And as Dahlia's command reverberated in the air, William felt as though his world had tilted, the ground beneath him shifting like sand on a stormy beach.
He blinked, his mind struggling to comprehend the request, the implications of her command like a puzzle with no apparent solution.
"What... what did you say?" He asked, his voice a tremulous whisper.
Dahlia's expression remained unchanged, her lips pressed into a thin, uncompromising line.
"You heard me, William." She said, her voice a steel whip that cracked through the silence. "Pull off your shirt." She commanded, her words like an incantation, summoning forth a truth that had been hidden beneath the surface.
Dahlia's patience, a patience forged in steel and fire, seemed to be wearing thin as she watched William, her eyes like two coals, smoldering with desire and determination.
