“Me,” Lotte and Radley said simultaneously.

“There can be only one,” Deacon said, deadpan.

Holy fuck. Knox was about to burst out laughing at Deacon’s Highlander reference. This whole thing had headed into farce territory.

“I can punch a fuck of a lot harder than you,” Radley said to Lotte.

“That’s the only fuckin’ thing you can do,” Lotte shot back. “My takedown skills are way better than yours.”

Radley snorted. “Because you took a year of tae kwon do at the Y? Give me a fuckin’ break.”

Where the hell had Ronin dug up these dumb fuckers?

“Make a goddamn decision,” Knox snapped.

Lotte stepped forward. “Me.”

A quick spike of adrenaline juiced him as he closed the distance between him and that cocky little punk. Lotte started to speak, but Knox swept his feet out from under him.

Lotte landed on his ass.

Then Knox flipped him onto his belly, pulling his right arm crossways to his opposite hip and trapping his left arm beneath the front of his body. He pressed his boot on the side of Lotte’s face. He didn’t bother to lean down or to whisper. “I’ve got you pinned down, bro, and I’m using only one of my arms and one of my legs. Guess worthless applies more to you than it does to me.”

“Let me go.”

“I will. Then you’ll take your little friend and get the fuck out of this building and never show your faces here again.” Knox pulled on Lotte’s arm until he whimpered. “The training room is under surveillance, so if a single homeless person shows up here? The tape goes to the cops. Got it?”

Lotte nodded.

“Answer the fucking question out loud so I know you understand.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir.”

He released Lotte.

Radley didn’t wait for his bro. He hightailed it out the door. Lotte slunk out like a scalded cat, and Deacon followed them to make sure they got gone.

Knox scrubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t need that shit today. When he looked up, Shiori leaned in the doorframe.

“Impressive, Shihan.”

“All in a day’s work.”

“I love watching you deliver the smackdown. No one expects a guy your size to move that fast. In fact, it really turns me on.” She sauntered forward with that heated look in her eye.

Instant boner.

Shiori stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “I finished those reports.”

“Okay.” Goddammit, he loved that little bite of pain when she dug her fingers into his abdomen.

“I left them in the supply closet.”

“Why?”

“It’s time you had a lesson in Japanese. Oral is the best way to learn, don’t you think?”

He groaned. “My brain just totally went offline and I can’t think at all.”

“Luckily, as your Mistress, it’s my job to think for you. Get your ass in the supply closet.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

KNOX followed through with his idea of keeping a friendly athletic competition going between them, since their grappling practices had deteriorated into a game of grab ass.

He’d rented out the rock-climbing wall and obstacle course at a local gym that catered to the outdoor set. Something about Knox’s pleased grin had Shiori worried.

“Is there a reason you’re beaming sunshine from those pearly whites, Ob-Knox-ious?”

“Could be I’m thinking about watching your ass as you’re moving up the rock wall. Or it could be I’m thinking about kicking your ass, timewise, when we climb the rock wall, She-Cat.”

Shiori adjusted her shoes. “So confident.”

“I am.”

“Willing to make a wager?”

“Depends. What are you offering?”

“If you win, I’ll let you top me tonight. But if I win, I get to break out the strap-on I bought for you.”

He smoothed back a piece of hair that’d escaped her ponytail. “While I’m humbled by your offer, Mistress, I have no desire to change that dynamic between us, even for one night.”

Her jaw almost hit the floor. “You’re serious.”

“Yes. I’ve realized that when I’m with you . . . I’m who and what I’m supposed to be. I want to make you happy that you took a chance on me.”

This was the moment she’d waited for. And now that it was here . . . she had no idea what to say. Or do. “It was a no-brainer. I mean look at you. You’re this hot-bodied Viking. Even if I couldn’t bring you to heel, I’d have a great time trying to convince you submissive doesn’t mean subservient.” She smirked. “At least not all the time.”