Free A Strict Seduction by Maria Del Rey Page B

the contract and they lost the job. They lost a major contract because of us, and it was our fault. Your fault. They were our biggest client and now they’ve gone. This was the third time Marianne, the third. We’ve given you chances before, too many perhaps. We just can’t go on like this.’
    â€˜Please, I’m sorry,’ she said, the anguish etched miserably on her face. Her skin was pale, making her red lips more prominent, pouting, alluring.
    â€˜I’m sorry too,’ he said, closing her file and pushing it towards her.
    â€˜Please Stephen, I’ll do anything…’
    He shook his head sadly, exhaled slowly. ‘I’m sorry,’ he repeated, looking up into her eyes for the first time.
    She looked at him, eyes wide, her body trembling. Then she looked away. ‘Please…’ she whispered.
    â€˜What else can I do?’ he asked reasonably. ‘You’ve been warned before. You’ve been given chances. What can we do? It’s as if harsh words aren’t enough. Sometimes I think there’s only one thing you’d respond to. Sometimes I want to…’ He stopped, suddenly aware that he’d said too much, gone too far.
    â€˜What? Do what? I’ll do anything, you know I would,’ she said earnestly.
    He looked at her. She was beautiful, even the tears in her eyes and the anguish on her face were seductive. His heart was racing. He had said too much, letting the tension and the emotion get the better of him. ‘Nothing. Forget I said anything,’ he said apologetically.
    â€˜Please Stephen, what were you going to say? It’s not fair, you can’t do this to me. You owe me more than that.’
    He nodded. ‘I was going to say that sometimes I think you’d only respond to being properly punished.’
    She looked up sharply. ‘What do you mean?’
    â€˜I mean treated like a naughty child. Punished with more than just sharp words.’
    There was a moment of tense silence and he regretted ever opening his mouth. It hadn’t been a smart thing to say and it was going to make a difficult situation impossible.
    â€˜Yes. Maybe you’re right,’ she said very quietly, her face flushing pink. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, avoiding his own questioning look.
    â€˜Pardon?’
    â€˜I said, maybe you’re right. Maybe I do need to be punished.’
    â€˜No, I don’t think you understand. I meant punished as in smacked on the backside and told to behave.’
    â€˜Yes,’ she agreed quietly. ‘That’s what I thought you meant. Perhaps I do want to be punished like that.’
    Stephen breathed deeply, his hands trembling. ‘Remove your stockings,’ he said, his voice almost hoarse.
    Marianne’s face was burning red, her embarrassment clear to see, yet she obeyed. She turned her back to Stephen and pulled her skirt up at the front. She reached under and fiddled with her suspenders. Stephen stood up and walked round to the front of the desk, his eyes fixed on her long elegant thighs. She looked away from him but made no effort to cover herself. Her stockings were dark against her soft white skin, and when she rolled them down he felt the heat rising within him. It was like a dream, something he could hardly believe was happening. She slipped her shoes off and pulled the stockings off completely.
    â€˜Bend over the desk,’ he said, putting a hand to her shoulder to stop her picking up her stockings. She stepped back into her high heels and then went to the desk. She bent over at the waist, pressing herself flat against the smooth leather-topped desk, pressing her face against the cool surface, her hands up by her face.
    Stephen stood behind her, enjoying the sight of her skirt pulled tight over her backside, pulling the buttocks apart slightly. Very gently he took the hem of her skirt and lifted it high, up and over her waist. Her long legs were smooth and