Chapter Four
Kronos
Kronos’ lips curled at her plea. Kristina had looked awkward and unsettled ever since he’d released his grasp on her, but even given her discomfort, an appeal for a penalty was the last thing he’d been anticipating her to say.
Was the blonde with the big blue eyes truly the same wildcat who’d woken up and adamantly refused to cede to his spanking?
Not much time had elapsed between those two events, yet it seemed he wasn’t the only one who’d been altered during that period.
Relaxing against his chair, he made her wait on purpose.
She’d let him down by trying to flee, but he could understand the desire for liberty.
He’d known it once himself when he’d been flung to the pits of Tartarus and bound there behind its bronze gates.
Watching his little one, though, he was more concerned about her health than her rebellion.
Not long prior, he’d found her dead on his marble floor.
She needed to rest before he’d consider enacting any sort of punishment.
He wouldn’t do anything to exacerbate her healing.
“You do indeed,” he concurred, delighting in the way her gaze flitted nervously from his and back to her robe-covered thighs. He’d have her out of that dress again soon, but at that moment, he was having too much fun playing to contemplate the command. “Look at me.”
She heaved out a breath, but he was pleased to see her comply, her head slowly raising so their eyes could meet again.
Shards of emotions glimmered in the depths of her gaze.
Leaning closer, he ignored her burning cheeks and gazed deeper into those inviting orbs.
Her apprehension about what he might say next glimmered there, as well as whatever shame she felt at wanting to flee.
Simmering below the surface of both was the feeling he knew would keep her rooted to his lap; her frantic desire for him to once again extinguish the flames between her legs.
“I know why you want to leave.” It pained him to admit it, but any intelligent creature pursued freedom when it was caged, and his beautiful Kristina was smarter than most.
She swallowed at his admission. “It was a reflex, Master. I woke up, you were gone, and I saw a chance to get away. I’m not proud of how I’ve made you feel.”
“You shall be punished, and then forgiven.” His matter-of-fact tone gave nothing away about how he intended to deliver the penance. “That is not the issue.”
“So…” she paused, her expression uncertain. “What is the issue, Master?”
“How we remedy the impulse going forward.” He reached for the hand nearest to him, running his fingers over hers. “I can keep you by my side, but I don’t want to be worried about you doing something stupid every time I turn my back.”
“I won’t.” She gulped, tears threatening in her alluring gaze. “You’ll keep me too busy for that, Master.”
He chuckled, the sound dark even to his own ears.
“I will,” he agreed. “But that isn’t the point.
Usually, I have time to break a woman down and then build her back up.
In that process, she finds joy in her service and is content to stay with me until The Advancement.
With you, everything has been accelerated, Kristina.
” His free hand rose to her nape, and despite his initial desire to send a message with his aloofness, he found himself tugging her closer.
“I need to know you can find pleasure at my feet, or there might be no other choice than to bind you.”
Her face blanched at the suggestion, but as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth, he couldn’t decide whether it was anxiety or arousal provoking the response.
“You’re right.” Her voice was scarcely even a whisper. “This has all happened so fast. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.”
He smirked at her turn of phrase. “Let me help you, little one. There’ll be no one coming but me until your punishment is concluded.”
“Master.” She slapped his chest playfully. “You know what I mean.”
“I do,” he confirmed with a smile. “And I need to decide on the solution.”
“It sounds like I’m more than even you bargained for, Master.” Her fingers splayed over his ceremonial tunic.
“Something like that,” he admitted. “I have certainly never met a woman like you.”
Silence swirled between them then, but it wasn’t strained the way he might have expected. Instead, to him, it seemed as though the two of them had reached an uneasy impasse, both accepting the flaws of the situation, and, he hoped, neither prepared to give up on the other.
“Kristina.” An urgency that he hadn’t anticipated echoed in his tone, and she responded to it, her eyes widening as she leaned closer.
“Master?”
“I can tether you and overpower you.” He held her gaze, wanting her to know those were two options he was more than prepared to take if necessary. “But I’d much prefer to have your acquiescence.”
“You want me to stay because I choose to,” she translated, lifting her free hand to rub at her brow.
“Precisely.” He appreciated her eloquence. “I know you want to be mine. Your body tells me so even when your mouth cannot.”
Her brows knitted, but he noted that she didn’t counter him. The last day had repeatedly proven the point.
“I do like being with you,” she conceded.
“Being mine,” he corrected, already sensing his advantage.
“Yes.” A wonderful fresh blush bloomed on her cheekbones as his hand rose to her hair. “It’s just reconciling that desire to everything I’ve left behind, Master. I’ve worked really hard, and I want my PhD.”
“And one day, you shall have it.” He fisted her tresses roughly, producing a satisfying wince from her lips. “I can take you to a timeline where the prize has been earned.”
The crease in her brow deepened, her hand rising in an attempt to lessen the fire that was no doubt erupting at her scalp. “I don’t understand how that’s possible, Master.”
“All things are possible when you have control over time, little one.” His grip eased a fraction, and her hand fell back between them.
“Give me the opportunity, and I shall explain it all to you, but while you learn, you must remember my rules and continue to be my good, obedient girl. Can you do that for me?”
“I…” Her emotions warred in the oceans of her eyes, her obvious intrigue about his magic colliding with the battling shame and lust.
She wanted to stay. That much was obvious from the way her hips rolled forward every time his grip stiffened, but inevitably, she seemed unable to accept the idea of compliance without a fight. It was as though resistance was ingrained in the woman.
“If you stay with me, I think I can, Master.” In the end, her reply sounded almost pained, another reflection of the war raging inside her.
“If I stay with you, then you won’t have a chance to do anything drastic like escape again, will you?” His cock swelled at the enticing idea that she yearned for his presence.
He liked her that way; needy and eager, her arousal ratcheting to cloud all her other considerations so that only he and her desire were left to contend with.
“No, Master.” She breathed a sigh of relief when his hand finally released her hair and eased to the back of her neck, massaging the tension at her nape. “I think that’s the point.”
“You want me to stay and keep you occupied.” He grinned at the conclusion.
He wouldn’t be letting her go anywhere for a very long time.
“Yes, please, Master.” Her reply was a breathy pant. “And I really do need to be punished.”
“You’ll get your punishment.” His gaze speared her. “But only when I say so, and right now, you need to rest. Less than an hour ago, I was breathing life back into you. You’re in no fit state for anything I have in mind.”
“But, Master,” she protested, ironically apparently upset by the delay. “I’m fine.”
The woman was such a paradox. She had once complained vehemently about her punishment, but watching her then, he’d never have guessed so. The version of Kristina skimming her palm over his abdominals seemed frantic for the penalty.
“Yes, you are,” he agreed, reaching to feel the weight of her breasts through the robe. “But ensuring your well-being is my—”
“Number one priority.” She slumped forward, pinioning his hands between their bodies and finishing the sentence for him.
“So, you’ve heard me say this before.” He laughed at her sullen performance, freeing his hands and holding her against him. “I have never seen any mortal so rueful not to be penalized.”
“I just want it to be over with, Master.” She whimpered, straining her neck to meet his gaze. “I don’t want you to be angry with me.”
“Little one.” One hand lowered to knead her ass cheek roughly. “I am not, and neither was I ever, angry with you. You can consider this a lesson in patience. You do not get to decide when punishments begin or are concluded. Those things are your master’s prerogative.”
“Okay.” She blew out a breath, and when she snuggled her face in the crook of his neck, he sensed some of the tension ease from her shoulders. “I accept your terms, Master.”
Suppressing the urge to smile, he brushed his lips over her forehead, relishing the intimacy ballooning between them. It was one thing to take and coerce, but quite another to enjoy the quiet conversation they were currently reveling in.
“I wasn’t aware that we were negotiating.” His cock strained to be back inside her. “I thought you were resting before you were punished for trying to escape my custody.”
The idea of her resting resonated. He should have been taking her somewhere to recover properly. The parlor was good for rumination, but it was hardly ideal for recuperation, and since her cell was no longer a viable option, that only left one possible place to take her; his bedroom.
His throat dried at the verdict. If he’d once questioned why he’d brought her to the parlor, then he’d need an even better explanation for taking her to his bed.
Kronos didn’t need much sleep, so he didn’t spend much time there, but never in all of his years had he contemplated bringing a mortal along.
Whatever was going on between them had clearly affected him in ways more profoundly than the blurring of an odd rule here or there.
Running his fingers through her honeyed hair, though, he found he didn’t care. He didn’t want them to be parted.
“Oh yes.” Her playful giggle pierced his internal monologue. “It seems I still have a lot to learn, Master.”
Patting the tempting orbs of her fine ass, he was more than happy to agree. “I see many important lessons in your future, little one, but fear not. I am a dedicated teacher.”