Page 36 of Devil's Deal

His cock is hard, jutting out in a proportional, rigid shape. The swollen head points right at me.

“No,” I say, as much to myself as to him. Because, all gods be damned, I want him. The need is so powerful, I’m suddenly terrified I won’t be able to refuse him.

“Why not?” he asks, golden eyes glittering as he takes a step closer.

I stumble back, keeping the distance between us from closing. He advances again, and I retreat. Over and over, until my back presses to the invisible boundary of the circle. A whimper escapes between my clenched teeth, and Woland stands so close, his antlers obscure the sky above my head.

He lifts my chin so I am forced to look at his face.

“Why not, poppy girl? You put on such a pretty chaplet tonight. The prettiest. Surely you wanted to entice somebody, and you did. I am thoroughly enticed. I caught it so I could have you.”

Did I? Was that truly what I wanted to do tonight? I don’t know. My thoughts scatter, pushed adrift by the hot blood pounding in my temples. Woland grins, his white teeth insanely bright against his gray skin as he caresses my throat.

“You can’t hide it,” he says quietly, gripping my nape in a possessive hold. “From the very beginning, there was a spark. You hated and feared me from the moment we met, but this was underneath all the time, wasn’t it? You long for the forbidden.”

I shake my head weakly, trying to push past the unyielding barrier at my back. I am so slick between my thighs, it feels like a travesty. And it takes all I have not to glance down.

Woland’s grin widens, his fingers pressing into my skin. For the briefest moment, the points of his claws dig in, making a shiver go down my spine.

“And still, she fights,” he says in a low voice, his thumb caressing the edge of my jaw. “Look around you, poppy girl. Everyone’s let loose, letting bliss take over their bodies. Why do you insist on being the only miserable one?”

Oh gods, I’m going to give in, I realize with a sinking feeling that tastes like relief.

“Because I don’t trust you,” I grit out, making one last bid for sanity. “And you don’t really want me. You want to own me, and that’s not the same.”

He pushes down on my lower lip in a rough caress while his other hand settles on my lower back. My breath hitches in my throat.

“I want both,” he says, his glittering eyes pulling me in. “But like I said, I’ll take just fucking you tonight. And if you doubt my lust, look down. It’s plain enough.”

When I don’t do as he says, closing my eyes instead, he pulls me roughly closer. Our bodies are flush, his thick erection trapped between us, his hand kneading my ass in a slow, possessive rhythm. My breath is so fast and shallow, it makes me dizzy.

Gods, the way he feels pressed to me is everything. He is so utterly male and powerful, and yes, I admit it now. He is what I want. A powerful being from the realm of gods. I don’t care if he is the devil. I don’t care that he’s cruel and violent.

No, indeed, his cruelty makes me wetter. I lust for him precisely because of what he is.

And if I had my shame, I would feel it acutely now. Because—him? Is that really what I want, the kind of woman I am? But my shame is gone. All that is left is the blinding heat coursing through my body as he pushes his thigh between my legs with a rough growl.

“Come on, poppy witch. I see your desire like a cloud of red smoke around your body. It’s no use hiding.”

I bite my lip and release a shaky breath, realizing I cannot win this fight. And that’s because I don’t really want to. He’s right about everything. I want to be wanted, to be fucked, to let loose. For once in my life, I want Kupala to be more than just the fire trial I undergo every year to prove I am not a witch.

But that doesn’t mean I should give myself away without getting something in return.

“And you’ll leave me alone after we’re done, yes?” I ask, keeping my eyes closed even as my body burns, every point of contact between us exploding with mind-numbing bliss.

He yanks his leg up, raising me clean off the grass, my hot core riding his thick thigh. I hiccup and moan at once, the sound abrupt and pleading.

“If you say yes, I will do exactly what you told me to do,” he answers, as glib and indirect as always, but I have no patience to negotiate anymore.

“Fine,” I say, opening my eyes.

I am not prepared for the instant shift in his expression. It is so sudden, it’s like a mask falls off. Tempting and controlled before, it turns into something hungry and wild, his eyes blazing with liquid gold, his teeth bared, muscles tense over his sharp bones.

I get only a glimpse before his hand is in my hair, tugging roughly, and his mouth is on mine.

Oh gods.

This is only the second kiss in my life, and yet, my lack of experience means nothing. It’s like he doesn’t expect me to participate at all. I only have to take what he gives me. What he commands me to take.

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