Page 116 of Devil's Deal

“To solve you, poppy girl. Believe me, I want to avoid forcing you as much as you probably do. I’m too old to do it that way. There must be something else that will convince you.”

When I look at him, he seems honest and curious, his eyes watching me with bold assessment. I shake my head.

“Even I don’t know what would ‘solve me’, as you say. You started out wrong, and then you kept making it worse. I didn’t forgive you for killing my friend, and I never will.”

He waves his hand dismissively with an impatient sigh. “You will once you meet her. What are your other objections?”

I stare at him in disbelief. “Once I meet her?”

He nods curtly. “When I take you to Nawie. What else do you oppose?”

I am silent for a while, digesting this, and his eyes drill into me like he desires nothing more than to get a key to my heart and mind. It’s not pleasant, being an object of such intense attention, and yet, it flatters me.

“This,” I say finally, waving my hand in his general direction. “You keep assuming I’ll let you own me and make all my decisions for me. Yes, you offered me freedom, but we both know it’s on your terms only. I object to being your slave.”

“But you don’t,” he murmurs, the yellow in his eyes gaining a glittery intensity. He leans forward, clasping his clawed hands in front of him. His tail rises to his side, the tip jerking tensely. “You love being in my power. When I take away your air and force you to take pleasure—don’t lie. You enjoyed it.”

He watches me without blinking, and I fidget uncomfortably. And yet, I force myself to meet his gaze, because I won’t cower. No matter how embarrassed he makes me.

“Yes,” I answer, and he sags just a little, as if he expected a different answer. I raise my finger. “But that was sex. I don’t care for that in real life.”

“Is sex not real life?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

He looks sophisticated like this, a man of the world, and it strikes me how odd this is. That he would take interest in me. I am special, but not that special.

I’ve come to accept his attention without questioning it too much, but I really should spend more time trying to find out why he wants me.

“It is a part of life,” I concede. “A small part, separate from other parts, like… eating, working, or traveling into other words.”

His eyes glitter as he laughs, leaning back. His elbow returns to the table, and I suppress a wince.

“Wrong on each count, my innocent mortal girl. It’s not a small part of life, it’s enormous. It absolutely can encompass eating and travel, and even working. My, that gives me ideas. You’re working right now, aren’t you? And yet, we’re engaging in verbal foreplay. That’s part of sex.”

I feel the blood leave my face as I pale, shooting an alarmed look at Magda. Oh, for Perun’s sake, he is right. This shouldn’t be happening.

“You have to leave,” I say, my voice too shaky to sound as firm as I want it to.

Woland grins wolfishly, and I know he won’t do as I say. He never does.

“Are you saying I can’t be here because you can’t contain your lust when I’m around?”

I mutter a curse under my breath, and he raises that elegant eyebrow in a challenge. I hate that he infuriates me so much. I’d rather be cool and composed like he is, but it’s my second sleepless night after a horrible day filled with terror and shock. I’m at my wits’ end.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I answer, gritting my teeth. “Oh, please, just go. Or behave, at least.”

He settles in with a pleased smile, as if I said exactly what he wanted. “I can do that, whisperer. I’ll be perfectly polite. But if we have a conversation with no indecencies, and you still look at me with so much longing by the end, you will concede you want me.”

I don’t blush this time, just look at him with as much cool as I can muster.

“I want you. Now, please, let’s talk about something that’s proper for a wake.”

His eyes widen, and he’s silent for a moment, before he finally nods. “Very well. Are you curious why you could see Rod last night?”

I sit forward, instantly interested. The familiar suspicion that Woland will probably lie to me plays in the back of my mind, but I push it away. At the very least, he’ll keep me awake while talking.

“Yes. Tell me.”

He smiles, shifting in the chair into a yet more comfortable, sprawling position. The robe slides aside even further, and I fancy I see the faintest hint of his length just under the edge of the fabric. My nostrils flare with annoyance and amusement. He seduces me playfully, and it’s so different from his normal behavior, I’m intrigued.

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