Page 59 of Kneel Before Me

Kronos looked down at her. “Then why did you come here?”

“To spend time with you.”

He raised his eyebrows, but she continued before she lost her nerve. “Do you want me to leave?”

In the silence that followed, they stared at each other. Daphne wished she had the basilisk ability to know what he was thinking. Was he angry with her? Or did he want to spend time with her too? He could have kicked her out long ago. He was the one who’d pulled her into his chambers instead of escorting her back to the cave. There was something between them. They both felt it, both knew it. So it did not surprise her when he whispered, “I do not want you to leave.”

Relief coursed through Daphne. “Good,” she whispered back.

At this point, Daphne had no idea where the evening might go. Everything that had happened had been a complete surprise to her. There was really nothing left that could shock her. Thankfully, Kronos spoke next. “How shall we spend our time?”

He was watching her so intently it was almost too much to bear.

“I…don’t know,” she said. “But I’m not going to—”

He finished for her: “Fuck me?”

Daphne jutted her chin up in defiance. “Yes.”

To her surprise, he smiled. “I do not expect you to. And you should know that by now.”

Daphne did know that by now. “I know,” she conceded.

He smiled wider. “Good.”

Despite this positive development, Daphne had no idea what they were supposed to do instead. She’d never spent time with a man without the end goal of sleeping with him. It seemed wrong, yet at the same time, somehow right. Every instinct told her to jump into bed with him. But that had gotten her nowhere in the past. What she had with Kronos felt different than what she’d had with anyone else. It felt special. Perhaps there was a chance for intimacy of another kind with him. She wanted to get to know Kronos on an emotional level. She suspected he might want the same. This was their chance.

“We could…talk.”

He raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “You choose.”

Kronos tilted his head, and Daphne was hit with the sudden memory of the last time she’d wanted to simply talk.

I was promised free pussy. I don’t want to talk to you.

Why would a basilisk want to talk to her? Why would anyone? Daphne had never been anywhere or done anything. She had absolutely nothing to contribute to a conversation that could possibly be of interest to an ancient creature. Just as she was about to call the entire evening off, Kronos said, “Tell me about your life.”

“Why would you want to hear about my life?”

“Because I am interested in the answer.”

Daphne read the subtext—Because I am interested in you—and smiled. “What do you want to know?”

His eyes pierced hers. “Everything.”

“Ask me something specific.”

Kronos tilted his head the other direction. Firelight shone in his eyes. “Why do you refuse to fuck me?”

Daphne’s throat tightened. “I thought you said you—”

“I am not asking so that I can convince you otherwise. I am asking because I wish to understand your choice.”

Daphne pursed her lips. Her gut told her he was being honest. Still, she was afraid of sharing this part of herself with him. She hadn’t even told Ella the specifics of what happened beneath the bridge. It felt shameful to Daphne, as if it were somehow her fault.

“I want to be in love first.”