My Lord?

                                    

                                          
** TW: The following chapter contains descriptions of sexual coercion and physical violence. DO NOT READ if you are not prepared to encounter such content. **
You'd think, after all my dealings thus far with Tom, I'd at least learned not to be surprised, or caught off guard, by him or his outrageous propositions. 
Apparently not. Because at the present moment, I found myself completely frozen in shock. And as I sat perched beside him, I internally began to panic. 
Is he toying with me? Does he know, or at the very least suspect, that I've absolutely no control over the barrier?
Biting my tongue, I averted my gaze, my eyes finding their way down to my lap. 
He might - he might just have an inkling ... 
If so, this is an extraordinarily cruel measure on his part. Offering me something he believes (correctly, in this case) might be potentially impossible, just to see if I'll bite. A taunt and a challenge, designed to push me into proving his suspicions.
And you're surprised by this sadism ... because why?
I knew I had no time. I knew that right now, in the mere seconds that'd passed, my silence was conveying volumes to him, threatening to expose me. And I knew he was watching me with keen fascination, noting every single detail about my conscious and unconscious body language.
The offer he'd just extended was far more than an erotic proposition. It was an unimaginable gift to me given my circumstances. Letting him dip in my mind while fooling around with me, though violating and degrading, was temporary, short-term. The mere fact that he'd consider offering me the ability to name a term on a permanent, immutable contract between us - when he doesn't have to – 
It's completely illogical on his part. Unless, of course, he's gambling that I won't - or can't - accept.
This is a call out. And he's going about it in the most exposing way possible.
Tom let me sit with my thoughts, and as the silence between us stretched on, my ability to think rationally continued to erode.
Say something, anything. You must. Go on, just -
Clearing my throat, I kept my eyes fixed downward, "Right. Well..."
I watched his hand slide upwards from my thigh to my hip as I trailed off helplessly. 
More miserable silence, the weight of which I felt terribly. Finally, he whispered to me, his tone playful, "Ironic, isn't it? How just a moment ago, you interrupted me repeatedly, and yet now, when I give you licence to speak freely, you're suddenly so lost for words."
"Not lost for words. Just making some quick calculations, that's all."
"They don't seem very quick to me. To be completely honest, you seem, from my perspective, rather stuck. Distressed even."
This prick.
I steadfastly refused to look at him, even though I knew I was damning myself by doing so. My hands, in the ultimate display of treachery, pushed off his desk and onto my lap. I fiddled with them helplessly as I mentally continued to search for a solution I knew wouldn't appear. 
"Now might be the time..." Tom murmured, his hold on my hip tightening, "To unburden yourself to me. If there's anything vitally important you've neglected to tell me, that is."
Bloody hell. 
No. Not a chance. Never.
"I've nothing to say. Nothing at all," I replied flatly.