Devil's Deal

by Michele Arris

  “Lucas, I do want you. That’s why when I heard you were here, I came as fast as I could to you.”

  He scowled. “After you ended your date, of course. Like you say, it’s whatever. Frankly, I’m done, done with you, all of it. My plane is waiting, and I need to get dressed. We’ve talked, now there’s the door. Get out.” He returned to readying his clothes.

  Tears rain down Bailey’s cheeks as her nightmare played out before her. She pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips to stop them from quivering in order to say, “I’m ... we ...” She shook her head when her voice failed her, unable to tell him that they’d made a baby. It was enough that he hated her. She couldn’t bear the thought of him resenting their child, knowing it was the last thing he wanted, especially with her.

  The pain she felt squeezing the chambers of her heart struck so intense, she could hardly breathe. “I ... I’m sorry,” she managed through the tears choking her up.

  As she turned to leave, her flip-flop twisted on her foot, causing her to stumble forward. She was able to escape further humiliation by catching hold of an armchair. Surprisingly, out of the corner of her eye, Lucas had moved to catch her. “I’m all right,” she murmured, sweeping away fresh tears with her eyes going briefly upward toward the ceiling. Can’t I at least leave with a smidgen of dignity?

  She carried her battered heart to the door, certain that she would never love another man as she did Lucas Marx. We’re good together. His words she held dear attached to the love she would forever have for him. I love you.

  She gripped the door handled, twisted, and pulled. “Oh!” It was suddenly slammed shut. Looking up, Lucas’s hand was pressed flat against it. She hadn’t heard him come up behind her. A renewed streak of fear shot up her spine.

  “Say it again.”

  His voice dripped in anger near her right ear, but she was unsure of what he meant. Assuming it was her apology he wanted, she said, “I’m sorry.”

  “Not that. What you said after,” he gritted.

  With her back to him, her heart racing, she rapidly ran through the catalog of their conversation, most of which she’d have liked to forget, and couldn’t think of anything that she’d said he’d want to hear repeated. The last thing she’d said was that she was all right after nearly falling on her face. Then she thought about what he’d once said to her while they were making love. That was the precise moment she’d fallen in love with him. Her breath hitched, and she bit her bottom lip hard to gain control of her stricken emotions to avoid bawling her eyes out. Had she voiced it aloud? She would have sworn the words were spoken in her head.

  “I need to hear you say it again.”

  His warm breath caressed her ear with his tone less blistering that time. Bailey willed her body to stop trembling as his hand took a firm hold of the back of her neck. His thumb slipped slowly up and down the side of her throat.

  He smelled amazing standing so close behind her. She closed her eyes and inhaled him deep into her lungs to savor and soak up his familiar scent for comfort before voicing low, “We’re good together ... I love you.” Precious seconds passed in silence as she worried that she’d said the wrong thing. Regardless, it was how she felt, and there was nothing to lose at this point.

  Slowly, she turned around within the narrow space between his big body and the door, looked up, and was shocked to see water in his eyes. Thinking that she’d caused this six foot four hulk of a man to show tears, she fought not to cry herself. “We’re good together. I love you,” she repeated, holding his solemn stare. Her gaze dipped to his smooth lips, on down to his bare, bulging pecs, and then back to his beautiful eyes. “I love you.”

  “You were with another man,” his brows creased as he ran a featherlight index finger along the swells of her breasts that brimmed over the edge of the gathered elastic, “wearing this.”

  There was blatant disapproval, but she also sensed lust conveyed in his low spoken words. His eyes zeroed in on the deep set of her cleavage as he came in tighter, forcing her back against the door.

  Bailey saw nothing wrong with her dress, yet found herself tugging up the bodice. “I went to a festival with an old friend to pacify my dad, that’s all.” Upset, she raised her chin. “You broke up with me.”

  He dropped his eyes from hers. “I thought you were ... I lost my head.”

  “You certainly did. And I did nothing to deserve those ... those,” she threw a hand out toward the sofa, “mean things you said to me over there.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Okay ... well ... you should be.”

  “I know,” he uttered low.

  She nodded while studying his handsome features. “You cut your hair.” The sides and nape were much shorter, making the natural wave less pronounced.

  He ran his fingers through his hair asking, “Was your date one of your two previous lovers? Have you slept with him?” He looked at her then with a scowl.

  She vehemently shook her head. “No and never.” Telling him Marcel was another ex-boyfriend wouldn’t be wise. What’s more, she surely didn’t consider Andrew and Craig lovers by any stretch, but she wasn’t about to get into that with him either.

  The heat of his body so close wrapped around her like a familiar warm blanket. She had to scratch her itching palms to tamp down the incessant longing to run her hands over the sleek muscular planes of his smooth, tanned flesh.

  The intensity of his eyes on her, she couldn’t sense whether it was anger, hurt, or desire he was sending off. Her eyes dipped down between them at the tent formed in the towel between his legs and concluded, it was likely all three. She would take what she could get.

  “It was just a festival with an old friend ... nothing more.” That seemed to make him frown harder.

  “I don’t like you having other men, Bailey. I’m a selfish bastard. I don’t share. Ever!”

  “I don’t have other men, Lucas.” Boldly, she added, “The only man I want and could ever want is you. I lo—” Before she could utter another sound, he came at her mouth, brutal in his taking, ravenous, tonguing her to the far reaches of her throat. And his hands were everywhere, cupping her face to her neck, shoved down her dress to knead her breasts, briefly sucking on a nipple, and then back to her mouth. His hands raced underneath her dress, gripped, and squeezed her buttocks before tugging at her thong.

  “Oh!” Bailey gasped against his demanding mouth when, with a sharp twist and wrench of his hand, the left side seam of lace ripped apart. He shoved the torn scrap of fabric down her right thigh, dropped his towel, lifted her leg, and rammed her pussy fully to the hilt. His plunge was so swift, hard, and deep that she saw stars.

  She couldn’t get her bearings fast enough as he pressed her against the door, lifted her other leg, brought her knees up at the bend of his arms, spread wide, and began pistoning her with a punishing force that sent her skyrocketing to the quickest orgasm imaginable.

  “Oh shhh,” she panted, clinging to his shoulders.

  “I don’t share,” he grunted the words at the side of her neck as he continued relentlessly pounding into her body against the hard surface.

  She linked her arms tight around his neck and held on as she clamped her wet sex onto his deliciously rigid thickness, relishing in his rough and greedy insistence, allowing him to take her however he wanted, understanding that he needed this just as much as she did.

  Pressed to him with his penis burrowed deep within her, he held a firm grip of her buttocks, drew back and stared with a hard intensity into her eyes. “You’re mine. Say it,” he growled.

  “I’m yours.” Before she could catch her breath, with their bodies still tightly joined, he carried her to the bed and brought them both down to the mattress. He planted his palms flat on the bed beside her shoulders, split his knees wide to keep her legs opened and anchored and continued his quick paced thrusts. She took his delicious pounding, wildly turned on by their shared primal need, by the powerful strength of her beautiful and feral lover.<
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  He abruptly pulled out, left the bed, and went over to his duffel bag. She watched him take out some sort of cream in a small tube before he ripped open and rolled on a condom in record speed. This wasn’t the time to tell him just how unnecessary a condom was at this point.

  Returning to the bed, he dropped the tube beside her and frowned at her dress that was bunched around her waist and the scrap of lace twisted around her thigh. Both were quickly yanked down her legs and tossed over his shoulder. He reentered her, resuming his magnificent assault on her pussy.

  “Yes!” she panted, feeling her orgasm pick up from where he’d left it. “Lucas, just like that. Don’t stop.” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what he did. Damn it! Frustrated, she slapped the bed.

  He lifted her right leg to turn her. “Come up on your knees.”

  Apprehension quivered in her stomach of his intentions, yet she went along without question. He brought her knees forward a bit more and pushed gently at her back until her head met the pillow, leaving her opened and displayed before him.

  Two thick digits entered her pussy, thrusting deep, and then he glided his wet fingers over the puckering ring of her anus.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. He draped his frame at her back, came in close to her face, kissed her behind her ear, and ran his warm tongue along her earlobe while fingering her clenched rear. “I want you here,” he voiced softly, and she stiffened, but hesitantly nodded once.

  He slipped his cock into her sex and gave it several deep strokes. Her pleasure purrs and moans built with the momentum of his thrusts. Then he withdrew from her again. She didn’t blink as she watched him liberally coat the condom that covered his penis with lubricant before he pressed the head carefully, slowly against her tight ring. Feeling her tense up at his initial breach, he spoke softly while gently caressing a hand up and down her spine, “Relax for me, and don’t move.” He continued to push slowly into her tight, rear sheath and stopped about midway. Softly, he said again, “Don’t move.”

  Bailey was afraid to breathe let alone move. She’d barely mastered regular sex. Anal sex was something she’d never considered.

  Not sure what to expect, she braced herself, afraid that he would take her harshly. Still unmoving inside her, he undid the rest of her braid, and tender fingers pushed her hair aside, exposing her neck. An arm encircled her waist, his chest came flush against her back, and he brushed his lips at her ear, his warm breath caressing as he said, “I’m sorry for the things I did, for hurting you.” Feather-soft kisses skated at the back of her neck and along her shoulders. She closed her eyes on a sigh, feeling the tension in her entire body fade away.

  He began moving with deliberately slow, controlled pumps. Surprisingly, it wasn’t painful, just felt a bit strange at first.

  His fingers circled her clit with the same measure, methodical movements as his cock in her rear, bringing about a throbbing in her channel from the rocking motion.

  Heavy breaths escaped her as two fingers entered her pussy, thrusting in and out before a third was added, making her shudder from the pleasure combination of being filled in both orifices.

  As his free hand captured a breast, his lips trailed kisses along her back and shoulders, all while he continued his slow, even strokes in both her vagina and her rear.

  She never imagined she’d enjoy this form of lovemaking. The level of intense pleasure was nearly unbearable.

  With her body on the verge of climax, Bailey pressed the side of her face into the pillow and closed her eyes briefly to relish in the sensation of his closeness.

  Rocking his hips, he nipped the back of her neck, then brought his face in close to hers. “How is it?” he asked.

  Awkwardly, she shook her head against the pillow, unable to express the clutter of emotions overtaking her, and a tear escaped her closed lids.

  He froze. “Shit, I’m hurting you!” He moved to pull out, but she gripped his thigh, not wanting to lose the warmth and contentment of his nearness. “You’re crying.” He kissed away the wetness on the bridge of her nose.

  Opening her eyes, Bailey met his gaze and tried to put into words how she felt. “My leaving ... I hurt you. I’m sorry.” Her eyes shut again. “I love you and could lose you. That’s what hurts me,” she said, releasing an endless flow of tears.

  “Bailey.” He eased carefully out of her and then helped her turn over to her back. She was unsure what he intended to do next.

  He rolled off the condom, tossed it to the floor, and then came down slowly on top of her, sheathing himself in her wet sex in an unhurried glide forward, clearly not asking permission to go bareback. A hand cradled the back of her neck and the other went around her hips as he began that same controlled, yet determined thrusting.

  She rocked her pelvis, meeting his determined thrusts with her own. “Please don’t stop this time.” Her ankles linked at his back in an effort to cage him within her body.

  “I won’t ... so good with you,” he grunted into her hair, kissing the side of her neck.

  “We’re good together, Lucas.”

  “We’re great together, Bailey.” He nipped along her throat, upward to her gasping mouth, sucking in her pants and moans, their tongues reacquainting as their bodies undulated rhythmically with backs arching, taking, giving.

  With a quick flip, he situated her on top of him, and she sat up, reached back, and gripped his thigh to ride his cock like a rodeo pro. “Shit yes!” he hissed and leaned forward to capture a breast that he flicked, sucked, and tugged before he returned to her mouth.

  Again, he rolled her to her back with a restless urgency and brought her arms above her head, entwining their fingers. “Come for me, love. Let me feel it. I need to feel it.” His hips pumped faster, and she could hear the wet smacking sounds their combined sex made from the cream of the onset of her orgasm.

  She brought her arms down and embedded her nails in his clenching buttocks to hold him inside her as her body spiked, quaking blissfully over the edge. Seconds after, he bit out a cursed breath with his body going rigid.

  “I need to pull out,” he breathed heavily. With each clenching wave her orgasm provoked, his jaws locked in reaction. He hastily reached back to try to unlock the vicelike hold of her legs at his back. “I’m about to come. Damn, I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you, too. Come inside me.”

  He looked at her. “You’re on the pill?”

  “It’s fine.” She nodded.

  With one last hard thrust, he took his release deep inside her. They briefly crashed chest to breasts in exhaustion, and then he rolled them to their sides. Their limbs wrapped tight around one another, each needing to hold the other close.

  Brushing back the damp strands out of her face, he kissed her lips, and she ran a palm across the glistening sheen at his forehead, then stroked his back. They stayed that way for long minutes, simply gazing at one another, a loving, quiet sharing of souls.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  With his feelings for her nearly overwhelming him, and that rapid thumping in his chest starting up again, damn, how Lucas wanted to say it—how ridiculously in love he was with her. But with how easy it was for her to walk away, and then to discover her out on a date with another so-called male friend, he was deathly afraid to chance his heart to her.

  Heaven help me. He had never in his life been at this emotional place before where he banked all that he was on three simple words. Letting out a breath mainly to gather nerve, he decided to throw all his cards in, allow his heart to lead. “I love you, Bailey.”

  Her eyelids fluttered. “Lucas.” Tears slid down her cheeks, and his lips quickly kissed them away. “I love you with all my heart,” she said, and kissed him hard, long, and deep, conveying the depth of her words.

  There was a knock at the door. Caught in the basking of their love, they chose to ignore it.

  Still burrowed inside her, Lucas could feel himself getting hard again. Rocking leisurely, his shaft stroked
her silky inner walls as they lay in each other’s arms kissing and caressing. He brought her on her back and continued an unhurried thrusting.

  The knock came again with more force. “Damn it,” he grumbled against her soft lips, and she hooked her legs around his calves. “I should see who it is.” She groaned on a nod and unwrapped herself from around him. He rose up and witnessed his semen spill out of her. In that moment, there was a wild urge to beat his chest like a Neanderthal who had just claimed—marked—his female.

  With a kiss on her thigh, he left the bed and scooped up the used condom from the floor en route to the bathroom. After a quick wash of his hands, he threw on his robe and opened the door by the third hard roll of knocks. “Yes!” Lucas barked, irritated by the disturbance.

  The man tilted his head to the left to check the room number on the door. “Are you Lucas?”

  “And you are?” Lucas countered, then quickly realized that it was Bailey’s brother, Caleb, having recognized him from the pictures he’d seen at her home ... which must have been severely out of date.

  Wearing black Doc Marten shit-kickers, faded, low slung jeans, and a black T-shirt that appeared to be suffering under the strain of accommodating the overabundant muscle mass of chest and arms—arms with tribal tats covering the swollen biceps—the young man eyeing him sharply at eye level was about as big as he was himself.

  “Caleb, I’m fine,” Bailey called out, reassuring him from inside the room.

  “I’ll determine that,” Caleb yelled back while keeping an acute stare planted on Lucas. “You’re not what I expected, but it’s all good. An ass kicking is an ass kicking if I see one damn tear in my sister’s eyes.”

  “She—” Lucas attempted to tell her brother that she was fine ... and indisposed, but the young man shoved past him into the room.

  “Aw damn, Bailey.” Caleb swiftly turned his back to her sitting up on her shins in bed with a sheet wrapped around her to shield her naked body, blissfully smiling, her hair wild, and her face rosily glowing.