Chapter 16 Selma
Selma
When Selma woke up, she was toasty warm and buried in a very comfortable bed. Her brain was still dazed from the first proper sleep she’d had in over a month, only allowing her to sense that she was warm and safe.
She shifted with a pleased sigh, then realized the heavy weight which rested halfway on top of her firmly enough that she couldn't move, yet lightly enough to not crush her, was the reason she felt so warm.
Startled, she forced her eyelids open.
Bulky muscles covered in olive skin caged her from all sides. When she yelped, it constricted around her already pinned torso, gathering her closer to a massive male chest.
At the same time as his oddly familiar musk registered in her mind, memories from the night before flooded back—Memories of the female demons who had tortured and humiliated her, of the gut-wrenching need they’d forced on her, and of him: Lord Protector Kain, the demon who’d saved her.
He had taken her to his home, and… Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure what he’d done, because while he’d sated her desperate need and taken his own pleasure from her, his approach had been far different than Marathin’s. In fact, he had seemed pretty unwilling to bed her…
Selma frowned into the mattress when she recalled what he’d said—that his magic would kill her.
The demon who’d captured her had told her about the demon Lords and their magic—of how it killed any but a few humans who were inexplicably immune to taking their dark energies inside. The so-called Pure Breeders.
Of which she was one.
But Kain… Kain didn’t know. And so long as she kept it that way, he might not try to lay claim to her like Marathin had.
She breathed deeply in an attempt at letting his soothing scent placate her waking brain. She was nowhere near as terrified as she should have been, waking up naked in the clutches of an enemy, most likely because his heady scent had been playing tricks with her mind while she slept.
She bit her lip, trying to shake her thoughts free of the drugged feelings of safety and complacency. He might seem kind and caring, but he was still one of them, and she would never again forget what they truly were: monsters only capable of kindness as an act of deceit.
She would have to bide her time and attempt to play him like she had the demon who had captured her. She’d escaped once before—she could do it again.
As if her whirling thoughts had pulled him from his sleep, Kain groaned into her hair a few moments later. Then one of his oversized hands slid up her bare stomach to round over a breast.
Selma flinched despite the lazy simmer of lust low in her belly, her thigh bumping into something hard that scraped tantalizingly against her skin.
His spiked dick.
Oh, God.
She may have already been up close and personal with the large male fondling her in his sleep, but she'd been lost in the ring’s curse. Feeling him shift against her, touching her so intimately, reminded her that he was truly a stranger… and that she was at his mercy.
His groan turned to a rumble that vibrated through his chest. He kissed the top of her head as if he sensed her panic even in his sleep and tried to soothe her, but after a few seconds, he stopped. He was awake.
Withdrawing his hands from her body, he rolled off her. “Are you okay?” His voice was gruff, and not entirely from sleep.
Selma dared a look up, truly taking the Lord in for the first time.
His features were all angles and sharp masculinity, too strong to be called beautiful, though they were softened by his full lips.
She could still sense the otherness vibrating from him like she had in the bar, his power almost too much for her brand to blind her to his true form.
He was an attractive man, even if she knew what he was.
Rough and big, with stubble on his chin, hair the color of rich mahogany, and eyes so dark they looked pitch-black even in the dim morning light.
Three deep scratches marred his right cheek, and dried blood crusted on the shirt he’d kept on while they slept.
“I am.” It came out as little more than a whisper. “Thank you for… saving me.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks as he briefly let his eyes slide over her naked body. Now that she was no longer wrapped up in his warm embrace, she felt cold and exposed lying uncovered next to this stranger, and she couldn't stop her arms from moving to hide her breasts and sex.
Kain heaved a deep sigh before he rolled over with his back to her and sat up. “Go take a shower, little one. The bathroom is past the door by the mirror. When you’re done, we’ll talk.”
Talk. Selma watched him rise and walk out the door opposite the end of the bed—the end, where one of the intricately carved bedposts had been broken off—and frowned. No doubt he would either force her to the auction she’d run from, or…
Or he would realize what she was and would try to claim her for himself.
Either way, as much as he had saved her last night, she knew the only things she could expect from him now were chains and an eternity of servitude.
Selma bit back the onset of hopelessness and pushed out of the bed. She had survived so far—she had to remember that. She’d been captured, blinded, raped, and tortured, and yet she’d survived.
Whatever she had to do to escape this time, she would. Which meant that she’d need her wits and strength about her, or she might as well give up and accept a future as a broodmare for these monsters.
The bedroom was framed by a black carpet and white walls, one of them completely covered by floor-to-ceiling windows sporting an unsurpassed view of the city.
The large bed and a dresser in matching wood were the only pieces of furniture in the room, but when she craned her neck she could see that the third door, opposite the one by the mirror Kain had pointed out as the bathroom door, opened up into a luxuriously large closet.
He was clearly wealthy, despite his sparse—and rather male—sense of interior design, but then again, she supposed a demon Lord was bound to be.
Selma walked naked to the bathroom, enjoying the sensation of the soft carpet underneath her feet. She hadn't exactly been able to afford much comfort while on the run; many nights she’d opted to sleep in her car instead of spending any of the savings she’d withdrawn on a motel room.
The luxurious shower was a welcome gift, despite the circumstances that had brought her here.
She used his expensive shampoo and fancy soap to wash away the dirt and semen that still covered her after the attack and Kain's tending to her.
The hot water soothed her tired muscles and heavy heart, and afterwards she wrapped herself in clean, soft towels.
The shower didn't manage to clear away her sense of dread and anxiety over being captured by an enemy, but it did allow her a slightly clearer head and calmer outlook, and for that she was grateful.
She would make it through this somehow, even if she didn't quite know how yet.
Still wrapped in the black, fluffy towel, she padded back into the bedroom and found a man's shirt spread out for her on the bed.
It didn't offer the modesty she’d hoped for, but it was long enough to cover well past her mid-thighs.
It was clean and crisp, smelled like detergent, and faintly of him.
Flushing with embarrassment, Selma stopped sniffing the collar, scolding her excited ovaries for the sudden dampness between her thighs. She bit the inside of her cheek hard until her mind stopped looping over the things he'd done to her the night before.
So long as he didn’t touch the cursed ring between her legs, she’d be able to keep her head clear. And now that she was clean, the first port of call was to find out what he planned to do with her so she could start working on her escape.
Selma walked to the bedroom door and peered into the dim hallway.
Not too many steps to her right was the locked and bolted front door to the apartment.
Just for a moment she considered running for it, but she had no idea where she was in relation to her abandoned car, and she’d dropped her purse with her car keys and most of her money when the female demons dragged her into the warehouse
No, even if she could get past all the locks, her only option was to find the demon Lord and see what game he intended to play.
She found him in the kitchen, hunched on a bar stool in front of a marble-countered island hosting an obscenely large display of food. He was slouched with his chin resting on his knuckles and a facial expression that could only be described as brooding.
Selma hesitated at the threshold, uncertain how to proceed. Despite the safety and comfort of waking up in his embrace, his looming form made her draw in a shaky breath. Now that she was conscious and aware of what he was, she felt more than a little nervous in his presence.
“Come. Eat. You need food—a Breeder should never be so malnourished.”
She blinked at the command and pressed a hand against her stomach.
Sure, she’d lost some weight while on the road, and she hadn't made the healthiest food choices when she did scarf something down, but in no way would she be considered malnourished—not by human standards.
Apparently demons preferred their sex toys somewhat plump.
Biting back a retort for his presumption that her weight was any of his business, she slid closer in silence. She was pretty hungry, and the spread on the counter made her mouth water. Just at a glance she noticed smoked salmon, bagels, strawberries, eggs, and a variety of cheeses.
“Did you prepare this for me?” she asked as she scooted onto the too-tall bar stool next to him. It seemed like the polite thing to do—and she wanted to stay on his good side for as long as possible.
“Room service,” he grunted.
It seemed this Lord wasn't a morning demon.
Selma decided to leave him alone until he wanted to begin that talk he'd mentioned earlier and dug in.