“I have answered your question multiple times. If you continue to ask, I will be forced to remove you from my property.”
Karaj snorted. “I hoped it would not come to something as crass as this, but…” He trailed off and plucked a large leather pouch from his saddle. Even from this far away, I could hear the jingling of coins. “I have enough here to pay off your commission to the king. The estate would be yours without the trouble of training males for his select guard. You would be beholden to no one. All you have to do is sell me the human.”
A low, vicious growl filled the air. I couldn’t see Bokkan’s face, but his thick arms and shoulders tensed as he crouched slightly. Based on his body language, I could tell he was ready to attack the other daemon. I inched closer to him, laying a hand on his bare back.
Karaj came closer, holding out the bag. “There’s more than enough here to pay the king and live well. All you have to do is hand over the human.”
Bokkan obviously didn’t intend to speak. He just kept growling.
I pressed myself against Bokkan’s back, putting my other palm on his hot skin. Karaj ignored the aggressive body language and came closer.
“The human can be replaced easily. You would probably break her soon anyway. Now, you can replace her with three or four more.”
Karaj took another step, bringing him within arm’s reach, his hand coming toward me. I glared at his outstretched fingers and reached for the hilt of the dagger on my thigh.
Before I could draw it and slice his digits off, Bokkan moved faster than I’d ever seen him move before. Even when he was sparring with his men, he wasn’t this quick. He roared and swiped his claws across Karaj’s face. I nearly gagged at the sight of one of the other daemon’s eye bursting in a flood of black and purple.
I completely forgot about his eye when Bokkan followed up with another swipe, this one across the male’s throat.
Karaj’s remaining eye widened as he dropped the coin pouch and raised his hands to his throat. Deep purple blood poured from his neck. It was a mortal wound. I couldn’t move or speak as the daemon stumbled and went down on one knee, still clutching his throat.
Bokkan’s soldiers and his commander were all running toward us. Instinctively, I took a step back. Seeing that many huge, monstrous males sprinting toward me set off my self-preservation urges.
Bokkan turned, sweeping me up into his arms, and took off around the house. We burst through the kitchen door, the heavy wooden panel slamming against the wall behind it. Masu stood at the stove and leaped backward, whirling to face us as she wielded the large wood spatula she was holding like a weapon.
“Master? Whatever is the matter?” she asked when she saw Bokkan carrying me.
He didn’t answer. He kept running down the hall and to the stairs, which he took three at a time. I grunted with each step because it jostled me against the arms he’d wrapped around my abdomen.
His bedchamber door loomed in front of us as he sped down the upper hall. Within seconds, he’d thrown that door open as well and lunged inside. The heavy door slammed behind us, and he dropped the bar across the door.
Without putting me down, he walked toward the bed. When he reached the foot, he turned and walked toward the fireplace. Then, he paced back and forth, still growling slightly beneath his breath.
I tilted my head back to look into his face and saw that his black eyes were full of shimmering red veins. It looked as though lightning made of fire had flared across the black sclera. The web of pulsing flames that spread across his eyes was hypnotic. And terrifying.
“Bokkan?” I murmured.
He growled again and lifted me higher so he could bury his face against my neck. His breath was hot as he exhaled against my skin. The tip of his nose ran up my throat to the patch of skin behind my ear. He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding to press against mine. His grip was still so tight that I couldn’t even wiggle in his hold.
Still unsure of what to do, I lifted a hand, my fingertips hovering over the base of his horn. He tilted his head so his horn rested against my fingers. Though he couldn’t see my hand, he seemed to understand that I was offering him comfort.
Using light, gentle strokes, I ran my hand up his horn and back down again. The low, feral growl in his chest grew softer. I lifted my other hand and ran it over his shoulder and downhis arm. His bicep flexed beneath my palm, but his hold on me loosened infinitesimally. He stood utterly still, letting me pet him for a few moments as his body slowly relaxed.
“It’s okay, Bokkan,” I whispered. “I’m safe.”
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but he didn’t freak out to the point of incoherence until Karaj tried to pull me away from him. Clearly, that was the trigger.
I patted his shoulder and horn in slow, soothing strokes until his growling stopped completely. His breathing was still uneven, but his arms were no longer skirting the edge of crushing where they wrapped around my ribs. He essentially tucked me against his chest like a small child with his favorite teddy bear.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but my feet were beginning to go numb from dangling.
“Bo, you need to set me down. I can’t feel my feet.”
He grunted but didn’t release me. Instead, he walked to the sofa and sat on it, arranging me on his lap. He was so tall that my forehead fit perfectly beneath his jaw against his throat. Holding me close with one arm, he reached out and flipped my boots off with the other. Then, he cupped my foot in his clawed hand and began massaging it.
As soon as the blood began to rush to my feet, I sighed in relief. The pins and needles subsided quickly as he continued to rub the sole of my foot with his fingers and the top of my foot with his thumb. As the muscles in my right foot relaxed, he laid it down and picked up my left.
I relaxed against him, wrapping an arm around his torso. He was so large and broad that I couldn’t get my arm completely around him, but my hand rested on the latticed muscles just below the side of his ribcage.
