She looks at me like I have three horns. “What was me?”
“At DreamTogether.” Unconsciously, I take another step toward her, drinking in that delicious smell. “Our surrogate. It was you on that bench, wasn’t it?”
Her eyes go big and round, and I know I’ve got it right. And fuck, how my whole body wants to tackle her to the ground, rip off her clothes, and bury myself inside her again. The sheer need almost bowls me over completely.
“H-how… did you know?” Bree whispers as more people arrive for class. She shuffles away from the entrance, and I follow her like a loyal dog. I can’t help leaning even closer, so I can bring that scent into my nostrils right at the source. Her expression is fearful and guilt-ridden.
“I’m sorry, Mangelli,” she says hastily when I don’t answer. “It’s just, when you mentioned DreamTogether, it gave me the push I needed to apply, too.”
My mouth is filling with saliva the longer she talks. I can feel the rut edging in on my mind, my balls already twitching as I study her. How did I not notice before what a cute little nose she has? How her freckles cover her cheeks like stars? How her big tits strain her sports bra under her top?
“I’m glad,” I say. I can’t help crowding into her personal space, and she backs up against the wall of the building. “I’m glad it was you, Bree.”
My cock is already so hard it’s probably quite visible through my shorts.
“You… are?” She appears utterly baffled.
I lean closer, propping one hand on the wall so my mouth is close to her ear. It’s like I’m no longer in control of what I do or say.
“Yeah. Then it’s not just some stranger carrying my fawn. It’s you.”
My hand reaches for her belly, stopping just a few inches short. She hasn’t given me permission to touch her yet, as much as I desperately want to.
Her eyes are still wide and disbelieving. “Just little old me. Hopefully.”
Bree puts her hand on mine and presses it to her stomach, where said fawn could already be growing, and I have to grit my teeth just so I don’t throw her over my shoulder and carry her off to a dark alleyway to have my way with her.
My instincts are completely out of control, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.
Bree
I have no idea what the fuck is going on. For the first time since I met him, Mangelli isn’t smiling, which makes him look like a totally different satyr. No, his eyes with the square pupils are intense, his slitted nostrils flared. His fingers dig into my flesh through my workout shirt as he shifts even closer, so he’s caging me in against the side of the building.
“Bree,” he rasps, that hand on my belly now creeping to my hip. “You were amazing. Fucking amazing. I’ll never, ever forget it.”
I peer up at him, and there’s a shadow in his gaze that makes the hair on my neck stand on end. This is not at all the Mangelli I’ve come to know.
“You liked it?” I ask hesitantly.
“‘Liked it’?” He snorts like a farm animal. “I fucking loved it. Couldn’t get enough. What I wouldn’t give to do it again.”
Thrill lights me up. That’s not what I expected him to say.
“You’re married,” I whisper, leaning into the hand curled possessively around my side.
Mangelli grits his blunt goat teeth.
“I know.” He exhales heavily. “It’s not against the rules or anything. Satyrs have open relationships. I just… it’s rutting season, and I need it. I need you.”
I frown. “Rutting season?” This sounds familiar. “Like a deer?”
Mangelli chokes. “Yeah, I guess so. Satyrs go into rut in early spring.”
So that’s what’s going on. This bit of knowledge deflates me. He’s only acting like this because of what, his natural hormones? Because his instincts want to fuck and breed?
It’s not about me at all.
“Oh.” I drop my hands to my sides, all my excitement draining out of me.
