CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR #3
His hands were all over her, helping where needed.
He pinched her nipples, pressed the object against her clitoris, squeezed her ass.
Daphne let her head fall back, closing her eyes in order to feel as much as possible.
Her orgasm built quickly; her body wanted it even more than her mind did.
Daphne gave herself over, allowing herself to be helpless in the face of pleasure.
Her center clenched as pulse after pulse came, each one stronger than the last. Daphne arched her back, her entire body tensing.
A hand covered her mouth at the exact moment she climaxed, stifling her cry of release.
“Shhh,” Kronos murmured.
Daphne moaned against his palm, hardly caring anymore if her mother heard them. Anything was worth such pleasure. Kronos’s hands went to her waist, keeping her upright. Daphne opened her eyes. Even in the darkness, his eyes shone brightly.
“Such beauty,” he whispered. “I can hardly bear it.”
As he spoke, the pearls moved again, this time releasing her wrists and sliding back to their original structure. The bra re-formed slowly, cradling her breasts. Kronos touched the end of the object between her legs.
“Shall I remove this?”
Daphne nodded.
Kronos slid his finger around the part that curved over her clitoris.
Slowly, he pulled it out until the entire thing was visible.
He laid it in the space between her thighs.
Daphne stared down at it in wonder. It was shaped like a claw—tapered at one end and thick on the other, curved to accommodate her body.
Tentatively, Daphne touched the thicker end.
The moment she did, it turned back into individual pearls, which slid once more between her legs and around her hips, forming the bottom of the lingerie.
When it was done, Daphne looked up at Kronos.
“Do you have any other secret powers?”
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Are you going to tell me what they are?”
“Not tonight.”
Daphne shook her head in wonder. She was too tired to question him. Kronos seemed to sense this because he drew her into his arms and pulled the covers around them. His fingers stroked her curls.
“Are you comfortable?” he whispered.
“Yes,” she whispered back. She was warm, tucked against his body. They fit together perfectly.
“I hope we did not go too far.”
Daphne looked up at him. “Are you really worried about that?”
“Deeply.”
Daphne shook her head. “You shouldn’t worry. I’m—” She cut herself off, realizing what she was about to say might offend him.
“You are…what?” Kronos prompted.
Daphne sighed. She decided to be honest. “I’m frightened.”
He shifted her in his arms. “Of me?”
“Of…giving myself to you.”
Kronos brushed a curl from her face. “There is no need to be frightened. I would not hurt you. I…would do everything I could to make it pleasurable for you.”
Daphne nearly rolled her eyes. She had no doubt of that. “I’m not frightened of that.”
“Then…” He paused, his eyes searching hers. “What are you frightened of?”
It was a valid question. They were intertwined—nearly naked. She’d already shared plenty of herself tonight. Why not share a little more?
“I’m frightened of how I’ll feel after.”
“If I do my job right, you will feel good.”
Daphne smiled. She knew he was lightening the mood. But this was a serious situation. Their circumstances were not ideal, and she saw no solution. “Kronos,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what to do.”
He pursed his lips, regarding her with suppressed emotion. “I do not know either.”
They stared at each other in the darkness.
For the first time in his presence, Daphne felt sadness.
Grief, almost. As if she were mourning something that would never be.
Usually Kronos made everything better. But right now his presence hurt.
It was a reminder of what she couldn’t have.
Daphne raised her hand slowly, brushing her fingers over the slope of his shoulder.
Kronos closed his eyes and let out an exhale as she reached his face. She traced her fingertips along his jaw, skimming over chin and resting on his full lips. He was so beautiful. It seemed unfair that basilisks could possess both power and beauty.
Kronos opened his eyes. He raised his hand, his touch mirroring hers, his fingers finding her neck, then her jaw, then her lips.
He brushed only his thumb over her bottom lip, pulling it ever so slightly open.
Daphne breathed through it all, although she barely could.
Somehow this was more intimate than what they’d done earlier—even the pearls couldn’t compare to the simple feeling of his skin on hers.
“I may not know what to do,” Kronos whispered. “But I know I want you.”
Tears filled her eyes. She wanted him too.
Dearly. Perhaps more than she’d ever wanted anyone.
But she was also afraid. Of being hurt, of falling in love, of being discarded by a creature who had had a much longer and fuller life than she had.
Daphne was only on this earth for a short while; Kronos would be on it for much longer.
How could she hope to compare to his own kind?
“Why would you want me?” she whispered back.
To her surprise, he smiled, his teeth gleaming in the dark. “That,” he said quietly, “is a ridiculous question.”
“No it isn’t.” Daphne had never needed to hear an answer more.
His smile faded. “Do you truly not know?”
Rather than dignifying that with a reply, Daphne remained silent. She would not beg for praise. He should know to give it.
“Daphne,” he breathed. “How could I not want you?” Kronos had an infuriating habit of answering questions with another question. “You are the only woman who has ever compelled me,” he continued.
“Compelled you to do what?”
He paused, clearly choosing his words carefully. “To feel.”
“That’s exactly what scares me.”
“So you are frightened of feelings.”
“Feelings are complicated.”
“That is true.” His fingers slid over the curve of her bottom lip. “But they are also what make life worth living.”
He knew quite a bit more about life than she did.
“I’m frightened of falling for you,” Daphne whispered. “But mostly I’m frightened of falling alone.”
“You would not be alone.”
Daphne didn’t dare believe it. She’d been raised to fear the basilisks.
There were walls around the village and rumors whispered in the streets.
Blood and pain and petrification were the tenets of the snakes.
The fact that she was lying here with one was an impossibility she couldn’t even wrap her head around. It defied reason.
“Daphne,” he said quietly. “My life was empty before you. Now it is full.”
“But what if I’m not enough? You told me that being with me would cost you. We both know that’s true.”
“You are worth the price,” he said immediately.
But she shook her head. “You said basilisks don’t consider humans their equal. What kind of future would we have?”
“A happy one.”
“You can’t predict that. It would be difficult for us—you know it would.”
“I have never shied away from difficult things, Daphne. I did not take you for someone who did either.”
She simply shook her head again. At her expression, he brushed his lips gently over hers.
“Life without love is simply time wasted,” Kronos murmured. “And I do not wish to waste any more time.”
At his words, Daphne froze. He hadn’t told her he loved her yet—technically he still hadn’t told her now. But his statement strongly implied that love was on the table. It was too terrifying a thought to consider.
“You’re a basilisk,” she whispered. “I…don’t know how to trust you.”
Despair flashed in his eyes. Even in the dark, it was unmistakable. Daphne knew her words had hurt him. But she also knew she needed to say them.
Instead of the anger or indignation she expected, Kronos sighed, tucking a curl behind her ear. “I understand,” he said softly.
“Do you?”