Page 20 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

“Should that scare me?” I pushed back, allowing my particular flavor of sass to take precedence over my arousal. Somehow egging him on shifted from simply entertaining to fueling my desire in the space of an instant.

“It shouldthrillyou,” he growled. His lips found the space beneath my ear, where my pulse raced just beneath the surface.

One small kiss. That was all.

And I was hooked.

I was pretty sure I hated this man. But the sudden wetness between my legs told a different story. What the fuck was wrong with me?

My head fell back, a moan slipping through my lipslike silk as I succumbed to the feel of him, large and domineering before me.

His hips pressed into mine, grinding, and I felt his hardness press against me.

He was just as aroused as I was.

And then — nothing.

“What the…” my words trailed off as my eyes fluttered open to see him storming up the stairs, ignoring me every step of the way. The boom of his door slamming was all the proof I needed to know the moment was over.

“Well, fuck you very much,” I murmured under my breath, trying not to think about how, five seconds ago, I very much wanted him to dojustthat.

Ignoring his rude exit and the uncomfortable feel of my wet and now aching pussy, I pulled my shades back on, heading back outside to sunbathe.

After all… I was fairly certain I’d won that battle.

Chapter 6

Nikolai

“You did well, Maddy. Very well.”

The voices were barely audible from the hallway, but I recognized Jax’s voice, nonetheless. I had just filled up my coffee mug and was ready to get to work on a few projects in my office when I heard something I couldn’t place. Stepping closer to Jax’s office, I heard him speaking to someone. The replying voice made it clear our new houseguest was the other half of the conversation. What were they discussing?

“I didn’t want to do that,” she muttered quietly, though it could have been the sound being muted through the door. Interested to know what was going on, I stepped closer, literally pressing my ear to the wooden door.

Before I could pick up any more of their clandestine conversation, the sound of shuffling quickly had my feet moving back toward my office. I closed the door behind me, still curious as to what Maddy wasdoing in Jax’s office so early in the morning. Granted, it wasn’t early for me, but it was still early, at only seven in the morning.

As I settled into my desk chair, a knock sounded from the door.

“Come in,” I hollered, my voice still husky with sleep.

“Hey.” Jax stepped into the room with a folder in hand, shutting the door quietly behind him. “Do you have a second?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I had a talk with Maddy this morning —” he began, and I took the opportunity he presented.

“This morning? It’s barely seven,” I said, feigning ignorance.

“Yeah, she woke up from a nightmare around three this morning and came down to the kitchen in search of food. I was up — you know how it is.” He laughed, running a hand through his hair. I simply nodded. We all knew what that felt like. Each of us carried our own demons that liked to play games in the night.

“Anyway, she let me talk her through some exercises, and we were able to get through her statement,” he continued. My interest piqued, I sat up straight in my chair.

“The whole thing?” I asked with hesitant hope.

“And then some,” he said with a smile that rivaled the Cheshire cat. “She was able to tap into her memory much easier. I think she was overwhelmed the other day, but she remembered much more information this time. She even got a bit of a description of the man who fired the gun.”

“Seriously? That’s amazing! I’ll call Quinn and get himdown here today. That’s a huge win, Jax. Thank you.” Pulling my cell from my pocket, I quickly called Quinn, eager to help in some kind of tangible way. Without a word, Jax waved a farewell and made his way out of the room, giving me peace and quiet to discuss matters with Quinn.

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