At least for a little while longer.
“Kain?”
He didn’t need to turn his attention away from the road to know her gentle brown eyes were resting on him; he could feel her gaze on his face like rays of morning sun.
“Mm?”
“What… What will happen to my parents? After I disappear? Marathin…”
Kain curled his lip at the mention of the demon who’d dared to hurt his mate—who had a contract on her. “He will not get to them. I have had them under surveillance since you were taken in, and I will continue to do so until they have lived out their natural lives. You do not need to worry about their safety.”
“I’ll never get to see them again, will I?”
The sadness in her voice made that uncomfortable, soft thing inside him he’d forgotten even existed before she waltzed into his life throb uncomfortably. It was so much worse now that his claim tied them together, as if the magic had somehow forged an invisible, but physical connection from her to his heart.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think you will, little one.”
The soft touch of her fingers on his leather-clad arm made the permanent erection between his thighs twitch eagerly. It hadn’t settled since he’d tasted her sweet pussy three days before, turning every moment of his waking hours into a painful reminder of what he’d done.
Yet even though his insides felt tight with shame and horror from forcing himself on her, his entire body yearned to claim her again. The possessive instincts that’d been released when he mounted her tore at his resolve, demanding that he take her. She was his mate, his Breeder, and when he’d been inside of her, the pain he carried had been blitzed away by the bliss of her wet embrace.
That pain had returned a thousand fold when he regained his senses and realized what he’d done. He’d told himself he was attending her auction to save her—but the possessive roaring in his blood when he’d seared his claim into her had spoken of another truth.
“Will you tell them that I am okay? Somehow make them understand that they don’t need to mourn?”
“I will try to find a way.”
“Thank you. So much—for everything.” She withdrew her hand and blew out a sigh. “Seriously. I won’t ever be able to repay you—three hundred million dollars? Can you really just pull that out of your budget?”
Some small, primitive part of him wanted to boast about how he could provide for her—and remind her how he’d won a fight against the Prince of Demons to claim her. Apparently she didn’t quite understand how much more significant beating demon royalty was compared to the price he’d paid for her.
But he didn’t need to nudge her already flaring urge to submit to him any further. It was quite obvious from how she’d been acting that his claim was wrecking as much havoc on her mind as it was his.
“I have to shift some assets around to pay in full, but it will not ruin me. You don’t need to think about repaying me anything—it’s a small sacrifice compared to what you have to give up because of my kind.”
She went quiet next to him, and he smelled a touch of sadness in her otherwise delicious scent.
Kain bit down on his urge to coo at her to make it go away, forcing his focus to stay on the road. She had every right to feel sadness, and the more he indulged his need to treat her like a mate, the tighter he’d get wrapped up in the overpowering instincts that would refuse to let her go.
Selma was quiet beside him until they finally stopped at a small hotel off the highway. It wasn’t exactly as high-class as he’d have preferred to offer his Breeder, but at least it was better than the seedy motel they’d stayed at when she was still on the run.
“If we look for something more suitable, we’ll have to steer too far off course,” he explained as she looked at the Best Western he’d chosen for the night. Mild shame made him slam the car door hard enough to make her jump, which immediately had his protective urges rising. Being mated was seriously hard work.
“You know I’m not exactly a glamour girl, Kain. This is more than suitable.” She gave him a sardonic look softened by a small smile. “Come on. I’m tired from the drive.”
Frowning, he followed her in to book their room. Despite the lingering sadness in her smell, she still seemed completely at ease around him. Though his claim would continue to have an impact on her for the rest of eternity, he knew of no other newly-claimed woman who acted this calm right after being mated. Even when Breeders had experienced a smooth transition into their new lives, they tended to be skittish and traumatized in the weeks after an auction.
Selma, who’d been so terrified of his kind she’d risked her life to escape them, now seemed to be in complete balance, as if the brutal claiming in front of his peers had mellowed her.
The girl remained a mystery to him.
When they finally made it to the small, plush room, Selma didn’t even bother giving it a cursory look before she stripped down right in front of him.
Kain bit the inside of his cheek as he watched her step out of the pile of fabric at her feet and head for the bed—naked.
He’d brought her a few changes of clothes, along with a silken nightgown, but she ignored the luggage he’d carried in as if she had no grasp of how close he was to losing the iron grip he had on his self-control. He’d wanted to throw her down and ravage her all fucking day, and the sight of her bare form didn’t exactly help that.
She was still a bit too thin for his liking—Breeders needed plenty of roundness to sustain the rough needs of their mates—but the Governor had obviously ensured she’d been properly fed since coming into his care. And she was a beautiful girl, with that long, dark hair, full lips, and shapely legs.
