The Devil Made Me Do It by Alysha Ellis

before it caught. His voice was imperious, commanding. She had to be realistic. This wasn’t about wanting her the way she wanted him. This was offended masculine dignity. Perhaps she hadn’t been generous enough in her praise. After all, it was his kingdom, his domain, and he was proud of it. He only needed her to soothe his ego for a few more days or weeks.
      Giving in to his demands would only make it worse. The longer she stayed, the more it would hurt when she had to leave forever. Nothing could be gained by a temporary extension in time.
    “I can’t. I have a life. A job. Friends. I can’t just stay here and do… What? What is it you’d expect me to do?”
    “Be with me. Be happy. That’s all you have to do.”
    “I don’t think that’s possible.”
    “Of course it’s possible. I’m the Devil.” In a sonorous voice carrying all the authority and command of the Master of the Underworld, he said, “I could force you to stay.”
    Jess shook her head. “You wouldn’t.”
    The Devil sighed. “I could. You know I could. You’ve seen the power I have. But I won’t use it. I don’t want to force you to stay with me, Jess. I want you to want to stay with me.”
    His eyes were intense as he stared at her. His hands clutched at hers. Jess felt her heart flutter. A thin flare of hope, frail and fragile, rising up from the embers, began to grow. It wasn’t arrogance or aloofness driving him. It was need—raw, painful, undeniable need.
    “Why?” The single word, almost inaudible, escaped her on a breath of air.
    The Devil waited a moment, his dark angel’s face pure and gilded in the light of the room. When he spoke it was with the reverent, resonant tone of holy confession. “I can have anything in the world, but all I want is you. I need you. I don’t think I can live without you. Please. Stay with me.”
    She sat back, unable to think of a single word to say.
    He apparently took her silence to be the foreshadowing of rejection. His words were a plea. “It won’t matter if you don’t love me. I can live with that. I’ll spend the rest of eternity making sure you have everything you want. Stay with me. You won’t regret it.”
    Stay with the Devil. Become an inhabitant of Hell. Shivers of nervousness and need and anticipation worked their way through Jess’ body. “Why? Tell me why you want me to stay.”
    “Because I love you.”
    A sudden, shimmering glow, as if the fairies had escaped their realm and filled the room with fairy dust, blurred Jess’ vision. Through the haze, Jess heard the echo of his words over and over again. “I love you.” The echo grew louder, stronger, and she realised it was her voice, taking his words, repeating them, making them her own.
    His lips formed into a beatific smile, pure joy kindling in his eyes. He reached out, long fingers tangling in her hair, pulling her to him, but before his lips and tongue could claim her, he breathed the words into her mouth, into her soul, “I love you. For now. For always. I love you.”
    His hands trembled, even as he swept them over her body. Each place he touched ignited a signal fire whose flames blazed out a message of love and lust. He kissed his way down her stomach and nestled his head between her legs. His eyes locked with hers. She clasped his head in her hands and stroked her fingers across the sleek, dark hair, knowing that nothing was hidden, there were no horns, no dark surprises. She let her legs fall further apart, open to him. Open to all he was. All he wanted.
    He smiled then bent his head.
    His tongue, not forked but undeniably knowledgeable, twirled and pressed against her clitoris, while his fingers stroked inside her. She tightened the muscles of her vagina, squeezing his fingers, making him groan with delight as the creamy juices rolled over them.
    He was hers. When she came, she wanted him to be inside her. She tugged gently, pulled his head back to hers. The taste of his lips was new, a heady mix of