I nodded. “I’m sure.”
We stood in silence for a heartbeat before she turned me to the door and slipped the blindfold over my eyes, dropping me into darkness.
“Through the door, eight steps forward, then stop and wait for directions.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Her hands slipped from my shoulders.
The door opened with a soft creak as I flexed my fingers at my sides.
I crossed the threshold. One step. Two. My core tightened as the door clicked shut behind me. There was no going back now.
Three. Four. My legs shook, but I forced them on.
Five. Six.
Seven. Eight.
I stopped as the silence surrounded me.
The voices in my head took hold.
Why was I here?
This was the stupidest thing I’d ever done in my life.
Why did this man want me in this way?
I tugged at the edge of my negligee when I heard it.
“Are you lost, pet?”
A shiver ran through me. I pushed the voices down, squared my shoulders.
If I could stand up to my boss after what I’d done, I could do this. This night was going to change everything.
“No, Sir.”
Chapter 8
Sebastian
She startled when the door clicked shut behind her, a soft sound swallowed by the silence that followed.
I caught the faintest whisper of her voice as she counted her steps. Careful. Hesitant. Until she stopped exactly where I’d instructed.
Fear rolled off her in quiet waves. But she’d come anyway. That said more than any word could. It told me in spite of everything, she wanted to quiet the chaos in her head.
“Are you lost, Pet?” I asked, deliberately lowering my voice.
I needed this. Needed to purge the pull she had on me before it cost me more than my control. If she was who I suspected—my employee—then this would blur lines I’d spent years keeping intact. But tonight wasn’t about logic. It was about need. Desire. Want.
She drew in a shaky breath, teeth catching on her lip before she forced the words out. “No, Sir.”
Her voice was small, but the steady and certain way she saidSir,tightened something in my chest.
“Good,” I murmured. I let the word hang in the air between us, a subtle reward for obedience.
