The silence in the office thickened to something almost tangible. The air felt warmer now, charged with an unseen electricity that made every hair on Rachel's arms stand up.
She stood frozen, her blue eyes wide and shimmering with a mix of and confusion, full lips parted in stunned disbelief as Devon's command lingered in the air.
"Strip. I want to see you naked."
The words hit her like a sudden wave, and she blinked slowly, once, then again, as if blinking might make them fade away or turn into something else. Her mind raced, trying to process, to convince herself she had heard wrong.
A soft, incredulous breath escaped her parted lips, barely audible over the distant city hum, her chest rising and falling quicker now.
"You… you want me to undress?" she repeated, her voice a fragile whisper laced with shock, a faint tremor running through it like a shiver down her spine.
