The Demon's Bargain (A Deal With a Demon #4)(28)

They shift back, pulling my hips with them so we stay joined. Their claws dig into my skin, just a little bit, and they begin to move. Ramanu does nothing halfway, and they don’t simply fuck me. No, they pick up their pace slowly, doing something with their hips that has them dragging over my G-spot with each stroke.

“Oh my gods. Don’t stop!”

For once, they don’t have a smart comment. Their breathing is just as harsh as mine, and their fingers flex on my hips, the tiny pinpricks of pain only making the pleasure building in my core all the more intense. I scrabble at the torn bedding, shredding the what’s left of the sheets with my nails as I cum. “Ramanu.”

“I like it when you say my name,” they gasp. “Do it again.”

Lost in my orgasm, I can do nothing but obey. The last wave ebbs, and I flop to the mattress, totally spent.

Only to realize they’re still hard inside me. I turn my head to the side and open one eye. “You’re doing that on purpose.”

“Guilty.” They don’t sound the least bit sorry. They wrap me up in their arms and shift so we’re lying on our sides, them still buried deep inside me. “Relax. We have time.”

Not enough. Nowhere near enough.

I don’t say it aloud, though. Instead, I cling to them as they tuck me tighter against their body and start to move in tiny little strokes that have pleasure sparking through me yet again. If we only have this right now, I’m in agreement with Ramanu.

I don’t want to waste a moment.





Chapter 12





Ramanu





I let Lenora sleep as long as possible. I could say it’s for her benefit—and it is—but it feels good to have her in bed with me. She sleeps the same way she moves through the world, taking up more space than one would expect. Right now she’s draped over my body as if she subconsciously thinks I’ll slip out when she’s not paying attention.

She’s right.

As loath as I am to leave her, if I knew where the damned tournament is, I would already be there and waiting to step into the ring. If I get there before her and accomplish her aims before she has a chance to get hurt…

It won’t work. I don’t know where the tournament is, and the Shadow Market is significantly larger than I expected. I’d still be wandering the area while Lenora risks her life.

She could die.

The thought leaves me cold. I don’t like the thought of this world without the little witch in it. I don’t want her hurt, but the same can be said for any human I’ve made a bargain with. Doing so means I’m responsible for them and their safety, and I take that seriously.

It’s different with Lenora.

I don’t know exactly what’s different, but I want the time to explore it with her. I want…to stand between her and the things that make the pale blue of sorrow spiderweb through her. I want her bathed forever in sunny yellow and deep ocean blue. Happy and content.

“You’re very tense for someone who spent the past couple hours fucking.” Lenora nuzzles my throat in a way that makes my heart do backflips through my chest. “It’ll be fine.”

She keeps saying that. I keep not believing her.

I want this moment to last a little longer, to preserve the peace between us. “I didn’t say this earlier, but thank you for asking about terminology during our negotiation.”

She smiles against my skin. “Of course. Like I said, I’m deeply invested in you having a good time, and the last thing I want is to misgender you.”

That horrible warm feeling in my chest just gets stronger. I pull her close. “I prefer they/them, but honestly I don’t mind the other pronouns in the right context. My gender is…” I can’t help grinning a bit. “Let’s call it a coat of many colors. It shifts depending on the day and my mood and the circumstances.”

“A coat…of many colors. As in Joseph from the Bible?” She lifts her head. “Ramanu, you chose that metaphor on purpose just to be chaotic, didn’t you?”

“Guilty.” I laugh a little. “But in all seriousness, my gender is too…mischievous…to neatly categorize or pin down. I like it that way.”

“I understand.” Lenora presses a quick kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Thank you. For this talk, and for everything you’ve done since I summoned you.”

The feeling in my chest gets stronger until it feels like a small sun resides in my chest. “I wouldn’t have missed this time with you for the world.”

“Me, either.” Lenora kisses my shoulder and sits up. “It’s time.” She presses her fingers to my lips when I start to protest. “I have to do this. We’ve argued in circles, and it’s obvious there’s no solution that would make you happy.”

“Yes, there is. Let me fight for you.”

“No,” she says it gently, which is almost worse than if she’d yelled it. “I won’t let you get hurt on my behalf. But if it will make you too uncomfortable to watch me fight, you don’t have to come.”

As if I’m letting her out of my presence.

I contemplate my options as she slips into the bathroom and gets ready. My mind spins out in a thousand directions, trying to find a way through this. The problem is most routes that leave her out of danger need her active permission, and that’s one thing she won’t give.