Deal with the Devil

Contents Author's Note Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Epilogue About Author's Note John and Victoria’s story began as a single bonus scene, providing the details of how the heroine in Busted was found out. Readers quickly demanded more of this story, so I wrote it over the space of a year in periodic installments to share with my newsletter subscribers. Even I usually had no idea what was going to happen next! It’s been lightly edited for consistency (eye color, etc.) and hopefully remains the fun and lighthearted read that made it a fan favorite. Enjoy! ~Olivia Prologue Victoria This isn’t my bed. It’s too comfortable, the sheets a little too silky against my bare skin. I force my eyes open and study the room barely lit by the early morning sunlight trying to force its way between the blinds. Nope. Definitely not my bedroom. For starters, it’s about three times the size of my entire apartment. I sit up, intent on getting out of bed and getting back to my middle-class universe as quickly as possible. That’s when I notice I’m not alone. There’s a man in this bed that’s not mine. It’s probably his bed, I acknowledge to myself. So I can’t exactly get mad at him if he’s sleeping in his own bed, now can I? But does he have to be so gorgeous while unconscious? It’s not fair. The crisp white sheets are hanging low on his hips. I have some vague memories of drinking too much at the wedding reception. I think you’re entitled when your unrequited crush ties the knot with your little sister, of all people. I’d thought about running off to Bora Bora, but I couldn’t get an appointment for all the shots in time. Yes, I really did check. That’s how badly I didn’t want to be there — to watch the happy couple being all sappy over each other. And even worse, to have to 1 Victoria As soon as he says those incriminating words — a lifetime of sexual favors — last night comes back to life in a whirl of sensation that has my stomach heaving. Oh fuck. I did say that. Loudly. “Um.” I bite my lip. How am I supposed to get out of this one? A graceful exit is no longer an option. I’ll take ‘by the skin of my teeth’ without having to move out of state, find a new job, and change my identity. All of which are looking increasingly more likely. “My new Chief of Staff needs to do better than ‘um’, Victoria.” His voice is gently chiding, a sub note of disappointment that contradicts the twinkle in his eye, but not the muscular hand gripping my left hip firmly. “Wha?” Horror and astonishment have me sitting back on his lap, my generous breasts now swinging freely and apparently capturing his attention while my mouth gapes open. “You heard me. Kind of hard to see to all my needs if you aren’t by my side when I want you. And I have a lot of needs, Victoria.” “You can’t do that. And stop calling me Victoria. I’m Tori and you damn well know it.” “Not to me. From here on out, you are using your proper name. All of it. And yes, I can do