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I let the silence stretch, let her feel the weight of my stare. Let her wonder what I’d say. Then, slowly, purposefully, I sat back in my chair.

“Good morning, baby girl.”

Her breath caught. I saw it in the slight lift of her chest, the way her lashes fluttered like she wasn’t ready to hear my voice. She didn’t run, didn’t retreat. She just stood there in that perfect red dress, waiting.

I tilted my head slightly. Then I crooked a single finger in her direction.

“Come here.”

She hesitated for only a second, then she walked over to me.

Her steps were quiet. Obedient. The dress shifted with every movement—soft fabric hugging her curves, brushing her thighs, flowing across her hips. It was beautiful, really.

She rounded the desk, and I watched her face the whole time. That blush climbing higher, blooming across her cheeks, her eyes flitting between my face and my chest, like she didn’t know where to look.

She stopped in front of me. I didn’t ask, I just reached for her waist and pulled her gently down into my lap.

She came easily, settling against me like she was always meant to be there. Her thighs pressed to mine, while her arm wound around my neck, the long line of her side pressing against my chest. The hem of her dress shifted again, riding just a little higher, exposing more of her delectable skin.

My hand rested on her hip, fingers trailing the edge of the fabric.

Her breath was coming a little quicker now, shallow. I leaned in, my mouth brushing the shell of her ear.

“Tell me something,” I breathed.

She swallowed hard, and I felt it where our bodies met.

“Are you wearing anything under this dress?”

She tensed just a little in my arms. Then she shook her head. Soft. Submissive. Blushing all over.

“No,” she whispered.

That single word sent a pulse of something dark and primal through me. Not lust, not just that. It went deeper than that.

Total obsession.

I pulled back to look at her, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. Her skin was burning up, her eyes wide and glassy.

She was nervous and I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life.

“Good girl,” I said softly, dragging my thumb along her jaw, just to feel the tremble in it.

It ruined me.

Completely.

She was so soft in my lap, legs tucked to either side of mine, thighs warm against my jeans. Her back was straight, but her shoulders were slowly relaxing, like her body knew it was safe, even if her mind hadn’t caught up yet.

She smelled like lavender and silk and a flowery sweetness. Roses maybe.The scent clung to the dress I gave her, and knowing she was completely bare beneath it? That there was nothing between me and the skin I punished, the skin I soothed?

It wasintoxicating.

I could have sat there for hours, just holding her like that, listening to the rhythm of her breathing shift under my hands. Watching her blush. Watching her try to pretend I wasn’t the one undoing her, one heartbeat at a time.

I tilted my head and looked down at her, really looked at her. She didn’t even realize what she was giving me right then.

Submission without words.