Page 7 of Dominating the Dryad

His bed is honestly his favorite part of his home. He’d spent a whole summer building it with special measurements so it would fit perfectly into the nook, complete with the frame for the drapes and curtains along the window. It’s bigger than necessary, not for Tristan-shaped reasons, but for lounging reasons. He’s a big fan of reading in bed.

“It’s amazing. What the fuck.” Tristan stands from the couch, walking over to the bed with a dazed look on his face. “It looks so cozy.”

The comment makes Peri smile. It’s his opinion too. He’d spent the following winter after finishing the bed-frame, sewing pillows and bedspreads to fill it with—all in the name of comfort. By now, it’s practically a nest.

Tristan comes up behind him, hands curling around his waist and splaying wide on his stomach. “Should we test it out?” The words come out with a warm puff of air against Peri’s neck, sending shivers down his spine.

“I’ve never . . .” Peri sucks in a breath, not sure how to continue.

Tristan stares at him for a moment before speaking. “That’s okay, Peri. I’ll take care of you, but only if you want to continue. If you’re sure.” He turns Peri around so they’re facing each other. “The last thing I want to do is pressure you.”

Peri drowns in Tristan’s eyes in the matter of a moment. Softness, care, and wonder shine back at him.

“You’ll teach me?” He asks. “Show me how to do everything? I don’t know what to do.”

Tristan’s lips quirk up in a smile. “Is that what you want? To be taught?”

A shiver travels down Peri’s spine, and his hands shoot up to grab hold of Tristan’s shirt. He can’t look away. Tristan is spell-binding.

“Will you be good and listen?” Tristan asks, grabbing Peri’s chin delicately between his thumb and forefinger. “Will you be a good student?”

“I . . . Yes,” Peri gulps, nodding eagerly. He wants nothing but.

“Good.” Tristan strokes his finger across Peri’s cheek. “The most important part is you’ll have to promise to tell me if we do anything that makes you uncomfortable. And you have to talk to me. Communication is important. And I don’t want to distress you.”

“Nothing you do can distress me, Tristan.”

Smiling, Tristan says, “We’ll see about that. But still, promise.”

“I’ll tell you the moment I’m uncomfortable, I promise.”

A wide smile breaks out on Tristan’s face, lighting up his eyes and tinting his skin pink. “Good boy.”

Tristan had praised him earlier. On the dance-floor but, it is different like this. With them staring deep into each other’s eyes and alone—the only sound being the crackling of the fire to the side. Peri’s knees start to wobble. He’ll crumple if Tristan doesn’t kiss him right now.

Thankfully, it’s like Tristan can read his mind.

Closing the gap between them, Tristan tips Peri’s face up and presses their lips together in a sweet kiss. A close-lipped one much to Peri’s disappointment, but a kiss nonetheless. And one that’s broken much too soon.

“Come here,” Tristan says, his low voice filling the cottage to the brim. “I want to test out your lovely bed.”

With one light pull at Peri’s waist, they tumble onto the soft bedding. The pillows, blankets, and duvets poof up around them, creating a perfect cocoon that’s made just for them. Tristan lands above him, but catches himself on his hands as to not crush Peri. Their eyes are still locked.

“This is just as nice as I thought it’d be,” Tristan whispers, gently lowering his body down on Peri’s and curling a hand around the curve of his waist. “But it would be even better naked.”

Peri’s breath catches in his throat. “Y-yes.”

“Well, we should get on that, then, shouldn’t we?”

He promised just a moment ago to listen so Peri takes Tristan at his word and immediately starts fiddling with the button of his pants. He manages to get them open and half-way down his hips—listening very well and quickly, may he add—before Tristan stops him with a chuckle.

“Let me, okay?” He says. “I want to unwrap you. Like the treat you are.” Tristan slowly inches the hem of Peri’s shirt up his stomach. “Or do you have any tricks up your sleeve? Can you make clothes magically disappear?”

“My magic is mostly to do with plants, sorry. I can grow you a flower if you want?”

Tristan stills, leaning down to press a laughing kiss to Peri’s lips. “Lets do that another day. Right now is all about you.”

Tristan moves again, swipes Peri’s shirt up and off his body—throwing it to the floor. His lips close in on the newly exposed skin and pepper kisses all over Peri’s body.