Chapter 111: Chapter 110: Consent
Her stomach flipped. "For what?"
"For Friday. For having dinner with another man. For letting him make you laugh. For touching his hand. For making me watch while another man gave you something I should have been giving you....normalcy, comfort and ease." His jaw clenched. "For making me realize I’d rather risk everything than lose you to someone else."
"That’s not fair! You said I could..."
"I don’t care about fair." His hand shot out, gripped her chin firmly. "I care about making sure you understand....truly understand...who you belong to. What it means to be mine. What submission actually looks like."
Her breath stuttered. "I already know..."
"No. You don’t. Not yet. But you’re about to learn." He released her chin, stepped back. "Close the door. Lock it."
She obeyed on trembling legs, the soft click of the lock sounding impossibly loud in the quiet office.
Through the glass walls, she could see the office beyond. People starting to arrive. Settling at their desks. Completely unaware of what was about to happen in Damien’s office.
"Come here," he commanded.
She crossed to where he stood beside his desk.
"You’re going to bend over my desk," he said, his voice calm, controlled. Like he was discussing a business transaction. "Hands flat on the surface. And you’re going to stay there while I punish you."
"Someone could see...."
"Then you’d better hope you can stay quiet.
Because I’m going to spank you, Aria. Right here. Right now. And you’re going to take it without making a sound that might draw attention."
The image he painted...her bent over his desk, skirt raised, while he spanked her with the entire office just beyond those glass walls....sent a confusing mix of fear and arousal through her.
"What if someone looks in? What if they see...."
"Then they’ll see you being punished. They’ll know you’re mine. Is that what you want?" His eyes glinted with challenge.
"No!"
"Then be quiet. Be still. And obey."
He moved to sit in his desk chair, positioned so he could see both her and the office beyond. Control. Always maintaining control.
"But first...." His voice softened slightly. "Do you consent to this? To being punished here, now, despite the risk? I need to hear you say it."
This was her chance. Her opportunity to stop this insanity before it started. To refuse, to maintain boundaries, to....
"Yes." The word came out firm, decided. "I consent."
"Say it properly. Tell me exactly what you’re consenting to."
"I consent to you punishing me. To you touching me. To you...." She swallowed hard. "To you doing whatever you decide I need. Here. Now."
"Even though people could see?"
"Even though people could see."
"Good girl." The approval in his voice made warmth flood through her. "Now, we need a safeword. Something you can say if this becomes too much. If you need to stop."
She should have thought of this before. Should have established boundaries, limits, safety measures.
"Red," she said. "My safeword is red."
"Good. Use it if you need to. But Aria?" He leaned back in his chair, his eyes dark with promise. "I don’t think you will. I think you’re going to take everything I give you and beg for more."
The confidence in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.
"Now," he said, his tone shifting back to command. "Bend over my desk. Hands flat. Legs spread shoulder-width apart."
She moved into position, her heart hammering so hard she could hear it in her ears. The cool wood of his desk pressed against her palms. Through the glass wall directly in front of her, she could see Emma arriving, settling at her desk three offices away.
If Emma looked up. If she glanced toward Damien’s office. If she saw....
"Lift your skirt," Damien commanded from behind her. "Slowly. I want to watch."
"Damien...."
"That’s Sir in this office. When we’re like this, you address me properly."
"Sir," she corrected, her face flaming. "Someone could...."
"I know. Do it anyway."
Her hands shook as she reached back, gathering the fabric of her pencil skirt. She pulled it up inch by agonizing inch, exposing her thighs, her panties....simple black cotton, nothing special....her ass.
"Higher," he said. "To your waist."
She obeyed, the fabric bunching at her waist, leaving her lower half completely exposed except for her panties.
"Good. Now stay exactly like that. Don’t move. Don’t make a sound."
She could hear him stand, could feel him move closer. Then his hand was on her lower back, pressing down firmly, holding her in place.
"I’m going to spank you," he said, his voice low and controlled. "Ten strikes. You’re going to count each one. Quietly. If you make too much noise, if you draw attention, we start over. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Damien."
"If you want to use your safeword, now is the time. Once we start, you take what I give you until I decide you’ve had enough."
She could stop this. Should stop this. They were in his office, for god’s sake. Anyone could see. Anyone could....
"I don’t need my safeword," she whispered. "I can take it."
"We’ll see." His hand left her back, and she heard the rustle of fabric as he rolled up his sleeve. "Remember. Count. Quietly. And don’t move."
She braced herself, every muscle tense, waiting for....
The first strike landed on her right cheek, sharp and stinging even through her panties.
She gasped, her body jolting forward.
"One," she whispered, her voice shaking.
"Good. But quieter. Remember where we are."
The second strike landed on her left cheek, harder than the first.
"Two," she breathed, barely audible.
"Better."
Through the glass wall, she could see Mark walking past, coffee in hand. He didn’t look toward Damien’s office. Didn’t see her bent over the desk, skirt up, being spanked like....
The third strike landed, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.
"Three."
"You’re doing well," Damien said, his voice calm, controlled, while her entire world was spinning. "Seven more. Show me how quiet you can be."
The fourth strike. The fifth. Each one harder than the last, the sting building, her ass burning, her body trembling with the effort of staying still and silent.
"Six." Her voice was barely a whisper now, tears pricking her eyes from the pain and the humiliation and the overwhelming sensation of being completely under his control.
The sixth strike landed, and she saw it....Emma looking up, glancing toward Damien’s office.
Aria froze, her breath held, praying Emma couldn’t see clearly through the glass, couldn’t tell what was happening.
Emma’s gaze swept over the office and moved on. Uninterested. Unaware.
Aria’s breath released in a shaky exhale.
"Seven," she whispered.
"Good girl," Damien murmured. "You’re doing so well. Taking your punishment like you’re supposed to. Three more."
The eighth strike landed, and she couldn’t stop the small whimper that escaped.
"Quiet," he warned. "Or we start over."
She bit her lip hard, tasting copper, and forced herself to breathe through the pain.
"Eight."
Nine landed on the same spot as eight, and she shook with the effort of staying still and silent.
"Nine."
"Last one," Damien said. "Make it count."
The tenth strike was the hardest yet, landing squarely across both cheeks, and Aria’s entire body jerked forward, her hands scrabbling on the desk for purchase.
"Ten," she gasped, tears streaming down her face now.
For a moment, there was silence. Just the sound of her ragged breathing and the normal office noise beyond the glass walls.
Then Damien’s hand was on her burning ass, rubbing gently, soothing the sting.
"Beautiful," he murmured. "You took that so well Aria and you stayed so quiet. I’m proud of you."
The praise made warmth bloom in her chest despite the pain.
His hand slid lower, between her thighs, and she heard his sharp intake of breath.
"You’re soaked," he said, wonder and satisfaction in his voice. "The punishment turned you on, didn’t it?"
She couldn’t deny it. Even through the pain, even through the humiliation, her body had responded. Was responding now as his fingers traced the damp fabric of her panties.
"Answer me Aria," he commanded.
"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, Damien."
"Good. Because we’re not done yet." His fingers hooked into her panties, pulled them down her thighs. "The spanking was your punishment. But now...." His fingers slid through her wetness, making her gasp. "Now I’m going to remind you who you belong to."
