Page 10 of Kronos’ Consort

Oh, God.

She bit down on the groan that threatened to rise as his fingers slipped between her lips. Knowing how much she wanted him was no immunity to his power. She longed to give in to the sensual insistence of his fingertips, already sensing that he understood that.

That was why his hand was there. That was why he hadn’t let her drift back to sleep. After saving her life, he was going to remind her why it was so good to be alive.

“Master.”

Her tone was breathier than before, no doubt conveying everything he needed to know. His free arm snaked around her back in reply, scooping her up in his embrace and compelling her backward against his hard body. Shifting behind her so that he was cocooning her body, his hot breath murmured into her right ear.

“There.” His hand slid back into place between her legs. “That’s better.”

A distant part of her wished she could have come out with some witty retort designed to vocalize her indifference to his attention, but that facet of Kristina was already well-subdued and perilously easy to dismiss. Instead of countering him, she reached behind her, brushing her hand over his obliques and pushing back on his waiting erection.

That was what she craved, and there was no point in denying it. Only he had the ability to make her feel so fucking wanton with only a few strokes of his hand. Only he ignited something so primal in her body that she wondered whether she’d actually implode without the benefit of his touch. A few hours in his enthralling company had been all it had taken to remind her why it was so damn wonderful to be a woman. When he held her and controlled her, she was more than she’d ever been before; a woman who merited being held, filled, and loved.

If she had to be so completely captured in his custody in the clouds, then let there be pleasure. Let there be so much fucking pleasure that she couldn’t conceive it.

“It seems you have made your choice, little one.” His dark chuckle danced over her skin, but rather than rile, the sound, just like the rest of him, only riveted her. “Neither of us will be sleeping.”

Chapter Six

Kronos

What was happening to him?

Enveloping her in the shadows, Kronos tried not to dwell on the query. Coming back to find her dead on his floor had, of course, already answered the question for him. The possibility of permanently losing her had revealed just how pivotal Miss Malmon had become to his reality. That was why he’d never doubted his ability to bring her back, why he’d always known she would stir and, once she was recuperated, would spend her time making it up to him.

She’d always been more than only his latest concubine. The omens were portentous from the beginning. Her insistent tone in those initial messages, the way she’d refused to back down even when she’d apologized and then defied his instruction to stay at home. She’d infuriated him, yet at the same time, her rebellion had been hypnotizing. It wasn’t until he’d taken her for himself, though, that those competing emotions had truly collided.

Having her there in his realm, being able to watch her, to touch her, and talk to her, was utterly spellbinding. She wasn’t like Shelley, or any of the women who’d languished there before her. As though his cock sought to reiterate the point, the organ buried itself between her hot ass cheeks, his desire affirming the thought.

Kristina wasn’t like anyone else.

“Master.”

Her tone was urgent, one of her delicate hands rising, and her fingers grasping his hair. His eyelids fluttered closed at the intimate act. He’d have never accepted it from anyone else. In fact, he’d never brought anyone else back to his bed, let alone considered leaving them there unfettered while he slept. With her, the deed felt natural, inevitable, as if there was no better place for her to be.

“So needy.” Feigning his disapproval, he raised his palm and swatted her clit lightly.

Her body responded in an instant, hips rocking north to meet his fingertips, while her head fell back against his pectorals.

“I should be punishing you.” He breathed the words into her hair, permitting those same fingertips to fall back between her warm and wet folds. “You deserve to be punished for that little stunt you pulled, don’t you?”

“Mmmm.” Her voice was thick with desperation.

“Don’t you?” The hand at her chest pinched her vulnerable nipple, eliciting a raspy groan from her mouth.

“Yes!”

Holy Titan.

He squeezed his eyes closed as her answer reverberated through him. That sound alone could have been enough to push him to the precipice, let alone her flawless body, which was currently entwined with his in his vast bed.

“What was that?” He smacked her sex again, the strike much harder that time.

“Fuck.” She arched her back at the spank. “Yes, Master.”

“Better,” he growled, circling her clit with one fingertip. He didn’t love her profanity, but he’d make an allowance for the unexpected sting of the swat. “And for the avoidance of doubt, you will be punished, little one. I’m going to make you sorry you ever even considered heading for that cloud garden door.”