All Hallows' Satyr (The Cursed Satyroi Book 5)

in her circle as her breathing came faster and faster. Her nipples were hard and beaded against the fabric. Still, he was unaffected when it came down to his body's physical response. This was a good thing though, right? He didn't want to be treated like a whore anymore. He wanted to be normal. He wanted his human life back that had been stolen from him.
The woman opened her eyes and looked right at him. Her lips parted and she raised a hand to her chest.
"I didn't mean to startle you." Stupidly, he'd forgotten what he looked like and sank back into the cover of trees. Foolish. He could never be normal again. To still believe there was hope after all this time, after all he'd done, was reprehensible.
"Wait!" The woman chased after him, grabbing him by the wrist. Her touch was cool from the night air, and it didn't provoke any lustful reaction at all. Though his heart thumped harder in his chest. The only contact he'd had with a woman in years had been in order to control his curse—or had been influenced by Dionysus.
Shame filled his gut and he choked down bile. He couldn't blame Dionysus for everything he'd done to torment his brother. What he'd nearly done. Not all his choices had been ripped from him. He'd never forget, could never forgive himself, let alone expect Ariston to forgive him.
This woman touched him of her own accord, but then again, she didn't know what kind of monster he was. He stared down at her. She was tiny, slender, barely taller than his chest, but she wasn't afraid of his appearance. Adonis frowned as he glanced at her feet. "You shouldn't be running around barefoot." Not to mention, why was she on his land to begin with?
"I'm fine," she said with certainty. Her cheeks and throat held a slight flush, discernible even in the candlelight, from her dancing. "The earth won't hurt me."
Adonis arched a brow and allowed his gaze to drop down to drink in her body in a slow perusal, and then he met her gaze once more. "But how do you know I won't?" He was, after all, the very definition of the monster that mothers warned their daughters about in order to protect their virtue.
She let him go and retreated a step. Maybe he'd scared her after all. "I summoned you."
He blinked. "Why would you think that?" Then he remembered the candles and he nearly cringed. Had she been attempting a spell?
"I'm a witch," she confirmed his suspicion, "and I prayed to a goddess to send a man or spirit of nature to accept my offering to her." She raised her hands to the shoulders of her dress, pulled the straps down ever so slightly, and the entire garment pooled to her feet.
"You're naked," he said dumbly and stared at her slender body, curved in all the right spots. What was going on? Why wasn't he rock hard right now?
She giggled and stepped out of the pile of cloth, shimmied right up to him, and pulled his head down to hers. Helpless to the moment, Adonis stood stunned as she kissed him. Her warm lips invited him to taste, explore, claim. She smelled good, like vanilla. When he opened his mouth to protest her actions, she swooped her tongue in. Gods, he had once loved kissing women, and yet his lower region still refused to get onboard.
Why is this happening to me?
She pulled back, her chest moving up and down with her breathing, and her nipples slid against his bare chest. The sensation was nice—but still did nothing for him down south. Gods, she was turned on as hell and he had nothing to show for it. What were the odds? Satyrs never had performance issues. He couldn't tell if he was annoyed or relieved. Maybe a mixture of both? Honestly, his bafflement overrode every other emotion or thought and rendered him completely speechless.
"Come." She grabbed his wrists and pulled him toward her circle of candles.
If only I could.
He followed her, too bewildered to do anything else. When they stopped and she reached for the button on his jeans, however, he regained some composure and stepped back. "What are you doing?"
"I promised an offering through dance to a nature deity in return for sex. I wasn't expecting the denim...or, oh my, you have hooves too. That's new."
He blinked rapidly. She was completely not freaked out. Forget about what was wrong with him; what was wrong with her?
And wait a second...
"I'm not a nature deity." Did she think he was Pan? "I'm...a satyr."
Did her eyes just dilate? He could almost swear her breathing got heavier. The Fates must truly hate him to torture him this way. Or was he so far gone that this fantasy in his head had taken over while his body wreaked havoc in real life? He'd never lost control to the lust before. Anything was possible.
"Well, no, but I did ask for a spirit of the forest. Looks like the deity delivered." Her gaze drifted down his bare chest. "Can I tell you a secret?" She curled her finger, beckoning him to come closer. Out of curiosity, he obeyed. "I have always fantasized about satyrs. I'm really looking forward to this."
"This?" He really had lost the rest of his wits.
"How do you want me?" she continued like he hadn't even spoken. "On my back? On my knees? On top? Against a tree?"
His jaw dropped. She was serious. This woman wanted to fuck him in her candle circle like some weird ritual. She hadn't made up the whole witchcraft thing. "I, uh..." Apparently, his ability to form words and think straight had disappeared along with his ability to become aroused.
She ran her hands over his chest, and he closed his eyes. Her hands were so soft and warm. Adonis longed for the contact, someone to want him and not fear him. Someone who didn't come to him out of pity or