Not every woman succumbed to Ariston's satyr song, which was fine. He didn't particularly care since they were faces without names, willing bodies to ease his lust and make eternity a little more comfortable for a few weeks. If he didn't have sex with some random woman, the painful arousal would eventually force him to revert back to a mindless creature with one thing on its mind. Ariston never wanted to experience the horrible, painful need at full intensity again.
Most women gave into the melody he played. The song acted as a lure to females, but like any fish dancing around a baited hook, the women had a choice. If they desired the prize bad enough, they'd take a chance, and he'd reel them in. If they were spooked by what was offered, they avoided it. Ariston provided something many were too afraid to seek on their own: guilt-free sex with an immortal, the memory of which would remain as if it had only been a dream. They could return to their lives and lovers as though it never happened. No strings. No regret.
Except there was regret—Ariston regretted every underhanded method he used to get laid, but such was the life of the satyr. It wasn't like he could form a relationship and expect someone not to be freaked out when the man they'd gone on a date with sprouted horns in the bedroom and clopped around like the devil himself with cloven hooves. No, he'd stopped caring about the right and wrong of it long ago, after he gave up hoping for a way to escape his fate.
Hope was a fantasy. It led one to believe there was a chance, a cure. Salvation. But there were only so many decades, centuries even, one could live through before hope became a myth. The nymphs had all vanished despite what Daphne promised all those years ago. Ariston had roamed the Earth twenty times over. His salvation didn't exist.
He had taken to seclusion, using the magic of his panpipes when he needed female interaction. Before the Arcadians learned to produce the human glamour they used during the daytime, they'd learned to use the song to fool wanton women into seeing what they wanted to when they looked at them. It wasn't foolproof, and not every woman rushed into their arms. Some women stayed true to their husbands, and others refused to give into their own desires. However, some did, and it saved Ariston from a lot of trouble. It kept him from becoming what the curse wanted him to be—what he refused to be.
A blonde woman emerged from the forest, and he heaved a sigh of relief despite the contradictory knot forming in his gut from dread. Though he wasn't in human form, the blonde saw only what she wished. If Ariston appeared to her as a satyr and she approached him anyway, well then, that was her kink to bear.
And bare she did, smiling as she did so.
Ariston slid his panpipes into the holster he'd made for them and set it atop the ranger uniform he'd folded up beside the tree when he'd undressed. He'd held back a little over three weeks this time, but the closer the eclipse came, the more agitated he grew. He'd go through the motions as he always did—bring her pleasure, take his own, and send her back to her campsite. Ariston received little from these experiences aside from a brief amount of satisfaction and the knowledge he wouldn't be a danger as long as he had sex sometime within the next few weeks. If he waited much longer, the curse would cloud his judgment until he lost control.
Before Ariston could dwell on his lack of excitement, he had the blonde beneath him, yet he had no desire to savor his time with her. What he did with her wasn't for enjoyment, but out of necessity. It sickened him. His body trembled, proof he was wearing himself thin in regard to his restraint. He wanted to shove the woman away. Gods, what is wrong with me? Can I even risk holding out longer? He was pretty sure he'd be rougher than usual with her, and not wanting to hurt her, Ariston delved between her thighs to prepare her with a muffled curse of his own.
Crack!
Even over the female's exuberant mewling, the disruption effectively killed whatever bit of ambition Ariston had mustered up to get through the act. He tried to ignore the over-eager hands tugging his hair while he focused on his surroundings. If anyone else was present in the area, Ariston could be at risk of being discovered. His gaze flicked back to his panpipes, and he calculated the amount of time it would take to reach them and play the song to produce human glamour. Exposure risked not only himself, but would cost him his home. Since he was fond of the old ranger cabin he'd moved into, he didn't want to move on yet. A safe refuge for a satyr wasn’t as easy to come by in the new day and age.
Ariston ran his hand over his mouth and squinted, continuing to scan the area the sound had originated from. There! She was tall and lithe, with dark brown, possibly even black, hair pulled back from her face and shoulders. Her eyes were wide as she gawked at him.
"Why did you stop," Blonde whined, leaning up and snaking a hand between them to stroke his shaft. Ariston barely heard her and brushed her hand away. His sex drive reared back to life as he continued his staring contest with his audience, but he didn't want Blonde's hands on him. Brunette hijacked his attention, and if anyone should put their hands on him, it was her. Curiously, every ounce of anger he'd harbored while alone with Blonde melted away. He actually wanted the new girl. The need was there, as always, but he wanted her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd willingly wished to lie with a woman, as the lack of choice tainted the whole act for him.
He closed his eyes, imagining how the scenario would go. In a moment, the new girl would saunter into the clearing and join them. He'd play a quick tune to dispel Blonde, removing her from the equation, and then focus solely on Brunette. He'd take his time with her, wringing out every ounce of pleasure from her he could, and perhaps finally, finally, enjoy having sex again. She looked like she could use a nice, hard f—
Ariston opened his eyes as Brunette turned and fled like a frightened doe.
"Fuck!"
"Yes, please!" Blonde held her arms out and made "gimme" hands at him. Seriously? There wasn't time to deal with her properly. Brunette could have taken pictures and be sending them to a news source as he sat there mindlessly reeling from shock. It only took one mortal spotting a satyr to cause a panic, and she could have other people with her.
Sex could wait for another time because, if Brunette was going to expose him, Ariston would have to stop her. Of course, when he caught her red-handed, he'd have to punish her for spying. He popped to his feet, liking that plan, and raced to recover his panpipes in case he'd need them. Blonde pouted and sat up as well. Fuck. I forgot about her already.
"Um...you didn't finish." For such a pretty face, she had a snotty little voice. Full of haughty entitlement and a spoiled upbringing. Ariston disliked being with her kind of female. Even when he satisfied them, they seemed displeased.
"Let me play you a song. It will set the mood." He forced a smile as he slid the instrument out of the holster and raised it to his lips.
"I'm already in the mood. I was right there when you decided to stop. Right. There. It's plain rude to back out now!"
Ignoring her, Ariston expelled quick puffs of air along the shoots, relieved when the melody to displace reality with dream memory took hold of her. Blonde's eyes glazed over and she stood, collecting her clothing and quickly dressed while muttering obscenities which varied between insulting him and wishing foul things to be done to his genitals. She wandered off, returning to wherever her camp had been. Hopefully it would stick. Ariston didn't have time to babysit her to be positive it had. He felt a little guilty he didn't bring her to release, so he played a few more quick notes...and Blonde faltered in her onward march with a moan. Good for her.
Time for the chase. Ariston grinned as he turned his back on Blonde, wishing her a silent good riddance. Brunette didn't know it yet, but she just became the most interesting thing to happen to him in years. He strapped the holster over one shoulder and across his chest much like one did to carry and conceal a gun, snapping his panpipes securely inside it. His clothing he could come back for later, as dressing would waste more valuable seconds.
Ariston regretted that decision after he took off in pursuit, realizing his nudity would only make Brunette more cautious of him when he caught her. It wasn't ancient times anymore where a naked satyr was, well, startling, but expected. These days it would make him not only a freak, but a pervert of the highest degree. He hadn't been in human glamour when she spied on him, so altering his appearance seemed the least important detail in Brunette's arrival. How had she found him without following his song into the clearing and into his hands—or had she? Only one way to find out.
Her trail ended up easy enough to follow. Brunette wasn't exactly making it challenging for him with the obvious tracks through the wet mud. She'd left her camping gear behind, which gave him pause. Is she alone then?
He shook his head and chuckled. She wouldn't be alone long. Ariston would have his hands on her in no time, and he was almost disappointed. Almost. Perhaps the exhilaration of the cat and mouse game was what he'd needed to suppress his lust. Though once he caught Brunette...
The sound of heaving breaths slowed him down. Gently, he parted the long-fanned leaves of a wild fern aside, and his nostrils flared in triumph. Around the bend, Brunette hunched over with her hands on her knees, recovering from her haste to escape. Foolish female. From behind the foliage, Ariston allowed himself a full perusal of his prize. She wore her dark hair pulled into a braid which hung halfway down her back and had moderate-sized breasts encased in a white T-shirt. Beautifully sculpted hips and a gorgeous ass flared out from a petite waist, and her toned legs flaunted their perfection beneath the hem of khaki shorts. Ariston could stand there fantasizing for hours about what he would find if he peeled the layers off; instead, he made his move.
Brunette gasped as he stepped into view, and then her eyes widened as she ogled him shamelessly, her gaze finally landing on his feet. If he wasn't mistaken, a brief flash of triumph flittered across her features. She'd smiled, revealing even, white teeth. Then the grin turned to a frown. She blinked and shook her head. When she met Ariston's gaze again, fear remained.
"Oh God. Oh God. I'm hallucinating, probably have a fever, and I need to get out of here now." She nodded as she said the last word as if it finalized her babbling, confirming an inner argument of some sort.
"I don't think you're suffering any ailments. You can keep gawking at me all you like. Although, I would prefer if you looked a little higher than my feet." Much more impressive, that. At least, no one had ever complained before.
She made a derogatory noise in the back of her throat. "Please tell me you're some D&D nerd in a really well-made costume and you mean me no harm. Also, if you have a cell phone, I would really appreciate it if you don't take my previous comment personally and let me borrow it for a moment." Ah, well, that solved one of his concerns; if she had no phone, she couldn't have sent evidence or contacted anyone about what she'd seen. Unless, of course, she had a camera stashed somewhere. I should probably frisk her to find out.
He crossed his arms. "This is not a costume." Ariston narrowed his eyes, a thought occurring to him. "I didn't sense you being attracted by my song like I did the blonde. Are you a magical being? Who are you? A deity? A demigoddess?" He was on to something there, but wasn't sure what. Had she brought the freak thunderstorm the night before? There had been no sign of rain, yet rained it had. And hailed on top of it.
"Right... Maybe you should let me hold that phone I mentioned before. I think it could bring help for both of us."
"I don't have a phone on me. Where would I put it? In my leg hair?" He lifted a hoof and waved it in a counterclockwise motion. Brunette's eyes widened once more. Why did everyone get all worked up over the hooves, but not the horns? Those mostly received a pffft reaction followed by a series of retorts about his nature of "horniness." It's not like he would start making goat noises and chewing on buttons. The only part of his anatomy of any real importance hung heavily between his legs, and that was as human as any mortal man. Except he liked to think he was better endowed.
"In your, uh, gun holster?" Brunette pointed to his panpipes.
"What about it?" Ariston asked.
"You asked where you would put a phone. There is a large pocket on your strappy purse thingy." She nibbled her full bottom lip, an act that shot fire to his groin.
"It's not a purse. How could you even say that? It's very manly."
"Uh huh. Of course."
"It is." The twinge of lust faded out as he noticed the blood spotted bandage across the palm of her hand. "How were you injured?" Ariston took an unconscious step toward her. He had medical supplies at the cabin. Though he healed at phenomenal speeds, his blood still made a mess when it flowed on the wrong side of his skin. He could patch her up in no time.
She glanced at her palm, almost surprised to see the bandage there. Then she shook her head and said, "Yeah, this is the weirdest conversation ever. Sorry, but...gotta dash." She darted off in the opposite direction. As she sprinted away, stinging drops of water began to bombard his skin. Brunette had to be the one manipulating the rain, but how? What was she? It must be linked to her emotions somehow, and it made him wonder what had happened to provoke the furious assault from the elements the night before.
Ariston snapped out of his stupor and chased after her. "Hey, not so fast!" A thought started taking root in his mind. He'd been excited about her before, but if he was right... Gods, he couldn't let her escape. Not if there was a chance.
Brunette was magical in nature, affecting the elements. The timing was too good to be true. Ariston had sought one of her kind for as long as he'd been a satyr, and if she turned out to be a nymph, she was also his savior. Unfortunately, his salvation continued putting distance between them. She may have the upper hand in the rain, but he knew the forest well. He'd capture her like the legends of old, and she'd be his. Mine!
She had revealed herself to him. Perhaps not intentionally, yet she had. All he needed was Brunette to desire him enough to take him as a lover under the Satyr Moon. He smiled. Ariston was rusty when it came to true seduction, without the use of magic, but he enjoyed a challenge. He could be free, mortal, could finally have a family, grow old, and live a normal human life.
Brunette glanced over her shoulder and gasped. Did she think he'd allow her to reveal herself and just frolic away like she didn't know what was at stake for him? As long as she didn't find a body of water to hide in, he'd catch her. A wood nymph or mountain nymph would have already vanished, disguised as a tree or whatnot, but rain was water, and she was a rare water nymph to have such influence over the elements.
When Brunette veered to the left, he went right, slipping effortlessly through tangled limbs and hurtling over fallen trunks. Ariston slowed his pace and crept alongside her. She dawdled to glance behind her.
He stepped into her path while her head was turned, and she ran smack into his chest. Ariston reached out and steadied her, wrapping his arms around her lithe frame, allowing a quick grope of her ass in the process. Satyrs cop a feel. It's a thing. The material of her shirt was damp, her flesh beneath it, chilled. Close to her, he could smell the precipitation on her skin, mixed with a lavender scent of something she'd bathed in or rubbed onto her body.
"Watch where you're going. If you continue playing hard to get, you could hurt yourself," he mumbled against her hair, smiling at the moment realization of who held her kicked in. She stiffened and shoved him away from her, hard. He let her, using the opportunity to admire her beauty while she glared at him furiously. Ariston's gaze dropped below her neckline. Her nipples were clearly visible through the wet, white shirt and cotton sports bra underneath. Without thinking, he added, "My, my, white is a lovely color on you."
Brunette crossed her arms, glaring daggers. "Pervert. Why can't you leave me alone?"
Ha. Ariston knew she'd call him that. "I'm the pervert? Who was the one spying on me earlier? Enjoy the show?"
"I wasn't spying. I heard music, and I wanted to see where it was coming from. You're the one running around naked. Who does that?"
He shrugged. "Unfortunately, you walked right into something predestined to happen for a very long time. If your mother or sisters had warned you good and proper like all the others, you'd have known better." Thank the gods she hadn't.
Indistinguishable emotions flickered across her face. "I don't have a family. I grew up in foster care." Brunette glanced away, seething. At him or at herself, Ariston couldn't tell. He was sure she hadn't meant to share that information with him, but it explained why she hadn't known to hide from him. Why she'd followed his song instead of heeding it as a warning and running the opposite way. No one had warned her. She wasn't taught how to avoid satyrs and probably didn't even know she was a nymph. Brunette had absolutely no idea what she'd stumbled into. Should Ariston enlighten her, that bombshell was sure to go over well.
"I'm sorry about your past, but the Fates have put you in my path for a reason. So you aren't going anywhere, except with me."
That claimed her attention. "My boyfriend is back in the direction I came from. All I have to do is scream and he will be here. He's big and strong, and he'd kick your ass seven ways from Sunday."
Yet she hadn't thought to scream when he'd chased her. The corner of his mouth tipped up into a smirk. She had to know he'd called her bluff. He'd seen her lone camp gear sitting in the bushes as he'd chased after her. "I'd love to see him try. However, if there is a boyfriend lurking in these woods, he's taking a bit of a nap. You see, the song I played earlier tends to make men a bit sleepy when their girlfriends decide to follow it. Besides, not even a husband or a surly father could save you from your purpose now. I'd even go as far as fighting them for you."
"Please, don't hurt me. I'm a good person. I'll leave, and I won't tell anyone I saw you. I won't report you, or this, or anything. I won't even tell my boyfriend, just...please..." She blinked rapidly.
Ariston's resolve wavered. Guilt tore at his chest, and he rubbed at it. He'd come across as a creep, way too strong and weird. He had hooves, for gods' sakes! Perhaps he should let her go. Let her continue living blissfully unaware of her true nature. He'd let Daphne leave, and even though in his heart he knew it was the decent thing to do, he'd cursed himself for it for centuries.
Damn the Fates for what I'm about to do. He wanted to be human again. Finally, the chance had presented itself to him a second time, and she had no knowledge of anything. Ariston would turn her world upside down, and not just sexually. Of course, he only had a week to convince her to accept him.
"I'm not going to harm you." Ariston softened his tone. "But I can't let you leave until after the eclipse. I need your help with something important. Afterward, you can go...if you wish."
She turned her head, hunting for an escape. "What if I don't want to help you?"
"You will. You might not now, but you'll crumble under my method of persuasion."
"I doubt that."
Ariston gave her a full grin. "I'm going to enjoy proving you wrong."
Brunette gaped at him, but she didn't give a retort before she attempted to run from him again, evidently deciding escape was her best option. Again. Too bad I can't allow you to leave. Ariston laughed as he followed. She'd tire out eventually, but he wouldn't.
He almost had her, almost wrapped his arms around her slender waist, when Brunette slid through a slippery patch of mud and away from him. A resounding plop echoed through the pit pit pat of the rain and the thunder roaring in the distance. She didn't get up.
Ariston hurried over to her, all amusement fading. When he lifted her head to check for damage, he saw the knotted, upraised tree root responsible for knocking her unconscious. The rain stopped, almost as suddenly as it had begun. She is definitely causing the weather changes.
Since there didn't seem to be any damage aside from the bash she took to her skull, Ariston scooped Brunette into his arms. Something about her stirred him, more than sexually. He stared down at her, not quite believing she existed, as her warm body against his sent sparks of awareness through his veins.
His nymph was lovely. She was also brave, quick-witted, and smart. Ariston couldn't ask for a better combination in a woman. Running from him had been wise, and luckily for her, he couldn't act on his less than chaste intentions. Yet. It would give him time to endear himself to her.
"Never give up, Ariston. You will find your nymph one day. Not now, but one day. I saw her, and she is beautiful. Keep her safe." Daphne's words from long ago rang in his head.
Was Brunette who she'd foreseen? Ariston pressed a hand against her cheek and swallowed. Merciful Zeus, could he actually convince her to stay with him? Could he earn her trust, her desire?
What was he supposed to keep her safe from other than himself?