Page 31 of The Dragon’s Good Girl

Her breath catches.

I let my thumb brush once along her jaw before lowering my hand. “I promised you a reward if you followed the rules.”

Her eyebrows lift. “I thought you meant that figuratively.”

“I rarely say things I don’t mean.”

“Here’s your reward, Angel. Tonight you don’t lift a finger. I'll undress you. I'll take you apart slowly and I'll feed you. You spent a week taking care of yourself—now you get a night where every single thing is done for you, and all you have to do is take it, like my good girl.”

I take her hand and lead her farther into the room. She spots the robe waiting near the bathroom, then the blanket on the bed, and I watch recognition move across her face as she realizes I remembered what she reached for last week.

I stop in front of her and reach for the top button of her blouse, but I don’t touch it yet. “May I undress you?”

She nods automatically.

I raise an eyebrow.

A small smile tugs at her mouth. “Yes, sir.”

“Better.”

I undo the first button slowly, then the next, watching her face as I go. There’s still nervousness there, but it isn’t the same tension she carried into this room last week. She knows me now, at least a little. Enough that when I pause, she doesn’t rush to fill the silence or ask what she should be doing.

By the time I reach the final button, her breathing has changed.

I ease the blouse from her shoulders and set it aside before reaching for her bra. “Still with me?”

“Yes, sir.”

I remove it and let my hands settle at her waist, giving her a moment before continuing. Her skin is warm beneath my palms, and when I draw them slowly up her sides, she leans into the touch rather than holding herself rigid beneath it.

That small movement pleases me. She’s leaning in, not bracing against me.

Last week, I could feel every moment she nearly apologized for her body. Today, there’s still hesitation, but she isn’t trying quite so hard to disappear from my hands.

I slide my hands from her waist to her hips and gently turn her around. She goes easily, settling with her back to my chest.

“Relax for me, Angel.”

Her shoulders drop a little, though I can still feel the tension beneath my palms when I run them up her back. I take my time with it, spreading my hands over the tight muscles beneath her shoulder blades before working my thumbs slowly along either side of her spine. The heat from my palms sinks into her skin, and with each pass, some of the tension begins to ease.

Her shoulders gradually loosen beneath my palms.

“There,” I murmur. “That’s better.”

Margot exhales and lets her head tip forward, giving me easier access to the back of her neck. I sweep her hair over one shoulder and work my hand gently along the muscles there, then down across her shoulder before returning to her waist. Each time I pass the same places, there’s a little less tension waiting for me.

I don’t hurry her. I want her to feel what I’m doing, and slowly, she stops trying to anticipate me. Her weight settles more comfortably beneath my hands, her breathing evens out, and each time I work my palms over her shoulders and down her back, she relaxes a little more.

When most of the tension has left her, I let my hands slide down to her waist and gently turn her to face me again.

Her hands find my chest as she turns, palms resting against me as though it’s the most natural place for them to go. I glance down at them, then back at her face.

“Good girl.”

The praise brings another flush to her face, but this time she doesn’t look away. She stays exactly where she is, hands resting against my chest, while I draw her closer.

After a moment, I let my hands fall to the waistband of her skirt. “Let’s get the rest of this off you.”