Page 31 of Kronos’ Consort

“Little one.” His hand stilled over her cheeks, but his hard tone conveyed how displeased he was with the disruption. “Why am I being interrupted?”

“The fire,” she gasped, hoping he wouldn’t add more strikes as an additional penalty for the break. “It’s too hot, Master. I’m getting a headache.”

“Hmmm.” He delivered another hard swat while he contemplated her appeal, a cry escaping her throat before she’d even had the chance to consider the reaction. “I hadn’t appreciated the increased power of the fire at this closer proximity.”

“It’s very intense, Master,” she panted, straining her upper body to glance up at the source of her woe. The flames swayed as she caught sight of them, their dance mocking her incapacity while the blaze remained free to move and grow. “Is there a way to tone it down?”

“There is always a way.” His voice echoed over her, and as she grappled to crane her head, the blaze grew abruptly smaller.

“Thank you.” Gratitude and awe for the reprieve merged as she slumped forward.

She still had his ‘consequences’ to contend with, but at least she’d consented to that.

“Of course.” His hand stroked over her skin, and for a long moment, she wondered if the ordeal was actually over and something more tempting might be about to unfold. Her skin tingled with anticipation at the idea. She wanted that outcome more than she was prepared to admit. “I am here to punish you, not to boil you alive.”

The moment she’d allowed her balled hands to unfurl, though, Kronos’ palm delivered its verdict on her plight, resuming the blitzkrieg on her upturned ass. She grimaced at the latest swats, tensing in an attempt to manage the pain.

“Problem, little one?” His palm maintained its ruthless rhythm as the query hung in the air above her.

“No, Master,” she squeaked, unwilling to give in to the mounting injury.

He’d told her that he wouldn’t be gentle, so his following through with the vow shouldn’t have been a surprise. In the warmth of his parlor, though, the reality of that promise was more painful than she’d appreciated it would be.

She supposed that prior spankings had tended to end with her pleasure in some form or another. The punishment taking place over his thighs then was different. He’d made it clear what she was there for, and there was no gratification on the cards. She squeezed the muscles between her legs at the reality, comprehending the truth. She would remain there over him and take what he had to give, and there would be no sweetener to alleviate the hurt.

“You’re sure?” His tone was sardonic, suggesting he knew how much the punishment was troubling her.

“Yes, Master.”

She bit down on her lip, frantically trying to suppress the urge to beg him to stop. That, she suspected, was what he wanted, and just as a part of her believed she merited the penance, another facet refused to succumb and give him what he so badly longed for. He would make her suffer, and she would endure, but she wasn’t going to plead for mercy.

“Your ass is a wonderful shade of dark pink,” he purred, clipping the underside of her right cheek. “I think it’s going to smart when you sit down.”

The noise of the impact resounded around her, taunting her ears with her inevitable defenselessness. Small and human and helpless, she had no option but to tolerate his goading analysis.

“Yes, Master.” Depressingly, she was also convinced that he was right. Her backside had never known attention like it.

“I don’t want to spank you like this, little one.”

His voice boomed over her, and she scowled, struggling to believe what he was saying. Kronos had made no secret of his love for punishing her, so even if she’d handed him the perfect excuse to do so, she couldn’t accept that he’d had to tussle with the idea.

“I would much rather reward you with indulgence than penalize you with pain.” He pressed the underside of his hand against her no doubt swollen cheeks. “And I know you’d prefer that, too.”

“Yes, Master,” she sighed, absurdly relieved for the unexpected amnesty.

“But when you break my rules, you leave me with no choice.” His hand vanished again, replaced a moment later by another hard smack to the same cheek.

Scowling at the sting, her hands balled again.

“Especially when you put yourself in danger.” He squeezed the other cheek, his thumb stroking her heated skin. “I can’t have that, Kristina.”

“I know, Master.”

The strain was there in her voice, the pain melding with his words to make the entire thing seem unbearable. It was awful enough enduring, but having to listen to his reasoning was somehow even worse.

“When you walked out on me, you harmed yourself, but you also created harm when you didn’t tell me about your fears about being trapped in your room.” He patted her rump, alternating the less painful strikes with the occasional more intentional swat. “How can I look after you when I don’t know what you’re feeling?”

She swallowed at the question. The truth was, she hadn’t considered him to be ‘looking after her’ when she’d kept that information to herself. To her, at that point, Kronos was the insanely attractive man who’d taken her, not some dark protector. But she’d learned a lot about him since then. Namely, that he’d literally breathed the life back into her, and sprawled over him, she knew better.