1933563060-Devils-Pact-Cruise

by Devil's Pact (lit)

  “When did he tell you this?”

  “About seven years ago.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Sixteen.”

  Frowning, he contemplated the ramifications. Reed could not have possibly had Megan in mind. “Marrying age,” he mumbled more to himself, but it seemed she heard.

  “I suppose. Girls have been known to marry as young as fifteen.” Her eyes widened as though she, too, suddenly inferred Reed sought her for him. “You don’t suppose?” she asked on a breathless whisper.

  Devin shrugged his shoulders, wanting to turn back time, to have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ask his father. Oh. What he would do if it were possible. Nonchalantly, he drawled as if it didn’t matter to him either way, “Was he married at the time?”

  “No. It was months after Ella and their son passed way with the fever.”

  “If he wanted you for his wife, he could’ve done it then. Who knows why he waited to marry you?”

  “Devin,” she gasped. “Jazelle told me the only reason she took me in was to make money off me by entertaining guests.”

  Entertaining guests. Nice way of putting it. He stroked his chin to conceal the faint smile that tugged at his lips. A lot of whores had entertained him over the years. Never had he found as much pleasure as he did with Megan. But then, she wasn’t a whore. She’d been hand-selected by Reed.

  “When Reed found out the Walkers tossed me out of their home, and I was at Jazelle’s, he secretly arranged to pay for my services until my eighteenth birthday.”

  “There you have it.” He breathed a little easier, eager to bury the crazy notion his father planned on handing over his virginal wife to him. “My randy old man was only waiting till you were a little older. Didn’t want to seem like a desperate lecher.”

  “No.” She shook her head, scowling. “Jazelle was to let me walk away when I turned eighteen. Instead, he married me after what happened with Hardin. Reed explained after his first stroke he agreed to pay Jazelle ten additional years for my freedom. He only paid five before he passed. That’s why my debt was so high. Why I had to go back.”

  Typically, he’d learned from experience, a good whore’s career ended near the age of thirty. After that, used and often abused, the lucky ones would end up in seedy crib rows, and the not so lucky ones would end up either on the street or dead. Cheri was getting up in age, and for a moment, he pondered what would become of her. Strictly as a friend, he decided to check on her plans for the future. Oh, hell. He was going soft. He’d never given a rat’s ass what happened to a fly on the wall, much less another human being.

  With a deep exhalation, he rerouted his thoughts to Hardin. The slimy snake must have known of the arrangement. Once no longer employed by Jazelle, Hardin wouldn’t have been able to have his way with Megan so easily. The thought left a bitter, bile taste in his mouth. He had half a mind to dig Hardin up and shoot the bastard again.

  “You wanna believe he was some sort of saint. You go right on. I say my father just wanted you for himself.”

  “Why can’t you believe Reed chose me for you? Why else would an honest, married man with a family take notice of a scrawny, scared girl in church one day? Hand over his hard-earned money so no other man would have me? Bring me into his home when he could no longer protect me from afar. Never once lay a hand on me. Ask you to look after me. You can’t believe he didn’t want me sexually. That he didn’t love me that way, because you do. You’re too afraid to admit it. Devin Spawn is finally afraid.”

  He felt as if the world turned upside down. If she touched him, he would literally fall over. Did he love her? He closed his eyes and hoped for a miracle. A bolt of lightning to strike him dead. The ground to split open and bury him alive.

  “How does it feel, Devin? It hurts, doesn’t it? To want something so bad that you think you don’t deserve.”

  To know. Yes. Hurt? No. He felt no pain through the numbness as the life was sucked right out of him.

  His gaze slowly ran over her. She was trembling, her chest rising harshly, a look of desperation etched in her expression as though they just fought a battle. In a way, he figured they did. She’d won.

  “I told you before I left, and I’ll tell you once more. I’m no rancher, nor do I wanna be. Go inside where you’ll be safe. Lock your door and do us both a favor. Stay outta my sight.” Turning on his heels, he headed past the barn into the bleakness. Away from Megan. Away from Deuce. Away from himself if he could.

  * * * *

  “Devin,” Megan called sternly.

  She thought they’d reached a precarious crossroad. She’d pushed him beyond his limits where he kept his emotions deeply hidden. She expected him to actually search his soul in the heat of the moment and profess what she desperately longed to hear.

  Instead, he’d calmly walked away.

  “Devin,” she repeated moments later, raising her voice to a shrill, desperate cry when she realized he wasn’t coming back.

  “Devin,” she said softly, tears welling in her eyes as the darkness swallowed him whole.

  Chapter 30

  “Humph,” Devin grunted, rolling on his back in the too-small bed. It was late at night, bedsprings squeaking under his weight. Arms dangling over the side, he kicked off the blanket wrapped around his legs, hurled it to the floor with a jerk of his feet. He stretched out naked, the cross breeze filtering through the dual open windows chilled his heated skin.

  He hated the loft. He hated the narrow, lumpy mattress. He hated sleeping alone. Hated most of all that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stay away.

  It wasn’t that he expected a thank you for saving their lives. At least she could have looked at him. Brushed a kiss on his cheek. Hell, even a handshake would have been better than pulling out of his arms when he tried to hold her, howling over Caleb. Throwing herself at him. How many tears did one woman possess?

  Every waking moment since, Megan seldom left Caleb’s side. She spoon-fed him, read to him, brushed his hair and slept in the same room. Hell, she probably held his dick when he took a piss. No telling what they did when she bathed him. The man was laid up with busted ribs, a bullet wound in his side, messed up knee, cuts, and bruises. There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with his arms.

  Earlier, Devin had walked for miles, waited hours till his hard-on subsided somewhat and sexual tension raking his nerves eased to a manageable degree. When he returned an hour ago, Megan headed straight to bed after he left. She’d been there ever since. The tidbit convinced him more than ever that Caleb held Megan’s heart.

  Reaching behind him, Devin fisted his pillow with a hard blow, then sunk his head in the indentation. He sighed heavily with frustration. Arms crossed over his chest, feet sticking out the other end, he squinted up at the ceiling. It was dark in the loft, and he could scarcely see Trevor on the other side of the room, let alone count nails in the rafters for a distraction.

  If that don’t beat all—two naked men in the dark, lying on their beds, and not a dang female between them. He welcomed the darkness. Not because he didn’t have to stare at Trevor’s naked ass. He seen it plenty of times in the past. Things like that tend to happen after a successful battle or hunt. The finest warriors could pick and choose their partners. Shared in their victory by sharing their women. Conquests, sexual or otherwise, made for one helluva celebration.

  Here. Now. The darkness exalted what was going on downstairs.

  If Megan didn’t love him, if she wanted Caleb more than she wanted him, he figured it was his own damn fault. Like she said, he threw them together. He encouraged her to fuck Caleb good and deep until her juices flowed from her petite body, to suck his thick cock down her slender throat, let him lick her pert breasts and tug at the hard peaks with his teeth, squirt his seed over her beautiful face, plunge into the heated depths of her tight, heart-shaped ass.

  Demented pervert that he was, seeing her thrash and scream in need beneath Caleb as he pounded into her intimate flesh again and
again only intensified the dark edge of his lust. The flare of arousal in her eyes when Caleb lowered his head, extended his tongue between her wide-spread thighs and ran the tip into the soaked, pink folds of her cunt attested she loved every damned ecstatic, mind-blowing orgasmic minute.

  His plan had worked.

  It worked like a sweet, juicy peach.

  Then why was he so damned pissed off?

  His jaw tightened. His stomach tightened. His cock stiffened, jerked upright, emitting a long, wide shadow over his abdomen as the clouds drifted sporadically across the moonbeams.

  With a heavy sigh, he realized no matter what he did, what he said, or how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop wanting her. Sharing her wasn’t the same as sharing other women. Not by a long shot. The others were simply a means to scratch an itch, and there were lots of awfully severe itching spells in the past. Afterwards, he put ‘em out of his mind. He couldn’t do that with her.

  Megan was right. No matter how hard he fought the denial. She was right. How could he have let himself become so damned vulnerable? He muttered a curse under his breath.

  When did it happen? He was Devin Spawn, called by many the Devil Incarnate, a blood-thirsty savage who preyed on the weak and stole from the rich.

  At least, the myth fit up until three years ago.

  Was it possible for someone like him to change?

  Could the devil be worthy of love?

  Love in return?

  Reed, his mother, and aunts all loved him. Hell, even ol’ John loved him in his own strange, perverse way, if putting a bullet through his father’s gut was any indication. Were they the ones who were wrong, imagined something in him that wasn’t there?

  His mind filled with haunting regrets, apprehensive thoughts and images of rich pleasure that heated his blood, kept him horny, hot, and aching as sleep continued to evade him.

  * * * *

  Glancing sideways hours later, Devin observed Trevor’s back as his sight adjusted to the faint starlight as the clouds continued to tease the night sky. He chose to ignore the rest of the young man’s physique as he made sure his roommate was sound asleep.

  Devin mused there were lots of similarities linking them. They were both strong of mind and body, fierce in battle, extremely sexually dominant and passionate about life in general. That’s where the similarities started to get blurry. Trevor’s passion ran a different course, lent more to a man bound and determined to live life to the fullest on his own terms. For the past nineteen years, Devin lived passionately, as well, harboring a ruthless ferocity. No rules. No regard. His body was already dead on the inside. He had nothing to lose but an empty shell on the outside.

  Assured by slow, steady breathing Trevor was out till dawn, Devin sat up and swung his legs off the bed. He couldn’t take the madness a moment longer. His mind wanted mental relief. His excruciatingly hard cock demanded physical release. There was only one way to satisfy both needs.

  Strong enough to fight ten men at once, yet weak as a mouse when it came to Megan, he had to see her, to hold her, to tell her how he truly felt. He at least owed her that much, and if she warmed up to him, well...

  He shrugged into his britches and cat-footed across the room. He dashed a momentary look to Trevor before climbing down the ladder. For Megan’s sake, he hoped her baby brother could adjust to clean, decent home life. Because he sure as hell was having a spit load of difficulty.

  It wasn’t jealously, rivalry or anger welling deep inside him, eating away at him bit by bit. It was an all-consuming need to possess her. That was a strange phenomenon in itself, since he never cared a lick about anything or anyone other than Deuce.

  From the moment he’d wrapped his arms around her and his lips touched hers, her warm, tender body pressed against his, he wanted nothing other than to take hold of her body, mind, and soul. All this time, he thought he dominated her, forced her to submit to his sexual demands. Driven by her love for him, she accepted the forbidden taboos thrust upon her. Assumption made it easier to share her sexually. The seduction, ultimate control of her pleasure, the power to govern her sexuality was exhilarating beyond anything he ever felt before. The dominance turned into an erotic craving he couldn’t seem to get enough of.

  Instead, Megan surrendered of her own accord to her own lust-filled whims. There was no force involved, no hesitancy, no reluctance. She simply yielded to the carnal nature she was born with. She willingly enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh and was probably partaking right now. He brushed aside the notion. It was her business. They were to be married. Husband and wife. Free to do whatever they pleased, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do.

  Not even when ol’ John dragged him off that train years ago did he beg for his freedom. He gritted his teeth and accepted his fate. But now, he was ready to beg, crawl on his knees. He’d write it out in blood if it came down to that. He’d ask Megan to love him the way he loved her, even if for one night.

  Familiar with the layout and needing no aid of light, he maneuvered cautiously around the furniture. Frowning down at the doorknob, he took a deep breath and wrapped his fingers around the carved glass.

  It turned, and he exhaled.

  * * * *

  Devin made a smack crack in the door and peered into the dimly lit room. He noted the recognizable figure lying in the middle of the huge bed. Alone. Caleb hadn’t moved an inch in the past two weeks. Roots were probably growing out of him. Devin grinned at the musing.

  Slowly, he pushed the door open. It creaked, and he winced. In case things worked out tonight, he’d fix that for tomorrow, send the girls back to school and make definite changes to the sleeping arrangements. The agreeable thought made his pulse race.

  Taking a step inside the room, a burst of allure ran through him. He felt young, like an impassioned lover desperate to steal a kiss. As if what he was about to do was somehow dangerous, forbidden, illicit. Sneaking into Megan’s room in the dead of night, totally unheralded, while the rest of the household was tucked snugly in bed, deep in slumber, including Caleb a few feet away.

  His gaze roamed to where Shelby’s borrowed bed was situated underneath the open, lace-drawn window. His jaw dropped as he saw Megan, sitting up in the middle of the bed no bigger than the one upstairs, as if she expected him. She was dressed in a thin, homespun shift draped loosely off her shoulder. Long, silken ringlets cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, framing her delicate perfection in gilded gold.

  “Megan,” he whispered tenderly as their eyes locked. Big, hazel eyes, scorched with passionate longing, blazed sensuously in the soft, luminous glow of a nearby candle.

  His heart filled with joy as she bolted out of bed, ran, and then jumped, thrusting her body against his. Wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, he caught her as she flung her arms and legs around him. She buried her face in the curve of his neck, her breath a warm caress against his skin. He sighed heavily, relief washing over him as he felt her melt in his embrace. She whispered softly, “Devin, you came.”

  “You didn’t lock your door.” Overcome with mixed emotions and sensations flooding his senses, he could barely get the words out as he inhaled her classic rose scent, fresh and sweet, uniquely hers. He held her tight, recalling every beautiful line of her soft, warm body now pressed exquisitely against his bare chest.

  “It’s been unlocked since the day you left,” she breathed, planting soft, tender kisses along his jaw. He felt her trace the shape of his ear with the hot, moist, pointed tip of her tongue. She knew the sensation always sent shivers down his spine, made the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He felt his hard flesh thicken and harden even more.

  “You’re wet.” He took a deep, shuddering breath as a flame of possessiveness surged inside him. The material of her shift had ridden up to her hips. Her weeping pussy pressed tightly against the throbbing bulge in his britches. Had she just made love, or was her body preparing for him? His cock throbbed in desperation. The answer no longer mattered.
The need was too great. The desire was too strong. He was dying to thrust into the tempting heat of her hot, little body. He groaned in her ear as his teeth nipped at the lobe. “So fucking wet.”

  “For you,” she breathed seductively, rubbing her mound against his stiffness, causing him to grunt as a surge of pleasure coursed through him. “Only for you.”

  His legs started to go weak. He felt the folds of her labia part as she ground tightly into him. His length lodged snugly between the wet heat of her cunt. Her juices penetrated his britches, coating his cock with liquid heat as she trailed a wet line with the tip of her hot tongue along his neck. The dual sensations were so hot, he felt his blood was on fire. She moaned breathlessly, “You’re hard.”

  “Hard for you,” he groaned roughly, bracing his back against the doorjamb. Anxious to fuck her, to ram deep inside her, explode in the velvet, moist depths of her hot, tight cunt. His hands moved past the fabric bunched at her waist. The heat of her flesh seared his skin as he touched the bare curve of her buttocks. Tightening his grip, he rocked forcefully against the slick entrance of her body, thrusting his cock into her clit, causing her to gasp as her body shook. He growled fiercely, “Only for you.”

  “Are you sure, Devin?” Her trembling voice was a vulnerable plea for confirmation as she clung to him, moved sinuously against him, letting him feel the soft feminine curves of her body. The hard peaks of her breasts branded a fiery path in his skin. “No one else makes you hard?”

  “Oh, Megan,” he moaned harshly. She closed her eyes as her tongue ravaged his ear between nibbles on his earlobe while he ran his fingers along the crease of her rounded cheeks, descending lower until they met the slick essence thick between her thighs. “You’re the one I want. Only one I need.”