Lucifer's Curse (The Devil's Deal, #1)

by Eliza Raine

Fallen angels were powerful, and I was the most powerful of them all. But that amounted to nothing in the face of a god. And I had been cursed, by the most feared god of them all. As one of my punishments, Exanimus had taken away my ability to physically respond to arousal. He had been kind enough to leave my desire fully intact though, and the longer I went unable to feel any release, the more it built.

But the other five blocks had been sold off and turned into a private retirement home. It meant I couldn’t make any noise after 9pm, and I regularly had nutty old folk knocking on my door or wandering around the grounds with barely any clothes on, but that kind of added to the appeal for me. My upbringing had been strict and formal, and there was something undeniably liberating about watching the old folks decide they’d been well-behaved for long enough.

“Honey, ain’t nobody in this whole damn world who’s bad in bed. If the sex is bad, you’re with the wrong person. It’s that simple.”

“Oh really? You want me to come and play Monopoly with you all night, do you? As if I would willingly spend the night with someone who calls themselves the Lord of Sin!” He shrugged. “I’m very good at Monopoly. But I should warn you, I cheat.”

“I am the devil. Lucifer. The Lightbringer. Lord of Sin. King of Darkness. A fallen angel.” “Right. Of course you are. And you’re in an apartment in Wimbledon because…” I kept my eyes fixed on him, moving my hand as slowly as I could to my cell phone, ready to call the police. He was crazy. Which meant he probably killed Sarah. “Because I’ve been kicked out of both Heaven and Hell, and have to make do with the company of mortals.” He let out a small sigh. “I have a strong suspicion that one of my fallen brethren is involved in Sarah’s murder, and as such, I feel an obligation to help you. The police will never catch a supernatural killer, meaning it’s highly likely that you will be the best, and only, option for pinning the crime on.”

Something dark flitted through his eyes, and he stiffened. “I am not cruel. Wrathful, yes. Fierce, yes. Lethal, yes. But I am not cruel. And I am paying the price for that.”

He was divine. Perfect. Irresistible. And as I kissed him, I knew with complete certainty that he was telling the truth.

No matter how much I protested that I wasn’t a character from Pretty Woman, all I could get from my boss was a wicked grin.

“If you were ready, then I could make your panties vanish off that perfect arse of yours right now. Then we’d have a more interesting dessert.”

Good Lord, the man was sex-on-legs.

The thought of sex with him—hell, even just proximity to him—was more arousing than some sexual encounters I had experienced.

“I’m a god of the night, a god of lust. Dreams are my playground.”

“I don’t care how good your coffee is, it’s not going to make me forgive you for leaving me alone in a damn strip club!”

“Cruelty comes in many shapes and forms, Beth. If the man made you feel like shit, then the man is a piece of shit.”

If the pull of Latin music wasn’t enough, the lure of South American food was. Add in the gorgeous hunk of arrogance standing before me using the world please, and I didn’t stand chance.

“Beth, do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this? I am not rushing it.” “Waited for what?” “You.”

“If he’s telling the damn truth, and he actually got me that wound up and left, I swear to god there’ll be another murder,” I snapped, tearing the sheets off and throwing my legs out of bed. “One I’m actually freaking responsible for!”

“Claude, are you magic?” If he wasn’t, I was at least sure that he knew about supernaturals. He’d let too many things slip. “Yes, Miss Abbott.” I nodded. “I assumed as much. Claude, up until this morning, I didn’t believe magic existed. Since then, I have seen my boss sprout golden wings, had my passport removed by the police, been given grief from an angry pixie and been threatened by an even angrier fallen angel. And your boss’s reaction to this has been to march off and leave me to sit in my apartment and wait to be arrested. Everyone seems to expect me to stand quietly and nod politely at people who all know more about everything than I do. Well, I’m done with that. Done, Claude.”

“I will not lay claim to you until my end of the deal is fulfilled.” “Lay claim to me?” A predatory smile took his face, and heat trickled through my core. “An old-fashioned expression,” he said dismissively. “Would you prefer something more modern? How about, I will not make you scream my name and beg for mercy as I ruin you for all other men?” Oh god. “This isn’t making me more comfortable about staying with you,” I croaked, as the now-familiar ache returned. I wouldn’t last a damn hour alone with him if he kept saying things like that. “The way I see it, Beth, you have a choice. Either you take your chances with me, or you stay here alone and see if someone tries to kill you.” I stared at him. “So, it’s sleep with the devil or die?” His eyes glittered with promise as he gazed back at me. “I know which I would choose.”

I decided to relinquish the responsibility of punishing those guilty of abusing the seven deadly sins. I gave up the four that caused me the most trouble, that brought out the worst in… people. Wrath, Pride, Envy and Sloth. But I kept the three I enjoyed having power over. Lust, Greed, Gluttony.” He looked at his empty plate, then back to me. “When power over the sins was carved up, the ability to use them fully, and therefore to punish those guilty of them, was broken. When I realized this, I should have taken them back and resumed my proper place as Lucifer, the punisher of evil. But I didn’t. I enjoyed the freedom too much. The gods, in turn, punished me for reneging on my duties. They cursed me so that I am never able to enjoy the sins that I kept.” “So… You can’t taste food because you kept Gluttony?” I half whispered the question. “Correct. I can’t taste this wine either, although I know it to be excellent. I also can’t keep my wealth for more than one day, due to Greed. I have had to build up an empire of companies in order to rebuild everything I lose overnight. Every night.” “And… Lust?” “Lust. The worst punishment of them all.” The blue light in his eyes was fierce, dancing across his irises as his gaze intensified. “I have not responded physically to a woman for seventy-eight years. Until now.”

“It has been nearly eight decades since I have been able to have sex with a woman.”

I wanted to know why this god of a man could only get a hard-on since meeting me. It made no sense. I was the most ordinary, boring woman in London. What the hell did I have that turned on the devil?

Walking was almost uncomfortable my cock was so hard. Fuck, I needed her. I needed her more than I needed damned air right now.

“My control is good, but not that good. I have waited nearly eighty years for you, Beth. I will wait a little longer.”

I’d succumbed to the charms of Nox. Lucifer. The devil.

All those things he’d said to me… He wasn’t a playboy. The man hadn’t had sex with anyone for, well, a lifetime. And he wanted me. He could only have me.

“Are you hungry?” “Yes.” “So am I.” I knew he wasn’t talking about food. I could hear it in his voice, feel it in the charged atmosphere. My god, I wanted him.

He was perfect. Large and hard and perfect. Whatever the opposite of intimidated was, it swallowed me whole, and I took a step toward him in a daze, like some sort of penis-obsessed zombie.

“What I wish is to hear you scream my name as I obliterate every idea you had of pleasure. What I wish is to take you to a place you never want to leave. I want to feel you come around my cock over and over, until the only thing you’re even aware of is me. I want to take you apart one blissful moment at a time and rebuild you as the fucking goddess you deserve to be.”