Page 135 of Devil's Deal

His breath is just a bit shaky, enough for me to notice. He closes his eyes for a moment, gritting his teeth.

“You don’t want to take this trade, Jaga,” he says, his voice gravelly like denying me costs him a lot. “Believe me. Now go home. It will be over soon.”

I do my best not to frown, because I hate being told what I want or not. But his jaw is clenched, eyes flinty. That’s the problem with us: we’re both far too stubborn to ever find common ground. But I might have one more trick to play, and hopefully, it will work.

“And yet, you’re still here,” I whisper, shaking out my hair.

I step too close, a shiver going down my body when we touch. His cock presses into my belly, and I have to really crane my head up to see his face. His antlers are like a canopy above us.

His nostrils flare. “Fuck. You don’t know what you’re playing, witch.”

I cock my head to the side. “Don’t I?”

And then I reach up with my left hand and cup his cheek. As soon as the heel of my palm connects with his skin, he jerks away, catching my wrist. He stares at the silver mark, his shadows curling around us like smoke. They grow tinged with red light.

I swallow the tight knot in my throat, telling myself I can take his rage and anything else he gives me. This is what I want, and yet, when his eyes blaze gold, his teeth bared in a snarl, I try to take a step back.

He won’t let go of my hand, keeping me in place.

When I open my mouth to speak, the fear getting the better of me, he growls. He pulls my palm up so roughly, I stumble closer to him. He scrapes my skin with his teeth. I hiss from pain, and he does it again. And again. Finally, he licks the spot with his dark tongue, making it sting.

The silver mark is gone, and in its place are a few bleeding scratches.

When he speaks, his voice is so deep, I feel it in the soles of my feet. It’s even worse than his normal inhuman rasp. The hair on my nape stands on end.

“If I ever see another god’s mark on you,” he says, making me shake, “I will chain you to my bed and keep you there, forcing you to watch as I fuck my way through all of Slawa. I saw the pain in your eyes when I told you about my lovers. Two can play this game, poppy girl.”

Hate and anger coil in my gut.

“Like that would hurt me,” I say, a mocking edge to my voice. “If you do this, I will know you can only get it up because I’m there. The worst thing that can happen is that I will die of boredom.”

He hisses, tugs my palm up, and licks the blood that’s welled in my wounds. I smirk, seeing his eyelids flutter from pleasure.

When he lets go of my hand, gripping the back of my head instead, his eyes are cold and cruel.

“Fine then. We can do the trade. Just remember I warned you.”

Warned me? Uncertainty uncoils in my belly, but it’s too late now. I’d rather suffer through another fight with the poludnica than back out when I got what I wanted. Still, I need to make sure.

“And if I suck your cock,” I ask, my face flaming, though my voice is steady, “you swear you will tell me the secret to ruling time and what the mark on my face means?”

His mouth curves in a cruel grin. “Yes. I swear on my blood.”

He looks so satisfied and completely unconcerned about the prospect of giving up his secrets. Alarm bells get off in my mind, and I stare at him, licking my lips. His grin widens, making me realize I probably made a mistake. Woland laughs under his breath.

“Looks like you’re all talk, poppy girl,” he whispers, brushing a lock of hair from my face. “Do you want to back out now? So much for your word.”

I clench my jaw and drop to my knees.

It becomes immediately obvious that the height difference between us is too great for this to be comfortable. I hiss out an impatient breath and look up at his erection, thinking about ways to make it work. Should I crouch? Bow?

“So mortal,” Woland whispers, snapping his fingers.

A wide, gleaming black chair appears behind him. He sits back, leaning against the backrest, his forearms on the armrests. The height of the chair brings him to the right level, his legs sprawled wide open on either side of me. I shiver, feeling the warmth of his skin on my arms.

Another snap of his fingers calls forth a few glowing orbs cascading light on both of us. I blink, getting used to the golden light. Woland looks at me with complete focus, his attention spreading tingles across my face.

I feel trapped and surrounded. When I swallow nervously, his expression sharpens into a hungry, lustful look.

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