Page 42 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

Suddenly, teasing touches became torturing tugs as he pulled my hair, jerking my head back sharply.

“Fuck!” I hissed against his lips as he grinned in response. Before I could answer, his pressure changed, the tugging pulling me straight down until the pain made my knees buckle beneath me and I lowered reluctantly to the floor. “Jesus! Fuck!” I hissed and hollered every inch of the way.

Shifting a bit on my knees, I made peace with my position, realizing that I had far more power than he probably realized. My hands slide up his thighs, the firm hardness of his muscles guiding my way up to the buckle of his belt. Just as I began to pull, a firm hand gripped my own, swatting my efforts away.

“Ah, ah. I didn’t tell you to touch my belt, only to kneel.” His swift, firm correction of my actions made me quiver with need. I would do anything to get that bossy side of him to surface more, and I wasn’t afraid to press afew buttons — or break a few rules — in order to get what I wanted.

“Oh, so this is a game of Simon Says, is it?” I teased, shooting him a smirk. I had to admit, the idea sounded pretty fucking fun to me. Plus, it would afford me even more ways to push those delightful buttons of his. And really, wasn’t that the goal here? To make him lose his mind and go all feral and dark with me? A girl could grow addicted to such behavior.

“You know what? That sounds like quite the idea. Except we’ll call it Sir says. You only obey if Sir says to do something, understood?” The gleam in his eye was infectious, spurring my own desires to a fever pitch.

“Yup, yup!” I said with a giggle I could not contain.

“Uh, try again,” he scoffed, his eyebrow raised. What can I say? I’m a girl who rises to a challenge. And that eyebrow? That was a fucking challenge.

“Sounds good, bro,” I tried again, pushing my luck and loving every minute of it. His jaw clenched, the vein ticking away with his pulse.

Goodie! A new button to push,I said to myself. To seal my fate, I threw him a thumbs up, watching with glee as his eyes narrowed in warning. Those strong hands were on his hips in an instant, giving every bit of the impression of an angry father. I wondered for a moment if calling him Daddy would be too far. As soon as the thought entered my head, I knew I could never call him that, even in jest. Not to yuck anyone’s yum, but that was justnotfor me.

“Madison…” he growled, deep and foreboding. If I were a smart girl, I would have heeded his apparent warning. Truth be told, Iwasa very smart girl. A smart girl who took very calculated risks. Call me a calculator, because I was running the numbers, heedless of the price my ass may have to pay later.

“Ew, no. Don’t call me Madison,” I pouted, my face scrunching in distaste at my given name falling from his lips.

“What would you like me to call you then?” he teased, his arms crossing over his chest.

“Can’t think of something yourself,buddy?” I was sure that I was bratting my way to a sore, red ass, but — fuck me — I wanted it more than I wanted my next breath. Niko was a breath of fresh air, something I had never encountered before.

“I told you to call me Sir. This is your last warning. Next time gets you a spanking.” I couldn’t help the way my eyes widened with excitement — or the way my panties flooded with arousal at the thought of being spanked again. I’d had my fair share of cocky fuckboys and frat boy wannabes in my lifetime. Niko — he was something different. Strong, independent, confident. But he had lived. He hadseenthings. That confidence wasn’t bravado. It was pure, well-earned authority. His poise was both bold and calm in equal measure.

I had two choices: continue my bratting until my ass was red, sore, and unable to be sat on — or, I could succumb to his dominance and trust this process we had agreed to. Besides, I had done my fair share of reading, thanks to Jax, and I had a better idea in mind. But that would come in time.

Patience was a virtue, after all — even if it was one I only barely possessed.

“Yes, Sir,” I finally answered him correctly, the sigh of acquiescence hissing through my teeth as I rolled my eyes. I would behave — for now.

“Good girl.” I could have smacked that smug grin right off his handsome face — if those words didn’t flood my panties with arousal. “Now, back to this naming business. Here, stand back up for a little bit. This is actually an important thing to discuss before we begin in earnest.”

I took his offered hand and stood, pushing down the twinge of annoyance at the pause in our play. I was more than eager to get started. But choosing honorifics, even temporary ones, was indeed an important thing to negotiate. And thank you again to Jax’s book for the knowledge of what honorifics were.

“Well, what are my options?” I asked, fiddling with a strand of my hair; a nervous habit I had picked up as a child and never outgrown.

“The options are truly endless, but many people go with things like babygirl, pet, slave, kitten, or other things like that.”

“Do you have a preference for me?” I asked, truly curious about his own thoughts on the matter.

“I’m growing quite fond of princess, if I’m being honest.”

“Oh really? Why’s that?” I asked.

“Because it means you can be fragile and obedient when necessary. And you can rule a fucking kingdom when necessary, too. I don’t know.It just… fits.”

“Well, I don’t think I can argue with that,” I had to agree. And honestly, his reasoning made my heart swell with pride. Did he really think of me that way? Did he see me as someone capable of that kind of strength?

“Plus, when I called you that before, it made your pussy deliciously creamy.” Immediately, heat flushed my face at his words.

“I guess we’ll just have to test that hypothesis, won’t we?” I managed to reply, stammering a bit. I thought I’d covered pretty well, but his knowing grin told me he saw right through that feeble attempt at bratting. He knew full well that he was having theexactsame effect on me tonight.

“Oh, I think we’ll be putting it through rigorous testing this evening, princess. However, tonight is going to stay pretty simple. Nothing too out there. Do you understand?” he asked, making sure I was staying on the same page as him every step of the way.

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