Rose bit her lip to focus, feeling the razor scraping away the soft hairs that hid her core from view. As she glanced down, Mama looked up at Papa and spoke. “She is more of a big girl than she acts. Look how wet she is, my hand keeps slipping.”

Papa knelt down and looked closely at Rose’s core, the two of them examining her closely. “So she is,” he said with a smile. “That’s good to know.”

“She is clearly ready for marriage and a family. I do not think you will need to do much work with her.”

“I should check before we make any rash decisions. Are you done with her?”

“I am indeed. That is the last of the hair gone.”

“Excellent. Rose, do not move. Mama, if you could give us a minute.”

“Of course.”

Mama stood up, taking the bowl and razor with her. She set them down on the table by the bath before turning and heading out of the door, closing it behind her.

“What are you going to do to me?” Rose asked as Papa knelt between her legs, lowering his head towards her core.

“I am going to reward you for being good.”

“By doing what?”

“By seeing if you are ready to become a wife.” His head was so low by this time that Rose could feel his breath on her freshly shaved skin, the sensation heightened by the lack of any hair. She felt as if she were on the edge of a precipice, needing only the lightest touch to slip off and fall into the abyss, not knowing what was waiting for her there.

Papa’s fingers slid over the shaved skin above her core, moving down towards the soft folds which throbbed with need, her insides seeming to widen of their own accord, as if preparing for his entrance. She yearned for his touch inside her but he ignored her thrusting hips, stroking softly over the folds of glistening wet skin instead. “She has done a good job,” he said. “This looks and feels much better, you are a pretty little Rose now.”

As he spoke, he slid two fingers straight into her wetness, pushing them deep into her as his other hand went to her nub, stroking it gently whilst she sank back, her mouth falling open, no words coming out, only a gasping, wheezing breath of surprised pleasure.

The deeper his fingers went, the more she pushed against him, feeling him explore her insides, his mouth close to her nub. If he were to move just half an inch more, his lips would be on her. She ached for him to kiss her engorged nub but she knew she could not ask him to do it, somehow she knew that would not be allowed. Risking his ire was not going to happen, she could not bear the thought that he might stop.

His fingers continued to thrust into her as she felt her body tensing up. Moans escaped her and he paused, looking up at her. “You must remain silent. I do not want Mama to know what I have done to you. You must keep this a secret between us two, our naughty little secret. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Papa,” she replied, putting a hand over her mouth to stifle any noise as he returned to pleasuring her. Her body continued to tense up until she was forced to bite her hand to keep quiet, the nerve endings all over her body tingling, almost shaking with need, her muscles tensing up until she thought she might burst.

It all seemed to stem from the spot he was circling with his fingers. As he brushed over it a moment later, she felt almost delirious with pleasure, thinking she could take no more of this, it felt too good.

“You are close to climax,” Papa whispered. “Let it happen. Do not be afraid. Trust me.”

His fingers plunged into her and as they did so, she tipped over the edge, rushing towards a sensation like nothing she had ever known. So this is a climax, she managed to think before an even stronger wave of pleasure took away any ability to think at all. For seconds on end, all she knew was pleasure, her thrashing and writhing body completely out of her control. She felt her insides contracting around his fingers, her toes curling, her nub alive with the most stupendous joy she had ever known.

As it slowly faded and she came back to herself, she blinked, looking down at Papa to see him sliding his fingers from her. She ached for more but it was not to be. The door opened a moment later and Mama returned, carrying a dress over her arms.

Rose did her best to appear calm, not easy as her heart continued to pound, her chest heaving, a sheen of sweat covering her body. Her core was still twitching as Papa helped her to her feet. “I think you may be right,” he said. “She is ready for marriage.”

“Should we tell her parents?”

“Nothing of the sort. I have a week with her and I intend to make the most of it. After all, we want them to get their money’s worth don’t we?”

It was as if Rose wasn’t there, the conversation conducted about her, not to her. Absentmindedly, she picked up a toothbrush and began playing with it, running her fingers through the bristles whilst half listening to them talk. She felt as if she were floating high above them both, the pleasure in her body ebbing away slowly, leaving her contented but also greedy for more. She realised how she could gain more pleasure. As soon as she was alone, she could touch herself, bring herself to climax just as he had done. Yes, she might have promised not to do it, but that was before she knew just how good it could feel. He could not judge her for wanting to learn more about her body, could he? That wouldn’t be fair at all.

“Should I get her dressed?”

“In a moment. I quite like how she looks, happy and carefree wandering about naked like that. It is a shame we are so embarrassed by our bodies in this age. Look at her, a vision of innocence and beauty.”

“You’re not thinking straight, Titus. Remember, this is just a job.”

She wanted to continue listening but her mind began to wander. She couldn’t concentrate, her body was betraying her mind, calling to it, making her focus on more urgent needs. Had she always been so easily distracted? It was impossible to know. She thought about what he had just said, the words repeating again and again, she was a vision of innocence and beauty. She looked down at her body as if seeing it for the first time. Was she beautiful? It was hard to answer that. She found the sight of her shaved core intriguing, something she had not seen properly for many years, not since the hair had first grown. It had always been a site of vague embarrassment, a place not to be mentioned, to be glossed over, ignored, used only for toilet functions and nothing else. Yet he had shown her in a few short minutes just how wrong she was to think that way.

Between her legs was something to be celebrated, to be tended to, to be nurtured in the same way he was nurturing her. All she had to do was wait until night time and then she could tend to it just as much as she wanted. She knew that he would punish her if he found out so she vowed to ensure she never told him, to keep quiet so he would not hear, no one would hear. She would wait until late that night, when everyone was asleep. That way she could be sure she would be safe from the risk of punishment. As Mama slipped the dress over her shoulders, she was only half in the room, her mind was already in bed, ready to explore her sexuality in a way she had never considered before.