Page 2 of Dominating the Dryad (Halloween Temptation #13)

Tristan pulls him closer as they walk through the house, and Peri happily leans into his side.

Even more so when a warm hand lands on the small of his back, gently guiding him—past all the people, sounds, and smells—into an isolated corner of the room.

There’s some distance between them, the throng of people, and the source of the music, but everything still very much invades Peri’s senses.

The only respite of it is the feeling of Tristan’s hands on his body.

They turn towards each other, Tristan guiding Peri’s arms around his neck before encircling Peri’s waist with his own. Slowly, their bodies gravitate towards each other, pressing close from thighs to chests.

Tristan leans down, his lips grazing the shell of Peri’s ear. “I saw you looking earlier,” he says, voice hot and deep. “You want to dance like the others, don’t you? Should I turn you around?”

The bubble of safety Tristan has created around them turns heated. Tension fills the air, and Peri sucks in a gasping breath. He doesn’t know how to even start answering that.

With newfound surety, Tristan tightens his hold, digging his fingers into Peri’s skin. “You would.” Their bodies arch into each other, Tristan’s hips are in line with Peri’s stomach. He feels so small. “What more would you like?”

Tristan leans back slightly, grabbing Peri’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting his face up towards him. His eyes shine with dark excitement, pupils blown wide as they look imploringly down at Peri. He strokes his thumb slowly along the edge of Peri’s jaw.

“Too flustered to talk, huh?”

Gulping, Peri curls his fingers into the fabric of Tristan’s billowy shirt. He doesn’t trust his voice, so instead he simply nods. At the sign of approval, Tristan turns him around in his arms, pressing Peri’s back to his front.

They’re facing the dance-floor and the undulating crowd. A couple is openly making out right in front of them, tongues clashing between their lips and hands groping each other’s bodies. So, before he can even settle against Tristan’s body, Peri turns back around, hiding away in Tristan’s chest.

“Did you get shy?” Tristan coos. “You’re so cute.”

After some twisting and turning, they’re at attempt number two.

This time when Peri stands pressed against Tristan’s front, he’s facing the wall.

It’s more hidden this way, even though he’s fully aware that the very same people are right behind them.

But now, Tristan’s body is between Peri and the chaos—he’s protected.

Tristan brushes Peri’s long hair away and flips it all over one shoulder, giving him free access to his neck. “Relax,” he says, lips skittering across Peri’s skin. “Lean back against me, and move to the music.”

Closing his eyes, Peri takes a deep breath and lets his head fall back against Tristan’s chest. The music pounds through his body, and slowly he starts to see the appeal.

Its heavy base makes him vibrate with a hazy need for more.

More of Tristan’s touch, more of his lips against his skin, and more of them pressing together.

Tristan’s hands trickle down his body to curl around his hips. “Grind back against me,” he whispers, helping by manipulating Peri’s body around. “You wanted to dance like them, didn’t you?”

Things are happening in his body that Peri has never felt before. Heat creeps across his skin, curling in his belly, and he has to grab hold of Tristan’s arms to keep steady.

“Try it.” Tristan nips at Peri’s shoulder. “Dance, Peri.” His voice has an undercurrent of a command, and Peri can feel his body responding before his mind processes it.

He presses his body back against Tristan, tentatively swiveling his hips.

Tristan’s hands tighten around him, gently guiding his body and urging him on.

This is far from how Peri danced with his fellow dryads—they always stayed an arm’s length away, and this is the closest he’s ever been to another person who wasn’t his family.

But he can see why people dances like this. Peri feels alive.

Tristan grinds in sync with him, his hands slowly moving around—stroking up Peri’s sides, down the curves of his hips and swells of his ass. His hands are everywhere.

“That’s it. You’re doing so well, Peri. Just move to the music.”

With a deep breath, Peri relaxes. He pushes past the swirl of unfamiliar scents and sounds, concentrating fully on the feel of Tristan behind him. He brings a hand up to curl around Tristan’s neck, pulling his face closer to the exposed skin of his neck—wanting more.

Tristan’s lips trace a line from his ear to the crook of his shoulder, and with the help of a finger he pulls Peri’s shirt to the side to pepper more kisses across his skin. Peri can’t help but gasp, happy that his sounds are covered up by the loud music.

“I want to do more than dancing,” Tristan says hotly against his skin, pressing his hips against Peri’s ass. “You fit so well into my arms. You’re so tiny. I wonder what you’d feel like beneath me in bed.”

Leaning more heavily against Tristan, Peri tilts his head to give Tristan more access. Their bodies are pressed so close together, not a sliver of air can pass between them. And he can feel more than Tristan’s hips.

The bulge is big, hard, and very, very recognizable. And it’s poking right between Peri’s butt cheeks.

Testing his limits, Peri grinds his hips back with the sole purpose of feeling Tristan’s cock press against him. And, fuck, does it feel good.

Peri’s breath catches on a moan, and he loses his balance, having to stabilize himself with both hands against the wall. He’d never done anything like this before. Never felt what he’s feeling right now—red, hot, burning need.

“Tristan,” he says like a prayer, but without knowing what he’s asking for.

Tristan keeps moving his hands all over Peri’s chest, thighs, and even tracing the lines of his throat and jaw. And Peri wants.

“Tristan.”

The song changes abruptly—in the middle of a fast melody—and it jerks Peri back to the present.

Back to the sea of people standing just a couple of steps away, to the smell of sweat, alcohol, and smoke, and to the fact that only a couple of layers of clothing separates Tristan’s cock from Peri’s ass.

“Air,” he chokes out. “Need air.”

Tristan comes back to himself too, swiftly moving his hands to more appropriate places and tilts his hips away. “Of course,” he says, voice still hoarse. “I’ll get us out.”

In a blur of movement and heavy beats—both from the music and Peri’s heart—Tristan guides him back out the door. There’s no one else out on the back porch when they get there, and Peri can blissfully breathe clean air once again.

“You humans dance so strangely,” Peri says when they’re finally outside. The cool air of the night refreshes him and clears his head in an instant.

Tristan stills, a line appearing between his eyebrows. “‘Humans’? You’re really going all in for this Halloween thing, aren’t you?”

“Halloween?” Peri questions, too silent for Tristan to hear.

They head out to the middle of the backyard, Tristan already pulling Peri back into his arms. He wishes he weren’t wearing shoes, loves the feeling of the grass between his toes and the earth underneath his feet when he dances.

It does wonders for his magic and always fills him with energy.

But, having Tristan here is a wonderful substitute.

And Tristan looks so free. A soft smile graces his lips, his shoulders are relaxed, and his face is so open. Peri is drawn to him like Tristan is the sun and he’s a flower. Which isn’t too far off.

The music from inside the house reaches them all the way out here, but muffled and much easier on Peri’s sensitive ears. It’s not something he’d listen to by choice, but this far away it’s almost pleasant.

Tristan keeps one hand clasped with Peri’s and places the other around his waist—almost covering Peri’s whole side. His thumb caress across his ribs. Then they start swaying to the music. Tristan moves very human—all stiff and clumsy—and Peri can’t stop himself from smiling. It’s adorable.

“Is this how you dance?” Peri asks, laughter skittering in his voice. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” They move around the backyard, stepping and swaying (mostly) to the beat of the music. Nothing like the joyous, wild, and twirling dance he and his kind revel in.

“Not very often.” Tristan laughs along with him, a red blush coloring his cheeks. “It’s normally like what you saw inside.”

Now it’s Peri’s turn to flush. He feels the phantom press of Tristan’s body against his back—gyrating and undulating just like the people inside were.

A part of him wants to go back, back to the erotic dance and the feel of Tristan’s cock against him, but the other part wants to show off and dance for Tristan.

Lure him in and dazzle him, make him stay interested. Entrance him.

“That’s not how we dance,” Peri says, stepping away and only holding on to Tristan with one relaxed hand. “Want to see?”

“Of course.”

So, Perenneos dances.

He twirls, skips, and steps around Tristan, imbuing every move with a dose of his innate magic.

All around him, nature answers to his call.

The grass and earth beneath him absorb the energy of each step and jump, growing stronger and more alive.

The trees and bushes along the edge of the backyard bustle in the wind and minutely deepen in color.

And even though fall already has a firm grip around the world, everything around them grows greener, brighter, and taller.

Humans will dismiss it as a trick of the eye, but Peri knows better.

Whenever he looks at Tristan, his bright eyes are burning into his skin. They never leave him. And it eggs Peri on. He adds more flourish, more spins, and more magic. His magic isn’t meant to be alluring to humans, but he knows it looks pretty. And he can tell Tristan is entranced.