Page 5 of Wine and Gods

“Just a kiss?”

“One kiss. I’m afraid you couldn’t handle more of me.” He licked his lower lip, and Erin felt an insane urge to lean forward and bite it. What was coming over her? The earthy scent of the wine and the intoxicating sounds of the surrounding crowd clouded her senses. It must be the wine.

“You’ve got a healthy ego there, mister. I bet I could take a lot more. I’m already feeling like I can take on the world.” Erin lifted the wineskin high, feeling the forest floor’s cool dirt beneath her feet. This evoked a resounding round of shouts and affirmations from the assembly, and she hooted in return. The drumbeats increased into a frenetic tempo, and the stomping of feet pounded the forest floor.

Her host guffawed an appreciative laugh, enjoying her humor despite her insult. What an odd person, or whatever he was.

“Soon enough, the earth will tremble under your feet. But for now, will you accept my kiss?” His golden eyes mesmerized Erin. She wondered why she wasn’t crouching in fear, but she looked into his eyes and urgently wanted what he offered.

When Erin leaned in for the kiss, she realized a hush had fallen over the assembled masses. All eyes were turned on them. Looking upon his wine-darkened lips and the dark promise, Erin waited for someone to challenge her right, to stop her. The knowledge that she’d be willing to fight them for this opportunity of a single kiss shocked her. Her host remained effortlessly reclined back, propped up on one elbow, leisurely taking in her measure, his expression decadently inviting.

Erin’s pause led to a surge in the crowd, and she thrust out a palm and practically growled. “No!” They stopped in their tracks, but Erin sensed it was a momentary thing. Their hunger, directed toward their host, was a palpable thing.

She turned back toward him and leaned in, and his power rolled over her, encompassing Erin with waves of heat and need.

“Last chance to turn back,” he whispered, his words barely audible against her lips.

“I have a feeling I’ll regret this forever if I don’t.” Erin pressed her lips to his wine-stained ones.

All the outside sounds stopped, replaced by an intense rushing noise in her ears. The flavor of his lips was exquisite, tasting of the finest vintage, and Erin completely succumbed to the sensation, lost in the moment. Her body inflamed with a heat she could never quench, and he breathed into her mouth the sweetest breath. Each movement he made was crushing, bruising Erin’s lips in the most delicious way. And yet, as he continued to breathe into her, the pain became more bearable, and Erin could respond with fervor.

Erin couldn’t later say if the kiss lasted a minute or an hour; there was no time in this place. He kept his word and didn’t touch her beyond her lips, but her body writhed and burned from the small amount of contact. She’d never reacted this way before. Her body had become a live wire, shocked repeatedly by his wine-soaked touch.

When he finally pulled away, Erin uttered a sigh and didn’t even have the shame to blush. “Now it’s time to dance.”

“My ankle is broken. I can’t dance. I’ll just sit here and watch.”

“No. It’s not.” He smiled with such confidence that Erin frowned and then stood up, trying her foot. She favored it for a few steps, not daring to place full weight on it. Sure enough, it held her weight just fine.

It’s all just a dream.

A shock of disappointment ran through her, and then she brushed it off. “To the dance!”

She flung herself into the crowd. The simple joy of pounding her feet along in time and swaying her body to the drums was a solace to her soul.

Erin couldn’t remember ever being more at peace in her life.

Even when a randy satyr got close and laid his hands on her, she spun and lifted him by the neck until his hooves flailed in the air.

Erin took a swig of wine, waiting him out. “Beg me for air with your eyes, scamp!” The nymphs gathered behind her laughed.

He did, appearing most contrite. Well, as contrite as someone can with their eyeballs about to pop out of their skull. Erin waited until he was a deep shade of purple before dropping him to the ground, where he gasped for air.

“Never touch me without my consent. That goes for the lot of you.” Erin made her point with her mostly empty wineskin. The nymphs cheered her on. The satyrs nodded in agreement.

Erin’s eyes met her host’s across the bonfire. He inclined his head and appeared to be holding back laughter. Erin saluted him with the wine and drank deeply, and he smiled, all seriousness again.

Spinning off in her dance around the fire, Erin’s feet stomped the ground with such force she swore surrounding branches shivered in response. Singing an unknown verse yet moving with sure feet, Erin took the revelry deep into her soul and expressed it through the undulations of her body.

Just then, one man in the crowd caught her eye. A distinctly human man, unlike the other satyrs and dryads present. His piercing blue eyes met Erin’s across the fire, and a flash sparked across the lightning-shaped tattoos running the length of his muscular arms. The tattoos appeared to glow as if by some otherworldly magic. Captivated, Erin directed her dance toward him. His eyes roamed her form as she approached, appearing as enthralled by her as she was by him. The satyrs surrounding the human backed off on her approach, perhaps scared by her harsh treatment of their brother.

Nudging her way into his personal space, Erin sought to understand the magnetic force that was this man, his aura emanating a grounded and steady presence that somehow pierced through the chaos of the bacchanal. She noted the intensity of his gaze, a testament to his undivided attention.

“What brings a man like you to a bacchanal like this?” Erin husked out, her throat ragged from the incessant singing and chanting that painted the night with wild abandon. Or perhaps it was the wine?

“I could ask you the same thing,” he shot back, the deep resonance of his voice vibrating against her skin, sending shivers down her spine that had little to do with the chilly night.

A spontaneous laugh bubbled from her throat. “I just woke up here. But now I wouldn’t have it any other way. This night, the creatures I’ve met, it’s all so extraordinary!”

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