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The night after the mirror's awakening was thick with tension. The shop hummed louder than ever, its magic swollen from the truth that had been laid bare in silver glass. Corven felt it under his skin as he lit the black candles one by one, each flame sharp as a dagger's edge.
When he opened the ledger, the words appeared at once:
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[Shopkeeper's Ledger — Initiate]
Ecstasy Harvested: 7
Bargains Sealed: 7
Shop Status: Whispered (7/100)
Unlocks Pending: Stock Expansion, Second Room
Legend Progress: 7 / 100 — Whispers spread like fire; more seekers will come.
---
The bell above the door rattled not with grace, but urgency. A figure darted inside, slamming it shut behind her. She was lean, clad in dark leathers, hood half-hiding her sharp face. A coil of rope dangled from her hip, daggers strapped to her thigh. Her eyes flicked across the shelves, assessing, suspicious.
Corven leaned against the counter, calm. "Welcome to Midnight Curiosities."
She pulled her hood back, revealing short black hair and a scar cutting across her brow. "You're the shopkeeper?"
"I am."
She strode forward, setting a pouch of coins on the counter. Corven didn't touch it. "Worthless here. State your desire, and the shop will decide the price."
Her jaw clenched. "I'm a thief. The best in Gravemire. But someone's caught my trail—a guildmaster who wants my head. I need protection. Shadows that hide me, silence that shields me. A way to take without ever being caught."
The ledger opened of its own accord, blood-red script scrawling across the page:
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[Desire: Cloak of Untouchable Shadows.]
[Price: Absolute Submission—Your body laid bare, your every hidden corner exposed until dawn. Artifact: A thief's shadow remade in lust.]
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Her mouth tightened, but her pulse jumped in her throat. "That's the price?"
Corven's eyes burned steady. "You came here. You knew what you'd pay."
She swallowed, then nodded. "Then take it."
---
He circled her slowly, tugging her cloak free. Beneath, she wore a leather vest, tight breeches, a knife still sheathed at her hip. Corven plucked it away, setting it on the counter.
"You hide in shadows," he said softly. "Tonight, you'll be the one exposed."
Piece by piece he undressed her, every buckle, every strap undone with deliberate patience until the leather fell away. Boots thudded against the rug, breeches peeled down, the vest loosened and dropped. She was left bare to the candlelight, her scars and tattoos glowing like a map of secrets.
She stood defiant, though her breath betrayed her, rising fast, nipples already hard, her thighs pressing together.
Corven bound her wrists above her head with black silk, fastening them to a hook in the ceiling. She strained against it, body taut, every inch displayed.
"Everyone fears exposure," he murmured, brushing his knuckles along her ribs. "But you—thief—tonight you'll crave it."
His hand slid down her belly, two fingers parting her folds. Slickness already coated them. He circled her clit, slow and relentless, until she moaned low, biting her lip. Then he pressed inside her, two fingers curling deep, stroking with steady precision.
She gasped, head thrown back, chest heaving. "Fuck—"
He knelt, replacing fingers with his tongue. He licked her clit with long, dragging strokes, sucking it between his lips, swirling his tongue until she writhed helplessly in the silk bonds. He teased her relentlessly, alternating slow, broad licks with sharp flicks of his tongue, keeping her trembling. She tried to twist away, but his hands held her thighs open, forcing her to take every flick, every merciless tease.
Her body shook as her first climax broke over her—sharp and sudden. But Corven didn't stop. He licked through it, built her up again, and again, until her curses turned to broken moans, her moans to screams, her voice raw as tears streaked her cheeks. She came a second time, then a third, each one tearing through her harder, leaving her gasping and shaking in the bonds.
When she sagged against the silk, spent and trembling, Corven finally untied her wrists. He dragged her to the mirror, forcing her to see herself—flushed, dripping, wild.
He bent her over the counter and entered her in one brutal stroke. She cried out, nails scratching the wood, as he fucked her hard, hips snapping, the shop echoing with the slap of flesh. He pulled out halfway, thrust back in deep, making her scream. His pace shifted—slow, grinding thrusts to wring every gasp, then punishing slams that had her clawing at the counter for balance.
"Say it," he growled in her ear, fucking her deeper.
Her voice broke. "I'm yours—until dawn—fuck, I'm yours!"
He flipped her onto her back, spreading her thighs wide, pounding her mercilessly while his mouth covered hers, then her breasts, sucking and biting until she screamed again. He teased her nipples until they throbbed, bit her neck hard enough to leave a mark, then kissed the bruise like an oath.
She clawed his back, leaving bloody trails, her body arching as she came again around his cock, squeezing him tight enough to make his rhythm falter. He pressed harder, forcing her open, driving her to another orgasm before she could catch her breath from the last.
He didn't relent. He pulled her up, forced her to ride him, his hands on her hips, slamming her down over and over until she was incoherent, drool slipping from her lips as she sobbed and begged for more. He made her straddle him facing the mirror, holding her head so she couldn't look away from her own desperate reflection as she bounced on his cock, breasts heaving, sweat slick on her skin.
When her strength faltered, he bent her over again, spanking her ass until it glowed, then fucking her harder, whispering filth in her ear. She shattered again, screaming raw, her voice breaking into sobs as she clung to the counter.
But Corven wasn't finished. He pulled her to the rug, mounted her from behind, and slid two fingers into her ass as his cock filled her pussy, double-stretching her until she screamed in ecstasy and pain mixed. He used her like that, pounding until she convulsed, writhing beneath him, her body seizing with another orgasm.
He turned her onto her side, wrapped her leg over his hip, and fucked her slow, grinding deep, keeping her right at the edge for what felt like forever before shoving her over into another climax. He mounted her again, harder, forcing her to scream his name until her throat was raw.
On and on it went—Corven dragging climax after climax from her, sometimes slow and torturous, sometimes hard and merciless. He edged her until she sobbed, made her cry when he stopped just short, then forced her over the edge so many times she lost count.
By dawn, she was trembling, tear-streaked, and marked everywhere by his mouth, his hands, his cock. Her body was drenched in sweat, her thighs bruised, cunt swollen and red, every inch of her spent and raw. Yet even then, when he finally spilled inside her, filling her, she clutched at him and moaned as if begging for more.
Only when the first pale light crept through the shutters did he relent. He laid her back on the silks, stroking her hair as she trembled in the aftermath, every secret broken open, every shadow stripped away.
---
She fastened it around her shoulders. It sank into her skin, cloaking her form until she vanished, then reappeared with a grin. "Perfect."
She kissed him once, hard, then vanished into the mist.
The ledger wrote itself in glowing script:
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[Desire Fulfilled: Cloak of Untouchable Shadows.]
[Payment Rendered: Absolute Submission—Body bared, every secret exposed until dawn.]
[Artifact Created: Shadowcloak of the Thief.]
[Effect: Wearer cannot be caught by mortal pursuit; only truth can pierce the shadow.]
---
Corven shut the ledger, exhaustion mixing with triumph.
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[Shopkeeper's Ledger — Initiate]
Ecstasy Harvested: 8
Bargains Sealed: 8
Shop Status: Whispered (8/100)
Unlocks Pending: Stock Expansion, Second Room
Legend Progress: 8 / 100 — Whispers become stories.
---
The shop exhaled as the candles guttered out. Corven leaned back, smiling faintly.
The thief had her shadow. And Midnight Curiosities had another secret sealed in lust.
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