She was soft and warm agains his chest, the press of her breasts and the small gasps of her breath sending fissures of excitement through his skin. He breathed her in in greedy gulps, wishing he could wash away her terror so its scent wouldn’t disrupt those beautiful notes underneath. It was disturbing, her fear—making unease spread from his gut to his blood, until all he could comprehend was how he needed her to be content.

“You’re safe,” he rumbled, his lips brushing over her skin and raising goosebumps along the slender column in his grip. Mindlessly, he loosened his grip on her throat, brushing his hand along her back to calm her.

The girl spluttered, outrage tinging the sounds—and then, without warning, sharp pain bloomed through his arm.

Kesh jerked back, more from surprise than anything else, and blinked down at the little creature in his grasp. Her blunt teeth were still firmly lodged in his forearm from where she’d bitten him.

What…?

It was only then he realized what he’d done. He stared down at the woman in his arms in horror, sick dread clenching in his gut. He’d wrapped himself around her body like a fucking meat shield, the urge to protect and soothe still thundering in his blood, making his temples throb and his cock ache.

“Shit,” he muttered, pushing her off his lap so she stumbled a few steps backward, nearly tripping down the two steps of the dais.

Yeah. She was a Breeder, all right. One of the few human women capable of bearing a demon’s offspring. And so fucking valuable, even the war would have to wait while he prepared her for a mate.

There’d been a time, before his brother took control of the Americas, when specialized Procurers would seek out and train these women, then auctioning them off to the highest bidder. But since Kain had met Selma, that was no longer how things were, because stars forbid anything be simple. His brother had literally gone to war with the previously reigning family to protect his mate—and by extension, the sweet-scented little cunts she was part of.

These days, any potential Breeder was to be brought to the nearest Lord, and he’d then be responsible for gentling the woman into her new life, and finding a suitable mate for her.

And Prince or not—Kesh was the only Lord within a fifty mile radius.

He scrubbed his face with both hands, trying to steady himself from the onslaught of her scent as he gathered his thoughts. He’d have to ring- and mark her, find some unlucky sod who wouldn’t mind spending the rest of eternity getting mind-fucked by her pheromones, somehow persuade her to allow a mating… and at the same time not lose the entire fucking Eastern coast to the European king while he was preoccupied with playing matchmaker.