Slowly his soothing words and warm touch calmed her shaking form so that she could gasp in a few deep breaths, quelling her anguished cries. Without thought to who and what he was—simply needing the comfort his large hands and deep eyes promised—she leaned in and rested her forehead against his broad chest, willing her body and mind to release its pent-up tension to his heat.

“Good girl,” he muttered above her, strong hands caressing her face and tangled hair again and again in an obvious effort at keeping her calm. “Just breathe. I'll take care of the rest.”

When he came to a stop a little while later, she had gotten enough of a hold of herself that she dared another look up at him again. His scent and his warmth made her pussy pulse hotly, the ever-growing ache making it hard to remember that she couldn’t stay in his arms—and that, come the morning, she would regret her easy surrender.

“Please. Let me… Let me go. You didn’t take me before, in the bar...”

A rumble of displeasure thundered in her ear and his arms constricted tighter around her.

“I can't,” he gritted. “If I’d taken you in the bar, none of this would have happened.”

“Please, I don’t want—”

“I know what you don’t want,” he snapped, his tense features softening when she flinched in response. “Even if I let you leave now, your scent will draw every demon within a fifty-mile radius. I am the Lord of this territory, and your well-being is my duty. I will care for you tonight. But after…”

“After?” she whispered, the reluctance playing across his features allowing a seed of hope to sprout somewhere past her fog of need.

He stared down at her, mouth set in a grim line. “I have no desire to force an unwilling Breeder into an eternity of service.”

She knew he could be lying—that he probably was. Lying was like breathing to his kind. She knew his words, as beguiling as they were, didn’t promise her freedom. But right now, they were enough. She didn’t have the strength to fight anymore, not tonight.

Closing her eyes against the fear and pain radiating in her body, she pressed her cheek against his leather-clad chest and surrendered to the fog promising blissful oblivion.

The demon stroked a thumb over her exposed cheekbone and she felt him bend his body around her, encapsulating her in his hard muscle to shield her from their harsh surroundings. His mouth and nose nuzzled at the top of her head, causing her pussy to throb, and a rumble rolled through his chest in response.

Selma mewled and pressed in closer, rubbing her face against him. Now that she was no longer fighting it, her magic-induced need burned hotter than ever, making her yearn for release. She pressed her thighs together, rubbing them to alleviate the throbbing, but it only worsened.