Chapter 1 #5
"What would you want right now if you could have anything? Not what you think you should want, not what makes sense. Just what you actually want."
I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was closer now, close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes, close enough to smell something that might have been cedar or sandalwood on his skin. Close enough that if I leaned forward just a few inches, I could kiss him.
And that's when I realized what I wanted.
"I want to remember what it feels like," I said.
Erik smiled, and I realized he knew exactly what I meant without my having to explain. "I can help you with that, I think."
He leaned in slowly, giving me plenty of time to pull away, and kissed me. It was soft at first, exploratory, his lips moving against mine with gentle pressure. But when I kissed him back, because I couldn’t help it, he deepened the kiss, his hand coming up to cup the back of my neck.
I heard myself make a sound, something embarrassingly needy, and Erik pulled back just enough to look at me.
"Still good?" he asked.
I nodded. "Still good."
His hand moved down my chest, fingers trailing over my collarbone, down to my sternum. "Do you mind if I touch you lower?”
I looked around the room. Nobody was staring.
But then again, we weren't exactly putting on a show, but we weren't invisible either.
A few people had glanced our way, though no one seemed particularly interested in what we were doing.
Still, the idea of doing this in front of everyone turned me on more than I expected.
“I don’t want any reciprocation, alright?” Erik said, still waiting for my answer. “I just want to help you unwind a little bit so you can enjoy yourself.”
I swallowed hard. The offer was generous, and part of me wanted to argue that I should reciprocate, that it wasn't fair otherwise. But a larger part of me, the part that had been starved for touch and attention for two years, wanted nothing more than to let someone else take care of me for once.
"Okay," I whispered.
Erik's hand moved lower, ghosting over my ribs, my stomach, until his fingers found my cock under the water.
I gasped at the contact, my head falling back against the pool's edge.
It had been so long since anyone but me had touched me there that even the gentle pressure of his fingers wrapping around me was almost overwhelming.
"Jesus," I breathed.
"Shh," Erik murmured, his mouth close to my ear. "Just let me take care of you."
His hand moved slowly, stroking me with practiced ease.
The warm water created a different kind of friction than I was used to, and combined with the surreal nature of being touched by a stranger in a room full of people, it was almost too much sensation to process.
I could feel myself getting close embarrassingly quickly.
"I'm not going to last long," I warned him.
"Good," he said simply. "That's the point."
His thumb swept over the head of my cock, and that was it. I came harder than I had in months, possibly years, my whole body tensing as the orgasm rolled through me. Erik's hand kept moving, working me through it until I was shaking and oversensitive.
When it was over, I slumped against the pool's edge, breathing hard. Erik's hand gentled on my chest, just resting there while I came back to myself.
"Better?" he asked.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was smiling, but it wasn't smug or self-satisfied. It was warm, genuinely pleased that he'd been able to help.
"Much better," I said, and meant it. There was something loose in my chest that hadn't been there before, like a knot that had finally been untied.
"Good. That's what this place is for." He squeezed my shoulder once more, then started to pull away. "I'm going to go check out the steam room. You should explore a little, see what else catches your interest."
"Erik," I called as he climbed out of the pool. "Thank you."
He grinned at me over his shoulder. "My pleasure. Literally and figuratively."
I watched him walk away, water droplets trailing down his back, and felt something I hadn't experienced in years. Gratitude, yes, but also possibility I guess? Like maybe there were other things I'd forgotten how to want that I might remember, given the right circumstances.
I stayed in the pool for a while longer, letting the warm water and the afterglow of what had just happened settle into my bones.
Around me, the quiet conversations continued.
Someone laughed. Water lapped gently against the pool's edges.
It was peaceful in a way that felt almost foreign to my system.
Eventually, though, curiosity got the better of me. I climbed out of the pool, grabbed my towel, and decided to explore.
Down the hall I found the steam rooms and the sauna, one of which Erik was in. On the other side I found a set of stairs leading upwards to the private rooms. I went up, touring the place just to get my bearings.
That area, it seemed, was far more active.
I walked past one room that had the door standing open, the bench unoccupied.
And sticking through a hole in the wall just above it was a cerulean blue cock, patiently waiting for someone to come by and give it attention.
Of course, I had to stop for a moment and marvel at the ridges and bumps over its surface.
It was unlike anything I’d ever seen and I had no idea what kind of creature it might belong to.
“You taking that room?” a voice behind me asked.
I turned around to come face to face with a creature I’d never seen before.
He was easily seven feet tall, muscular, and covered in dark brown fur.
His face was that of a bear. But his cock…
well, it looked mostly human except for the fact that it was as thick as my forearm and at least ten inches long.
“Uh… I… I…” I stammered, my throat going dry. I took a breath and swallowed hard. “No. I was just passing by.”
“You sure?” The bear man seemed genuinely concerned that he was stepping on my toes. “I can find a different room.” He glanced inside, licking his lips. “But I do love the taste of merman cock.”
“He’s all yours,” I replied, shifting out of the way.
“Thanks, buddy,” the bear man replied. Then he stopped, giving me a once over. “If you want to get into the booth next door, I’d be happy to take care of you too.”
With a wink, he slipped inside, shutting the door behind him.
And for a moment, I almost considered his offer.
The thought was tempting and I wondered how his mouth might feel around my shaft.
But then I thought of all those teeth and I…
I just wasn’t sure I was ready for that.
I needed a little more experience I guess.
Something easier to start with before I jumped in with both feet.
Leaving the private rooms, I headed down to the main floor, took the second set of steps, and continued down to the basement.
There I found a long hallway full of doors.
Some were open, some closed, and some were left ajar just in case anyone wanted to watch.
I glanced into each room I passed, seeing some with tiled baths, some made of stone, and one at the far end that made me stop.
It had been designed to mimic a natural pool in a forest. The room was drenched in moss, water plants, and vines.
There were even a couple of potted trees whose leaves served as a shade from the light in the ceiling.
The overall effect was that of a forest in the afternoon, the dappled light glimmering on the surface as a small waterfall poured into one side.
I was absolutely enchanted by it. And, without a second thought, I stepped inside and pushed the door closed.
Dropping my towel over a large stone, I slipped into the pool, letting the cool water envelop me.
I closed my eyes, leaned back to float on the surface, and realized that there must’ve been a speaker somewhere in the room.
The sounds of frogs, rustling leaves, and maybe pan pipes somewhere in the distance filled the room.
It was sheer heaven.
“Nice in here, isn’t it?”
I startled, slipping below the surface of the water as I gasped. Water filled my mouth and nose as panic flooded my system. A pair of hands wrapped around my chest, hauling me up past the surface like I weighed nothing. They held me as I coughed and sputtered.
“Sorry about that,” the voice said, vibrating through my back. “I didn’t mean to scare you, friend.”
When my vision cleared and I could breathe again, I found myself looking up at a face that was almost human.
He had richly tanned skin, high cheekbones, and eyes that shifted from brown to gold as the dappled light moved across them.
His hair was curly with two horns sprouting from either side of his head.
His ears, however, were long and fuzzy, draping downward like that of a goat.
And while his upper half was human, I couldn’t help noticing how the hair trailing down his body went wide at his waist, covering him in a thick brown fur.
It was the same Satyr that had smiled at me in the bath earlier.
"You're the one from upstairs," I said, still catching my breath. His arms were still around me, steadying me in the water, and I could feel the solid warmth of his chest against my back and I was terribly aware of his groin pressed against my ass.
"That's right. I saw you come in earlier, looking like you'd never seen anything like me before." His voice had a slight accent I couldn't place, something that made his words sound like they were being spoken around honey. "I'm Kieran."
"Cal," I managed.
"Cal." He said my name like he was tasting it. "Are you all right? You went under pretty hard there."