Chapter Twenty-Seven

Natalie

I am really regretting eating all that junk food as I force myself up off Daddy’s lap. My stomach twists and churns, and I am vaguely worried about losing its contents all over the table.

But then Daddy rests his hand on my back, and the churning eases. It doesn’t stop entirely, but I no longer feel like I might be sick. Because if Daddy is with me, then I can handle whatever comes next.

“Bend over the edge of the table, kitten. Just like you did at our first family dinner.”

When he shoved ginger in my ass, spanked me, and then fucked me in front of everyone.

Right.

Breathing deeply, I force my upper body to bend, lowering my torso to the smooth wood. Daddy pulls my nightgown up and I can’t quite stop the whimper that escapes when he tugs at the tabs of my diaper.

“Shhh, kitten. Daddy’s right here. This is going to be a very long, very painful punishment. But then it will be all done and Daddy will hold you as long as you want. Okay?”

“Y-yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl.”

And with that, the diaper is whisked from my bottom, removing the last bit of protection between me and my very angry family members.

“Daddy’s going to warm you up with his hand first,” Daddy says, patting my quivering bottom cheeks. “So you can take whatever our family thinks you deserve.”

A sharp slap lands on my right cheek, not nearly as hard as when he spanked me in the library but more than enough to sting. Over and over he spanks, until my whole bottom feels warm and tingly. It might actually feel nice if I didn’t have the knowledge of what was about to happen hovering over me.

“All right, kitten,” he says when he’s finished, cupping my bottom in his large hand. “I’m going to let your Uncles and Auntie Cat take over now. I know this is a really big punishment, but you’re my good, brave girl and you’re not going to move out of position.”

Something about being called brave by a man I’m certain has faced death on multiple occasions gives me a boost of courage. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl. Cat, would you like to go first?”

“I believe I shall.” Leaning over the table, she picks up my hairbrush, her lips curling up in a wicked smile. “You know I’m partial to the classics.”

Fuck. Just my luck she’d pick something I just got spanked with not that long ago, recently enough that my bottom clenches at the remembered pain when she taps the wood against my bare skin.

“Family is everything here on the island, Natalie,” she lectures as she taps. “And our family protects its members. We do not go out of our way to expose secrets or cause pain. Hopefully this is the last time we ever need to have this discussion.”

“Yes, Auntie Cat.”

The first swat from the hairbrush drives me up onto my toes and I realize with a sudden horror that Auntie Cat spanks a lot harder than my Papa.

A lot harder.

It only takes three hard swats for tears to fill my eyes as I dance on my toes, desperately trying to keep myself in position. “Owie, Auntie Cat! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please, it hurts, it hurts!”

“You know what would hurt more?” She takes aim at my sit spots and my howls of pain echo around the dining room.

“The embarrassment your friends would have to endure if the world found out about this island. Not to mention what might have happened to your uncles. Trust me, little girl, you are getting off very easy.”

By the time she caps off my paddling with two hard swats to the tops of my thighs, I’m sniffling and whimpering at the ache in my bottom, tears pooling beneath my cheek on the table.

As much as it hurts, though, I know she’s right. A spanking, even one as long and painful as this, is a much lighter sentence than I deserve.

“Poor little thing,” she murmurs, brushing a lock of hair away from my tear-soaked face. “I’m all done. Auntie Cat forgives you, sweet girl.”

Pressing a kiss to my cheek, she returns to her seat and picks up her wine, sipping as I try to breathe through the pain in my scorched bottom.

“All right,” Daddy says from behind me. “Who’s next?”

Evander

It’s more difficult than I’d imagined, watching each of my brothers choose an implement to punish my naughty little kitten with.

Perhaps because I’m not as in control of this spanking as I have been when Lucas has punished her in my stead, perhaps because my heart breaks with every cry they rip from her lips.

Whatever the reason, it takes all my self-control not to step in as they each take their place behind her.

Maxwell chooses my belt, leaving six defined welts across my Little one’s backside before repeating Cat’s promises of forgiveness and absolution.

Gideon, to my surprise, chooses the wooden spoon.

I would have expected him to go for something with a bit more heft considering he had the most to lose if his secrets were revealed to the world.

Some people might be able to overlook Maxwell and Jasper’s blackmail. Outright kidnapping, however…

But it quickly becomes clear that even though he chose a lighter implement, he has no intention of going easy on my poor little kitten.

By the time he finishes peppering her bottom with more swats than I can count, she is sobbing against the table, babbling promises of good behavior forever and ever, that none of us truly expect her to keep.

As soon as Gideon tells her she’s forgiven, I step in, scooping her up to cradle her in my arms as she cries.

“She needs a break,” I snap at Jasper when he raises his eyebrows in a clear question. “We can finish this in the morning.”

Well, later in the morning. After we’ve all had a good rest and her bottom has had a chance to heal.

“No!” Pushing away from my chest, Natalie shakes her head. “I don’t want to wait. I just w-want it over with so everyone can s-stop hating me.”

“Oh, kitten.” Again, my heart cracks in two at her words. “Nobody hates you.”

“Y-yes they do! And they should! I’m a horrible person!”

Her body shakes with the force of her sobs and it’s clear that she’s not crying so much from the pain in her bottom, but the ache in her heart. An ache that will only grow worse through the night if I don’t let her finish her punishment.

“All right, kitten. If you can calm down for me a bit, you can have the rest of your spankings.”

Curled into me, she drags in one deep breath, then another, until at last her sobs quiet to sniffles and she sits up on my lap, wincing slightly at the movement.

“Okay, Daddy. I’m ready.”

Though it kills me to do so, I help her back over the edge of the table. Jasper takes his place, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to choose something else when he picks up the large acrylic paddle.

But if I interfere now, Natalie won’t feel like she got the punishment she’s earned, and the guilt will eat her alive.

So I force myself to stay quiet as Jasper delivers six surprisingly gentle swats to my babygirl’s red and welted bottom before dropping a kiss to her hair and murmuring something I can’t quite hear.

Whatever he said though, it leaves a smile on my kitten’s face as he returns to his seat.

Stepping back up to the table, I run my hand over her heated flesh, soothing as much of the ache as I can. I meet Maxwell’s dark gaze and he nods slightly, encouraging me to continue.

“Okay, Victoria. Your turn.”

“ What ?” Natalie’s voice rises to a screech as she cranes her head around to look up at me. “You can’t be serious!”

From her spot on her Daddy’s lap, Victoria stares at me, her eyes round with surprise. “Me?” she squeaks out, looking around as though she might see another Victoria seated at the table with us.

“Yes, little thief. Natalie would have hurt you girls as well if she exposed us, so it’s only fair you get to punish her as well.”

“Oh, but… I’m not… I really think she’s had enough.”

“I don’t.” Sliding from her Daddy’s lap, Juliet scans the offerings on the table before reaching for the slim black cane. “I’ll take a couple whacks.”

“Not with that, princess.” Jasper plucks the cane from her hand. “That’s for grown-ups only.”

“No fair!” Crossing her arms, Juliet pouts up at him. “I thought we could pick anything from the table!”

“If you hit her too hard with this, you could cut her. If you really want to use the cane, I will do it for you. Otherwise, pick something else.”

Gratitude overwhelms me as I meet Jasper’s gaze across the table. I wouldn’t have let Juliet anywhere near my baby with that cane, but I’m glad I didn’t have to be the one to step in.

“Nobody ever lets me do anything,” Juliet mutters as she scans the rest of the implements and reaches for the brush. “I know from experience this thing hurts like hell when Auntie Cat uses it, so I guess this will have to do.”

“Six swats and then you're done, princess.”

Taking her place behind Natalie, Juliet taps the wooden back against the bright red target in front of her before bringing her arm back and swinging it forward. Natalie yelps as the brush makes contact once, twice, three times.

“I’m sorry, Juju, I’m sorry!”

Frowning, Juliet looks up at her Daddy, tears sparkling in her clear blue eyes. “Can I be done, Daddy? That didn’t feel as good as I thought it would.”

“Of course, princess. But do you think maybe Nelly would like some cuddles and for you to let her know you forgive her?”

To everyone’s surprise, Juliet does exactly that, throwing herself at Natalie and giving her a long hug. “I forgive you, Nelly. No more telling people our secrets though, okay?”

“I won’t, I p-promise.”

It takes some coaxing, but Isabella and Victoria both choose the wooden spoon, giving Natalie three light swats each before telling her they forgive her. When they’ve finally finished, I once again scoop my sobbing Little girl up in my arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“There we go, baby. It’s all over. My sweet little kitten.”

Bending down to pick her bag up from the floor, Cat pulls out a bottle of milk and hands it to me. “Freshly pumped this evening. When I got Lucas’s call, I had a feeling our little Nelly was going to need a treat.”

Once again, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude as I take the bottle. “Thanks, Cat. I appreciate you.”

“No need to thank me. I know when I have a Little one of my own, you’ll all be there for me. That’s just what families do.”

One by one, they all rise from the table, stopping to tell my kitten how loved she is as they all make their way toward the front door. When they’ve gone and it’s just me and Natalie and Lucas, I look up, into the eyes of the man I’ve considered a father nearly my entire life.

“You should get her to bed,” Lucas says, his eyes full of more emotion than I think I’ve ever seen in them. “I’ll clean up down here and see you both in the morning.”

“Thank you, Lucas. I don’t know how I would do this without you.”

He smiles, and some of the clouds clear from his eyes. “You’d manage. But I’m happy to be here. I love her too, you know.”

“I know.” And because I know, my heart is light as I carry her upstairs to my bedroom.

Stretching out on the bed with Natalie beside me, I bring the bottle to her lips, and that same heart trips in my chest as she sucks greedily at the rubber nipple. Poor little kitten.

In no time at all, she’s finished the bottle. Pulling the tip from between her lips, I set it aside, wrapping my arms tightly around her as she whimpers and sniffles softly.

After several long minutes, her whimpers fade and the sound of her deep breathing reaches my ears.

She’s asleep, finally, so I slip from the bed to get a fresh diaper, swaddling her in the soft cotton before slipping beneath the covers with her once more.

With my babygirl safe in my arms, I slide deep into sleep alongside her.