Chapter Thirteen
Kris
Sprawled on the rug, she stirred, her face turning away from the ferocity of the nearby flames. The heat was comforting on her flesh, but at such close proximity, her sensitive skin felt like it was starting to burn.
Flames?
Her brow creased as she remembered where she was, the hazy image of his wood-paneled parlor coming into view as her eyes fully flickered open.
They were still in the parlor?
She glanced around, finding Kronos stretched out beside her. He seemed to be dozing, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and rhythmic, but as soon as she attempted to untangle herself from his embrace, those hazel eyes were open and on her again.
“Little one?” His tone was weary but knowing, as if he suspected she was trying to make a run for it.
She nearly laughed at the idea. Not only was it the furthest thing from her mind after her recent gratification, but, as a quick scan of the space confirmed, there was literally nowhere for her to go. The parlor, just like her cell and the dining hall, had no obvious doors. There was no way out.
“I’m here, Master.” She leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I just need to move. I’m too hot by the fire.”
“Take my seat,” he instructed, stretching out one hand to indicate the large chair he meant. “You fell asleep after our carnality, and I must have joined you.”
Climbing to her feet, she smiled. There was something so intimate about the idea of them casually sleeping beside each other.
It wasn’t only Kronos’ physicality that she yearned for anymore, but that growing tenderness.
The last day had taught her a lot about her captor, and the more she learned, the more she liked.
He could be kind as well as cruel. His caresses and the way he’d treated Shelley had shown her that, and clearly, he cared about Kris.
Why else would he have resuscitated her, ensuring she was rested and healthy?
He could have had anyone, could have discarded her and found a replacement within hours, but he hadn’t.
Settling on his enormous seat, that thought resonated.
He hadn’t done that, and she was glad. Not only because it meant she was still alive, but because they were still together.
It would have been simple enough to have loathed her abductor, but watching him rise from the rug, she accepted that she didn’t.
Far from it. The more time she spent with the sexy giant, the more she was enthralled.
He was imposing and rigid, and yet he could be gentle and pleasing all at once. On top of all that, she also now accepted that he was powerful.
Kronos was like no one she’d ever met before.
She wrapped her arms around her knees as she grappled with the concept. All those years of physics she’d studied, learning what was and wasn’t possible. She’d been so sure about so many things, and then he had come along and ripped right through her self-assurance.
Her attention flitted back to his handsome face instinctively, her face flushing when she discovered his gaze already fixed on her.
“You’re thinking again.” His voice was half-exasperated and half-perturbed.
Her lips curled at his expression. The idea that she could have affected someone as commanding as him was utterly ridiculous, yet apparently, it was true. More than a man, his powers were tangible, and seemingly, he did have feelings for her.
“You have given me a lot to think about, Master,” she explained.
Stretching out on the rug again, he folded his arms behind his head and smirked. “I see your point.”
“Should I stay and submit to you?” she wondered aloud. “Or do I return to my studies?”
His dark eyebrow arched. “What makes you think you have a choice, little one?”
“You’re right.” Her smile stretched wider, despite the latent threat in his question. “I have no choice, Master.”
She’d had no choice about any of it. Not since she’d taken that leaflet and reached out to him in the first place.
She hadn’t agreed to be seized from the street, stripped, spanked, or compelled to memorize his preposterous rules, and she certainly hadn’t expected to relish anything about what should have been a horrendous ordeal.
Locking gazes with him, though, there was no denying what was patently obvious. She had reveled in his debauched devotion, and in the course of that attention, she had started to fall for him.
Idiot. Her eyes fluttered closed at the startling confession. I can’t be falling for him. He’s not even human!
It was clear why she was attracted to the hulking beast, but not even his displays of affection changed what was happening between them.
He had captured her and he was still refusing to let her leave.
She might have been the one sitting on the huge chair while he lounged on the floor, but in every way possible, he was in control.
Which is precisely how I want him to be.
She squeezed the muscles between her thighs at her verdict, knowing the unhelpful voice in her head was right. Being around Kronos was like living in the wake of constant madness. She both desired and despaired at the outcomes he provoked in equal measure.
Being controlled, and held, and protected by a being as mighty as him was sublime, yet at the same time, she was still struggling to understand who or what he was.
His power was real, but how it was produced, and how on Earth he could have lived for such a long time, she didn’t know.
It was vexing to stand on the edge of such consuming feelings and not even know who he truly was.
“Can I ask you a question, Master?” Her gaze took in his impressive form once more.
“There’s my little one.” He grinned. “Always with the questions. Always wanting to learn something new.”
“Guilty,” she replied.
“Go on.” He thrust himself upright, his muscular body illuminated by the fire’s glow.
“It’s a big one.” Her tone was almost apologetic. “But I need some answers.”
“Ask.” He gestured for her to continue. “I do not promise to answer, but you may speak freely.”
She was grateful for the chance. It wasn’t so long before that he’d sealed her lips with his impossible magic.
“Well…”
She shifted on the chair, unable to find a comfortable spot.
When Kronos had been sitting on it, with her as his footrest, she’d always eyed the seat with envy.
She’d been jealous that he had the right to sit there whilst she was forced to the floor.
But being there alone was a different proposition.
Without the comfort of his body, the thing seemed too large, as though she were a tiny rowboat lost on a huge ocean with no sign of shore.
“I was wondering about you, Master.” She forced herself to go on and take the opportunity he’d offered. “I know we talked about it before, but if you’re not human, then…” She hesitated, unsure how to reintroduce the query without offending him. “What are you?”
Silence lingered between them, and in that quiet, her anxiety skyrocketed, certain that, despite her efforts, she had insulted him. Knowing he was a formidable god did little to quell that rising apprehension, either. She sought transparency, but had learned to fear the possible consequences.
“You assume that humanity is the center of the entire universe, of course?” When he finally replied, his chuckle filled the air.
“I suppose so.” She clung to the edge of the chair, aware of how arrogant the assertion sounded in light of what she’d found out.
“There is an old, primordial power in the cosmos, little one.” He motioned with one hand, and the chair she was on shifted around her at his command.
Her pulse accelerated as the seat rose from the ground; only a few inches, but enough to reinforce the point—he had the ability of telekinesis.
She guessed she should have been used to his displays of power by that point, but as the chair traveled the short distance to where he was sitting and hovered over the rug by his feet, she wasn’t sure how she could ever get used to such things.
“Gods who live beyond your world who control the forces of nature, and often by design, human destiny.”
She frowned at the news, trying to make sense of it. If what he was telling her was the truth, then where did her beloved science fit into the equation?
“I used to think that stuff was nothing but mythology, Master.”
She’d clung stubbornly to her belief in physics until he’d taken her to that dreadful darkness.
There, watching the being who’d formed from its depths, she’d had no choice but to face the reality of that which she had previously dismissed as impossible.
Science had taught her that the universe was vast and ever-expanding, but it had not prepared her for any such sights.
It did not allow for dominant gods who could travel through the ether and summon things with their will alone.
“That view is the perspective much of your species has chosen these last few hundred years.” He rested his hand on the front of the seat by her knee, grounding it against the fibers of the rug.
She glanced around when she settled on the floor, aware of her heart still hammering in response to the impromptu journey.
“But there are still those who believe in the old ways. Those who pay homage to beings like me.”
“I didn’t realize.” Processing his answer, an unexpected wave of shame washed over her. Apparently, there had been a lot she hadn’t grasped.
Kris wasn’t responsible for humanity’s ignorance, but her inexperience in such matters had inadvertently perpetuated the modern way of thinking.
The reign of science had replaced religion, its labs and offices the new temples, and in joining its ranks, she, too, had believed that it provided all of the answers.
She’d thought herself enlightened, but in light of what Kronos had shown her, she realized she was as blinkered as those who’d once believed the sun revolved around the Earth.
There was still so much for her to learn.
“It’s okay.” That large palm slid to cover her left knee, squeezing her cooling skin gently. “I think you shall enjoy the process of acquiring this new knowledge.”
Hypnotized by his fingertips, she watched as they drew small circles on her skin. She knew how good those digits could feel on her, and in her, the surety alleviating some of the disgrace she’d felt for her ignorance. “I think I shall.”
Her head rose, and he speared her with the intensity of his gaze, those hazel eyes loaded with sinful intent. Over the last few days, Kris had come to know that look all too well.
“It means,” he purred, “you’ll be as intellectually stimulated as you are sexually.”
She smiled at the way he’d put that, excited by the prospect of both. The idea of not returning to her studies was demoralizing, but with Kronos around to learn from, she acknowledged she had a whole new subject to study. “Yes, Master.”
“But you won’t be allowed either unless you’re good.” He rose on his knees, pressing his body toward her. “And not when you err and deserve to be punished.” He paused, and in the silence, she sensed heat blooming at her cheeks. “We both know you’ve been bad, don’t we, Kristina?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even try to avoid the fate she knew awaited her.
She hadn’t been honest with him about her claustrophobia, and to make matters worse, when her fear was revealed, Kronos had acted with concern and compassion.
Added to that was the fact that she’d tried to flee and had inadvertently run out of oxygen. “I’ve been bad, Master.”
If he hadn’t been there to give her the kiss of life, that would have been it. No more science, no more pleasure. No more Kristina.
“You asked me to punish you yesterday.” His expression was so serious suddenly, as though their prior conversation hadn’t even happened.
“You said I needed to rest first,” she replied, drawing closer to him as though his magic had compelled the movement, but deep down, she knew it hadn’t.
She wanted to be closer, wanted the heat of his breath on her skin. If he was about to whisk her off for another toe-curling punishment, then she needed the intimacy more than ever.
“And now you have,” he concluded.
“Yes, Master.” Her breathing had sped up again, her body already anticipating what he would say next.
A part of her dreaded what was to come. How could she not?
He was huge and powerful and could have done anything he chose to her.
But another, larger facet of Kristina tingled with anticipation.
After everything they’d been through, she trusted Kronos.
He would know how far to push her without tipping the balance.
“Then we’re agreed.” His gaze fell to her lips, as if he was considering kissing her again, but frustratingly, the caress never came. “It’s time you were punished.”