They ducked down behind yet another bush.

"I don't understand," Pest insisted. "Where are we going?"

Even now, the power of his voice forced her eyes to close. For one, its commanding nature contrasted greatly with Pest's carefree attitude.

Here they were, hiding, forced to do so from humans, werewolves, and ogres alike, and he refused to be serious.

He tugged at her top yet again, an action that had her breasts hanging freely.

"Would you stop?"

Pest cleared his throat. "Right. We're running for our lives."

Those were not the words, tone, or actions of someone doing just that.

Fanli muttered while tying her clothes yet again. "We need to find out if something's wrong with you. So I'm going to ask a male ogre."

He grumbled a question under his breath in a tone she didn't take a liking to.

"What?"

"Well, since when do you know a lot of male ogres? From where? Who?"

Fanli blinked at him. "I know...of course I know male ogres." When his eyes narrowed, she leaned away. "What?"

Pest hesitated. "You never told me I had competition."

Competition.

Her hesitation had his jaw hanging open. "Wait. Was this someone you were supposed to marry or something? And you never said?"

She groaned. "There's nothing to say."

The absurd reasoning to follow rivaled all things foolish in the world.

"Well, now I'm not sure I even want the rescue if it's an ex-love interest."

Her sharp glare cut him off. "I'm trying to help you—"

"You're trying to get a male ogre you like to rescue me. One who likes you."

Memories of the last unfortunate encounter with Lowgli came into her mind. "Liked. He used to like me."

Pest blinked. "Oh."

His satisfied expression had her sighing. Lately, it was getting harder and harder to look on the bright side.

While they still crouched, Fanli peeking through the leaves to the clear path before them, a large hand stroked her ankle upward and even slipped under her skirt.

She flinched and turned to complain but Pest's warm breath brushed past the back of her neck.

"You sure we can't find something else to do in this hiding place?"

Fanli turned her head slowly in an effort to keep her composure. "Will you take this seriously? People are looking to burn you alive."

Pest wasn't listening. He slipped his hand between her legs and traced the outline of her crevasse against her underwear.

When he pushed the fabric aside to stroke her directly, she froze.

"Pest...."

He put a kiss on her bare shoulder. "Hmm?"

Voices closed in and they tensed.

Fanli took little comfort in the fact that he mimicked her action by not moving; his fingers were still going to work.

"Reckon we can find that fairy?" a voice asked.

Ogres.

"Few human hunts allowed. Reckon we could. But a matter of when."

Pest began making circular patterns with his middle finger. At the deep moan, Fanli looked back at him and flinched.

His heavy-lit expression was a wonder. Her limited knowledge of males be forgiven, she recognized his condition. Musk.

She trembled. Because if he was reacting...he was reacting to her. And that meant....

Any ogre in close proximity was probably a problem.

"What is it?"

One ogre scanned his surroundings and Fanli ducked down.

"A female...."

Panic and fear. Fanli caught hold of Pest's hand to still his foolish action. When he forced her grip open and guided her hand, she refused to look.

The hairs grazing her fingertips were soft. They covered something thick. Pest. He helped her stroke upwards.

She turned to give him a piece of her mind, but the footsteps stopped.

"Wait. She's with a male. Leave it."

The voices grew distant but not before the second one conveyed, "Doing something like this when you can be found by a human is foolish."

"Imagine it. Deep in and getting your head cut off just before you...."

The thought had Fanli shuddering. She wasn't sure when she'd gained a good rhythm. Her automatic reaction was to stop but when she glanced back at Pest kneeling behind her, she got an idea.

"Wait."

Pest's hand stilled at least. Fanli turned to face him.

"Let's put some rules down. We need to find out if you're all right. Once we do, we'll...we'll discuss that."

"That?" Pest's eyes were slow to open and close. He stroked between her legs again, tugging the underwear aside. "This?"

What Fanli wanted to do was convince him of the seriousness of their situation. The more they remained there, his middle finger prodding her before it slipped in, she tried to make sense of all of this nonsense.

To make matters worse, her body betrayed her with its responses.

Pest pressed their foreheads together and Fanli squeezed his shaft and gave a tug.

"Later. After we go home. I promise."

Those words came with the finger easing into her one more time without withdrawing. She'd gotten his attention.

"Really?" Pest panted against her, eager. "One finger's already a tight fit."

With care, she urged his hand down. The thick finger withdrew, her body trembled. This was bad. When Pest was human, her reaction to him was already strong. Now, everything about him had her longing for his efforts even though she knew better.

All this without him touching her freckles. His left hand came down on her shoulder, sending a rush of alarm through her body. If she allowed him to stroke the nape of her neck, she'd buckle.

Fanli caught his hand and helped guide it down. As expected, he eased back to focus on her chest.

"Will you behave yourself until we get back to the house?"

Pest hesitated then brushed both thumbs against the fabric. Once the nipples stood erect, he smiled. His expression resembled that of an enchantment.

"Pest?"

He blinked then focused on her. "When we get home?"

Fanli was unsure but promised, "When we get back to the house, yes."

Pest narrowed his eyes. "Everything?" At her silence, he insisted, "I can just stroke you with the tip." He was quick to add, "We don't have to do all of it."

Despite his desire, she still felt safe with him. "Fine. But we have to go to the river to wash off then find my friend."

At his nod, she fixed her clothes and took him by the hand. Everything happened in relative ease after that. Pest's size should have meant they'd be spotted and perhaps they were, but his musk kept others back. Fanli wasn't sure.

One problem presented itself when the river closed in. Fanli felt it poking in her back. A quick glance proved true.

"Can you calm that down?"

Pest looked down at himself. "I've been trying."

There'd be no sense in washing off at this point, not if the musk would only come back. Fanli popped her head out from behind the bushes then down again.

Pest's phallus stood at attention, pressed against his belly. Fanli took his hand and urged him to stroke his need. Ten minutes later, however, other than several deep moans, he had nothing to show for it.

Another scan from their hiding place had Fanli crouching back down. She took some comfort that the river was close by at least.

"Very well." She undid her top and said, "How about now?"

But instead of an eager response, he looked down at himself and continued his lazy strokes. That made Fanli suspicious.

"What?"

He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Nothing."

The lack of completion had Fanli losing patience. "Say what it is."

Pest slowed in his movements and regarded her finally. Lips parted, he leaned in close and whispered by her ear.

Once they met eyes yet again, she had nothing to say.

They stared at one another.

"That bad?"

It wasn't really a question Fanli could answer. She didn't mind his request; it almost made her curious. But it wasn't something she expected from him or would allow with anyone else.

After thinking for a moment, she undid the skirt then her underwear and rolled them together to put at a distance.

Pest's eyes roved her body but came to focus on her parted legs. Fanli instead looked skyward. There was no difference between an ogre or human penis beyond color.

"Hold your lips apart," Pest whispered.

She opened her mouth, confused, but he shook his head.

"The other ones."

After tentatively complying, he did as previously requested, pressed the hot green of his erection down between the slick pink of her crevasse.

Within seconds he erupted. It startled her enough to worry he wouldn't keep his promise and might in fact bury himself deep into her, but instead, he held the tip of his dick against her and his thumb, thrusting his hips again and again.

Once he adequately doused her 'lips' with his spunk, his panting calmed.

They both didn't have anything to say after that, mostly because Fanli found herself breathing heavy instead. "Should we go now?"

Pest tore his eyes away from where they met. There was daring in his gaze as he tugged on the remaining tusk, something she meant to advise against. Like before, it grew and he broke it off.

Before she could curse, he pressed his face between her legs, using his tongue to prod where they mingled.

Fanli's cry came more from surprise than discomfort. She fell back. This time, rather than overthink the situation, she held his head in place, beyond pleased with his efforts.

Her body trembled as the unfamiliar sensation rushed through her. Muscles tensed; she rolled her hips while simultaneously pulling him closer. The first spasm was short but the second lasted longer.

Pest licked upward then sucked on the shallow bud at the top.

Fanli squirmed against him, surprised but equally appreciative of the experience. If this was how it felt without penetration, she couldn't imagine what the rest was like.

They finally stilled, Pest planting a row of kisses from her stomach upward.

"You're trembling," he observed.

Fanli looked down at herself to see what he meant. Because she had no explanation, she turned to make her way to her clothes.

Pest caught her arm before she could get down on her hands and knees. Their eyes met and he confessed, "I want to go home and take you."

All form of speech faded from Fanli's mind. Her body called out to him, but her head said they'd been on a proper mission.

She would have reminded him of the fact, but he licked his lips, exemplifying something—now he had no tusks. That would prove hard to explain. The seeds around his neck would open too many questions as well. In this moment, she realized that, although no one would expect him to be a fairy, no one might accept him as a common ogre at face value either. This was risky. And would Lowgli even help? Their final parting ways weren't ideal. How exactly could she explain him as a male ogre unaware of male ogres?

Against her better judgement, she said, "All right. We'll go. But not for that."

Fanli balked at cleaning in the river; she couldn't risk anyone seeing him. She had to make sense of this—all of it. More importantly, she needed to make sense of why visions of him looming over her, deep inside her to the hilt, came at an alarming rate. And she didn't hate them.

Once she dressed without washing, rather than lurk, she resolved to run. Pest grabbed her by the hand and took to his feet. His speed and grip rivaled all others.

That was a problem.

He jumped out into the open. Instead of providing stealth, his speed attracted curious onlookers. First one, then another and another still. The world ended for Fanli. Hours. They'd crawled around for hours to get this deep into this clutch of ogres in secret and here he was throwing that all away—and for such a stupid reason. He was eager to get home and answer his need.

Fanli made the mistake of glancing behind her once to see the steady crowd—two were Lowgli's hunters, but no Lowgli. More and more ogres hurried after them. Much like a cat following a wayward mouse, they kept track of Pest without trouble. At this rate, he would arrive at the hunchback's house, giving up their safety.

With every bit of energy inside her, Fanli planted her feet. Pest slowed then came to a stop, though he regarded her in confusion and longing.

He was thinking about that promise she'd made. She worried about people realizing who he was. They were surrounded in seconds. Worst yet, they hadn't been able to wash off. She probably smelled like him.

In an utter act of desperation, she gave off a distress scent to attract more female ogres to provide rescue if not camouflage.

Pest's size had the ogres approaching and backing away yet again, assessing his magic and power.

One female ogre joined the crowd as Pest, head hung, turned to avoid being seen. He had a vice grip on Fanli's arm that tightened by the second.

Though a hunter tried to approach, he jumped back each time Pest tried to move away. The genuine fear in the ogre's gaze painted a picture of all the ways this day could end—none of them good.

And then it happened—Pest picked his head up and everyone saw his face...and the lack of tusks.

The collective gasp surely reached two neighboring kingdoms.

Muttered chatter erupted between the two hunters. One kept his eyes on Pest but ushered the females back.

More males closed in. Pest's tensed muscles signaled that he'd adequately assessed the danger.

As unbelievable as the situation, it was Fanli who shocked herself...she slipped out of Pest's grip...and couldn't bring herself to stop her feet from taking her away from his side and into the safe anonymity of the curious onlookers.

Her retreat ended when she bumped into someone. That someone caught hold of her and snatched her from the crowd.