Chapter Twelve
Kronos
The lace snaked around her wrists succumbed to Kronos’ will, and directing it away from her skin with only the power of his intentions, he discarded the binds to the floor. Kristina’s fingers splayed, her head tipping back momentarily to confirm her tethers had vanished.
“May I move?”
Her question hung in the atmosphere between them, her hesitation pleasing. Better that the little one remained wary and malleable. The less he needed to use his energetic influence, the faster their relationship could begin in earnest, and that was an outcome he was impatient for.
“Yes.”
He flicked the fingers of the elevated hands toward her feet, ordering her outstretched arms to lower to her sides. She gasped as they moved, watching her limbs shift without her consent and slowly falling into place at either side of her body.
“How did you…” Her attention shot to him again.
“Careful.” Firing her a warning look, he shook his head. “Remember how you address me, little one.”
Opening her mouth, she pulled in a deliberate breath. One day, he would tell her there was no oxygen in his realm, and that her needs were met only by his magic, but that lesson would have to wait.
“I’m sorry, Master.”
That same emotion glimmered in her ocean eyes, though staring into them, he couldn’t read its meaning.
That frustrated him. Kronos was used to knowing anything and everything he wanted, whenever he wanted.
He’d known who’d sent him that first crude message, and he’d discovered where she lived and who she’d been lusting after with ease.
It was disconcerting not to know what she was feeling.
Was she afraid to refer to him as her master and acknowledge the obvious truth; that he was more powerful than she, or was it only the perturbing reality of having to say the word aloud?
He held her attention, pondering the thought as a third, more enticing option sprang to his mind.
Maybe the feeling he saw wavering in her expression was related to the desire the address inspired.
Perhaps she liked the sense of submission it demanded.
His cock throbbed eagerly for the third outcome.
He hoped that was the reason for her overwhelmed performance.
“Forgiven.” His hand fell to her chin, his fingers grazing over the smooth skin of her jaw as he released control of her arms. “The next time you forget, there will be consequences.”
She pulled in a shaky breath. “Consequences, Master?”
He enjoyed the flicker in her voice that time. That tremor was definitely fear.
“Hmmm.” Hooking his index finger under her chin, he crouched beside the bed and pinned her with the weight of his attention. “Rules and repercussions are important to me, Kristina.”
Her brow rose at the news, but wisely, she said nothing.
“What is important to me is now important to you.” His finger trailed an invisible line along her shoulder, admiring her pale skin. He was willing to wager she’d bruise wonderfully when she yielded to his palm, and yield she would. “You are mine now.”
His tone softened, his attention flitting to her face. He had seen many reactions to captivity over the years. Shock collided with insolence and denial as the owner of the news struggled to understand its full meaning. But with the right conditioning, she would understand.
“In time, you will learn to accept this,” he went on. “Until then, you shall follow my directions and remember your manners.”
“I…” She paused as if trying to find the right words. “Master, I think there has been some mistake. I’m not yours… I’m just a student trying to make her way in the world.”
“You were a student,” he corrected.
He didn’t love her contradictory tone, but at least she had used his title. That alone had saved her from a more severe spanking than the one she was already in line for.
“Now, you are mine,” he reiterated. “You will stay here with me; worship me, serve me, and learn to surrender.”
He was doing his best to be considerate of her bewildered emotions, but in truth, his patience was running thin. Kronos was not known to be a merciful master, and even Shelley, who had learned well enough how to please, often took the brunt of his palm against her upturned ass as a consequence.
“But I don’t understand…” Kristina’s voice trembled. You can’t just take me. I’m a person, with a life, and—”
“Do not argue.” His words cut her off, and he was happy to see she did not require the enactment of another silence enchantment.
She was learning already, then, and initial obedience inspired by fear would, he hoped, give way to a deeper yearning to comply and with her master’s needs.
“This is new for you. I realize this, but do not argue with me.”
“Master, please.” She eased up to her elbows, her countenance speaking of suspicion. He watched as the top of the blanket fell from her shoulders, biting back on his smile when she caught the cover with her delicate fingers. “I don’t mean to offend you, but—”
“Then do not.” He withdrew, sitting back in his chair and enjoying the sight of her growing agitation.
Kristina was utterly bewitching, but it was time she understood what happened to humans who failed to do as they were told.
He could be kind. Compassionate, even. But as he had told her, her every choice would always bring consequences.
When she was good, he would revere her, but oh, when she was bad, he would make her pay for her insubordination.
“You are already in trouble, little one. Do not make things worse.”
“In trouble? But… I just woke up.” She pulled herself upright, grabbing the covers to her breasts. “I can’t be in trouble.”
“The offense took place before you were brought here.” He considered swiping the blanket away, or maybe compelling the fabric to vanish just as the lace that had adorned her wrists had fallen to the floor, but he held back.
The blanket provided her with warmth as well as comfort, and he would have her without its solace and over his knee soon enough.
“Can I at least ask what offense?” She straightened, and he recognized it was taking every ounce of her effort to suppress her defiance. He sensed it curling inside of her, like serpents poised to strike.
“What was that?” he snapped, feigning an irritation he didn’t truly feel.
In truth, he was relishing the opportunity to see her under pressure, savoring her responses even more than he’d enjoyed her bound and writhing body, but he also accepted that the boundaries he erected would become important.
He’d promised her consequences if she forgot his title a second time, yet already, she was hesitant to employ it.
Maybe Kristina required a taste of Kronos’ palm to know why his repercussions needed to be avoided.
“Master!” she spat out the word. “Will you tell me what I’ve done to offend you?”
Shifting forward and lowering so they were eye to eye, he breathed in the aroma of her. Floral scents met his nostrils, mingling with her body’s natural perfumes and colliding to guarantee his interest.
“Remember when you left your house last night?” He had no reason to justify the punishment to her.
He meant what he’d said; she was his, and he would spank her any time she stepped out of line, but there was something scintillating about being so close to her.
Something so intimate about seeing her reactions at such intense proximity. He didn’t want to stop.
She nodded, the pink hue of her cheeks abating. “Yes, Master.”
“I messaged you with explicit instructions to return to the sanctuary of your house.”
Yet, she hadn’t listened, deciding to ignore his wisdom and carry on, regardless. Instead of going home, she’d walked straight into the grasp of those idiot boys who called themselves men.
“Do you recall?” His attention speared her.
“I…” She blanched, her paling color revealing the truth. “I didn’t know who you were. I thought you were some crazy stalker.”
A knowing light flashed in her eyes, and in that moment, Kronos sensed the true meaning of her words. That she still perceived him to be that stalker, nothing more than a mortal pursuer who lurked in the shadows, waiting to hurt her.
Nostrils flaring, he tried not to take the inference personally.
She didn’t know him, after all, hadn’t realized who he was, but the conjecture smarted.
He’d spent hours giving her his attention.
He’d replied to her messages and been there when she needed a savior.
It was foolish of him to expect her loyalty so soon, but he couldn’t deny how much he yearned for it.
“Stalker?” he hissed, battling the latent rage stirring inside of him. “As you shall discover, I have true power, little mortal. I do not need to stalk you.”
“I…” She clutched the blankets tighter around her curves as though she suddenly believed he could see through the cover. Ironically, that was one skill he did not possess. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“You did not trust.”
“Why would I, Master?” Her voice was strained. “I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t believe in any of this…” She glanced around, the confusion flashing in the pools of her eyes suggesting that, perhaps, she still did not.
“You thought I was like the mortal you chased.” Thinking of the cretin, Shaun, who’d had the audacity to turn her down, Kronos’ voice was etched with disdain.
“He is weak, lazy, and undeserving, but that is not me, little one. The power I have has ruled over this entire universe, yet right now, I have chosen to dedicate it all to you.”
“I see.” Her voice sounded tiny as she, presumably, started to put the pieces of the riddle together in her mind.
It had been Kronos messaging her, although still, he could tell she had no comprehension of the influence her captor had.
Maybe she was yet to believe the evidence of her own eyes and thought him merely insane.
If that were the case, he would soon give her the proof she needed. “I’m sorry, Master.”
“He never deserved you, Kristina.” Waving his hand toward her feet, Kronos ensured her ankles were relieved of the lace that had bound them to the end of the bed.
She wriggled her feet, drawing them closer toward her beneath the blanket.
“It seems that as well as punish and guide you, it is also my role to help you see how worthy you are.”
It was a role he intended to thoroughly savor.
“P-punish me?” she stammered.
“Yes. For the offense.” His lips stretched into a smile when the realization of what he had said dawned on her.
He noted that moment in the depths of her blue eyes, his balls contracting at her throaty gasp.
“Those consequences I told you about begin with you face down over my lap for a spanking.” He tapped his thighs as though she wouldn’t know where he meant.
“And that fate, little one, is what awaits you now.”
“No.” She gulped, shaking her head. “I don’t care who you think you are. No one is spanking me!”
Withdrawing against the wall, her breaths were coming hard and fast. That wasn’t a great sign for her overall health, but he’d come to expect initial dissent. No mortal he’d ever plucked from Earth had taken well to her first time over his lap.
He had made sure of that.
“Come.” Relaxing back on his seat, he lifted one hand and beckoned her forward. “One way or the other, you will do as you’re told.”