Page 221 of Kneel Before Me

She shook her head, her eyes still closed.

“A butler?”

Daphne opened her eyes. “A server,” she whispered. It looked like it cost her everything she owned to divulge that.

“Very well. He is fired.” Maximus did not know how she would react to this information, and he hardly cared. “More importantly”—his grip on her tightened—“are you hurt?”

She looked up at him. “Emotionally or physically?”

He gritted his teeth. “Either.”

Daphne sighed, and the sound was devastating. She sounded completely defeated. “He hurt…my feelings. That’s all.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

Maximus wanted more details but didn’t dare ask for them. There was no point in pressing her for any more information. She had already given him more than he deserved tonight. He had no choice but to believe her. “Very well,” he said. “You never have to see him again.”

For some reason, she smiled.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I’ll never have to see him at the castle,” she said. “But I can guarantee you I’ll see him in the village.”

Consequences be damned. He was going to have to kill Benjamin.

“Daphne.” Maximus brushed another curl from her face. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Do you understand that?”

Her eyes met his. He could feel the moment deepening once again, changing into something it hadn’t been mere moments earlier. The fire had been dying down for a while, and now it was nearly embers. The air between them was warm. Electric. Maximus had reached the end of his restraint. There was only so long he could sit here, inches from Daphne, and not kiss her. So he lowered his head. He did so slowly, as she watched him, to ensure she could protest if she wanted. At first, he thought she might not stop him. Then her hand pressed against his chest, holding him back. Against all instincts, he stopped. For a moment, neither of them moved.

Daphne sat up.

When her head left his lap, Maximus took a deep breath, sitting stock-still as her face aligned with his. Daphne didn’t move any closer. Instead she brushed her fingertips gently up the center of his chest, stopping when she reached his collarbones. Then she kept going, tracing the column of his throat, pushing gently until his head was arched back and his neck was exposed. Daphne leaned in. Maximus froze as she pressed her lips to the underside of his jaw, lingering there for a long moment before continuing down his neck.

It wasn’t a kiss. Maximus wasn’t sure what it was. All he knew was that her skin felt phenomenal against his. All he knew was that Daphne was sitting in his lap and her mouth was on his neck. All he knew was pleasure.

He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. He could only savor every second of this and pray it never stopped. And for a long time, it didn’t. Daphne moved slowly, shifting her weight so she was pressed against him, her lips trailing a path down his throat. Maximus dared to hold her tighter. Instead of pulling away like he expected her to, a tiny noise escaped the back of her throat as she nestled even closer, tucking herself against him in a way that made his heartbeat slam in his chest.

Maximus closed his eyes, isolating his senses to only what he could feel. He noticed everything about the moment: the way she smelled like the sea, the way her fingers tightened in his hair, the way her breath was warm against his throat. Her body was curled against his, confirming that it felt like they were made for each other.

And then she bit him.

Maximus let out a grunt of equal parts pain and pleasure as she sucked the skin of his neck between her teeth. At the sound, she only sucked harder. And he let her. There was nothing he wouldn’t let her do to him. If she wanted to break his skin and bruise him he would welcome it. He would savor it. It didn’t matter what Daphne did. Pain from her was worth more than pleasure from another. He would let her cut him open if that’s what she wanted, and he would thank her for it.

Too soon, Daphne pulled away. Their faces were once again aligned, their gazes perfectly level. The look in her eyes was clear: Now you. So Maximus lowered his head. At the same time he threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling it so that she arched her neck. Her eyes were open, watching him calmly, her lips slightly parted. How he wanted to kiss those lips. He stared at her exposed skin—perfectly smooth, her pulse beating in her neck. There were even freckles on her throat. He dipped his head even lower, lifting her at the same time so his mouth could touch her skin.

The moment his mouth brushed against her, Daphne sighed. Maximus held her close; he could feel exactly how relaxed her body was in his arms. It was a continuation of what they’d done on the horse. Only then, he hadn’t had the courage to truly brand her. Now, he sucked her skin until his gold incisors left two deep, red marks on her throat. Maximus pulled back to stare at them, imagining that they might linger there for longer than a day. He would kill to have his father see those marks. His marks. His cock, already hard, was approaching a danger zone. Surely, Daphne felt it. Their lips were inches apart. Maximus stared at the galaxy of freckles that covered her cheeks. He wanted to kiss each and every one of them. And then he was kissing her.

There was no time to wonder if it was right. There was only this.

Soft, succulent lips kissed him back. One of his hands went to her hair, his fingers tangling in her curls. His other gripped her waist, fitting perfectly in the curve above her hip, pulling her tightly against him. Daphne was warmth and comfort, rhythm and heat. She was light itself. She was everything Maximus had been searching for since Lilibet died. Here in her embrace, he felt peace.

The kiss deepened.

His fingers threaded into her hair; his tongue slipped deep into her mouth. It grew impossible to resist touching her more intimately. Maximus’s hands moved on their own accord, grasping at everything he’d wanted to touch for so long, his fingertips tracing her collarbones before skimming down her sternum to find the laces of the corset. He was undoing it, unspooling her like thread. And she was letting him.

Until she wasn’t.