The Cursed Satyroi: Volume One Collection

by Rebekah Lewis

  “I’m here to ensure no humans interfere with your seeking the syrinx. Those are my orders. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  He’d backpedaled! Melancton acted as though he hadn’t blurted out information that could make the whole lot of Boeotian satyrs turn on Dionysus. No one missed Silenus, but Pavlo...he’d had his faults, sure, but he was harmless. Nice, even. One of the few who’d never judged Adonis for his hatred of Ariston.

  “Oh, don’t clam up now. Afraid your thyrsus will falter if you elaborate? Well, if you have nothing else to say, you might as well go stalk the woods for humans or something. I have very important things to be doing.” Very important nothing to do, really. Nothing but working through whatever ailed him. Adonis wished he’d never volunteered. He would fail, and nothing he did would change that fact. His eye throbbed something fierce and he moaned against it. Where was Dionysus and his wine when he needed it?

  “Honestly, I think I should keep a watch over you. Are you sure you aren’t ill?”

  “Was that a contraction, Mr. Prim and Proper? Fuck off.”

  Melancton sighed. “Enjoy plotting against the only person alive who still cares about you. I hope it is worth it in the end.” He turned his back and faded back into the shadows.

  Being free of this curse would be worth it. Adonis hadn’t been on good terms with Ariston for as long as he could remember, so it wouldn’t change overnight. If Adonis was human again, he could begin a new life away from satyrs, away from Dionysus, and then maybe he’d finally be able to feel something other than bitterness. And pain. Gods, the pain in his skull.

  Chapter Ten

  Lily crawled up Ariston’s deliciously tanned body, dragging her hands over every rock-hard muscle as he laughed and threw back his head in ecstasy. He smelled of forest pine, a hint of sandalwood, and all man. She straddled him, fully aware she wasn’t wearing panties under the little blue sundress. Their bodies were still riddled with rain droplets due to the storm they’d been caught in before entering the cabin. The flimsy material of her dress tore in her hurry to tug it over her head, but she didn’t care. She had to have him.

  “No,” Ariston moaned, but she was too busy licking the water from his chest to pay it any mind. The salt from his skin mingled with the moisture, and it wasn’t enough against her tongue. She wanted more.

  “Not yet. Not time. Gods, Lily...” He trailed off as she rolled her hips against his groin, marveling at the length of him sliding against her slick, warm flesh. Ariston made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “Stop. Can’t...” He moaned again when she repeated her movements from before.

  Silly satyr man. Making her want him and then making her wait. Well, Lily was done waiting. She would take what was laid out before her. He’d be her conquest rather than the other way around, and he would like it. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind about that.

  She flicked her tongue over one of his nipples as she reached a hand down to grip him. His hips jerked at her touch, and she stroked him gently, becoming wetter with each of his clipped breaths and undulations. Lily positioned him, wanting to take him slowly to savor his length the first time. Just when she was about to slide herself onto him, his hands gripped her shoulders and shook her, hard.

  “Lily. Lily! Wake up. You have to stop.”

  Icy awareness hit her like an avalanche. Outside, the winds raged and howled with the force of a tropical storm. Her hormones were out of control, and if her emotions kept fueling the weather... Oh, shit.

  They were on the couch in the cabin, but Ariston had been asleep, she as well. Lily had dreamed the encounter, sleepwalking—something she’d never done before—and tried to make her dream reality. Oh, God, he’d told her to stop, and she kept writhing on top of him like a cat in heat.

  Ariston’s expression was pained. His curse craved sex above all else, yet he’d snapped out of it. To stop her. Lily started to move off him, and he hissed, clinging to her hips to keep her still. She glanced down and was instantly mortified. She retained a firm, but shaky grip on his dick. Her other hand rested against his bare hip. Worse, he wasn’t the only one naked. A fact becoming all too apparent as his gaze dropped to her breasts, and he trembled under her hands. Lily yanked her hands away, probably looking like a fool when she raised them at shoulder level like a criminal at gunpoint.

  If Ariston had control of his actions at all, it didn’t seem like it. He took the opportunity to slip his hands down over her hips where he squeezed her ass as his body bucked against her. His erection pressed against her belly. Heavy. Heated. Wanting. His breathing grew ragged.

  “Let me go!” She tripped as she shot off the couch and then toppled to the floor. “What did you do? Why are you naked?”

  Staring quietly at the ceiling for several moments, seeming to gather his composure, Ariston then reached behind his head and grabbed the fleece blanket he’d used as a pillow. He dropped it over his lap. “I live here. I sleep naked. You’re using my bedroom, so the least you can do is not begrudge me my sleeping habit. You, however, were fully dressed and in bed last I checked.”

  “You must have hypnotized me like the last time. Where are your panpipes?” Lily scanned around her, spotting them in the holster hanging on the coat rack beside the door.

  “No. I was here, sleeping, and minding my own business, when suddenly I was woken up in the most pleasant way.” He closed his eyes and smiled, relishing the memory of it. “Gods, love. I was ten seconds away from saying fuck the eclipse and letting you have your way with me.”

  “What stopped you?”

  “You were asleep, and I don’t take advantage of unconscious women. The satyr song draws them to me, sure, but they decide to follow it or they don’t. I know it is hard to grasp the concept from the way it sounds. The decision is always in their hands though.”

  She shivered, recalling her nudity and covered herself. Ariston sighed and tossed the fleece at her. “I’m taking a shower. A very cold shower. I probably won’t be out for a while.”

  When she was alone, she wrapped herself in the blanket and wandered into the kitchen. She started a pot of coffee and did her best to ignore the throbbing need between her legs. Her body wanted him so bad the ferocity of it scared her. It didn’t seem normal. Sure, she’d been opening up to the idea of staying, worrying about what would happen between her and Ariston if she did. However, she didn’t foresee sleep-raping him as one of the options. And he’d considered it taking advantage of her despite the fact she’d been the one molesting him.

  As the bittersweet aroma of coffee brewing calmed her down, she glanced out the kitchen window to the storm she’d likely caused. How would she control her ability? Could she?

  The gray morning sky barely showed through the dark clouds. Lightning flashed, a bolt zigzagging outside the window. Bright light made her squeeze her eyes closed as she squeaked with surprise. The image remained imprinted against the backs of her eyelids as she flinched from the near-deafening thunderclap in its immediate wake. From the other side of the cabin came a startled whiny, and Lily realized Pegasus had been alone in the rain. She’d forgotten all about him!

  Running to the front door, she found him huddled under the facsimile of a porch and hustled him inside. The horse shook like a dog, getting water everywhere. And then he turned those dark eyes on her, giving her a horsey onceover, and huffed.

  “Don’t give me that look. Nothing happened.” She didn’t mention the almost part and pulled the blanket tighter around her. “Weren’t you supposed to be our chaperone? What’ve you been doing all morning anyway?” She glared at him.

  Pegasus brushed past her, squeezing through the kitchen doorway to steal an apple from the fruit basket. Pegasus swished his tail as he defiantly munched on his prize and avoided her question.

  Fine then.

  Another deafening clap of thunder shook the cabin as bright light flashed outside. The room went dark and a loud crash sounded from the bathroom.

  “Ariston?” she called o
ut, but only the sound of the running water answered.

  Pegasus whinnied, and forced himself backward through the doorway to glance in the direction of the bathroom. He tilted his head, ears twitching.

  Lily pushed past Pegasus, who snapped his teeth together in a mock biting motion to show her how he didn’t appreciate her rudeness. She hardly noticed. Slamming the bathroom door open, she almost screamed. Ariston laid face down in a puddle of water, tangled in the shower curtain which had ripped off the rod as he fell. He didn’t appear to be breathing.

  “Oh my God. Oh my God!” Lily dropped to her knees, ignoring that the blanket fell from around her as she did. Pulling him into her lap, she looked for a sign of a pulse in his neck. It was faint, but there. “Don’t die on me.”

  Pegasus poked his large head in to inspect the situation. While Lily sat there, unable to move, he nudged one of Ariston’s horns. The satyr remained unresponsive. Lily didn’t know what to do for someone who’d been electrocuted. Should she put him in bed? Make him warm? She wiped at her face, surprised to find her cheeks were damp, and turned to Pegasus.

  “I need Hermes. Bring him back as fast as you can. Is that possible?”

  Pegasus lifted his head and dropped it again in a nod. He had difficulty turning himself around, but once he did, he galloped toward the front door. Lily stared into the room as he disappeared through an invisible vortex rather than crashing straight through the door.

  If he could teleport, it would explain why mortals never noticed him flying over cities. Then again...people reported things like dinosaurs and Bigfoot and water monsters all the time, so it would be lost in the absurdities anyway.

  Lily snapped out of her stupor and lifted Ariston the best she could by turning him over, looping her arms beneath his armpits, and heaving him up against her. She struggled to pull his legs over the side of the tub without dropping him, but he was dead weight and solid muscle.

  For the first time, she brushed a hand over his hooves, disentangling them from the shower curtain. The hard, roughened texture was strange to the touch, but Lily wasn’t repulsed by it. They’d been scary at first, but a part of him. When she wrestled his body free of the tub, she scooted out of the bathroom, dragging Ariston with her. Six feet past the doorway, she buckled under his weight and dropped to the cold wooden floor. Ariston crushed her beneath his chest and broad shoulders. She pushed him up so she could slide into a sitting position, resting his head in her lap.

  Sniffling, Lily rubbed a hand across his cheek; a coarse patch of golden stubble tickled her palm. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault you got in the shower in the first place. It’s my fault it was storming. I did this.” She hugged him closer. The tips of his horns scratched her soft skin as she moved him closer, but she barely noticed.

  “If you don’t die, I’ll stay. I’ll even do the ritual with you. You can be human again. No more hooves. Think about it, Ariston. You’d be free.”

  “Damn,” a soft cough followed the word. Ariston hacked as air returned to his lungs. “If I’d known electrocution was the key to your chastity belt, I’d have stuck a fork in an outlet the night I met you.”

  Lily shrieked and hugged his head. “You’re alive!”

  Ariston lifted his arms like he wanted to free himself, and then he let them fall limp. “I’m immortal. Lightning hurts like hell, in case you were wondering, but otherwise can’t kill me. Mmm... Suffocation by boob is a way I wouldn’t mind going out though. Do your worst, nymph.” The lascivious wretch actually stuck his tongue out and licked at one of her nipples.

  Lily straightened, pulling him up by his horns to face her. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again. I really thought you were going to die.” She opened her hands and found mild satisfaction when he face-planted against her thigh with a soft smack.

  “It was kind of worth it though. Look where I ended up.” With that, he hugged her midsection, his face buried against her inner thigh, laughing wickedly when Lily let out a scandalized gasp.

  She pulled back, attempting to crawl away so she could stand, but Ariston wasn’t allowing it. The front door crashed to the floor, flying off its hinges. All they could do was gawk when Pegasus, who reared up, kicked out his forelegs triumphantly. Hermes and two other people flooded past him only to mirror Ariston and Lily’s looks of surprise. She could imagine what it looked like: Ariston between her opened legs from where she’d attempted to scoot away, his face scant inches away from her crotch. Both of them completely naked.

  Hermes’ shoulders slumped, and he made a dramatic show tipping his head back with an exasperated sigh. “Seriously? Save it for the eclipse, folks.”

  ***

  His fingers tingled. It’d been all over his body at first, but only his fingers had yet to recover. Not to mention, his hair smelled suspiciously like bacon. Moments ago, Pan’s woman had escorted Lily to the bedroom to get her dressed and away from the eyes of the two gods standing in front of him. Ariston glanced at the closed bedroom door with longing, wishing he could be inside with Lily rather than on the receiving end of speculative stares. Pan currently regarded Ariston with a frown. Hermes, on the other hand, grinned like a lunatic.

  “Stop that. You’re creeping me out.” Ariston snapped.

  “Moi?” Hermes hiked a thumb toward himself. “I’m not the one standing around naked. I’m going to have that sight haunting me in my worst nightmares for eons.”

  Ariston glared and pulled on the pair of jeans he’d left in the living room the night before and sought out his panpipes. After he donned his human glamour, he felt much more at ease. It didn’t matter that the men had seen him in satyr form before. Katerina, Pan’s fiancée, had not. Ariston slipped a white T-shirt over his head and finger-combed his hair, aware that the long strands were wild and tangled. He looked like a barbarian, but he wasn’t ready to return to the bathroom yet, not even for a brush.

  Hermes carried on sporting his shit-eating smile and Ariston growled. “Seriously, why are you smiling like that?”

  Pan regarded his father and arched a brow, but all Hermes had to say for himself was, “Zeus wanted to tell you, ‘You’re welcome.’”

  Pan rolled his eyes. “Obviously Zeus threw the lightning bolt.” To Ariston, he added, “When Pegasus communicated what happened, Hermes called Zeus and demanded to know if he’d zapped you. For some reason he gets ridiculously excitable when someone is smited. Gods, I hope his ability to be exasperating isn’t hereditary.”

  Hermes chuckled. “I find it amusing because, these days, there is always some crazy reason behind the big guy’s involvement. Zeus is growing bored, so he singles out some poor bastard, waits for him to do something he finds shady, and ZZZZZZ! Smited.”

  “What did I do to annoy Zeus?” Ariston asked. He’d not taken advantage of Lily, so he couldn’t fathom a reason to be punished. Unless he was being punished because he hadn’t taken advantage of her. With Zeus, he couldn’t be certain, judging from the stories he’d heard.

  “Oh, I forgot to ask him. Sometimes there isn’t actually a reason, so I took it in stride. Please hold.” Hermes whipped out a phone, hit a button and told it, “Call the Z Man.”

  Phone plastered to his ear, Hermes tapped his foot and waited. Finally his face lit up. “Hey, Big Z! Long time, no speak. It’s been a whole ten minutes, and I was lost without you.” He frowned. “What do you mean stop calling you Big Z? It’s either that or Mac Daddy Zeus Diddy Pop. You pick one. Yeah...I thought you’d prefer the first one.” He gave Ariston a thumbs up and then wandered outside, mumbling into the phone.

  Ariston’s eyes practically bulged out of his head as he turned back to Pan. Hermes spoke to Zeus like that? The Zeus? The lightning bolt toting, king of the Olympians, I-will-crush-your-skull-if-you-defy-me Zeus? Holy shit! Even Pan appeared at a loss for words and shrugged. Very little astounded Pan into silence, at least when Ariston had known him, but he wasn’t sure he could claim to know someone anymore after such a long time.

  He l
ooks the same. Ariston’s emotions warred with each other. His initial impulse was to hug his friend and catch up on old times. He hesitated though, remembering Pan had left and never looked back. Yet all of a sudden, he’d had a driving need to reconnect? To rub his happiness in the Arcadians’ faces?

  No, he doubted Pan intended to show off. In the meantime, Ariston only wanted to be alone with Lily. She’d feared for his life, hadn’t been repulsed by his teasing behavior when he’d come to find himself so close to paradise with those glorious tits poised above him. And then she’d hugged his face between them. If he’d had full use of his body, they would have had a problem. Luckily for them both, his legs hadn’t been ready to work yet.

  He opened his mouth to say, well, anything to ease the awkward silence. He wasn’t given the opportunity as Hermes burst back inside, stomping across the discarded door which lay haphazardly on the floor, and ended his call with, “’Til next time, Z Pop!”

  “You have no regard for your own life, do you?” Pan asked.

  “Do you know how many times Z Man has tried to zap me for using slang in his sacred temple? At least a thousand. At the absolute least. He misses every time, so...nope. No regard.”

  “Well?” Ariston pushed.

  “Yes, wells are for water. You are ever so clever.”

  Pan chimed in, “Knock it off. What did Zeus say?” He turned to Ariston, “Sometimes I swear I’m really his father and not the other way around.”

  Ariston snickered.

  Hermes didn’t seem offended by the remark, or if he was, he chose not to acknowledge it. “Oh, right.” Staring at the ceiling, Hermes relayed the message, “He said masturbating in the shower is for eleven year old boys entering puberty, and you should be ashamed of yourself. He also said he is bored as fuck and had the urge to zap somebody a good one. It wasn’t personal. You were just there and he went with it.”