Page 73 of Kneel Before Me

The rest of the girls passed in quick succession with little event. Maximus hardly knew half of their names—he simply signaled to the butler to grab the next girl at the table. Every time the door opened, he tried to get a glimpse of Daphne, but she was out of view. He saw body after body, kissed mouth after mouth. Technically he didn’t need to kiss them all. But there was an ache in his abdomen that was becoming painful at the thought of not kissing Daphne. Somehow he knew he needed to get it where he could. By the time he was nearing the end, he’d had quite a lot of wine and the fire seemed to be burning brighter than it had before.

Veronica was second to last. The moment she entered, her dress fell to the floor, and Maximus almost sighed in exasperation. Before he exhaled fully, her lips were on his. He could hardly blame her for her eagerness; they both knew she had only sixty seconds to make an impression. And make one she did. Her hand found his cock immediately, palming it with unreserved enthusiasm. Maximus was nearly all the way hard—he could only look at so many breasts without feeling something—but Veronica took it as her personal mission to get him the rest of the way there. She gasped and moaned and pressed her body against his in a manner that was surely meant to be tantalizing. His body reacted. His heart did not. Maximus found himself with one eye open, watching the hourglass as the golden flakes fell. The moment it was empty, he took her by the shoulders and held her back.

“Our time is up.”

Veronica bit her lip in what he assumed was supposed to be seductive behavior. “Don’t you want me to stay longer?”

Her hand was still on his cock. He removed it gently yet firmly. “No.”

Veronica pouted, and he ignored it. She took her sweet time putting her dress back on, bending over and making it an entire affair. Maximus stared resolutely at the wall. Could she hurry up? After what felt like hours, she pressed a final kiss to his cheek, wiggled her fingers at him, and flounced out of the room. Finally.

The butler needed no instruction; there was only one girl left. A moment later, Daphne was before him. Whereas the previous girls had made their minutes drag on, she made time stop. Maximus tried to control his heartbeat at the sight of her but couldn’t. Her dress was a complicated tangle of straps that looked impossible to remove, although Maximus was up to the challenge. Tantalizing strips of skin showed through the fabric, accentuating her curves in a diabolical way.

Maximus was considering how best to compliment her when she said, “Really? Last?”

Despite her tone, Maximus smiled. She looked particularly angry tonight. He loved it when she looked like that. It made her radiant.

“Last is a coveted position. Now we have more time together.”

“What makes you think I want more time with you?”

She crossed her arms, providing an ample view of her cleavage. Maximus’s cock throbbed. It had already been hard, but it was borderline painful now. Nothing Veronica did could possibly compare to everything he wanted to do to Daphne. A quick fumble over the trousers was completely inadequate to alleviate the ache between his legs. He needed to fuck Daphne, and he needed to do it right now.

“You called Constance first. What about our arrangement?”

“I had to call her first.”

“Why?”

“Because my father—”

“I don’t want to hear about your father.”

He could hardly blame her for her stance; he didn’t want to hear about his father either. “Then what would you care to hear about?”

Daphne’s eyes traveled over him in much the same way his eyes had just traveled over her. Maximus savored the way she assessed him. It was a pleasure to be judged by her.

“Tell me you’re sorry for making me wait.”

“Close the door, and I will.”

Daphne raised a single, incredulous eyebrow. Maximus knew she didn’t take positively to commands. So it wasn’t a surprise when she said, “No.”

Instead of reacting in anger, as she no doubt expected him to, Maximus merely smiled. They were not in his bathroom; she was not in his bathtub. This was a different situation entirely, and if he played it correctly there might be a different outcome. He stepped forward, crossed to her, and put his palm on the door. He closed it slowly, looking her dead in the eye as he did so. By the time it clicked shut, they were inches apart. The urge to kiss her was so strong, but he knew he would have to do it slowly. If he kissed her now, he would scare her away and ruin everything. Instead he stood silently, allowing his gaze to drift from her face to her neck. He swore he could see her heartbeat beneath her skin.

“Well?” Daphne said. Her lips were still pursed into a scowl.

“Well what?”

“Aren’t you going to apologize? I just had to watch every single girl stumble out of here giggling like an idiot.”

Maximus frowned, momentarily shaken from his focus. “Giggling?”

“Yes. Giggling.”

He shifted. “Why would they be giggling?”

“Don’t be self-deprecating.”