Page 48 of Devil's Doom

“You always need the light,” I grumble, closing my eyes as I swallow convulsively. I’m letting him do this. Again.

“Yes. I love looking at you.”

My eyes fly open in astonishment, landing on his raised hand. He turns it slowly, as if admiring his middle finger that now glistens with my arousal. His claw is short and blunt, and I’m grateful for that small mercy.

“Stop gloating,” I bite out, my face flaming.

“No. Since you won’t tell me you missed me, I’ll take my confirmation where I find it. Your body is more generous than you, love. Kneel on top of me.”

He lifts me easily, and I do as he says. I balance on top of his spread thighs, sitting on my heels, and his clawed hands rest on my waist.

“I’ll answer your question,” he says, and I can just hear the smile in his voice. “After you take my deal, after we fuck, when my thorns are inside you. That’s when I’ll tell you. What do you say, darling?”

Chapter seventeen

Roots

“That’s unfair,” I whine. “You didn’t let me think.”

“You’re the one who claims to not care for me at all,” he says smoothly. “It shouldn’t matter what I do. Rise a little, pet. That’s it.”

As I lift my hips, he pulls my ass closer until I’m perfectly positioned to take him inside me. His hands rest on my waist, pushing down so gently, it’s as if gravity alone coaxes me to impale myself on his cock. My thighs burn as I resist, my heart hammers, and I just wish for a moment of peace to think clearly.

Or maybe a cold bath.

“What the fuck?!”

I conjure a rainfall of icy water that drenches us both. I have so much magic, it comes easily, and pelting rain whips my face and hair. Woland snorts out water, and I slide off him clumsily, just in time. He stands up and leaps away into a dry patch. I end the spell, laughing hoarsely even as I shiver from the brutal cold.

“So I can’t use your magicdirectlyagainst you, but I can make a little rain,” I tease with a grin as Woland shoots me an angry look, water glittering in his antlers. His light orbs glow on, undisturbed.

“I’ll start with the upir,” he hisses, full of spite. “And I’ll leave the woman and baby alive, making it clear it was your fault. I won’t even need to touch you. Their hate will do the job.”

My heart aches when I imagine it for a moment, the perfect torture designed to hurt me the most. The devil knows where to strike and how to twist the knife.

But I know him, too.

“Do it and I will go to Perun,” I say, swallowing my fear. “You claimed throughout this unfairnegotiationthat I have nothing to bargain with, but that’s not true. Touch them, and it’s over. You can lock me up, chain me to the floor, and do whatever you want, but I will find a way to run. I always do. Your precious rebellion will die, and you,my darling, will lose.”

Woland advances, his hooves splashing water from small puddles on the uneven stone floor. I realize his shadows are gone, and the space we’re in is much vaster than I thought. It’s an enormous cavern, the devil’s furious steps echoing off the far walls. The ceiling, which is just tall enough to fit Woland’s height, is supported by massive pillars chiseled with shapes of snakes and vines.

“I don’t care what the fuck you think will happen,” he hisses, grabbing my throat. “I gave you a chance to pay for what you did to me. You flung it away.”

There it is, that simmering rage I expected and feared.

He pushes me back until I hit a pillar. His fingers tighten, just enough to constrict my breathing, and I dig my nails into his hand, already knowing how futile it is. Woland hunches low until his face is level with mine, burning eyes holding my helpless gaze.

“What… did I do… that was so bad…” I try to ask, but my voice is barely loud enough to hear.

His fingers tighten and he laughs, the sound horrible and cruel. I gasp in shallow breaths that supply too little air. His big hand wraps clean around my neck. His thumb caresses me once, and then he squeezes.

“Do you have any idea how many women would beg on their knees to be offered what I gave you?” he asks, eyes cold as he watches me suffocate. “My child, my eternal protection and fidelity, my home, access to my blood. I gave you more than any woman before you, and you fuckingran.”

I blink heavily and stop struggling. My thoughts swirl too slowly for me to make sense of what he’s saying. Is his pride wounded? Why does he care so much?

Woland loosens his hold, scoffing with disgust, and I wheeze in big breaths through my bruised throat that he still holds in his palm.

“You offered me… a cage,” I say, my voice scratchy and taut. “Why don’t you… offer it to those women… who beg you.”

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