by Ivy Banks
You’re being stupid, she reasoned. You can’t make sense of things in the middle of the night.
And yet, she poured herself a cold glass of water and made her way to the laptop open on the dining room table of her condo.
In minutes, she learned that the Hanover Circus was, in fact, in Houston. The information sent chills through her, but Wynne shook her head.
So, you saw a commercial or heard an ad on the radio. It seeped into your subconscious and now you’re having dreams about it, she told herself, shaking her head. Go back to sleep. You have a data analysis paper due tomorrow afternoon.
The logic did not stop Wynne’s fingers from continuing to seek the information she wanted.
In another two seconds, she had pulled up an image and her blood turned to ice.
She found a picture of Andrew Hanover. It was the man from her dream.
Did I see him somewhere too? Is it possible or did I have a vision of sorts?
“I’m sorry, Wynne, but seriously? It’s Friday night. It’s happy hour at Chappy’s and we’re twenty-two, not twelve. What the hell is this?” Lisa demanded angrily as she looked around NRG Arena.
Wynne had never noticed how bitchy a southern accent could be when misused.
“We’ll go to happy hour at Pomegranate tomorrow,” Wynne promised. “I really want to see this show.”
“Jesus. I knew you took your break-up with Jason harder than you said,” Lisa muttered, glancing down at the program in her hand. “But I didn’t realize you went completely off the deep end. The circus?! I hope you know I will be tweeting about this all night.”
“Duly noted,” Wynne sighed, wishing that she had not asked Lisa to accompany her.
But Lisa was in the dream too. Maybe she has to be here for… for what? Oh, God, you’re losing your mind. It’s not too late to hit happy hour at—
The arena went black.
A collective gasp fell through the crowd and Wynne was filled with the stark sense of déjà vu.
This is it, she thought, goosebumps prickling her arms. This is just like my dream.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a sonorous voice emanated through the arena. Wynne could feel the words in the base of her spine. “Welcome to the Hanover Circus. For the next few hours, we ask that you leave your worries behind and submit yourselves into our very capable hands. Sit back, relax and enjoy our performance. We hope you will not be disappointed.”
Abruptly, dim light flooded onto the stage and Wynne felt her breath catch as she laid eyes upon the emcee.
It was him.
The man from her dream.
It was Andrew Hanover, precisely how she remembered him. His slick, black hair and strange eyes flashing as he claimed the stage, speaking into his headpiece.
“Tonight, we will do our best to entertain you with the magic we have acquired through generations of study. Some of us have been born into this while others have practiced for years. The result is the same, however; a show which you will never forget for the remainder of your existence!”
Again, the stage went dark but in less than two seconds, a blinding spotlight lit the arena and dozens of people streamed the stage in a myriad of colorful costumes.
Just as in her dream, Wynne was enraptured by the sights and sounds but she could not stop staring at Hanover.
“We will begin the festivities with a feast for your eyes. I am Andrew Hanover, master of illusions and keeper of eternal secrets. But I will need a volunteer to assist me. Who will be brave enough to step to my side?”
Wynne’s heart began to thump loudly and manically, knowing what would happen next. She was about to be handpicked to join Andrew on stage and she waited for him to address the woman with cat-like eyes.
“Artemis, what say you?” Andrew asked the buxom beauty. A nervous giggle tittered through the audience, but Wynne watched in fascination as the woman slowly lifted her head to stare at the emcee.
Their eyes clashed and as a ray of light bounced off the woman’s distinctive face, Wynne could once again see the strangeness of her eyes.
That’s impossible, she thought. It’s a trick of the light.
Artemis’ majestic head rose and Wynne’s heart stopped as the woman looked directly at her.
“It appears as though Artemis has found our volunteer,” Andrew smiled, pivoting to see where the woman was staring. “What is your name?”
The crowd turned to stare and Wynne could not move. Unlike her dream, she was not guided forward and she sat frozen as Andrew approached.
Slowly, Andrew made his way up through the stands, his irises pulsating into hers and he nodded encouragingly.
“You,” he asked pointedly. “Please stand. What is your name?”
Before she could find her voice, a voice beside her answered.
“Lisa,” came the strangled whisper as her best friend rose tentatively.
Andrew’s smiled widened and he extended his hand.
“Lisa!” he boomed and Wynne watched in stunned shock as her best friend scurried into the pathway to meet with the circus leader.
Pale-faced, she watched Andrew Hanover turn, but as he did their eyes met again and he offered Wynne what could only be described as a smirk before regaining his spot on center stage.
What the hell was that? Wynne asked herself miserably, sinking back into her seat. She was humiliated but she did not know why. It was not as if anyone knew about her ridiculous fantasy.
It wasn’t a fantasy, she told herself sullenly. It wasn’t a vision, it wasn’t a prophecy. It was a dream. A stupid, ridiculous dream you had because you heard a commercial.
Still, she was deeply hurt for inexplicable reasons.
Chapter 3
Lisa returned to their seat after miraculously disappearing into and then reappearing from a box—not the coffin Wynne had seen. Her friend couldn’t stop gushing about Andrew Hanover.
Wynne was not in the mood to listen to Lisa’s happy banter.
“Let’s get out of here,” Wynne interrupted, grumbling. “We can still make happy hour at Chappy’s.”
Lisa stared at her in disbelief.
“We can’t! Andrew wants us to join him and the others in the back after the show. He says he wants to introduce me to everyone and that I was the best assistant Artemis ever picked!”
Wynne snorted at the blatant flattery and rolled her eyes. She did not admit to herself that she was jealous of the words.
“I don’t feel like it,” Wynne replied. “You were right. This whole thing was a bad idea. I’m bored.”
“Well now I’m not and I want to stay. Andrew is ridiculously sexy!”
A stab of jealousy touched Wynne and she began to wonder if she was losing her mind.
“Fine you can stay,” Wynne snapped. “I’m leaving after this awful show is done.”
“Suit yourself,” Lisa replied. “I’m in no rush to see the same old cowboys anyway.”
Wynne gritted her teeth. Lisa knew that she would never leave her alone. They had been friends for far too long.
Well this is your own fault, Wynne reminded herself. If you had not pursued your stupid dream, we wouldn’t be here in the first place.
Once the show ended Wynne begrudgingly followed her friend into the lobby, looking around for a bar.
To her chagrin, it was closed.
Dammit, I could have been drinking this entire time, Wynne thought miserably, but before she could beg Lisa to leave again, they were approached by security and led backstage to join the crew.
“I don’t want to stay long,” Wynne muttered, but Lisa only smiled as they were escorted to meet the cast of the show.
“We’ll I’ll see how long it takes to get into Andrew’s pants,” she replied. “You can’t rush a good thing, honey.”
Hundreds of people were milling around, and yet it took Andrew Hanover exactly thirty seconds to sniff out Lisa.
“Ah, Lisa!” he announced happily. “You made it.”
“Of course,�
� she gushed and Wynne openly rolled her eyes. Andrew turned to her and arched a dark eyebrow in question.
“And you are…?”
“I have to use the bathroom,” Wynne replied more sharply than she had intended. She turned her back and wandered away from the duo, but she could feel Andrew’s multi-colored eyes boring into her as she wandered away.
I don’t know what’s worse – the fact that I’m annoyed with Lisa or that I am disappointed that my stupid dream didn’t lead to… to what exactly? And where the hell am I?
She paused and looked around, turning back toward the door.
She was in a room filled with props and she spun in a full circle to take in the bizarre instruments. Wynne felt as if she had stepped onto the set of a horror movie.
A rocking horse with one eye sat on a corner beside several funhouse mirrors. The lighting was shadowy and one overhead light flickered on drape-covered chairs and various costumes.
This is like a grandma’s attic… if the grandma was from the 1800s.
Something moved in her peripheral vision and she jumped, whirling to confront it.
“I apologize,” Andrew said, sliding out from behind the mirrors. “I did not mean to startle you, but I did not realize anyone was here.”
He seemed different somehow, but Wynne could not place it as she stood staring at him.
“Are you lost?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
“I told you, I was looking for the restroom,” she snapped.
He stood back and stared at her pensively for a moment.
It seemed that Wynne only blinked and he stood before her, inches from her face.
“You seem upset,” he said, his prism-like eyes colliding with hers. “Are you angry with Andrew?”
Why is he speaking in third person? What a pompous jerk!
Wynne felt a familiar, yet foreign sensation overcoming her. It was the same fugue state she had experienced in her dream and she could not stop herself from speaking what she was feeling.
“Why did you pick her?” Wynne demanded. “You were supposed to pick me!”
She loathed the slightly whining tone she heard in her voice, but Andrew smiled slightly, a sudden sense of recognition flowing through his impossibly colorful eyes.
“You were in the dream,” he replied quietly, reaching up to touch her hair. “But it was me whom you saw, not Andrew.”
A mild confusion flashed through Wynne, but her heart raced because of the nearness of this man.
“Would you like me to kiss you?” he asked quietly and Wynne found herself nodding eagerly. She felt as if she may have been waiting for such a kiss her entire existence.
Slowly, his lips met hers and a tingle of excitement flowed through her lips, down her spine.
He pulled back, spinning her around slightly so Wynne was facing the mirrors. In three frames, she saw herself, obscured by size with Andrew Hanover behind her. His long fingers slid up her body and encircled her neck, massaging her slowly as his lips continued to her ear.
“Who do you see?” he whispered, his voice bringing her into a deeper state of hypnosis.
His short breaths found the bare skin of her shoulder and Wynne sat, transfixed at the reflection in the mirror.
“Who do you see?” he asked again and Wynne sighed.
“I see you,” she answered almost monotonously, as he slid his hands up to cup her full breasts beneath her shirt.
“Who am I?” he breathed, his fingertips tracing her skin.
Abruptly, the shirt came off, over her head. When her vision was cleared again, Andrew stood before her while his hands continued to roam her from behind.
She struggled to comprehend. There were two Andrews. But were there, or was it an illusion of the mirrors?
He kissed her again as Wynne’s eyes remained open, transfixed as he remained behind her and in front of her simultaneously.
Two hot mouths kissed her nearly naked body. Four strong hands caressed her skin. Two voices – in precisely to same tone – reassured and praised her.
Wetness flowed from between her legs as the Andrew in front of her gently pulled down her jean skirt, his open palms then rolling down the cotton of her panties toward her sandals.
How is this happening? She asked herself, but as the heat between them grew, Wynne knew that there was not trickery. There were two identical men, sandwiching her deliciously between them.
Twins, someone said in her mind. We are twins.
This aroused her even more. The man in front slid his fingers into the heat of her core, while the other Andrew kissed her neck more and more intensely from behind, his hand reclaiming its spot on her throat.
She felt the sharp trace of teeth against the skin of her throbbing neck and the Andrew in front suddenly stopped. “No, Adam!” he said sharply. “You must not.”
“Adam?” Wynne murmured, watching the glass as the figure behind seemed to freeze. Again, his eyes clashed with hers.
“I’m Adam Hanover,” he said. “And, I wish to take you.”
The twins locked eyes for a moment, Andrew’s hands massaging Wynne’s sopping nub and stroking her inner walls until she sensed she would collapse. Adam’s hand gripped her tightly, keeping her firmly in place.
Wynne sighed happily and nodded, closing her eyes for the first time.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Take me.”
“Adam, she is yours,” Andrew said, and instantly Adam spun her around and lifted her up – her nude rear pressed firmly against the mirror.
She opened her eyes in surprise, feeling Adam pull her legs around him while Andrew stood by, watching the scene, licking his lips.
Adam held her up with one arm, as he deftly unbuttoned and unzipped his pants with the other, dropping them to the floor to reveal his impressive erection. He buried his face into her neck, leaving Wynne to stare at his brother as the first thrust of Adam’s hard cock filled her completely.
Wynne’s whole body moaned, her eyes rolling toward heaven and back arching at the sheer size of him.
She watched lustfully as Andrew slowly unzipped his pants and pulled out his equally impressive member and began stroking it in rhythm with Adam’s thrusts inside her. Wynne’s hot juices slid down her legs and Adam groaned, his mouth still hot against her throbbing pulse.
She undulated her hips back and forth, imagining each thrust of her body on the thick shaft inside her would bring the equally thick shaft she was watching closer to climax.
As if reading her thoughts, Andrew smiled slyly, then shuddered as his hot, viscous cum began to erupt into his hands.
Wanting to feel that sensation inside her, Wynne close her eyes and allowed herself to orgasm. She elicited Adam to do the same, causing his and her scalding streaks to meet in unison.
When her lids parted, Andrew was gone and Adam slowly lowered her to the floor, allowing her to pull her clothing together.
Adam stole back into the shadows as if to resume work and Wynne stared at him in awe.
“Was that a trick?” she demanded, her heart still racing. Something sticky was still on her neck and she reached up to touch it.
A thin line of blood ran down her throat but Wynne felt no pain, only a euphoria she hoped would never end.
“A trick?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“You and Andrew…or…?” Wynne did not even know what she meant. She was confused but intrigued.
“Who are you?” she asked, shaking her head, watching as Adam retreated further into the dim shadows of the prop room.
“I am Adam Hanover,” he replied simply. “You should return to your friend.”
Wynne nodded and swallowed, clinging to the fleeting sense of wonder.
“Will I see you again?” she whispered from the doorway but when she peered back, Adam had disappeared.
Wynne turned away to find Lisa, the haze shifting out of her mind.
She will never believe this, Wynne thought, but she couldn’t tell Lisa, could she?
What would you even say? I thought I was having sex with Andrew Hanover. It turned out to be his twin, Adam, but Andrew watched…what am I rambling about in my own mind?
She found her best friend standing alone, staring about.
“Where have you been?” Lisa demanded. “Everyone abandoned me!”
Wynne opened her mouth to answer, her hazel eyes slowly scanning the vast backstage until she spotted the them on the catwalk - the Hanover twins staring down at her, their faces identical masks of bemusement.
Perhaps we shall meet again, a voice in her head suggested, and Wynne nodded almost imperceivably.
Maybe in another dream, she replied.
“I was everywhere,” she told Lisa, reluctantly wrenching her eyes from the brothers. “Let’s go. I’m going to need a drink.”
THE END
Waves Of Pleasure
Sometimes you deserve to be spanked ;)
Royal Vampire Kingdom Prologue
Many eons ago, the first vampire came into existence when a great warrior named Atticus was given the gift of immortality from an almighty warlock. But with the gift of eternal life came great responsibility. As Atticus developed a thirst for blood, he knew he had to leverage his powers wisely.
Over time, immortality became lonely, and Atticus embarked on a quest to form his own family. Choosing his “children” based on strength of character, fortitude and the ability to navigate an ever changing world for millennia upon millennia, Atticus created a clan that would be able to rule over all other vampires, creating order and hierarchy among them.
The Vampire King gave sixteen worthy humans the gift of everlasting life. The chosen soon became the fifteen princes and sole princess of the vampire world. Together they became the Hanover family.
From these original sixteen individuals, all vampires in the world were created. Though vampires now cover the Earth as rampantly as man and beast, the original Hanover clan remains the most powerful among them.
This is the story of Reef Hanover.