“I am Kronos.”He was glad she’d asked.“Once king of the Titans, but these days, my purpose is far simpler.”
His hand fell to her body again, hovering over her collarbone as he continued.“I have chosen a select few mortals to serve me over the centuries, and this time, little one, I choose you.”
“Me?But, why?”
He chuckled at the inevitability of her question.“The why is like the how.”He sighed.“It is not your providence to worry about either anymore.I shall take care of all of your needs.”
She swallowed.“And what do I do?”Anxiety gleamed in her beautiful gaze as she asked the most significant question yet, and sitting down on the chair, he fixed her with his full attention.
“Your part is easy, little one.You do whatever I tell you.”
Chapter Eleven
Kristina
Kristina’s mind reeled at his words.
This man, or whatever he wanted her to believe he was, was demanding her complete obedience.
Was he having a fucking laugh?
Yet everything that had transpired in the last few minutes confirmed that he was not joking.He said he was Kronos; a name that chimed with something she’d once read about Greek mythology.But she didn’t believe in gods, Greek or otherwise, and she knew beyond a doubt that the only ‘higher power’ in the world was the science she studied.She was a graduate for fuck’s sake.To yield to such mindless nonsense was incomprehensible, but watching Kronos in action, it was difficult to know what else to conclude.
Science might not have taught her to believe in gods, but it had shown her why faith in the evidence of her own senses was important.She’d already seen him do things that she couldn’t explain on more than one occasion, and although she still wasn’t sure how he was achieving those accomplishments, he did seem able to influence his surroundings.
The fact that he’d seemed to step out of thin air was impossible, but he’d also known her name and where she lived without her needing to tell him, and then, most perplexingly, he’d managed to silence her without even touching her.
The horror of that moment was difficult to overstate.To lie there unable to even part her lips had filled her with the sort of cold dread she’d never experienced before, and frankly, never wanted to again.Even when those three thugs had surrounded her, and one of them pinioned her to the wall, she hadn’t felt so overwhelmed and powerless as sprawled, spread-eagled and silent before Kronos.And somehow, he’d achieved that with only a wave of his hand.That was why she’d remained prone and compliant to his demands thereafter.To have actively defied him at such a vulnerable moment would have been insanity.
Whoever Kronos truly was, and however he had garnered control over her, tethered to a bed with no clothes on, she was exceptionally helpless.
Instinctively, her gaze fell over his bare torso, crawling over his ripped pectoral and abdominal muscles.Hewasa beast of a man who could have overpowered her without the need for binds.Physically, he was mesmerizing, but in her current situation, the appeal of her captor really shouldn’t have mattered.She had to admit, if only to herself, though, that she’d never seen a body like his before.
“Do you remember what happened last night, Kristina?”
His question drew her focus to the intensity of his compelling eyes.
Shit, had he seen her staring at his chest?The last thing she needed was for the mysterious man who’d taken her to think she was attracted to him.That truly would have been provocation.But then, why else would he have chosen to wear such a tantalizing outfit, if that was what it could be called?He must have been seeking her attention.
“When?”
The quietness of her tone revealed how hesitant she still was to speak.She worried that she’d unintentionally say something to offend him and find her lips locked again.If she lived another hundred years, she never wanted to experience that sense of crushing impotency again.
“Tell me what you recollect.”
The tension in his jaw was subtle, but Kristina was focused on him, and she noticed the gesture at once.Apparently, something she’d done or said had unimpressed him, and that didn’t bode well.
“I remember the men who tried to hurt me.”
She frowned at the unpleasant memory.Under normal circumstances, an event like that might have been the most traumatic thing that a woman had to experience, but she supposed waking up naked and bound in Kronos’ dominion had the potential to be much worse.
“And I recall that you frightened them off.”That was one way of putting it.Kronos had flung two of them onto the concrete before she’d even caught sight of him.“Thank you again for that.”
He nodded, his lips twisting as though he was fighting a smile.
“And then?”His clipped tone elevated her heart rate.“What else do you remember?”
“I…” She glanced away, struggling to think.“I don’t know.It feels like I went to sleep after that, but… that doesn’t make sense.”
