Page 146 of Devil's Doom

“It’s not just one thing, but many,” Chors says, gathering his thoughts. “But the most important is that you are exactly what he needs. Like I said, he lost himself, stuck in a rut of fighting the same enemy over and over and losing. You’re a new type of challenge, one that’s far more complex and rewarding. I think you’ll teach him how to win and when to surrender. If he’s smart enough to take the lessons.”

I smile grimly. Even though I don’t understand what he means exactly, I get the gist of it: I am but an instrument for Woland’s bettering, apparently. Not a person, but something he needs. Like I always knew.

“And what’s my appeal to you?” I ask, needy in my wounded vanity. “Or no, better not tell me.”

If he likens me to a tool, as well, I’ll be crushed. Better not to know, even if my heart is already heavy with the awareness that I am really nothing in the end. Just a mortal girl made significant by a prophecy. A victim of circumstance.

Chors studies me, his brows furrowed in confusion. “I thought it’s obvious,” he answers anyway, and I brace myself for his reason that’s bound to be unflattering.

“You’re the first woman I ever desired. It feels like I know you to the bone, with how much I watched you. Every night. Ever since he and you met, I watched, just as he did. All you did were mundane, mortal things, but I was riveted. In the mortal world, I looked in through your window and counted your breaths when you slept. I followed your paths when you walked at night. I just… know you. And you’re desirable to the core, body and soul. That’s your appeal.”

“Oh.”

The shields I raised to protect myself from humiliation melt under his words. I shiver, suddenly warm and wanted, feeling beautiful in a way I never felt before, not even with Woland. He wanted somethingfromme from the start, but Chors… He just wantsme.

“Well then.”

I stand up with a smile and extend a hand to help him up. “Let’s wash off the sand.”

Chapter forty-nine

Father

He swallows audibly and takes my hand, rising in a seamless, fluid motion. We walk into the lake, and I run my hands down his back and firm buttocks. He caresses me under water, fingers sliding down my ribs and hips, then back up, until he grips my breast with a soft gasp.

“There is something about these,” he murmurs as if to himself, while his thumb presses down on my hard nipple. “They just… Just…”

He turns his palm until his hand cups me, warm and enveloping, and he makes a hoarse sound of understanding. With his other hand, he covers my second breast and cocks his head to the side, adjusting his hold until he’s pleased with the result. I huff with laughter, charmed by his studious approach to my body.

“See?” he asks, voice smug. “Parts of us just fit. I want to see how I fit inside you.”

As if overcome by a rush to do just that, he walks around me and pushes my back with both hands, steering me toward the shore. “Now. Let’s come out.”

I laugh and let him guide me. We stop, our feet still submerged, and he turns me lightly, his mouth crashing to mine. His need leaves no space for uncertainty, and I kiss him back with a happy sigh, my hands running up and down his ribcage.

“Do I just…?” he mutters under his breath, putting his arms firmly around me. His foot hooks around my ankle, tripping me up until I lose my balance. I laugh in surprise when he lowers me to the ground with a satisfied murmur.

“That works,” I say with another laugh when he kisses my throat, licking off drops of water.

“And now.” He pulls back, taking me in with wide, hungry eyes. “Now, I… I want to…”

I wait while he hovers his hands over my breasts, fingers twitching. He shakes his head once, sharply, and brings his hands to my hips. He stares at the triangle of hair between my legs, and I take a deep breath and part my thighs wide, letting him look.

“Oh.”

He almost chokes on his quick inhale, fingers pressing into my inner thighs to keep them open. As he blinks, long and languorous, I glance at his cock. He’s swollen hard, glistening with water and precum, and I know he likes the sight of me.

“I can be on top if you’d like,” I whisper, growing impatient when he makes no move to touch me.

But he shakes his head. “I have to… Just here.”

He comes to kneel between my spread legs, taking his cock in hand, his eyes still glued to my pussy. He strokes himself, exhaling in a rush. At last, his eyes jerk up to my face.

“I’m afraid it won’t last long if you take charge. It wastoogood. I need… Yes. Like this.”

His choppy sentences make me smile, and I let my legs fall wider apart, no shame left. He is utterly spellbound, his desire fanning my own higher. I expected to feel clumsy and ungraceful with him, simply because he is the pinnacle of male beauty and I’m only me, but it’s not the case.

“And now… And now…”

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