Page 1 of Dominating the Dryad (Halloween Temptation #13)

Perenneos has followed the human for weeks now. At a distance, of course. Just behind the treeline and ducking behind bushes.

He’s not supposed to. He knows that. But he just can’t stop himself.

The man is just so . . .

Handsome isn’t enough to describe him. Nor does pretty, or beautiful, or hot.

He’s just an amalgamation of all of them and a thousand things more.

And tall. So tall. Not only that, but his chest is broader than anything Peri’s ever seen before.

He wouldn’t even reach his shoulders if they were to stand next to each other.

Dryads don’t get that big. Peri couldn’t stop himself from seeing him over and over again.

Just like every day, he’d left his little cottage earlier that morning and trekked through the woods, just so he could see the man today as well. He’s been doing it for almost three weeks now.

It’s different today, though.

His human—Peri can’t find it in himself to call him something different—is dressed very strangely. Normally, he wears blue-colored pants and short-sleeved shirts. Maybe a thin jacket thrown on top.

Today, though, it’s different. And Peri sure isn’t complaining. It’s all black with skin-tight leather pants and a billowy shirt, a scarf tied around his head. A long leather coat whips around his ankles. Mouth-watering.

Suffice it to say, Peri is having a hard time staying hidden behind the bushes.

He creeps through the forest and watches as his human and his friends arrive at a house Peri’s never seen.

It’s a normal house. Made of wood and painted a pretty blue color.

But it still makes him suspicious. There’s a lot of sounds coming from inside, and it takes him a moment to realize it’s music. Strange pounding music.

His own flute is much more pleasant.

The human and his friends disappear into the house, leaving Peri hesitating by the treeline. He normally goes back to his little cottage when the man goes inside, but this isn’t the human’s home and it piques his interest.

Especially when more and more people enter the same house.

It’s already dark—and getting darker—as Peri leaves his initial spot and walks around to the back of the house. There’s more people lingering on a covered porch and another possible door his human could escape through. Peri will have to go back and forth between the two spots so he won’t miss him.

So, that’s what he does. Peri spends an hour or so walking back and forth through the under-bush to first the front-door and then the backdoor—without seeing any hint of his human. And just as he’s about to give up, the backdoor opens and the human and his friends appear.

They’re all holding drinks and mill around on the covered porch. His human removes his coat, drapes it over a chair, and is now only wearing a black, billowing shirt. It’s open low in the chest, almost down to his belly-button.

His skin glistens in the warm light, and Peri finds himself unknowingly creeping closer. He steps over a rock and peeks out from behind a tree. All he wants is to see all that exposed skin closer up, maybe study his human’s features, and figure out exactly how tall he is.

It’s so entrancing that Peri doesn’t register when all the friends go back inside, leaving his human all alone. Walking towards him.

“Hello,” the human says. And that voice. It sends a shiver down Peri’s spine and draws him in like a moth to flame. “Aren’t you cold out here? Do you want to come inside?”

Peri blinks and takes a couple of steps back towards the treeline. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t talk to humans. The elders will be furious. More than furious.

As a dryad, his full loyalty should lie with nature, and he needs to keep himself pure and devoted. Humans are a risk to all of that, known for their promiscuity and lustful ways.

If any of his people see him, Peri could risk exile. Forever. But he burns with curiosity, and he can’t make himself step away.

The man stops, smiles, and holds up his hands placatingly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Peri stills too, his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “I’m Tristan, by the way. And we don’t have to go back inside, we could just sit on the porch. They have blankets. If you’re cold.”

A name. His human’s name is Tristan. And he’s even more handsome up close.

Even bigger. Peri has to bend his neck backwards to meet his eyes.

The knowledge makes nerves dance down his skin.

He’s eye-level with Tristan’s chest and wouldn’t be able to look over his shoulder, even standing on the tips of his toes.

“I am not,” Peri says, taking a tentative step towards him. “My name is Perenneos. Or Peri, for short.” And even though he’s in a thin linen shirt and pants, he really isn’t cold. He even put his long black hair in a ponytail to keep it off his neck as he kept watch.

“That’s an unusual name,” Tristan says. “It’s cute, though. And I love your costume.”

“Costume…?” The word is foreign, and Peri isn’t quite sure what it means. “Tristan is a lovely name too.”

Tristan smiles, it makes him even more handsome. “Thank you. Your ears look so real.” He takes another step closer, peeking his head around to look closer at Peri’s ear. The warmth of his body sinks into Peri’s. “What are they made of? Is it like a silicone mold?”

Self-consciously, Peri touches his ear. Maybe there was a twig stuck on it, or some dirt? “They are real?” He doesn’t mean for it to come out like a question. “What’s ‘silicone’?”

Peri’s ears are slightly pointed—and definitely longer than Tristan’s—and adorned with a couple of golden rings. Small charms, most of them whittled by himself or his parents, hang from them. They’re nothing special, really. Peri knows dryads with much more elaborate and glittering earrings.

“Your ears, aren’t they made of silicone?” Tristan is so close now, Peri can feel his breath breeze over the top of his head. He’s so tall. Peri’s never seen a dryad that tall. “Like plastic?”

Peri is very aware of plastic. “Ew, no.” He takes a step back, covering his ear protectively with his hand. “Why would my ears be made of plastic? That’s disgusting.”

Taken aback, Tristan looks puzzled. “I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to offend you.” Silence spreads between them. Peri shifts from foot to foot. He should run. This is the perfect opportunity to and he really shouldn’t have spoken—or even been seen—by the human. Tristan. But he really doesn’t want to.

“I should—” he says anyway.

“Do you want to dance?” Tristan says at the same time.

Peri likes dancing. Loves it, even. So much so that he could even look past the horrendous music pounding from the house. But Peri still narrows his eyes, skeptical. No matter how drawn he feels to this human, the talk of plastic ears makes him suspicious.

“I won’t call your ears plastic again, I promise.”

“Dancing sounds nice,” Peri concedes.

He holds his hand out—big palm turned up and looking inviting. What would Tristan’s skin feel against his own? Would he be warmer? Rougher? Or would they feel the same? Peri is filled with a sudden urge to find out.

Reaching out, he gently places his hand palm down against Tristan’s. It is warm, and small rough spots line the edge right where his fingers start. He feels strong. Tristan twists his hand and slips his fingers between Peri’s, tugging him along as he walks towards the house.

A secret little smile spreads on Peri’s face, full of excitement and nerves.

He is surprisingly free of terror. Reasonably, he should be scared, as he’s standing at risk of being exiled from his people and banished from their lands if anyone finds out, but somehow this feels right.

Like an instinctual feeling that tells him going with Tristan is the right thing to do. Like this is where he belongs.

Tristan’s hand in his is big. So big. Peri’s thin fingers look so fragile and breakable compared to Tristan’s. His steps are big too—long enough to force Peri to half-run his way towards the house.

A wall of heat, smells, and sounds smashes into Peri as Tristan opens the door. There are too many people inside to really fit, and more humans than Peri has ever seen before. He’s beginning to regret his decision.

“Tristan?” He says, halting his steps. Maybe they could just dance outside in the grass? That’s what dryads normally do.

With a soft smile, Tristan turns to face him. “What’s wrong?” He asks, looking questioningly between Peri and the dance-floor. “You don’t like crowds?” The base drops, and the room explodes in even more noise—both with louder music and excited screams. Peri winces. “Or noise?”

“Both.” It was an easier way of saying, humans are scary.

Tristan brings his arms up and pulls Peri close. “We won’t have to be in the middle of it, and I won’t let you out of my sight, I promise.”

Surrounded by Tristan, Peri loses breath.

His heart skips a beat. The noise from the house and its people grows muffled until it dissipates completely.

Tristan’s fingers slowly comb through his hair and send calming waves down his body, his tight embrace staving off whatever anxieties the raving people inside brought on.

“I’ll protect you,” Tristan says, tightening the hug further. “And we can go right back out here if it gets too much.”

Taking a deep breath—and getting a lungful of Tristan’s deep, masculine scent—Peri peeks past his broad body into the house again.

People move to the thumping sound of the music like a wave.

It’s like no dancing Peri’s ever seen—gyrating, close, and almost erotic.

It makes his heart pound wildly in his chest.

“Okay,” he still says, following Tristan inside.