Then it occurred to me. The Moonfire Lily! I’d had it on my fingers. I’d been inhaling strong currents of its delicious smell. Maybe I’d ingested it, transferring it to my teacup and sipping it off. Was it causing this strange erotic fever dream? Was Iactually on the trail by myself, kneeling in front of nothing, following commands issued by an invisible lover while danger prowled the wood?
Old gods help me, I really fucking hoped so. It was better than the alternative, which was that I was bowing before a predator, desperate to be fucked.
I squinted my eyes shut and lowered my head, willing this all to go away. Willing my mind to eat through the drug and reduce or stop the effects, something I’d learned to do over the years.
“Never bow to me,” came that deep, erotic voice full of power and authority.
Fingers touched the bottom of my chin, applying pressure, tilting my head back up. I didn’t open my eyes this time, as I still fought the effects of what had to be that Moonfire Lily. Quite the saucy little plant, I had to say. Very bad timing for a journey I was not prepared for, though. I would’ve rather traveled the path of this drug in the privacy of my cottage, stripped nude and spread wide, imaging this stranger tracing each curve of my body with his sensuous touch. I had a very good imagination when it came to these things.
Pressure filled my chest now, like someone was sitting on it. Heat was all around me, all through me. I practically vibrated with it. My pussy was so wet, wanting to be filled so badly.
“Kneel,” the luscious voice commanded.
I was fucking kneeling. That’s what it meant when you were on your knees on a path that hopefully no one else would be traveling tonight.
The presence walked around me and I could just barely hear his footsteps. And that smell—was that him? Warm sandalwood with a dark and forbidden smoky undertone. Hints of jasmine. Of sin. It lingered in my senses, manifesting the desire raging through my body. It put the smell of the Moonfire Lily to absolute shame.
“Please go away,” I murmured, willing this journey to recede. For the drug to withdraw its effects. I liked it, I couldn’t deny that, but now was not the time. I needed to figure out why the emberflies took off. “Go away,” I murmured.
I could end the journey of every single drug I’d made for the last five years. Every one, even those that had locked Raz in paralyzing nightmares until I’d shoved him into the supply closet. This one should be no different, regardless of the fact it seemed to be purely the plant without any sort of additive or alteration.
“Stop this. Go away,” I said again, more firmly, willing it to be so.
The presence stepped up right behind me. Leaned over me, intimidating, exciting... dangerous. His mouth neared the shell of my ear, his breath stirring the sensitive nerves on the back of my neck.
“Do you really want that?” His voice was low and silky, eliciting a delicious concoction of warning and desire. “Or should I stay long enough to give you the satisfaction you crave?”
It somehow felt so much more intense that he wasn’t touching me; his words, his scent, his breath caressing me in ways I couldn’t seem to fight. I tried valiantly, but he was more intoxicating than any manufactured drug, and possibly just as potent.
Go away.
He straightened, as though hearing the words I couldn’t seem to utter.
Fuck off.
He stepped back, giving me space. A chill accosted me, leaving me feeling bereft without his proximity. There he stood patiently, waiting.
I clenched my fists, squeezed my eyes shut, and willed my mouth to give the command.
Unfortunately, my body was calling the shots.
“Fuck me,” I whispered.
Chapter 2
Aurelia
An urgency I’d never experienced before overwhelmed me. On my knees, on the ground, I tried to rub my thighs together to alleviate the mounting pressure of my craving for this man. My body shook from suppressed need, my lack of control in this situation sending adrenaline and arousal spreading over my nerve endings. My peaked breasts, raw and sensitive, rubbed against the thin fabric of my clothing. My jaw clenched as sweat beaded along my forehead.
I needed his touch, desperately. His hard cock pumping inside me. His teeth scraping against my shoulder, ready to bite down.
I internally struggled with the thoughts running through my mind. This wasn’t just a light fantasy; it felt devastating. I couldn’t seem to step out from underneath this drug. This delicious euphoria consumed me, refusing to let me escape with my usual tricks. If I kept pushing back on it, my journey would take a sharp turn. I’d end up like Raz, except I’d be out in the open, undoubtedly leaving the path and wandering the forest. I could not allow that to happen. The punishment this time would cripple me.
Was there even any danger? The feeling of being watched earlier had occurred when I was working that Moonfire Lily. It had felt the same as a moment ago. Had I imagined the emberflies scattering? Was any of this real?
Thinking logically... there was no way a man could’ve slipped through Granny’s incredibly tight security and then decided to leisurely entertain a woman on a dark path, waiting for her consent to do so. That seemed very far-fetched.
Not so far-fetched was succumbing to one of my products, railing against it, wandering the wood, and getting punished to within an inch of my life. I’d been warned when I’d left the path before. I was not in a hurry to do it again, emberflies, predators, and strangers be damned.
