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.