Page 13

"Do I have to go to sleep?" I ask. I bat my eyes at him and put on my best, most innocent voice. He can't say no to me, can he?

"Yes, baby. You have to be up early tomorrow and we can't have you tired, right? That's not good for your health." I pout, even if I know he's right. Big me has been keeping a schedule to sleep enough each night, but tonight I'm having fun and want to play.

"But the coffee shop isn't too far," I argue. "I can sleep a little longer before I have to wake up, so I can stay up later."

"Tyler, this isn't up for debate." His voice is firm and if he didn't have a happy glint in his eyes and the smallest tick of a smirk, I'd think he was actually getting annoyed. I play into it.

"I don't wanna go," I say. I turn away from him and this time, I move up to sit on the couch. "I wanna play more."

"Baby, we can play for a few more minutes, but if you're going to act like this we can go to bed now. What do you want?"

I look at him, still pouting a bit. I do want to play more. I want to play with Daddy. I give up the pretense of being bratty and sigh. "I sorry. I want to play, please."

"Thank you," Daddy says. "How about we play a card game and then I can read you a book?"

"Okay."

Daddy grabs a deck of cards from a basket under the coffee table and shuffles them. We start with a round of Go Fish and when Daddy wins by a lot, we play War. I laugh every time we slap our hands down on top of each other. It takes almost twenty minutes for one of us to win.

"I win!" I say, cut off immediately by a surprise yawn. I cover my mouth with my hand until I'm done.

"And I think that means bedtime, Ty." Daddy puts the cards back in the box and adds the other toys as well. I rub at one of my eyes and sigh. I don't have the energy to fight him on bedtime now. "Come on, baby. Do you have your medicine with you?"

I nod and Daddy leaves me in the hallway to get the medicine. He's back in under a minute and guiding me to the bathroom. He drops the pill into my hand and I swallow it with no problem with a sip of water from the bathroom sink.

"Make sure you use the bathroom before you come to bed, okay?"

I nod and wait for Daddy to shut the bathroom door before I pull my shorts down and relieve my bladder.

I let everything in the last forty minutes float through my mind, wanting to store each moment in my brain.

I had fun tonight and I do hope we do this again.

I liked the feeling of pushing the line a bit, too.

I didn't do that with Mark and I definitely didn't do it with Remington. He scares me too much to not behave.

I finish up and wash my hands before brushing my teeth. It's the same toothbrush that he gave me last time I stayed. When I make it to the bedroom, he's already laying in bed. He's shirtless with the blanket covering his waist and legs and has a book in his hand.

"All done?" he asks with a smile. He reaches over and pats the mattress beside him.

"I am." I join him in the bed and don't hesitate to snuggle up beside him. I almost want to take my shirt off too, but I love my jammies too much. "Thank you for doing this."

"I've enjoyed it," Brandt says. He lays the book on his other side and turns in the bed to face me. He gives me a lazy kiss before pulling back and I see his eyes searching mine. I'm not sure what for. "Are you in your big headspace to talk about it?"

I appreciate that he's asking. I know with Mark we laid out the rules before we started, but he's an established Daddy and Brandt will be learning on the job, so to speak.

I don't mind if he checks in after scenes or during, or really whenever.

We'll be learning together. "I am enough for us to talk about what we did.

" I smile and shift my legs so they're tangled with his.

"But I still demand cuddles after this."

"You got it, my Prince." Brandt says the words softly and I want to melt against him. I love the nickname. "Did you like what we did tonight? I know it wasn't for a long time, but did you have fun?"

"I did," I say honestly. "I liked when you got a little stern too."

"Really?" He seems surprised, but in a happy way at that. "Can I tell you a secret? I've pictured how we would work together in scenes like this and it almost always ends with you being a little bratty. Not a lot, but a few tantrums or talking back."

"I can do that." My whole body is on board with that for sure. "I haven't thrown a tantrum while I'm Little yet, but I can definitely do it. What will I get for it?"

"Well." Brandt brushes his fingertips against my temple and down my cheek. "I think it'll depend on how bratty you become. I like the thought of making you sit in time out or writing lines to say you're sorry."

"What about spankings?" As soon as the words are out, I see his face change and I can't tell if it's good or not. "Or not?"

"I'm sorry," Brandt says. "I'm not comfortable with spankings. I swore I'd never be like that. My brother and I have both talked about it. Even with someone consenting, I don’t think I’d enjoy it."

I can see the sadness in his eyes and in his voice. I can see the pain in the way his lips dip down and his hands still against my jaw. I rest my palm against his chest, scratching lightly against the hair there. I don’t want to pry, he’ll tell me when he’s ready. If ever.

"We don't have to, Daddy. I can do something else for you."

"You are too sweet, Prince. Thank you for understanding that."

I don't know what to say to that, so I bury my face against his chest and wrap an arm around his waist. I feel his chest rumble with a quiet laugh as he kisses the top of my head.

"Do you want Daddy to read to you tonight?"