Chapter Eighteen #3
“Indeed.” His clenching jaw conveyed how little he liked the thought, though whether it was compassion for her friends’ and family’s plight, or just angst at her sorrow, she didn’t know.
“Usually, when my mortals are returned and the timelines are redirected. Any hurt their families have experienced is erased, but in your case…” His voice trailed away.
“In my case, I’m not going back, Master.
” She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand, squirming on her hard chair again as she considered how to express her twisted feelings.
“I might have made a delicious sort of peace with your decision to have me here, but that choice has larger repercussions than only the two of us. It’s hurting the people who matter to me. ”
“I understand.”
She pulled in a breath, unable to dismiss the mental image of her mother’s distress.
“Is there any way to get a message to them, Master?” Her focus drilled into him as the idea bloomed. “Or, to my mum, at least? I hate to think about her suffering. It will kill her not to hear from me.”
Her query was met with silence, and reflexively, she stiffened at the stony sound, assessing Kronos’ face for any sign of his response.
What was he thinking?
Was he angry with her for the suggestion, or would, as she hoped, he be able to see her point of view? As the long, hushed seconds ticked by, the nervous energy inside her knotted in her tummy until it was painful.
“I could get a message to her.” His gaze was determined when his voice finally splintered the suffocating strain, but as his gaze found hers, she noticed it soften. “It is most unorthodox, little one, but for you, anything is possible.”
“Thank you, Master.” A swell of relief flooded her senses, and fresh tears fell hard as she exhaled.
Rising from his chair, he stalked the short distance between them, falling to his haunches by her side. She blinked through her tears, her eyes widening at his sudden proximity.
“Do not cry.” He frowned as he took her nearest hand in his palm. “We shall solve this riddle. Your mother might miss you, but she will know that you are safe and well. Better than that, actually. She shall know you are adored.”
Her lips twitched at his choice of vocabulary.
She wasn’t sure what she’d write to her mum, but somehow, she doubted her mother would view her abduction as adoration, and there was no way Kris could convey anything about her kidnapper being an ancient power.
Kris’ mum might not have been a science graduate, but she would never have understood.
Some things had to be seen to be believed.
None of that belied her gratitude, though, and as he squeezed her fingers, she met his smile.
“That would mean so much to me, Master.”
His thumb skimmed over the top of her hand. “How much will it mean, little one?” His tone had furled into that edgy resonance her clit instantly recognized, her pulse quickening for altogether different reasons when she acknowledged the dark glint in his eyes. “How grateful will you be?”
“Very grateful, Master.”
With the matter of her conscience at least partially relieved, her thoughts shifted back to more familiar territory as she recognized where his questioning might lead.
They had played similar games before, times when he would meet one of her needs, and she would express her thankfulness in darker and more debauched ways than decorum should have allowed at a dining table, and each time, she’d reveled in the dance.
That was why her heart beat excitedly as he rose to his full height, stretching her hand with him to brush a kiss to her knuckles.
He would provide her with some sort of reprieve, and in exchange, she would offer him a libation.
That was the way things worked with the gods, she supposed.
To walk alongside them, there needed to be sacrifice.
Not the gory torment of centuries gone by, but, in her case, demonstrations of her devotion and the absolute trust that he would make things better.
Not that she minded that devotion. Making an offering to her god was less like a chore and more like hedonistic rapture.
She’d never been one for the idea of the heavens before meeting him, assuming the skies were limited to what astrophysics had taught her, but, watching the twinkle in his intoxicating eyes as they morphed from hazel to violet once more, she suspected being with him was the closest she’d ever get to paradise.
His cock swelled as he released her hand and paced back to his chair, his retreat offering her a delicious view of his pert backside. Sliding back onto his seat, he caught her eyes again and beckoned her forward.
“Come over here, little one.”
She slipped from her chair without complaint, wriggling her toes against the cold marble floor as she padded over to where he was sitting.
There was little fear being around him anymore, but scanning a lustful gaze over his tantalizing body, she acknowledged the familiar fizz of yearning simmering inside her.
“Let me look at you.” He lifted her chin with his hand, guiding her face left and then right as he perused her. “Yes, you are beautiful. Just as I remember. My wonderful, grateful, little mortal.”
His lips stretched into a lazy smile as he emphasized the final line.
“Is there something I can do to serve you, Master?”
She fluttered her eyes at him, her attention darting to his groin out of instinct.
Usually, her ‘service’ to him consisted of satisfying him in some depraved and indulgent way, a price she was more than content to pay.
She’d have gleefully helped him with his growing erection, whether he got a message to her mother or not, but standing before him, there was something absurdly grounding about knowing he would take care of all her needs, not only the ones pulsing between her legs.
“I like the way you’re thinking.” He nodded approvingly. “But not now, little one.”
A pang of disappointment washed over her at the news, and she wondered if it showed on her heating face.
“What then, Master?” Her hands slipped behind her back the way he had taught her, her gaze falling as she awaited his verdict.
“Kristina.” His lighter tone vibrated over her, goosing her skin. “Have you forgotten our plans?” His voice was wry. “This moment is already promised to something other than carnality.”
Her chin rose as she tried to recall what they’d decided to do after eating, but in the haze of her recent melancholy, their so-called schedule was lost to her.
“I’m sorry, Master. “She shrugged. “I can’t remember.”
He shook his head. “It is time for more of your study,” he explained, one of his large hands shifting to squeeze her hip gently. “We did discuss this earlier.”
“Oh, yes.”
She laughed at the idea that she’d forgotten the thing she’d previously implored him for, but that was what it was like being around Kronos.
His masterful presence was a constant headfuck, and over their time together, she’d grown to adore his ability to overawe her.
Despite his rules and routines, she never knew where she was from one moment to the next, and it was that blend of excited structure that constantly enthralled her.
“Let us go to the cloud garden.” He tugged her hand, encasing her fingers with his. “And then, with your thirst for knowledge quenched once more, we can consider what more you owe me.”