This isn’t affection for me as much as it is a disdain for weakness. He’s trying to teach me how to take what I want, how to fight for myself. Probably so he won’t have to save my miserable life again.

The teacher/student dynamic is more embarrassing than it is hot, but straddling him right now, I know what I want.

“Kiss me, please.”

Nikolai’s hands tighten on my waist as he tilts my chin up and kisses me. His lips are warm and soft, and each one blooms open more than the last.

As the kiss deepens, he grips my hips and rocks me against his growing erection. I’m a puppet, letting him move me, letting him take us both higher with every stroke.

“How are you in control even when I’m the one on top of you?” I whisper when the kiss breaks.

He stands me up and yanks my pants down. I kick them off just as he pulls me back onto his lap.

“I’m always in control,” he says, right as he curls his hand around my hip and drives his palm against my center. The friction is devastating. “Get used to it.”

Well, I can certainly try.

His hand slides into my panties. I whimper when he circles his calloused finger over my clit. Then he slips his finger into me and massages me with his thumb.

Every move is graceful and heartstopping. All I can do is hold still and take it.

“You shouldn’t go years without being touched like this,” he growls, driving another finger into me. “Your body was made for touching. You’re beautiful when you come. Do you know that, beautiful Belle? You look so good when you’re falling apart for me.”

I bite down on his shoulder and try to ride the wave.

But Nikolai is having none of that. He means what he says—he wants to see me fall to pieces.

“Come for me, little lamb,” he commands, fucking me with his fingers while I writhe on his lap. “Let yourself have it. Want it. Take it.Come.”

Finally, I can’t hold out any more. I tip my head back and cry out as wave after wave of a drooling orgasm rushes through me.

It’s swift and vicious. And as soon as it’s let go of me, I grab the hem of my shirt and lift it over my head. Before the material even hits the floor, I’m unhooking my bra.

“You aren’t spent yet?” Nikolai asks smugly. “We’ve had a big day.”

I thrust my hand between us and palm his hard length. “Not even close.”

When I take him in my hand, I watch his eyes dilate. His pupils eat away at the gray of his irises, but his expression remains the same. Fixed.

Onme.

When he reaches to touch my chest, I slide off of his lap and kneel between his legs. Surprise flickers over his face, but it’s gone in the next instant.

I almost laugh out loud. Composed, unflappable Nikolai. Even now. Even like this.

But, fuck—I want to be the one to make him lose control.

I lean down and take him in my mouth in one hot stroke. My eyes burn as I move him deeper and deeper into my throat, but I resist my body’s urge to push him back out again when I hear him hiss.

That’s something. A response. I want more of that.

I drag my tongue along the underside of him and circle around his tip before taking him again. Nikolai cups the back of my head, holding me lightly in place. His fingers curl in my hair, and I let him thrust gently into my mouth.

“Fuck,” he groans, tipping his head back on the couch.

Eventually, his thighs are clenching, and I know I could get him off like this. But my pussy is throbbing again. I have needs, too.

And like Nikolai said, I shouldn’t sacrifice anything for anyone, right?