Page 32 of Prince of Demons (Demon’s Mark #2)

Kesh

H e hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He’d simply intended to make sure Georgia was comfortable and settled, and the mark branded on her forehead wasn’t causing her any pain.

But in her unconscious state, she’d pressed herself into his arms as if instinctively needing his protective embrace, and nuzzled her head up underneath his chin where she fit perfectly. As if she were made for him.

When he woke the next morning, she was still nestled against him, fast asleep. Entirely safe in his presence.

“Fuck,” he murmured, peering down at her peaceful face. Traitorous gentleness fluttered through his chest. Not good. Not good at all.

Last night was a fucking disaster. I would sell my soul for you if I had one. What the fuck was he thinking? Oh, that’s right. He wasn’t. It had been all soft, icky feelings and pitiful need.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he rumbled, quietly enough not to wake the little female as he carefully extricated himself from underneath her.

She whined softly in protest at the loss of his body heat, but thankfully slept on.

“I know.” He gently brushed a knuckle over her cheek, then tucked the duvet tightly around her, ensuring she was still warm and secure.

She settled down with a rebellious murmur that made his lips pull into a reluctant half-smile.

He felt the loss of her body against his as keenly as she did.

She’d slept on his chest, pressed against his heart, and he wanted nothing more than to slip back under the covers and return her to where she belonged.

Only she very much did not belong in his embrace. His instincts were spinning out of control because he’d let her cursed scent and his own weakness take the lead, instead of focusing on doing his duty, and nothing else.

“Fuck.” Kesh forced his gaze from the sleeping woman and quietly moved to his closet to find fresh clothes.

After dressing himself, he got out one of the dresses he’d purchased for Georgia when she first came into his care.

The garment was made from black silk, picked specifically for the way it would flow around her body and feel like a luxurious caress.

He’d only bought her dresses; nothing else.

Though September, it wasn’t yet cold enough to worry about keeping her warm with thicker clothing, and a Breeder didn’t need undergarments.

Silently cursing himself when his thoughts strayed further down the path of Georgia’s sweet little pussy so easily available under the flowing skirt of the black dress, he laid out the garment and quickly exited the bedroom before his stupid instincts got the better of him. Again.

To Kesh’s displeasure, when his call to his brother connected to the video call, Kain’s face wasn’t the only one that appeared on the wall-mounted screen.

His bossy little mate was by his side, and before she opened her mouth, Kesh already knew why the opinionated queen had decided to join them.

At least she was holding their squirming son in her arms, too.

He’d softened a little toward his difficult sister-in-law since she'd given birth to his nephew.

“Kain. Selma. How are you both? And Kamaran?”

“We’re great,” Selma said, cutting Kain off before he could respond. “You found a woman? A Seer?”

“I found a Breeder, yes.” His tone was pointed.

He knew she wasn’t fond of the Breeder moniker, but the claim that her kind had been Seers before demons realized they could carry their spawn had been made by a goddess.

If she hadn't mind-fucked his brother with her damned pheromones, Kain would have disabused his mate of the notion that anything a goddess said carried any value, but the king was entirely too soft when it came to Selma.

“Or rather, one of my subjects found her and brought her to me.”

“Is she alright? Where is she?”

“She’s fine. She’s been ringed and marked, and she’s currently sleeping.” Kesh looked to his brother, hoping against hope he’d rein in his mate. “Kain, I called to discuss the situation in Maine. Perhaps we can return to the Breeder at another time?”

“Mallorn briefed me last night. A Breeder showing up in your territory is exciting news and will be good for morale amongst your men. Something we can sorely use,” Kain pointed out.

Selma gave him an annoyed side-glare. “Really? She’s a person, you know, not just a morale-boosting prize for your warriors to fight over. And may I remind you, as a future demon’s mate, she’s my subject, not yours.”

Kain smiled, a ridiculous, soft expression flickering in his eyes as he stroked a thumb over her cheek.

“I’m aware, little one. Which is why this woman is currently safe with Kesh and not being processed for auction.

The changes you’ve made to Breeders’ lives aren’t diminished by how desperate our men are to find a mate to worship, hmm? ”

Selma leveled him with a flat stare. “So we’re calling it ‘worship’ now?

You know, what you horny bastards consider worship, the rest of us call marathon sexing.

Which is fun and all, so long as you’ve not been traumatized by your would-be admirer first.” She sighed with resignation, then returned her focus to Kesh.

“How is she, Kesh? Is she still scared? Does she miss her family? Do you need me to make a visit and try to reassure her?”

Some of his irritation eased at the genuine concern in his sister-in-law’s eyes.

As annoying as her iron will could be, the fact that she was taking her responsibility to Breeders—and Georgia in particular—seriously enough to offer to travel to him with the single purpose of reassuring his ward, made a measure of gratitude toward her bloom in his chest.

“She is still a little on edge about the whole situation, but she’s settling in remarkably well.

” He sighed softly, his gaze flickering to Kamaran in her arms. As often happened when he saw his nephew, he couldn’t help thinking that.

if things had gone differently, Kam would have been his son.

He was grateful they’d managed to save his brother, and he hadn’t had to take Selma as his mate after all, but the thought still popped up now and then.

“At this point, it would not be worth the risk for you to travel. But I promise to inform you if that changes, my queen.”

Selma chuffed, arching an amused brow. “Listen to him, trying to keep his sister-in-law at bay with honorifics.”

“If the girl is settling in, it would be best to wait with a visit until I can prepare for your travels better,” Kain rumbled. His arm snaked around his mate’s shoulder, pulling her tight to his body. “If the Europeans ever get a hold of you. Or Kam…”

“I know, I know,” she sighed, rolling her eyes even as she allowed him to plaster her against his ribs as his instincts took over at the thought of losing her.

Normally, Kesh would have been rolling his eyes right along with her, but this time, unbidden, his thoughts went to Maine, and the acid shock of terror he’d felt when Mallorn had let him know Georgia had been on the fucking battlefield.

At risk of imminent death. And that was before…

He cut off his thoughts, not willing to bring back the flutter of soft, idiotic feelings that had bloomed during last night with her. Not now, not in front of these two.

“Speaking of the Europeans… We nearly lost Maine, and Aran along with it. I don’t know what the fuck happened.

Aran is one of the oldest lords in the Northeast, and even at two to one, he should have had the edge.

Or at the very least not been on his literal knees within a day.

” Kesh crossed his arms, a frown pulling down his brows as he recalled the absolute disaster he’d arrived to.

“And even more baffling is—they fell within hours once I arrived. They seemed relatively inexperienced in battle. Aran should have been able to handle them on his own.”

On the screen, Kain and Selma exchanged a look.

“What?”

Selma glanced at Kain one more time before she said, “I felt… something. Yesterday. Through my Stone of Power. Something I haven’t before.”

A sense of unease crept up Kesh’s spine. The three Stones of Power had been in the European royal family’s possession for more than a millennium—powerful tools they’d employed to keep the gods from gaining the upper hand in the Eternal Battle. And to secure their right to rule.

Selma's gaining control of one of the stones was a large part of how Kain had been able to gather the American lords under his banners and break away from European rule. But the knowledge that such immense power was in the hands of a fragile little Breeder still filled Kesh with unease.

“What kind of something?” he asked.

“It’s hard to describe. It was a vibration of sorts. A swelling of energy. With what you’re saying about what happened in Maine, I have to wonder if—” Her train of thought was cut off when Kam began fussing. “Shh, little man. You’ve just been fed. Are you really hungry again?”

“You’re wondering if the European lords had a Stone of Power with them?” Kain prompted, his brows furrowing.

“We didn’t find one on either lord’s corpse after the battle,” Kesh murmured, his focus slipping when Selma, without any hint of shyness, pulled out a breast and popped the nipple in her baby’s mouth.

Something dark and needy curled in his lower abdomen.

Kain cleared his throat, breaking his single-minded focus. The moment he looked back up, he caught sight of Kain’s glare.

A touched of heat brushed Kesh’s cheeks, and he grimaced, shooting his brother an apologetic look. He had no interest in delving into why, but the sight of a woman nursing? Fuck, it got him every time.

Unbidden, a hazy image of Georgia flickered through his mind. Swollen breasts. A baby in her arms. Milk leaking from her ripened nipples…

Nope. Not going down that fucking path.

With a command of will, he forced his mind back to the matter at hand.

“An outside source of power would explain their ability to subdue Aran so swiftly. But whatever it was, they must have lost it when I arrived. Outside of a Stone of Power, I don’t know of anything that could have boosted their strength like I saw, but…

Who the fuck loses one of those in the middle of a battle? ”

Kain sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to send Kirigan up to Maine to speak with Aran. Search the area. If anyone knows how to locate some obscure power source, it’s our father.”

“It would also be nice to not have him hovering for a few days,” Selma muttered, focus still on her nursing baby.

“He’s still…?” Kesh trailed off, not sure how to describe the mad demon’s behavior after his daughter-in-law gave birth to his grandchild. ‘Disturbing’ didn’t really cover it.

“Yep. Even follows me to the freakin’ bathroom if Kain’s out of the house for so much as five minutes.” Selma shifted her grip on Kam, grimacing slightly at the weight of him. Kain spotted her discomfort immediately.

“Go get settled while you finish nursing him, little one. I’ll finish up here and be with you in a minute.” He bent to kiss her forehead and rub a knuckle over his son’s cheek. The expression in his eyes was so achingly tender, Kesh looked away, uncomfortable.

Selma leaned into her mate’s touch for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit then.” She looked back up at the screen and nodded at Kesh. “Please take good care of the Seer. With everything going on, I don’t want the importance of her wellbeing pushed aside.”

“I promise, she’s my first priority.” Reluctantly, in the beginning, but now? Putting Georgia above everything, even the war, felt… worryingly natural.

Both brothers watched in silence as Selma left. Only when the door closed behind her did Kain turn back to the screen.

“There is another matter concerning the Breeder we need to discuss.”

Kesh frowned. “My Breeder?”

The words ‘my Breeder’ hung in the air between them for a beat. Sick dread settled somewhere below his ribs as the unintended implication reflected off Kain’s face.

“What do we need to discuss regarding my ward?” he corrected, irritation rippling over his skin. It seemed he was fucking incapable of keeping it together, just because.. what? She reminded him of his fucking mother? Even for a demon, that was messed up.

Kain cleared his throat. “Mallorn’s report last night was… worrying.”

In a flash, irritation was replaced with a hot spike of anger. “Worrying? Don’t fucking tell me he was whining to you about how I’m handling Georgia.”

“He wasn’t whining, Kesh. He was agitated.

I understand your inclination to keep the presence of an unmated Breeder in your territory quiet, considering the clusterfuck of a war we’re in, but I’m telling you, you’re gonna lose control of your men if you don’t allow them to start the courting process soon.

We can’t afford to lose any of them, let alone a warrior as loyal as Mallorn. ”

Anger faded to dread. He remembered the seething resentment in his old friend’s eyes when Kesh had commanded him to release his hold on Georgia.

He’d been too preoccupied with his own roiling aggression, thanks to her presence, to worry about his Second’s.

Could he truly lose his most trusted warrior over her? His friend?

Kesh looked up at the screen. At his brother. The man who’d slaughtered the old crown prince and split the continents with war, all to keep his mate.

Kain was right.

If anything would break his men’s loyalty, it would be this.

He pushed away the hollow feeling in his chest, forcing his focus to the priority: the war. His men. His duty as their prince. “I understand. I will send out the official invitation to her courting tomorrow. She should be mated within the week.”