Deal With the Devil Read online

  Mystical Signs: Libra

  DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

  BY

  ANNMARIE ORTEGA

  www.VenusPress.com

  The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

  Copyright © 2006 by Annmarie Ortega

  ISBN: 1-59836-389-1

  Cover Art © 2006 by Ravencrest Images

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form without permission, except as provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. Printed and bound in the United States of America.

  For information, you can find us on the web at

  www.VenusPress.com

  Dedication:

  For M. Davidov… The devil didn’t make me write this, but M. Davidov did…

  Chapter One

  Libra: What seems out of reach can be yours… Make sure to read the fine print…the devil is in the details…

  Marie sat at the bar by herself, trying to relax, after yet another hellish day at the office. Today had been especially bad. She’d discovered that tomorrow, she would find out if she’d receive the promotion she wanted. Marie had heard that the final decision was between herself and another co-worker named Kim.

  Under any normal circumstances Marie was sure she would get the promotion before Kim with no problem. But these were not normal circumstances. Kim had a little something extra on her side; an ace in the hole so to speak. Kim was sleeping with the boss, Ken. Even though their affair was “secret” everyone in the office knew about it. No matter how much more qualified Marie was she knew Kim would get the job she so desperately wanted. It was so unfair. Marie had busted her ass for this promotion and all Kim had to do was lie on her back. To say that Marie was pissed was an understatement. She was furious.

  After finishing her second Cosmopolitan, Marie waved her empty glass to the bartender, her signal for him to bring another drink her way. He nodded at her as he started making Marie another drink, his movements a little too lethargic for her liking.

  Marie watched the bartender, wishing he would make her drink faster. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that a man had entered the bar. He walked across the room and sat down on the stool next to her even though almost all the other bar stools sat empty. Marie let out a disgusted sigh and rolled her eyes as she reached for the fresh drink the bartender placed in front of her. When Marie had entered the bar there were only two other people there. They sat together across the room at other end of the bar deep in conversation. Marie had to wonder why this jerk had to sit right next to her. All she wanted to do was be alone. She decided if he tried to talk to her she would get up and leave. Marie was not in the mood to be hit on; she just wanted to sulk in her drink uninterrupted.

  Marie sat and started thinking again about how she wasn’t going to get that damned job when she deserved it. She thought of how she would have done anything for the promotion. If all I had to do was have sex with someone to get it, hell I probably would too, she thought to herself. She had pictured herself in that new office many times—finally out of that three-walled cube, that even though wide open, felt so much like a prison cell to her.

  Marie really thought she had the promotion in the bag until she’d found out that Kim wanted it too. She knew then that she was screwed. The bitch of it was that Kim didn’t even need it. With her relationship with the boss, she hardly did any work as it was. Kim didn’t need the money either; the bastard was always buying her expensive gifts. Kim wanted it just because she knew she could get it.

  “Sometimes just wanting something isn’t enough,” the man sitting next to Marie leaned over and said to her.

  Marie placed her drink back on the bar and started to reach for her bag to leave.

  “You might be the most qualified for that position, but you aren’t fucking the boss now, are you?” he asked her matter of fact.

  Marie’s hand stopped mid-air as her brow furrowed at what he’d said. How the hell could he know what I was thinking? Marie turned to look at the man for the first time since he sat beside her.

  Looking at him, her stomach dropped. She knew she must have given him a strange look but she couldn’t help herself. The man was the most incredible creature she’d ever seen in her life. Creature because he seemed so much more than a regular man; he was like he wasn’t even of this earth. His hair just brushed his shoulders, straight and blue black, silky smooth just begging to be touched. He had the most perfect face and complexion. His eyes were a color green she’d never seen in her life. Breathtaking.

  He had on a baby blue button-down shirt with a white crew neck t-shirt peeking out from underneath, covered by a denim jacket. He wore blue jeans and boat shoes with no socks. Marie found it difficult to stop staring at him. She remembered how he had freaked her out by what he had said, and that quickly brought her back to reality.

  “What did you say?” Marie asked him as she shook her head. Maybe she misunderstood what he said. Either that or the Cosmopolitans had gone straight to her head. Or maybe this guy next to her was psychic, she thought.

  “Maybe I am,” he said to her with a smirk that did something to her, made her pulse quicken a bit.

  “Maybe you’re what?” she asked sarcastically. Marie was in no mood to play games, even with someone as gorgeous as this man.

  “Psychic,” he stated back, his smirk disappearing as he now looked at her stone-faced. He did know what she was thinking.

  Marie felt cold all of a sudden and the hair on the back of her neck and arms bristled. Even though he was drop dead gorgeous there was something about this man, something different she couldn’t put her finger on.

  “How badly do you want that promotion tomorrow?” the man asked her, still straight-faced.

  “How do you know about the promotion?” she murmured to him. Marie found her emotions in fantastic turmoil. She was both attracted to the man and a bit frightened by him at the same time. This man was so intense and beautiful, part of her just wanted to reach out and touch some part of him. He was sexual without even trying. On the other hand though, he was speaking of things he couldn’t know, shouldn’t know, scaring her at the same time he was arousing her.

  “Just answer the question,” he said to her, his eyes meeting hers and delving deep inside her, almost touching her very soul. “What would you do for that promotion?”

  “Anything,” Marie finally snapped back before looking away from him. She couldn’t even understand why she was even answering this man she didn’t even know, but she was compelled to tell him the truth.

  “What if I told you, I can guarantee you the promotion if we were to work out a little deal?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

  “How? What do you mean?” Marie was familiar with the saying curiosity often leads to trouble, but at that moment she didn’t care one iota. She was curious what this man was talking about. Somehow he knew about the promotion without her telling him about it. If he said he knew how she could actually get it, it might be worth her time to listen.

  “Don’t worry about the how. That, you leave to me. Just tell me how badly do you want it? Do you really mean you would do anything?” he asked her intently.

  “Wel
l…I mean…” she stammered, trying to find a reply for him. She wasn’t ready to kill over the job, but if there was something she could do to tilt the scales in her favor, she was all for it. It must have been the Libra in her. She was always looking for the scales of justice to be balanced, everything to be fair in life, even though life had taught her from a young age it always didn’t go that way.

  “Maybe this would help you give me an answer,” the man said as he reached over and wrapped his hand firmly around Marie’s wrist. His fingers curled around her, his touch warm against her cool skin.

  She looked at him, startled that he would touch her. She didn’t even know who he was or even his name; and he takes liberties, touching her without her permission. Marie opened her mouth to protest when all of a sudden she saw quick flashes in her mind, one after the other. She saw the office she wanted so badly with her name on an engraved plate on the door. She saw herself in the office sitting at her new desk, her very own secretary sitting outside the door, screening all of her calls. Marie saw herself in a new sports car, living in a new apartment filled with new furniture in a better part of the city.

  Marie felt the heat of the man’s hand leave her and the visions were immediately gone.

  “What the hell was that?” she asked him as her heart raced at what she had just seen. She rubbed her wrist where he had held her. It was still warm from his touch. Everything she’d seen had seemed so real but she knew it wasn’t, it couldn’t be. “Who are you exactly?” she demanded of him.

  “Let’s just say that I’m the person who has the means to get you what you want. What you just saw was what you could have if you get that promotion tomorrow. We make a deal. You give me what I want, I give you what you want," he started to explain. “I don’t see why we couldn’t tip the scales in your favor for once.”

  Damn, it was creepy how this guy knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “Okay, let’s just say you get me my promotion, what do you want from me in return?” Marie asked him. She couldn’t think of anything she had that this man would want. Surely she didn’t have anything of value to him. She didn’t really own anything of value or have lots of money saved away. Marie watched him as she waited for his answer.

  “Stand up,” he said to her quietly as he turned on his stool to face her.

  “What?” she asked, not understanding his request.

  “Just please stand up,” he repeated and for some reason Marie obeyed.

  She got up off her bar stool as the man turned his body even more towards her. His eyes burned into hers, than started to move slowly over her, traveling down her throat to stop and linger at her full breasts. As his eyes seemed to penetrate her clothing, Marie felt her nipples harden under his gaze. He inadvertently licked his lips as he stared at the hardened peaks straining against her shirts thin pink material. Marie visualized his lips on her breasts, sucking the nipples and grazing them with his teeth. Her nipples ached under his gaze.

  As his eyes started to continue down her body they paused at the juncture between her legs. She felt a hot throb of heat reverberate through her entire body. A flush rose up her cheeks making them hot. She couldn’t believe he was so blatant with looking at her body. She also couldn’t believe her own reactions to him looking at her.

  “You’re a very beautiful woman,” the man told Marie, nodding his head as if agreeing to something only he could hear. She suddenly realized what she had that he wanted. He wanted her, her body, and the idea left Marie somewhat breathless. “Come sit back down here and we’ll discuss the details of our agreement,” he said, patting the stool Marie had just minutes before gotten up from.

  Marie sat back down and lifted her glass swallowing the last of her Cosmopolitan. She wished she had a few more lined up in front of her.

  “It’s better you don’t drink anymore. I want to make sure you understand our agreement with a clear head. So there’s no confusion later. This is how it will work,” the man started, sounding all business as he spoke to Marie. “I’ll make sure you get the promotion and when I desire to be with you, you’ll agree to be with me when I want. Now don’t worry, I won’t be requiring to see you all the time. I would expect you to be available for me two times a month. I don’t want a relationship with you. I want that to be clear from the beginning. All I want is your body and nothing more, ever. And I promise you I’ll never do anything to hurt you, but whenever we’re together you must agree to do whatever I want. Even if I ask you to do something you’ve never done before. You have to let me have you any way I desire. That is part of our agreement.”

  Marie had guessed exactly what he wanted from her. But there was something about him saying the words out loud that made her head spin. Someone who looked like him wouldn’t even give her a second glance under normal circumstances. Yet, here this guy was, telling her he wanted to make love with her, do things to her...

  As he spoke Marie could feel his words excite her. Her core burned and she could tell she was wet just thinking about being with him. Marie’s mind raced with thoughts of all the things he could ask of her and it made her heart quicken, her mind spin even faster out of control.

  “So we have sex a couple times a month and I get the promotion?” Marie asked, trying to keep the trembling in her voice under control. She couldn’t believe that she was even considering his offer. But really, how could she lose in this agreement? She would get the promotion she wanted, making her life better than it was now and she’d get hot sex with an unbelievable man twice a month with no strings attached. “And you’ll never hurt me?”

  “On that you have my word. No pain with me ever, only pleasure. If I ever hurt you in any way then our contract will become void and you will never have to see me again. Plus, you get to keep your job no matter what,” he explained. Then he smiled the most amazing, heart stopping smile at her. “And you’re right, it will be the hottest sex you’ll ever have,” he said to her as he leaned closer as if telling her a secret just for her ears.

  Marie felt herself turn beet red in an instant. She was so embarrassed by what he’d just said, repeating back words she’d just been thinking. She had forgotten he had the ability to read her mind.

  As he said the words ‘hot sex’, Marie swore she could see flames of desire for her burn in his green eyes. She couldn’t remember her body being so aroused before in her life and something told her he was aware of it. She could tell he enjoyed even this small amount of power he had over her body without even trying. Marie didn’t even dare to think how he would be while making love. She shuddered in anticipation.

  The man leaned over to Marie and touched her cheek with his fingertips. His touch was hot against her skin. It felt as if he was branding her as his, marking her as his own for everyone to see and she didn’t even care. As his fingers touched her, her whole body tingled, cried out for more of him. It was a feeling of overwhelming desire like she’d never experienced before in her life. If he wanted to take her right there on the bar she wouldn’t protest against it. She had to stop herself from picturing him in front of her fucking her while she sat on the bar with her skirt hiked up around her thighs.

  “You should be warned though, before you agree to this,” he told her, bringing her back to reality, “you will never know such pleasure as what I will make you feel. After we are together you will never want another man the way you will want me. You can make love with other men if you choose, but they’ll never make you feel the way I will make you feel. You’re body will crave my touch at the sight of me,” he told Marie, his voice barely audible. He was so close to her now she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

  Marie knew he was telling the truth because even as he spoke to her she felt herself start to lose control. He had her hot for him in a short amount of time. All she wanted was to seal the deal so that he could take her body already. It shocked Marie to feel this way. It wasn’t like her to want a man she just met so desperately. Marie swallowed hard, her throat dry even though sh
e had just finished her drink just minutes before. Just a simple touch on her cheek and his warm breath on her skin made her come undone. If she let herself make love with him she knew there’d be no going back.

  “So are you ready to sign the contract?” the man asked Marie, breaking the spell woven around them.

  “The contract?” Marie asked him. She hadn’t realized that he had meant for her to sign an actual contract in writing. He was taking this deal thing very seriously. “You have an actual contract with you now?” Marie asked, amazed.

  The man reached into his jacket inside pocket and pulled out a folded white piece of paper. He unfolded the paper and laid it flat on the bar. Marie leaned over to look at the paper and saw a legal looking document.

  “Here, we just both sign this at the bottom and it will all be settled. You get your promotion and I get…” his voice trailed off as he looked at her up and down.

  “I don’t have a pen to sign it,” Marie said to him stalling for a little time to think. She watched the man reach into his inner pocket again and this time pulled out a dark red and silver pen. Of course if he carried a contract with him he’d have a pen with him too, she thought.

  He pulled the cap off revealing a silver, sharp looking point. He took the point of the pen and pressed it into his index finger drawing blood. Marie’s stomach lurched as he took the pen and wrote his name at the bottom of the contract in his blood.

  He pushed the paper over so it was now in front of Marie. She leaned down to read the red signature on the paper. Nathan Haddes. Finally, her mysterious man had a name.

  “Nathan Haddes,” Marie read out loud.

  “People call me lots of different names but you can call me Nate,” he told her. “No need for us to be formal,” he explained.