Page 11

CHAPTER 10

He agreed with them?

“You think I’m naive?” she asked, feeling a bit hurt. The last thing she’d thought was that he’d judge her the way her brothers did.

“That’s not what I mean,” he told her. “I don’t think you’re naive. At least, not in a bad way. I do think that you’re very trusting. You should have been more reserved and cautious when a stranger came to help you.”

“And instead I hugged you… is that what you mean?”

“Yes, sweetheart. That’s what I mean. Luckily for you, I wasn’t an asshole or someone who would hurt you. But that doesn’t mean I want to change you.”

“You don’t?” she asked. Because it kind of sounded like he did. And all she had ever wanted in life was to find someone who accepted her just the way she was. Her dad had tried. Uncle Timmy had come close. But still, she’d held back a bit with them. She’d kept her Little safe by only letting her fully out in her bedroom.

Sure, she generally dressed how she wanted and perhaps her Little was just part of her personality. She couldn’t keep her completely suppressed. But when it came to things like playing with her toy ponies or painting and drawing, or sucking on her thumb, which she did when she was really upset, she kept those things private.

“Why would I want to change perfection?” he asked.

Phoebe could feel herself blushing. Was he for real right now? How could he call her perfect? “I’m a mess.”

“I don’t think so. And you’ll stop that right now. What did I say about putting yourself down?” he demanded in a low voice.

Uh-oh. Her heart started to race. She had a feeling that she was in trouble here.

He raised his eyebrows and gave her a stern look. Grabbing the napkin, he wiped her fingers and mouth before doing the same for himself.

“You said that it was a rule that I wasn’t allowed to put myself down,” she said. “But I was just telling the truth about myself. I am a mess. I have no idea what I’m doing half the time. I flit from thing to thing. I don’t always like to think about serious things. I mean, sometimes I do when I’m adulting. But sometimes, I just want to forget that the world can be a horrible place. I want to believe the best in people, but like you said I can’t do that because it’s not reality. Because I could get into trouble. So I’m a mess!”

“No, little girl, you’re not a mess,” he growled at her. “But you are in trouble.”

Standing, he pulled out the tray and helped her down. Then he took hold of her hand. “Let’s go see if there is a free room where we can have a bit of a chat.”

Double uh-oh. She definitely did not like the sound of that.

Fifteen minutes later, he led her into a room she’d never been before. The playroom.

Barren had made certain that the room was free for their use first. Thank god he hadn’t told anyone the reason he wanted a private room.

Although she wondered if they’d seen something on her face because she’d gotten a couple of knowing looks.

Yikes.

The playroom was the sort of place she really wanted to spend time in… if she wasn’t in trouble. In one corner was a large crib and changing table with storage. She wouldn’t need the changing table. But the crib actually intrigued her more than she thought it would.

She tried not to look at it for too long, but when she turned she saw Barren watching her closely. Triple uh-oh. Although was it an uh-oh or was it a yay? She really wasn’t sure.

“Would you like to try the crib later?” he asked her.

She shook her head immediately without thought.

Urgh.

What was she doing? Was she being honest with herself? With him? She just didn’t know. Being in a crib wasn’t something she’d thought she would want, and it seemed to be difficult to admit to.

However, that didn’t mean if she wasn’t pushed slightly that it wasn’t something she wouldn’t like to try.

“Are you lying to me, little girl?” he asked in a deep voice.

Quadruple uh-oh.

Oh, dear, soon she was going to be in double figures of uh-oh. “I don’t mean to,” she whispered, chewing on her thumbnail. “I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t look so worried. There’s nothing to be scared about.” He reached out and took hold of her hand, drawing it away from her mouth. Then he tugged her against him, holding her tight to his chest.

She slumped into him. “How did you know this is what I needed?” she asked.

“Well, I’d like to claim to be able to read your mind, but I was mostly acting on instinct and frankly, it was also what I wanted.”

“Oh, you wanted a hug, too?” she asked.

“Yes, sweetheart. I really wanted a hug from you. I never want you to feel upset or scared and not feel like you can reach for me. You can always ask for a hug or just throw yourself into my arms. I will catch you.”

“Even if you’re angry with me?” she asked in a small voice.

“You thought I was angry at you?” he asked.

She nodded. “You weren’t?” To her surprise, he picked her up and carried her over to a large chair. Which actually sat next to another chair that faced the corner.

She didn’t want to think about what these two chairs were used for. There was a closet close by and it was probably best that she didn’t find out what was kept in it. He sat on the chair with her on his lap, facing him, her legs straddling his thighs.

Barren grasped hold of her chin, tilting her head back so she had to look at him. “I want to make it very clear that I wasn’t angry at you. I was upset that you might be lying to me. I realize now though, that perhaps you just couldn’t tell me what you needed? Is that right?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie. Really. I just… I’ve never thought about sleeping in a crib and it makes me nervous, and I didn’t know if it was something you wanted.” She sucked in a breath. “Sorry, I can’t believe I’m so indecisive and nervous. This isn’t me.”

“It’s because this is new. And you’re still unsure of me, which is understandable. Letting go can be hard unless you fully trust someone and it’s all right that you don’t. If I push you too hard, tell me to stop or say ‘red’. But, otherwise, I am going to push a bit to see where your limits are.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Good girl. Do you trust me enough to stop when you say red?”

“Yes, Daddy. Of course I trust you to do that.” Phoebe couldn’t do this with him if she didn’t.

“That’s my precious girl. We can have this room all day if we want, so there is plenty of time to play with everything and take a nap.”

She was excited about that. She’d managed to take in the rest of the room briefly when she’d walked in, so she knew there were lots of things she’d like to play with.

“All right, Daddy. I’d like that.”

“That’s my good girl. You’re being so brave that it blows my mind. I just don’t ever want you to be scared of me. Okay?”

“I wasn’t really scared of you, just scared of disappointing you.”

“Oh, my baby, I doubt that is even possible.”

“Can I play now, Daddy?”

“I know you’re dying to have a play, but there’s a couple of things we have to deal with first, isn’t there?”

She raised her thumb to her mouth, and he tugged that gently away.

“Firstly, there’s lines for throwing glitter around last night. Twenty-five lines saying that glitter is for crafting, not bombing people.”

Phoebe sighed heavily, but she was aware she was likely getting off lightly. It was the second part of this conversation that she was not looking forward to.

“Okay, Daddy.”

“The bigger thing we need to discuss is the fact that you broke a rule. A big rule. Putting yourself down is not something I will ever put up with. I would never allow anyone else to say something bad about you, so why would I let you say it?”

“Even if it’s really the truth?”

“It is not the truth. You are not a mess. The thing I agreed with your brothers about wasn’t that you were na?ve or that you needed to change. I think you are amazing just the way you are. A bit of self-preservation is needed, but as long as you have someone watching out for you, then you can be yourself. You just have to be safe. That’s all. And I want to help keep you safe so you can be you.”

She couldn’t help but sniffle. “No one ever wants all of me.”

“Oh, my baby, I do.” He brushed her hair off her face before leaning down to kiss her forehead, her nose, her cheeks and then finally her lips. “I want you. All of you. Please don’t hold back out of fear or worry. I can handle all of you. What’s more, I want to.”

Another sniffle and he drew her close to his chest and held her until she’d calmed down.

“You don’t know what those words mean to me. I’ve never had full acceptance.”

“Then let me show you what it feels like.”

She nodded and he pulled her back, giving her a serious look. “That does mean that sometimes you’re going to end up punished. Because there are rules and a lot of them are there for your safety, something I take very seriously. Understand? So when you break them, you get a sore butt. Or some other sort of consequence.”

“I understand,” she said.

“Then you know that after your lines you’re going to get a spanking for saying bad things about my girl.”

Quintuple uh-oh.

As Phoebe wrote her lines, Barren drew out his phone. With her permission, he’d asked to see the paperwork she would have filled out before coming to the Ranch. On it were her limits, likes, and dislikes.

He skimmed over them. There wasn’t much there that he hadn’t figured out. Her limits included having the cane used on her as well as being humiliated. She also didn’t want to be tied up when being disciplined.

She hadn’t ticked diaper play as an interest which was fine with him. But he did think she might enjoy the crib and perhaps a pacifier. He’d like to get her something to use instead of chewing on her nail.

Barren researched some ideas. He’d need to take her to the shop here and see if they had anything. Oh, and he had to make a call to the mechanic. Bringing up the number, he got his voicemail and left a message.

“Finished, Daddy!” she cried.

“Really? That was quick, little girl,” he said as he rose to go over to where she sat in the corner. He’d found some paper and a hardcover book so she could use that to write on. He took the paper and started counting the lines.

“You don’t need to count them, Daddy! There’s twenty-five.”

“Hmm, but in some of these lines you’re missing words. You need to re-do them. Lines seventeen, twenty-one and twenty-three.”

She sighed. “Are you sure that I have to re-do them? Couldn’t you just let me off because of good behavior?”

He snorted. “I wish I could. But no. Re-do them.”

“Gosh, you’re very strict, Daddy.”

“I can be stricter if I need to be,” he said in a stern voice as his phone beeped with a message.

“No, no, I got this.”

As she redid the lines, he checked his phone and saw a message from Zeus that they’d drop her vehicle off tomorrow. That was good.

“Now I’m finished, Daddy!” she cried, holding up the piece of paper.

“Bring it over here, little girl.”

She jumped up and skipped over, plopping herself down in his lap which made him smile. It seemed that when she was happy, she just let herself do what felt good. And what felt good to her definitely felt good to him.

He checked the lines. “What a good girl you are. All done.”

“Yay!” she clapped her hands and bounced on his lap.

“Whoa, careful there, little girl. We don’t want to cause any injuries.”

“Oops, sorry, Daddy. Spaghetti and meatballs okay?”

“And we also don’t want to call anything spaghetti and meatballs,” he added.

She giggled and he had to smile again before he set the piece of paper to one side. Then he stood her on her feet, turning her around to face him. He held her hips as he stared up at her.

“Now, we have another punishment to take care of.”

That lower lip slid out.

He swore that she was testing his control with that pout, but he wasn’t going to bend. He only wanted to do what was best for her, and if he let her break the rules without consequence now, it wouldn’t end well. She might start to think he would never back up what he said with action.

“Right, little girl. You’re going over my lap. I’m only going to spank you with my hand this time. But if you break this same rule again, you might find yourself getting spanked with my belt or a paddle.”

Her eyes widened. “A paddle? The belt?”

“That’s right. What’s your safe word?”

“Red,” she replied.

“Good. You’ll use it if you need to but I’m going to keep a close eye on you. Take off your slippers and tights, then over my lap.”

Slowly, she put her slippers to one side, followed by her tights before he helped position her. He drew up her pleated skirt and discovered she wore white panties with a big red love heart across the satin.

“I love how cute your clothes are.” He rubbed her bottom with gentle strokes before tugging her panties down. She was tense and he knew he had to get her to relax slightly. “Your ass is gorgeous. So beautiful. A work of art.”

She giggled, relaxing. “No, it isn’t!”

“Um, yes it is. No contradicting your elders.”

“Daddy!”

“Yes?”

“You can’t say no contradicting your elders!”

“Why not?” he asked, lightly running his fingers over her thighs.

“Stop! Stop! That tickles!”

“Does it?” he asked with fake disbelief. “Goodness. I didn’t realize. And why can’t I say that?”

“Because you are always gonna be older than me! Then you could use it anytime.”

“Hmm, I didn’t think of that, you’re right. I could use it anytime I like.”

“Daddy! Nooo,” she cried.

“Don’t say no to me, I’m older than you. Yes, this works perfectly.”

“Daddy!” she protested.

That’s when he struck, smacking his hand down onto her ass. She let out a cry of protest, but he didn’t stop. He wanted to give her several spanks so she could get an idea of what to expect. Of how hard he spanked.

After several smacks to her gorgeous ass, he stopped and rubbed the pink skin.

“Daddy!”

“Yes, little girl?”

“That hurt.”

“It’s supposed to hurt.”

“Gosh, I’m so glad that’s over,” she said emphatically. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to sit tomorrow.”

Hmm. Was she being genuine or was she pretending it hurt really badly so he wouldn’t spank her more?

“Little girl?”

“Yes, Daddy? Can I get off your lap now?”

“No, I’m afraid you have to stay right where you are.”

She turned her head to look back up at him. “Why?”

“Because that was only four spanks, my baby,” he told her.

“Yes! Four spanks is a lot! It hurt.”

“It was barely a warm-up.”

“It was a spanking!”

“It was not a spanking,” he countered. “I only stopped so I could check in with you. This is your first spanking with a Daddy Dom, and I wanted to make sure that you didn’t need to stop.”

“I do need to stop!”

“So you’re in too much pain to continue? You feel that being spanked isn’t a punishment you would like?” he asked.

“Oh.”

He waited for a moment while she thought about it. “I guess I’m not in that much pain, and I don’t want to rule out spankings.”

“They’re not a hard limit?”

“No, Daddy. At least, not at the moment. After my spanking I might change my mind.”

“What do you say if you want me to stop?” he asked.

“Red,” she said.

“Good girl. If it becomes too much, too painful, too overwhelming I expect you to say red. Understand?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

He started to spank her again before she could begin to worry. He spanked until her bottom went from pink to red and she started sobbing. Then he stopped so he could rub her lower back soothingly as she cried.

Carefully, he lifted her up so she was straddling him on the chair. He hadn’t spanked her too hard or long, not wanting to scare her or push her too much. But it had been a decent spanking, and she needed some tender care. Pulling her close, he rubbed her back as she sobbed against his chest.

“That’s it, little girl. Just let go. I have you. Daddy has you and he’s not going to let you go.”