Deal With the Devil

by Ortega, Annmarie

  As she got up from her chair to go to the mailroom to pull the shipping form, Marie cursed at herself. Yesterday she had been in such a rush to get home she feared she might have filled the form out incorrectly. There were only two days left in the month and Nate still owed her a visit. She had been in a hurry to get home and see if he would appear. He never did.

  Marie asked the mailroom employee to pull the form she’d filled out for the package. After the employee handed her the form, Marie looked to see she had in fact filled it out wrong. She had checked the wrong box. She thanked the girl and handed her back the form. Marie walked back to her office wondering if her deal with Nate would prevent her from losing her job over such a stupid mistake. She figured she would know soon enough.

  ****

  Nate licked the taut pink peak of Marie’s nipple with the tip of his tongue before putting the erect bud into his mouth. Marie pressed her thighs together feeling heat spread from between her legs up to her belly.

  Despite experiencing pleasure, Marie was angry with herself, that her body was able to betray her so easily. Her body wanted Nate badly, there was no denying that. She kept telling herself she was a fool for loving Nate. No good was going to come out of her feelings.

  When Nate arrived Marie hid her feelings of joy at seeing him again. She made sure to keep her true feelings for Nate hidden from him. Only a few minutes passed before Nate started a conversation with her she didn’t expect.

  “Tonight I’m going to have to leave earlier than I normally do,” he explained to her. He bent down to kiss the length of her neck.

  “Okay,” Marie murmured back, surrounded by the sensation of his soft lips on her tender skin. It was difficult to pay attention to what he was saying while his mouth was on her.

  “I have lots of other people I have to meet with tonight,” he continued as his mouth worked its way down to her breasts.

  That got Marie’s attention fast, and she immediately pulled away from him.

  “By people, I assume you mean other women,” Marie said. She could feel a knot form in her stomach.

  “Come on Marie, you know what they say about assuming,” Nate joked as he looked up at her. One look at Marie and he knew she didn’t think he was funny at all. In fact she looked kind of pissed off at him. “Yes, there are other women I have to see tonight,” he confessed to her. The way she was looking at him he felt he had to tell her the truth.

  “How many women do you plan to see tonight? In fact, how many women do you have contracts with, like me?” she asked him. Even though she asked she dreaded hearing the answers. What she wanted to hear was that there were no other women, that she was the only one. She wanted to hear him say there was no one else he wanted, that she was the only one who fulfilled him. The answer she heard come from him was not even close to what she wanted to hear.

  Nate paused before answering her. “Hundreds, thousands, it shouldn’t matter to you. This isn’t a relationship Marie, remember?” he asked. He started kissing Marie again, his mouth moving down her body to between her legs.

  He thought it was strange that she was so argumentative. It wasn’t like her at all. But then again, Nate had noticed a few changes with her recently. Marie was acting differently around him. He knew she was keeping him out of her thoughts now because he had tried to see inside her mind and couldn’t.

  As Marie opened her legs even wider for him, she fought back tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. His words cut through her heart like a knife. She continued to hide her true feelings from him so he wouldn’t know how she felt. She inhaled a shaky breath as his tongue began to lave her clit. One of his fingers entered her, sliding in and out of her in fluid motions. It was the most exquisite pleasure and pain at the same time.

  “Marie, tell me you’re mine,” Nate said to her after he stopped his delicious assault on her clit with his tongue.

  Marie still had her eyes closed as she murmured the words he wanted to hear. The words easily rolled off her tongue. This time it was easy for her to say because it was the truth.

  “Marie, say it again, but this time look at me when you say it,” he asked of her.

  When Marie opened her eyes to look down at Nate between her legs, one of the tears she had tried to hide escaped slowly, rolling down her cheek. She inhaled slowly as she continued to look down at him. At that moment, she both loved him and hated him at the same time. Neither of them said a word.

  Nate climbed up the bed to sit by her side. He reached down and wiped the lone tear from her cheek, bringing his hand up closer to his face. He stared at the clear liquid as if he’d never seen a tear before.

  Marie sat up and tilted her head forward, so her hair shielded her face from him. She tried to compose herself but couldn’t. Once that first tear left her eye she knew that the rest were not about to stop. Damn. She didn’t want to have to explain to him what was wrong.

  “What’s wrong?” Nate asked Marie as he placed a hand on the small of her back. He heard a sniffle but he couldn’t see her face. When he tried to look into her mind it was like hitting a brick wall. She was keeping him out.

  “If this is about the other day at work and that package, don’t worry about it. There is no way you’re going to lose your job,” he told her.

  “No, no that’s not it…I…ummm…I’m not feeling well,” Marie explained to him as she scooted herself off the bed and away from his touch. She thought it was a weak excuse but it was the best she could do.

  Silent tears continued to stream down her cheeks. All she wanted to do was get away from Nate. This was all too much for her, too overwhelming. She mustered all the control she had to speak to him without crying.

  Marie wiped the tears from her cheeks then tossed her hair back away from her face to look at Nate.

  “Listen, do you think we can maybe do this another night? I just don’t feel well right now,” she said. She fought hard to keep her real feelings hidden from him. She thought that he had tried to read her thoughts after her sudden emotional outburst.

  She had to keep him from realizing the truth.

  ****

  Nate sat on the bed looking at her with concern. He had never seen her look so distraught before, he’d never seen her cry. It disturbed him to see her this way. Nate wondered what it was that bothered Marie so much. He knew she had gotten upset after he told her he had so many other contracts with other women. When he tried again to look into her mind it was like running into a brick wall. Nate was impressed. She became surprisingly good at blocking him from her thoughts.

  And while it was true he told her that he had many more contracts with other women, he hadn’t been totally honest with her either. Since he had started his visits to Marie something had gradually changed with him. He found he didn’t enjoy the other woman as much and even compare them to Marie. In all his years he had never compared one woman with another.

  Nate spent much of his time trying to figure out just what it was about Marie that made her so special. When they had met he had told her she was beautiful and that wasn’t a lie. She was. But so were many of the other women he was with.

  Marie, though, had something innately different about her. She had a fire in her eyes when she saw him appear. There were many women who were with him because they had to and weren’t afraid to let him know that. When he appeared, they’d look at him with hatred or disgust, letting him know they were only with him because of their contract with him. It never really bothered him before, but now it was more obvious to him. Nate had a feeing with Marie that she would be with him even if she didn’t have the contract with him, even while knowing he was the devil. When she was with him she genuinely seemed happy. That was a new sensation to him, having someone who wanted him of their own free will. It was a good feeling.

  And the sex… Sex with Marie was phenomenal. Out of all the partners he had she was the one who satisfied him the most which was no easy task. No one else made him feel the way she did. Often he found himself w
ishing he could be with her for more than two times a month. He found himself looking forward to those two visits with Marie and started hating it when it was time for him to leave.

  Just recently Nate realized that he didn’t even want to be intimate with other women. When he was making love to another woman he wished he was with Marie instead. He had even gone so far as to free some women from their contracts which before was unheard of. He had steadily lost interest in the others and letting them go seemed like the thing to do. In fact, it was why he was going to see the other women tonight. He was going to let them know he was freeing them from their contracts as well.

  Nate didn’t think telling Marie he was with other women was such a big deal. She knew from the beginning, and it wasn’t like they were dating. When he said he was going to see others he never expected her to start crying, that was for sure. Her reaction surprised him. He started to wonder if maybe she was upset about the other women. Jealousy was a sin he was quite familiar with. Either way he could tell Marie really wanted to be alone so he decided he would leave.

  “Yeah, sure Marie. We can do this another time. Is there anything I can do for you before I go?” he asked her. He hoped there was something he could do to make her feel better.

  Marie shook her head no just wanting him to leave. She needed to be by herself.

  “No, I’ll be fine, really. I just need to lie down,” she said with a sniffle.

  Nate stood up off the bed and his clothing appeared on him. At the same time Marie’s pink floral pajamas appeared on her. She looked down at her pajamas, grateful she wasn’t naked in front of him anymore. Being dressed made her feel a little bit better.

  “Okay, well I hope you feel better soon,” he said quietly. And then he disappeared.

  ****

  Marie ran her shaking hands through her hair. Thank God he left. She finally broke down and allowed all the tears she’d been fighting back to fall. She climbed onto her bed and lay on her side crying. It had all gotten so out of control. Marie just couldn’t hide the fact she hated Nate being with other women. She was so in love with him and to know he was intimate with so many other women just broke her heart. Marie knew that she would never be with anyone else for the rest of her life. Nate was the only one for her. If only she could be the only one for him, but she knew that that wasn’t going to happen. He had existed forever and wasn’t going to change his ways just for her.

  Marie lay crying, trying to decide what she should do. After thinking for a while she decided the best thing for her would be to get out of her contract with Nate. If she didn’t have to see him anymore then maybe she would eventually forget about him. Maybe someday she would even meet someone else and fall in love again. The problem was that when she signed the contract with Nate, he had made it clear that he would be the one to terminate it. Marie didn’t think he would just let her free if she asked.

  Her nose was running and Marie got up from the bed to go get a tissue. Walking across her bedroom she thought of how badly her heart ached because of Nate. No man had ever hurt her so badly. As she reached for the tissue from her dresser she suddenly realized she did have a way out of her contract with Nate.

  ****

  After Nate left Marie’s he didn’t go see any other women as he told her he would. Instead, he took some time to simply think about Marie and everything that happened. He knew he should tell her that he had special feelings for her but he just hadn’t been able to yet. Tonight he’d hated seeing her so upset. It tore him up inside, which was something he wasn’t used to. This was all unknown territory for him and he wasn’t exactly sure how he should proceed. After tonight though he knew he had to do something to ease her pain. It was so strange to him to care about a person so much, to really care about their feelings.

  No human had moved him like Marie. The more he thought of her the more he realized he wanted to be with her all the time. He knew for a fact that Marie wasn’t sleeping with anyone else, just him. Nate liked the idea of Marie being only intimate with him.

  Nate sat stunned at his own thoughts. Never in his existence did he ever think of having just one woman, one lover. He almost couldn’t believe he was considering becoming monogamous. Never had he cared about the feelings and emotions of anyone. Never had he ever been in love. He was dumbfounded. He was the devil, banished from heaven by God Himself, and he was in love. He had never even thought that love for him would be possible.

  Nate decided he’d go back to see Marie the next day. He didn’t want anymore time to pass with her so upset. He would tell her he was terminating all the other contracts he had, even hers. He didn’t want her to be with him because of an obligation, he wanted her to be with him because she wanted to be.

  He just wanted to tell her how he felt and see if she was willing to have a real relationship with him. Nate wanted her body and soul…but most of all he wanted her heart.

  Chapter Eight

  Libra: You may have a devil of a time getting what you want…Happily ever after isn’t just in fairy tales…

  Marie had just finished washing her dishes from dinner when Nate appeared in her kitchen. Part of her wasn’t surprised that he showed up again after what happened yesterday. He had left before he had gotten what he came for, she thought sarcastically to herself. But really Marie was actually glad he returned so soon. She had been practicing what she was going to tell Nate all day to break the contract that bound them together. Last night confirmed to her the sooner she was free from Nate the better. Once free, she would be able to get on with her life and forget about him.

  Marie turned to look at Nate. He was dressed all in black from his button down shirt and jeans to the fedora he wore on his head tonight. Marie never really liked it when he wore that hat. She thought it was a shame to cover up his beautiful hair. The hat usually didn’t stay on long though since they always ended up naked soon after he arrived. Regardless, he was beautiful as always. It was going to be hard never seeing him again after getting out of their contract. She was so in love with him and she would miss him terribly.

  Nate stood in Marie’s kitchen watching her watch him. He found himself actually nervous standing there with her. He had never told anyone he loved them before; never put his own heart out on the line. Nate hoped Marie would say she might be able to love him the way he loved her.

  “I have to talk to you,” they both said at the same time. They both gave each other surprised looks and there was nervous laughter between them.

  “You go first Marie,” Nate told her.

  “Are you sure? You can go first,” Marie replied back.

  Nate shook his head back to her. “No, its okay,” he said. I can wait to tell you how I’m crazy in love with you, and how I want to spend the rest of my existence with you by my side.

  “Okay,” Marie said, “well, why don’t we go sit down in the living room?”

  Marie led Nate into the living room and sat at one end of the baby blue sofa. Nate sat at the other and turned to face her.

  “Well Nate, I’ve given it a lot of thought and I want out of our contract,” Marie told him point blank. She looked at Nate who wore a stunned expression on his face. He didn’t make any attempt to speak so she continued on. “When we met at the bar, when you explained everything to me, I know you said that you were the one who would terminate our contract, right?” Marie asked Nate.

  “Yeah, that’s right,” Nate responded. He took off his hat, placing it on the floor next to him then ran his fingers through his hair. Marie's words shocked him. Here he had come to declare his love to her and she wanted out of their contract so she wouldn’t have to see him again. This was all a huge turn of events he never saw coming. The thought had never even crossed his mind that he would end up with his heart broken by Marie. Even though he hated what she was saying he wanted to hear the rest. Here he had hoped she might have feelings for him but she was telling him she never wants to see him again. Nate couldn’t believe he was so wrong with reading her.
r />   Marie sat watching Nate, trying to figure out his reaction. He seemed really surprised.

  “Okay, that’s what I thought I remembered you telling me. But I remember something else you told me. You said that if you hurt me at anytime that our contract would be void…and you hurt me Nate,” she finished. Marie had to swallow to fight back the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. Telling him that he hurt her was very difficult for her. Even though it was a technicality, she thought it would still be enough to void their contract. When she saw the total look of shock on his face at what she said, she almost regretted her words.

  “What?” he asked, leaning closer to her. He had to have heard what she said wrong or misunderstood. He didn’t remember ever hurting her when they were together. Every experience had been fantastic, each time better than the one before. He was at a loss. “When did I ever hurt you?” he asked incredulous. All he could remember was pleasure, never pain.

  Marie started getting nervous because now Nate looked upset.

  “Well, let me explain, okay? The thing is every time you have come to me has been amazing, it really has been,” Marie confessed. She was so nervous sitting there and finally telling him how she felt. “You are the most incredible lover any woman can want.”

  Nate felt a slow smile play at his lips and he thought he even felt himself blush. If she thought all this about him then how can she turn around and say he hurt her, he thought.

  “But see, the problem is that I knew from the beginning you didn’t want a relationship with me. You were very clear with that,” Marie said.

  Nate nodded to agree because he had made sure she understood he wasn’t looking for more than sex when they first met. Funny how that had all changed…

  “But somehow as time passed I realized that I did have feelings for you…do have feelings for you… I love you, Nate,” Marie said, “and your being with all those other women really hurts. It breaks my heart that I’m not enough for you, that you need others besides me. Every day it kills me that I’m here by myself just waiting for you to show up and spend a few hours with me. I just can’t take it anymore, Nate. I can’t keep having my heart broken every day. I just can’t live like this anymore. That’s why I want you to let me out of our contract. I need you to let me go so I can try to forget about you and get on with my life,” she finished. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest it was pounding so hard. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so nervous, even the night she signed the contract with him.