Page 6 of The Satyr's Wood

Although she knew better than to put her faith into a male who was clearly trying to capture her for himself, she hoped he was trustworthy enough to sleep in peace around without worrying about being set upon. She felt like she hadn’t gotten a truly restful good night of sleep in weeks. Not since she had made the decision to leave the town that she’d taken refuge in. She’d been sleeping with one eye open, terrified to truly let down her guard. And because of that, she was thoroughly exhausted. She could easily sleep for an entire day or two, as tired as she was.

The door creaked open under Barbasa’s hand, the hinges protesting and within moments she found herself lain in a soft pile of furs while the clip of the satyr’s hooves retreated across the room. She sat where he left her disorientated until a spark and a flare of fire at the hearth lit the room with a dim light that gave the wooden walls a warm, cozy glow. Tiffany sank deeper into the furs, dragging the largest and plushest one over her as the heat from the fire slowly warmed the room and seeped into her bones. Despite her exhaustion, her eyes followed Barbasa ashe took a small flame from the hearth and carried it around the room, methodically lighting various lamps and candles set out as if he too disliked the dark and shadows until it provided a comfortable glow by which she could see.

His skin shuddered and he bowed his head to blow out the flame in his hand. Tiffany took the opportunity to really get a good look at him. The fire in the hearth behind him highlighted his sculpted muscles, the two sets of horns that sprouted from his brow, and the powerful, inhuman lower torso with its short tail. The angle he stood at thankfully kept his cock from being outlined with a glow, however, which she was grateful for. She certainly didn’t need to be staring at it again. Safe zones only. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. Easing back into the furs, she met his eyes when he suddenly turned and grinned a little too wickedly.

“Just look at you. A delicate little morsel just begging to be snapped up,” he observed with a purr. “I do so like seeing you burrowed in my bed.” He cocked his head, the short spikes, offset as they were by being framed by large horns curling forward at either side of his head, pierced the air as he considered her gravely. “Are you warm enough?”

She gave a quick nod of her head, not quite trusting her voice yet after her shock at his unexpected words followed directly by genuine concern. His sudden shift from feral hunger to worry had her completely off balance and not knowing what to expect and she wasn’t entirely sure if she liked that.

“Good, good,” he replied with another easy smile as he swept past her to a wooden barrel near the window.

Her head turned as her gaze followed his movement. Although he was taller than her, he was smaller than many of the other monstrous races and born with a natural grace and agility as he moved around the cabin on his hooves. His brown hair hada hint of red to it that caught the firelight and gave his features an unexpected warmth.

From within the barrel, he drew out a couple of dried apples and held one out to her. “Are you hungry? I have plenty. The woods provide,” he explained as warmth climbed into his glowing yellow eyes.

Swallowing back the saliva that pooled in her mouth, she gave another sharp nod.

“Yes,” she rasped as she leaned forward and reached for the fruit.

How long had it been since she ate an apple? It was not fresh from the tree, but even dried apples were a luxury that her town hadn’t had access to since the few scrawny trees that they possessed died on them a couple years back. Sometimes they could get some apples in the early fall in trade with other towns, but there were none last year. An apple was precious in her town –even a dried one—and he was offering to her as if it were nothing.

The smile he bestowed on her as she plucked the apple from his clawed fingers was filled with genuine happiness. It creased his cheeks with dimples and reached his eyes where the corners crinkled with merriment. In that moment, he didn’t look like the half-feral male who offered her protection but someone warmer and kinder. And lonely. She was certain she saw that in the depths of his eyes behind his merriment. She recognized it because it was the same that she felt no matter how many smiles she wore.

Under his approving gaze, she sank her teeth into the thick flesh of the fruit and moaned as the slightly tart taste of the fruit swept over her tongue. From beneath her lashes, she watched a shiver raced over him and she wasn’t able to ignore the way his cock twitched and dripped a thick stream of milky lubricant between his hooves. Drawing in a deep breath, he turned andpromptly settled his weight into an old rocking chair a safe distance away from her. The wood groaned under his weight but held as he curled his fist around his sex. Her eyes widened and shot up to his face. Was he really going to jerk off right there in front of her?

To her relief he gave himself a hard squeeze, bringing up another stream before pressing it down and laying a thick fur over his lap. Settling back, he tipped the chair with his hooves so that it began to rock and regarded her in turn from half-open, luminous eyes. A tiny panting breath escaped him, and another shiver ran over him as he continued to rock, his breath hitching on a rumbling moan. She was absolutely certain now that he was seeing to his needs even if he was being tactful enough to protect her from it. It was considerate in a strange sort of way. Like, yes it would have been polite if he hadn’t started rubbing one off in the same room as her but, then again, she didn’t know anything about what was sexually normal among satyrs to feel like she could fairly judge the situation.

All in all, she should have been mortified but all she felt was a sort of peaceful acceptance as she settled back into the furs. What good would it do freak out anyway? As far as she could tell from a quick glance, there weren’t any halls or doors going off into other rooms that either of them could escape into. It was just the single room with the kitchen area over in one corner that she could now clearly see. In any case, it wasn’t like she was some sort of blushing virgin. She was far too old to be embarrassed by someone’s bodily needs—even if she did duck lower in the fur, trying to look anywhere but him. All the while, she was aware of his gaze fastened on her and the shudder that wracked him with a violent growl as his hips lurched in the chair.

Clenching her thighs together, Tiffany rolled onto her side and burrowed deeper into the warmth. She didn’t move, barely dared to breathe when she heard the light step of his hooves overthe floorboards as he moved about. Sooner or later, he would join her in the bed. The fact that there was only one hadn’t escaped her notice either.

Chapter 5

Barbasa’s eyes slowly opened, a smile curling his lips as he focused on the small female around whom he’d curled his much larger frame. Lowering his head so that his nose brushed her hair at the top of her head, he drew in her scent. It rushed through him with the essence of sunshine and flowering meadows—a satisfying balm for his soul that allowed him to remain drifting languidly there beside her. His reaction to its comfort was truly remarkable and satisfying. He had fully expected to awaken in a confused, aroused, and wary state as he had for innumerable years. Ever since the labyrinth had begun to chip away his sanity.

It was for this reason that, before bedding down, he had shifted Tiffany to the farthest side while he took the other. He had hoped that the distance between them would give him the needed space to awaken and become fully alert without doing any damage to her soft, human flesh. Not that it would have mattered if the darkness had taken him in his sleep.

He frowned. He did not understand why it still gripped him as it did. The minotaur, Asterion, had seemingly recovered entirely from the madness of the labyrinth the moment he escaped its grip. With nothing better to do with himself, Barbasa had followed him for a time, observing his once friend from afar. The male had been perfectly capable of striking with ruthless brutality when he desired, but overall, there were no signs of his senses being overcome whereas Barbasa hadn’t been so fortunate. Though he remained unaffected at most times, the darkness had a way of attacking him randomly when his guard was down. Some of it he embraced—the raw wildness of it was merely an amplification of a satyr’s own nature. But its crueltyand cold viciousness—that was enough to scare even a creature such as he who took pleasure in regulated amounts of fear.

It was on account of that madness that he had taken care to keep some distance between himself and his human while he slumbered and was most vulnerable to it taking hold. Close enough where he would be subconsciously assured that she remained with him and not give another, more aggressive opening to it, but far enough to where he was confident that he would not pose any immediate risk to her before he became aware of himself and regained control.

And yet, at some point in the night, they had both somehow shifted and met at the center, their limbs entangling in a warm, nestled embrace in which their scents merged. It was that scent that he breathed in and settled over and deep within him a sense of comfort. It perplexed him but not enough for him to feel his usual caution and roll away from her. Instead, he tucked Tiffany closer to him and a pleased smile lit his face as she rolled into his embrace. Her legs and human feet slid along his hooves and the powerful length of his legs in the process, sending a shiver of delight through him. Unable to help himself, he purred the moment she rubbed her cheek against his chest with a contented sigh.

Taken completely off-guard by the affectionate gesture, his heart clenched even as his cock swelled with a pleasant ache within his sheath. As much as it was a relief not to awaken and find himself caught in the pulse of terrible desires demanding that he hunt out relief, or engorged as he customarily was, the low hum of mellowed lust rolled through him, tightening his sack with the slow burn of its urgency. Burying his nose once again in her hair, he greedily drew in the subtle scent of her arousal that lay under her natural perfume. It wasn’t heightened as it had been last night, but it was present in a banked state similar to his own desire.

He swallowed back a ravenous growl and the moan that immediately followed. She smelled so good. Had a female of his meeting ever smelled so sweet, rich, and earthy? He recalled being drawn violently toward the scent of female flesh within the labyrinth and how intoxicating it had been for him, but he did not recall experiencing true joy or pleasure. Tiffany’s scent was something new and pleasing without the fog of the labyrinth’s influence. She scented of sun warmed earth, wildflowers, and honey with the deeper musk hinting at her arousal. He drew in another greedy breath, wanting more of it, practically tasting it on his tongue. She was a goddess of desire and longing made flesh, and possessing a natural perfume to her flesh that aroused and intrigued him.

His cock kicked once again in his sheath, swollen to an even larger size, but he ignored it. It was strange that he was so content to merely hold her, his eyes fastened on her face as he waited for the first signs of her waking. He wanted to see her surface from her slumber. Would she greet him as a lover in her confused, half-asleep state? That thought intrigued him as well. He hoped that she would, but all the same he didn’t want her to do anything she would regret. Whatever they did together, there would be no crying foul.

And he would take precautions. He would protect her from the part of him damaged and carrying the poison of the labyrinth still.

Ever so gently, he dragged the claws of his first two fingers through her hair, separating the strands with his claw tips. Pale gold, it picked up the sunlight streaming through the windows. The strands shimmered, bringing a smile to his lips. Shifting his hand, he allowed the soft strands to slide down his fingers and over his hand. As much as it appealed to him, he drew his hand back quickly when her eyes fluttered with her awakening. As much as his nature would delight in every little gasp of surprise,he recognized the importance of restraint at this particular time. He wanted to play with her—not truly make her terrified of him.

Pale lashes lifted and dark blue eyes peered groggily at him before focusing on his face. Her pupils expanded slightly—demonstrating her surprise—but it was brief, and her scent didn’t carry any particularly strong fear scent as she calmly studied him. He rumbled happily, pleased at her interest. Oh, liked it very much and had to resist preening at her attentiveness. Instead, he held perfectly still so that she could thoroughly look him over. He didn’t so much as twitch as her gaze slid over his features, though his lips curled at her expression as he grew amused by her scrutiny. His skin warmed and tingled with awareness everywhere her eyes touched as her gaze slid over his hip and up along his abdomen and chest before gradually returning to face once more.

A pink hue stained her cheeks as she drew the fur covering her higher so that it rested over her shoulder. He did not understand why. She wore as much clothing as she had when he found her. It seemed terribly uncomfortable to sleep in such a way, but he kept that opinion to himself for the time being.

“Ah, thank you,” she mumbled.

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