Clare's POV

"David, just relax and listen to my voice. That's it, let everything else fade away. Your eyelids are getting so heavy, aren't they? Good boy. Now, breathe in deeply and feel your body sinking deeper into the chair. You're safe here with me, completely under my control."

I watched him closely as I spoke those words, my voice low and steady, wrapping around him like a warm blanket he couldn't escape.

David sat across from me in my office, his broad shoulders slumping forward, his chest rising and falling in that slow rhythm I knew meant he was slipping under.

God, the power of it thrilled me every...