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I should be terrified.

I am terrified.

I am also standing half naked in a multi-million-dollar penthouse with cooling gel on my ass and a man who saw through every mask I put on today.

Dream ticket? Or downfall?

I do not know which. I only know I am still here.

For now…

5

DMITRI

Ilook at Elias for a long moment.

Bare from the waist down. Gel shining on the skin I marked. Hands still unsure of where they belong.

He has not asked for his clothes. That tells me more than even the wetness did.

“You are going home,” I say.

His head lifts. Hope and suspicion in the same motion.

“My driver will take you.”

Elias waits, in silence. He is learning.

“There is a catch.” I leave him in the kitchen and walk into the living area. The drawer I want is in a cabinet that looks like it holds only decanters and old crystal. It does not.

Inside, under a false base, are the small things I keep for later.

I take out the paddle. It is not large. Dark leather. Tight stitching. A handle that sits clean in the palm. Small enough to vanish into a bag. Heavy enough to mean what it is.

I carry the paddle back to him. Elias’s eyes drop to it and stay there. I hold it out.

“Take it,” I command.

He does. Both hands, like it might bite.

“You will keep this in your possession at all times,” I say. “Home. Street. Work. If I ask for it, you will have it. If you lose it, you will tell me before anyone else notices it is gone.”

His throat moves.

“Yes, sir.”

Not why. Not what is it for?.

Just yes, sir.

Submissive in the way that matters. Not collapsing. Choosing.

“Say it properly.”

“I’ll keep it with me. Always. Even at work, sir.”

“Good.” I nod toward the heap of cheap fabric on my floor. “Get dressed.”