Val takes initiative

Chase didn't summon Val for another week. He wanted to see how well she did without his constant reinforcement. Could "Val" stay in control on her own, without weakening or reverting back to Valeria?

Chase finally met with her again. He sat across from Val, dim light catching on the faint smirk she already wore. He felt she no longer needed to lay on the couch. She didn’t even need invitation to settle into the chair anymore — her body seemed to remember the posture, the way her hands rested in her lap, the way her eyes locked on his.

“Close your eyes,” he said softly, and she obeyed without hesitation.

“Deep breath in… slow breath out… sinking back into yourself..."

Chase had her review her activities over the last week and he was very please with her progress. She had stayed "Val" with no backsliding. In fact, it seemed like she had progressed even further on her own initiative. Something she said about what had happened earlier today caught his attention.

"Tell me about this morning,” Chase murmured.

A little laugh escaped her lips. “Diego kept staring at me over breakfast. Like he couldn’t decide if he was scared… or something else.”

“And?”

“I crossed my legs on purpose. Slow. Just to watch him blush.”

Chase grinned. Perfect. She was using her sexuality to tease and manipulate. He could hardly believed she did that to Diego without any prompting. Chase needed to encourage that behavior, being careful to couch his words in a way to get her to go even further with Diego.

“That’s the thing, Val… you’re starting to understand. Fear is good. But confusion? Confusion is power.”

Her lips curled faintly.

“Because he's even weaker when he doesn’t know whether to hate you or—” Chase started.

“—want me,” she finished, voice low.

Exactly. That’s the Val I know.”

He began pacing slowly around her, voice lowering to a near whisper in her ear.

“Think back. High school. Remember the way you’d lean over some boy’s desk, knowing his eyes were glued to you? How you’d laugh when you caught him?”

A slow, indulgent breath escaped her.

“Now take that memory… and bring it home. Picture Diego. Sitting on the couch. You walk past in a short skirt, just a little too close. You feel his eyes, don’t you?”

“Yes…” she breathed.

“And you let him see. Because Val doesn’t hide. Val makes him look. Makes him feel guilty. And then…” Chase let the pause stretch, “…sometimes Val touches him. Not much. Just enough to make him question what’s happening. A hand on his thigh when you’re ‘reaching for the remote.’ A little bump of your hip when you walk by.”

Her breathing had deepened, lips parted slightly.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it messes with him,” she whispered.

“And?”

“…Because it’s fun.”

Chase leaned close, his breath warm at her ear. “Because it makes you feel alive, doesn’t it? Power, control, the rush when his face goes red…”

A small shiver passed through her.

Time to reinforce his earlier work and bring it all together. “That’s the real you. That’s Val. Valeria’s just the boring mask you wear for work. But Val? She’s the one Diego will remember every time he closes his eyes.”

Her mouth curved into a slow, wicked smile even with her eyes shut.

Now how to work this so Diego is tortured the most...

"Val, you understand that confusing Diego, keeping him off-balance adds to your thrill... to the power you wield over him. If simply teasing him with a hint of your sexuality does that to him, imagine how much you can mess with him by switching back and forth on how you treat him. He will never know what to expect."

"Okay..." she said, in an interested but uncertain tone.

"Think about it. You can put him off guard one day by acting like Valeria with him. Treat him as the weak, placating, "loving" mother Valeria would do. But you are still Val - Valeria the kind mother and dedicated doctor is simply a mask you take on or off at will. And Val is always in control, no matter which mask you wear."

"Yes. I can wear a mask of her but I'm always me."

"That's right, you will always be in control, not Valeria. Strong, sharp Val. But you can use your Valeria mask to lull Diego's suspicions and lower his guard. Then at other times you can truly be yourself and crush him like the bug he is. Understand me?"

"Oh, yes ... I do..." she sneered.

"Val, to be the most effective you can combine these two tools. You can be ‘nice’ to Diego acting like Valeria and yet be suggestive. Not obvious. Just little hints that make him nervous — a casual brush of your arm, a smile that lingers a moment too long, a tilt of your head that makes him wonder what you’re thinking. You want him second-guessing himself.”

She shifted slightly, a knowing smile flickering.

“Good. You see, that’s the bait.”

Chase’s tone sharpened. “Then, when you switch to Val, you snap. You mock him — call him pathetic, laugh at his stupid crush, make it clear he’s nothing but a weak little boy who doesn’t stand a chance against you.”

Valeria’s lips twitched upward.

“Make it sting. Make it humiliating. Let him feel how powerless he is. That’s the point.”

She blinked open her eyes, a mischievous glint shining through.

“You want me to be nice… but also cruel?” she whispered.

“Exactly.” Chase nodded. “Keep him off balance. Confused. That way, every time he feels that little spark of hope, you’re there to stomp on it. That tension, that need to please… that’s what makes him yours.”

Valeria let out a slow, sultry laugh. “I think I’m going to like that.”

Chase smiled. “I knew you would.”

“When you open your eyes,” Chase said, “you’ll think we were just talking about confidence. But every time you see Diego look at you, you’ll remember this feeling… and you’ll want to feed it.”

“Mmhm…” she murmured.

“Open.”

She did — and though her expression was mild, Chase caught the spark in her eyes.