40. NIKOLAI
Chapter forty
M y wife had taken me like a good girl.
Now it was time to teach her how to be the bad girl she fantasized about being.
I gave her one last kiss—slow, lingering—my mouth claiming hers until I heard that sweet hum in her chest. Then I pulled out, watching lazy satisfaction spread across her face as she rolled onto her side.
She looked wrecked and sated…a vision so damn beautiful I wanted it burned into my memory forever.
Not just beautiful—she was a rare, impossible thing. Her innocence hadn’t been lost amidst the turmoil of her past, and her resilience shone brighter despite the filth of this world surrounding us. She’d slipped past my every defense and rooted herself deep inside me.
And she’d told me she loved me—uttering those three little words no woman had ever dared say to me, words I’d never wanted to hear before.
The craving to hear them should have been a weakness, a liability.
Instead, they fanned an ember deep within me, turning it into a burning flame.
The emotion was no longer a weakness but a force—one that made me stronger, more determined to protect what was mine.
Still, the emotion was new to me, and I needed time to wrap my mind around it.
“Let’s finish that shower we started,” I said, taking her hand.
Her head snapped up. “You—you mean you want to go again…already?”
I let the corner of my mouth curl upward. “I just watched my wife’s greedy little pussy take me like it couldn’t get enough.” My voice dropped as I tightened my grip. “Come. Time to earn that crown, my queen.”
She hesitated, tugging against me, just enough to test me. I paused, tilting my head and quirking my brow. “But go ahead—tell me no. I dare you.”
She scrambled out of bed. Good girl.
I rose, stretching the tension from my shoulders. She had no idea how much I loved seeing her fall in line. It wasn’t merely her obedience I demanded—it was her trust. Something I valued more than anything.
In the bathroom, I twisted the shower knob, and soon steam began to curl upward.
The metal grab bar along the wall caught my attention, and an image of the last time we’d been in here flashed in my mind—the moment I’d realized she was a virgin.
The revelation had ripped the ground out from under me, and I’d walked away—not because I couldn’t take her but because in my world, a man didn’t claim a woman’s first time unless he was ready to make her his forever.
I wasn’t walking away tonight though. Tonight, I’d finish what I started.
When I turned, she was standing behind me with a towel clutched to her chest.
No. Absolutely not.
I closed the distance in two strides, crowding her against the wall. My hand tangled in her hair at the base of her skull, and I forced her head back until her eyes met mine.
“Don’t you ever hide your body from me, wife,” I growled, low and lethal.
“I own every fucking inch of you. Don’t make me keep you naked for the next week.
Your body is my greatest treasure. I’ll fuck you against that window for the whole city to watch if that’s what it takes to remind you never to hide yourself from me. ”
The towel slipped from her hands, crumpling into a heap at our feet. She looked up at me through her lashes. “I’m sorry to displease you, my king.” She bowed her head.
Oh, fuck. She was good at this game—raising the stakes, pushing me to the edge. My cock jerked, heavy and aching.
I slid my fingers from her hair to her throat, brushing my thumb over her frantic pulse. “You’re learning.” I gave her a light squeeze—just enough to make her breath hitch.
Fuck, being married was going to suit me just fine.
My lips ghosted over her ear. “We may not come up for air for the next week.”
Her breath stuttered; her pulse jumped under my hand.
Good.
“Come, Lacey.” My voice was coaxing, but I still had to tug on her hand. “Let’s warm up.”
Steam curled in lazy ribbons from the shower, the glass already fogging up. I guided her inside, positioning her with her back to me and her face toward the wall. She stood still, small tremors going through her body while the heat misted over us.
I reached for the shampoo and popped the cap. “Tilt your head back.”
With no hesitation, she obeyed. I poured a stream of the pearly-white liquid into my palm before working it into her hair. The slick strands slid between my fingers as I massaged her scalp. Her lashes fluttered closed, her lips parting just slightly.
“Surprised, little lamb? You didn’t think I’d take my time with you like this, did you?” I murmured near her ear.
“No, not exactly.”
Good. She needed to know I could be more than the man who tore her clothes off and made her scream.
I kneaded her head in slow circles, dragging my fingers from crown to nape, working the soap through.
After rinsing it clean, I reached for the conditioner and smoothed it down the length of her hair with the same care. Then I rinsed it out again.
“You have no idea how beautiful you are like this.”
Next I picked up the facial cleanser. “Close your eyes.”
She complied, trusting me, and I began rubbing the gel gently over her face. The black pigment around her eyes smudged instantly, trailing like war paint down her cheeks. Refocusing my efforts, I added a little more gel and traced my thumbs under her eyes.
She giggled. “Do I look like a raccoon?”
I huffed out a laugh. “No. Well…maybe a little. I’m working on it.”
Her smile lingered. I rinsed her face clean, then turned her toward the spray. The water rushed over her shoulders, sliding in rivulets down her bare chest.
“Absolutely fucking stunning,” I said, my voice rougher now. “Just like when you stood before me on the parapet trying to escape… You’re a goddess.”
She grinned but didn’t speak.
I turned her away from the spray, hauling her back against my chest, then wrapped my arms around her. She sighed, leaning back into me and curling her fingers around my forearms. “This is nice,” she hummed.
I kissed the top of her head. “It is,” I agreed. Then my thoughts turned dark. “But I’m still deciding on your punishment for recklessly risking your life up there. You almost died in front of my fucking eyes. And then—throwing that vase at the window? Bat-shit craziness.”
Her grip on my arms tightened.
“Yes, Lacey, I’ve got much to teach you about behaving.”
My cock hardened again just thinking of the ways I could punish her, what sweet, torturous lessons I could teach her.
I let her go and stepped back. “On your knees, my queen.”
She glanced over her shoulder, hesitation flickering in her eyes.
I firmly rested my hands on her shoulders, turning her and pressing down. She sank toward the floor, water streaming over her chest, until her mouth was level with my cock. Her gaze trailed from my balls to my weeping tip, and fuck if she didn’t lick her lips.
“Ever had a man own you from your lips to your lungs?” I growled.
Her eyes went wide, and she shook her head.
“Mmm. So many firsts for my little lamb.”
Her gaze swept over my ribcage. She gasped and lifted a hand toward my latest tattoo—the ink still fresh from three weeks ago. A lamb curled on its side. The words beneath it read: “ My light in the darkness. I will guard you until the end. ”
Her fingertips brushed across my skin. Tracing the words with her thumb, she stroked them reverently. My tattoo pleased her.
“You…you got this after you left me here?”
I covered her hand with mine, pressing it firmly against the tattoo. “I claimed you long before tonight, wife. Tonight just made it official.”
I slid her hand down my abs and onto my cock, closing her fingers over my thick length.
She bit her lip, studying me. Then her fingers tightened, and with a smug little grin, she began to stroke.
“Umm. Good girl,” I rumbled.
Her movements were tentative at first—light touches, like she thought she might hurt me.
“Lacey,” I growled, locking my gaze on hers, “I don’t break.”
Her lips parted in a silent O as she wrapped her other hand around me and began to stroke harder. With an eager glint in her eyes, she handled me, exploring every inch of my shaft like she was memorizing it.
I grabbed my cock in one hand, tangling the other in the back of her hair. Then I tugged her forward until her lips were just shy of the head.
“Take a taste, little lamb.”
She opened her mouth and dragged her tongue from my balls all the way to the crown. The heat of her mouth and that slow, wet glide made my dick jerk. When she started darting her tongue back and forth across my frenulum, I hissed in pleasure.
I yanked her head back just enough to look her in the eye.
“Open your mouth. Flatten your tongue.”
She blinked up at me as she obeyed.
I laid the head of my cock on her tongue. She parted her lips further but not nearly enough. She’d obviously never had her mouth fucked before. I’d be careful—for now. One bad experience would make her harder to train, and I had no intention of wasting this chance.
I pushed forward slowly, filling her mouth. Her lips closed around me, and she began to suck tentatively, her tongue moving in small, uncertain flicks.
“You can do this, Lacey,” I coaxed. “Please your king.”
She tested the feel of me in her mouth, sucking and licking, drawing me in and out. Her hesitant moves lit a fire up my spine. If she only knew the restraint I was showing her.
She rose higher on her knees, sliding her hands along my shaft in time with her lips, becoming more confident now.
Growing impatient, I decided to push her. My grip in her hair tightened as my other hand angled my cock toward the back of her throat. She froze for a second, her eyes darting up to mine, unsure.
“Learn to breathe in time with my strokes,” I ordered. “I won’t give you more than you can take.”
Nodding, she shut her eyes and braced her palms on my thighs, letting me set the pace. I rocked into her mouth, going a little deeper each time.