Seth couldn’t be serious.

He just couldn’t be.

Could he?

I stared at him in shock for a long moment while he just grinned at me.

Finally, I managed to speak. “Whuf?” It wasn’t a real word, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.

“Think about it,” Seth said, surprisingly calm. “It fits all the requirements. It’ll take your mind off the presentation. You’ll feel the effects after we leave the room. It’ll remind you to focus on me—and naughty things—rather than freak out about public speaking. It’s perfect.”

I tried again and got out a whole word. “Spanking?”

“It’s fun.”

Fun? It sounded so… raw. Embarrassing. Confronting. And yet, somehow erotic. “Fun for the spanker, you mean.”

“Fun for both parties.”

I shook my head. I didn’t see how it could be.

Seth cocked his head to the side. “You said you trusted me.”

“Yeah, but… I don’t see how it can be fun for the, umm, spankee.”

“Only one way to find out.” His mile-wide smile was quite smug. How was he so sure I’d go along with his ridiculous request?

I stood up and Seth grabbed my hand, his smile vanishing. “Erin? You know you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, right? Including the presentation.”

He squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. His touch always calmed me. Centered me. “I want to do the presentation.”

“Glad to hear it. Sit down.” He tugged and then somehow I was balanced on his right thigh, my legs between his. “Two questions. First… can you do the presentation without any kind of wicked distraction? Because that’s the goal, you know. I want you to be a competent public speaker in all situations—not someone who can only speak when her mind’s in the gutter.”

I smiled a little at that. “What’s the second question?”

“Answer the first one, and I’ll tell you.”

His blue eyes were looking up at me for a change as I perched on his leg. The way one corner of his mouth was lifted in a sexy smirk was too distracting, so I looked away. Then I sighed. “No. I don’t think I can do it without something naughty to focus on.”

“Good.”

“How’s that good?” I demanded.

His grin widened and he winked. “It’s good for me.”

Frustrated, I started to stand and he immediately grew more serious as he placed a hand on my waist. “I’m just kidding. That’s what I do. But seriously, it is a good thing, Newbie. It’s good you think you can give this presentation at all. Do you remember what your interview was like? That was a week and a half ago. You’ve come a long way since then. That you’re even considering making this presentation is a triumph. It may not seem like it when I’m busy teasing and distracting you, but I’m very proud of you.”

His words made warmth spread through me. He seemed genuine. Maybe I should trust him. “What’s the second question?”

Seth put his hand on my knee, and it was reminiscent of how he’d slid his hands up my leg before. Pleasant shivers radiated from his touch. “Do you like the things I’ve been doing with you?” His voice was low-pitched and rumbly as he continued. “The filthy words I whisper in your ear? The way my hands feel on your body? The way I kissed you?”

God, he could be so forward sometimes. I wanted to go hide somewhere. Run away. Do anything but answer. But I couldn’t flee. He’d trapped me with his vivid blue eyes, and I couldn’t look away. And I couldn’t lie, either, as much as I wanted to. Finally, I nodded.

“Say it,” Seth demanded.

“Yes. I liked those things.” My voice was quiet but audible.

“Good. I thought you did.” He ran his hand up and down my back, making my skin tingle. “Don’t you think it’s possible you’d like being spanked by me, too?”

I slumped against him, and he wrapped both arms around me. “Maybe,” I said, my chin resting on his shoulder.

“Then let’s try it.” His voice was still low and teasing. “And if you don’t like it, just say so. Tell me to stop. Same goes for the presentation later on, actually. You can stop at any time. But it would please me if you tried.”

“Okay,” I said. He knew which thing I was agreeing to try. I could tell by the way his hold on me forcefully tightened, making me aware of his strength. He guided me back to an upright position, and planted a quick kiss on my lips. Another kiss that was over too soon. Would we ever get a real one? I guess that depended on whether there was anything real between us—or if this was all just for training purposes only.

“Good girl. Stand up.”

I did so with Seth’s hands firmly on my hips. He positioned me so that I was still between his legs but facing his left thigh. Then he firmly pushed down on my back.

Oh god. This was really happening. Awkwardly, I bent forward, afraid I’d fall, but Seth easily maneuvered me where he wanted me. All those muscles clearly weren’t just for show. And when I was bent nearly double, I reached down and braced my palms on the floor.

That meant—god, that meant that Seth could see my legs… and my thighs… and my—well, the skirt of my dress was covering my panties. Probably not for long, I suddenly realized.

A strong hand ran up and down the back of my thigh and I flinched. “Relax, Erin. You don’t have to hold yourself up. Let me support you.”

Slowly I let my hips rest against his thigh, my head and chest hanging down one side of Seth’s knee, my legs down the other. He continued to rub up and down the back of one leg, then the other. It was like earlier when I was practicing, only this time, I was over his knee.

Were we really doing this? I guess we were unless I told him to stop. But I was beginning to doubt it would come to that. Somehow, in spite of my inverted position, in spite of my nervous squirming, his touch felt good. Really good.

“Just be still and let me make you feel alive.” Seth’s voice was even more seductive than usual, an intense sound that seemed to fill the air around me. And his hands—they were working magic, making little circles on the backs of my thighs. Moving ever higher.

A cool rush of air let me know he’d flipped my dress up. I moaned, glad that my hair was hanging down, hiding my face from his view. He could see me now. See my thighs, my ass. Holy crap, what panties had I worn today? Then I remembered. Pale blue with lace at the waistline. High cut at the side. That was good. They provided a little coverage but didn’t look like granny panties.

Seth’s large palm slid up the back of my leg onto my ass, and I flinched again. He kept his hand still as I forced my muscles to relax as much as I could make them. The heat from his hand seemed to burn right through my panties and into my skin.

Long fingers pressed against me, rubbing, squeezing, digging possessively into my skin. And then the hand disappeared. I barely had time to wonder what he was doing when: Smack.

I yelped, more out of surprise than pain. I focused on my ass, trying to decide how much it hurt as the embarrassment flooded through me. It stung a little, but it really hadn’t been that bad. Enough to make me jump and, probably, make parts of me bounce. Knowing Seth was watching that was both a turn-on and a huge embarrassment.

Smack! I had been so focused on my thoughts that the second one was as much of a surprise as the first.

“Oww!”

“Shh. That one wasn’t that hard.” His voice was full of dark humor that was both frustrating and arousing.

His fingers rubbed in circles again, causing me to involuntarily arch my back, pressing myself up against his hand like a cat. He chuckled.

Smack, smack.

Those ones hurt! One on each cheek in quick succession. Before I had a chance to mention that it hurt, he was suddenly rubbing again, and that felt good. That felt amazing.

His hands were so large. His fingers were so long.

Wait, I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that right now.

But it was difficult not to when he was so close to a part of me that I suspected was getting very wet.

Smack, smack.

“When you’re talking to the board today, I want you think of only one thing. Me.” Seth’s voice was low and slightly dark, but this caress was intimate.

Smack. The connection was much harder this time, the pain becoming real.

“Think of how good I make you feel when I touch you.” Smack.

“Think of how turned on I make you.” Smack.

“Think of all the indecent things I want to do to you. Think of that if you start to freeze up.” Smack, smack.

Seth’s hand stilled. “Is this turning you on, Newbie? According to the paint chip strip, I’d say your ass is Ruby Red. I can see it through your pretty blue panties.”

I shook my head, too embarrassed to comment. But that didn’t deter Seth in the slightest. “I asked if this was turning you on. I could demand an answer, you know.” He said, amusement suddenly in his voice. “But it’s okay. I know a different way to figure it out.”

Wait, what?

Without warning, Seth’s long finger was trailing across my panties. When he reached the edge, he pushed inward, toward my slit. Oh god, oh god. My legs parted involuntarily as his fingertip stroked gently up and down my folds, just the thin layer of fabric covering me.

“Just as I suspected,” Seth said gruffly. “You’re soaked.”

“Oh, please,” I begged, squirming against his touch. Except I didn’t know what I was begging for. For him to stop? For him to touch me more? “Please.”

Seth pressed harder against my panties, pushing them into my slit. “Should I make you scream, Newbie?”

I groaned, all dignity lost. I knew now what I wanted—more.

“Would you like that?”

No way could I admit that. Absolutely no way. And then… “Yes.”

Seth had my panties pushed aside in an instant, and now his bare fingertip traced my seam. It made me squirm so much that he had to put one hand on the small of my back to hold me still.

Up and down. His finger slid through my moisture at an agonizingly slow pace. Each time, it dipped a little deeper until he brushed past my clit, nearly making me jolt right off of his knee.

I groaned, suddenly becoming aware that I was pushing back against him, trying desperately to have him touch me with more pressure.

But he kept his touch light and feathery, apparently very aware of my growing need.

Damn.

“Do you want to come, Newbie?”

“Oh god, yes,” I whimpered.

He chuckled and swirled his finger lightly around my clit. “But what happens after? If I make you come, will you fall asleep with a contented smile on your face? Or will you be energized, ready to kick ass at the board meeting?”

“The latter?” I couldn’t quite keep the longing out of my voice.

“It’s actually a serious question.” Seth flicked his finger directly across my clit causing me to squeal. “What are you usually like after you come?”

“I… um…” It wasn’t just embarrassment making me hesitate. The only orgasms I’d ever experienced had been by my own hand. “I haven’t really had that many opportunities to…”

“You really are inexperienced, aren’t you, Newbie?”

I was silent, grateful I couldn’t see his face, but also pleased that he hadn’t sounded judgmental.

“Then I guess I’ll have to use my experience to make the call.” He rubbed his finger around and around my clit, occasionally flicking across it. And then a second finger teased around my entrance. I moaned.

“And in my best judgment… having a mind-shattering orgasm—which is the only kind I know how to give—isn’t going to help you focus.”

Wait, what was that? His words were lost to the pressure building up inside me from his magic touch. And then his fingers stilled. No! Frantically, I ground back against him, making noises I wasn’t familiar with, but he removed his hand.

“You’ve heard the phrase ‘Always leave them wanting more?’ That’s my training approach for you today.”

“No, you can’t… please.”

“Actually, I can.” Seth smoothed my panties into place and pushed my skirt back down. Sliding a hand under my stomach, he lifted me up until I was propped up on his thigh again.

My hair was a mess. My clothing was all rumpled. My head was swirling. And I didn’t care about any of that. I only cared about one thing—that Seth finish what he’d started. “Please?”

He laughed. “Nope. Time for you to get cleaned up and head on over to the conference room. And now you’ll have two distractions while you’re giving it… a red ass and an aching clit.”

“Please…”

He grinned and kissed me on the tip of my nose. “No.”

Groaning, I stood, struggling to steady myself with a hand on his shoulder. My legs felt shaky, like I actually had come, but I hadn’t. I needed to so badly. “But—“

“No.” This time his tone was decisive and he added a quick slap to my already tender backside. “Time for you to do the presentation. But if it makes you feel any better, you won’t be the only one suffering in there.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that spanking affected me, too.” He slid his hand down and briefly touched the huge bulge in between his legs. God, that looked big. And so damn tempting.

“So that’s a third thing you can focus on during the presentation.” He winked at me as he got to his feet.

“It’s show time.”