Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Kris
A stream of golden warmth wrapped around her, enveloping Kris the way Kronos’ body had once done. She squirmed at the memory of him, her sex clenching as she remembered how unnervingly good his touch was.
Kronos was the stern, muscular giant who had well and truly mastered her, but he had also shown her another aspect to him, a gentler side that appeared to respond to her pleas.
Both versions of the Goliath had become the center of her whole world; her captor and her companion, and even as she stirred from what felt like an exceptionally deep and nourishing sleep, she realized it was him she looked for.
Where was he?
She didn’t know for certain, but she sensed he was no longer with her, yet when she thought to turn her head and see for herself, she couldn’t muster the energy.
He’d talked about going somewhere, hadn’t he?
She strained her mind to think, but in the haze of her semi-consciousness, there were no immediate answers.
Despite the rest she’d enjoyed, her body was still tired.
Really tired. It was the type of weariness that seeped into her bones and insisted on stillness.
There would be no moving or looking for him in the short term.
In that moment, there was only the consolation of the golden light and its ability to cradle her.
Breathing in its energy, she mused on why she was so tired.
She’d been working hard recently, and she supposed she’d been partying hard, too.
Hours spent in lectures and the library were coupled with the need to drown out her Shaun-related blues.
Burning the candle at both ends had seemed like a good idea at the time, but perhaps with reflection, she accepted she was ill-equipped to deal with the consequences.
That realization hung over her like an intense cloud, its weight threatening some indiscernible emotional response from her.
She hadn’t been ready for the consequences.
The thought echoed in her mind, surprisingly resonant, although sprawled there, she couldn’t decide why.
Its significance lingered as she leaned into the welcome heat that the golden light appeared to emanate.
She wasn’t clear where the source of that warmth was coming from, but she sensed its protection encompassing her, as though she’d been draped in a celestial veil of comforting light.
She inhaled deeply, satisfied, yet aware that deep down, something wasn’t right.
Superficially, everything seemed well. She was exhausted, yes, but it was nothing several more hours’ sleep couldn’t resolve, but butterflies fluttered their wings in her tummy, giving her the unsettling sense that there was something she was missing.
“Kronos.”
She mumbled his name as she turned in the luxurious, soothing sheath that surrounded her.
Somehow, she knew the discomfited feeling in her solar plexus had something to do with him. He’d bounded into her life like a wrecking ball and knocked all her pieces off the board. He’d brought her there—wherever that was—and then, for some reason she couldn’t recall, he’d left her.
“Where are you?”
She knew he couldn’t be anywhere in earshot. If he was, he’d have almost certainly had an opinion about the way she’d used his name. So, where was he?
Stretching her limbs, she opened her eyes properly for the first time and blinked around her.
She’d expected the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree snowstorm of white that met her gaze, her pulse quickening at the sight.
For a few terrifying seconds, she thought she was trapped in the tiny white cell again, the encircling bleached tone initially giving nothing away.
After a few moments of staring around the space, though, she was relieved to realize that wherever she was, it wasn’t the suffocating cell that previously induced a panic attack.
She was somewhere else, somewhere much larger, and blinking around her, a memory of being brought there burst into her head. She recognized the remarkable arches carved into the unnervingly high ceilings and recollected that the white tile beside her was where he’d made both her and Shelley kneel.
“Shelley.”
She tried the other woman’s name for size, remembering her long brown hair and dark eyes. Shelley was the reason Kronos had left her, and as the thought fell into place, Kris recalled how he had told her he’d be back before she woke.
Looking around, she searched the vast space for him, scanning for any sign of the man who’d ordered her to sleep in the first place.
It was strange the way he’d told her to go to sleep, and that, within moments, she’d found her eyelids heavier than she could ever recall them being.
She had a fleeting recollection of the way he’d prophesized that she’d rest, even ordering her to.
He’d referred to that slumber as a ‘charm’, but despite the illogical things she’d seen him do, she still refused to accept that there was such a thing as magic or that her muscle-clad captor could wield it.
Stretching her neck, she pulled herself upright, aware of the golden umbrella of light waning around her.
He’d told her she’d sleep, and she had. Just as he’d said he’d return before she awoke, so, despite her skepticism, she assumed he would be around somewhere.
The tiles were cold as her feet found them, and she yanked one of the burgundy covers from the bed to wrap around her.
Fortunately, Kronos hadn’t thought to strip her before he left, and the robes wrapped around her body helped to protect her, but there was nothing to keep her toes warm as she climbed to her full height.
Her legs felt unsteady as she rose, and planting both feet, she pulled in a breath. Without the protection of her golden halo, the air was cooler, and she tugged the blanket closer around her body.
“Master?” she called out tentatively, her toes curling at the deferential term.
A part of her still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to refer to him that way, but if the last hours had taught her anything, it was that another facet of her approved of the honorific with hot, eager appreciation.
Her intellect might have refuted the allegation, but her body had betrayed her real need.
No wonder she’d never been able to find satisfaction with specimens like Shaun, when what she’d needed was someone like Kronos. Ceding to him had been as sexy as hell, and it was difficult to imagine a life without his authority and protection.
“Master!”
Her voice was louder that time, and she heard it echoing around the immense room, although still there was no answer.
Scowling, she spun slowly, wondering if he was watching her in some secret hiding place.
She half expected to see him step out of thin air again.
After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time he’d managed the impossible feat, but whichever direction she looked in, there was no sign of him.
The first shoots of unease twisted in her. He said he’d be back, but he wasn’t. What did that mean?
She stepped forward, aware of the weight of silence around her.
She supposed she should have been excited at the prospect of having his bizarre place to herself.
She’d wanted to explore when she’d been in the dining hall, but he hadn’t permitted the investigation.
Facing the enormity of the space on her own, though, was suddenly daunting.
It all looked far less intimidating when Kronos had been there to help fill it.
On her own, she was tiny and inadequate, like a single grain of sand in an egg-timer.
“Master?”
She didn’t know why she called out a third time, but she swallowed at the oppressive quiet that stretched out in response. It was obvious that she’d woken before Kronos had returned, so she might as well take a look around in his absence.
Or maybe he just hasn’t kept his promise. Her throat dried at the unwelcome contribution in her mind. Perhaps he left to be with Shelley, and he never intended to return to you.
She heaved out a breath, hoping that releasing the air would let go of the snide and unhelpful thought.
“He’ll be back,” she assured herself, although as she turned in a circle, she still couldn’t decide if the idea disturbed or excited her.
The truth was, both emotions burgeoned in equal measure.
Whatever the case, she had no agency over what Kronos did.
Even a few hours in his company had taught her that, so there was nothing to be gained from second-guessing his behavior.
If she was smart, she’d subdue the paranoid inner monologue and use the time alone to her advantage.
She could check out her surroundings and discover something that might help her to eventually get out of there.
Perhaps, if she was really lucky, he’d have left a door open for her somewhere.
She bit down a laugh at the notion that Kronos would ever do anything so reckless, but then, she had convinced him to leave her sleeping out in the vast hall instead of the confined space of her awful cell. So, perhaps anything was possible.
“Maybe he’s not as infallible as I think,” she mumbled as she walked forward.
Heading toward the light was the most natural direction, and unthinkingly, she found herself by the enormous panes of glass on the other side of the chamber. Pressing her palm onto its cool surface, she peered outside her prison for the first time since she’d arrived.
Kris didn’t know what she expected to see when she looked out, but surely, it hadn’t been the scene that met her eyes.
An immensity of blue greeted her, the expanse melding into the skies where a horizon should have been.
Her heart sped up as she looked harder, searching the outside for something she recognized.