“This is different, Master.”She stopped short of his body, eyeing his black tunic.
“You like the clothes?”
He smirked at the thought.Of course she did.His concubines always enjoyed dressing up for him when he allowed it, but he’d wondered if one as intellectual as Kristina might have defied the trend.
“I shouldn’t say, Master.”She pressed her lips into a hard line.“I sometimes get into trouble when I speak out of line.”
“Is that right?”
He relished how much more relaxed she seemed since her impromptu spanking, smiling as she inclined her head in his direction.It had taken months to convince Shelley to enjoy the idea of his penances, yet Kristina had adapted right away.
“Yes, Master.”Her cheeks flushed a beautiful rosy shade of pink.
“I see.”
He liked the more tranquil and provocative woman who did as she was told, but he didn’t trust her.She’d only just admitted that she was thinking about fleeing, and he wouldn’t permit that to happen.His magic would ensure her compliance, of course, but the fact that she desired to leave still sliced at him.
“Are you going to be a good girl while I send Shelley home?”
His hand rose to her face, her eyes flitting closed as the back of one finger brushed over her temple.She was so delightful, so flawlessly aligned with him, and just as soon as Shelley was safely out of his realm, she’d be his entirely.
“I’ll try, Master.”
“You’ll do more than try.”He ensured his tone was terser that time, though his digits remained soft on her face.“I need my little one on her very best behavior.”
The delicate balance he needed to create was an exquisite paradox and required care and attention.He wanted her to trust him, needed that connection for their scintillating dynamic to thrive, but at the same time, she had to learn that he was her master.However much he bound her, or pleasured her, or played with her, he would always be in charge.
“What do I need to do, Master?”
He smiled at that.There was his Kristina; the woman with a thousand questions.
“It’s simple.”His voice was smoother as he wrapped a possessive arm around her.“You’ll do exactly as you’re told.”
Chapter Nineteen
Kris
The rush of whirring energy was her only indication that they were on the move again.The sensation was the same one she’d experienced the time before, the air around them whizzing in cool circles as she clung to Kronos’ powerful body.
Burying her face against his muscles, she closed her eyes.One day, she would figure out how on Earth he was achieving the exploit.Her mind still refused to accept that he was magically teleporting them around the place, but what was actually happening to them, she wasn’t sure.All she knew was that when her lids fluttered open again, they were once again somewhere new.
“We’re here.”
His voice was somehow different as the hand cradling the side of her face relinquished its grasp; softer, yet with a terser quality she didn’t understand.
Blinking at the latest location, relief flooded her.She was finally out of her suffocating cell and somewhere with more space.The décor and vast expanse reminded her of the dining hall where they’d eaten, but as she peered around, she realized that wasn’t where they were.There was no table in the center of the room, and the space was even more grandiose and impressive, thanks to the sizeable white arches carved into the architecture overhead.
“Master?”
Kris tensed at the sound of another woman’s voice, her heart picking up its pace.He’d told her that Shelley was waiting for them there.She’d known that, but somehow, the idea that they weren’t alone was startling.
It had only ever been her and him.Right from that first moment on the street, until her most recent impromptu spanking.The idea that he’d been keeping another woman there had concerned her, but as she acclimated to the new space, she realized the reality was oddly jarring.
“Shelley.”
Kronos’ voice shifted to the seductive purr she’d heard from him when they were alone, and her brows knitted as she watched him.He turned toward the other woman, and following his gaze, she looked upon Shelley for the first time.Slightly taller than Kris was, with slender limbs and long brown hair, Shelley looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties.Wearing a dress that looked scarily reminiscent of what she could see of the dark red fabric enrobing her own body, her brown eyes locked with Kris’.The two women stared at one another before their brooding captor strode between them.
“Have you been a good girl while you’ve been waiting?”He reached for her, his long fingers gliding over the side of her neck.