Page 31 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

“Niko, man. This is a job. Ajob.” Deacon’s words halted my joy in its tracks.

Fuck!He was right. Protecting Maddy was a job, one I had accepted, and that Quinntrustedme to carry out with professionalism. And what did I do? I went and fucked her, not even a week after she got here. What the fuck had I done?

“I’m not trying to rain on your obviously very enjoyable parade here, man. But the fact of the matter is, this is a job, and you just fucked the witness. That’s… not great.” One look at Deacon’s face told me that while he wasn’t judging me, he was trying to hold me accountable. And even still, I could see the regret written on his face.

It had been a long, long time since I had truly connected with someone. Sure, I had subs I played with at the local dungeons. I’d been to a few play parties and had even invited a girl back here to our personal dungeon before. Granted, that had been a shit show, to say theleast. The girl had grown attached after only playing together a handful of times. And though I had negotiated my boundaries, she had not listened. It had been a problem for about a month.

Connecting with Maddy last night? It was different. Totally different. And it was obvious Deacon could see that.

“Fuck, you’re right. I —” I cut off abruptly, running a hand over my face as the reality of what I had done set in. “I don’t even know what to say for myself.”

“Look, Niko, I’m not telling you that you can’t. You’re an adult. She’s an adult. I’m just trying to make sure you’re thinking this through. Be careful, yeah?” His southern drawl, deeper than normal this early in the morning, held no judgment, only kindness and sympathy.

With that, he stood and left me to my own emotions, closing the door softly behind him. I had no idea what to do. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I knew that getting involved with the witness in a case, a witness I was responsible for, was a horrible idea.

That being said, I wasn’t sure I was capable of stopping things. Not after last night. God, the way she had cried out for me, the way she had wrapped around me like a glove. But above all else, the way that she just kept up that bratty attitude to the very last moment, no matter how hard I pushed. It was… Christ; it was glorious. It was everything I had ever wanted.

And she wasn’t even a submissive.

We hadn’t even negotiated. Not that I had held her to anything whatsoever. It had been kinky fucking, notBDSM. There was a huge difference. A difference I would have liked very much to introduce her to. But was that the right call?

Or was I playing with fire?

I heard voices filtering through the door and knew my internal dilemma would have to wait. Everyone was up for breakfast. Quietly, I shut my computer down and went to help Sully with the meal. I wanted to take a plate to Maddy in bed if I could. If I was right, she was still fast asleep after last night’s… festivities.

“Morning, Sully,” I called as I entered the kitchen, the smell of bacon and coffee already wafting down the halls. It was probably my favorite thing about living with the guys, and Sullivan in particular. A hearty breakfast nearly every morning, guaranteed.

“Mornin’, Niko! Eggs and bacon for you?” he asked, already building a plate of delicious food for me.

“Make that one for Maddy. I’ll eat later,” I said, waving off his offer.

“You need to eat, Brother. You eat this plate while I’m fixing a plate for Maddy. Best of both worlds,” he countered with a big grin on his face.

I don’t think I would ever get over the sight of the burly man in a floral apron with matching oven mitts. It was quite the picture, and it made him the picture of happiness.

I settled into my plate of food, eating it quickly — as I’d been trained to do by military standards of eating an entire meal in three minutes flat — and took the new plate of food for Maddy from Sully.

“Here is a cup of coffee for her to go along with thefood, and it looks like you’re due for a fill-up too, hmm? Here you go.” Sully refilled my mug and handed me a second one, leaving my hands very full.

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem. And I loaded her up with extra because protein is just what she needs after last night.” With a wink and a waggle of his eyebrows, he turned back to the stove, setting more bacon in the pan to fry up. I shook my head with a chuckle and made my way up to Maddy’s bedroom.

With my hand on the doorknob, I paused. We may have fucked like rabbits just hours ago, but that didn’t just give me the right to barge into her room — though I had done just that last night. Thinking better of my earlier actions, I knocked softly on the door. And got no response.

Carefully, I cracked the door open. “Maddy?” I asked softly, not wanting to spook her. As I peeked inside the room, I saw her, lying peacefully against her pillow, still fast asleep.

Keeping my footsteps light, I stepped into the room, closing the door behind me before setting the plate of food and the mugs of coffee on the nightstand.

“Maddy?” I called softly, placing my hand on her shoulder and shaking gently to wake her.

“Hmm? What?” she sputtered, her voice croaky with sleep. As her eyelids fluttered open, she gasped, sitting up abruptly and covering herself with the blanket. “Christ, Niko, you scared me.”

She visibly relaxed as wakeful realization flooded her.

“Don’tdothat!” she hissed, smacking me in the arm. I couldn’thelp but grin. That spitfire spirit was ingrained in every bit of her, and I was fucking here for it. But, my decision was made. I had to end things before they went any further.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But, hopefully, coffee and bre—”

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