Poking the Bear

Synopsis

Nikolai Volkov has a problem: he's addicted to his husband's anger. Not in a destructive way—more in a "I will rearrange the spice rack just to hear you yell at me" way. Because when Tristan Blake gets upset, his cheeks flush, his voice goes sharp, and Ilya finds himself harder than he's ever been. It's a Pavlovian response he has no interest in curing. So he leaves the lights on. He "forgets" the flat sheet. He hangs Tristan's shirts out of color order. He buys cigarettes he has no intention of smoking. Each transgression is carefully calculated to provoke the exact reaction he craves—and each confrontation ends the same way: with Tristan on his knees, or bent over, or pinning Nikolai to the bed with a silk tie. It's a game they both play, though Tristan pretends he doesn't. A dance of irritation and forgiveness, of nagging and worship. And for Nikolai, there's nothing more intoxicating than being put in his place by the man who owns him completely. A warm, filthy, hilarious look at marriage, kink, and the joy of driving your spouse absolutely insane.