Page 51 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

“Not what you were expecting, princess?” he said with a chuckle, his breath fanning over the back of my neck as he spoke. The butterfly-soft flutters of his fingers trailed up and down my sides, barely touching, and setting every nerve ending on edge.

“Not at all.”

“It’s time to begin now, princess.” He led me to thecenter of the room, but my eyes still wandered, taking in everything, from the satin sheet-covered four-poster bed to the beautiful, lit displays of kinky toys that lined every wall.

He grabbed a chair from the back corner of the room, dragging it to where I stood. At least itlookedlike a normal chair. But it clearly wasn’t. With the center of the seat completely removed, and the arms and back adorned with supple red leather and golden grommets, it looks more like a—

“This is a queening throne, or queening chair,” he explained, cutting off my own internal thoughts. “It’s used often by Dommes, but—”

“Dommes?” I asked, cutting him off in my confusion.

“Female dominants. They sit in the chair and have their submissives lie beneath it.”

“Oh!” I gasped, understanding what he meant.

“Exactly. Now, let us begin.” His hands cupped my jaw, leaning in to kiss my lips. “You will start by undressing. You will fold your clothes and place them on that dresser there.” He pointed to a dresser behind me, and I nodded my understanding. While I lived for giving him sass and pushback, this was not the time, nor the place. That much was for certain.

I quickly shed my clothing, pushing aside the brief feeling of vulnerability and embarrassment as I walked across the room, folding my clothes and placing them on the dresser as he had commanded. When I turned back around, he was pointing to the spot I had just vacated, indicating that I should return.

I stood before him, naked, and doing my best not to blush at the juxtaposition of our states.

“As we begin your punishment, you need to stand here in your vulnerability and admit your wrongdoings.”

“That’s beyond embarrassing,” I muttered softly.

“That’s the point. We come together with nothing to shroud us from the truth we must accept,” he explained. As much as I hated it, I understood where he was coming from. But Ididfucking hate it.

“I stole your phone with the intent of reaching out to a friend to reconnect with civilization. And that decision could have led to putting myself in danger,” I stated firmly and sincerely.

“And…” he prompted.

“And it would have put all of you in danger, as well,” I added remorsefully.

“And for these errors, you are being punished. Do you agree to be punished for this?” he asked. He was so rigid in his directions and words that it was jarring. He really did take this seriously.

“Yes, I agree,” I answered confidently. I had agreed to this dynamic, there was no point in wussing out at the first sign of punishment. I had agreed to this. And I meant what I said. I wanted to show him I was serious.

“Good.” He guided me to the chair, helping me to sit on the awkward seat. It felt strange, the giant hole in the seat making it difficult to find my balance for a moment. “Find your bearings and get comfortable. This is your one chance.”

I shifted until I found a comfortable position, then nodded my head to tell him I was ready.

“You need to learn balance, Maddy. It’s not easy, especially when you let yourself get distracted from your mission.”

“I’m not one of your soldiers.”

“No fucking kidding. My soldiers would never have acted with the disregard you showed me this morning. They would not have put themselves in that kind of danger. But you did.” I blushed and looked down, feeling the sting of his words.

“So tonight, your punishment will involve learning how to stay the course; how to have balance and stay focused on the task at hand — regardless of distraction.” There was a glint in his eyes, one that both aroused and frightened me.

Moving to one of the many dressers in the room, he grabbed several items before returning to me.

“Comfortable?” he asked one last time.

“Yes, Sir,” I responded in kind.

“Very well.” He knelt by my feet and slipped a cuff around my ankle, fastening it to an eye hook at the bottom of the leg of the chair. He did the same to the other ankle, in turn, effectively rendering me immobile.

“Balance requires two very important things in life,” he began, taking one of my hands and rotating it until my palm was up and held open. “The first of these things is dedication.”

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