Page 21 of The Satyr's Wood

Tiffany slanted him a wry smile. “I hate to be the one to tell you this but at first glance your woods are anything but comforting.” She sighed and looked back out over the grass. “Somehow that changed without me even realizing it.”

His warm hand slid over hers, his fingers entwining with her own. He lifted their joined hands between them and brushed a kiss over the back of her knuckles. “It is because you belong to it now as much as you belong to me, and I belong to you. So let us hurry to this market and enjoy the merriment so we may hurry back to our home.”

Tension bled out of her as she gave him a quick, happy nod. He was right. She was overthinking things. There was no danger lurking out there. If there was any sign of her pursuers at all, she knew that Barbasa wouldn’t even allow her to leave the forest where they might be lurking. She would enjoy the autumn market and experiencing all the sights, sounds, and flavors of it, but then she would make certain to hurry back home where they belonged.

Turning to face the woods, she smiled back at the tall trees that seemed to almost bend toward them in a silent farewell. Even the pack had stopped at its edge, their ears pricking curiously as they watched. Eesha and Ashel truly had a big family. Tiffany saw no fewer than a dozen dire wolves slipping among the trees and brush, among whom Dinix stood out as the lankiest as he bounded excitedly among the fallen leaves. Just the sight of them brought her a greater sense of relief. It comforted her knowing that they would be there guarding their home and waiting for them.

With a smile tugging at her lips, she turned to Barbasa and squeezed his hand. “Let’s go,” she murmured and took a breathas they stepped out of the shelter of their forest and back into the world beyond its borders.

Chapter 15

Barbasa grinned down at his mate as he hurried her through the outer edges of Duskdwell Town. Although the last few days had proceeded at a slower pace than normal, he had to admit that he enjoyed every moment of it—but most especially at night when he lay on the ground with his mate’s soft body covering him and her blankets draped over them together. Now that they were entering town it presented a new pleasure as he watched her face come alive with interest as the town came into view.

Her steps immediately quickened except for briefly faltering when a trio of centaur brothers galloped past. Her mouth dropped open in shock as her gaze eagerly followed their movements. He felt a prickle of jealousy for all but a moment before he brushed it off with a laugh. After all, who would not be impressed with the speed and strength of a centaur? Had he not briefly flirted with one of the brothers himself when he first established his territory? Regardless, his mate was his and the way she grabbed his hand absentmindedly in her enthusiasm kept the taint at bay.

His fingers curled around his mate’s hand affectionately and he gave it a squeeze as they came up to the gate where a pair of identical goblins kept sentry. Their pale yellow eyes narrowed on them suspiciously as they lifted their spears and Barbasa swallowed back a groan. His luck was terrible. The identical twin brothers were nearly always on shift this time of the day except when they were given their weekly leave. It was just his luck that they were always on shift when he passed through, and the twins, for some reason, harbored a strong dislike of him.

Being a highly magical species, Barbasa suspected that it was due to the taint. He gave them a small wave and grinned cheekily at them. Their nostrils flared, scenting for the taint he was sure,but if that was the case they would scent little to nothing in his calmed state, so it was of little surprise that they let him pass with Tiffany despite leveling snarling sneers in his direction as he passed.

His mate’s soft body pressed against him as she leaned in and whispered. “What’s with them?”

He grunted with a chuff of amusement. “Ignore them. Goblins are known for having a particularly nasty disposition, and a keen sense of smell,” he added, flicking the tip of her nose gently with the side of his claw. “They can scent the taint, and it makes them leery.”

“What? That isn’t even reasonable. How can they judge you when you haven’t done anything wrong!” She sputtered in indignation and nearly spun around if it were not for the fact that he caught her first and hurried her forward with a laugh.

“Be calm, my sweet. As it happens the taint is unpredictable so I cannot blame them for being wary. It is their job to keep the town safe.”

Of course, it could also be because the nymphs who flirted freely with him did not give them the time of the day. Speaking of which... he groaned inwardly as several nymphs loitering near the fountain suddenly popped up gleefully. Tiffany had not yet noticed them, but he made a quick slashing motion in a frantic gesture that they don’t greet him too enthusiastically as they normally did. The last thing he wanted was for his mate to feel uncomfortable. They startled at his vehemence but then looked over at his mate as if just noticing her. Four identical smiles stretched across their lovely faces as they nodded happily and one of them covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled. Thank the blessed gods that nymphs as a whole were usually hopeless romantics. Although they had enjoyed his flirtations in the past, that he finally found a mate obviously pleased them.

Smiling with relief, he nodded his thanks and gently tugged Tiffany forward away from a stall she was examining too closely of various potions offered by the wily ogress who set up shop there.

“There is nothing that you need there,” he teased. “The ogress sells various potions for enchanting lovers or to increase a male’s potency and sexual desire—none of which is necessary with a satyr.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes at him but hugged his arm as she went willingly along with him. “Oh, I don’t know. There could be a night where you just don’t hold out. I bet she also has some pretty clever potions that can be useful for more than just your dick.”

He snorted in disbelief. “As if anything is as important when it comes to seeing to my mate’s happiness.” He grinned flirtatiously so that she knew he was joking. “As for anything else, the forest will provide what we require.” He gave it a thought. “I can show you where the poison grows but be forewarned that poisons do not work on satyrs the way you would expect them to,” he added, drawing a chuckle from her.

“Why am I not surprised,” she murmured with a smile as she tried to look everywhere at once while walking down the road.

He was certain that if he released her arm, she would wander into some potentially troublesome situations. It was a good thing that he had no intention of releasing her. He smiled warmly at the way her head craned around and then suddenly she looked over at the nymphs. His breath stilled as he watched her, curious as to what her reaction might be. He had spoken a time or two about nymphs and that alone might have been a time too many if his mate was the jealous type.

“Are those nymphs?” she asked curiously.

He made a sound of agreement and made himself visibly interested in something else at another stall they were passing.He would not give her any reason to erroneously believe he was interested in them at all.

“Wow,” she murmured lightly. “They are gorgeous. It is no wonder you’ve spent a lot of time enjoying their company. I don’t consider myself particularly into women, but I think I would even be tempted.”

Barbasa look over at her and grinned as he scrubbed one horn. “They do make good company for a lonely male, even for one who long tired of company, but nymphs are a joyful sort, and it is easy to feel some echo of happiness in their company. And they have a talent for getting stubborn sap to rise,” he admitted.

“Stubborn sap... you? It seems to me that any time I’ve so much as looked at you that you were spurting all over the place.” She gave him a look of utter disbelief and he felt his heart lighten as he gave a bark of laughter.

“It may be hard to believe but it is true,” he promised with a heavy sigh. “It is one of those things that the taint took away from me after a time. Something that did not return to me until I found you.”

“Ah, so that is why you offered me shelter. I made your dick hard, and you decided I was a keeper,” she chortled and burst out into a belly laugh that made his eyes crinkle with delight at the carefree sound.

It was so loud and bright that even the nymphs exchanged a look and giggled, and he could not be mad at that. He merely scowled in their direction, making his sweet mate burst out into a fresh round of laughter until he hoisted her up into his arms and bodily carried her down the street to the waiting tavern, eager to get her alone again after a long day of traveling. He refused to even consider setting her on her feet again until he arrived at last at the Fiery Dragon’s entrance.

Unfortunately, it seemed that everything in town was determined to delay him sinking into his mate’s tight, wet,grasping heat. Before even entering the tavern, he was forced to haul his mate out of harm’s way when a small group of drunken forest trolls suddenly stepped out onto the street with riotous laughter, their dark, fluffy tails whipping enthusiastically behind them in a manner that was no less erratic than their stumbling steps. His nose immediately wrinkled at the sour smell of stale whiskey on them, and he shuddered. Anything other than a rich wine or mead was nothing short of pure poison to his eyes. It addled the brain and given how close they came to running his mate over, it seemed that they had done enough damage for the day to their senses. Barbasa bared his teeth and snarled at them in consequence, determined to teach them some sort of manners until his mate chuckled and gave his arm a squeeze.

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