Contract Marked: a Dark Paranormal Romance
Copyright© 2025 by Alice Craft
Chapter 18: Erin
Supernatural Sex Story: Chapter 18: Erin - I didn’t believe in magic, monsters, or anything that defied logic. But that was before the fortune teller’s chilling prophecy, before my best friend vanished into thin air, and before him—the unnaturally beautiful and dangerous being who took her in the first place. Now, I’m trapped in a deadly game between two immortal rivals, each more ruthless than the last. To save my friend, I made a deal with, not one, but two monsters. If I fail? My mind, my body, and my soul will belong to them forever.
Caution: This Supernatural Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Mult Coercion NonConsensual Reluctant Heterosexual Fiction Paranormal Magic Demons Humiliation Rough Oral Sex Sex Toys Slow
I put on a brave smile for Lucy’s sake, but my insides felt like Jello as me, Dez, and Lucille materialized in front of a pair of double doors. Lucy and I each held one of Dez’s arms as he introduced himself to the footman, who was less of a man and more like a moving gargoyle that came up to my waist. Strapped to my side was my gold purse filled with a pad of paper, a pen in case I needed to take notes, and my silver coin. I debated leaving it behind, but didn’t want to be completely defenseless.
Others popped into existence behind us, but before I could look to see if any of them were Cal, Dez dragged us inside.
“Goodness,” Lucy gasped, and I wasn’t far behind her.
Fog, that shimmered in a cascade of different colors when the light hit it, covered the floor. The swirling smoke covered the feet of the dancing crowd not too far from us, like they were dancing on clouds, their faces ethereal and their skin a kaleidoscope of color that I couldn’t fully comprehend as I stared. The surrounding space lacked walls, or at least any I could see, replaced by colossal white pillars that would crush everyone here if just one toppled over, and a series of them surrounded us in an oval, with a night sky featuring an aurora replacing the roof. It felt like I was inside a dream.
Dazed, I let Dez guide us to a floating table filled with sweets, appetizers, and a flowing fountain of what I hoped was punch. A gray and white tree branched over the buffet, golden orbs of fruit dangling down to illuminate the feast. Beside me, two rainbow-skinned beings grabbed a couple of chocolate-dipped strawberries, and the table magically replaced them as if none had been taken. If I had something like this at home, I’d never leave.
“Is it everything you expected and more?” Dez released our arms and grabbed a glass of bubbling champagne from a hovering silver platter. I followed suit, needing a drink to calm my nerves. A string of instruments played in the distance, but I couldn’t find the source.
Dez’s gaze lingered on me, as it had since we first left for the gala. Now that I was fully aware it was because I resembled his former lover, I didn’t take any comfort in how his eyes devoured me from head-to-toe when I first emerged from Lucy’s room or the compliments he had tossed my way.
“It’s beautiful,” Lucy whispered. Her earlier excitement ebbed slightly, but her eyes still bounced back and forth between the floating buffet, the ethereal dancers, and colossal pillars that—upon closer inspection—were wrapped in vines of flowers stuck in a cycle of blooming, decaying, their petals falling to the ground like rain, only to bloom again.
“And terrifying,” I added, and she nodded in agreement.
Dez looked like he wanted to say more when a group of familiar faces emerged from the fog. Savenellus, Jaslynne, and Henrietta wore outfits from different eras, including a futuristic suit with unusual cutouts, a gown resembling Cinderella’s, and a thigh-length hot pink dress that looked taken off the set of Mean Girls. After living in this odd other realm for a bit, I got the impression that people and places were a hodgepodge of cultures and eras that didn’t go together, as if the beings wearing and creating this world didn’t know the difference, or didn’t care to.
“Don’t leave my sight,” he warned as he left to meet with them. I had to admit, Dez looked the best dressed in a white suit with gold trim, making him appear like a sun god with his combed-back blonde hair and blue eyes.
Against my protests, Lucy grabbed my hand and pulled me close to the dancing cluster of people and creatures, keeping Dez in our line of vision. Lucy was a talented dancer, twirling gracefully as if she belonged here, while I did the awkward shuffle as I had at every homecoming dance and prom I’d ever been to.
“I see why Saya said she was worried. This ... this is nothing at all what I expected.” I held up our folded hands as Lucy did a spin.
“You and I both. There’s nothing like this back home. But it’s amazing. Life couldn’t be more wonderful.” Lucy spun again, missing my frown.
I hoped nothing bad happened here tonight to make me regret this.
Dez disappeared, and my heart shuddered until we moved closer to the buffet, and he popped back into view. Lucy tugged on my hand to explore the party more despite my warnings. I grabbed another flute of champagne, nearly guzzling it down. It wasn’t the wisest course of action, but I needed a dose of liquid courage now more than ever.
I kept Dez in the corner of my eye as I scanned the crowd for Cal, Lucy still tugging us along. It was hard to tell who was human and who wasn’t. There was an unnatural beauty to some, which hinted they were more than human, while there were beings that weren’t humanoid at all. Some stood on all fours, others with uncomfortably long necks or horns that branched out like the limbs of a tree. Most ignored us, but the ones whose gazes lingered made my skin crawl, and I swore I felt hands brush my arms and back as we passed.
“Not too far,” I warned as she continued to pull us deeper into the throng of beings, the dim lighting and fog making it disorienting. Why was she acting like this? I knew Lucy was younger and more reckless than the rest of us, but it was like she was already drunk, abandoning all sense.
I yanked on our intertwined hands, whirling her around to face me. Her cheeks were flushed beyond the pink blush Saya had applied, and her eyes glazed. “Are you okay?”
“Never been better. I feel so alive.” She smiled, her lips as rosy as her cheeks, her face sparkling from the make-up. While I was sure there was some level of protection for me, considering I had both Dez and Cal’s contract marks, Lucy had none. Was there something going on I couldn’t see that was affecting her but not me? I hadn’t seen her grab any of the food or drink while I already had two glasses, and I was fine.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me into a dense group of gyrating people (not all wearing clothing), separating me from Lucy.
I pulled at the band of muscle locked around me and attempted to kick the assailant’s shin when a familiar voice whispered, “Relax, it’s me.”
Cal.
“As if I could relax around you.” Keeping Lucy in view, I turned in his grasp. Every time I saw this being, he took my breath away, and my body immediately reacted in a way that would be very dangerous if I drank any more bubbly champagne.
Cal had pulled back his long dark hair into a low ponytail, and his left ear sported the same dangling silver dagger earring. It matched his shirt, which shimmered like liquid metal and was tucked into black slacks that hugged his narrow waist and muscular frame. His gray eyes appeared even more alluring against the dark liner, his skin clear of any blemishes with lips I stared at a little too long for it to be subtle.
“Have I ever given you a reason not to be?” I didn’t miss the way his cool hands slowly trailed down my back to rest on my hips, guiding us into a steady sway. Those lips I hadn’t been able to tear my gaze away from fast enough curled into a slow, sensuous smile. My breath hitched.
Lucy, who was now in the arms of a being with antler horns and a prominent nose, swayed at a similar pace to the beat of an R&B song I hadn’t heard before. When did it switch from instrumentals? “Don’t give me that. You know damn well you were about to kill me when you bound me to your kitchen chair.”
His hands pressed into my lower back, drawing me closer. Leather and fire teased my senses, his heat enclosing me like a bonfire on a frosty night. “Maybe, maybe not.”
I leaned back to put space between us. He retaliated by snaking an arm around my waist and arms, trapping me flat against his chest from my torso down to our lower bodies. My face instantly suffused with heat, along with another part of me I ignored.
“Let’s just skip to the part where I tell you what you want to know. That’s why you sought me out, right?” Even though I’d been looking for him, he must have sensed me through the mark as soon as we landed in the same dimension.
His free hand trailed up and down my exposed back, wreaking havoc on my train of thought. I fought against his grip, but it was too tight for me to move.
“Well?” I said again after a few more shuddering breaths, his hands delving dangerously close beneath the slip of my dress to the top of my black thong. I wanted to say more, but my words escaped me.
“How’d you convince Dezmandaro to let you come here?” he finally said.
“He didn’t put up much of a fight if I’m being honest.”
Cal’s smile dimmed. “That’s odd.”
I shrugged, trying to act casual even as his fingers persisted in caressing my back. “You would know. You two used to be the best of pals.”
His grip tightened painfully. I let out a yelp, but his arm didn’t loosen an inch.
“What do you know?” His voice dropped with a dangerous edge to it. Like the night he interrogated me at his kitchen table.
Even as fear crept up my throat, lust still fought for control of my body. A heady combination I never thought would turn me on. Another thing to bring up in therapy, if I ever go back.
I sucked in a shallow breath. “If you let me breathe first, maybe I’ll tell you.”
His arm relaxed a smidge, and I drew in a wallow of air. The music had turned slower, bodies around us moving in a motion as old as time, grinding to the beat. I ignored the obvious moans and yells of ecstasy that played like another track above the music. The crowd of humanoid beings and creatures ebbed and flowed around us, but I didn’t spot any antlers in the sea of naked skin, furry pelts, and scaled tails that were in places they shouldn’t be. Lucy had disappeared, and Dez was nowhere in sight.
“Tell me.” Cal’s breath on my ear jerked my attention back to him.
I squirmed in his grip, more to assuage the anxiety that buzzed in my ears. “I found a room with a red door. There were photo albums of you, Dez, and a woman. Does Angelica ring a bell?”
He stared at me as if waiting for more.
I caved. “There were also love letters—very personal love letters. Whoever this Angelica was, her and Dez seemed in love.” I omitted the fact that I also saw lots of naked photos of the three of them. “What happened to her?”
Cal didn’t reply, but his hand had paused on my back, his arm still unmovable around my waist.
I sighed. “Look, I need to find Lucy and—”
“Burn it.”
“What?”
His fingers left my back to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. His gaze lowered to my lips, and I pretended it didn’t send a wave of excitement through me. “Burn. It.”
Burn the pictures and love letters? He couldn’t be serious. Dez wasn’t my favorite person, but that was a line even I didn’t want to cross. Those were memories, mementos that he wouldn’t be able to get back.
“Absolutely not. For all I know, this woman could be dead, and this is the last thing he has of her.”
Cal pursed his lips for half a second, so fast I had almost missed it. My assumption was right.
“If you want to hold up your end of the contract, you will burn that room.” His smile was wicked. “Unless you want to be my slave for the rest of your life.”
My nostrils flared, my hands bunching up into fists. “No. I’ll find another way.” I jerked against his hold, but he still didn’t release me. “Let me go.”
“I’m willing to renegotiate our contract.”
I paused. “You can do that?”
“As long as both parties agree. Burn everything in that room, and I’ll take you to your friend Megan.”
My lips peeled open. To see Megan, to make sure she was okay ... it wasn’t her freedom, but if I could get close enough to talk to her, I could get close enough to warp us back to Earth using the coin. Then again, I could use the coin to see her myself and avoid Dez’s wrath when he found out I destroyed what remained of his dead lover. But the coin hadn’t led me to Megan the first time. Maybe there was more at play, some magical interference that could only get me so close to her? If so, was this the only way?
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