by Allison West
“It suits me, for now.” Damien turned and headed out of the room. “Are you coming?” he asked, glancing briefly over his shoulder at Holden, waiting for him to catch up.
He wanted to see Jade and though he knew it would be a great adjustment for her, he prayed she’d take to it, unsure of the consequence for insubordination.
Holden wandered down the hall and Damien handed over a key to the room.
“Seeing as how she’s your little one, I expect you will need this. Your room is across the hall, but she’s never to step foot in there. Is that clear? You may visit her room only during the day. There is absolutely no fraternizing whatsoever.”
“Yes, I understand.” He ignored Damien’s stare as he pushed the key into the lock and turned the handle, stepping quietly into the darkened room. He shut the door behind him and reached for the light, only to realize Jade lay asleep in bed as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. In the furthest corner, a small nightlight sat perched to the wall, glowing the room in a sheath of warm amber.
He inched toward the bed, keeping quiet not wanting to stir her awake. Her dark brown hair lay tangled against the pillow, the quilt pulled up tight around her petite form as she slept soundly. Holden didn’t want to wake her, but he knew her nanny would be in soon. It was best for them to talk while they had a small ounce of privacy between them. Gently he perched himself at the edge of the bed, the mattress sinking slightly under his weight.
Jade stirred, her eyes flashing open as the movement jousted her awake. Apparently she was a light sleeper. Had her irises been rimmed with a golden halo? From the dark he couldn’t tell.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked. Her dark eyes stared up at him, wide as he reached for the bedside lamp. “Don’t,” she said, warning him. “We don’t want to alert Nanny Marie that I’m awake.”
“Why?” The scared look in her eyes told him that already something had happened. He hoped it hadn’t been to Jade. “Did Nanny Marie hurt you?” Anger bubbled inside of him. If that woman did something to harm Jade, he’d whisk her away down to the surface of Adair, even if it meant risking his own life.
Her eyes watered as she nodded, pulling the covers tighter around her body. “She spanked me!”
Holden grinned, the tension dissipating from his shoulders. “What exactly did you do to deserve a spanking?”
“Nothing.” She didn’t meet his stare. Her cheeks blushed, evidence enough that she must have been embarrassed for something she’d done wrong. Or perhaps it was the fact she’d been spanked that she found humiliating. Either way, it wouldn’t likely be the last spanking she received.
He didn’t force her to talk about it, at least not yet. They were still getting to know one another and this was a huge leap for him, bringing a girl back to his world, even if it had been unintentional. His hand found her back through the covers, gently caressing over the material in soft soothing motions. “Before we have any company, I wanted to talk to you.” He’d have to take a chance that the serum hadn’t fully kicked in, though she sounded far more little to him than she had earlier that day.
Jade nodded and rolled onto her back, his hand dropping to her side as she stared up at him. “Where are we?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure how much she knew of their location or the galactopter for that matter. Part of him wanted to put her over his knee and spank her for stepping through the portal without a second thought. It’d been reckless and stupid of her, but his job wasn’t to discipline the woman she was then, but the girl she was to be now. For Holden the lines felt quite a bit blurred. If he taught her right from wrong, that was instilling the little she was supposed to be, but her actions were from when she behaved as a grown woman, before they were together.
“Holden?” she asked again, trying to get his attention when he didn’t answer her quick enough.
He didn’t know how to tell her that they’d traveled to his home planet, that they weren’t anywhere near the milky way galaxy or Earth. “Right. Do you remember that cylinder that you played with back at my house?” He refrained from using its technical name, not wanting her to know that he was all too familiar with it. There were some secrets that needed to be kept.
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”
“I asked the warden about getting it back.” Holden sighed, unsure that Damien had spoken the truth. A small spark of hope stayed lit within him that his old friend had lied.
“And?”
“He sent it out with the garbage, into space.”
“Space.” She repeated the words slowly, as if she weren’t quite sure she heard him correctly. “Holden, do you know where we are?”
He didn’t want to lie to her, but how much could she handle? The point of regression was to bring the women back to a simpler time, with less responsibilities while they were reconditioned. It seemed risky giving her the stress on top of what she was going to deal with.
“I’ll worry about getting us home,” he said, patting her thigh.
The door squeaked open and Nanny Marie flipped the light on in the nursery. “I see you’re awake already.”
“That was my fault,” Holden said, sparing her another spanking. At least this time it hadn’t been her doing. He’d woken her and was the only one to blame. “I wanted to spend time with my little Jade.”
Nanny Marie pushed Holden away from Jade. “She’s to get ready for dinner. You can visit with her when you eat.” She gestured for Holden to leave through the door he entered, ushering him out of the room.
With one last glance, he shot a look at Jade, needing to see if the golden halo had taken root like a tree blossoming in the spring. There’d been no physical sign of her change, yet she seemed different to him, not always, but at times the childish nature snuck out and captured him as if she was six.
He jumped to keep his backside from getting smacked by the door on the way out. He didn’t know about Jade, but there was only so much he could put up with from Nanny Marie and he’d spent a matter of seconds with her.
Chapter 5
“Why did you chase him out?” Jade asked.
Nanny Marie headed toward the washroom, opening the adjoining door where she’d entered the room. “Come with me for your bath.” She didn’t answer Jade’s question. She walked in silence, the only sound was the pitter patter of feet on wood as the brunette followed her nanny into the washroom.
“Do I have to take a bath? I showered this morning.” She’d bathed at the hotel before waiting for the movers to arrive with all her belongings. Though it had been hours and a nap ago, she didn’t feel dirty.
“You’re a sweaty girl from that nap you just had. I’ll run the tap and as soon as I’m done, you better be naked or I’ll have you over my knee.” Nanny Marie didn’t so much as flinch as she stalked into the bathroom and plugged the tub, turning the faucet on as water filled the porcelain claw tub.
Jade had only seen such beautiful bathtubs in movies back at home. It looked to be an antique but maybe that was the style here? At least for a prison, she wasn’t forced to shower with other women.
With hesitation, she glanced around the room before disrobing from the frilly pink dress that Nanny Marie had put her in. Jade hoped that she’d be allowed to pick out her own gown from the wardrobe, even if it wasn’t as beautiful as the dresses she had back at home.
“Those clothes better be gone before the water turns off,” Nanny Marie said.
Jade pulled the gown over her head, letting it hit the floor along with the frilly undergarments that were anything but appealing. Why had Nanny Marie insisted she wear them? “They’re off,” she said, a half-mutter under her breath. She hated taking orders. She’d been tired of Paulie’s constant bickering and telling her what to do at odd hours of the day. Usually it was an extra trip out to the liquor store because he’d run out of alcohol. Those days Jade hated but also it meant she could escape the confines of the house.
“Good.” Nanny Marie turned th
e tap off, ran her fingers through the crystal clear water before she added a dollop of liquid and swirled her hand some more to make suds. She turned the tap back on, adding a bit more water and adjusted the temperature until she seemed satisfied. “Climb in.” Nanny turned off the tap a second time and grabbed Jade by the arm, helping her into the oversized bathtub.
Had the water been filled to the brim, stretched out and lying back she could have easily drowned in such a contraption. Jade gripped the edges, making sure to sit up as the bubbles covered her breasts and hid her intimate areas from the nanny’s eyes. Not that she hadn’t already just seen Jade naked.
Nanny Marie reached for a white cloth and doused it in water before rubbing it hard on a bar of pink and purple that looked similar to soap but translucent. Her nanny ran the soapy cloth over Jade’s back in soft gentle circles, soothing Jade as she relaxed in the warm water.
“Don’t get sleepy, Jade. You’ll be having dinner soon with your poppa and then a special treat after.”
Jade’s eyes glanced up as she tilted her head toward her nanny, curious what type of surprise she’d receive. What she really wanted was the galactopter but that seemed impossible. “What kind of treat?”
“You’ll have to be good for your poppa and then you’ll find out,” Nanny Marie said, giving no hint of what was to come.
The thought of a surprise made Jade anxious and unable to hold still in the tub, unintentionally splashing Nanny Marie.
“Jade! Hold still,” Nanny Marie said, fussing as she rubbed the soapy cloth across Jade’s chest and over her breasts. Her nipples hardened under the woman’s ministrations as she rubbed against each one thoroughly cleaning Jade’s skin. The cloth delved lower as Nanny Marie reached between Jade’s thighs, separating her folds as she grazed over her clit and labia the cloth rubbing her hard and intimately.
Jade’s hips shifted and she captured Nanny Marie’s wrist, not wanting her touch to stop. “Please,” her voice whispered, begging for release, needing a moment of bliss in an otherwise compromising and discouraging situation she’d found herself in.
“Little ones don’t even consider such an idea.” Nanny Marie whipped back her hand and pulled Jade to her feet, smacking her wet bottom. She reached for the wooden hairbrush and then used the backside with the paddle to pepper her cheeks red.
Whimpering, Jade attempted to pull away only to feel nanny’s forceful grip on her hips, pulling her from the tub and over her knees as Nanny Marie sat perched on a stool beside the edge of the bathtub.
The wooden paddle came down repeatedly, bruising Jade’s cheeks with each painful swat. She didn’t have to see her reflection to know her bottom would be an ugly color and worse, was the thought of sitting at dinner.
“Let me go!” Jade kicked and twisted, trying to break free.
“Not until you’ve learned your lesson,” Nanny Marie said.
She didn’t attempt to let up and Jade now understood why she’d chosen the wooden hairbrush. It probably caused less pain to her nanny’s hand. The wooden paddle hurt far worse than the swats of the petite woman’s palm. Nanny Marie was quite beautiful in a haunting way, her tendency toward discipline strict and unyielding. Jade didn’t know when or how it happened, but her folds coated in a slick wetness as her pussy dripped and pulsed. She hoped Nanny Marie wouldn’t notice, especially with all the other water from the tub soaking the woman’s clothes.
“Up!” Nanny Marie commanded, helping Jade to her feet as she wrapped a towel around the girl’s body. Her own hair was a mess of dark tangles and as Jade stared at her nanny’s eyes, she noticed a golden halo around her brown irises. What was she looking at? Did Nanny Marie wear contact lenses? She’d seen contacts on people but usually there was a faint blue, a barely visible hint of color. This looked intentional without changing her eye color. It was strange and Jade had trouble not staring rudely at her nanny.
“What is it, child?” Nanny Marie asked, toweling off Jade before grabbing her hand and walking her into the nursery. She shuffled through the bureau of clothes, pulling a dark navy dress with cherries printed on. The gown was short for Jade, halfway between her knees and hips.
“Your eyes,” Jade said, unable to stop staring.
“Arms up.”
She blinked and raised her hands for Nanny Marie to dress her. It felt strange to be taken care of and treated as a child, having someone pick out her clothes, bathe her, and now dress her. She couldn’t even remember the last time anyone helped her with such basic tasks for a young child.
With her hands high above her head, Nanny Marie helped guide the dress over Jade’s body. “Good girl,” she said, smiling as Jade did as she was told. She pulled a pair of bloomer panties with white lace around the hems. “Hold on to me.” She didn’t let Jade dress herself.
Jade reached for Nanny Marie’s shoulders and gripped her dark gray dress, lifting one leg and then the other as her nanny shuffled the panties up to her waist. They were far too puffy and big for her liking. The lace poked out just slightly from under the dress Jade wore, giving a hint of her panties while making her look child-like.
“Come.” Nanny Marie wasted no time, finding the hair brush she’d used earlier on Jade’s bottom.
With wide fear-filled eyes, Jade tore from Nanny Marie’s grasp and rushed toward the bed. There was no way out of the room. Only a mattress she could climb atop to get out of reach. Jade did just that, climbing and standing on the bed, arms crossed, defiant.
“Get down this instant!” Nanny Marie’s voice hitched and her cheeks burned.
Jade shook her head. “I don’t want another spanking.”
Her nanny snorted under her breath. “You should have thought about that before acting out. I was only going to brush the knots from your tangled hair. When I get ahold of you, Jade, you’ll get more than a spanking for your disobedience!”
Shit. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that she might not be chasing after her to paddle her bottom. Except, now she’d probably caused more trouble than necessary. With the threat looming overhead, Jade jumped down from the bed and raced past her nanny. Knowing the door to the hall was locked, she had only one other chance for escape. She skidded through the bathroom for the opposite door that led to the other girl’s room that she’d briefly heard when she was supposed to be napping.
Trying the handle, she found it unlocked and tore the door open, rushing in through the room. She didn’t attempt to slam the door shut or lock it. She hadn’t time with Nanny Marie on her heels.
“I swear, Jade!” Nanny Marie fumed under her breath. “I don’t get paid enough for this some days.”
Jade locked eyes on a girl with long black hair and dark eyes as she sat at the table, coloring a picture. Her hand paused, the blue crayon in her grip as she stared at Jade.
Dressed in a blue and white dress, the young woman wore a bonnet atop her head. Is that what Nanny Marie had intended to do with Jade’s hair? Maybe it wasn’t so bad that she escaped her clutches. Though she hadn’t exactly gotten free just yet. Her eyes searched the young woman’s nursery room. It looked near identical to her own room, with only one door leading out. Had Nanny Marie left it open? She rushed for the door, finding the handle locked. From inside there was a key slot and perhaps if she had the key, she’d be able to break out, but it wasn’t within her reach.
The young girl began to raise her bottom. Did she have a plan in the works of her own? “Sierra, don’t you dare move!” Nanny Marie shouted at the girl. Any chance of her helping ceased as she sat back down, expelled a breath and stared at the papers in front of her, coloring the designs inside of the lines. Her work was meticulous as she focused on the art instead of the commotion surrounding her, as if it had all disappeared.
Jade glanced at Sierra. It seemed there was no shot of her offering any assistance. She skirted swiftly away from Nanny Marie, her hands banging on the door, praying someone would open it and free her. “Help!” Jade’s voice must have reached the hall.
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br /> No one came for her.
Nanny Marie gripped Jade by the hips, tossed the girl over her shoulder and began the assault to her bottom as she carried her through the washroom back into Jade’s nursery.
“Put me down!” Jade screamed, her voice carried through the nursery and surely into the hall. Did Holden hear her pleas for help? Would he come to her rescue?
With the heel of Nanny Marie’s foot, she slammed the door to the washroom closed. “Then stop being such a brat,” her nanny said, tossing Jade onto the mattress. “I ought to send you back to the prison system, tell them you’re not worth the trouble and have you outright rejected.”
Jade didn’t know exactly what would happen to her if she did that, but it didn’t sound good. Should she apologize, even if she didn’t mean it? What would keep Jade from landing in any further trouble? Instead she remained absolutely quiet and didn’t fight back as Nanny Marie retrieved a black leather box from the drawer of the bedside table.
“What’s that?” Jade asked. She knew it had to be bad since she’d been chased by Nanny Marie. Would the woman belt her for not listening? She’d been afraid of a little spanking and look where it led. Her stomach was a bundle of nerves. “I’m sorry,” the words slipped out far quicker than she planned. Her breathing hitched and tears quelled upon the rims of her eyes. She did regret her actions, only those that had led up to this very point: that she might face further abuse to her bottom.
“You’ll tell it to your poppa when you explain about your behavior at dinner. I don’t have time to spank you and plug your bottom. So you’ll only get one of the two right now. Your poppa will be in charge of the other, after dinner.”
Jade didn’t quite understand what her nanny was talking about.
“Stand at the edge of the bed and pull your bloomers down to your knees.”
“Why?”
“Do it. Now.” Nanny Marie opened the box to reveal a glass pacifier. What the hell was it for?
Jade climbed off the bed and slowly pulled her panties down, one inch at a time.