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The Deal With The Devil 35
StefanBy the time I got home, it was well past midnight. I went directly to my room, not sure if she'd have done as she'd been told or not, but there she was, asleep in my bed. She was still dressed and on top of the sheets. Her arm hung over the side, and a book lay facedown on the floor.She must have been waiting up for me. Or trying to.I watched her for a few minutes. She wore white shorts and a yellow tank top, and long wisps of chestnut hair had fallen all over her back and arm. Her legs had tanned a little, and looking at her bare feet turned in a little at the toes, it made her look like a child. Like she needed protection.And she did.More than she knew.I touched her face. She made a sound and turned away, still asleep. I picked up her book. When Nietsche Wept. I raised my eyebrows."Interesting choice."After setting her bookmark in the page that was open, I placed it on the nightstand, then sat on the bed and pushed the hair off her face to look at her.She wore no make
Last Updated : 2024-04-13The Deal With The Devil 36
StefanWhile my mind warred, she lay sleeping, oblivious and unconscious beside me. She held such a strange power over me.Why couldn't I hate her? I was supposed to fucking hate her.I got out of bed, angry and irritated and frustrated as fuck, and went downstairs, through the kitchen, taking old faithful—my favorite bottle of whiskey—with me. I didn't bother with a glass. Didn't need one. I knew where I was going. To that hated place.Still no fucking lock on the door. I couldn't do it. Couldn't chance not being able to get in there.I opened the cellar door, the smell already taking me back years and years.Was this a twisted sanctuary of sorts? A tangled, dark thing, one I couldn't escape, one I dreaded that drew me back time and time again?I drank gulps of whiskey as I made my way down the stairs. No lights tonight. I didn't need them. I knew every inch of the place, and the two small windows at the top of the one wall let in enough moonlight. It fucking highlighted the whipping
Last Updated : 2024-04-13The Deal With The Devil 37
StefanVeronica reached out to take my hand, the one that held the whip, and walked behind me. When the fingers of her other hand traced the scars on my back, I flinched, tightening every muscle. She stopped moving but didn't pull away. With an exhale, I bowed my head, my hand turning into a fist on the post.She followed each line, her touch like a feather. She saw everything. She saw me. And I let her. I stood there, and I let her. And only after she'd acknowledged every scar did she pull away. It was only for a moment, and I remained as I was. When I felt her breath on me, her lips on my back, kissing me softly, kissing scar tissue, I shuddered.When I turned, she straightened. She stood naked. She'd stripped off the T-shirt. Her nipples tightened in the cool cellar air. I looked at them, at her. And when I took her and turned her so she stood with her back to the post, she let me. Even though her gaze warily skimmed the whip, she let me.Kissing her, I drew her wrists up over her
Last Updated : 2024-04-13The Deal With The Devil 38
VeronicaI woke up in Stefan's arms. I didn't move and tried to keep my breathing level. What in hell had happened last night? How close had I come to being whipped? I knew he'd needed that scene—that insane scene—to happen. He couldn't tiptoe around the past any longer. Maybe coming back here, maybe subconsciously, he'd sought the confrontation because without it, there could be no relief. I hoped that last night was his victory over the demons that haunted him. I hoped that last night, he'd banished them to the hell in which they belonged.What kind of childhood had he had?What kind of guilt did he carry on his shoulders?He'd told me he'd protected his brothers from his father, and I understood he took whippings to save them. What he'd said last night, though, had his father—once Stefan was too big to beat—had he turned his rage on Stefan's mother?What a beast. What a monster.I looked up at my husband's sleeping face. It was the first time I'd seen him like this. The first time
Last Updated : 2024-04-13The Deal With The Devil 39
Veronica"Don't you ever do that to me again, understand?""Which part, this?" I gave him the finger again. "Or the walking away?"He squeezed my arm, his mouth tightening. "You want to play after all?"I narrowed my eyes, but my heart pounded at the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice. I always seemed to forget my inexperience. Forget his power.Or maybe I just thought things had shifted between us last night."We can play."He turned me and pushed me over the footboard of the bed.I made to get up, but he pressed a hand between my shoulder blades and kept me down, then shoved the T-shirt up over my back and spread my legs apart before coming to stand between them. I felt him then, felt his hardness at my ass, and as much as I didn't want to, as much as I wanted to stay angry, my body was responding, like it always did to Stefan."You have a great ass, Veronica," he said, then slapped it once."Ow!""Keep your face on the bed."He twisted my hair around his hand and leaned over m
Last Updated : 2024-04-13The Deal With The Devil 40
VeronicaI wiped the back of my hand over my mouth, sitting back on my heels."That was good for your first time," he said. "But you missed some."With his toe, he pointed to where some cum had dripped onto the floor."Lick it up."Rage burned hot inside me, starting at my belly, searing my throat as it made itself heard. "Fuck. You." I stood, somehow not stumbling, and faced him. I refused to look away. And when he grinned, I drew my arm back and slapped him.His body didn't move, only his head snapped to the side. He exhaled, and the side of his mouth curved upward as his hand rose to touch his cheek. Slowly, he turned to look at me.His gaze slid over me, and I shuddered, holding my breath when he brought his fingers to my belly and slid them up between my breasts, over my chest. His hand then fisted around my throat, and I grabbed his forearm as he leaned over me."Don't ever fucking do that again."He squeezed, and I trembled. He was volatile, like a land mine that if I didn't tr
Last Updated : 2024-04-13The Deal With The Devil 41
VeronicaForty-five minutes later, Charlie and I stood at the gate alone. A sedan came toward us down the dusty road, pulling to a stop at the gates. My grandfather opened the back door and stepped out at the same time as the driver, and I climbed into the car with Charlie on my lap."What is that?" he asked, a clear look of distaste on his face.I scratched behind Charlie's ear and held him on my lap. "It's a puppy, Grandfather. His name is Charlie.""Does he have to join us?""Yes."He didn't argue with me but gave me a resigned look. The driver closed the door, and we were off."No one to wave you off? Where is your sister?""Resting," I lied. I knew he wouldn't like knowing Robyn was in enemy hands. Although Stephen was hardly the enemy. Maybe he was my only ally. Funny how, just a few hours ago, I'd been thinking Stefan was my ally."And Stefan?""Meetings.""Does he know you're with me?""No.""Good girl," he said with a smile, shifting his gaze out the window."Why haven't you
Last Updated : 2024-04-13The Deal With The Devil 42
VeronicaI sat on the edge of the seat. My heart hurt at the realization.After setting the tiny bottle down, I ran my finger over the surface of the mirror and picked up the tube of lipstick and looked at the brand. It was a cheap drugstore brand I used to buy when I was a teen and had limited funds.Taking the lid off, I brought it to my lips and applied some. It was hard and cakey, but I imagined her gliding it across her mouth, and it almost felt like her. It was the closest I would come to my mother physically.Pocketing both, I closed the drawer and checked the dresser and closet. I found nothing. Not a piece of clothing. Not a forgotten stuffed animal or book or anything."Veronica?" My grandfather's voice called from the distance.Wiping my hand over my nose and eyes, I went to the door, taking one last look around. "I'm coming."Downstairs, the manager pointed out the new equipment they'd installed, including a new security system. He toured us through the vineyards with Char
Last Updated : 2024-04-13
Latest chapter
The Deal With The Devil Epilogue
StefanSpring, One Year Later* * *She never did sign those annulment papers. My stubborn, beautiful wife.I stood drinking coffee at the kitchen window, watching Veronica talk to one of the workers. Charlie, full grown and weighing eighty pounds, never left her side.We'd come back to Tuscany a few days after the bank took possession of the house in Philadelphia. Robyn had come with us and would be starting her final year at a school in Florence geared toward gifted musicians.Thanks to their grandfather's greed, Veronica and Robyn had lost everything. Guardia Winery no longer existed, except as an example of corruption and destruction.Robyn never spoke about any of it. She rarely mentioned her grandfather at all. Veronica worried, but Italy was a good move for her. It got her away from everything, the past, the publicity, gave her anonymity again, and hopefully would give her a fresh start.I finished my coffee and set the mug in the sink before walking outside. Veronica waved whe
The Deal With The Devil 65
Veronica"Well, I wouldn't want to put you out. You've probably been busy tonight, putting someone else to bed." I didn't mean for it to come out angry like it did."Ah." He finished his drink and poured another. "The truth.""I never lie to you.""You did once.""When?""You lied to protect your sister."I felt heat flush my face. How had he known?"I haven't put anyone to bed but you since we've been together," he said, cockiness gone."Oh.""Did you really think otherwise?""I don't know what to think. You don't have to be married to me anymore. I'm really more of a liability now.""I think of you as a human being, not a liability.""But I'm not an asset either.""Human being. Don't feel sorry for yourself, Veronica. Shit happened to you. You survived it, and you will now move forward. Welcome to life.""Piss off."His face changed, hardening a little. "Be careful, sweetheart."Sweetheart. God, I loved when he called me Sweetheart. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself.""Then ask the
The Deal With The Devil 64
VeronicaThe house had never felt like home to me. I didn't want to stay here and wouldn't have if it weren't for Robyn. But she'd been closer to our grandfather than I ever had been. And she'd lived here for as long as she could remember.After the very public scandal, Grandfather took the plea deal he was offered, which meant a reduced prison sentence—they took into consideration his age—in exchange for full disclosure. He'd kept meticulous notes, so much like him. In addition to the notebook Robyn had found, there were three others. At least three that were uncovered. I wondered if there were more. If he'd ever tell us. The land in Italy was auctioned off, bought by Vincent Moriarty of all people. And what a deal he got. It was unfair, but it was also finished.I saw my grandfather during his sentencing. I watched from inside the courtroom. I didn't make physical contact with him. Seeing him like that, up there looking smaller, older, I wondered if there was something wrong with me
The Deal With The Devil 63
StefanShe finally quieted.Fuck. I hadn't come here to fuck her. I hadn't."You still want me to let you go?"She shook her head.I released her wrists and flipped her over onto her belly, then straddled her again, trapping her beneath me."I love you," I said, reaching over to grab the bottle of hand moisturizer she had on the nightstand. "But you're a pain in my ass." I drew her hips up, so she was on her knees. "Don't get up," I told her when she started to rise. I pushed her knees apart with mine and fisted a handful of her hair, pushing her face down into the bed. "Ass up, face down. Understand?""Stefan—"I slapped her hip—not hard, but enough to get her attention. She cried out and looked back at me from the corner of her eye."Understand?""Yes.""Good." I let go of her hair and twisted the lid off the lotion, squeezing about half the tube on her lower back. "Now like I said," I started, unzipping my jeans and pushing them and my briefs down, my cock like steel in anticipatio
The Deal With The Devil 62
VeronicaI felt stronger, like the effects of the wine were wearing off. Maybe it was the water or the coffee, but I had a feeling it was the anger inside me burning away the alcohol more than anything else.But then he said what he said."If you wanted me out of your life, you would have signed the annulment papers."And I knew it was true. He was right. If I wanted him out, I would have signed and put all this behind me."I've changed my mind, anyway. You're not going anywhere, Veronica.""Not until you have my signature, you mean? Did you bring a clean copy of the paperwork?""You're being stupid.""No, I think the word is naive. You used that once too, didn't you? You had my number all along. I was the fool to fall for it, for your tortured soul act. Get out. I mean it.""No.""Get the fuck out."He cocked his head to the side. "Fine. You want me out? Make me go."I narrowed my eyes and went toward him. With both my hands on his hard chest, I shoved him backward.Except he didn't
The Deal With The Devil 61
VeronicaI left by train from Siena to Venice that evening. Once I checked into a small hotel, I called the attorney who'd overheard my conversation with my grandfather and left him my address, telling him to forward any paperwork to me here. I called Robyn and told her I was in Venice, told her what had happened and what I'd done, and told her I needed to be off-line for a few days.I missed Charlie. I missed cuddling up with him on my lap, missed his unconditional love.The first twelve days I spent in bed, feeling sorry for myself.On the thirteenth day, someone knocked on the door. When I told whoever it was to go away, they answered that I had received a package.Reluctantly, I went to the door, cringing when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I opened it and took the large white envelope, assuming it was paperwork about Robyn's guardianship. I pushed the shutters and window open to let in some fresh air and sunshine. The room smelled stale, and it seemed my sadness had
The Deal With The Devil 60
StefanIt had taken all I had to turn my back on Veronica and walk out of that office. I knocked someone's shoulder on my way out but didn't look back, didn't apologize, couldn't stop. I went out the door and into the hallway and flew down the stairs and out the front doors where I stopped, gasping for breath, my hands on my knees, wanting to vomit.Lying to Veronica on the chapel floor, that had wounded me. But this? Today? Leaving her like that, signing that damned contract and walking out on her, it finished me. I'd promised her truth, and I'd kept my promise, finally. And it destroyed me.I straightened, wiping sweat off my forehead.I didn't remember walking through the city to the parking garage. Didn't remember driving home. As soon as I stepped out of the car, though, Charlie came running to me. I stopped and looked down at him. Watched him wait for the passenger side door to open, for Veronica to step out. He barked several times, ran back to me, tail wagging, then returned t
The Deal With The Devil 59
VeronicaAfter Stefan left the office, I stood in the room, staring after him. Staring at the space where he'd just been before falling back into my chair, my legs unable to support me.I wasn't sure what would be easier, thinking he didn't love me or knowing the truth. Although I guess I knew there was no easy. This would hurt. It would hurt for a very long time.My grandfather and the attorneys walked back into the room. No one seemed to take notice of me. Grandfather set the ring and pen aside and checked the signature on the contract."It's done," he said, handing it to one of the men who slipped it into his briefcase then clicked it closed. No one sat back down. "Gentlemen, thank you. I'll be in touch."They were shaking hands, almost at the door, when I spoke. "Why did you want the marriage consummated?"They all stopped. Someone cleared their throat. My grandfather turned to me, a coldness in his eyes that chilled me, then shifted his attention back to them."Forward official c
The Deal With The Devil 58
VeronicaStefan shifted his gaze from my grandfather to me, but his eyes revealed nothing. My hand rested in his. His thumb drew circles in my palm.The longer he took, the heavier the silence grew, the more tears welled in my eyes.This was it.Stefan and I were finished.My grandfather cleared his throat and rose from his seat. "Five minutes, or the offer expires, and you can take your chances on the payout." He buttoned his jacket. "I'll be outside."We didn't watch him go, and we didn't speak for an eternity after the door closed.Stefan stood and went to one of the two windows. "I thought you were dead," he said, his back to me."What?" I started, swallowing the lump in my throat.He faced me but remained where he was. "I have this nightmare—I've had it for six years now—where I keep seeing the fire at the house, keep running inside to save my mother, and keep finding her too late."A weight heavy as a pile of bricks settled in the room with us."Well, it changed over the last fe
