Making the Deal

AN: So I've had this idea bouncing around my head for the last few days since I had it as a dream, and when I (SPOILER ALERT) watched the last few episodes of Supernatural and Crowley died, I just knew this had to be written. After all, Crowley is one of my favorite characters, despite being a manipulative asshole.

CHAPTER ONE

Waving goodbye to her friends, Pandora Burnett exited the lowly lit bar and out onto the busy downtown street of Sioux Falls. The only reason she had even bothered to go out at all was to make her friends stop badgering her about getting a boyfriend. Sure 4 years without a relationship was a bit of a stretch, but they had started to get on her nerves lately with all the pestering. Of course they tried to hook her up with someone at the bar, and of course she though he was a complete ass and didn't like him. Hence the reason why she was stumbling the way she was as she left the bar alone. Slightly tipsy she giggle when she accidentally bumped into a man standing outside the bar.

"Sorry, sir," she apologized, pushing her long curly chestnut hair out of her face. Looking up at the stranger, she felt her breath hitch and heart begin to beat an unsteady rhythm. Standing before her was a handsome man, he looked somewhere around his late thirties and he was well dressed in a dark suit, he also seemed to radiate an aura of importance.

"Forgiven, if you walk with me," he asked in a low smoky voice with a British accent. She thought her legs might melt right there if he talked to her again like that.

'What's wrong with me?' she thought, 'I'm acting like I haven't been laid in years. Well, it's not like that isn't true, but I shouldn't be wanting to jump his bones just from hearing him speak.'

"I guess I could, for a few blocks anyway," she replied, suddenly flushing before looking down at the ground. She missed the cold triumphant calculated look he had when she agreed to the walk. He offered her his arm, and they began to stroll down the street, weaving in and out of the crowd.

'God, I MUST be losing it. I just agreed to a walk with a complete stranger. A completely hot stranger, but a stranger nonetheless,' she continued her internal dialogue.

"Would you grant me the pleasure of knowing your name?" he inquired politely. Pandora shivered again at his voice.

"Um, Pandora Burnett," she muttered, completely lost in her own world.

"Scottish, if I'm not mistaken," he replied.

"You aren't. My parents were from Scotland, although I was born and raised here," she informed him.

"How delightful," he said cheerfully, "I originated from Scotland myself."

"And what's your name?" she asked, looking up at hesitantly, afraid to get lost in the feelings roiling beneath her skin.

"Crowley," was his short response.

"Is that your first name, or last?" she asked at last, after waiting a minute or so to see if he would elaborate.

"Just Crowley."

It was then that she noticed that they were no longer on the busy street and had somehow ended up in a deserted alleyway. Looking around, Pandora began to worry, she had been so wrapped up in Crowley that she hadn't kept track of how long they were walking, or how far away they were from the street they had started on. She quickly released Crowley and moved away, looking up into his eyes, almost afraid of what she was going to see. His friendly smile had faded away to something that reminded her of a predator which had finally cornered its prey.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, breath shallow, backed up against the wall.

"A deal," he replied, a predatorial smirk on his face as he leaned in close to her, "Make a wish. Whatever you want. Fame, fortune, a basket full of kittens, it's yours." She looked at him quizzically.

"If I really believed you could do something like that, what would you want in return?" She demanded.

"Merely, your soul," he whispered into her ear. She gasped and shivered, looking up at him in fear.

"What are you?" she wondered out loud.

"A demon," he replied offhandedly, backing up, as if he hadn't just said something earth shattering.

"Impossible!" she exclaimed, "demons don't exist! They aren't real." She slid along the wall, looking for an escape route to avoid the, although quite handsome, strange and obviously deranged man. He cocked his eyebrow.

"Is it now?"

"Yes," she affirmed, straightening up, "Now I'm getting out of here, leave me alone." With that, she sprinted down the alley and out onto the busy street. Crowley chuckled as she disappeared into the crowd.

oooo

Not stopping once, Pandora ran back to her apartment, hoping to any god that might be listening, that the man wasn't able to follow her. Once she reach her door, she quickly slipped inside, locked it, and slid down the door, trying to catch her breath. She didn't even bother to turn on the lights, concentrating only on slowing down her hearts erratic beating.

"Ready to make that deal?" asked a voice from across the room. Gasping, she shot back up from her position on the floor.

"How did you get in here?" She demanded, looking around wildly in the dark for some sort of weapon. Crowley strolled into the lone shaft of moonlight in the room, hands casually in his pockets as if it was his right to be there.

"I'm a demon, I can do whatever the hell I bloody want," he said.

"This isn't possible!" she cried, grabbing the nearest heavy object, in this case a large textbook sitting on the side table. She hoped he would come closer so she could hit him hard with the book. "Demons don't exist. The things that go bump in the night don't exist. You're just trying to do... something. And you easily could have slipped in..."

"How?" he questioned flippantly, "I just strolled in through the open window? Maybe crawled in through the vents. No darling, I am very much a real demon." His smile was truly terrifying now, and she shivered. Now she knew he couldn't be lying. As impossible as it was, he was telling her the truth. She lived up on the 18th floor, and there was no way to get into the apartments from the ventilation shafts unless you cut them out of the wall. And she knew there wouldn't have been enough time for him to beat her to her apartment, and somehow get into the apartment without anyone noticing. Speaking of which, how had he known where she lived? She hadn't said anything to him earlier to tip him off, and she thought she had been careful going back.

"Why do you want to make a deal?" she asked, loosening her grip on the book.

"It's what I do," he replied, making his way into the kitchen. She felt there was no other choice than to follow him, after all, he was already in her apartment acting like he owned the place. Entering the room she saw that he was already pouring himself a glass of her favorite scotch. She scowled at him. He paused before pouring her a glass too.

"What exactly," she sat down at the counter, cup in hand, "is it that you 'do'?"

"I make deals with humans. You get your wish of anything you want, and in 10 years time, I get your soul," he downed his glass, "fair deal I'd reckon."

"I still don't believe you," she replied, "Show me something that could change my mind."

"Fine."

He whistled a couple sharp notes and the supposedly locked window blew open. Pandora started when she heard growling coming from beside Crowley.

"This is my pup," he proceeded to pet the air beside him, "Were you to try and break your contract, he would come after you and shred you to pieces."

"There isn't anything there," she said slowly, scanning the room looking for anything that could be what he was referring to. "You must have rigged the window to open, and the growling is just a recording in your pocket. You still haven't convi-" she stopped mid-sentence when something brushed up against her arm. The invisible creature growled again and she leaned away from it, or rather, she leaned away from where the sound had come from, and downed her drink in one go.

"Okay," she whispered, "maybe there is some truth to what you claim, but I want to know something... why me? Why do you want this deal from me? I"m sure there are lots of people more willing to believe you, who would definitely make a deal with you." He shrugged.

"I saw a challenge when I first met you. That intrigued me." She waved at him with her glass, wordlessly telling him to refill it.

"And why do you think that I would want something bad enough to sell my soul and only be able to live for ten years? Maybe I'm happy with the way my life is." Crowley looked around her very sparse apartment that didn't look as if someone even lived there.

"I highly doubt you are among the truly happy," he commented, pouring them both another drink, "very few are."

"What happens to my soul when you take it?"

"You take the jolly ride with me down to Hell, where we have tea and cakes all day long." She gave him an odd look and took another large drink of her scotch.

"What is my wished limited to?"

"Anything you want on this earth. Agree to the contract, and I'll make it happen."

"Ten years isn't a very long time," she muttered, nursing her drink.

"Unless, of course, you are able to convince the contract maker to cancel the deal," Crowley supplied, knowing full well it would never happen.

"Mmm..." Pandora hummed, looking down into her drink as she leaned against the kitchen counter.

"And I can ask for anything?"

"Anything."

"I don't think I can convince you to release me from the contract, were I to agree to one," she said finally after finishing her glass again. Crowley automatically filled it back up. "And I'm still not sure there is anything I want bad enough to condemn my eternal soul to hell." 'Other than maybe your body,' she thought, then mentally slapping herself when she realized what road her mind was once again taking. Shaking herself physically she looked back at Crowley who was looking at her almost quizzically, one eyebrow raised and head tilted slightly to the side.

"Don't tell me you can read minds too!" she exclaimed, heat beginning to rise in her cheeks. He grinned at her discomfort.

"No, that is not one of my talents, but I'm sure I can guess what was on your mind," he continued to grin.

"Shuddup!" she snapped, face bright red. He chuckled, taking far too much pleasure in her embarrassment. She glared at him and finished her drink again, thinking that maybe she wasn't quite drunk enough yet to deal with this. Once again, he refilled the glass without asking.

"So how long have you been tempting silly greedy humans into trading away their souls?" she asked, embarrassment finally dying down. Nothing like talking about death to kill any mood.

"Longer than you will ever know," he replied, taking a drink of his scotch, "that also falls into the category of 'Crowley's Private Business' and you would do well to leave it well alone."

"Fine. How many people have you sealed a deal with?"

"Many."

"Were you ever human? Or created as a demon?"

"I was once human. Made a deal, lived my ten years, then became a Crossroads demon. Enough with the questions before I decide you aren't worth the annoyance of listening to you jabbering away and sic my hellhound on you," he looked at her coldly. She huffed in annoyance and pouted, sipping away at her drink. The way she had it figured was that he NEEDED this deal from her, for some reason, and he wouldn't kill her without at least trying a little harder to convince her. 'But if he used his body for the convincing, he would have me agreeing in a heartbeat,' she scowled and shoved that thought to the farthest corner of her mind to be buried and forever forgotten, 'Okay, so maybe I do need to get laid, but now is not the time, especially with him being a demon and all that he wants is my SOUL.'

"Do I have a choice?" she asked after a while, and many drinks later, "or will you not leave me alone until I finally make the deal." 'God, am I really thinking this through?'

"It's entirely up to you. This can go either way. I would rather that you made the deal now," he replied, looking at her intensely. She sauntered over to him and leaned in close.

"I refuse to make any sort of contract with you," she murmured before grabbing the front of his shirt and forcefully bringing his lips upon hers. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, Crowley turned and pushed her up against the cupboard, knocking her head against the wood. She wasn't fazed by the rough treatment, in fact, it just managed to turn her on more. She responded to his force by molding her body against his. She touched every part of him she could reach with her hands, smirking to herself when she heard his quick intake of breath. She deftly un-tucked his shirt and started to undo his belt buckle.

"Do you have any idea what you are getting yourself into?" he questioned, biting her lip hard enough to just break the skin.

"Oh god, I fucking hope so," she moaned against him. He growled and pushed her harder up against the counter. She gasped as his hands kneaded the skin on her thighs roughly, knowing that as going to leave bruises in the morning.

"Don't expect my to hold back."

"'Kay," she gasped out, dragging her fingernails down his back. And of course he wasn't. By the time they made it to the bedroom, most articles of clothing had been lost and Pandora had many dark bruises forming on her arms, torso and thighs. Everything she received though, she also paid back, not that it had much effect on the demon, but hey, at least she tried. Soon she found herself lost in a world of pain and pleasure, not quite sure where one began and the other ended.

"Don't stop," she gasped, feeling herself so close to the edge, "oh fuck, what ever you do, don't stop..."

oooo

Crowley looked down at the sleeping woman, unsure as to whether she had a motive, or was just as sex starved as she seemed. Well, whatever, as long as he got what he came for, it really didn't matter what she wanted. And hey, he got some fucking good sex out of it too. He smirked. He certainly hadn't been expecting her to latch onto him the way she did, not that he was complaining, even he needed a good fuck every so often. He left then, aware that he still had pressing matters to attend to back in his domain, Hell.