Page 5 of Dominating the Dryad

“Come here,” Tristan interrupts, pulling him in towards his broad chest. “I’m so sorry, okay? I get it if you just want me to leave, but I would like to at least make sure you get home safely. Would you let me? I don’t want you to end up in a ditch, or hurt.”

Now, what Peri says next is not smart. He absolutely should not say it. If anyone in his community were to find out about it, Peri would be exiled—never again be allowed to meet his family, his friends, or any other dryad again. But he wants, and he craves, and he’s never wanted anything as much as he wants Tristan in his home.

“Okay. But you can stay too. I have some new teas I want to try. Or some pie? I have some apple-pie, I think.”

Peri feels how Tristan relaxes around him. A long exhale puffs against the side of his head, and Peri himself melts further into Tristan’s chest. “That sounds nice,” Tristan says, leaning away slightly so he can look down at Peri. “Are you sure, though?”

Nodding, Peri trails his hand down and grabs hold of Tristan’s hand. He’s ready to head home. “Let’s go,” he says, pulling Tristan to the forest trail leading to his cottage. And Tristan lets him.

“Your ears must be itchy by now,” Tristan says, removing the handkerchief he had tied around his head. “You can take them off, if you want. We’ve left the party.”

“What?” Peri scratches at his ear subconsciously. “Do you truly not know what I am?” Maybe he’s overestimated the knowledge of humans.

Tristan looks at him again, that confused crease reappearing between his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Tristan,” Peri says, turning fully towards him and grabbing hold of both his hands—once again realizing just how much bigger the other is. “I’m going to be very clear—though I shouldn’t be saying this, and I hope I can trust you—I am not human. I’m a dryad. A being of the woods. Forest spirit. Fairy. Elf. Whatever your stories tells you we’re called.”

“Oh.”

It takes only a minute for Peri to convince Tristan that he actually lives in a cottage in the middle of the forest and is not going to murder him. Peri doesn’t quite understand why that’s the first thing Tristan suspects, but soon enough, they are surrounded by trees, heading home.