Chapter 14 Kain
Kain
Thomren's nostrils flared wide the second he stepped out of the car, even before he spotted them in the shadows.
Kain let out a low, warning growl as he stepped into the light from the lonely street lamp on the deserted corner. Selma’s scent had only grown stronger while they’d waited for Thomren, her breathing turning to small mewls and pants as her body surrendered to the magic of her ring.
He would have trusted few of his underlings in the presence of a wet and willing Breeder, even when she was under his protection, but Thomren had a mate at home.
He’d still react to her, but he’d be less tempted by the beguiling scent drifting from her sweet little pussy so tauntingly close Kain could practically taste it.
“Blackened stars, man!” Thomren took in the sight of the woman's whimpering form before he stared wide-eyed at his Lord. “How have you not…?”
Fucked her to death was the obvious end to that sentence, but the man wisely held his tongue.
The smell of a Breeder in heat was not the only scent perfuming the air; Kain could feel the testosterone boiling in his blood, and the tight leash he'd been keeping on his raging libido was threatening to ignite his fighting instincts instead.
It took all his willpower not to explode out of his human disguise, shred the other male to pieces, and fuck the Breeder on the dirty ground until she broke.
Truly, the wisest choice would be to hand her over to Thomren and tell him to arrange for a trusted underling to take care of her so Kain could release his hormonal insanity by punching on the nearest gang of thugs he could find.
The problem was that, along with the most painful erection he'd ever experienced, the smell of the little Breeder—of Selma—also brought a violent urge to protect and claim. Her blood had his protective instincts firing on all cylinders, and after seeing her abused in that damned warehouse…
He would rather kill every last one of his subordinates than send her off with one of them.
Shooting Thomren one last glare, he slid into the backseat of the car, where he arranged the girl across his lap so that she would be comfortable. Or as comfortable as she could be, injured and needy as she was.
Selma whimpered when Thomren started the car, pressed her face against the hollow of Kain’s neck, and breathed deeply in an obvious attempt to soothe herself. Yet all it did was cause warm, wet slick to soak her jeans so thoroughly he felt it trickle onto his own thighs.
She moaned in frustration and rubbed herself against him, her wet little tongue licking at the column of his throat when, apparently, the magic swallowed the last vestige of her rational mind.
He was going to die. Probably from spontaneous combustion.
“Selma,” he rasped, nuzzling into her messy hair once more when his self-control wavered. “You need to stop that. Now.”
“You taste so good,” she mumbled, her sweltering breath raising goosebumps on his skin. “Need you.”
Kain's breath hitched when she resumed her teasing attentions, biting not entirely gently at his pulse point before her sweet, wet licks continued upwards. Blood was rushing in his ears, his head was light, and his groin heavy and pained.
Stars above! She smelled so good, felt so good… He needed her, needed to spread her open and conquer that sweet pussy calling to him—
Her small yelp pulled him back, and he found his fingers had inadvertently dug into the swell of her hips, undoubtedly aggravating one of her many bruises.
“Sorry,” he ground out, releasing his grip on her injured body.
Selma hummed, her eyelids fluttering as she ground down against his straining cock, all thoughts of her injuries apparently forgotten.
Damned little thing.
Growling with the effort, he pushed her away and onto the seat beside him. She wailed at the separation and clawed at his clothes to get closer, and he lacked the strength to resist.
“Thomren, how much fucking longer?” It was meant as a snarl, but came out more like a desperate plea.
His underling had the good manners not to laugh, even as his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror in time to see Selma climb on top of Kain and start biting at his shoulders through the jacket.
“Two more minutes, my Lord.”
It was the longest two minutes in the entire history of the universe.
When the car finally pulled up in front of the tower block that hosted his casino, hotel, and private apartment, Kain was shaking from head to toe. His hands were clenched hard around two chunks of the now-demolished back seat.
“We're here, my Lord,” Thomren said, slipping into a more formal tone.
The shift was undoubtedly linked with the man's personal experience of what it was like for an unmated demon to be around a Breeder in heat—and his understanding of what would happen if he accidentally pushed his Lord's temper right now. “Do you need… anything? For her?”
Kain knew what Thomren was asking, and thanks to the small reserve of reason he had left, he could appreciate the man's diplomacy and attempt at ensuring the girl's survival.
Whether it was to preserve one of the rare mates or to attempt to save his master from the guilt of killing a Breeder, Kain wasn't sure, but in either case, he was thankful.
“I won't harm her,” he grunted, taking a few quick breaths when the girl sucked wetly at his Adam's apple and pressed against his thigh to alleviate a little of her need. “I swear it. Do not tell anybody about her. I will call you in the morning.”
“If you picked her up where you sent the crew to clean up, they'll be able to smell her all over it.”
Damn. He was clearly not thinking straight.
“Fine. Muzzle them. If one word gets out about her, tell them I'll have their heads, you hear? I'll decide… tomorrow... oh, fuck!”
He arched against the ruined back seat when Selma's aimlessly roaming hands finally found the bulge in his pants that was nearly tearing his zipper in its attempt at getting free.
“I will take care of it. You get inside and take care of her… They get real vicious if you let them get too wound up.” There was laughter, and sympathy, in his underling's voice.
Kain growled, more at the Breeder currently attempting to free his cock than at the other demon, and finally let go of the chunks of car seat so he could wrap his arms around her and push out of the car.
His focus was solely on the private back entrance to his domain flanked by two armed guards—men Thomren would also need to keep quiet.
The two men went rigid when Selma’s intoxicating scent hit their nostrils.
Kain let out a deep snarl in their direction, clutching the girl tighter. She clung to him like a baby koala, causing him to feel every one of her curves as he carried her, but he was too far gone for it to make much of a difference.
“She is mine!” he hissed when one of the guards, Brethor, took a step toward them. “One more fucking step and I swear it'll be your last!”
The underling blinked, one foot frozen mid-air, and shook his head from side to side as if to rid himself of the lustful haze spurred by the Breeder's proximity.
“Hold your breath,” his older and wiser comrade choked out next to him.
Kain watched with narrowed eyes as Brethor did as instructed. Clearly struggling with his raging instincts, he stepped back into position before staring into the distance with a tormented expression.
Kain rushed past them and into the building, pushing back the urge to fight the male who’d thought he'd get to mount a female belonging to his Lord Protector.
Nothing but wasted time and—eventually—regret would come from slaughtering the man, and all he needed right now was to get the girl up to his chambers.
He went straight for the private elevator, easily holding Selma with one arm as he pushed the top floor's button with more force than necessary.
Leaning his head on top of hers, he breathed in her scent.
The gentle nature of it calmed his violent instincts, and he nuzzled deeper into her messy hair with a relieved sigh.
“I will take good care of you. I promise,” Kain mumbled in response to the wordless noises the Breeder was muttering into his shoulder and chest. He was fairly sure that her discontent was centered on the lack of sexual stimulation he was providing.
He caught sight of them in the elevator's mirror and grunted in annoyance. They were both splattered with blood, and she was dirty, tear-stricken, and not at all in the sort of condition a prized female should be kept in. It tore at his primitive desires to protect, and he knew he’d need to patch her up and soothe her before he could mount and claim her.
Kain paused in his musings, biting off an angry growl at his easy slip into the role of a male claiming his mate. He was not mounting, nor claiming the frail-looking girl, and unless he got himself moderately in check, he'd kill her with the dark magic emanating from his core in slow pulses.
Even more frustrated with the situation than before, he didn't wait for the elevator to open when the small bell announced their arrival at the top floor.
Shifting Selma to one hip, he kicked the doors ajar and stomped through the debris toward the only apartment on this floor of the high-rise.
It took him seconds to unlock the front door and type in the code, and then he was finally within the safety of his own walls.
He didn't pause as he strode straight to his bedroom and deposited her on the sturdy California King-Sized bed flanked by four carved, wooden posts.
Selma whined at being separated from the comfort of his body, but then seemed to realize where she was. Her slim fingers clenched in his black sheets as her gaze quickly darted around the room, lingering on the bed beneath her. Then she turned those lovely chocolate-colored eyes on him once more.
Kain groaned with want at the complete surrender in them and had to grasp at the nearest bedpost to stop himself from ripping the clothes from her body so he could ravage her.
“Take me.” Her voice rasped in an odd mix of a plea and a command. “I need you. Take me now, please!”
As if he had to be reminded of how much she needed to have his cock fill her greedy little cunt—the air was laden with the smell of her heat, mingling with the musk of his own hormones.
“I can't. I need to heal you first, and then I will help you.” His hand clenched around the wooden pole marking one of the bed's corners while he desperately tried to regain a bit more control.
She might have been too far gone on the magic to feel her injuries, but he’d never forgive himself if he hurt her further while he sated her.
But Selma had other plans. She narrowed her eyes, shifting the expression on her pale face from pleading to feral.
Faster than he would have thought a human of her stature could move, she launched to her feet, staggering on the plush mattress, and then threw herself at him. He managed to catch her just as she pressed her lips urgently against his, her tongue demanding access with soft, but persistent strokes.
Kain moaned when her nails scratched at his nape, inadvertently allowing her to deepen the kiss until all he could sense was the soft warmth of her mouth, the taste of her tongue, and the sensation of her slight body pressing against his.
His hands found the swell of her backside—and shortly after, her jeans' waistband, which he shredded without effort.
He tore the maimed pants and underwear off her legs, never breaking away from her desperate kiss, then grabbed her sweatshirt and bra in two handfuls and ripped, wanting nothing but to feel her—all of her—naked against his searching palms.
Only when his fingers brushed over one of the many cuts on her skin did he manage to pull free of her once more, pushing her down on the mattress with a growl.
“Stay!” he snarled, putting his full authority behind the command when she made a move to launch herself at him again.
Selma growled in response, baring her blunt human teeth and looking so much like a feral kitten he couldn’t contain a rumble of amusement.
“Stay,” he repeated, softer but no less firmly this time.
She obeyed, remaining propped on her hands on the bed, eyes glued to his every move.
In turn, he did his best not to look at her as he shrugged out of his leather coat and carefully sat down at the foot of the bed, knowing he wouldn’t have the strength to withstand seeing her sprawled out naked for him.
Selma crawled into his lap the moment he sat down, rubbing up against him like a cat in heat.
“Please,” she rasped.
“I know,” he mumbled, letting his hands find her soft skin. His cock spasmed achingly, trying hard to break through its confines.
Kain held his breath and reached inside for the part of his magic he so rarely used. It welled much more easily from his inner core than he’d expected, flooding through his hands and into the girl, searching for the damages she’d sustained.
There were many, and not all of them as superficial as he’d thought upon first inspecting her. His anger welled, dampening his desire, and he used it to focus his magic.
Healing was not something that came naturally to demons, but as a Lord he had more than enough power to mend the Breeder’s flesh and soothe her deep bruises.
Only when not a single scrape remained on her pale skin did Kain finally draw in a deep breath, his eyes fluttering open as her rich scent filled his nostrils.
Her eyes were wide and unfocused, her forced lust so strong now there was barely anything left of her true nature.
Postponing the inevitable any longer would be cruel.
It was time.