Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Kronos
Kristina murmured the correct numbers, her expression dazed as she complied. He kissed the top of her head appreciatively, wishing there was time to enjoy the sensual moment, yet knowing there was not.
Shelley was waiting by the cloud garden, and with each passing minute, he sensed her agitation at his delay. He’d sworn she’d soon be free and had then disappeared to check on Kristina. It was time to make good on his word.
“We have somewhere we need to be.” He cradled Kristina against his body possessively.
“Where, Master?” If he didn’t know better, he could have sworn it was gratitude flashing in her eyes.
“It is time for Shelley to go back to her own life.” He met her gaze. “I should like for you to bear witness to her transition.”
“She’s leaving?” Kristina’s voice was caught somewhere between envy and hope.
“Yes.” He stroked the loose strands of her hair from her face. “Which means I shall have more time for you.”
Kristina’s eyes enlarged a fraction. “But, Master, I don’t understand…”
He exhaled, contemplating how often she had told him that already.
“I’m happy she’s going to be free, but if you let her go, won’t she just run to the police?”
“The police?” Kronos chuckled at her naivety. “Look around you, beautiful. Think about the things you have seen. Do you think there is an authority in the world that can control me?”
Only one soul had ever succeeded, but Kronos chose not to spend time dwelling on that dark day.
Not that Zeus’ uprising had held him back for long.
The years Kronos had been detained at Tartarus became meaningless when he went on to rule the Isle of the Blessed.
All the sorry encounter had ever taught him was that good things came to those who were prepared to play the long game, and Kronos had all the time in the cosmos.
She blew out a breath. “I suppose not, Master.”
“Shelley will be taken home,” he assured her. “She shall return to her life exactly as it was when I brought her to this realm.”
“This realm?” Kristina blinked up at him.
“Where we are,” he clarified, accepting she hadn’t yet learned about his hiding place in the clouds.
Her accelerated development had meant the conversations he would usually have shared with his mortals over the course of their awakenings had yet to be discussed. There was still much she didn’t understand.
She sighed again, the pained expression on her face telling him she had yet more queries that she was wisely choosing to hold back.
“Go on.” He took a step back and folded his arms across his chest. “You may have one more question before we leave.”
“Master,” she started, not wasting any time. “How can she go back to her life as it was?”
“There is much you do not yet know about me.” Kronos’ lips twitched. He’d only just had a similar conversation with Shelley. “One such thing is that I am the master of time.”
Her brow rose as though she didn’t believe a word. Apparently, she at least partly accepted his ability to manifest before her and teleport her around his home, but the idea that he had sway over the most persuasive of man-made metrics was too much for her to comprehend.
“Time, Master?”
“Yes, time.” He nodded, sensing his impatience growing. He liked to indulge her, but there was still Shelley to think about.
“I see that you do not believe,” he continued. “It matters not. What is important is that Shelley will be well looked after. You have my word on that.”
“Okay.” Her head lowered as though she expected a rebuke, but there was none coming. He would answer more of her questions when there was only the two of them to consider.
“We must ready you for this auspicious occasion,” he went on.
Her chin rose. “How?”
“You shall be enrobed.” He grinned at the word.
It made him think of covering her in something delicious.
Warm chocolate, perhaps, or fudge. He’d wager that would make for an interesting punishment one day.
He’d bind her and smother her delectable body in the coating of his choice, feasting upon her at will.
That would surely help to convey the meaning of sweet submission to his bewildered woman.
“I am to have clothes, Master?” Excitement tingled in her voice at the prospect.
“For now,” he confirmed, already imagining her in the lightweight peplos that would cover her tempting body while still complementing her feminine curves. “A ritual such as this deserves dignity.”
With one wave of his hand, the draped dark crimson garment he’d envisioned appeared on her, clinging to her body in all the right places.
He laughed at the way she leaped back to the wall, her arms rising as she appraised her attire.
He supposed, after hours of nothing but her glorious skin, wearing anything felt peculiar.
“There.” He didn’t hide his smug tone. “You are wonderful. Just as I thought you’d be.”
“Master, it’s…” She shook her head, apparently finally short of words. “I love the color.”
“Good.” He straightened, directing his magic over himself and transforming the short tunic he wore into the longer black, belted chiton he donned for formality. “I appreciate dramatic colors.”
He’d always liked red for his women, while opting for black for himself. Both reflected his all-devouring reputation.
“Come to me.”
He beckoned her with one hand, adjusting his belt while she shuffled closer. Her feet were still bare, but his were encased in the type of sandals he’d worn in Titan.
“This is different, Master.” She stopped short of his body, eyeing his black tunic.
“You like the clothes?”
He smirked at the thought. Of course she did. His concubines always enjoyed dressing up for him when he allowed it, but he’d wondered if one as intellectual as Kristina might have defied the trend.
“I shouldn’t say, Master.” She pressed her lips into a hard line. “I sometimes get into trouble when I speak out of line.”
“Is that right?”
He relished how much more relaxed she seemed since her impromptu spanking, smiling as she inclined her head in his direction. It had taken months to convince Shelley to enjoy the idea of his penances, yet Kristina had adapted right away.
“Yes, Master.” Her cheeks flushed a beautiful rosy shade of pink.
“I see.”
He liked the more tranquil and provocative woman who did as she was told, but he didn’t trust her.
She’d only just admitted that she was thinking about fleeing, and he wouldn’t permit that to happen.
His magic would ensure her compliance, of course, but the fact that she desired to leave still sliced at him.
“Are you going to be a good girl while I send Shelley home?”
His hand rose to her face, her eyes flitting closed as the back of one finger brushed over her temple. She was so delightful, so flawlessly aligned with him, and just as soon as Shelley was safely out of his realm, she’d be his entirely.
“I’ll try, Master.”
“You’ll do more than try.” He ensured his tone was terser that time, though his digits remained soft on her face. “I need my little one on her very best behavior.”
The delicate balance he needed to create was an exquisite paradox and required care and attention.
He wanted her to trust him, needed that connection for their scintillating dynamic to thrive, but at the same time, she had to learn that he was her master.
However much he bound her, or pleasured her, or played with her, he would always be in charge.
“What do I need to do, Master?”
He smiled at that. There was his Kristina; the woman with a thousand questions.
“It’s simple.” His voice was smoother as he wrapped a possessive arm around her. “You’ll do exactly as you’re told.”