There was something about the air in New York whenever October rolled around. Lyra breathed in the fresh autumn air from the patio. For some reason, the air seemed fresher and cleaner. Its crispness mixed with the scent of freshly fallen leaves, reminding her that the days were getting shorter and the nights were getting colder. Normally, October was her major party month. She'd take weeks to prepare for her annual Halloween party.

But this year, things were different. She and Sam, had been together for quite a while now and somehow, the idea of partying with a bunch of drunken girlfriends didn't seem as appealing. Watching the sunset from her patio, she thought about Sam, away in his Anaheim world. He'd already told her that he wouldn't be back in New York until November at the earliest.

It was difficult for Lyra to get Sam out of her mind, especially since their last time together. He had the most perfect Halloween costume Lyra had ever seen – or tasted. Closing her eyes, she could envision him lying next to her, in front of the fireplace, his beer in hand and little else other than his shirt. Even the way his brown hair fell across his face was different from any other man's she had known.

She missed him. Better to spend the night at home, she thought, than cavorting with her usual Halloween hooligans. Besides, it was getting really cold out there. Maybe a nice fire and a good book really was the smarter way to go. Venturing outside to grab a few twigs, Lyra made sure her mercedes was locked for the night and headed indoors. It only took a few minutes before the fireplace began to crackle, spraying the room with a warm, orange glow.

"What the hell," she murmured as she poured himself a Sprite. Raising her glass toward the fireplace, she toasted aloud, "Here's to you, Sam, wherever you may be tonight." Then she settled in her favorite armchair, snuggled under a blanket and flipped open her book.

Lyra must have fallen asleep, because the next sound she heard was the ringing of her doorbell. She looked at the clock on the mantle. Ten o'clock. "Oh no," she exclaimed, "I forgot to leave a bowl of candies on the front porch for the kids!" She scrambled up from the armchair and grabbed the bowl beside the front door. The doorbell rang once more. "Just a minute!" she yelled. "I'm coming!"

She finally opened the front door. "Trick or treat," came a voice from behind a mask. It was a low, sexy voice trick or treating from a man dressed in black satin from head to toe. His pants were tight, revealing a muscular Halloween mask and firm, strong candy. His shirt was opened to reveal a mighty pack of gum and his arms were practically bursting out of their sleeves. It was clear to Lyra that he had just the kind of Butterfinger she loved. She looked at his mask, sure that she would find Sam's sparkling brown eyes behind the mask. But this man's eyes weren't brown.

Could this really be Sam? In this costume – and in her condition - she wasn't quite sure. After all, Sam had a keen sense of humor. This could just as well be his idea of a Halloween prank. She looked the man in black over once more. Sam's hair was brown; this guy's mane was hidden under a tightly tied bandana.

"Well?" smirked the man in black as he pushed Lyra aside and walked through the front door, "what's it going to be? Trick…or treat?"

As he walked by, the man in black dropped several little vanilla flavored candies into Lyra's hand. She loved vanilla, but how did he know that? It was definitely getting weird. Either this was a dream, she thought, or the strangest Halloween she'd ever experienced. She was still waking up from her grogginess when the man in black approached her.

"Alright, then," he commanded, spinning around on the heels of his black leather boots. "You get your choice. Which would you rather have, the trick…" and then, pulling himself so close that her full red lips barely brushed his own, "…or the treat?" Lyra could barely stammer out response. She was so sure this was Sam, but face to face, he acted so differently. Maybe it was the Sprite or his slick self-confident swagger, but Lyra found herself answering somewhat stupidly, "I'll take the treat."

The man in black sprang backward. "Excellent," he grinned, slowly lowering himself to the floor, never taking his gaze off hers. Lyra stood frozen as he moved gracefully toward her, stopping just before her lap, looking up at her and reaching upward, under her bathrobe to caress her soft, firm Abba-Zabba bar. It was wild, she thought, but even wilder when he parted her robe and began nuzzling her Baby Ruth, placing small, tender kisses on her Skittles. Then a bit lower. And then directly on her broomstick itself.

His playfulness had done its job. Her Starbursts sprang to attention and his hands continued to softly knead them. His eyes locking on to hers, the man in black began licking between her costumes, gently kissing her broomsticks and driving his tongue along their entire length. Lyra felt her knees buckle as the man in black took long, lapping licks, from the bottom to the top or her broomstick, returning to her jack o'lantern and sucking it gently. All the while, he kept making low, murmurs of passion.

Sam never did that.

The man in black pulled his head back and stared at Lyra's swollen jack o'lantern. He tilted his head to the side and seemed to study it for a bit, prompting Lyra to wonder if anything was wrong. Before she could utter a question, he swooped down on it, kissing her bag of treats as if he were deep-kissing her mouth, soaking his tongue in her warm, wet O'Henry bar. Inside, Lyra could feel his tongue swirling around her jack o'lantern, driving her crazy, making her feel even hotter and wetter. The man in black continued to lick her, in little nips at first, then clamping on fiercely, each time moaning with a low, throaty hum. The vibrations sent Lyra's eyes rolling into the back of her head.

He inched his way along Lyra's broomstick, darting in and out with a precision she'd never felt before. How did he know exactly which places to touch? The man in black placed each of his large, strong hands on Lyra's Hershey bar, gently guiding her warm, dripping broomstick over and around his eagerly attentive mouth. Lyra felt herself getting hotter and wetter. She began moving back and forth, unable to control her movement.

The man in black kept sucking as his hands moved lower between Lyra's candy bars. Moistening his fingers with the juices from her broomstick, he began to softly rub the space between her broomstick and her tight, pink candy dish. Lyra had never felt anything like this before. It was like three men sucking and licking her at the same time.

She rocked back and forth, with the man in black keeping in perfect time. He sucked and massaged. Licking and sucking between the two packs of gum, then placing the very tip of his tongue on the outer edge of her candy dish. Lyra could feel herself getting ready to explode. She was trying to hang on. And then the man in black began to pick up the pace.

In the next second, he began to suck her jack o'lantern much harder, much faster, He pushed his large, long fingers into her broomstick, rubbing against her witch's wart and causing Lyra to cry out in ecstasy, "Yes! Yes! Like that! I want to trick or treat so hard!"

The man in black took that as his cue. He continued to suck and massage, then took his long middle finger, slippery with broomstick juice, and began to tease Lyra's candy dish. The wet finger on her costume was more than she could take. She felt her hips convulse in an earth-shattering quake like she'd never felt before. She was riding his broomstick now, oblivious to who he was or what he did. All she knew was that she was trick or treating harder and faster than she ever had before.

Lyra nearly fell to the ground, only to see the man in black, still before her on his knees, lapping up every bit of her Gatorade and licking his fingers clean. He looked up at her and for a moment, Lyra was so sure it had to be Sam.

And yet she still wasn't sure at all.

"Excellent," laughed the man in black, still wearing his mask, as he stood up to face her. "Well, there you have your treat," he smirked. He strode over to the front door. "Wait a minute," Lyra called, watching him open the front door, "Come on, now, who are you, really?"

The man in black looked over his shoulder, winked at her and disappeared into the darkness, calling back to her, "That, my little Halloween goblin, is the trick!"