Page 229 of Kneel Before Me

“You don’t understand how hard it would be for us to be together.”

“Of course I understand. Do you truly think I do not understand? You are a human. I am a basilisk. There is nothing more difficult.”

“Then how can you think we could be together?”

“Because we want to be.”

“That’s not enough, and you know it.”

“That is all I need.”

“But that’s not all I need.”

“What do you need, Daphne?” he asked as she finally opened her eyes.

Daphne stared down at him, her brain utterly blank. What did she need? Devotion. Trust. Commitment. She had all of those things from Kronos already. So why was she so afraid?

“I need to know that everything is going to work out,” she whispered desperately. “And you can’t give me that. You can’t know that.”

He sighed and ran his thumb gently over her bottom lip. “I cannot predict the future. No one can. But I can promise you with everything I have that I will love you until my dying day. Please.” His lips were an inch from hers. “Do not deprive me of this. Of…you.”

The tears that had filled her eyes earlier threatened to return.

“I love you, Daphne. That should be enough.”

It was enough.

“I would rather die,” he finished quietly, “than force you to sleep with me.”

What more proof did Daphne need that Kronos loved her? He had said it with his words; he had showed it with his actions. What else could she possibly need? For him to kill himself for her? It was a sacrifice he should not have to make. Daphne had waited her entire life for someone like Kronos: someone loyal and faithful and kind. Never in her wildest dreams would she have expected to find such qualities in a basilisk. Memories sprinted through Daphne’s mind: the way he’d accommodated her during the Ranking, the way he’d reacted to her boundaries with respect and patience, the way he’d carried her just now when she could not walk. His actions stood in stark contrast to Maximus, who could do nothing but stare at her breasts when she happened to wear a corset. Maximus treated her like a piece of meat, meant to be consumed. Kronos did the opposite. He protected her. He advocated for her. He was willing to sacrifice his position in basilisk society for her. It was more than enough, and it was more than what anyone else had ever offered her in her entire life. It was everything. Kronos had decided that her life was worth more to him than his own. It was time for her to decide the same. The truth was that she loved him. The truth was that she always had.

“No one,” Daphne whispered, “is dying tonight.”

His eyes met hers. Kronos raised his hand slowly, pressing his palm over the hickey on her neck.

Daphne felt a bloom of coolness, and she knew he had healed it.

“No one,” he whispered, “will mark you but me.”

Then his lips were on hers.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Daphne

She was done with waiting, done with this charade. There was no point in pretending they were anything less than what they both knew they were. She wanted to give Kronos everything she could, and she wanted to do it now.

Daphne pulled him closer.

Kronos responded in kind, his fingers tangling in her hair, his tongue slipping into her mouth. His hand slid up her thigh so quickly that Daphne gasped. Without thinking, she pushed him away. Kronos retreated immediately, his eyebrows shooting up in concern.

“Daphne, I—” he started to say but she covered his mouth with her hand and he fell silent. They lay there for a moment, staring at each other.

Daphne moved her palm to the center of his chest. “I want to do this,” she whispered, “but I want to go slow.”

She watched comprehension, then cautious optimism pass over Kronos’s face. He placed his hand over hers, holding her palm against his chest.

“We will do anything you wish,” he whispered. “As slowly as you wish to do it.”