I never meant to need Gavin this way, not when the academy deed already demands every scrap of control I possess. His quiet loyalty hides the way he blushes at the first sharp word from my lips, and that flush pulls me toward the locked storage vaults where no one should ever see us.

The polished boardroom table waits under fading light, ready for the moment my harness sits half-buckled and I order him to bend over it. The deputy watches our every move, and one slip would cost me the position I fought to claim along with the man who yields completely when my voice cracks into command.

Tonight our fingers touch over the ring of keys, and the command rises before I can stop it, the fear of exposure burning as hot as the surrender I crave from him.