Crave by Bonnie Bliss Page B

Your debtors ride here at this very moment in time to demand you pay your gambling debts.” He reached inside his other coat pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment, which appeared old and weathered, rolled and tied with some kind of string.
    “I will not make a deal.”
    “Of course you can. You are fifty-two years young, Jacob, and have many years ahead of you. You can fuck as many of your sweet slaves as you want, beat up as many as you want. You’ll never have debts again, you will die old and happy with pink pussy on your daily diet. I will stop your dear wife’s roaming mouth, stop the obscenities she utters about you. I will have her father’s heart fail in church; he will drop stone dead and never bother you again. I will send a dust storm of ripping sand down the road to punish the men you owe and you can gamble as you wish. I will give you so much wealth you will never lose.”
    “You lie.”
    “Of course I lie; it is my greatest trick. But as in all men, I have needs and you bring about an opportunity that fills my need.”
    “You will trick me good and my life will be worse.”
    The devil watched his host. There lay intrigue in those eyes.
    “I deny nothing, except the words written on this parchment. I will abide by them to the letter and by your signature in blood.”
    “What is the deal?”
    The devil grinned. He placed a pouch on the desk, the finest silk, tied with a deep red ribbon.
    “Open it.”
    Watching Cromwell, the old man reached out, his hands trembling as he pulled out the biggest diamond, the likes of which he could never have imagined.
    “That is mine, my diamond. In return for everything I offer, I wish for you to take care of my diamond. Keep it within these walls and you will experience wealth above everything you have ever known. You will flourish in your business; you can buy new girls, one for every day of the year. Everything you touch will turn to gold. No more debt, no more enemies whispering your name.”
    “Is that all?”
    “Hell, no.” The devil smirked. “You have three daughters, do you not?” Cromwell nodded as the sweat formed on his desperate flesh. “I want your first born. I want to lay with her and give her my child, a pretty baby girl. I want this so my blood flows through the human race and corrupts them. I want to lay with your first born and when my child comes of age, the sweet age of eighteen, I will come and claim her and set her up in this hellish world. And I will do the same with her first born until a seventh child is born. The seventh will sit at my side and be my glorious heavenly bride, for eternity. You will be legend, Jacob, long after you are dead.”
    “You will force my death sooner; you will put in a clause so that I die. I know your ways.”
    “I will add to your deal that you will die no earlier than the coming of age of your first born’s child. That gives you nineteen years, Jacob. Interested?”
    “Write it and I will read it.”
    “Already written.” He untied the string and unrolled the parchment, flipped it and pushed it to Cromwell’s hands. Raising his brow, he studied the old man’s eyes. “Take your time, but remember, your debtors close in each passing moment. Read it as quickly or as slowly as you wish.”
    Cromwell studied it, shifting the spectacles on his nose.
    “It seems in order.”
    “You may not sell my diamond; if you lose it the deal is cancelled. To reap the rewards you must conceal it until my return. Only you need know its hiding place. As soon as you sign, it will happen. Your destiny is in your hands.”
    “In blood?”
    “But of course. Oh, there is one more condition. The slave Ettie, I want her as my own servant.”
    Cromwell nodded and reached into a drawer, pulling out a small knife he used to open letters. He pricked his fingertip and the blood pooled at the incision. Without further hesitation, Cromwell signed. He turned it as it dried and pushed it back to the devil, who read