Caught in the Devils' Hand Read online

  After she had soaped up her hair, she leaned to the right to rinse it, and that’s when she noticed a strange stirring in her stomach. Her hands continued to work her hair, and she wondered in dismay if she was going to vomit again.

  After another minute of rinsing, she lifted her head out of the water and ran her hands through it to see if there was still soap in it. Finding some over her left temple, she leaned to the left this time but gasped as a jolt of some indefinable sensation shot through her loins. She leaned up, holding her sex in one hand and wondering if he had left something there…some magic that she could not dispel from her body. The feeling intensified, and she softly moaned, her chin just above the surface of the water. Needing to finish and leave the water, she scrubbed the last of the soap from her hair and body and stood up.

  She was throbbing between her legs, and her knees shook as she took a step toward the grass at the bank. Though water dripped from the planes of her body, she could tell she was wet in another place for an altogether different reason. She cursed the demon for leaving his magic mark on her body and resolved to tell her mother of what happened in order to find help in removing his evil charm. She was about to take another step up onto the bank when the feeling burst, her body aflame with desire. She stumbled back a step, and her head shot up as someone entered her sanctum.

  It was most certainly not another villager.

  Her first thought wasn’t of anger or fear. It was simple curiosity. He looked so different in the daylight. Except for his fine clothing and strikingly white hair, he looked perfectly…human.

  Looking into his eyes, she saw the clearest and purest blue irises she had ever seen in her life. She couldn’t believe she had thought so surely that he would have gray eyes. Blue eyes were perfect for him—so deceivingly innocent, but the rest of him screamed sin. His wide shoulders, his cocky smirk and his arrogant stance…Though she knew that last night’s transgression was the result of her own weaknesses, she couldn’t help but blame him as well. He had seduced her, had used his evil ways to lure her with inhumanly attractive looks and a voice that could soften stone.

  “I-I thought that those who serve the Damned One did not come out into the daylight,” she said, her voice quavering only slightly. The burn of righteous anger began to settle in her stomach and she held onto that feeling, hoping she didn’t lose her nerve. He smirked at her, as if thinking how stupid she was, and it enraged her, galvanizing her to hide her nakedness from his eyes by lowering herself into the water. The smirk fell away and thinly veiled anger passed over his face.

  “I see you are still angry with me, Shumei,” he said mockingly.

  “You seduced me and took my virginity…I’ll be angry with you for the rest of my life,” she said hollowly. Though she hid it well for now, the desire pulsating through her body was a definite distraction. His face gave away nothing.

  “I remember a young wanton female moaning with pleasure as I thrust myself into the clenching muscles of her womanhood…over and over again,” he uttered, taking a small step closer.

  “Don’t even come near me, you demon! You spun your magic around me and confused me, just as surely as an adult who tricks children and steals from them!” she surmised. “You are cruel to even come back here and taunt me with the sin I committed!”

  “Cruel? I am cruel, you say? I am on the verge of death and a beautiful girl appears, as if granted to me by the very gods that cursed me to this existence. I gave you pleasure, even made magic to suppress the pain of your first mating. I let you return to your village. I could have kidnapped you or even killed you on the spot. Other things in that forest would have done worse. They would have brought friends, would have taken you over and over again until you died or until they killed you, and you say I am cruel?”

  “You are the lesser of many evils! Nothing more! I can only be grateful to be alive, but you have no claim over me! None!” she vehemently cursed, ignoring the throbbing between her legs and the thrill of happiness she had felt when he had said she was beautiful.

  “Oh but I do have a claim on you…and I shall demonstrate.” His eyes seemed to widen, maybe even glow, and she hissed as the arousal humming through her body grew tenfold.

  “Aah! B-by the gods,” she moaned, her hand slipping between her legs again, hoping that holding herself would somehow lessen the sensations. “Wh-what is this magic?”

  “For my kind, it is called the Binding. Your sexuality is now bound to mine. By simply thinking it, I can arouse you to a fever pitch.” His smile wilted slightly. “However, the price I must pay is to obey all contracts made between us, past, present and future. There may be other strictures, but the Binding is rarely used, and so not much of it is known beyond that.”

  “You…you placed this curse upon me? And you still think you can say that you aren’t cruel?!” she accused, biting down on her lower lip. Though he couldn’t see it, she had begun to tease herself, having discovered for herself the same spot that he had teased last night.

  “Does that feel good?” he asked, looking pointedly at a spot below the water. She immediately froze, horrified.

  “No, Shumei, don’t stop,” he sighed, kneeling and sitting back on his heels. “Your sexuality is bound to mine…and I can feel everything you do to yourself, just as you can feel everything I do to myself.” He tugged on the ties to his clothing, loosening them enough to slip his hand inside. She watched his hand almost in fear and gasped as he gripped his own arousal, for just as his hand tightened around that turgid member, she felt the mirror sensation in her body.

  His eyes held hers, willing her not to look away from his pure blue stare as he stroked himself. She sighed and groaned, feeling everything he felt just as surely as if his hand were between her thighs instead of her own. Her fingers twitched involuntarily and she heard a catch in his throat. His hand never stopped moving and his gaze was rock-steady.

  “Why do you haunt me?” she brokenly asked, sucking in air as the sensations climbed higher and higher.

  “I promised to leave you here, but I did not promise to leave you alone, did I?” he reminded her. She made a small noise of reluctant defeat, knowing he spoke the truth. “You think that I left a mark on you and though that’s true, you do not realize the mark you have left on me. I want you, Shumei,” he declared, pumping his hand faster.

  “Aah, AAH!” she cried out, her hand itching to move.

  She had refused to even think it, but the thought now blared inside her mind—it was the incredible pleasure she had attained last night that had haunted her the most. It had been the most wonderful sensation she had ever felt in her life, and the fact that a demon had brought her to it made her feel sinful. She did not want to be a sinner…an evildoer in the eyes of the Divine One, for if the demons known as Soul-Eaters truly existed and consumed the souls of evil humans, she was surely in trouble now.

  “I can take you away from this life,” he offered, his face taut as he tried to concentrate. “So—ah, by the gods…lift the promise I made and save yourself,” he said, his voice almost begging…almost.

  She didn’t answer him though. She was waiting for that final climb and watched his hand, which made the feelings accelerate even faster. She sighed uncontrollably, biting down on her lower lip in anticipation. Her eyes began to water, and she closed them, ready to catch the brunt of the pleasure about to rack her body.

  Everything suddenly halted, though, and she made a rough, disappointed noise. Opening her eyes, she saw that his hand had stopped, and he simply stared at her, hands at his sides.

  “D…” she began, but the sound froze in her throat when she realized that she was about to say “don’t stop”. It would be extremely hypocritical to say that now. As if he knew what she had meant to say, his smirk returned and her lips tightened with anger. She wasn’t sure which made her angrier…his arrogance, or the fact that he had stopped.

  “Damn you! Damn you!” she cursed at him, huddling even farther into the water, if that wer
e possible.

  “I am already damned, woman,” he said, his face and voice suddenly very serious. She could feel the change in his mood as if it were a change in temperature. Her body shivered in the cool river water. Wondering how overbearing he would be with several of the village’s strapping field workers running to her aid, she gathered a deep breath.

  His body tensed and he dropped into the water faster than her eyes could follow him. His clothes were instantly soaked, water splashing everywhere. She couldn’t see if he had reacted at all to the chill of the water because she flinched away from him. A tiny shriek was all she could get out as she backed away from him, though she could only retreat about half a step before her back met the prickly branches of the riverside bushes. His arms came around her, strong enough to clamp her solidly to his chest with her arms trapped between their bodies.

  “Scream, and you’ll ensure the death of any villager who comes to investigate,” he warned, his face close and his rage evident. There was no way to cower in fear from him because she couldn’t move. So she chose anger instead.

  “Why have you come to bother me today?” she bit out, wisely holding in her scream in the face of his threats. Seeing that she was agreeing to remain quiet, he released her and sat down on the riverbed, putting some distance between them.

  “I have already spoken of my reasons. You are the ideal source of sexuality for a demon such as myself, and since I cannot steal you away, thanks to some stupidly uttered words on my part, I am here offering you a simpler, easier life in exchange for your…womanly favors,” he eloquently stated.

  “I refuse to fall into sin,” was her direct yet roundabout answer, “and I will not abandon my mother and brother.”

  “How very noble,” he mocked. “While I would never call you a sinner, it is obvious that associating with me on any voluntary level may be risking your immortal soul, but think of your fellow villagers, Shumei. If you agree to be mine, then I won’t have to seek out other females to ‘seduce’.” His eyebrows took a teasing slant as he continued to smile at her. She suppressed the urge to splash him.

  “Nor would I reveal myself or our ‘relationship’ to those in charge,” he threatened, his voice deepening. She felt her face pale at that, realizing that the villagers might banish her for what she had done. The demon continued, “Also, I’ve had a bit of time to spy upon your ‘saintly’ neighbors for the past few hours. If you believe your fellows to be clean of sin, then why does your pock-faced neighbor beat his son? Why does the married man living next door to you sneak off to the widow near the center of the village and make the most obscene noises that I’ve ever heard out of a man’s throat? Why does the coal-haired woman at the west end of the village practice very dangerous black magic?”

  “Sh-she does? They’ve done those things?” she asked, taken aback. He nodded slowly, continuing his speech without preamble.

  “I am also willing to accommodate your brother at my dwelling. I’ll even teach him how to fight, as long as you and all of your…accoutrements come with the deal, but mark my words, Shumei.” His face slowly fell to a somber expression. “You can either make a deal with me, or I shall find you whenever you are alone and take you as I did last night,” he said with finality. She felt her face take on a frightened look, unable to help herself.

  “You would rape me?” she asked, her voice fearful.

  “Wrong. Despite what you may think, rape is the worst way to try to get a woman’s sexual energy. With rape, no matter if the woman can fight or not, her body does not want a climax and will not produce any sexual energy. It’s possible to force a climax since the body is not always subject to the mind’s will, but rather than sexual energy, a forced climax produces poison. It would kill me. As a sex demon, I can find those who are willing to bed down with me, and whether you like hearing it or not, you were very willing.” He paused for emphasis, making her heart skip a beat. “I knew you would be…”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “It’s part of my magic. I can tell who would be willing to spend a night with me. If I was another villager in this pathetic place and I came to you one night to ask for your body, would you feel any inclination to say yes? To have a secret affair and find out what it’s like to be beneath me?”

  She wanted to scream a denial, but it was not in her to lie. She could lie by omission, but she could never lie outright. To say that she wouldn’t feel any inclination to spread her thighs for a human with his looks, and yes, even his personality…that would be a big lie. In fact, she had the feeling that if he had met her as a human, she might have lost her virginity long ago. Only last week, she had known next to nothing about sex, but if a man like him had been around, she would have become aware of the facts very fast.

  That thought made her feel even dirtier. She was more of a sinner than she believed. Much more…

  “You want a deal then,” she abruptly recounted, avoiding an answer. His face morphed slowly, going from bored to interested.

  “Most certainly,” he hedged.

  “You need enough sexual energy to last a month, correct?” He nodded. She continued, “Then…one day a month, I will meet you and willingly give you the energy you need, but you must promise to no longer accost me unless it’s the day to meet.”

  “I want you too much to accept those terms…if we are to make a deal then I will meet with you four days a week.”

  “F-four times? But I cannot…two days a month then!” she bargained, sitting up straighter. She saw him swallow and watched his eyes drift lower on her person. It made her wilt down again into herself.

  “Three days a week,” he responded, a grin rising to his lips. A blush rose to her cheeks correspondingly.

  “Three days a month?” she proposed, her voice getting smaller.

  “One day a week…and it’s my final offer,” he said, his voice hardening as the grin melted. His mood had swung yet again.

  Her gaze slid away from the alluring face of the sex demon sitting near her. Thinking of the deal she was about to make, she wondered if it was true that those with hair the color of midnight were destined for incidents such as this—if the taint on their souls gave them more bad luck than good.

  “What is your answer, woman?” the demon said, his voice oozing with annoyance. She blinked, looking at him briefly before returning her gaze to the surface of the water between them.

  “I will agree to the deal if it includes one last thing,” she began, trying to look him in the eye and having trouble. His jaw hardened with barely suppressed impatience.

  “What is this last thing?” he asked.

  “You must not spill your seed into my womb ever again.” There was only a slight pause when nothing was spoken.

  “Done,” he said simply, though she was surprised to hear a strange tone in that one word. He sounded…wounded. She looked up at him, but his face was as blank as snow. “I have stipulations to add then,” he added, his indifferent expression turning into a satisfied smile. His mood had swung yet again.

  “M-more stipulations?!” she asked, aghast.

  “You will not allow another man to enjoy your sexual favors. Not even a kiss,” he said.

  “Y-you mean, I must turn away all suitors?”

  “Precisely.” He watched as she shivered again.

  “What if a man forces a kiss upon me?” she asked, thinking of the many past occasions with Akiji.

  “Then do not let yourself fall into situations where that might happen,” he sighed, as if the answer were obvious.

  “But my brother is only into his ninth year, and I give him kisses all of the time!” she exclaimed.

  “I will permit affection between you and your brother,” he allowed.

  “Agreed then. Was there another stipulation?” she asked warily.

  “One more…” he breathed. She shivered again, though this time it was due to the sound in his voice rather than the temperature of the water.

  “During our…session
s,” he paused, smiling at his choice of words, “you must be an active participant. I will not lay with a meek doll once a week.” He watched her face and saw the confusion upon it.

  “I do not understand your meaning,” she said, looking at him as if he had grown another head. He slowly unfolded his arms, sitting forward.

  “When we have sex, Shumei, I want to hear you moan with pleasure. I want to feel your hands riding my ass as I push myself into your body,” he purred, thoroughly enjoying the bright blush that colored her cheeks. “I want you to eagerly taste my mouth and beg me to bring you to the joyous, wet climax that you surely remember from last night.”

  “Enough!” she begged, covering her red ears with wet hands. One corner of his mouth lifted in amusement and she bit back her saucy retort, if only to avoid angering him.

  “If you break your end of the deal, all contracts between us shall be void, and I will steal you away, whether you’re willing or not. Do you understand, Shumei?” he said, speaking slowly and clearly.

  “I may be naïve, demon, but I am not stupid. I understand you,” she bit out. “If you break your end of the deal, all contracts between us shall be void and you will never approach me or anyone I care about in any fashion for the rest of eternity. Is that understood?”

  He lowered his head, but not in apology or submission. It was the way a dog hunched into itself when it growls at you. The displeasure on his face was menacing.

  “Do you agree to the bargain, Shumei?” he asked, his voice very deep and angry. She flinched, silently scolding herself for her run of stupid things to say in the last two days. First, she had snapped at the village leader and now she was trying to bait a powerful demon who could walk in the sunlight. She huddled into herself yet again, hesitantly meeting his eyes.