by Maren Smith
Her tummy twisted again. “That would be bad.”
“Understatement of the year, sunshine. Come here.”
Dread formed a rock in her stomach, but she made herself turn around and cross the room to him. Her gaze drifted to the bed, where her hairbrush was sitting next to some kind of yellow vegetable in a plastic baggie.
“Eyes on me, little girl.”
She tore her eyes away from the strange vegetable to look at him. He didn’t look pissed anymore, which she counted as a win, but there was a resolve in his eyes she hadn’t seen during her previous punishment.
Lifting a hand, he captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You will learn to follow my rules, Lainey. Your life depends on it. By the time I’ve finished with you tonight, there should be no question in your mind that I am in charge.”
“I know you are,” she whispered.
“Oh, yeah? You sure as hell aren’t acting like it.”
She didn’t have an argument for that, so she simply shrugged.
“That’s what I thought.” Releasing her chin, he gestured to her clothes. “Shorts and panties off. You’re not going to need them for a while.”
Chapter Twelve
Lainey
Hands trembling, Lainey did as she was told and bared herself. Daddy picked up the plastic baggie and waved it at her. “Do you know what this is, sunshine?”
“No.” The rock in her stomach grew heavier as she wondered what the hell was going on.
“It’s ginger. Any thoughts on where this ginger might be going tonight?”
Confused, she frowned up at him. “My mouth?”
His chuckle sent a shiver down her spine. “No, little girl. It’s going in your bottom.”
Shocked by his declaration, she stared at him for a moment with her mouth hanging open. “What? You can’t do that!”
“Sure, I can.” Shaking the ginger out of the baggie, he nodded toward the bed. “Bend over and spread your legs apart.”
Defiance was what had gotten her into this mess, but she’d be damned if she was going to meekly bend over and let him shove a vegetable up her ass. “No!”
“Last chance to do this the easy way, sunshine.”
Gathering her courage, she titled her chin. “No. And you can’t make me.”
Something in the back of her mind screamed at her to run, but it was too late. Fast as a rattlesnake, Daddy reached up and grabbed a fistful of her hair. Leading her by the sharp pain in the back of her head, he forced her to bend at the waist. She lost her balance and threw her hands out just in time to catch herself before she face-planted into the mattress. He held her in place easily, despite her twisting and dancing to try and escape. Her efforts doubled when she felt something cool and wet press against her bottom hole.
“Stop.” The single word cracked like a whip, shocking her into submission. “I’m going to put this ginger in, and then you’re going back to the corner until you can behave yourself.”
The cold, wet vegetable pushed further into her bottom. Other than the slight stretching of her bottom hole, it wasn’t too bad. She merely felt a little uncomfortably full.
Daddy released his hold on her hair and helped her stand. “How’s it feel, sunshine?”
“Weird. But it doesn’t hurt. I’m actually a little embarrassed I made such a fuss over it,” she confessed quietly.
“We’ll see if you still feel that way by the time you’re done in the corner. Go.”
He sent her off with a sharp swat to her bottom. Lainey took her place in the corner again, shifting uncomfortably thanks to the ginger.
“Hands on your head.”
Rolling her eyes at the wall, she laced her hands behind her head as she had before. About thirty seconds into her corner time, the root in her bottom began to feel strangely warm.
“Um, Daddy?”
“Yeah?” Was she imagining that hint of amusement in his voice?
“Is it supposed to feel warm? The ginger?”
“Yup.”
“It feels funny.” The sensation grew hotter and Lainey twisted her hips, trying to escape the increasing heat. “Daddy! It’s burning!”
“That’s the point. Stay still.”
“I can’t! It hurts!”
His voice hardened, and there was no trace of amusement when he spoke again. “You’re not coming out of that corner until you can go five minutes without fidgeting, little girl.”
Asshole. The word flashed in her mind, but she didn’t dare speak it aloud. God only knew what the man would come up with next. Dammit, why didn’t her powers include numbing pain at will? She stopped squirming as an idea began to form. Her powers did include manipulating weather. If she could make it rain on command, perhaps she could make it snow. Or at least get icy, in one very specific place.
Closing her eyes, she focused on the burning in her bottom. She imagined the feel of ice, the cooling sensation it brought. Bit by bit, the burning inside her bottom began to fade, and she let out a quiet breath of relief.
“What the hell? Lainey, stop that!”
Her eyes flew open and she stared at the wall in front of her with a growing sense of horror. “What? I didn’t do anything!”
“You turned the ginger into a giant icicle, you little brat.” If she hadn’t already been in so much trouble, the sheer frustration in his voice might have been comical.
“I didn’t mean to!” she lied. Of course she’d meant to. That thing burned like hell!
“Do you want your mouth washed out again? Do not lie to me, little girl.”
Switching to a remorseful tone, she prayed he’d let her off the hook. She couldn’t take much more tonight. “I’m sorry, Daddy, it just burned so bad.”
“Stay there. I’m going to get a fresh piece. A bigger one.”
“Way to go, Lainey. Now you made it worse,” she mumbled to herself.
A few minutes later, Daddy returned. “Take a step back and bend over. Hands on the wall.”
Unwilling to risk making him any angrier than he was, she immediately stepped back and bent at the waist. Daddy worked the ginger-cicle out of her ass, and she had about two seconds of relief before he pushed the new piece into her bottom.
“Ow!” The stretching sensation was worse than she remembered. “Daddy, that one hurts more!”
“I shaved the first one down a good bit. I was trying to be nice. But since you can’t behave yourself, now you can hold a nice big piece instead.”
Dammit, why couldn’t she just do as she was told for five minutes? She wouldn’t be here, getting her bottom hole stretched out by a stupid burning vegetable if she could just listen.
Once the new ginger was in place, he swatted her again, hard enough to make her jump and squeal at the sting. “Now. Five goddamn minutes without a word and without moving. And so help me God, if I even think you’re using your powers to cool that ginger, I’m going to paddle your ass until you can’t sit for a week. You hear me, little girl?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she replied meekly. “I’m sorry.”
“Good girl. Five minutes.”
Standing in the corner with her bottom burning and trying not to whine or wiggle around was worse than all the spankings he’d given her so far. Daddy started the timer over three times before she was able to make it the full five minutes.
“Come here, Lainey.”
She all but ran to the side of the bed where he was seated, holding her hairbrush. “Please take it out, Daddy. It burns!”
“I’ll take it out after your spanking.”
“But Daddy, it hurts!” So what if she was begging, if it got him to take the ginger out and stop the burning?
“That’s the point.” He patted his left knee. “The sooner you get in position, the sooner the ginger comes out.”
She hurried to drape herself over his knee. As much as she didn’t want a spanking, she wanted the ginger out of her even more.
Or so she thought, until the first crack of her hairbrus
h against her bare skin. The thick, heavy plastic stung like crazy, and she immediately started fighting to escape. But Daddy had a tight grip on her, and he easily held her in place while he lit her bottom on fire.
“Daddy, I’m sorry!” Her plea was a long, pitiful wail. And it fell on deaf ears. He never so much as paused in his assault on her poor bottom, until she was limp and sobbing over his knee.
“Are you going to follow directions, little girl?” The question was accompanied by three impossibly hard swats to her sit spots, each one making her squeal louder than the last.
“Y-Yes, Daddy!”
“I hope you mean that.” His voice was quiet, and she could almost swear she heard regret in his tone. “I’m trying to save your life here, sunshine.”
The truth in his statement twisted her stomach with guilt. Here he was, risking his own safety for her, and she kept throwing his rules in his face. The pressure in her chest built until she was sobbing so hard, she could barely draw in a breath.
“Baby, calm down,” Daddy urged. “You’re going to make yourself sick.”
He rubbed her back in slow, soothing circles until her sobs began to fade. “I’m s-so sorry. I’m a hor-horrible person!”
“You’re not a horrible person. This whole thing just sucks a big one.”
Lainey drew in a deep breath and let it out in a shuddering sigh. Eventually her sobs became quiet sniffles and the pressure in her chest eased. “I’m sorry I dragged you into my mess.”
“Hey.” Daddy helped her sit up, so she was perched on one knee. His crystal blue eyes were serious. “You didn’t drag me into anything. I made a choice. And even knowing how this all goes down, I’d make the same choice again, no questions asked.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.” The corner of his mouth twisted up in a wry smile. “I was getting bored, anyway. Been a while since I’ve seen any action.”
“Action?” Sniffling, she rubbed at her tired eyes. “Like what?”
The smile disappeared, but he didn’t look angry. More, well, resigned, if she had to put a name on it. “Let’s get that ginger out of your ass and we can talk about it.”
Daddy removed the ginger as promised, but to her dismay it continued to burn for several minutes after. She was tempted to ask for something to cool the burning, but she didn’t want to aggravate him and risk not getting to hear whatever it was he wanted to tell her. So, she sat on the couch – minus her shorts and panties, per Daddy’s orders – and waited for him to finish making sandwiches.
When he brought her plate over, she gave him a small smile. “Thanks. I could have made dinner.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You could have. But you didn’t, did you?”
Her cheeks warmed at the slight rebuke. “No, Daddy.” She lowered her eyes and then peeked up at him through her lashes. “Are you going to spank me again?”
“Have you learned your lesson about following directions?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she replied quietly.
“Then I don’t need to punish you again. Eat up, sunshine.”
Relieved to not be facing another spanking, she lifted the sandwich and took a bite. Daddy sat on the couch next to her, but he didn’t touch his own food. He watched her as she ate, an unreadable expression on his face.
“You’re making me nervous,” she said around a mouthful of ham and cheese.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
Rolling her eyes, she swallowed before speaking again. “I wouldn’t have to if you’d get on with it.”
“All right, all right. Little brat,” he added under his breath.
Laughing, she took another bite of sandwich. “Yup.”
He went back to watching her for a bit longer before he took a deep breath and began his story. “I worked for the mafia.”
Pausing with her sandwich halfway to her lips, she stared at him. “Really? Did you kill anyone?”
“A few people. But it was self-defense. Sort of.”
It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. “Sort of?”
Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. Even in the short time they’d spent together, she’d come to recognize that as a sign that he was uncomfortable with the conversation. Knowing he was telling her anyway made her heart do a slow roll in her chest. “I was protecting the daughter of the head of one of the families. A couple times a rival family came for her, and I did what I had to do to get her to safety.”
“Whoa.” Setting the sandwich aside, she turned to face him more fully. “How the hell did you end up in the mafia?”
Frowning, his eyes narrowed at her. “I wasn’t in the mafia. It was more of a contract job.”
Lainey rolled her eyes, then yelped when he swatted her thigh. “Hey!”
“Don’t roll your eyes. I’m getting to it.”
“Sorry. So how did you end up contracted or whatever with the mob?”
“I accidentally saved Rico Moretti’s life.” Daddy grinned and tapped his finger on her chin, which had dropped open on shock. “Close your mouth, sunshine. You’re catching flies.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered. “When you said mafia, I thought you were exaggerating. How do you ‘accidentally’ save the head of the Moretti family?”
Shrugging, he reached over and began playing with the ends of her hair. “I didn’t know who he was. I was waiting tables at this little mom and pop Italian restaurant when I was about seventeen. Found out later it was a front, but that’s beside the point. Rico was having dinner there one night. I’d just finished taking his order and I noticed this guy a couple tables over acting weird. I honestly can’t even tell you what really happened. I don’t know if I actually saw the gun or it was some weird intuition, but I jumped in front of Rico and took a full magazine in the chest.”
“Oh, Daddy.” Sympathy welled in her chest and she scooted closer to him. “That must have hurt.”
His laugh was surprisingly genuine, without even a hint of bitterness. “Yeah, getting shot stings like a motherfucker. Needless to say, when I didn’t die right there on the spot, Rico knew something was up. He had me taken back to his penthouse and brought a doctor in to see me. But by the time the doc got there, the bullets were sitting in a Tupperware container and I was good as new.”
“Holy shit! Yes, yes, I know, my language.” Waving off the stern look he’d given her, she plowed ahead. “So, Rico asked you to be his daughter’s bodyguard?”
“Yeah. I balked at first because I didn’t want to be tied to anything, especially the mob. But he eventually won me over. He’s persistent that way,” he added with an easy, affectionate grin. “He even paid for me to get pretty extensive martial arts training. Clara was a sweet kid, so tagging along with her wasn’t much of a hardship. She kicked me to the curb after she turned eighteen, much to Rico’s dismay.”
“The men you killed. Were they mafia, too?”
The humor faded from his expression as he nodded. “Same family that tried to take out Rico the night we met. They eventually stopped being a problem. I don’t know what happened,” he said as soon as she opened her mouth to ask. “I never wanted to know.”
“Oh.” Lainey blew out a breath. She’d known from the moment he’d rescued her in the alley that he’d been trained to fight. She’d imagined the military or law enforcement of some kind, but the mafia? That hadn’t even been on her radar.
“I guess I should tell you.” He tugged at her hair, drawing her attention back to him. “Rico is the person helping me get you out of the city. He has contacts I can’t reach without him. We’re working on getting you a new identity.”
“What?” Panic began to set in, wrapping its icy fingers around her throat. “I don’t want a new identity. I like being Lainey!”
“I know, sunshine. But Rose Corp knows who you are. You’ll never be safe if you keep your name.”
Her eyes burned with yet another wave of unshed tears. What she wouldn’t give to have her nice, normal life back. “Are you c
oming with me?”
“If Rico can put the paperwork together fast enough, yeah.” The hand tugging her hair moved to cup the back of her head, drawing her closer to him. “If not, I’ll be right behind you.”
“Really? Oh, thank God.” Nearly shaking with relief, she flung herself into his arms. “I don’t think I could do this without you.”
“Sure, you could. You’re stronger than you think, sunshine.”
“I think you’re giving me too much credit,” she said with a shaky laugh. “You’re the strong one.”
“Are you arguing with your Daddy, little girl?”
The playful growl in his voice made her core clench with need. “Maybe.” Tilting her head up, she smiled at him. “What are you going to do about it?”
Rising from the couch, he swung her up into his arms all in one fluid motion. He carried her to the bedroom and showed her exactly how he handled naughty little girls.
Chapter Thirteen
Donovan
It took three days for Rico to finally contact him about the paperwork. Donovan’s phone rang as he was sitting on the couch, admiring his handiwork on Lainey’s bright pink bottom. Poor thing was going stir crazy locked up in his apartment, and she’d snapped at him one too many times this morning. Not that he could blame her, but he’d finally had enough. When his phone buzzed, he tore his gaze from her beautiful ass long enough to hit the answer button on his screen. “Hello?”
Jimmy’s rough, deep rumble came through the speaker. “Don. It’s Jay. Want to meet for a drink tonight?”
“Sounds good. Same place?”
“Same place, same time. See you there.”
The call ended, and Donovan returned to his quiet contemplation of the little girl quietly sniffling in the corner. It only took about thirty seconds for her to turn her head and ask, “Who was that?”
“Nose in the corner, sunshine. We can talk about it when your ten minutes are up.”
She stomped her foot and huffed but turned back to face the corner. Chuckling at the display, he shook his head. Little brat. His little brat, if everything went the way he hoped it would. The timer on his phone beeped a few minutes later, and he called for her.