Sizzle: Chapter Twenty-Five
Damn it, Devil Delancy was doing what he always did. Mercilessly wrestling control from his competition and taking it for himself. Since she was his opponent this time and the deal on the table was for her life, she wasn’t real thrilled when he smirked confidently at her. The bastard knew he’d stunned her with his honesty. And while she’d doubted him last night… and this morning… and maybe even when she’d arrived here tonight...she recognized now that for whatever reason, Devil had chosen not to become intimate with any of his lady friends in the last year.
He didn’t outright lie. Ever.
It was like he could read the panic in her eyes. Hell, he probably could. Devil was quite adept at cutting through the bullshit and getting to the heart of the matter. Only, today, the heart in question was hers, and she refused to casually hand it over into his care. Nuh uh.
He might not lie, but he could be as manipulative as Satan himself.
The problem was, though, that she could see he wanted her. Maybe she was a novelty… the one woman who didn’t make it a habit to fall at his feet and worship him. That had to be it. She was a challenge to him – a complicated puzzle he couldn’t quite solve.
Too freaking bad.
She wasn’t interested in being his diversion. The only reason she was even agreeing to this crazy plan was Nana. The sweet, old woman deserved to die in peace, free from the worry that her insufferable grandson would never find lasting love. If she could help ease his grandmother’s suffering, then she was duty bound to assist him in this crazy plan he had.
But that was it.
She was going to be a wife for hire, not his personal sex kitten. Her libido whined at that thought, but she steadfastly ignored the cries. A girl had her standards, after all.
“Molly?” Devil smiled faintly. “You wanted to talk about the terms of our marriage, didn’t you?” he reminded her dryly.
“Damn right,” she grumbled under her breath, straightening her shoulders as she pulled her notebook closer. “I guess the first thing we need to discuss is the length of this so-called marriage.”
“Oh, it won’t be a so-called marriage, Molly,” Devil corrected evenly. “It’s going to be an actual marriage. So real that anyone who looks our way will envy how happy and devoted to each other we are. Otherwise, all this is pointless. We’ll never be able to pass muster with Nana.”
He had a point. Nana was nothing if not a woman that possessed a keen insight into those around her, especially those she truly loved. She was crafty like that. Since Nana was able to spot a lie at ten paces, Molly knew she’d need to be at the top of her game to keep the elderly lady fooled. The problem was that acting like she was in love with Devil would feel all too natural. She was falling in love with the infuriating jerk. Why such a horrible, ridiculous, unnatural thing was happening, she couldn’t say. But, facts were facts, and she was falling under his spell faster than she’d ever believed possible. Already she could feel her heart fluttering and panties dampening under the weight of his gaze. That had to stop. She needed to get control of both her hormones AND her heart. “Fine,” Molly murmured. “I’ll be the very model of modern day wife… for a pre-defined time period,” she added pointedly.
“What’s your ideal time frame, Ramsey?” he asked, last-naming her as he would any adversary in a business deal.
“Three months,” Molly answered firmly. She didn’t want to extend her misery any longer than necessary. They’d get married, make Nana happy, and develop irreconcilable differences. It happened all the time. No harm, no foul. Just a horrible mistake that two people made, regretted and rectified in short order. They could pull that off, couldn’t they?
“No.”
“Huh?” Molly grunted, jerking her head up from the pad she held in her lap.
“I said no. Three months? Are you kidding? I spoke to Nana this morning. She said that her doctors are saying she could have a year left with the proper medication, care and rest. I propose eighteen months. If Nana should live longer, I want the time period opened up to renegotiation.”
While she was overjoyed to hear that the doctors had offered Nana more time, she couldn’t believe his suggestion. She wasn’t sure how she was going to survive a month with him, let alone a year. He was asking for a year and a half? Married to the Devil? No freaking way. “You’re insane,” she said with a shake of her head. “You want me to sign over a year and a half of my life to you? No way!”
“You’d rather put Nana through the drama of a divorce during her last days? Something like that could send her to an early grave, Molly. You do realize what that kind of disappointment would do to her recovery, don’t you?” Devil asked, twisting the metaphorical knife in Molly’s chest.
Opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, Molly struggled to find a rational argument with what he said. “Damn it!” she cursed, slapping her hand against the pad on which she’d made notes. “Devil, that isn’t fair!”
“No, but it is true, isn’t it?” he countered, raising a dark eyebrow as he stared steadily at her, not backing down a single inch.
Oh, he’d brought his A-game, Molly silently acknowledged. He knew just what her weaknesses were and wasn’t afraid to exploit them. “Twelve months,” Molly ground out. “And if Nana, God forbid, doesn’t make it that long, we reassess thirty days after she passes.”
“And if she’s still with us at the twelve month anniversary? You’ll extend?” Devil asked, his eyes boring into hers.
“We reassess again. I’ll agree to remain married to you until thirty days after Nana’s passing,” Molly bargained, despising the cold, clinical way they were addressing the situation. It all seemed so harsh. But it was necessary, she reminded herself sternly. When you made a deal with the Devil, a girl had to make sure she covered all the bases.
Devil nodded slightly. “Accepted.”
Glancing at him, she could tell by the set of his face that he wasn’t entirely pleased with her conditions, but he was wise enough not to push his luck. Making a note on her legal pad, she swallowed.
“We should talk about your compensation next,” Devil stated calmly while Molly’s face was averted. “How much do you want, Molly? And how do you want it? Hard cash? Real estate? Maybe a funky little art gallery in Five Points?”
“What?” Molly mumbled absently as she continued scribbling about the proposed time frame of their marriage. She was used to tuning Devil out of her thoughts when she was working on a task. If what he had to say was truly important, he’d repeat himself until she was really listening.
“Name your price, Mols, and don’t devalue yourself. That would piss me off,” Devil warned, watching her face carefully as the meaning behind his words sank into her.
Sizzle: Chapter Twenty-Six
“I’m sorry,” Molly bit out tightly as she shifted on the sofa to face him. “Are you implying that you intend to pay me like a whore you bought on the corner, Devil?”
Okay, now that’s the reaction that he’d been hoping to get, he thought with no small amount of satisfaction.
“I don’t want one red cent from you,” Molly barreled on, punctuating each word with a sharp slap of her legal pad against his chest. “How dare you! I’m doing this for Nana! At your request, you idiot man! Not for some twisted kind of pay day! What kind of woman do I look like to you?”
“Ow!” Devil yelped when the edge of her legal pad scraped against his sternum. Grabbing her makeshift weapon, he tugged it out of her hand. “I think I’ll hold onto that for now.”
“I can’t believe you. Do I look like one of the mercenary witches you’ve been living it up with for the past year, Dev? I don’t want anything from you. Certainly not your money. How dare you insult me like that! Believe me, I plan on making you pay for this, but it can’t be done with a blank check, asshole. I’ll be collecting my compensation in the form of blood and tears. YOURS!”
Staring into her flushed face, he decided that she looked
entirely capable of drawing his blood. She was livid. Capturing her slim wrist when she raised her arm to hit him again, Devil shook his head. “Nuh uh,” he grunted, leaning forward to pin her smaller body against the arm of the couch, “You get to give me one shiner a week, Molly, and you’ve already reached your quota. Use your big girl words like your momma taught you, sweetheart.”
“Asshole,” Molly spat, straining beneath him. “How’s that for grown-up vocabulary?” she barked, her eyes flashing as he chuckled at her.
Laughing, Devil’s eyes twinkled. “I’m not sure how your mother would feel about that unsanitized language, Molly. She might wash that dirty mouth out with soap.” Molly glared and bucked beneath him. Shifting quickly so that her knee missed his groin, he settled more heavily on top of her. “Not nice, darlin’,” he chided, tightening his grip around her wrists. “Settle down and I’ll explain what I meant when I asked you what you wanted.”
“You know what? You don’t need to explain. I’ll just take the roses and jewelry all your other sluts receive as a parting gift,” she growled, twisting away from him. “After all, if you’re going to treat me like a paid whore, I ought to receive the same compensation they got.”
Devil’s nostrils flared and he saw red. “I have never, not once, treated any woman like a whore, Molly. And I’ve certainly never treated you like that. Unless you’d like to see how I treat irritatingly spoiled brats, I suggest you stop talking,” he retorted angrily. Eyes narrowing as she opened her mouth to argue, he offered her a calculating smile. “I warned you,” he murmured silkily before capturing her lips with his. Swallowing her surprised gasp, he took advantage of her parted lips, slipping his tongue inside her mouth to lash out at hers. He kissed her with a single-minded, ruthless passion, nipping her lower lip when she would have turned her face away.
Nibbling at her lips, he felt her body soften beneath his. Groaning as her tongue slowly began to tangle with his, he released one of her wrists to bury his hand in her hair, tilting her head as he deepened the kiss. He wasn’t sure how long he sipped at her mouth, but he groaned again as her body squirmed beneath his, rubbing against him like a needy kitten seeking affection.
He wondered if it would always be this explosive and volatile between them. He certainly couldn’t imagine it being another way. Touching Molly was like wrapping his hand around a live wire, electrifying and life affirming. Slowly releasing her mouth to trail his lips down the side of her neck, he heard her harsh breathing against his ear and smiled. His future wife was as affected by the chemistry between them as he was.
“D-devil?” Molly panted as his lips ghosted over her neck, “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she moaned as his lips closed over the throbbing pulse in her neck and suckled lightly. Despite her objection, her hand found its way into his hair, and held him against her as his other hand released her wrist and drifted over her swollen breast. She knew she needed to stop him before things got out of hand. The problem was that it felt good. Hell, it was better than good. Having his warm, rough hands on her body felt divine. “Ohhhhh,” she whimpered as his sneaky hand found its way under her shirt and to one breast.
“That’s it, sweetheart,” he urged when she rocked her body against his. “Just relax and enjoy this thing between us.”
Relax? If she was any more relaxed, she’d melt into a pool of goo, Molly thought hazily as his fingers released the clasp of her bra and he reached bare skin. She barely murmured a protest as he stripped her out of her blouse. She was beyond complaint. She had offered a token protest, hadn’t she? Besides, she was well aware of how good those lips of his could make her feel. She’d earned a treat. Making a conscious choice, she simply gave herself over to the moment. She’d have eighteen months to live with the consequences, right? She could afford to take a few minutes pleasure for herself.
Dropping his hands to her narrow waist, Devil pulled Molly down on the couch until her head rested on the cushion. Stretching out over her, his lips latched around one rosy nipple before she could voice another concern. Better to keep her overwhelmed by pleasure than give her time to think of reasons not to do this, he thought a little desperately. Using his tongue, he circled the engorged bud between his lips while his other hand worried its twin peak. She tasted like strawberries. Tart, but sweet, and utterly intoxicating. Shifting his head between the two glorious mounds, he grinned as she whimpered underneath him, her back arching with pleasure as she offered herself up to him.
Using his teeth, he nipped one tight nipple and drew a breathless cry from her lips. Smiling when she shuddered, he lifted his head to look down into her dazed eyes. “You liked that, didn’t you, minx?” he whispered, claiming her lips for another kiss as he used his thumb and forefinger to twist her swollen nipples.
“Mmmm,” she hummed into his mouth, seeking out his tongue with her own and stroking it sensually. She felt wild and wanton, hot and needy. “Devil,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around his neck when he deepened their kiss again.
Plunging his tongue back into the sweet heat of her mouth, Devil grappled with the button of her jeans and yanked down the zipper. Sliding his hand over the satiny skin of her flat belly, he teased her skin just above the material of her panties. Sucking her lower lip, he groaned. “Let me touch you, Molly. I need to touch you.”
Molly opened her eyes to stare into his stormy face. Licking her lips, she nodded slowly and lifted her ass for him as he pushed the denim past her hips. She knew she’d regret her actions later, but right now, all she could think about was finding a way to quell the building ache inside her. She instinctively knew that Devil could do that for her better than any man breathing. “I want to touch you, too,” she whispered, reaching for the buttons on his shirt. She could feel his eyes watching her as her trembling hands quickly unfastened them and pushed the material over his broad shoulders. She kissed him back when he leaned forward and seized her lips while he shrugged out of the shirt.
Sliding her hands over his now naked chest, her pussy clenched as her hands drifted over the hard muscles. Devil worked out and it showed. Lean and strong, his body was sculpted perfection. Scratching lightly at the soft mat of hair on his chest, she kissed his neck.
“God, Molly,” he groaned, clamping one hand around her ass as he ground his erection against her soft mound. “You’re going to kill me,” he growled when her hips lifted and she rubbed against him, the friction of her still-covered pussy moving against his cock nearly bringing him to the point of no return. “Stop that or you’re going to make me cum,” he growled against her mouth, slapping her bare ass and pulling a gasp from her lips.
Grinding against him again, she hoped he’d spank her again. That little jolt of pain had sent a current of pure pleasure straight to her pussy. Hearing that she was driving him to the edge by just rubbing against him only heightened her pleasure. “I was wrong,” she murmured against his lips.
Lifting his head, he frowned down at her amused face. “Wrong? About what?”
Sliding her hand between them, she cupped his dick through the thin slacks he wore. “There’s nothing wee about your willy after all.”
Groaning deeply when her hand tightened around him, Devil slammed his lips over hers again, pushing his tongue into her mouth and kissing her wildly. How had he let himself keep his distance for an entire year? Lifting his hips as she pulled at his belt buckle, all his good intentions flew out the window as her hand finally closed around his throbbing cock. He wanted inside her, married or not.
“Christ,” he hissed when her inquisitive fingers slowly stroked over his thick shaft, tentatively learning the feel of his flesh. “Fuck, Molly.” He groaned when her thumb circled the flared head, spreading the small bead of dew that had collected there. “You have to stop, sweetheart,” he growled against her ear, unable to stop watching as her hand slid up and down his length.
“Devil, I swear if you get cold feet now, I’ll never forgive you,” Molly panted, fisting his cock and squeezing firmly.
If he thought he was going to work her up into a frenzy again and just leave her hanging, he was in for a very rude surprise. By all that was holy, she’d rip his very nice manhood right off his body. She was with the man that had literally driven her crazy for the past year, and by God, she was going to get everything she wanted!
Devil laughed, brushing a kiss against her upturned lips. “Sweetheart, there’s not a single piece of me that’s not hot for you right now, but if you don’t let go of my dick, this is gonna be over before it gets real good for you,” he warned against her ear, nipping her lobe playfully for emphasis.
“Oh,” Molly replied weakly, her entire body quivering with excitement as she slid her hand over his velvety hard length again.
“I haven’t been with a woman in over a year, Mols, and you’re coming dangerously close to robbing me of what little control I have left,” he whispered, groaning as he pushed his cock against her wicked little hand. “Have just a little mercy on me.”
“It’s the truth,” she murmured, her eyes widening in awe as he throbbed in her grip.
“Very, very true, gorgeous,” he murmured, gently nipping her parted lips. “Now, for the love of God, ease off a little, Molly, and let me make this good for you first,” he groaned when her hand tightened around him convulsively.
She released his cock slowly, lifting one finger from him at a time as she watched his clenched face slowly relax.
“Good girl,” he breathed when her grip finally loosened around him. Kissing her gently, he smiled. “Now, hold on,” he warned, quickly lifting himself from the couch and reaching down to haul her into his arms.
“Devil!” Molly squealed, gripping his neck as he turned them toward the stairs. “What are you doing?”
“If you think that I’m going to make love to you for the first time on the living room sofa, you have drastically underestimated me,” he replied easily, taking the steps two at a time.
The Sizzle Saga Page 15
