The Dryad and the Demon Lord

By Fern Bailey

A dryad on the run, and a demon who may be far more dangerous than what she's escaped from

 

A gentle dryad who is searching for safety and a place to call home

A lustful demon lord whose days are spent fending off violent challenges to his leadership

They are as different as night and day, but when their worlds collide, they are forced to cooperate. Despite their growing attraction, the barriers to being together appear insurmountable. Can an intimidating demon lord show there's more to him than just power and strength? And can a dryad in need of healing learn to trust again, without losing her heart in the process?
 

A steamy erotic romance

Complete story, no cliffhanger

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fern Bailey
• Release date: Mar 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393806882

Fern Bailey

Fern Bailey was born and raised in London and resides there today, where she writes sizzling hot romances about rule-breaking heroines and the men who love them...more specifically, she writes whenever her cat decides to stop napping on her keyboard.

Book preview

Chapter One

On a warm day in the seventh month of the year, the demon lord Edrigor, on his way through the forest encircling his vast realm, happened upon a beautiful dryad.

Still breathing hard from the effort of containing his fury at learning the assassin had fatally poisoned himself before his men had had a chance to interrogate him, he had stalked off in an effort to calm down, and had somehow ended up far from home. Of course the effort had turned out to be futile, and only his chief advisor had tagged along, as usual.

Well, no matter. Edrigor would not have tolerated anyone else while in this mood. It was also true that no one else would be able to tolerate him, either. The thought brought a twisted smile to his lips.

But this chance sighting of the dryad caused all of his anger to dissipate. His fist slowly uncurled and his hand moved up to lightly touch one of the horns on the side of his head. There was only her, and the forest. Everything else faded away.

‘My lord,’ his advisor began, shattering the illusion.

‘Leave us,’ Edrigor said without turning.

‘Yes, my lord.’

When Daven’s footsteps had completely faded, Edrigor turned his attention back to the wood nymph. She lay fast asleep beneath an oak tree, its canopy of leaves shading her from the sun’s noon rays.

He stepped closer and gazed down upon her oblivious form. A garland of wildflowers and leaves was threaded through hair of spun gold flowing over her shoulders and down towards her waist. It was the exact shade of gold he had glimpsed only once in his life, in a strange place and in a strange time. Perhaps that was the cause of the odd sense of familiarity tugging at his heart. Her leaf-green slip dress barely covered her luscious figure, and part of the garment had slid down, revealing one breast. His cock hardened, straining against the confines of his trousers.

He paused and knelt down beside her. In her dream she murmured, and a slight smile crossed her rosebud lips. A pleasant dream, evidently, and the thought brought a smile to his own mouth. A light breeze lifted her hair, and the scent of flowers and honey wafted towards him. A pleasant, tender ache filled him, surprising him with its intensity.

Demons were creatures of instinct, and it was instinct which caused Edrigor to move now. He leaned over the sleeping dryad and towards her exposed breast. Her nipple was invitingly pink and erect in the cool breeze, ready and waiting for his mouth to suckle on it. It was a demon’s way to indulge in lust at any time, anywhere, with anyone. Whether it was in public or private was of no consequence. Entire days and nights would be spent with harpies and succubi, several of them pleasuring him and each other in lustful abandon.

Edrigor panted with the effort of containing his passion for this unknown dryad. He must have sex with her, and soon, before the physical pain of not doing so grew too great.

He would gently nudge her awake, he decided, and then surely she would eagerly embrace him and beg him to pleasure her, thereby easing the agony of his unspent lust. He moved to drag his trousers down past his hips and pull out his cock. Before he could complete the action, a cloud passed over the dim red sun, darkening the sky further.

A slight frown puckered the dryad’s brow and her eyes opened. Bright, clear blue eyes met his dark russet ones. Unexpectedly, she whimpered and cringed away from him. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she followed that up with a piercing scream that could probably be heard all the way back at his castle.

The sound of her sheer terror startled him, and he fell back on the ground, stunned. The dryad spared him one more frightened glance and then she fled, her golden hair streaming out behind her like a glorious banner.

It had been a while since Minette had last felt so frightened. Even now, when she was sure she was safe and hadn’t been followed, each time she closed her eyes, all she could picture was the demon looming over her, with his huge horns and lustful expression. It was obvious what he was after, since his trousers couldn’t conceal the bulge between his legs.

For the time being she was safe here, hidden deep within the forest, amongst some prickly bushes, with her knees pulled up to her chest. The air was alive with the sound of chirping and buzzing and fluttering wings and rustling leaves, although the loudest sound to her was her heart, still thump-thump-thumping against her ribs, bringing back painful memories of her time spent imprisoned by the mage. Those days had felt endless, but she had finally managed to escape from his clutches, only to find herself in danger once more.

Of course, she could never really be safe again. She was damaged, broken. Unwanted. The other dryads shunned her. Since she was despised by her own kind, she knew there was no hope for her, no future for her. And yet she still ran, still kept looking for a place she could feel safe, a place she could call home.

The mage would never be able to reach her here though, in this land ruled by demons. But her fear of him far outweighed her fear of demons, so she had travelled by night for weeks, never staying in one place for long, drinking from streams and taking brief naps beneath any trees that would tolerate her presence.

Minette fished a handful of berries from her pocket and eyed them hungrily. The small yellow fruits gleamed enticingly in her palm and gave off a mouth-watering scent. Just a few, for now. Just enough to enable her to keep going. She had to be careful and eat sparingly, for she didn’t know when she’d next find something edible.

Her foraging in this unfamiliar landscape had yielded nuts and berries unlike any she had seen before, but at least the streams ran clear and cold and the water was pure. Her senses kept her alert to what was poisonous and what was safe to eat, so she gathered as much as she could carry when she happened to find things that wouldn’t make her ill.

This land was so different from her old home amongst the dryads. The trees, although not hostile, had not been friendly or welcoming. And why should they be? She was homeless, an outcast, her life force slowly drained until she was left a mere husk of herself, and her entire body riven with scars. And yet, even with her ugly scars and her wild, dishevelled hair, the demon had been aroused by her, had viewed her with undisguised lust. Incredible. He must have been really desperate.

A harsh laugh escaped her; a sound which surprised her. She had thought herself incapable of humour nowadays, even the self-deprecating kind.

Hugging her knees tightly, she placed her head on the ground. The pile of crunchy leaves, although not the most comfortable, would do for a pillow. She had experienced far worse. And the prickly bushes would shield her from view and, she hoped, prevent any approach.

Her feet were sore and she was so tired. Tired of running, tired of simply existing, and not living. All she wanted was a place where she could be safe. Maybe even loved, added a small voice somewhere deep inside. No, that was ridiculous. Fully in the realms of the impossible. Let’s just sleep for now. Sleep, and forget the pain and the hunger.

Perhaps she would have that pleasant dream again, the one that took her back to the happy times of her childhood, right before her sleep had been so rudely interrupted by that