Page 8 of Kneel Before Me

Daphne

Idon’t want to have sex.”

The basilisk blinked in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”

“I don’t want to have sex,” Daphne said again, the words barely above a whisper.

A deep pause followed, in which her palms began to sweat. They were standing face-to-face in the middle of the cave, a fire crackling beside them. It was the first night of the training—the process through which the human prince would choose his wife. The basilisks were responsible for training all eligible female villagers in the art of seduction so that his bride would bear him an heir. It was an ancient tradition, put into effect as part of the truce between the humans and the snakes. As a woman born in the same year as the prince, Daphne was meant to participate. As far as she knew, no one had ever refused the training before. She had no idea what might happen now that she had. Would the fearsome creature before her become angry? Would he yell at her or, even worse, strike her?

To her surprise, his next words came quietly. “How do you define sex?”

Daphne hesitated. That wasn’t what she expected him to ask, and she wasn’t quite sure how to answer. Daphne was really only referring to one thing. “I don’t want a cock in my pussy.”

The basilisk tilted his head. “Then you should have said that.”

“I didn’t think I needed to be specific.”

“Of course you do. Having a cock in your pussy is hardly the only way to have sex.”

Now Daphne blushed. “I know that.”

“If you know that, then you know why you need to be specific.”

Daphne pursed her lips.

When she didn’t respond the basilisk continued, “Is there anything else you do not wish to do?”

Daphne hadn’t really considered it. “I’m…not sure. But I know I don’t want—”

“A cock in your pussy,” the basilisk cut her off. “You said that already.”

There was a pause as they considered each other.

“May I inquire as to why?”

Daphne crossed her arms. “You may. But it is none of your concern.”

To her surprise, the basilisk laughed. “It is very much my concern,” he said, stepping closer. “If I do not train you, you stand no chance with the prince.”

Daphne knew that already. She was probably the only woman in the competition who had no interest in winning the prince’s hand in marriage.

“I don’t want to stand a chance with the prince.”

If the basilisk had been confused before, he was downright bewildered now. “I do not understand,” he said.

Daphne did not reply. She hardly understood either. Her decision to not compete for the prince’s hand in marriage was a recent one, and it was something she was still coming to terms with. She wasn’t ready to explain herself and certainly not to a stranger.

The basilisk did not know what had happened underneath the bridge last night. He did not know that unless things changed for her in the future, she would probably never have a cock in her pussy again.

In the silence, snake and human studied each other. The basilisk was handsome—devastatingly so—and nearly a full foot taller than Daphne. It took all her effort not to stare at his merciless muscles. She had seen plenty of men before but never one built like this. The men in the village were strong from fieldwork—stocky and tough, their muscles earned through labor. Their bodies were nothing like the godlike one that stood before her now. Daphne found herself wondering what it would be like to run her hands over his body, tracing each and every muscled ridge—first with her fingers, then with her tongue.

Much to Daphne’s disappointment, the basilisk was wearing a shirt—a thin linen number with a deep neckline that exposed his chest. There was a feathered scar on his sternum, right over his heart. It almost looked like the letter Y. Long, thick hair hung over his proud shoulders. There was a curl to it, although it was not nearly as curly as Daphne’s. More like a wave. His eyes were burnished gold, rimmed with black—and right now, they were watching her intently.

When the silence dragged, the basilisk said, “If you do not wish to participate in the training, then what exactly would you have me do?”

Daphne shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”