Chapter Ten
Kronos
Finally, his little human had woken. Relief reverberated through his sinews at the realization, meeting his growing excitement.
Kronos had waited for hours, watching Shelley worship at his feet before he’d fed her and allowed her to sleep, and still, his new plaything slipped in and out of consciousness, unprepared to meet her new master.
He’d checked on her repeatedly, disappointed each time to find her still away with her dreams, but he had made the most of the time, taking the opportunity to study her.
Kristina was a diminutive woman with shoulder-length blonde, wavy tresses that were glossy and smooth to the touch.
He liked the color, noting how different she was from Shelley, and appreciating the contrast. Naturally, he already knew how wonderful Kristina was beneath the blanket, and again, he resisted the compulsion to remove the cover and explore her body.
Instead, he kept his focus on her face, reveling in her dainty features, small nose, and full lips.
Below her closed lids, he knew blue eyes waited for him, although he couldn’t recall the precise shade.
The next few days would surely provide him with that information, along with almost everything else he yearned to know about her fabulous body and all its glorious reactions.
The sound of her calls had alerted him to her consciousness. He’d returned to her room in a flash but chose to remain shrouded to her human vision for a moment longer, observing her frustrated bewilderment.
There she was, his newest concubine, held in position on the bed by the power of his lace twines.
Wide awake, she was even more entrancing than when she’d slept, her squirming form sending chills racing through his body that should have been impossible after all the work Shelley had put into his recent climactic pleasure.
Regardless of his cock’s gratification, though, little Kristina had the power to arouse him all over again. Indeed, a promising sign.
“Oh, come on!” Anger echoed in her voice as she screeched out her complaint. “Someone must be able to hear me. Who’s out there?”
Someone could hear her, all right. Someone who was only a few feet from where she lay, and who couldn’t wait to get his hands on her.
On her, over her, in her.
He bit back on the tantalizing prospect.
The problem with such alluring propositions was that in the current state of undress he liked to adorn when relaxing, his interest in her incessant writhing was all too obvious.
Usually, Kronos had no reservations about sharing his excitement with his paramours—expecting them to take care of his needs personally—but given that it was her first day with him, he had thought to seek a less carnal approach to their introduction.
His raging erection, though, begged to differ.
It took a concerted effort on his part to diminish his fervor for her.
He wanted her, and she needed to know that, but he had vowed many moons before that he would never take a mortal by force.
There was no need. By the time he’d finished with her, she would crawl to him and beg for his attention.
He just had to compose himself until their story had time to unfold.
Jaw tightening, he forced his thoughts to something less arousing, like his life in Olympia, and of those times he’d have rather forgotten, to put out the flames in his groin. Not that his interest was entirely extinguished, of course. That was impossible when she struggled so magnificently.
Satisfied that his presence wouldn’t overtly traumatize her, he finally called out, unable to conceal his joy at what was to come.
“Ah!” He stepped closer. “There she is.”
She froze like a statue at the sound of his voice, her eyes wide as she searched around the cell for him.
Staring down at her, he looked into those beautiful orbs, finally able to discern the hue for himself.
A much deeper blue than Shelley’s, Kristina’s irises were like the ocean, profound and in need of far greater exploration.
“Who’s there?” she gasped, and heavens help him, he had to work hard to control his excitement.
Just that one breathy response and she’d already stirred him. Perhaps he’d been rather too spoiled where pleasure was concerned, but then, what was the point of claiming, caring for, and training concubines if he couldn’t benefit from their presence?
Kronos was a deity of structure, rules, and consequences, and sharing them with his women had long fulfilled him. Staring down at Kristina, he sensed her journey would be just as satisfying.
“Where are you?” Desperation resonated in her throaty plea.
“I’m right here, Kristina.”
Unmasking himself from the ether where he’d been hiding, he suppressed a grin at the way she recoiled into the mattress at his sudden appearance.
“Oh my God.” Her breathing accelerated, belying the spell he’d cast over her sleeping body that should have ensured her calm compliance with her new surroundings.
Seemingly, that enchantment was less effective now that she was awake and stunned at his presence.
He’d need to make sure that situation was rectified. “How did you…”
The blue oceans of her eyes spoke of her disbelief, and he watched her lips part, pushing away the unhelpful ideas of what else he could slide between them. “You just appeared and…”
Enough now.
He sent the thought to her with his mind, witnessing the moment it landed in her brain and insisted her mouth close.
He generally disliked using mind control on the humans he chose, preferring his lovers to find solace in their servitude and learn to relish their role.
But he would use the tool when necessary, and one of those times was when their stress levels rose to unacceptable highs.
Humans were so much frailer than the gods.
It was evident in everything they did, and it meant they suffered with clear limitations.
Shock was one thing. It was an understandable response to seeing things their closed-minded societies had taught them not to believe in, but what he sensed in Kristina was something more than only shock.
He heard her galloping heart rate and could see her breaths were labored.
Those exacerbated symptoms were not good for either of them.
She needed to be as tranquil as possible to hear what he was about to tell her. It was vital that she understood.
“You are upset.” He inched closer, aware of the way her pulse leapt again at his proximity. “Shhh.”
His hand rose over her, instructing her lips to still, and bound by his magic, she had no choice but to obey.
“You have questions, I know.” He slowed his words, gazing down at his prey. “And I shall answer them in time, but first, you must listen.”
A crease appeared in her brow, her eyes following him as he approached. In their wild, cobalt depths, he saw her panicked frustration. She couldn’t speak anymore, and she had no idea why.
“You are wondering why you cannot talk.” Her increasingly anguished expression conveyed her dismayed perplexity at the sudden loss. “And I shall tell you.”
Leaning over her, his shins grazed the side of the bed. “You will be silent because I have decided that, for the time being, you should listen.”
She actually had the temerity to glower in his direction. Knowing what that expression would earn her, he might have chuckled at her insolence had there not been more to convey.
“And you will do well not to look at me that way, little one.” Her disapproval at his tactics was adorable, but if the lip-binding spell hadn’t already made it clear, then Kristina would need to learn who was in charge, and fast. She’d already earned repercussions for the way she’d flagrantly ignored his instruction to return home the night before.
He was looking forward to showing her what such willful waywardness would achieve.
“I am a forgiving master, but you will find I am always prepared to teach important lessons.”
He resisted the urge to use the word ‘concubine’. He didn’t want to terrify her with that inference so soon, but Kronos was sure she’d soon have a better understanding of why he’d chosen her.
“Hmmm!” Tugging wildly at the lace still keeping her in place, the noise escaped her throat even though her lips were sealed shut.
“Did I not tell you to be silent?” He arched a brow at her, daring the delightful blonde to defy him.
Slowly, sadly, her gaze locked with his as she nodded her head. A solitary tear made its way from her left eye, tracing a line along her cheekbone.
Poor little Kristina. She had so much pluck, yet she didn’t understand who she’d invoked when she’d responded to that flier.
“Then do me the courtesy of showing me that you’ve understood.” His hands rose to his hips, brushing past the flimsy fabric barely providing him with modesty.
She swallowed at his firm tone but settled, the fight in her doused for the time being, and there were no more tears. She was humbled by his power then, a predictable human response, but not too terrified.
That was a good start.
“Good girl, Kristina.” He read the emotion in her eyes carefully while one hand lowered to stroke the side of her face.
She inhaled sharply at the contact, but he was pleased she didn’t physically recoil or turn her head away.
“I will not harm you.” He appreciated how easy it was for him to make such statements while she was silenced and fettered. Reaching for her hairline, he wound a few of those silky strands loosely around one finger. “Remember that.”
How he longed to touch the rest of her, to run a finger over her incredible assets and enjoy the feel of her soft skin, but still, he held back. The stimulus would only encourage his cock to tent the linen he wore, and that would likely be a step too far for his guest.
He’d seen the way she’d looked at him on the street, the hungry glint in her eyes.
She wanted him in the way humans always longed for things, in the same flimsy manner that she’d lusted after that idiot mortal, Shaun.
She had no clue yet what true carnality was like, or how she’d deal with the wave of sensuality he was about to bestow on her.
What Kristina hadn’t counted on when she’d replied to that flier was engaging something far more potent than a mortal man.
She had the attention of a god now, and that brought its own torrent of consequences.
His fierce love and protection were an important facet of that focus, but it would also bring her his redirection and discipline when she required it.
He tuned into her heart rate again, noting it had steadied since the last time she’d spoken. Silently, he called on the protection incantation he’d cast to offer her the maximum reassurance, and that meant slowing her breathing back to a normal rate.
“That’s better.”
She was still understandably unhappy at her current predicament, her wide eyes and furrowing brow expressing her dissatisfaction, but he could live with that.
What mattered was that he didn’t inadvertently break the vow he’d just made about not harming her by causing her so much stress that her fragile heart simply gave up.
He wanted to tame her, but not to break her.
“I am glad to see that you can be good.” He tilted his head, as though he expected her to do something to counter the point, but she remained still and quiet.
It was possible that fear was the factor underpinning her capitulation, but if that was true, her slowing pulse belied the point.
His spell was working either way, calming her into submission.
“If you continue to be quiet, I shall allow you control over your mouth once more.”
Her brow rose, eagerness flashing in her soulful sapphire eyes.
“You would like this?”
Who was he kidding? Of course she would. No one liked to be gagged. Not even the gods.
She tipped her head into a gentle nod, and he sensed she was doing her best to appear unruffled and in control of her feelings, despite her presumably cascading emotions. That was progress, too. It showed a willingness to appease him that every concubine required.
“Okay.” Releasing the strands of her hair, one of his hands fell to his side, while the other rose over her face. With a simple wave of that palm, her lips were liberated, and he watched her mouth part with relief. “You may talk, but only when you are spoken to.”
Eyeing him warily, she nodded her head again.
“You will by now have realized that I am far more than any mortal man.”
Of course she’d realized, though maybe she had assumed her mind was under the influence of a hallucinogen.
She’d seen him materialize from thin air and had just experienced the power of one of his most straightforward enchantments.
Any fool would have acknowledged Kronos’ superiority by that juncture, and he already knew Kristina was no fool.
“May I s-speak?” Her voice was laced with tension as she asked.
“You may.” He liked the way she’d sought his permission. There would be much more of that in her future.
“I see that you are powerful, but I don’t understand how.” She pulled in a shaky breath, as if she was expecting him to remove her right to talk again at any moment. She was wise to be concerned. He hadn’t yet decided how long she would enjoy the privilege.
Smiling at the simplicity of her query, he straightened. Humans were always so concerned with the ‘hows’ and the ‘whys’.
“It does not matter how.” Turning, he gestured for the white chair to come to him, and the wooden seat moved, skimming over the floor until it came to him. “What matters is that you accept I have dominion over you.”
She pulled her lower lip between her white teeth, clearly not accepting anything of the sort, yet wisely deciding not to articulate the point.
Clever girl.
“Can I ask who you are…” She hesitated, obviously keen not to upset the looming giant. “Please?”
“I am Kronos.” He was glad she’d asked. “Once king of the Titans, but these days, my purpose is far simpler.”
His hand fell to her body again, hovering over her collarbone as he continued. “I have chosen a select few mortals to serve me over the centuries, and this time, little one, I choose you.”
“Me? But, why?”
He chuckled at the inevitability of her question. “The why is like the how.” He sighed. “It is not your providence to worry about either anymore. I shall take care of all of your needs.”
She swallowed. “And what do I do?” Anxiety gleamed in her beautiful gaze as she asked the most significant question yet, and sitting down on the chair, he fixed her with his full attention.
“Your part is easy, little one. You do whatever I tell you.”