Page 119 of Kneel Before Me

“It should not,” he said. Was it her imagination, or was his voice becoming weaker? “It should feel…good.”

Daphne nodded, staring down into his eyes. His grip tightened on her waist.

“Are you ready?” Kronos whispered.

“Are you?”

He stared up at her. Daphne couldn’t believe where this evening had gone—that somehow it had begun at the castle and ended with Kronos bleeding out in her bedroom. Ever since the basilisks had entered her life, things had been unpredictable. Yet somehow, Daphne preferred it that way. She felt alive now in a way she never had before. Kronos shifted beneath her, pulling her even closer. Their bodies were pressed together; she was completely straddling him. His hand tightened on her throat.

“Daphne,” he said. Then he closed his eyes.

Out of instinct, Daphne did the same. For a moment, nothing happened. Then something slammed into her. She gasped but not in pain. Instead, pleasure like she’d never known surged through her body, overtaking everything in its path. The sensation was too much; she was drowning in it. She was at once alive and dead, powerful and helpless. Beneath her, Kronos was tense. Without thinking, Daphne ground herself against his cock, which was mercilessly hard. A moan escaped her lips. A similar one escaped Kronos’s.

Then he was kissing her.

Kronos was warm—far warmer than a human would be. It was like pressing her mouth against the hot brick of a fireplace. She jerked her hips, wishing she wasn’t still wearing the velvet dress. The pearls were burning her skin, singeing her everywhere. Daphne knew without touching herself that she was wet. It was more than a simple physical response—there was something intoxicating about Kronos. Everything about him was turning her on: the smell of his skin, the taste of his lips, the hardness of his body beneath hers. There was so much unresolved energy between them—so many things they had yet to do—and they were all coming to the surface right now. Daphne knew she wasn’t the only one affected. Kronos’s grip on her was so tight it was almost painful. He was holding her throat with brutal strength.

Wave after wave of rapture filled her—a euphoria so great she wondered whether she would ever feel anything like this again. Her breasts were tender; her center was soaking. Only when her heartbeat was on the brink of a sprint did Kronos’s hold on her finally loosen. Pleasure still coursed through her, but it was softer now, caressing her in a gentle rhythm, receding into the background and leaving nothing but infinite lightness behind. Daphne broke their kiss, pressing her lips instead to his chest. All she could taste was blood.

Her name came to her through a haze of pleasure.

“Daphne.”

She was buried against him, her lips against his skin, his blood in her mouth.

“It is over,” Kronos said.

But it felt too good to be over. Every inch of his skin called to her; she wanted to suffocate against him.

“Daphne.” He lifted her with his extraordinary strength. “Enough.”

Daphne stopped. She opened her eyes, staring down at Kronos. They had never been in this position before, her on top, him on the bottom. The implications were so tempting that it took all her self-control not to lean down and kiss him again.

Kronos was staring up at her with a startling combination of fear and reverence. “Daphne,” he said quietly. “How do you feel?”

She felt incredible, soft and buoyant, as if she were floating. She knew without a doubt that she’d just had the greatest orgasm of her life. “How do you feel?”

One glance at his neck told her the bite was closing. Immediate relief swept through her as she watched the two holes steadily shrink into nothing. Kronos raised his fingers to his neck. By the time he touched it, his skin was smooth once more.

“Alive,” he said.

Daphne felt alive too. “What happens now?”

Kronos looked her in the eye. He was so beautiful—even more so than usual. His skin was glowing again, his eyes bright. Unimaginable joy swept through her.

“Anything you wish,” he whispered.

After what had just happened, Daphne didn’t know what to say.

Kronos sat up, bringing their faces close together. Daphne’s breath caught in her throat. “Daphne.” He brushed his fingertips along her cheek, tucking a curl behind her ear. “You saved my life. That is not something basilisks take lightly. I am indebted to you.”

She shook her head. “Please don’t talk like that.”

“Why not? It is the truth.”

Daphne looked sharply at him. “Is it?”

He frowned.