The Demon's Bargain (A Deal With a Demon #4)(20)

“Ramanu.” Lenora’s voice is thick with something that isn’t lust. Colors swirl through her, nearly too fast to follow. She doesn’t know how to feel, and strangely enough, I’m in the same place.

I’m not a particularly peaceful person, but I normally don’t jump straight to a nearly overwhelming desire to murder someone I just met. Kristoff shows all evidence of being a giant asshole of a human, but he’s just that…a human. Even with all his magic and bloodlines, there’s nothing he could do to save himself from me.

That is, if he didn’t have the amulet protecting him.

“Ramanu.”

I allow her hand on my neck to urge me down, and I carefully brush a kiss to her lips. Her nails dig into my skin. “Make me cum, and let’s get out of here.”

She doesn’t have to tell me twice. The temptation to tease this out is there, but I don’t like having my back to this room. So far, the energy is all fun with a kind of reckless abandon that makes me think it could turn into a violent mob or an orgy, depending on what inciting incident there is.

I kiss Lenora properly as I start working her with my fingers again. She clings to me with the desperation of a sailor holding the last piece of shipwreck to stay afloat. There’s no reason for that to feel like it means something.

For her, this is just a distraction. A good time. A taste test she has no intention of buying the full experience for.

But, as she orgasms hard enough that her nails draw blood on my neck, I can’t shake the feeling that she’s marked me in a vastly more permanent way.





Chapter 9





Lenora





I know Jack failed the moment I see their face. Ramanu and I have been posted up at a little table right on the edge of Sanctuary, easily able to jump across the boundary if needed. Turns out it’s not necessary.

Jack drops into the chair across from us and sighs. A light sheen of sweat coats their medium-brown skin. “Sorry. I tried. He’s in the middle of a godsdamned threesome. I couldn’t get through.” They fan themself with a hand. “Gods, I’m nervous sweating. This is ridiculous.”

“He almost caught them.” Skye appears behind them. She’s a lean white woman with a shaved head and a nose ring. Her shirt looks like she clawed off the arms and lower part, showcasing a set of abs that looks painted on. She’s not pretty, exactly, but there’s an energy around her that draws people in. “I was going to have to step in.”

When Skye steps in, blood flows. It’s what I like about her.

Unfortunately, her brand of frenzied violence wouldn’t help us at all in this situation. “If Jack couldn’t get to him, I think Kristoff would have had time to throw up a shield if he saw you coming.” Subtlety and Skye don’t go well together.

“Pity,” Ramanu murmurs.

Jack gives them a long look before turning to me. “I’m sorry this didn’t work.”

“It’s okay.” I sigh. “It was a long shot anyways. Kristoff is too clever to allow it to be lifted off him, but we had to try.”

Ramanu shifts and drapes an arm over the back of my chair. They’re barely touching me, but I like it far more than I should. It’s hard not to lean back into the comforting weight of them. I know better. Damn it, I do.

The demon wants something from me.

They wouldn’t still be here if they didn’t. They certainly wouldn’t be helping me.

Except…they seem genuinely worried about me. I move on instinct, shifting closer and squeezing their knee. “It’s okay. There’s another way.”

“What other way?” they ask softly.

The one thing I wanted to avoid. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. “We have to enter the tournament tomorrow.”

Jack’s eyes go wide. “That’s a fool’s bargain.”

“I know.”

They shake their head. “Len, he’s got the amulet. He’s a surefire winner. No one is going to get close enough touch him. And he’s pissed at you right now. He’ll wipe the floor with you and then laugh his way out of the ring.”

“I know.” I can’t even be mad at their estimation because it’s exactly what will happen. Magic won’t affect him, and while Kristoff isn’t exactly a warrior, I have to get close enough to strike. If he’s using offensive magic—and he will—then I won’t get a chance. “But he can’t come into the ring with spells in place, so if I can get to him before he throws up the shield to keep me from taking the amulet, then I have a shot.”

Skye snorts. “A long shot. The longest.”

“Thank you, Skye. I am well aware of the odds.”

Ramanu has been surveying us silently. Their thumb brushes my shoulder. It’s not a sexual touch. It’s almost like they’re trying to comfort me. I give their knee another squeeze and they spare a brief smile. “Explain the tournament.”

Jack’s the one who leans forward, their curls bouncing with the movement. “Exactly what you’d expect. Two people enter the ring, winner is the one who beats the other to a pulp. Sometimes murder happens. Anything goes, though as Len says, you can’t walk into the ring with spells in place.”

“The amulet doesn’t count as a spell?”