When he finally came, roaring from primal need to voice his claim yet again, she’d long since lost the ability to scream. The final climax he pushed from her shuddering pussy was only accompanied by her hoarse cry and weakly convulsing body.
Kain collapsed on top of her, only barely remembering to catch most of his weight on his arms before he crushed his small female.
Everything was bliss. Bliss, and calm.
The mating after the auction had been immediately followed by the urge to shield her from his kin, but this time there was nothing to stop the rush of hormones flooding his system. He belonged here, inside of her, protecting her body and bathing in the light of her soul for as long as he remained on this Earth.
“That was beyond amazing.”
Selma’s sleepy voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he nuzzled at his mate’s hair to let her know he was listening.
“I told you you were worrying over nothing.”
Worrying? Kain frowned. Why would he be worrying? He’d never been this unworried in his entire life.
It wasn’t until Selma moved a little and gasped in pain when his ridges caught inside of her that he remembered.
The monster within, the one that’d reveled in pounding her ruthlessly as she screamed, had fought its way to the surface despite his promise to never force her like he had at the auction.
“Forgive me.” He spoke the words before he could stop himself, biting down hard on his lip after they escaped. He did not deserve forgiveness—not when he couldn’t feel truly sorry while his body was still light from having claimed his mate so thoroughly.
“What?” She sounded astounded. “Forgive you for what, exactly? The mind-blowing sex?”
“I was rough with you,” he growled as self-hatred nestled heavily in his stomach. He was exactly like his father, and he’d ruin this woman like his father had ruined his mother by his mere presence in her life—because clearly, he was too weak to stay away from her.
As gently as he could, he lifted off her, pulling his softening member from her swollen channel.
She winced at the slow process, fidgeting until he finally popped out of her and his semen dripped out to soothe her red opening.
When he rolled to his back and hid his face in his hands, Selma scoffed—and then she wrapped her soft body around his, her head resting over his heart.
“Some demon you are,” she murmured, “apologizing for being a bit rough. You didn’t hurt me—you know that, right? I’m not some fragile little flower.”
She clearly had no concept of how goddamn breakable she seemed, compared to his kind.
“You wanted it gentle and sweet, and I ruined it. Like I always will. I’ll never be able to hold back with you,” he mumbled, too ashamed to even look at her.
To his utter surprise, she chuckled, the breath from her lips brushing against his chest in a teasing caress.
“But you did give me ‘gentle and sweet,’ you big oaf. You made love to me until I asked for more. And then you fucked me just the way I needed you to. Do you not remember how you let me take charge? I know you have scars that will take time to heal, but this guilt you carry is misplaced. Everything you’ve ever done to me I’ve loved. We’ll be in Colorado tomorrow, and I…”
She paused, her voice losing steam. “I want the memory of tonight to be about how, even through all the horrors and everything I’ve lost, there was you—the one good thing in this world of darkness I’ve been sucked into.”
Kain lay still, breathing in her calming scent as her words settled in his mind and body. That sore thing in his chest hummed as if trying to alert him to something, but he was too busy replaying what she’d said to pay it any mind.
He’d never been called good before, and he’d most certainly never been the one positive thing anyone held onto in the darkness.
The ironic thing was that she was like a ray of light to him—he could almost see the bright shimmer around her when he looked at her.
And tomorrow he would lose her forever.
She was right—there was no point in wasting this limited time on regrets. He could do that on his way back from Colorado, and—he suspected—every day for the rest of his existence.
Pulling her in closer to where his chest ached, he bent his head to kiss the crown of hers. For tonight, he would forget everything apart from how perfectly the woman he could call his for one more day fit in his embrace.
28
Selma
