Chapter 6

Six

Astra

A s much as I love to make my father angry, I don't like to disappoint him. I know that is exactly what I'm doing now. Having Niko beside me somehow makes it easier. "Father, I will not get married today. Niko is a good man and very kind, but I don't know him and he doesn't know me."

"You will know each other after the marriage," Father growls.

The help can be heard arranging the ballroom across the foyer. My anger returns. "If you had told me about this plan months ago and not intercepted the letters Niko sent, you might not be sending your guests away today."

Paula gasps. "Nocturn, you didn't."

"She would have run away in March if I had told her." Father is less sure of himself.

I shrug. "We shall never know as I wasn't given the chance and now, I have an agreement with Niko to spend enough time together to decide if we wish to spend more time together."

"How much time?" Father demands.

"That is none of your business. You will stay out of our way. You have already made a mess of this. If you so much as step foot on Niko's property, I will leave this forest, which I love, and never return." My chest aches with the idea, but I mean what I say. At least, I think I do.

Father opens his mouth and sorrow darkens his eyes.

Drawing a deep breath, I say, "It is to Niko's credit that I agreed to give us both an opportunity to walk away or stay."

"You agreed to this?" Father's question to Niko is full of accusations.

"It was my idea. Astra is a grown woman with a mind of her own. She's different from other nymphs who are satisfied to frolic in the trees. We will get to know each other, then each decide if we suit." Niko looks at me gently, then at my father with a glaring disapproval.

The longer he defends me, the more I like him. If my father wasn't here, I would take Niko's hand, but I won't give Father the satisfaction. He doesn't deserve to know that there might be affection between us. Honestly, I'm not sure there is. I like him more than I planned to, that much is certain.

"Fine." It's a monumental agreement for my father.

Paula claps. "Excellent. Will you two stay for dinner?"

"Not tonight, but thank you." I hug Paula and tell my father goodbye before practically running from the house. The clomp of Niko's hooves is my only comfort. Knowing that he's behind me is the most security I've ever enjoyed.

W hen we've returned to Niko's cabin, I go directly to my room and lock the door. Disappointing my father, his showing no care for me, and even Niko being so kind and supportive, all make me feel less somehow.

I strip out of my sundress and lie on the bed. I do like the option of human clothes, but it's good to be in my natural state.

Rolling to my side, I pluck the unopened letter from the nightstand and open it.

Dear Astra,

I am disappointed not to have received a response from you. It occurs to me that the reason for your silence is because of me. I am to blame as my first letter was disjointed and uninformative. My only excuse is that the notion of marriage was still new to me. I imagine it is the same for you. Please forgive me.

Hopefully, it will please you to know that I have purchased a home and large property in New York. I thought you would prefer to remain in your home forest as it has been my experience that nymphs are deeply attached to their trees.

The house requires updates. Would you like to be involved in the renovations? Of course, this is entirely up to you.

Though I have not cooked in my restaurants for many years, I still design the menus and enjoy cooking very much. I would happily cook for you. What type of food do you enjoy?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,

Niko

I hug the letter to my chest and close my eyes. Why does he have to be so nice? I imagined a brutish and bullying goat more like my father. Niko is modern-minded and kind. It's possible he was going to refuse my offer of sex earlier today had Father not interrupted.

There's a soft knock on my door. Niko says, "I have a tray with food for you, Astra. I know today was difficult."

I sit up, staring at the closed door. My heart has lodged in my throat. I want to open the door but if I do, what will it cost me to trust him?

"I will be downstairs if you need to talk." He clomps away.

When I'm certain he's made it to the bottom of the steps, I go to the door and pull the tray inside before locking myself inside again. It's silly really. First, it's unlikely Niko would barge in without an invitation. Second, the door's lock is not likely an obstacle to a very large satyr. Still, I like the idea that I can lock the door. This space feels as safe as being inside one of the trees.

There's a little desk in the corner and I place the tray there before removing the cloche. The scent of Greek oregano, tomatoes, and cheese fills my senses. A perfect slice of pastitsio with mushrooms rather than the traditional beef. The lasagna-like dish is comfort food. I suspect that's why Niko prepared it for me.

How he can know I need comfort is a mystery. I have no idea what he needs. I've spent no time trying to understand him in the last two days.

Recovering the dish, I pull on jeans and a blue shirt adorned with small pink roses. Carefully, I carry the tray downstairs, and when I find Niko eating at the long dining table, I join him, sitting to his right. "Thank you. This is one of my favorites, though I usually have to eat around most of the meat."

A hint of a smile plays on his beautiful lips. "The mushrooms make a good substitute."

I eat and relish the rich flavors of an old country that I've never seen, but know is part of my ancestry. "This is delicious."

"I'm glad you like it and I'm happy you decided to come down for dinner. I would have understood if you wished to stay in your room." His soft voice sends a thrill through me.

After eating half of the large portion, I put my fork down. "I find my father's machinations exhausting and they make me sad."

Niko rises and takes a bottle of wine from a small refrigerator in the island. Gathering two glasses, he returns, opens the bottle, and pours. "I imagine you would prefer him to show some affection. May I suggest that securing your future is his way of doing that?

"Are you taking his side?" I put the wine down. "He would marry me to a stranger without a second thought. What if you were abusive? What if you dragged me back to Canada without my permission? He couldn't have known your character before he chose you."

"How do you know that?" His smile hasn't wavered in the face of my rage. He's calm and his voice is soothing.

"Father wouldn't have chosen someone so agreeable to me. He thought you would dominate me the same way he has always tried to control my life." Yet, Niko has done neither of those things.

"Would you prefer that I drag you to the altar and force a life on you?" He sips the wine.

It's a stupid question, so I reclaim my glass and let the fruity Italian blend come to life on my palate. I close my eyes as the wine slides down my throat. When I open them, I look into Niko's almost black irises and the caring there boosts my courage. "I would have liked to have met you at a party without any intervention from Father. Maybe we would have shared a drink and talked about the weather at first. You would have told me that you make a far better brochette than what was being served. I would have laughed and said that you would need to prove that. Maybe at the end of the night, we would have agreed to a date."

Sorrow pulls the smile from those lips I have not stopped admiring since first seeing them. "That is not our story thus far, Astra. Does it follow that we must have a tragic or unsatisfying end?"

I put the wine down. "I don't know."

"I hope not." The way he looks at me sets my heart throbbing in my chest and other parts also take note. "I like your letters." It's dim in the dining room with only a small lamp on the buffet at one end, but I think he's blushing.

"I'm glad. Shall I give you the last two?"

I nod. "I would like to read them."

"I think I would have written more than four had you been allowed the opportunity to respond. Your father did us both a disservice. If he believed me the right man for you, he should have trusted you to see it." He reaches across the corner of the table and takes my hand. He massages my palm, then the knuckles of each finger. "I am happy you agreed to stay here for the week."

That couldn't have been easy to admit with all I have said and done, trying to escape him, and telling father I wouldn't do as he told me. "I'm glad I did too." Tears clog my throat and I have no idea why I'm filled with emotions.

He grins. "I have an idea."

Hoping it includes mindless sex that we can take with us as a memory when this all falls apart, I say, "Okay."

"I can run very fast and the rain has not yet started. Will you allow me to take you for a run in the woods?"

It's hard to breathe. "You want me to ride on your back while you run through my forest?"

His grin is full of mischief. "If you think you would enjoy that."

Pulse racing and skin tingling, I can't contain my excitement. "I think I would."

We clear the table while the sun sets. Each time his arm brushes mine or his hand grazes my back, I want all of him touching me. I want to feel his body move as he runs. I'm more excited than I've ever been, and while this is not about seducing him, I begin to wonder if perhaps the tables have been turned on me.

When Niko takes my hand, I shiver with anticipation. He threads our fingers together. "Would you like to go now?"

I nod, liking the way our hands fit together despite his being twice the size of mine.

He leads me out on the porch. "I'm ready." His voice is deep and tinged with warning. He strips out of his shirt, but leaves his kilt in place.

Together, we take the stairs. When he reaches the bottom, he stops me three steps up so that I can mount him. As the words enter my mind, I groan. Touching his smooth back, I trace a line to where his hip is covered with fur. "Why does this feel so erotic?"

Looking over his shoulder, he meets my gaze. "Because that lovely mind of yours is a dirty mind, Astra."

I pull my hand back, though my mouth is watering with desire to kiss him. "And you don't like that."

He spins to face me. His chest an inch from mine, he leans in and whispers in my ear. "I never said that. There's nothing about you that I don't like."

Moisture pools between my legs. "Turn around, Niko." I like the way his name feels on my tongue. Before climbing on, I strip out of my jeans and shirt. I burn as my breasts press against his broad back. " Mmm …" inadvertently rumbles in my throat as I wrap my legs around his waist.

His hands cup my calves. "You feel heavenly."

I'm about to agree, when he leaps into a full run down the mountain. Wind whips through my hair and my pussy rubs along his spine. My juices drip with each undulation of his muscles.

He turns and takes a deer path through my forest.

Gripping him tighter, I don't know if I can hold off coming. I bite my lip to try to stifle a moan. It comes out as a squeak. "Niko."

His hands wrapped around my calves, he races through the underbrush like he's been here a hundred times. Reaching back, he grips my ass and pushes me higher before letting his fingers press the flesh. "Do you like riding me?"

"I'm… Oh gods. I don't know if I can hold off, Niko," I whisper against his neck.

He groans and slows as we approach an old oak with a wide canopy that has pushed aside all the other forest growth. Gripping my ass, he pulls me around his hips so that my legs wrap around his back and my dripping pussy is spread along his abdomen. The head of his cock is hard and bobbing against my ass. "Come then." He presses my back against the rough bark of the oak and captures my mouth with his.

His tongue collides with mine and it's as if I've waited my entire life for this kiss, his kiss.

Every sense engaged, I explode as my pussy pulses and longs to be filled. I break the kiss and scream nonsense while the pleasure contracts and releases again and again.

I could slip into the tree and leave him alone in the woods. My pleasures should be sated, but I also long for his pleasure. I want it in a way I've never wanted anything.