“What are you?” I asked.
“A dryad,” he said simply. And then, “Your mate.”
The word landed in my chest like a stone dropped into still water. “I don’t believe in that.”
“I know.” He smiled, and it was gentle, patient. “That’s why I’m going to show you instead of telling you.”
He moved faster than something that large should have been able to move. One moment he was standing a few feet away, and the next he was in front of me, his massive hand coming up to cup my face. His palm was warm and slightly rough, texturedlike bark. His thumb traced my jawline, and I felt my resistance crumbling far too quickly.
“Please. Let me show you,” he whispered, and leaned down.
I didn’t move or back away. I couldn’t. My feet wouldn’t listen.
His mouth was soft, which I hadn’t expected. I’d expected everything about him to be hard and wooden and inhuman, but his lips were warm and full and tasted like honey and flowers and something wild. He kissed me like he had all the time in the world, like we weren’t standing naked in an impossible forest inside a bathhouse. He kissed me like this meant something, like I meant something.
I found my hands moving without my permission, reaching up to touch his chest. The texture was surprising, not quite wood, but not quite skin either. Something in between, living and breathing and warm. I could feel his heartbeat under my palm, steady and strong and real.
When he pulled back, I was breathing hard.
“Come,” he said, taking my hand. His grip was gentle but firm, leading me toward the pool. “There’s so much I want to show you.”
He pulled me into the water with him, and it was perfect. It was warm but not hot, with a faint mineral scent that made me think of the hot springs I’d visited once out west. The bottom of the pool was soft, covered in what felt like moss or maybe sand, and yielding under my feet. He drew me deeper, until the water was up to my chest, and then he turned me around so my back was to him.
“Trust me,” he murmured against my ear, and his breath was warm and sweet.
I felt his hands on my shoulders, and then he was turning me around again, pressing me back against the pool’s edge. The stone was slick under my palms as I braced myself, and thenhe was sinking down into the water, his massive frame moving between my legs.
“What are you—” I started, but then I felt his tongue drag over my balls, and the words dissolved into a gasp.
He was thorough. Patient. His lips traced the sensitive skin of my inner thigh, moving slowly toward my hardening cock. I could feel the slight texture of his mouth, like it had that same grain as his skin, and each touch sent electricity shooting up my spine. His hands gripped my hips, holding me in place, and I realized with a start that I wasn’t trying to get away.
When his mouth finally wrapped around the head of my cock, I threw my head back and let out a sound I didn’t recognize. He took me slowly, inch by inch, his throat working around me in a way that suggested he’d had lots of practice. Or maybe just that he was designed for this, that his body knew exactly how to pleasure mine in a way that felt inevitable.
No. Fated mates weren’t a thing. That was just werewolf mythology. And even if it was real, it didn’t apply to people like me.
The water lapped at my knees as he worked, and I could feel the current he was creating with his movements. His tongue traced the underside of my shaft, and every touch felt like it was wired directly to my nervous system, pleasure coursing through me more intensely than seemed possible.
But then he did something that made me gasp even louder. He pulled back just enough to let me see what he was doing, and I watched as he opened his mouth wider and took me deeper, his throat stretching to accommodate me. And as he did, I felt his throat work around my cock, warm and flexing in just the right ways. I groaned with delight. Nobody had ever sucked me this good in my life.
I buried my fingers in the vines of his hair, careful not to pull too hard, and he hummed around my cock, sending vibratingpleasure through my body. The sound was low and musical, pleasing as much to the ear as it was to my dick.
“Fuck,” I breathed, and the dryad pulled back just enough to smile at me, my cock still resting against his lower lip.
“We’ll do that too,” he promised, and his voice was thick and wanting. “But first, I want to taste every part of you.”
He released me from his mouth and sank lower in the water. His hands guided my legs apart, and I felt his shoulders settle between my thighs as he tipped me back onto the soft moss of the shore. For a moment I thought he was going to suck me off again. But then he pushed my legs back, exposing me completely. And before I could comprehend what was happening, I felt his tongue lick a long, hot stripe over my hole.
I gasped, my entire body going rigid. Nobody had ever done that to me before. I’d never even asked for it. But the moment his tongue touched my ass, I knew I’d been missing something essential my entire life.
He worked slowly, deliberately, like he had all the time in the world. His tongue traced circles around my hole, teasing and probing, and I could feel myself opening up for him without any resistance. The pleasure was different from getting blown or letting someone ride me. It was deeper somehow, more intimate. It resonated with a part of me I didn’t know existed until that moment.
“Oh god,” I moaned, my hips rocking slightly against his face. He made that humming sound again, the one that vibrated through my entire body, and I realized he was enjoying this as much as I was. Maybe more.
His hands gripped my thighs, holding me open, and I felt one of his fingers brush against my entrance between licks. He was asking a question without words, and my body answered before my brain could catch up. I relaxed, let him in, and felt the slightburn as he pressed inside, his saliva making everything almost too easy.
It was intense though. Overwhelming. The combination of his tongue and his finger working in tandem was sending me toward the edge faster than I wanted to go. Faster than I thoughtpossible. But I wanted this to last. I wanted to stay in this moment forever, suspended between the water and the moss and thatdivinetongue of his.
“Wait,” I gasped out. “I’m gonna?—”
