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Surprise flickered in eyes that dropped briefly to her bag. “Rocks,” she admitted so blatantly that it surprised a laugh from him.
He crept forward at a pace, unfazed, that she lifted her bag higher in threat. Other than peer at it—and her—curiously, he gave no further attention to it, his eyes instead fastened on the fascinating creature in front of him.
“Rocks? Truly?” he murmured. “What would a delightful little thing like you wish to carry rocks around for?”
Pink climbed into her cheeks, and she shrugged, her arm lowering only a fraction as she considered him. “Some rocks,” she clarified slowly, and her lips pinched. “My supplies did not last as long as I believed they would and then yesterday, when I noticed there was someone following my trail, I decided it was better to at least make an attempt to arm myself.” Her lips twisted bitterly. “Should have thought to bring dad’s gun,” she muttered quietly, perhaps in the erroneous belief that he could not hear her as her gaze moved past him in the direction of her path through the grass.
Though Barbasa did not know what a gun was, the fact that it was likely a weapon was not lost upon him. He might have given it more attention and inquired as to why she wandered without better protection than a sack of rocks except that two details caught his attention. One was that his little female had probably not eaten in some time, which was concerning enough. The other was that someone was in pursuit. His ears perked and he attempted to draw in the scent of anyone else nearby and was foiled by his own obsession with the female’s scent. He could not seem to push it away long enough to focus on other distant scents before it drew him back in. He was beginning to pant, his cock slowly engorging with the lust tripping along his spine.
His eyes turned back toward her and the sweetness in her scent ripened with her heightening arousal. She swallowed, her gaze flicking over him while studiously trying not to stare too openly at his cock.
“W…what are you, anyway?” she asked at length.
His brows snapped up because he had never met one who did not know what a satyr was and had plenty of preconceived notions about them. His eyes narrowed on her slightly in an attempt to determine if she was playing some clever game.
“Do you not recognize a satyr when you see one?” he queried.
Her flush rose higher on her cheeks. “Oh, yes. Well, sure,” she stammered and paused as her brow furrowed slightly. “Just so we both are on the same page… perhaps you should tell me what a satyr is.”
She said it so magnanimously as if she were graciously offering him an opportunity for clarification that he bit back a startled laugh. She didn’t know! Suddenly, a world of opportunities felt as if it were opening up. He could keep her in his wood, and she would be none the wiser as to why she never found her way out. She would never suspect him of being anything but a rescuer. His eager cock aside.
He just had to play this right.
Using one hand to painfully force his engorged cock back into his sheath only for it to spring out again, Barasa gave her a hapless smile.
“My apologies. This,” he gestured to his phallus, “is a blessing or a curse, depending on how you see it, from the gods in providing my kind with such primal natures.” He gave her a sweet smile. “Satyrs are creatures of the woods and fields… protectors, if you will,” he added, “of those who cross through our territories and off the land itself.”
The latter was at least a little true. And the former wasn’t exactly a lie. There were cases of satyrs showing some kindness toward a traveler. Sometimes.
“My name is Barbasa,” he said, extending his hand in greeting.
She peered at him and his hand suspiciously for a moment. He maintained what he believed to be a sweet smile and waited patiently. He nearly crowed in triumph when she settled her pack over her shoulder and placed her small hand in his. She gave his palm a quick squeeze before releasing his hand even quicker.
“I’m Tiffany,” she replied in a rush.
He cocked his head, keeping his movements slow and unalarming as he regarded her. “Do you need a place to escape to for a short time, little Tiffany? I have a dwelling a distance away, hidden in the woods. If you are escaping pursuit, I would be pleased to offer shelter.”
Her brow wrinkled again but her gaze cut nervously back to the direction from which she came and she gave a jerky nod of her head.
“Okay,” she mumbled as her gaze snapped back to him. “For just a little bit. A day or two maybe just so I can be sure I lost them.”
He beamed down at her, careful to keep his possessive snarl buried within. She truly was exquisite. Small and dainty, smaller than even most human females he had seen, she possessed a slight figure that drew out every single one his territorial instincts and need to claim and protect. And yet with golden kissed skin and pale gold hair, she appeared as if she were a daughter of Helios, himself as powerful as Circe herself. “Can I ask why you are attempting to elude other humans—I assume you speak of humans.”
She gave another awkward nod and a worried look shifted briefly over her face. “A small group of men, I think. I could hear a couple of them shouting to each other about flushing me out of hiding.” She glanced up at him uncomfortably. “Are you sure they won’t find me?”
His grin widened and he hoped it did not show too much of the sinister or feral within him. “Of course. I guarantee no man will find you where I shall hide you,” he vowed.
Her brows drew down slightly at his wording but then her expression relaxed as she obviously decided to overlook his phrasing. He came very close to licking his teeth gleefully but managed to restrain himself at the last minute.
“Okay, then,” she said at last, taking a wary step closer to him. “I’ll go with you if you really think you can help me.”
He stepped in closer in turn. “We will need to move quickly,” he purred. “Close your eyes, little female.”
Her expression turned suspicious. “Why?”
He leaned in closer, enjoying the slight tremble that raced over her skin. “Because I can outrun any man easily even with the slight weight of a human in my arms. I do not think you can boast the same,” he rumbled in amusement. Her lips tightened in annoyance and his grin widened. “Besides, I think you might enjoy the experience.”
An intrigue he desperately wanted to explore lit up in her eyes and her tongue ran over her bottom lip as her eyes dropped very briefly to his throbbing cock before shooting back up to guiltily meet his. He wanted to croon to her that there was no need to be guilty for an action that gave them both pleasure but bit back his words and waited for her decision.
