Chapter Fourteen
Kronos
Kronos saw the moment she ceded. Her shoulders shifted, slumping in a subtle and almost indiscernible way, and something altered in the seas of her watering eyes, a glint of something he could only perceive as resignation.
There was tension in the air. He didn’t know if it was his will manifesting the energy, or if the highly-charged connection between them was responsible, but he sensed it. Like smoke in the atmosphere, it curled around them, drawing her even closer.
“Please don’t hurt me, Master.” Her voice was a throaty plea, although her palms still cupped her ample assets in a futile attempt to hide them from him.
Silly girl.
He wondered if the thought had resonated as far as her pretty head. Had she not yet learned that Kronos knew best? He would choose when to rebuke and when to soothe. He knew how to handle wayward women who thought they knew what they needed better than him. He had centuries of experience.
“I will color your backside for the disrespect you showed me, but I meant what I said.” His palm lowered to the delicious curve of her ass cheek, a jolt of electricity racing from his hand to his cock when he pressed his flesh to hers.
So smooth and alluring, it was as though her body was made to yield to his.
“I will cause you no serious damage or permanent harm, but I will make you mine.”
She gulped, her breaths labored when he squeezed her tempting cheek. Kronos had had no idea who would answer his call when he sent the flier out to her graduate hall, but sitting there ready to tame the minnow who’d taken his bait, he couldn’t have been more satisfied with the outcome.
“Ready, little one?”
He didn’t know why he asked. She was acquiescing whether she thought it was a good idea or not, yet he sensed the conflict in her, her offense slowly giving way to the side of Kristina that instinctively realized what Kronos could offer her.
Enslavement, yes, but only a finite confinement, and in her bondage, the acknowledgement that he would offer her the universe.
“Master.”
He hardly even recognized the hoarse tone that called to him. Where was the firecracker who’d tried to defy him? Trailing his hand along her lower back, he was pleased to see she had been placated, for the time being, at least.
“I asked you a question.” His tone held firm, despite the care his digits showed her as they traced invisible circles against her skin.
“I…” She frowned, her white teeth nibbling at her lower lip. “I don’t know, Master. I’m scared.” Her escalating heart rate confirmed her confession.
“I know.” Gazing up at her blue eyes, his hand splayed at her back. He could use that terror to soften her and bring her to her knees, knowing he was just as able to rebuild her once she’d been deconstructed.
“But…” The crease in her flawless brow deepened, suggesting that was not the response she’d been expecting. “I… I don’t know how to do this.”
“Then allow me to show you.” He’d heard enough of her protests, having led countless other women to the same precipice over the years. “Come here.”
One small shove was all it took to seal her fate. The hand at her back offered that impetus, shoving her forward over his knees, and she sprawled over him with a yelp. His knees rose to catch her, his free hand settling between her shoulder blades in an attempt to settle her.
“Oh, God!” she squealed, her hands shifting forward to hold her weight.
He chuckled, running his palm over the delicious curve of her behind. She had soft, creamy pale skin that he was sure would redden all too easily, and fondling her, he made a mental note to keep a check on her condition. He would punish her, but he had no intent to pulverize.
She tensed under his scrutiny, her breathing still rapid, but he noted the way she didn’t try to fight.
“Your God will not hear you,” he promised, relishing the feel of her delicate flesh.
Kronos had survived hundreds of years, and in all that time, never had he encountered the monolithic entity that so many mortals believed in. There were many other deities, though, beings he had ruled over, and those who had ultimately overthrown him, each with their own divine skills and talents.
“Accept your fate well and pay for the disrespect you showed me, and I may even reward you.” The palm that had hauled her into position skimmed a circle over her tempting ass.
Her skin was cold to the touch, but he had a feeling he would soon remedy that.
“You will find I can be kind as well as callous.”
“Please.” She sounded as though she was on the verge of tears again. “Just let me go, M-Master.”
“I don’t think so.” His hand rose, leaving her skin for only a fraction of a second before he brought it crashing down over her enticing rump.
She gasped at the impact, her head rising as though she hadn’t known what a spanking would be. His balls tightened at her reaction, ratcheting his desire for the appealing mortal who was so wonderfully caught in his grasp.
“You need this.” He landed a second swat, catching the underside of her backside and enjoying the ripple of energy the smack sent across the area. “To teach you a lesson about your place.”
She whimpered at the news, her head falling down by his left side again.
Poor little mortal.
Kristina was in way over her head with Kronos, and perhaps she hadn’t realized just how deep until that moment. There was nothing like tugging a human over his lap for a reprimand to offer them a fresh perspective.
She’d replied to his flier, and, in doing so, she’d drawn the attention of a god. Naturally, she’d been blissfully unaware of the consequences of the game she’d been playing when she’d invited him into her world, but that first reply was enough to pique his interest.
Her response had opened a doorway, and Kronos had stalked right through it.
“Ow, ow, ow!” she complained as he landed another fast succession of spanks to her delectable backside. “Please, stop!”
One glance to his right confirmed what he’d suspected; her ass was turning an attractive pink hue, but she was far from her limit of pain. His blows so far had only used a mild to moderate force. She might not have appreciated his consideration, but Kronos was warming her up, not harming her.
“No stopping yet,” he told her, alternating swats between her left and right cheeks. “And if you insist on speaking, then let’s hear your gratitude for my attention.”
“What?” she blurted, twisting to try to catch his eyes.
“You. Heard. Me.” He punctuated each word with a new swat to her upturned derriere. “You will thank me for each and every spank, little one. Starting now.”
His cock stirred at the latest demand, desperate to be allowed between the heated cheeks he was coloring.
In time, he reminded the organ. Be patient.
But patience was a hard-won ally when he finally had Kristina hauled over his thighs. Delivering a harder blow, he paused, resting his hand on her heated skin while he waited for her response.
“Kristina.” He barked her name, his jaw tensing at the way she’d ignored him. “I am waiting.”
“Thank you?” Her tone suggested she wasn’t sure what the correct response was, although he had just told her.
Leaning over her tensing form, his voice was little more than a growl. “Thank you, what?”
Was it possible that she’d already forgotten one of the reasons she was there, held down over his lap?
“Master.” It sounded as though she’d had to push out the word, but she had, at least, said it. “Thank you, Master.”
“Hmmm.” His fingers splayed over her no doubt tender cheek, clutching her roughly, and he couldn’t deny the smirk that rose at her pained mewl. “We will need to reiterate why my little one is here over my lap.”
“Master?” She pulled in a shaky breath.
Placing a kiss onto the small of her back, the hand between her shoulder blades glided to her hair and fisted her tresses as gently as he could muster. “Why are you being spanked?”
She hesitated, her uncertainty demonstrated in her tightening muscles.
“Because I didn’t listen to your messages.” She sounded confused, as though she still hadn’t comprehended what had befallen her. Perhaps, it was true that she hadn’t. If so, it would be his honor to help her make sense of her submission.
“You did not listen to my warnings,” he corrected, planting another chaste kiss to her flushed skin.
She was so delightful, almost as though she, too, had been touched by the divine.
Smirking over her, though, he realized that he would ensure that she definitely had been.
Repeatedly and fervently touched. “It’s my role to look after you, and that means keeping you safe from the insects you encountered. ”
Which, on reflection, was a terrible insult to insects, who tended to be collaborative and organized as a species, unlike most of the humans he’d encountered.
“Your role?” Once again, her head and shoulders rose as she turned to address him. “I don’t understand what you mean, Master.”
“My role as your master.” She looked wonderful, all red-cheeked and dismayed. Meeting her gaze, he vowed that one day, her ass would match the same scarlet shade as her cheeks. “I am here to care for you, to help you to thrive.”
“By spanking me?” Her timbre was reproachful, her eyes narrowing in accusation.
“Yes,” he assured her, squeezing the vulnerable cheek still grasped between his fingers. “And you will do well to watch your tone around me, especially when you’re being spanked.”
Releasing that cheek, he sent his open palm slamming down against her bared flesh, relishing the way she cried out.
“I’m sorry, Master.” She turned toward the floor, heaving in air. “This is all new for me.”
“What do you say to me when I spank you?”
Rubbing her pink cheeks, he tried to ignore how much the treatment was turning him on. He’d worked hard not to terrify his new captive with an enormous erection, but at the rate his interest was growing, she’d soon be discovering how engaged he was, regardless.
“Thank you, Master.”
Kronos sensed how much it pained her to cede to his request, and he was glad of her ignominy. He saw great things in Kristina’s future, but only if she learned to let go of her pride and accept the gifts he had to offer her.
No one received those favors from a being as powerful as he without there being a price tag attached. Hers was her submission, and her devotion to him thereafter. As far as he was concerned, the cost was small.
“What else are you being spanked for?”
He glowered down at her, even though she couldn’t see the fire in his eyes.
With her delicious body slumped over him again and her mane of hair cascading past her face, she had no way of noting his expression, but he sent the intent her way regardless.
Let her know when she had riled the dark god who owned her.
In the end, she would learn to thank him.
“For not calling you Master.” Her delicate hands, which had previously been balled into fists, relaxed with the admission, as though a weight had been lifted by confessing.
He eyed the gesture with interest, hopeful that the woman hauled over him was starting to accept his authority.
“You will learn, little one.” Of that, he had no doubt. “Perhaps regular spankings will help to keep you in line.”
“No, please.” She shook her head. “This hurts so much, Master.”
“Nonsense,” he chided gently. “Remember what I promised you? I am not harming you. Just showing you the error of your ways.”
“I will try harder, Master.” She sniffed back whatever emotions were threatening to overflow, struggling with that most mortal facet of all—her feelings.
“Yes, you will.” His hand left her ass again, and she inhaled sharply, knowing already what would come next. He smiled when the strike landed, sending the impact ricocheting around her appetizing body as he continued. “You will try until you get it right.”