Vox could think of a long list of questions and actions he'd prefer over her pampering him like a child, and he was still deciding whether to go along to get along or tell her such, when Hestia bit her lip. He could tell by the daze in her eyes that it had been hard enough to hurt, and that she didn't dislike the sensation. Why she'd do such a thing jangled all his alarm bells, for surely she'd offered the tease for him, and just as clearly, she knew it would be effective. She knew he liked her pain, and that was something a coworker should definitely not know.
"I like the idea of you caring for me," he said softly, though it was a lie.
As he led her in the right direction, he struggled with the ramifications of this unforeseen development. Every iota of common sense he had, all his carefully constructed efficiencies, begged him to break things off entirely, lay low for a few weeks, and hope the mess blew over. All of his carefully constructed fantasies contradicted those plans, and he struggled to convince himself of any plan that would allow him to keep his new plaything.
Unable to hold back the question any longer, he asked, "So, what is your position here? I'm an executioner for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. Thus the sword."