Only when he climbed into his own bed and turned his back to her did she dare to exhale, shame heating her cheeks. What was the matter with her? She knew what he was underneath his disguise: exactly what she’d given up everything to escape. Yet here she was, not even under her ring’s cursed influence, imagining the heat of his strong body sliding underneath the sheets with her…

A pang between her thighs served as the first warning that her thoughts were going to get her into trouble. She could mostly ignore the ring, despite its tight fit over her most sensitive nerves, but as blood rushed to her nether regions the trapped nub swelled against the cold circle of metal, sending shocks of sensation through her pelvis.

Shit.

She glanced at Kain’s broad back, praying silently he was a fast sleeper, but from the way he moved on the uncomfortable bed, she was pretty sure she wasn’t that lucky.

He’s going to smell me.

A jolt of unwelcome excitement mixed with her anxiety, blurred images of his furious lust when he’d broken off the bed post the previous night flashing before her mind’s eye.

Against her will, her sex softened at the memory and she bit down on a groan. She needed to stop. This was only going to end one way—a way she certainly didn’t want.

Even if the thought of Kain pinning her to the bed didn’t fill her with dread like it should have.

But he wasn’t like the others. She felt… safe with him and had since the second time she’d set eyes on him. When he’d carried her from the warehouse and healed her wounds… sated her desperate desire, broken demon laws to save her… he’d proven he was nothing like the beasts who’d haunted her her entire life.

She looked at him again and noticed the hard outline of his tensed back muscles in the low light from the window. He’d smelled her, all right.

Selma swallowed thickly, her breath slow but shallow. If he got up from that bed… if he came for her… would she resist?

Her clit pulsed hard against the vicious metal encircling it as she lay in the darkness, waiting for him to follow the temptation of her scent.

But he never moved so much as a muscle—and when she finally fell asleep some long hours later, she still wasn’t sure if she’d wanted him to.

9

Kain

The woman next to him seemed surprisingly relaxed, considering how close the demon she’d shared a room with had come to losing control.

Kain knew she’d realized what her scent was doing to him, her small breaths and the sound of the scratchy motel sheets as she looked at him betraying her anxiety that he might react like his instincts had been screaming for him to.