He hesitated as that thought hit him.He’d grasped her from the street and chosen to bring her there, yetshehad changed things.
She’d changedhim.
With her basic needs met, he should have been getting her back to bed so he could tend to Shelley, but there she was again, derailing his plans and delaying him.
She’d claimed to be nauseous and too full to eat the rest of his meal, but her rejection amounted to willful defiance.He’d told her the food was to be finished, yet she’d adamantly refused to comply.
He had no choice but to show her what that meant.
Karma didn’t lie, and Kronos’ consequence would stand.
Closing his digits over hers, he sent a silent intention out to Shelley’s chamber, urging her not to wake until he came to her.He didn’t want her final hours with him to be blighted with panic because he hadn’t attended to her, but he knew Kristina would require another hour of his attention.
“Come to me.”He didn’t look at her as she rose from her chair and obeyed.“Leave the blanket here.”
He heard the tiny whimper that escaped her throat at the command but noted that she, for once, did as he asked, coming to stand before him.Releasing her hand, he snaked an arm around her, bringing her flush against his flesh.His cock responded to her warm skin immediately, throbbing at her sudden proximity.
“Are you upset with me, Master?”Her gaze flitted to meet his fleetingly, and stroking his thumb along her back, he considered his response.
Was he upset?Her bold refusal to fall into line had irritated him, but holding her again had dispelled most of that feeling.Glancing down at her intoxicating eyes, he realized there was no need for disappointment.He had given her the choice to either obey or endure the repercussions, and she had chosen.What came next was only a matter of housekeeping.
His lips twitched at that idea.Of course, it helped that the maintenance required was entirely to his liking.
“No.”His free hand rose to caress the side of her face.“Not upset.But when you disobey, there are consequences.It’s my job to teach you that.”
She swallowed, delicious, unspoken fear flickering in her eyes when she nodded.“I see your logic.You did tell me what would happen if I didn’t eat…” Her brow furrowed.“I just don’t understand why you need to teach me these lessons, Master.”
Smoothing her honeyed hair away from her face with his fingers, he almost pitied her plight.Her accelerated progress meant she’d had virtually no time to accept her fate.It had taken Shelley months to reach the stage where they would eat together.She had needed to be coaxed from her cell, and all her food had been taken there in the early days.Kristina had managed to sit calmly at the dining table on day one; a feat that still astonished him.
“The incongruence comes from how well you’ve done.”His tone was gentle as he explained.“You have come so far, so fast, that my structures do not yet make sense.”
He stroked along the side of her face until he reached her jaw.
“You’re right.”Her expression was aggrieved, as though she was fighting the urge to give in to her emotions.“It doesn’t make sense, Master.”
“It will,” he vowed, gliding his thumb along her soft skin until he reached her lips.Plump and enticing, he recalled how good they’d looked covered in his seed.“With time, my demands will be clearer, as will your place in this journey.”
She heaved in a breath, tears glistening in her azure eyes.He stared into those depths, reading the emotions she was too afraid to tell him.The normal array met his gaze; fear, fury, and confusion, but he sensed there was something else, too.Skimming the pad of his thumb over her lips, he looked closer.
What was that other feeling her eyes conveyed?
“I hope so, Master.”Her voice was scarcely even a whisper.
“I’ll help you,” he promised, pushing the tip of his thumb gently into her mouth.“You know I will.”
Why was he pandering to her?His jaw tightened as he struggled to comprehend.She’d accepted she hadn’t done as he’d asked.Why wasn’t he just taking them both to deal with the punishment?
As her lips parted at his gesture, though, his cock leapt at the feel of her warmth, revealing the answer.Kristina’s allure had subdued him, showing him the advantage of tenderness rather than only brutality.He wanted his swelling erection back inside her, yearned for her to want him the way he longed for her, and he wouldn’t risk anything that crushed that delicate, blooming connection.
“Are you going to be a good girl and take what’s coming to you?”He pushed the digit deeper into her mouth, fighting the instinct to groan at her response.
She took his thumb without complaint, opening for him and even locking gazes as she ceded.Slowly, she turned her head, sucking on the digit as though it were his cock.
“Kris-tin-a.”
He hadn’t intended to disclose his fervor so blatantly, but those three heated syllables alone did the job, his guttural tone divulging just how badly he wanted her.Releasing his thumb, she kissed the tip and blinked up at him.
“I’ll be good, Master.”
