Page 48 of Kneel Before Me

He shook his head. “You do not know what you want.”

But that wasn’t true. Kronos had perplexed her at first—scared her, even. Not anymore. Daphne did not look upon his chiseled face with fear; she did not shy away from his penetrating gaze. She knew very well what she wanted. To choose him would be to choose the path less traveled—the path never traveled. To choose Kronos would be to choose uncertainty and possibility and adventure. It was a choice she only wanted to make if he was willing to choose her in return. Yet the more time she spent with him the more she realized there could be no alternative for her. Daphne had been ordinary all her life. No one had ever made her feel special; no one had ever made her feel alive. Kronos made her feel both, and so much more. Anyone else would not be worth the trouble—not even Maximus, who considered her nothing but a tool to use in his battle against his father. But Kronos was worth the trouble. The potential of what they could be together was enough for her. The potential of more. Before she could gather the courage to say as much, Kronos opened his eyes.

“I have never met anyone like you,” he said quietly.

“And… What am I like?”

Kronos let out a low laugh. “Astonishing. Remarkable. Stunningly beautiful.”

Daphne shook her head. “Don’t say that unless you mean it.”

“I do not say things I do not mean, Daphne. You know I cannot lie. Choose an accolade, and that is what you are like. When I am with you, I no longer understand myself. When I am with you, I feel…free.”

Daphne couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was exactly the way she felt when she was with him. Up until now she’d been quite positive they were not on the same page. Now Kronos was confirming that they were.

“If that’s really the way you feel,” she said slowly, “then why haven’t you acted on it?”

“The way I feel is irrelevant.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because it is true.”

“Then why are you still standing here?”

For the second time tonight, Kronos sighed. This time it was a sigh of utter weariness, as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders.

“I have no choice.”

Daphne frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that sometimes, despite my best intentions, fate intervenes.”

Daphne stared up at him. They were standing so close she could count his eyelashes. The urge to get up on her tiptoes and press her lips to his was nearly irresistible.

“Then maybe you should let it,” she whispered.

Kronos shook his head. He was resisting her; Daphne knew what it looked like when a man was on the brink. She wondered what it would take to push him over the edge. Gently, she pressed her palm to his chest, directly over the Y-shaped scar. His skin was warm—far warmer than she’d expected. His heartbeat was slow and steady, the exact opposite of hers.

She leaned in. So did he.

Their lips were an inch apart when suddenly Kronos stopped. He asked sharply: “Did the prince kiss you?”

Daphne blinked in surprise. She was still touching his chest. “I…thought you didn’t want to hear details.”

“Now I do.”

“Why?”

His jaw tightened. “I wish to know what I am up against.”

It was an astonishing admission from Kronos.

“You care whether we kissed.”

Daphne said it with confidence even though it terrified her to do so.

“Yes.”