Chapter 38 Selma
Selma
She knew he was right. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, bone-deep exhaustion was lurking right underneath the surface, threatening to break through and render her helpless.
She hadn’t thought much about it when they were preparing to rescue Kain—had written it off as a natural reaction to the stress and trauma she’d endured since the attack in Colorado. But after she’d collapsed at the queen’s residence, she’d come to realize that it was so much more than that.
In her bones, she knew that if Kain hadn’t done what he did—as mortifying as it was to be fucked on the side of the road with his father and brother watching—she would have died, along with the life she was carrying.
Selma glanced at the large demon perched on the bed next to her. He was frankly terrifying; there was just no way around that. Though she’d been able to accept that he was her mate, the thought of willingly submitting to his monstrous cock while he looked like this made her heart pound.
The grim determination displayed by the set of his mouth made her remember what he’d said in the car after she told him she was pregnant—that he would take her, regardless of her protests, as long as she carried his child.
She knew it was to ensure both she and his son survived, but it had been a lot easier to accept when he still looked like the incredibly handsome and more human man who’d saved her time and time again.
This… She shuddered as memories of being chased and tormented flooded in. The attack she’d endured before coming to Ravenswood House was all too vivid in her mind—big, scaly monsters with horns and fire in their eyes pushing her to the ground to force their way into her body.
And then Marathin, who had more than once shown her what it was like to be forced into submission.
A tremor traveled up her spine. This time, there would be no escape.
“Please don’t fear me.”
It was a hoarse plea, so completely contradictory to his brutal appearance, that for the briefest moment, her heart ached for him.
He was still Kain.
Selma closed her eyes and bit her trembling lip hard enough to taste blood. She had to submit without a fight. She owed him that much.
“Just do it.” It wasn’t the most heated of permissions, but it was all she could manage right now.
Judging by his relieved exhale, it was enough.
The bed dipped underneath his weight as he moved closer, a waft of his heat brushing against her skin before his large hand came up to cup her cheek.
“I will never hurt you,” he murmured, and then that soothing hum that resonated within her core vibrated from his wide chest.
What was it about that sound? Selma breathed deeply as every muscle in her body slowly relaxed, inadvertently filling her lungs with his heady scent.
Though she was still very much aware of the hulking demon whose touch warmed her skin, it was as if his hum numbed her anxiety.
Her fear was still there, of course, but as long as he made that sound deep in his chest, she could deal with it.
Kain pressed his scorching lips gently against hers.
He tasted like heat and male and something wild she couldn’t name as anything but Kain. The soft pressure of his lips teased her mouth open with its gentle insistence.
Selma sat frozen in place as he slowly devoured her mouth, her eyes firmly clenched. Her body recognized the taste and feel of the demon’s kiss, and a thread of desire wound its way through her apprehension. It wasn’t enough to alleviate her tension, but it was something.
Kain’s low growl told her that he’d sensed her wakening response to his ministrations.
The sound sent another shiver down her spine—this time not purely from fear.
While the animalistic growl was a disturbing reminder of what sort of creature had her trapped on the bed, it also spoke to something warm and needy in her core.
She had more or less expected him to twist her ring and immediately take her to get it over with, but as the demon moved in closer, wrapping his strong arms possessively around her waist, she knew that had been a foolish expectation.
Even when in the throes of the mating thrall after the auction, he’d taken the time to explore her body and set her skin aflame with more than just forced lust.
This time she knew he would be trying to awaken her body to pleasure, to ease the guilt of forcing the coupling.
Guilt. His terrifying appearance aside, he was capable of feeling guilt. Of feeling love…
Drive, my love. His desperate plea when he’d sacrificed himself to the Prince rang in her mind as he eased her onto her back, large hands skillfully ridding her of one of the silken dresses his brother had supplied for her upon her arrival.
This creature—this man—loved her, even as his form filled her with horror.
“Oh.” Her lips parted in a soft moan when he closed his mouth around her nipple. Gentle pulls that went straight to her unprepared clit followed, and she grasped at the sheets to keep from clinging to him.
This was what she needed—to forget that the beast on top of her was more than just her lover and mate. She needed his gentle seduction, but if she let herself get too lost in the sensation and allowed herself to touch him, the spell he was so methodically weaving around her mind would shatter.
So Selma clung to the bedding as Kain sucked first one and then the other little bud, followed by his tongue and teeth gently nibbling and flicking at them until she was writhing and a warm ache settled between her legs.
Unwittingly she spread her thighs for him, inviting his touch where she needed it most.
Kain growled again, the beast in him voicing its appreciation of her surrender, but before she could clasp her legs tight at the unpleasant reminder of what sort of creature she was begging to claim her unprotected core, he snaked his hand down to cover her panty-clad mound.
He didn’t hesitate, possibly sensing her returning unease, and instead pushed two nimble fingers in behind the flimsy fabric and against her clit.
Selma couldn’t hold back her gasp, nor could she keep her hips from bucking at his touch.
The demon didn’t give her time to rein in her body, instead deciding to push his advantage.
Without lifting his mouth from her breasts, he let his finger rub circles over her bundle of nerves and across the metal entrapping it, not stopping even when she began to moan and spread her legs wider.
Despite her mind’s weak attempts to resist, his touch blazed through her hesitation as it coaxed her body into submission. His hum was unwavering, never allowing her a moment to panic, and as her pleasure built between her thighs, she gave in.
“Yes!”
Just a little more… She arched up against the pressure as her arousal mounted into a tight knot, desperately close to finding her release. So close, so close!
“Kain…!”
At the sound of his name, the demon twisted his fingers around her ring, making it bite savagely into her swollen nub and activating the magic within.
White-hot fire shot through her pelvis and up into her torso, setting her every cell aflame.
“Kain!” Unthinkingly she grasped at his shoulders to press herself closer to the source of the need crashing through her. Her eyes popped open wide as she gasped for air in the heat of her desperation.
The horrifying features of his demonic form met her wild stare. Even through the call of the ring forcing her to arch in a plea for his monstrous cock, fear coursed through her at the sight of him poised over her naked body.
Oh god…
Kain’s face contorted around a snarl above her, making her pussy clench and weep with the primal sound, even as her fear made her stomach tense.
“No,” he growled. Then he lifted off her, leaving her burning body to writhe on the bed.
“Please,” she gasped. He couldn’t leave her, not now. As much as he frightened her, she needed his heavy cock to soothe the burn wracking her body and making her spread her thighs wide for the monster. “Please, I need…!”
He grabbed her hips and her body instantly paused its writhing, instincts forcing her to submit to the dominant male.
When he flipped her onto her stomach she groaned with need, even as her mind reeled behind the lustful haze the ring inflicted on her.
She wanted this—needed this with every ounce of her being, despite her terror at his demonic form.
She would have to endure being mounted from behind, needed to let go of the final shred of her will desperately fighting against the torrent of lust pulsing through her from that needy place between her legs so she could submit willingly.
If she didn’t, they would never be able to get past this, and—
Selma’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Kain pulled her into position, but instead of the expected pressure from his massive girth pressing at her dripping opening, he lifted her so he could twist his head and shoulders in underneath her.
Before she managed more than a gasp of surprise, he had her knees spread wide on each side of his thick neck and his hands were securely around her ass, pressing her down toward his face. His intentions became obvious shortly after when the tip of his scorching tongue teased over her wet slit.
The white spike of pleasure as his devious mouth found her clit had her eyes rolling back in her head. A long, drawn-out groan escaped her lips.
“Your pleasure tastes like life.” His hoarse whisper vibrated through her slick folds and up through her spine.
Her pleasure. Selma arched into his mouth, pressing her aching nub closer to the heat of his skilled tongue and lips.
She knew from the burn in her body that he was fighting his instincts roaring to mount her rough and deep, yet the sight of her fear when she’d seen him hovering over her, more than ready to penetrate her defenseless pussy, had stopped him.
Once again he was going against everything he was so she wouldn’t suffer.