“Get comfortable. Really comfortable. Take off your shoes if you’re wearing them. Pull the blankets up.”
I watched her hesitate, watched her want to refuse, to maintain that iron control that served her so well otherwise.
Then, she kicked off her slippers and pulled the blanket up over her lap, pressing her lips together with frustration but obeying me all the same.
The small surrender sent dark satisfaction through me.
“Good,” I murmured. “Now, take a breath. Deep one. Fill your lungs.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Breathe, Eva.”
She did. Her chest rose and fell, and the tension in her shoulders eased slightly.
“Again,” I instructed. “Slower this time.”
She obeyed without arguing this time, as I gave her the quiet she’d confessed she needed, took away the need to think, to perform, to do anything but listen to my voice and do what I said.
“That’s it,” I said. “Just breathe.”
Her next breath shook slightly.
“Tell me what you’re feeling,” I said, more gently now.
“I’m tired.” The words came out small. “I’m so fucking tired, Alek.”
“I know, baby girl.”
“Don’t call me that.” There was no heat in her words, just exhaustion.
“Close your eyes,” I said softly.
“Alek—”
“Just for a minute. Close your eyes and focus on my voice.”
After a moment, she did.
“Good girl,” I praised, watching the flush spread across her cheeks even with her eyes closed. “Now, just listen to my voice and let everything else fade.”
I talked to her quietly, keeping my voice low and steady, told her to relax her shoulders, to unclench her jaw, to let the tension drain out of her body one muscle at a time. I watched her slowly, incrementally, surrender to my commands.
I swallowed hard. This was what I craved—her trust, watching her let go because she knew I could carry the weight for her, even if only for a moment.
After several minutes, she’d relaxed, her careful mask replaced by peace—the quiet she’d told me she missed.
“How do you feel?”
Her eyes opened slowly, clearer now, if still sad.
“Better,” she admitted softly. “Thank you, Sir.”
The title sent heat straight through me.
“You’re welcome, baby girl.”
We looked at each other through the screen. She realized what she’d just done, what she’d said, how she’d submitted—that she’d let me give her exactly what she needed.
