Page 21 of Dryad, Try Again
“Huh. Can I see it?” Tanner looks on with interest, having dropped his books. I hand it to him, and he wobbles it up and down.
“Wow. I never realized how beautiful it could be,” he mutters. He grasps it and trails his fingers down reverently.Oh crap.I didn’t realize how phallic this branch would be, too. As he wraps his fingers around it, naughty images of Tanner handling my branches comes to mind. “I can barely get my hands around it. Thick thing…”
I gulp and recall Blake’s comment about me sprouting wood. Seeing him here at the edge of the forest invokes something primal in me. Rarely have I ever craved sexual activity in my tree form, but that was the old me. My mouth is dry as I imagine being intimate with Tanner in the forest.
As he studies the massive branch in his hand, I can’t even blink. He scrutinizes the wood, then trails his huge fingers down the side, seemingly unaware of what he’s doing to me. My mind is flooded with visions of Tanner handling me all the same, in my tree form,andin my human form. I want his fingers to caress my bark, and my vines to do the same to his porcelain skin. I want to feel his soft lips with my branches. I didn’t think interacting with wood was a kink, but seeing the way he handles it like a shaft…damn, I could get into that.
Donotsprout wood, Kovi.
Before I can run away or jump his bones, he’s shaken by a buzzing noise in his pockets. He drops the branch and digs out his phone. “Hello? Yes, this is he.” His already-fair skin goes pale.
“Tanner, what—?”
“Oh my God, is she okay? Yes…Yes, I’ll be right there. This is what I can tell you, she has a history of illness with…” He turns to me, fear and shock written all over his face. “I’m sorry, Kovi, I gotta run.”
“But—”
“My aunt had to call an ambulance and now she’s in the emergency department.”
My jaw drops. “Oh, shit, Tanner.”
“I gotta go. I promise I’ll call you later.” He runs off before I can say more. The last thing I hear is him telling the person on the phone a list of medical conditions.
Damn. Tanner’s really going through it. With him gone, I take a deep breath in and out, then shift. Letting my vines and branches out is relaxing after bottling it up all evening. In my taller dryad form, I gaze off in the distance at Creelin’s walls. I pray everything is alright with Tanner’s family. Yeah, I’m crazy attracted to him and want us to get nasty in a pile of fallen leaves. But more than that, I want everything to be okay for him. I’m compelled to make sure Tanner’s life works out, however I can.
10
TANNER
“I can bucklemy own seatbelt, thank you.” Aunt Hannah gives me a judgmental look just as I’m about to reach over and buckle her into the passenger seat. I’m glad to know her overnight hospital stint didn’t dissolve her sassiness. I put my hands up in surrender and sit back down.
“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” I tap the steering wheel and look around. We’re not blocking anyone, parked next to the building as we prepare to leave. It was a long night with a miniscule amount of sleep in the emergency department as I waited for Aunt Hannah to get checked out.
“I’m going to be getting this nonstop, aren’t I?” She wags her finger at me, and I smile.
“That’s what you get for having me as a grandnephew.” We chuckle, and then I yawn and put my hand over hers. “I love you, Aunt Hannah, which means I get to worry about you. Especially if you end up in the hospital.”
“Don’t fret over an old-timer like me, Tanny.” She smiles and the wrinkles around her eyes remind me of her age; with the way she’s doted on me for years, I forget she’s in her eighties.“I’ve lived a long life. I put up with your grandfather as a younger brother, your father’s shenanigans, and witnessed the Halloween Wave. I’ve lived plenty, and you should be going to school and living as well.”
I muster up an agreeable face, but the fear of dropping out gnaws on my chest. Before I can divert the subject, my phone vibrates. I yank it out of my pocket and my breath hitches when I see the name.
“Hello? Tanner?” the voice says after I pick up.
“Kovi. Hi.” I glance at Aunt Hannah and she gives me a curious look. “What’s up?”
“Good morning. You uh, left your textbook and notebook with me.”
I wince. “Aw, crap.”
“And I know your quiz is soon.”
I huff. “Yeah, it’s on Monday. Yet another strike against me.” No sleep and no studying this weekend? The fear of impending failure rushes over me.
“When will you be in your dorm?”
“I won’t be back for a few days.”
“Nonsense,” Aunt Hannah hisses. I turn and stare at her in shock. “You’re not missing precious study time just to dote on me.”
