Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.
*****
It was getting late, back in the real world. Dan knew he should go to sleep, but he wasn't tired. And it was nice to visit a tavern before logging off, and not just for the Well Rested bonus it would give him tomorrow. He'd been pushing himself hard, recovering the levels he'd lost in the incident. And it had worked. Blaize Firewilde was back to level 15, close to where he'd been. It was nice, sometimes, to just relax in game after a long day of killing monsters. That wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy playing, but slowing things down made gaining levels feel like less of a grind.
The Crooked Kettle was half full when he walked in. An even blend of adventurers and NPCs were busy drinking, playing cards, and eating - looked like honeyed ham tonight, with fresh bread and potato soup. No one looked up as Dan walked inside. He walked to the counter, put two coins down, and nodded over to an empty table when the innkeep looked up. Dan sat down, and the serving girl brought him two plates and a tall mug of ale five minutes later. She walked away, laughing and taking a stack of empty mugs from another table. The girl was cute. That used to be why Dan came to the Kettle. Now, it was kist out of habit.
To tell the truth, he'd had a hard time finding anyone attractive these past two weeks. Even porn didn't really do it for him. Whenever he got horny - and that seemed to happen more and more often, especially in game - he really only thought about one person. It wasn't fair. He'd tried to forget about what had happened, scrub it from his memory, but nothing seemed to help. He'd even burned most of his in-game savings on a set of willpower-fortifying robes. They didn't work, though, and they were kind of itchy. He'd ended up re-selling them a couple days later. Oh, it wasn't that nothing turned him on. It was just that, once he got going, his thoughts always seemed to drift over to the succubus. It had gotten bad enough that he couldn't finish while he was thinking about anything else.
Ugh, he was doing it again. Dan pushed the thoughts away and set in to his meal. It was excellent, as always. Sometimes, the best things about VR were the simplest ones. He wasn't sure how they imported the food the taverns served in Saga Online, but they'd done a hell of a job with it. He lounged back against the wall as he finished, propping one of his legs up on the bench and taking the last few sips from his ale. The rest of the evening would be easy: rent a room, head upstairs, and log off. He'd take care of a couple of chores in the real world, then go to sleep.
Dan was relaxed enough that he didn't notice when the woman walked in. A silken cascade of blonde hair fell around her shoulders, highlighting her elegant features, full lips, and violet eyes. She walked forward a few steps, the heels of her calf-high leather boots clicking softly as she moved. Her black leather skirt was criminally short, concealing just the top of her thick, creamy thighs. The glossy black and gold fabric of her top left her shoulders exposed, hugging her large, perfect breasts, with a window in its center exposing the firm swell of her cleavage. Every man in the tavern stared as she moved, breasts swaying mesmerically, to stand next to Dan.
He looked up, took the woman in, mouth slightly open. He watched as she ran a hand through her hair, a pair of white-gold bracelets shifting as she did so, before running her fingers down to the top of her chest. Dan followed the motion, realized where he was staring, and with great effort drew his eyes back to her face.
She smiled. "Hi, I'm Lexi. Can I sit with you?" Her voice was gentle, musical, angelic.
Dan's mind froze. He scrambled for words, brushing crumbs from his robes to buy a second to think. "Uh, yeah. Lexi. Sure, yeah, sit. Please."
"Thanks!" She moved next to him, straddling the bench, uncomfortably close. Dan could feel her heat, smell her feminine fragrance.
They watched each other for two minutes as Dan scrambled to think of where he knew this girl. Certainly not from real life - Saga Online's real-time body mapping was fairly accurate, and he'd have remembered meeting someone who looked like Lexi. Soon the gaze of the room drew away from their corner as the patrons went back to their drinks and cards.
"Where, uh. I mean. What did you want to talk to me about, Lexi?" Dan gulped down air, willing sweat to stop beading on his forehead. He'd never been great at talking to girls. His eyes also kept drifting unbidden to her cleavage, which was an added distraction.
"We went adventuring together, silly? Don't you remember?"
Dan frowned. "No, sorry."
"Oh, that's too bad." Her face made a pretend pout. "I thought I'd made a better impression."
"Yeah, uh, sorry, I just - I mean - you..."
Lexi moved closer, pressing her knees against Dan's leg and leaning forward. He froze as she moved against him, breasts pressed into his arm as she put her lips to his ear. Her hair fell forward, brushing against his face. It smelled like wildflowers.
"After all," Lexi whispered, her voice changing slightly, "We had
such
a nice time together, Daniel, mmm? All those secrets you told me, all the attention I lavished on you..." Dan's mind was spinning. No, no, not here. He was safe here, he was in town. Monsters couldn't get into town, this wasn't real.
She pulled back slightly, meeting Dan's gaze with a knowing smile. "Ah, you do remember. Have you missed me, Daniel?"