Chapter 443: The Carrot and the Spank

I sighed.

This was what I got for rolling Mythical-tier. A hyperactive catgirl with dependency issues and apparently zero concept of personal boundaries.

But fuck it. Maki was Platinum-tier. That put her in the same category as my Protection from Arrows and Rockstar Made. Her lightning manipulation alone would be game-changing. Nine lives meant she was the ultimate safety net. And her enhanced agility... well, if she could move as fast as she’d just demonstrated by launching herself across the room, she’d be terrifying in combat.

The problem wasn’t her power.

The problem was everything else about her.

I looked down at Maki, who was currently attempting to make herself comfortable on my lap while also somehow vibrating with barely contained energy. Her two tails swished behind her, occasionally smacking against my leg.

She needed regular stimulation to prevent destabilization.

Combat, food, or physical affection.

Which meant if I didn’t keep her entertained, she’d start frying people or causing diplomatic incidents with foreign governments, and I already had enough problems without adding "my familiar declared war on the Sentinels because she was bored" to the list.

Carrot and stick, then.

I’d used it before. Back in Tokyo, when training new recruits who thought they were too clever or too tough to follow orders. You rewarded compliance. You punished defiance. You made the rules crystal clear so there was no room for confusion about what happened next.

Simple. Effective. Brutal when it needed to be.

Maki tilted her head, watching me with those huge hazel eyes. "You’re thinking really hard. Is it about me? It’s about me, isn’t it? Am I in trouble? That was fast. New record!"

"We need to establish some ground rules."

"Ooh, rules!" She bounced once. "I

love

rules. They’re so much fun to break."

I grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze.

"Rule one. When I tell you to do something, you do it. No arguments. No negotiations. Immediate compliance."

Her pupils dilated slightly. "And if I don’t?"

"Then you get punished."

Something flickered across her face. Interest. Heat. Her breathing quickened just enough that I noticed.

Oh.

Oh this was going to be a problem.

"What kind of punishment?" Her voice had gone soft. Breathy.

"The kind that reminds you who’s in charge."

Her tails stopped moving. She went very, very still on my lap, and I felt her body temperature spike against me.

"And if I’m good?" Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. "Do I get rewards?"

"Depends on how good you are."

She shivered.

So Maki was a masochist.

Fantastic. Another layer of complexity I didn’t need but was stuck with anyway.

I released her chin and stood, lifting her with me. She squeaked in surprise, her legs automatically locking around my waist again.

"First test," I said, walking toward the desk and setting her down on the wooden surface. "Clothes. Now."

"But I don’t wanna—"

I cut her off with a light smack across her ass.

Not hard. Just sharp enough to sting.

Maki’s entire body jerked. Her mouth fell open. A flush spread from her cheeks down to her chest, painting her pale skin pink.

"I said now."

"I..." She swallowed hard. "I don’t have any clothes, Master."

The honorific carried weight when she said it this time. Breathy. Reverent.

I grabbed my discarded shirt from earlier and tossed it at her. "Wear that."

She caught it reflexively, staring at the fabric like I’d just handed her a live grenade.

"You want me to wear your shirt?"

"Problem?"

"No! No problem! I just..." She pressed the shirt to her face and inhaled deeply, her eyes fluttering shut. "It smells like you. And other girls. Lots of other girls. You’ve been busy, Master."

"The shirt. On your body. Now."

She pulled it on with exaggerated slowness, her movements turning the simple act into something that looked deliberately provocative. The shirt fell to mid-thigh on her small frame, covering what needed to be covered while somehow making her look more enticing than when she’d been fully naked.

"Good girl."

The words made her freeze. Her ears twitched. Her tails swished once.

Then she smiled—bright and genuine and hungry all at once.

"Really?"

I reached out and patted her head, running my fingers through her silky black hair and scratching lightly behind one cat ear.

The purring started immediately.

Deep. Rumbling. So intense that the desk vibrated beneath her.

Her eyes closed. Her head pushed into my palm. Her entire body went boneless.

"Oh that’s

nice

," she purred. "More. Please. Don’t stop."

I kept scratching, watching her melt under the attention.

So the reward system worked.

Good.

"When you do what I say," I explained quietly, "you get this. Affection. Attention. Praise." I moved to scratch the other ear, and she actually moaned. "When you disobey..."

I stopped.

Her eyes snapped open. "Wait, what? No, keep going! I was just starting to—"

I pulled my hand away completely.

"That’s punishment number one. You lose what you want."

She stared at me. Her ears drooped. Her tails curled inward.

"That’s mean."

"That’s consequences."

"But I was being good! I put on the shirt like you said!"

"And you argued with me first. Which means you only get partial credit."

She bit her lip, and I watched her thinking.

"So if I obey immediately," she said slowly, "I get the good touches. But if I argue or fight back, I get punished."

"Quick study."

"I’m not dumb, Master. Just easily distracted." Her smile turned sly. "What’s punishment number two?"

I raised an eyebrow.

She spread her legs slightly where she sat on the desk, the shirt riding up just enough that I could see she was still bare underneath.

"You said that was punishment one. Which means there’s more. I wanna know what they are." She leaned back on her hands, arching her spine. "Show me?"

I stepped between her legs. Grabbed her hips. Pulled her forward until she sat at the very edge of the desk.

"You want to be punished?"

"Maybe?" Her voice went small. Uncertain. "I mean, I don’t. Obviously. That would be weird. I’m a good familiar who always obeys and never causes problems and—"

I slid one hand under the shirt and gripped her bare ass, squeezing hard.

"You’re lying."