"Getting there. Open to chapter three and start reading."
"Why chapter three specifically?"
"Because you've got it bookmarked with a sticky note. I noticed when you pulled it off the shelf."
She finds the chapter, adjusts her glasses in that nervous way she has. Starts reading in her professional librarian voice - all proper and controlled while reading the absolutely filthiest scene I've ever heard out loud.
"'You've been such a good girl for Daddy,' he praised, his hand tangling in her hair, controlling the angle of her head. 'Daddy's going to reward you now for following all your rules today.' He pushed her thighs apart, spreading her open for his inspection. 'Look how wet you are for me already. Such a responsive little thing.'"
"Keep going. Don't stop."
Her voice shakes as she continues, reading about submission and dominance, rules and rewards, praise and punishment. I watch her squeeze her thighs together unconsciously, watch her breathing change and speed up, watch her pupils dilate behind those cute glasses.
"Stop reading."
She looks up at me, pupils blown wide with arousal. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"
"Because if you keep reading in that voice, I'm going to bend you over that desk right now and we're not ready for that yet. We need to talk first. Negotiate properly."
"Oh." Her voice is small and breathy.
"Is that what you want eventually? For me to bend you over and take control?"
"I... we barely know each other. This is moving really fast."
"That's not what I asked, Charlie. I asked what you want, not what you think you should want or what's socially appropriate. What do you actually want?"
She sets the book down carefully, her hands trembling slightly. "Yes. But not yet. I need... I need to know this is real. That you're not just interested because I'm easy prey or because you think I'm desperate."
"You're not prey, Charlie. And you're not desperate. You're a woman who knows exactly what she wants but has been too scared to ask for it because the last man you trusted used your needs against you. That's not desperation. That's self-awareness and caution, which are both smart things to have."
"And you're willing to give me what I need?"
"I'm willing to try. But we do this right. Safe words. Hard and soft limits. Clear communication at every step. This isn't something we rush into just because we're both turned on."
"You've done this before? Been someone's Dominant?"
"No. But I've led men into combat situations where their lives depended on my decisions. I know about responsibility. About taking care of people under my command and making sure they're safe and healthy and able to function. The principles aren't that different."
"Is that what I'd be? Under your command?"
"If you want to be. But that's not a decision we make tonight. Tonight we just talk and figure out if this is something we both actually want or if it's just fantasy that's better left in books."
She stands, walks toward me with more courage than I expected. Brave little librarian. "I have conditions before we go any further."
"I'm listening."
"We go slow. I need to trust you completely before we do anything physical beyond kissing. And I need time to build that trust."
"Fair and reasonable."
"We keep it private. This is a small town and I have a professional reputation to maintain at the library."
"Agreed completely. What happens between us stays between us."
"And you read the books too. The ones on my shelf. So you understand what I'm looking for and what good dominance looks like versus abuse disguised as kink."
I almost laugh at that. "You're assigning me romance novel homework?"
