A/N: If I don't give a timeframe there isn't always a guarantee I will update by the next week. This story I'm doing purposely slower as to not overwhelm myself with another story on top of my others.

Also, I am VERY aware in reality this would not be possible to obtain a degree this quickly. That is why its called a FICTION piece and it had to be done to fit the story. So don't come for me, please.

Ahem NOW to repeat myself:

Jenny is strong. Period. Not a damsel. She's realistic. And, well, I don't need to say period because you understand. Ah, the madness to ensue! As a sweet reminder this piece has been lying around in my head for several weeks and when that happens it's time to formulate, set it on paper and update. This AGAIN is an adult piece, so I warn ahead of time of the sensuality aspect.

Enjoy.

2

Dream

YEAR AND A HALF LATER...

2002

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Frustrated Jenny jabbed her keys into the lock and twisted. Hopefully she wouldn't have to call the locksmith again for her old clunker. Last Wednesday had been enough of a headache. That following week she was scheduled to test drive a new car she'd selected with Dee's aid. Until then she needed this vehicle to get her through the turbulent days. However, she was seriously considering upping the time frame given the mounting issues. Even if it had to be tomorrow.

Getting into her car was becoming, too much, of a ridiculous nuisance.

Sadly, her old '86 VW Beatle was coming to its life's end. It had served Jenny well for transportation in the days of her high school years. Back in its polished blue prime and fresh leather interior. After the trials of college, the exterior had started to rust, and the leather seats had frayed. Many memories could be seen from subtle stains embedded into the carpet from drive thrus, school dances, or outdoor activities a carpet steamer hadn't gotten get out.

It was ready to retire into the grave of a junkyard.

"Ugh dammit!" The door groaned in protest as Jenny wedged it open-just as a gust of wind ruffled the striped flaps of her dress. One set of fingers scrambled for her cell lying in the passenger seat. The other held down the fabric for modesty. With a 'humph' Jenny squatted down into the low driver's seat of the car. She scooped back a lockful of long, honey curled hair. Flipping open her cell nearly breathless, Jenny answered, "Hello this is Jenny Thornton?"

"Miss Thornton? Hi this is Rita calling from the office."

Rita. Fresh out of college Rita who Jenny had just hired on as her first secretary. The always eager to please redhead constantly called Jenny. It had all started when Jenny had mistakenly told her upon start to call if she needed anything. Anything the girl had literally taken to heart. Every day, as soon as Jenny left the office, Rita would call and ask what she could do extra for her. As of late it was becoming a real nuisance for Jenny. She enjoyed "space" between work and her personal life. As soon as she locked her office doors for the next sixteen hours she was "off duty".

She understood Rita just wanted to do her best as an employee. Jenny did applaud her for vigilance, but it was becoming a struggle to bite her tongue on this evolving issue. "Hello, Rita, I am having some car trouble." Jenny switched the phone to her other ear her as she started up the car. "What is it that you need?"

"I apologize to bother you, Miss Thornton-"

"Jenny, please." Jenny interjected with a slight hint of irritation now in her voice. She'd tried correcting Rita on this several times. Her preference was to be addressed by her first name.

Even with her clientele she preferred the lesser of formalities.

"Jenny," Rita recorrected with quip, "right, Jenny." She repeated. "I am not calling about my performance or anything extra." She added a small laugh, too seemingly aware of Jenny's mood. "One of your patients just asked to reschedule for tomorrow. They said it was urgent they see you."

Jenny adjusted the phone as she pulled out into the freeway. Glancing once behind her to make sure she was in the clear she switched lanes. "O-Okay. I know I am booked until noon. I do need to be out of the office by at the latest 3:00pm." She'd already decided she was going to call the dealership.

And schedule the test for the following day.

"Uh yes..." There was a shuffling in the background. "But I do see here you have an availability at 1:00. Mrs. Brinkley is requesting an hour session. She's even paid in advance."

Inwardly, Jenny groaned. For the past six months she'd dealt with this woman. From the moment she'd first stepped through Jenny's serene office filled of herbal plants, calming music, and plush furniture to make her patients feel at ease-Mrs. Brinkley had nitpicked about everything. Whether it was the attire Jenny wore, the music she chose to play for the session, or the way Jenny was treating her.

The elder woman NEVER seemed to be quite satisfied.

As a woman in her profession Jenny had, thus far, done her best to not personally judge a client. This had been before Mrs. Brinkley. She was by far the most interesting client Jenny had had yet. The woman harbored a prudish behavior and style still set in the 1950's. Being that Jenny was a newer counselor she constantly questioned her profession, the difficulties she was having with her divorce, and the major OCD she harbored. This had been displayed when Jenny caught her trying to straighten her office. It was a wonder she still kept coming for her sessions.

For a moment Jenny squeezed her eyes shut, irked.

If Mrs. Brinkley had already paid in advance, she really didn't have a choice. However, Jenny had been recently debating whether to refer Mrs. Brinkley to another therapist. Someone who personalized on OCD factors. From what Jenny had divulged this appeared to be the root of the problem.

Jenny was more based in the department of Marriage and Family.

"Okay." Slowly Jenny opened her eyes with a calming exhale. "Put her down for 1:00pm and make sure to forward any personal calls to voicemail. My mother should be calling around that time."

Every Thursday Marjorie Thornton gave Jenny a ring at exactly 12:00 or 1:00pm on the dot. This was a given whether Jenny was in a session or not. It was her mother's way of keeping in touch with her conflicting daughter's schedule. If Jenny didn't answer she could expect a long, very detailed voicemail. To keep her family appeased, Jenny made it a point to always return her call-in kind.

She lived quite a distance from them.

"Okay," Jenny could imagine Rita furiously flipping through files and jotting down notes. The post-its she'd learnt off her boss. "I will let Mrs. Brinkley know thank you, Jenny. And," she added with last minute hesitance, "I hope I am doing okay at my job."

Jenny could just imagine Rita's small nose being crinkled behind the thick, horned-rimmed spectacles too big for her freckled face. In a brief moment of compassion Jenny added, "You are doing fine, Rita." She assured. "Just stay on top of my calls and appointments."

"Oh, ha, well good." There was a smile in Rita's voice of returned gratitude. "Thank you, Jenny. I can't tell you how grateful I am to work for you. Have a good rest of your evening."

Jenny nodded, switching on her blinker as she turned into the gated entrance. The emboldened, scripted words written on the marble surface to the suburbs read, River Terrace. "You as well, Rita. Have a good night."

Click.

With a sigh Jenny threw the phone into the passenger seat as she turned down Claireveiw Road. Here she passed by all the suburban families. One family was out barbecuing on their perfect, manicured lawns laid out before the large, three-story building. She spotted some of the women in the neighborhood gathered there in their crisp polos. Their heads were bent together while they sipped on their fancy cocktails as the kids played in the yards. No doubt, it was about the newest gossip in the neighborhood. One waved with the brim of their straw hat bent in faint acknowledgement towards Jenny. A familiar elderly man known to be a retired gym teacher was out jogging in the usual American flag shorts.

He waved to Jenny as she passed him to which she returned.

Seemingly around this time many suburban families were always out. They were familiar with Jenny's junker as it rumbled past them. Because of Jenny's hectic schedule she'd never gotten acquainted with her neighbors. Much less had she made any friends around the area. Most of the relative families were either older, married, or harboring a pack of kids to occupy the majority of their day. Being in her late twenties Jenny hadn't yet settled. She'd just started her career nearly a year ago at New Beginnings faculty. Having to obtain a loan to buy her new home just a few months before, her life hadn't yet settled to the point of down.

She seemed to be always on the go.

With the small pocket of time reserved for the weekends Jenny made sure to reach out to friends and family. At least once every other Friday Dee would come over to have dinner. The two usually finished the night off with a bottle of wine before Dee retired to the guest room. Dee always left early the next morning to work out before Karate teaching. Jenny was still usually in bed to catch up on needed rest.

Because of this Dee had given up trying to get Jenny to take a class.

Then there was Audrey and Michael. Their lives had been busily occupied. The new love in their lives had arrived last May. Born 5 lbs. and 11 ounces, Audrey and Michael had both welcomed a new baby girl into their lives as parents: Auburn Andrea Cohen. Jenny had been there to see the doe-eyed, curly-red-haired cutie. She'd had the facial structure and soft brown eyes of her father. The locks and later mannerisms were of her mother.

Michael had already told Jenny he'd be given any future boyfriend quite the pamphlet. This had made Jenny and miss them more so. Because they lived in San Francisco, Jenny and Audrey's communication was usually by phone. The last update Jenny had had from Audrey, Auburn was starting to roll on her back. Recorded in the Audrey's baby book, was Auburns favorite pastimes. Such was falling asleep with daddy in the rocking chair and tucked in with a stuffed Barney.

Which Jenny had given at the baby shower.

Then there was Summer who liked to drive up every once in a while, in her beat-up Volkswagen. She'd come from Nor Cal to visit Jenny or vice versa. With business going successfully, still, Summer had expanded employment. It allowed her to take time off to travel to exotic locations the hipster had always wanted to. In late July, she'd run into Jenny's distant cousin Zach at LAX airport.

Briefly Zach had dated Summer in high school.

Due to the distance the two had ended on a decent note before college. After high school, Zach had been accepted into New York's City's prestigious University. There he'd strived to make it big in the photography business. Four years later, after receiving an agent's attention in a studio, Zach was now a professional photographer who ran his own business called: Decipher. According to Summer's last postcard, now tacked on Jenny's fridge featuring the vast expanse of New Zealand, her and Zach had been keeping in more contact.

Zach was flying out to see Summer next week.

Whatever was going on there, Jenny wished them well. In her experience, being high school lovers hadn't ended well. Thankfully, the persistence of a certain male whom she hadn't seen since college, had ended. After nearly five months of desperation to make up for his indiscretion, Thomas Locke had given up. The last scrap of information on his whereabouts had come from Marjorie and John Thornton. In the prime of his youth Jenny's little brother, Joey, had taken a liking to auto mechanics. He'd taken in his brand new sweet-sixteen Convertible for new rims. There, the family had run across Thomas in the shop. Thomas had recently taken over the family business.

It was said he worked in both the office and out.

Jenny's parents relayed to her later that he'd been polite. But he hadn't broached the topic of her. Joey had jokingly told Jenny it most likely had to do with the look John, their father, had given Tom. Ever since Toms infidelity Jenny's fathers' likeness of Tom had dropped.

Significantly.

For this Jenny was, indeed, grateful. Her father's protectiveness had always reminded her of a big Papa Bear. But because Jenny had grown up with such parents, who happened to adore each other, it had been a learning curve. When she had had to heal from her failed relationship.

Almost all of her firsts taken in life had been with Thomas. She'd been even close to giving up her virtue to him. So, to love again would take someone of the same adoration and compassion her parents shared together.

For now, she'd simply buried herself in work.

With the wedding venues canceled, the plane tickets to Hawaii for the honeymoon refunded, Jenny had plunged into school once more. This time she'd taken online to obtain her Masters. If only to speed along her career. It had taken tireless, endless hours and family and friend's support. But after a first nerve-wracking internship, Jenny had accomplished what would take most two or more years, 1.5. In doing so she'd been quick to reap the rewards of a job.

And finances as a benefit.

The accomplishments that followed made her proud as she looked around. Her own, beautiful home no one had handed to her. The walls her father had helped paint. The lush cream furnishings she'd bought with her own money. The marble tiles she'd hand picked out for installation. The draperies and décor she'd added from her own tastes.

The only donations she'd accepted rested across from her, an antique stained-glass lamp from Tiffany's. It had been a home warming gift from her parents. At this thought Jenny smiled, small.

Her heels echoed with a clack as she dropped them from the pad of her fingertips to the floor. She set down the manila folder filled of paperwork on the entry desk next to the lamp. Glancing up at the wide, oval mirror set above, it was forest green eyes that peered back at her. Small bags rested just beneath her lower lashes contributing to the tireless nights.

All that she'd had in the last few days from the same strange dream.

Jenny sighed, shaking out the carefully ironed curls now frizzed from the humidity. She reached along the back of her neck and pulled the zipper free. The confines of the tailored, pinstriped dress fell in modest to her knees. Strained knots were bunched along the contours of her neck and back.

All from the constant stress of her tumultuous job.

The cool, marble floors felt refreshing as she padded up the carpeted arced stairway set off to the side. Up towards the bathroom shades of lavender greeted her. Embellished with crystal vases were silk, lavender flowers and baby white carnations encased on the ostentatious counter tops.

Summer had once called it the room of detoxification.

Jenny stripped out of the dress and tossed it to the side. Bending over she reached down to twist the silver knobs the steam unraveling into the air. She breathed in, willing her body to relax. It was the one routine of her day she looked forward to most. Where she could refresh from the day's events.

Rose scented bath salts floated in the water as she switched on the jets to the Jacuzzi. Slowly, she settled into the heated waters.

The soap suds drifted over the swell of her breasts as Jenny adjusted, sinking into the inviting depths. She breathed in slowly, inhaling the rose fragrance settling nerves. Her muscles grew laxer as she tilted her head back and let her eyes close to simply relax.

Just relax...

Relax, Jenny...

"Relax, Jenny..."

Bodies.

They were suddenly all around her. They moved in gyrating synchronization to the ebb and flow of the haunting lyrics of music. The music. It echoed in cadence and surrounded her. Living, breathing, she could feel it reverberate and pound through the soles of her feet.

Like a heartbeat.

Always was it like this. Then the bodies, they'd separate like the parting of seas.

For her.

The strobe lights danced across the silver, silk threads of the dress accenting every curve of her body. The material thin against her skin creating a bare-felt sensual feel. It made her feel wild and untamed. Yet there remained a sense of vulnerability as her now glossed, blood-red lips slackened into a curious frown. Always her curiosity was peaked to find the source of where the strange music flowed from.

But she'd never gotten this far in the dream before.

With every step across the polished, ebony floors, flickered a quick flash of strobes. Time seemed to slow down. The music became less discernible, sluggish, like a broken record player. As it wound down into silence, only the faint echo of her breathing remained.

A single, wisp of breath hitched in her throat as the bodies abruptly evaporated like mist around her.

Except one.

Jenny felt the sharp, abrupt jolt in her chest as her heart rate spiked. She knew that frame and build. Oh... it is... you.

The presence she'd sensed from the moment she'd stepped into the riddle of this dream. This dream that had left her to wonder in waking hours. And now those suspicions had been confirmed. They were here, now, in a dream that had evolved into a dream like realm. And unlike she'd had in a very long time. The quality was-what was the word she searched for? Ethereal? Real?

No, of a created dream.

I can mold dreams into reality. Slowly, Jenny's gaze drifted from the scuffed toe of their boots, following up along the tight black pants of muscled legs. A silk, black shirt was undone to expose translucent flesh that shone like moonstone. As she raised her head further, the breath hitched her in lungs. She became locked into a vise of cobalt eyes inlaid with a snow-white intensity. It induced a familiar feeling.

One she hadn't been the source of for many years.

Soot lashes. Snow white hair. A face of sharp contours and high cheekbones. It was a man that suddenly sent Jenny hurtling back in time into the prime memories of her seventeen-year-old self. Every faucet, every face reflected back at her in that split second: Hunter. Erlking. Tribal warrior. Cyber punk of the More Games store.

The dollhouse.

Lambs and Monsters.

Joyland Park.

Jenny allowed her thoughts to finally release a name. It was a name she hadn't used since she'd found herself mourning on a tiled, bathroom floor in the Coneys place parlor.

Julian.

He'd been preserved in her childhood memories. In the coming of age when impressions of birthday parties, and the appeasement of the boyfriend had been important after escaping a couple of thugs in Vista Grande. He'd become her main processor after encountering him in the More Games store. It would set off, after, an entire chain of games that would change her forever. He'd be the one to rock the quiet stillness within her. He'd shake the foundations from which she'd always known as her life.

Across the tides of time, she'd garner pieces of strength that would stir a storm of emotions invoked from a man's obsession. A battle of wills and repercussions would war. Every game dealt out Jenny would shed her naïve innocence. Lambs and Monsters would force herself to delve into the confines of her mind to exercise logic. Integrity had been a key skill used to gain footing in all three games.

A newfound fiery spirit would be born from within.

No one deserved the life the Shadow Men had made for them. Julian had been just as much to blame. Even if he hadn't intended for them to meddle with his affairs, they'd discovered who Jenny was the granddaughter of. Her grandfather who had studied the runes for a majority of his life. And with this practice had come his consequence. Once, the Shadow Men know Jenny's identity they'd been far crueler in their intended endeavors. Jenny would soon learn this. Hadn't it been for Julians ultimate sacrifice he'd make in the end; Jenny could only imagine what her life would've been like. Her grandfather was the prime example of what they could've done to her. As well as PC and Slug Martell.

She didn't even dare dredge up that memory.

In a last act of redemption Julian had intercepted and been impaled by the Frosted blade; the only weapon that Jenny would discover forged to kill.

And end a Shadow Man's life.

He'd been left on the floor of her grandfather's basement after Jenny and her friends had closed the door off from the Shadow Men. It had left confusing, questionable feelings. In the small pockets of time, they'd shared Julian had shown rare, softer edges from the Shadow Man she'd faced in the beginning. He'd given her back Summer when they'd believed her dead after failing to conquer her nightmare. He'd saved her from freezing to death by the other Shadow Men. He'd appeared almost scared the moment she'd awoken. She'd even believed she'd started to reach Julian towards the end of the treasure hunt.

In Joyland.

An aged bout of exhaustion had seemingly weighed him down towards the end of the game. Through the tunnel of Love and Despair. Leading up to his death, Jenny found she'd truly cared for Julian. She hadn't whole-heartedly understood in what way, however. The true love of her life had been used as a target again and again against her. This had made it hard to pick apart such emotions. Then said person had been standing just a few feet away during Julian and Jenny's last exchange.

In his last preserve Julian would look at her just once, before bestowing the ring. He'd fade then like quicksilver into the realm of dreams encompassed of radiant light. "Nothing really dies as long as it's not forgotten."

Those had been his last words.

That early next morning, when she'd see the color of the skies, she'd taken the memory with her. After, Jenny had been forever changed by her tribulations. Despite the continuance of life followed by police interrogations involving Summers disappearance, more strict parental rules, and her senior year, Julian's words would remain like an imprint in her mind.

Jenny would garner a newfound sensuality for even the simplest things Tom had had a hard time identifying with. It was no secret her previous engagements with Julian had, admittedly, crossed a boundary of loyalty to Tom. To make up for it, Jenny hadn't allowed herself to pass into further dreams. Just knowing Julian was okay had been enough.

She knew, of course, it was where she could find Julian again. However, she'd had respect for Tom and their relationship. But also, in a way, it had been for her own reprieve as well. Jenny had gone through a lot. ALOT. And after she'd wanted some semblance of normality again. Nevertheless, Jenny kept the ring Julian had given almost in a reverence beneath her shirts. The cool metal would remain nestled against her breastbone left to always remind Jenny, because of Julian, her heart still beat.

And reminded her of a confidence of being her only Master.

But if he was here, right now, did that mean he was in some form of existence? And if he was had he always been? Had her thoughts kept him alive somewhere in her subconscious? She knew she hadn't completely let go.

Nothing really dies as long as it's not forgotten.

"Jenny..." The name fell from his lips in a soft, coveted lilt. The casting of lights illuminated every sharp, prominent feature as he took one step then another. He seemed to drink her in as if a man starved. The look left a trace of familiarity and a birth of unbridled wonder in his eyes. "You've grown..."

Oh.

For a moment a self-conscious thought flitted through her mind. She was still quite young. But the possibility of stray, gray hairs seemed feasible due to stressors in life. She'd certainly been through the ringer in the last few years.

Now, merely seeing Julian again, left her nearly overwhelmed. It was apparent at the awe Julian displayed, however, that made her worries all but dissipate. Once he'd said she'd attracted him like a moth to a flame. Likened to the tale of Hades and Persephone. But she was no longer that naïve seventeen-year-old girl who danced of girlish innocence. The games Julian dealt out had matured her.

Along with the trivialities of adulthood.

Seeing him not on the verge of death was like an electric shock to the senses. Swallowing once, twice, as Jenny gazed at him, she managed, "I'm... I'm not some young Persephone anymore..."

"No." Julian shook his head with a gentle shake. He bent forward, seemingly longer, snow white strands of his hair falling across the smooth plains of his forehead. Without hesitance the pad of his finger reached out and ghosted a trail along the curve of her jaw. "You hold the stance of the reformed queen she became, rather than a young maiden with posies." He breathed in. "A woman."

At this his eyes glowed brighter, as if any source of light was inexplicably harnessed to him. It made Jenny struggle with the reins of control.

Her frustration peaked.

After Tom, she'd found herself to be firm in the opposition of being charmed easily by the opposite sex. Very few could get under her thick skin. Yet, Julian managed to, even now. Seeing him made her feel as if she were being knocked back into her seventeen-year-old self. She didn't like it. Not with the new personified image she'd carried, since. Independent. Headstrong. She couldn't allow herself to be so easily swayed.

Regardless of the passages of time.

Steeling herself, Jenny placed one foot behind the other and took a half step back from his touch. "I stayed long enough this time to find you, it would seem."

Those eyes.

They were always churning with a thousand emotions underlying the calm like a hurricane. Always a mercurial mood swing on the precipice of the present. Julian's lip curled slightly having read her expression, perfectly. "Such fire. It appears infidelity has made you so much more... feisty." His eyes torched, taking on a deeper intensity.

And echoed of Jenny's past pain.

The new, fiery confidence caused her to lash out from recalling old wounds with a sharp, "Don't."

To her, Julian was like the struck match that ignited the fire that long simmered beneath the surface of her composure. This tenacity Jenny had had scared guys away in bars from their one liner. But it had both surprised and entertained Dee. And it was also the sole cause of Jennifer Copenhagen tears.

When she'd dared to find her.

In a last-ditch effort, the former friend had tried to reach Jenny a month previous to apologize for her betrayal. The past Jenny Thornton would've been baffled at the outcome. Her language had been rather colorful ending with the definition of a backstabbing whore.

She was no one's doormat, anymore.

As her surety grew Jenny boldly stepped closer to Julian. If he wanted to press, she would challenge it. The times had changed from her preteen years. She was older. Wiser. She had nothing to lose anymore. No loyalties to another to target, either.

And no timetable.

Both were a force to be reckoned with. Jenny knew this. Especially how Julian didn't appear to be the least intimidated by her presence. Much like that of a mortal male's ego. Instead, Julians eyes sparked with newfound challenge. And it showed he knew exactly what she was doing. His lips drew up into a fierce, wolfish grin. "My, my, what spirit we have. However, it's best not to start opposition unless you intend to finish it, Jenny."

Yes, she was doing that wasn't she. And yet, it didn't scare her. Rather, at his words, Jenny felt the pull, a sudden rush of adrenaline. In the past she'd always been on the weary, receiving end of these games they'd played. And against each other. He'd been like a sly devil dancing through her mind's eye. Always had he watched her and perfected the moment when it came to strike her core.

This time was different.

There was no innocent martyr of a lamb waiting to be led astray into the wolf's clutches. In a strange way, it was almost appealing. Jenny's rawness for life had come from Julian; a factor that had taken Tom time to comprehend. It had laid dormant, since, until she'd witnessed his affair.

Which had led to her later successes.

So, the emboldened assurance Jenny felt was rather, euphoric. Almost... seductive. As a young woman that sought sources of release from her demanding schedule, it was she initiating.

It was she instigating.

She'd set up this deck of cards.

Julian had always been this level of danger and challenge. He always met it and pushed her to be more. As an adult she saw this now. Julian wasn't a feared, preying panther and she the vulnerable, hunted doe. An invisible force had tied both the former Prince of Darkness and Jenny together some time ago.

As equals.

As she stared into the eyes of the former Shadow Man she'd once feared, she realized, the power. If she focused in, she could sense it now, like a pulsing vibration. It came off of him like a gamma ray. Under a dream he still harbored a domain, yes. Jenny she was no fool to the destruction he could wreak. Yet she found herself not backing down. Instead, she embraced it. In doing so she had control.

Which gave her just as much power.

The light in Julians eyes seemed to crackle as if he'd sensed the shift in energy. A heat was awakening there. "Well, well, Jenny, aren't we so confident now." Almost as if testing her, Julian arced one brow and closed the sliver of distance between them.

Jenny stared him down almost daring him to make his move.

Almost in perfect timing a mournful, melodic opera arose in a musical cadence as Julian leaned in. The haunted voice carried, entwining them both in the moment as tensions peaked. Almost in practiced measure Julian took his time, his breaths falling against Jenny's skin.

It caused the small hairs to prickle.

He exhaled as his lips made just a hairsbreadth of contact with her full, bottom lip. "How about now, Jenny?" he breathed, his voice slightly husky.

Jenny closed her eyes of her own accord. The aroma around him was like the heady, scented candle of sandalwood. He was as seductive as velvet.

A touch of fire.

The electricity felt between them seemed to spark together as he dared her to pass into the flame.

As Jenny felt his lips hedge closer still-

Her arm flew up, finger pressed firmly into the crease of his lips. Her forest green eyes rich and dark with vigor flew open as she spoke, "I don't let just anyone touch me... anymore."

It was true.

Jenny had been asked out on countless occasions from employees and the like. Never had she bothered. As she stood there before Julian, bearing witness to the rejection quickly snuffed by the burn of determination, it stirred an almost satisfaction.

It wasn't in Julian's makeup to surrender so easily. Her younger self hadn't been able to comprehend the endurance. Back then it had scared her. In a moment of reflection Jenny could sense a flicker of favor.

That she held for him, and him alone.

Julian's gaze seemed to burn brighter as he watched her. He didn't move or blink but growled out, "Oh how you surpass Thomas's capacity. Always have." He graced a finger along the contour of her face and threaded his forefinger through the long, silken tresses of her hair. "Still like liquid honey... skin as soft as petals."

The sentiment stimulated her nerves.

But Jenny remained standing firm as Julian continued his ministrations, the mention of Tom to her great reluctance. Still, she was, in part, intrigued. Julian had known Tom on a personable level, once. He probably knew things she did not despite her near lifetime with him. Instead of voicing this, however, she remained mute.

Julian's finger drifted from the threads of her hair. Over the sculpted curve of her shoulder, he traced in a whispered caress. Oh. He trailed down her forearm leaving sparks dancing across her sun-kissed skin. "But he never took the decency to discover what makes the muscles fall limp in your body. What causes your legs to buckle... Or even this flesh to burn for the yearning of more."

His eyes flashed with the last of his words, eclipsed with promise.

Under the penetration of his words mirrored an underlying hunger. Jenny found a small part of herself unraveled. Brief, intimate exchanges had taken place in between games. But Julian had never gone farther. Though now, now the primal intimacy burned down to the core of those eyes. It was clear he knew the anatomy of Jenny's body by simply studying, and every mapped region.

That no man had yet explored.

But he knew her.

Younger Jenny Thornton had always been afraid of this level of intimate knowledge. Death had not affected those desires that raged, still. His thumb circled her palm, feather light. It was the quality in which he demonstrated that elicited a dormant response deep from inside her. His fingers crept delicately over the ridge of her fingers, eliciting a small shiver down her spine.

Jenny let out a small breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"I know that with a single touch, within a sensitive, delicate area, even a single nerve in your body would arc to life. All for a promise, a yearning for more... pleasure." he whispered.

Jenny could feel her breaths slowly losing their balance as he dropped his hand from hers.

And waited.

Was it permission he waited for? Was the dream about to end? It wasn't clear. But he knew he'd managed to scrape the surface of Jenny's' composure. "How... demonstrative of you." she finally responded. She grabbed her wrist, massaging her fingers as if that would rid the tingles Julian had left behind.

"Oh," Julian laughed then with an edge underlying the soft tone. "That was beyond a demonstrative effort."

"Why do I sense this has turned into a challenge, Julian?"

"You already dealt out the cards, Jenny."

"Oh? And what were the terms?"

"None." He smirked, "You didn't make any."

Jenny crossed her arms. Invigorated she tilted up her chin hedging closer. "So, what's then the price?"

Julians eyes lowered becoming hooded at the sly contact. "First," Julian responded with a slow, knowing smirk, "we need to set a title for this little game. So, in light of the situation, I say Rematch: Battle of Wills."

Jenny's brow arced. Were they really back there again? "Oh? Another... another game then?"

Julian shrugged, "For old times' sake."

Jenny swallowed. It felt so different between them now. Maybe because there was no bait, he was dangling in front of her in the form of someone. This was hers, alone. "And if I win this little game, Julian, then what?"

Julian stared, hard, at her. A beat of silence passed before he tilted up his head leaning back on the balls of his feet. "Whatever you wish."

Jenny looked at him with a small edge of weariness. "I need time to think about that one."

And she did.

Julian nodded, now serious. "As you wish, Jenny."

Jenny returned the nod then realized, with clarity, why she kept staring at him. Those eyes. They had become lit like a slow, unbridled flame ready to ignite. The energy around him had morphed into an almost domestic quality. His back had straightened. There was an air of superiority now that almost seemed mastering.

The revelation dawned at the subtlety.

Julian the Hunter was back to play.

The determination in those vivid orbs were more prominent than ever. "Now, Jenny, ask me what I get if I win?"

Jenny knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what Julian wanted. What he'd always wanted. The flame he held for her had only expanded. From the age of a young Shadow Man and Jenny still at a premature age. "Do I really have to answer the obvious?" she responded in a deadpan voice.

Julian nodded without a trace of humor now in his gaze, "Yes, Jenny, yes you do."

Jenny swallowed. She knew she was playing with fire. But in her dream-like state she pushed aside the niggling feeling in her gut. She answered firmly, "Me."

"No." Julian shook his head. The music suddenly switched to a slow, sensual beat now. It reflected off the thoughts that blazed through those conflagrations of blue. "There's more, Jenny, so much more." A beat of silence followed as if he were allowing Jenny to soak this in. Then, he added, "I don't just want you; I want every part." A lazy, languid smile like that of a dark angel curved a corner of his lip. "I want to be the one to elicit emotions, feelings, deep needs from inside of you. I want...to see the stars reflect in your eyes when you say my name, with that, one, single breath..."

Jenny stared at the open use of words, determined to remain resilient in his presence. A small part had instantly flushed with heat. Julian had never been so brash in what he'd wanted of her. It seemed so different.

Mature.

"Oh..." Jenny swallowed once more, " I see."

There formed a solid, feral look on Julian's face. He fully intended to do whatever means necessary to make sure his wish came to fruition. In the past she'd seen a glimpse of these desires. But this, the look he bore spoke a whole new volume.

In this she was all on her own.

Which meant she needed to be cautious. There was no doubt Julian would seize his first opportunity the moment Jenny stepped back into her dreams.

"So," Jenny cleared her throat, "we um, make the rules?"

Julian shook his head. "You initiated; I made the object of the game."

Jenny huffed slightly irritated, "I meant that I have free will still. You can't take that from me."

Julian nodded, "Of course... you always have, Jenny."

Jenny nodded. "Then first, because I am my only Master," she made sure to emphasize as Julian's eyes simmered, "I don't care to wear this dress." At this Jenny closed her eyes, imagining the dress dissolving like a puddle of colors. The power, she could feel it thrum inside. She inhaled it and took it for her own as she welded the new design in her mind's eyes. The result was sharp, black stilettos and a tight black dress.

If only to prove a point.

"Can't say I am opposed. It is befitting of the Jenny I see now." Jenny slowly opened her eyes to see a sliver of admiration surface in those depths. "Almost spoken like a true Queen." Julian added.

Jenny didn't even want to think about that. She'd seen that future once. Yet, some part of her wanted this. It had been months since she'd had any real... what was the word she searched for? Entertainment? Fun?

No, escape.

Yes, escape. A part of her craved for this thrill to break her away from the mold of adulthood. Reckless as that made her it was only in the realm of dreams. And it was at the mention, Jenny could see the scene beginning to evaporate around them. The music started to fade away.

Which meant she was waking.

The surroundings began to meld into a sea of colors. Julian wrapped a single hand around her arm before it collapsed. Leaning in close, his lips brushed along the shell of her ear as he whispered,

"Within the streaks of light, you will find

A moment in the eclipse of time

A hand to draw you oh so near

'Tis then I'll whisper you found me my dear."

"Wait, what-"

No sooner had those words surfaced, did Jenny awake to the cool waters that now enveloped her body.

Whoa.

With effort she'd just barely lifted her head when something glimmered out of the corner of her eye. Jenny felt her heart suddenly flutter like a caged butterfly as her eyes fell on what lay before the marble step.

No... way.

The recessed lights above illuminated the dark, blood red colors of a rose entwined with another. This rose glistened with an ethereal glow like jeweled droplets once brought from the Erlking cavern.

From Lambs and Monsters.

From Joyland Park.

Jenny knew right then it wasn't just a dream she'd bargained in. Julian was in some supernatural form... existing. Which brought a whole barrage of questions.

So, the dream she'd just shared with him had been a reality. And Jenny, recklessness be damned, had just signed away her soul. The deal was solidified, and he'd known this. Now, here she was, twenty-four years old and thrown into another game with the trickster of all trades. With the sudden rush of emotions, that nearly pulled her under, two words of complete astonishment overruled,

"Oh, shit."