The prince let out a slow breath, not breaking her stare. “I have to?”

Where softness had painted his deep voice before, ice had taken its place. Ice, and darkness.

Georgia only barely managed not to shrink away as a new wave of fear washed through her. Whatever mimic of empathy had been present in him before, it was gone now.

“Please,” she croaked. “What you want from me… Companionship. I’ll give it willingly, if you just… Save him.”

“You’re attempting a bargain with the Prince of Demons?” he said softly. “After I have offered you safe haven? My protection?”

“Isn’t that what you do?” There was most definitely an unspoken warning in his silken voice, but for Larry… The prince was terrifying, but if he truly was as reluctant to harm her as he seemed, he was a better fate than the whorehouse. And he was right—if she fled his protection, she would only end up in the hands of Jimmy or someone like him. No matter what she did, she would end up as a companion. If she could save Larry by doing so, she might as well surrender voluntarily.

The demon gave her a hard look. Then he pushed her off his lap and rose up to his full height in an agile move, leaving her huddled alone at his feet and unexpectedly cold without the warmth of his embrace. “I rarely have the need to strike bargains with humans. What I want, I take.”

She swallowed at the implication and silently prayed that his discomfort at her tears meant what she hoped it did. “If you want my compliance, you will save my brother. Do that… and I won’t fight you. Just… don’t hurt me. Please.”

He was silent for a long moment. Then, finally, with a pull of his mouth, he nodded. “Fine. If that is your wish, then you shall have your bargain. I will not harm you, and I will save your brother. In return, you will submit yourself to whatever I require without a fight.”

It sounded better than any deal she could have hoped for, but the dark look in those void-like eyes made her shudder. He looked… angry.

Not that his mood mattered. He would save Larry, and all she had to give up in return was her resistance to a fate she wouldn’t be able to escape, regardless.

Gathering her leftover scraps of strength, she returned his dark gaze. “Then I, Georgia Moore, agree to your bargain, Prince of Demons.”

8

Kesh

The sun had crested the horizon when he drove them through the city in the quiet hours. Soon, the streets would once again be busy with humans going about their daily drum, oblivious to the creatures who ruled at night. This was the only time the city knew true quiet, once the drunks and thugs had gone home, and the ordinary citizens were only just starting to wake.

It was also the best time to avoid drawing attention from his own kind—something he desired even more than usual, considering the passenger he was carrying on the back of his bike.

In times of peace, he could accept that Breeders were a boon to their kind. Since their own females refused to give them sons, they needed the human women capable of bearing them heirs. But in times of war, the sweetly scented little cunts were nothing but distractions. One word of an unmated Breeder in his territory, and every one of his otherwise loyal warriors would be too busy proving himself the best choice to court her to protect his domain against their enemies.

Behind him, the girl pressed in against his back, and he cursed himself for not taking the time to source a car for the ride to the hospital where her sick brother waited for death.

As much as Kesh loathed her kind for how they fucked with otherwise dependable men’s minds, he wasn’t immune to her enchantments. The soft press of her body against his back had his cock at half-mast, his blood thrumming with eagerness to remove the clothes separating her soft skin from his.

How fucking undignified.

At least she wasn’t crying anymore. The sense of pure panic that had gripped him by the throat at the sound and smell of her tears was still fresh in his recollection, his muscles still wound too tight from the complete clarity that if she didn’t stop crying, he would die. Simply… cease to exist.

This insignificant human who’d been dumped on his doorstep—a female he had no desire to keep for any longer than he absolutely had to, let alone know—had almost dismantled him. In those moments her sobs had echoed through his throne room and straight into his gut, she’d held his entire, immortal existence by the throat.

And the second she’d realized as much? She’d used it to get her way.

Kesh bared his teeth, his cock softening partly in the presence of his anger. He knew what conniving bitches Breeders could be—though he was pretty sure they weren’t even cognizant about their influence most of the time.

Georgia, though. Georgia had seen the weakness she’d stirred, and she’d struck.

A bargain. It was not a surprise—desperate humans had called upon his kind since the dawn of time, pouring out their deepest desires as if they’d summoned nothing more than a benevolent djinn. He had granted several such wishes in his lifetime. And he had collected his payment once it was done.

Not one of the miserable cretins had found their bargain worth it, in the end.

He hadn’t made Georgia sign a contract—it would only complicate matters for whichever sorry fuck ended up claiming her, and he’d rather not have any evidence. He may not have forced her into a bargain, but he doubted his temperamental sister-in-law—his new queen—would approve, should she ever find out.

Besides, the only thing he needed from her was compliance for as long as she was under his care. This way, he wouldn’t need to pamper and cajole the little bitch. He’d simply demand she submit to getting ringed, branded, and given away to some sorry fuck who would only be too happy to be enslaved by her cunt for the rest of eternity.

With a little luck, she’d be out of his hair by the end of the week.

Sure, it wasn’t entirely in the spirit of the law that obligated lords to gentle new Breeders, but not losing his brother the entire East Coast ranked infinitely higher on his list of priorities than easing a Breeder into her new life. Especially a Breeder who was clearly not above purposely manipulating him with her cursed pheromones.

Georgia shifted behind him, her arms tightening around his waist for added security, and he swallowed a curse at the stutter in his chest as his dick surged with renewed want.

It was only pheromones. Chemicals and instincts. She was nothing but an irritating distraction from his duties, and soon, she’d be someone else’s problem.

Oh, how he couldn’t fucking wait.

The hospital was mostly quiet—as quiet as such a hub of human suffering ever got. A few scrubs-clad people gave him apprehensive looks as the Breeder led him through antiseptic-smelling hallways. As a lord, there was only so much Kesh could do to blend in with humans. He could take on the appearance of a mortal, sure, but his nearly eight-foot demonic frame couldn’t entirely fit into normal human proportions, and there were places he stuck out like a beacon. The quiet of a hospital at dawn was definitely one of them, and the caregivers’ natural urges to protect their patience flared at the sight of him.

However, Georgia’s presence seemed to stop any protests at his presence. Possibly because, while he clearly did not belong there, she looked exactly like someone who did: small, weak, disheveled, and distressed.

“When did you last sleep?” he asked, the lines on her pale face drawing his attention.

“I…” She frowned, glancing at him before quickly turning her attention straight ahead again. She did that a lot—tried not to look at him. “Yesterday. I think. Time’s… a little blurry. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’ll sleep once Larry’s better.”