightened around him, dragging another dizzying release from him. He felt the hot, mind-numbing sensation shoot down his spine, more intense than when he'd first entered her.

Willow collapsed back against the bed, her chest rising and falling in short, shallows breaths. He braced his arms to either side of her, fighting to stay upright and not smother her. He blinked rapidly, feeling like he was seeing stars as his heart beat fast enough he feared he'd have heart failure. Going off of her dazed expression, Aiden felt like he hadn't done too bad for his first time.

He shook his head at that thought. If he started thinking like that now, he'd just drown in all his insecurities and freak out. "H-hey," he stuttered out a few seconds later, finally able to catch his breath a little better. "You okay, Willow?" Slowly, he moved out of her, glancing down at himself. He shot up off the bed. The condom was broken. "Shit!" he swore as he rushed to the bathroom. Once there, he pulled off the condom, throwing it away and cleaning himself up. "Gods damn it all..."

Five seconds later, a soft voice carried through the open bathroom door. "A-Aiden? Did I just dream him up?"

His lips rose into an amused smile at that. "I'm glad to see I'm your fantasy man," he called out in a loud voice.

A long moment of silence passed. "Cheeky man," came her snorted reply.

Finished washing up, Aiden came back around the corner, leaning against the wall that led to the bathroom. His gaze took in the sight of her spread out on the bed, naked and smiling at him with slumbering eyes. Her straight hair spread out around her head and he slowly walked closer, until he was sitting down on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through her long hair. "Have you ever thought of curling your hair? I think you'd look really good," he murmured.

She blinked up at him, a strange expression on her face. "My hair's normally curly," she told him in a quiet voice.

He frowned. "Really? I wish I could see you like that then." He brushed some of her hair out of her face, his fingertips moving along her jaw and then to her neck. "Still, just thinking about you, as you are now..." He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "You're breathtaking," he whispered as he pulled back.

Her cheeks flushed a little, though he was only really able to see it through her dark skin because he was so close to her. "Please...I don't know how to respond to your compliments..."

He chuckled softly. "Just admit that they're true and move on."

She shifted on the bed, curling on her side, patting the spot next to her for him to lie down. He did, stretching out, propping his head on his left elbow. "I'm honestly sorry. I wish I'd never done what I did..."

"...The potion?" he asked softly. She nodded, looking ashamed, turning her head away slightly and closing her eyes in pain. He tried to laugh, just a little, but it came out pained more than amused. "Well...what's done is done now." He studied her face. "You aren't human, are you? That was magic you used earlier..."

Her head whipped up to face him, eyes open in surprise. "Wait...does that mean you aren't human either?" Her hand reached out and her lips pulled down in a thoughtful frown. "You must be some sort of Fire Other then, with how hot you've been..."

He nodded, deciding that was good enough. Not many Others reacted well to finding out he was in fact a hybrid. "What are you?" he wondered, since he honestly couldn't figure out what she might be from what little he'd seen so far.

Her lips began to shake and she stiffened, as if bracing herself for a blow. "A half-breed wraith..."

Aiden's eyebrows shot up and he froze. "Wait...what?!"

Wraith, a evil spirit or ghost, in the Human World. In the Other Realm? It meant a being that existed as half-dead, living off of the life-source of other beings by consuming their souls. It was incredibly rare to be a wraith though. As far as Aiden knew, they were only about a hundred of them in existence, and that number accounted for all those in both worlds. But a half-breed? How did that even happen? From what he knew, wraiths couldn't procreate.

Hearing her words helped him feel much better about the condom-breaking situation. If she was a wraith, there should be a very slim chance for her to be impregnated, if she even could get pregnant. His nerves settled a lot more.

Willow stared at him blankly for several seconds. Finally, she opened her mouth, her voice confused. "Why aren't you running out of the room at this point? Aren't you afraid I'm going to make you my next meal?"

He laughed, smiling widely. "You've already proven to me that you don't want to cause me any harm." His expression calmed, growing serious again. "That's why you told me not to kiss you, isn't it? That's what was happening when you yelled at me to stop," he murmured in a matter-of-fact manner. "That's why you were panicking. You were afraid you'd consume my soul."

Willow nodded, tears springing to her eyes. "I always do...It's why I told you not to kiss me. Everyone I care about, I eat, I kill...And then you went and...You cast some sort of spell on me and made me care...I nearly killed you too..." She raised her hands to her face. "Now I've ruined it..."

Aiden swallowed, feeling like his heart was cracking at the edges as he watched her cry. "Damn it, Willow. Don't cry. I didn't mean to make you cry, honey." He wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close, kissing her forehead, eyes, cheeks, head...Anywhere but her lips, since he suspected that would just upset her more at this moment.

She cried in his arms for several minutes, clinging to him like she'd drown if she let go. He ran his hand down her back, murmuring quietly in her ear, just trying to use his voice to soothe her a little. "How did this happen?" Aiden asked the universe quietly, voice pained.

She let out a broken laugh. "It happened because you kissed a girl."

O O O

The next morning, he woke up on the bed of a hotel room. He shot up to his elbows, looking around him in a confused daze. He didn't recognize the room in the slightest. He groaned, feeling a headache like he'd never had before slam into his skull. He shot to his feet, holding a hand to his mouth. He glanced around and found the door to the bathroom, rushing over to it to get sick. He let out a weak sob at the pain shooting throughout his head, slumping against the toilet.

Ten minutes later, he felt strong enough to clean up, shower, and stumbled out of the bathroom. Flipping on the light switch on the nearby wall, he blinked in the sudden flood of brighter light. His gaze roamed around the room. It looked spotless, except for a neat, folded pile of clothes that rest at the foot of the far bed. He shuffled over, noticing as he got closer that a note on the hotel stationary was resting on top of the clothes. He stared at the feminine, scrolling script, lifting up the note and reading it silently.

Dear Aiden,

I left after you fell asleep. I couldn't stay to see it happen. I figured it would be best that both of us waking up, strangers, didn't meet each other again. I couldn't handle the thought of last night not existing, of seeing that you'd forgotten, even if I had as well.

I don't know what happened last night. I don't know what was between us, but I've never felt something like I did last night for another person. If you remember nothing else, I want you to remember that. You'll be the sweetest dream I'll ever have and I think it's best it remains that way.

I hope, someday soon, you find someone who can be your reality. I wish that person was me, but I'd just be lying to myself. I don't deserve a happy ending like that. So, instead, I hope you dream of me too...

Have a good life and let dreams fade into forgotten memories, like they're meant to be. Go out and find something real, something solid, and be happy...

Gods, Aiden, please be happy...

P.S. I've already checked out and let the hotel staff know you'll be gone by noon. You don't have to worry about a thing. I won't leave my name, since it's best left forgotten anyway.

His hand crumpled the paper. He felt like his heart was being squeezed by two large, monstrous hands. He raised a hand to his chest, sucking in a sharp breath. Tears stung his eyes at the pain and he shook his head.

What the fuck happened last night?

The most he remembered was being at the bar with his father and Bren. After that his memories were vague as hell. Something about being teased into drinking and leaving the bar with some woman. But, no matter how fiercely he wracked his brain, he couldn't remember who the woman was, what happened, or-hell-even what she looked like!

He glanced down, raising the hand with the note to his forehead, seeing his naked body. Obviously he must have had sex with the woman the night before, but he didn't remember a single second of the entire event. Swallowing, he tore apart the note. Moving to the bathroom, he threw the pieces in the trash.

He had no idea what the woman had meant, going on and on about 'dreams' and 'reality', but at this point he was too frustrated and confused to care. She wanted me to forget, right? Well, it's fucking forgotten! he snarled internally. He kicked the tiny trash can with the edge of his foot, glaring at the pieces of paper. Turning on his heel, he moved back to the clothes and began to get dressed.

Five minutes later, making sure he looked proper and presentable in the bathroom mirror, he glanced back down at the little torn pieces of paper in the trashcan. Staring up at him, as if to mock him, was the line 'Aiden, please be happy...'

He glared at the paper, his temper sparking. "What the fuck does it matter?" he asked himself. "It was just a one-night stand, which is why I don't have them." The sentence continued to mock him.

Snarling in irritation, he reached down and picked up the paper scrap, stuffing it in the pocket of his pants. "Damn it," he muttered as he left the room, slamming the door behind him. "I shouldn't even care...It was just sex, Aiden," he berated himself under his breath. "Obviously very horrible sex at that, if I blocked out the whole experience from my mind. That must be what she meant. She was so shocked by how bad I was, she couldn't believe or understand it. Damn it!" he growled, making a few people in the hallway turn their heads to stare at him. Ducking his head, he forced himself to calm down and stop acting out.

"Just forget about it," he told himself firmly. "Obviously, she plans to as well. So do the same and save yourself the annoyance of letting it bother you." Satisfied with this, he nodded his head to himself, glancing around to find the elevator to leave the hotel.