Jeremy handed the ruler to Ethan, who stroked his big hand over her exposed skin once more. It took all of Alice’s willpower not to clench her fleshy cheeks. She may be nervous, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let them know that.

Both men were right behind her now, and one of them let out a low whistle. From the words that were spoken next, she gathered it was Jeremy. ‘That’s quite a sight, isn’t it, comrade? Our Alice bent over, arse in the air, slit on display. She looks …’ He seemed lost for words now; a rare occurrence.

‘Beautiful,’ Ethan supplied. ‘She looks beautiful, mate. My cock is rock hard already, and all I’ve done is stroke her bum.’

Her face grew hot. The two men were examining her, and far from finding her lacking, they thought she was beautiful. And Ethan had admitted to having a hard-on caused by the sight of her naked arse and pussy.

Jeremy laughed. ‘And you’re not the only one. I’m tempted to stick my cock inside her cunt right here and now. Never mind the spanking!’

‘In that case, I’d better get on with it, hadn’t I?’

The two men exchanged a look. Jeremy nodded slowly. ‘Excellent. We were hoping you’d say that. Now –’ he looked at his watch ‘– we still have an hour or so before the staff turn up for today’s shift. I have an idea how we can make good use of that time. Let’s go to the schoolroom.’

Shit. She hadn’t been expecting that. After she’d agreed, she thought they’d all go on their merry ways and begin their working day. But it seemed Jeremy wanted to start playing kinky games before work – which somehow made it all the more extreme, given the fact they could get interrupted by an early staff member requesting admittance to the building. As well as that, Jeremy had mentioned the schoolroom, which was the location of the first task on the list. If memory served her correctly, they certainly weren’t starting her off with an easy challenge. Far from it.

She fell into line behind Jeremy and Ethan as they left the room. Silently, she followed them through the house, psyching herself up for what would happen next. By the time they reached the schoolroom, Alice was feeling calm and confident – she was sure she could handle the task, which would bring her one step closer to her goal.

Jeremy opened the door, and Ethan and Alice walked in before him. Jeremy pulled the door to, and gave Ethan a nod. They’d obviously discussed this beforehand, because Ethan knew exactly what to do.

‘Alice,’ he said, firmly but softly. ‘Bend over a desk and pull your dress up around your waist.’

Alice was extremely glad that she’d obeyed her orders and not worn knickers that day. She’d have been caught out very early on if she hadn’t. Moving to the nearest desk, she did as Ethan asked.

‘Good,’ Ethan said, moving close behind her and caressing her bare buttocks. ‘These won’t be nearly as pale when I’m finished.’

Alice was surprised that Ethan was going to be the one doing it. She’d always thought of Jeremy as the ringleader and assumed it would be him. She was about to have her arse turned red, though, so it hardly mattered who was going to do it.

Alice became aware of Jeremy moving to the front of the classroom and retrieving something from the teacher’s desk. He didn’t bother to hide the item as it was an integral part of the task, and therefore she already knew what it was.

A wooden ruler. Watching Jeremy – and, more specifically, the ruler’s journey – from the corner of her eye, her resolve slipped a little. It was wood, for goodness’ sake! It would hurt if a weakling swung it at her bare cheeks, never mind a muscular giant of a man. Fuck.