Daddy's Little Darling

by Roberts, Laylah

  “But I haven’t done anything, Daddy,” she told him. “Can’t I go see the horses? Please, you said I could earlier.”

  “That’s before I had a look at this food diary. You want to explain to me while you only had a Pop- Tart for dinner last night while I was working?”

  Damn it. She knew she should have fudged that. But Clint had been so busy these past few days, leaving early and coming home late that she hadn’t even thought he was checking her diary. Unfortunately, even though she was feeling thoroughly loved and secure living here with him, it hadn’t magically erased all the mess of her past. The first time he’d been away all day, she’d found herself secreting food away. Only this time, she’d realized what she was doing and forced herself to confess to him.

  That had been so hard. Ridiculously hard. She hadn’t been entirely certain how he would react. She hadn’t thought that he would spank her, but she’d expected him to be disappointed. She knew he’d hoped that providing her with a safe place would help her heal and it had. Just sometimes she had a setback.

  So, when he’d pulled her into his lap and thanked her for being honest and telling him, and stating that she was a good girl, she’d melted. And she’d truly realized that day just how much he loved her.

  Unfortunately, Clint had decided that she needed some professional help and he’d called Doc’s brother. He hadn’t been able to come for a visit straight away, so they’d set up some Skype meetings that Clint always came to.

  Doc’s brother was due to arrive for a month-long visit next week. And she was ridiculously nervous about that. And Doc was acting like a bear with a sore paw about it. She hadn’t thought it possible for him to get any grumpier.

  “Do you really think that a Pop-Tart is suitable for dinner?” Her hands drifted behind to cup her bottom as he gave her a disapproving look.

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, you and I both know that’s not true. Would you like to tell me why you didn’t make yourself something healthy or have dinner in the dining hall, baby girl?”

  Neil was back and working in the kitchen. She missed working there sometimes, but he’d told her she was always welcome to come help him. No one had heard from Allan, and Clint was adamant that he wouldn’t be welcome back here. She couldn’t feel sorry about that.

  “I was in a rush. I didn’t have time to cook anything.” Sometimes during the weekend, she liked to cook meals at home, but they usually ate in the dining hall during the week.

  “And just where were you rushing to?”

  She bit her lip. Then sighed. “I wanted to get some photos of the sun setting over the mountains.”

  Since she had a lot of spare time, Clint had asked her if there was ever anything she’d wanted to try, some hobby she’d like to take up. Unused to having free time, to not working or worrying constantly, she hadn’t had an answer. Until she’d found an old camera in one of the downstairs storage cupboards.

  “And why didn’t you make something once you got home?”

  “Umm, because then I went down to the stables to visit Star Gazer to give her a carrot.” Star Gazer was Eden’s horse. But Charlie was slightly obsessed with her. She was dying to learn to ride and Clint had promised to teach her once things settled down a bit.

  “Was it dark by the time you finished up at the stables?” he asked.

  “Umm, yes.” Uh-oh.

  “Who escorted you home?” he asked in a low voice.

  Aww, crap. She might have been able to talk her way out of a spanking for the Pop-Tart. Maybe. Probably. Yeah, she hadn’t had a chance. But she knew she’d made it worse by admitting that she’d been walking around in the dark alone.

  “I had a flashlight, Daddy.” She wouldn’t go out without that. Even with it, walking around in the dark wasn’t her favorite thing. In fact, she’d ran all the way from the stables back home, her heart thundering in her chest.

  Huh. “I always thought you made that rule about not walking around on my own in the dark because you thought I’d get lost or something, but the main reason is because I’m scared of the dark, isn’t it?”

  “I won’t have my girl scared,” he said fiercely.

  “I love you, Daddy.”

  His face lightened. Love filled his eyes. “I love you too. That doesn’t mean you’re not about to get your butt lit on fire. Come.” He pushed back a little from his desk and pointed at the spot on the floor between his legs.

  “But Daddy, don’t I get brownie points for being honest when I filled out my food diary?”

  “You do not. Little girls should always tell the truth and if they fib, they get Daddy’s belt.”

  Holy hell.

  “You know I wouldn’t be so strict on what you eat if Doc wasn’t concerned that you aren’t gaining much weight.”

  And she knew how that worried him. Now she felt terrible.

  “I notice you haven’t been writing down when you’ve been taking your supplement drinks,” he said in a quiet voice. “Like I asked you to.”

  A sense of failure filled her and tears entered her eyes. Jesus, she remembered when she never cried, now she was a regular blubber guts.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m trying. They’re just awful.”

  He sighed. “I know you are, baby. But you need to take those drinks for your health. Which means you are going to take them, even if I have to put them in a bottle and feed them to you like a baby.”

  She stared up at him, her eyes widening. “Clint, you wouldn’t!”

  He just raised one eyebrow. Oh, he totally would.

  “I’ll try harder.”

  “And you’ll note them down in your diary.”

  “Yes, Daddy.” No way did she want him feeding her like a baby.

  “Now, I’ve been waiting for three minutes for you to get your butt over here and you have thirty seconds to move before I start adding a swat for every second I have to wait.”

  She didn’t think she’d moved so fast in her life. She nearly tripped over his feet and he had to grab her around the waist and settle her between his legs.

  “Easy, baby,” he murmured. “Everything will be all right. I’m going to take care of you.”

  “You always take care of me.”

  “And I always will.” He reached for her jeans, undoing them with calm, unhurried movements before he pulled them down. “Might as well just step out of those, you’re going straight to bed with a hot bottom after this. I haven’t been here to monitor your bedtimes and I can tell by looking at you that you’re not getting as much sleep as you should be.”

  Crap. Could she get nothing past him?

  “No, you can’t.” He grinned at her shocked look. “You forget I can read you easily.” He tapped her nose. “You should never hide things from Daddy.”

  He whisked down her panties and she stepped out of them and her jeans, feeling very vulnerable just standing there in her shirt. Didn’t matter how often it happened, she didn’t think she’d ever get used to this feeling. Clint, on the other hand, seemed to revel in it. There was a hot, satisfied look on his face.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy.” She knew he worried about her and she felt guilty for that. She stared down at her feet.

  “Hey, eyes on me.”

  She stared into his warm, blue eyes. “I love you. I only want what’s best for you, you know that, right?”

  She jumped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grabbed hold of her, pulling her onto his lap.

  “Hey, now.” He ran his hand up and down her back.

  “I love you too, Clint.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “My precious girl, let’s get this over so I can cuddle you.” He gave her another kiss before rolling her over so she lay on his lap. “Arms back.”

  She placed her hands in the small of her back and he took hold of her wrists in one of his big paws. He started without a warm-up, his smacks hard and heavy on her poor bottom. />
  “You mean more to me than anything in this world.” Smack! Smack! Oh God, it stung so bad. She started to kick her feet almost immediately. He was wasting no time. His hand was heavy and hard against her poor bottom.

  “And I will not have you putting your health at risk by eating crap food.” Smack! Smack!

  She started to sob. Her ass was on fire. It was too much. Too much.

  “Daddy, please.”

  “Oh, it’s far too early to start begging, baby.”

  His hand continued to crack down on her ass. She tried to wriggle away, she knew it was useless, but she’d do anything to escape. Another few smacks landed and then he stilled, rubbing her bottom. Oh, thank God. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it might be, but she didn’t tell him that.

  Clint felt her relax and allowed himself a small smile. He knew she thought it was over. But he wasn’t letting her get away with her misbehavior this easily. She tried to pull at her hands, no doubt wanting to get out of this all-too-vulnerable position, but he held onto her tightly.

  “Daddy? Can I get up?” She gazed over her shoulder at him. Her eyes were red, tears blotched her cheeks.

  “I’m afraid we’re not finished.” He gave her a regretful look. “We still haven’t addressed you breaking your rule about walking around on your own in the dark or the fact that you haven’t been going to bed at your bedtime.”

  “But my bottom hurts.”

  “Yes, it’s meant to.” It was a nice shade of crimson. She had an amazing ass, surprisingly plump considering she was so tiny.

  “Don’t you think that’s enough? You wouldn’t want to get carried away, Daddy.”

  He’d noticed that she’d been growing sassier lately, and he couldn’t be happier. Because it meant she felt safe. That she no longer worried he was going to get rid of her if she was too much trouble. That was probably part of the reason she was testing her boundaries so much. She was testing him. Well, she would soon learn that he was fully prepared to enforce those boundaries.

  He repositioned her so she lay on over just one of his legs, her thighs trapped between his. She was completely pinned down, her ass high in the air. He reached over and pulled open a drawer, pulling out a ruler.

  “You haven’t experienced the ruler before. I want you to count this time and know that I’m doing this because I love you. Because I make these rules to keep you safe. Understand?”

  “A ruler? Oh God.”

  “Understand, little girl?” he said in a deep, stern voice.

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  She screamed as the ruler descended. He had to wait a moment before she could compose herself enough to speak.

  “O-one,” she said tearfully, a sob in her voice.

  “One, Daddy, please may I have another,” he instructed.

  She started to sob, but repeated his words. He gave her another smack. Waited for the words. Then another. When they got to eight, she was sobbing so hard she could barely talk. “I’m going to count out the rest for you, baby.”

  He hated having to be so hard with her. But he needed this lesson to be well enforced. He smacked the ruler down hard and sharp, counting quickly. She let out a screech so loud they probably heard her down at the stables. It didn’t deter him, though. He would see this through. When he got to twenty, he put the ruler aside then gently turned her over. He settled her on her hip, leaning her in against his chest so her sore bottom didn’t rub against his jeans.

  He just held her there while she sobbed into his chest. He ran his hand up and down her back, spoke to her soothingly, wrapped her up in the safety of his arms. Finally, she started to settle down. He reached for a tissue and held it to her nose. She dutifully cleared her nose. He got another one and lovingly wiped her tear-stained face. It was blotchy, her eyes swollen and still she looked so beautiful.

  “I love you. I love you more than you could possibly know. More than I ever thought was possible. You are everything to me. And never, never will I let you go. I know I’m a possessive bastard. I know not everything I ask from you will be easy, but I won’t ever let you go. I can’t. Do you understand that? Never.”

  She sniffled and nodded. “And I’m glad of it. I don’t care that you’re a possessive bastard.”

  He growled as she said that word and she grinned at him cheekily. “Just repeating your words, Daddy.”

  “Well, don’t,” he told her. “My baby girl doesn’t swear. And she won’t like the consequences if she does.”

  “I don’t intend to ever do anything that will mean I get another spankin’, Daddy. I don’t like them,” she told him solemnly.

  Uh-huh, he wondered how long that would last.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes you like them.” He winked at her.

  She blushed, obviously recalling the other night when he’d spanked her bottom playfully while she was riding him in bed.

  He sighed. God, who knew he could be so ridiculously happy? “I’m going to write a thank you note.”

  “A thank you note? Do people still write those?” she teased.

  He leaned over and gave her smarting ass a slap. “Ow.” She reached back to rub while frowning up at him. “Daddy, my bottom hurts.”

  “That’s why that was only a small tap.”

  “I don’t think you know your own strength,” she grumbled continuing to rub.

  He lowered his chin and gave her a stern look. “No rubbing or you’ll find yourself standing in the corner with your hands on your head.”

  “Daddy!” she protested. But she quickly removed her hands. His baby hated corner time.

  “Who are you going to write a note to, Daddy?”

  “Hmm? Oh, to that useless idiot at the agency who messed up and sent you here.”

  “You’re writing him a thank you note?” she asked.

  “I sure am. Because his screw up was the best thing that ever happened to me.” He leaned in and kissed her. “It brought me you.”

  I really hope you enjoyed Clint and Charlie’s story. Look for more from the daddies of Sanctuary Ranch in September. And make sure you read on for an excerpt from Mastered by Malone.

  Excerpt from Mastered by Malone

  Haven, Texas

  Coming August 22nd

  “Honey, you’re not yourself. And I’m not leaving you alone like this. So your choices are a shower with me then bed or I run you a bath and you have one while I shower then bed.”

  Some choices.

  She didn’t want to wait until the bath filled. “I want a shower by myself.”

  “That wasn’t one of your options, now was it?”

  Shit. His voice had turned to steel. And she was weak. Weak because she couldn’t resist when he used that tone.

  “What’s it going to be, baby?”

  “Please stop calling me that.” Because she couldn’t resist him when he called her that in that low tone of voice. As though they actually meant something to one another. As though they had some sort of relationship. When, in reality, she was just an obligation. A debt to be repaid.

  Tears stung at her eyes and she blinked, shoving them back. Nothing good came from crying. She’d learned that.

  “This is going above and beyond, isn’t it?” she asked. That fatigue was really hitting her now and it was making her feel melancholy. Because the only reason he cared about her was the obligation his family owed her cousin. No other reason. And while his brothers might be friendlier, she was still just a guest. When she left she’d just be a memory. Hell, mostly, they were more interested in her cooking than anything else.

  But sometimes she could pretend she was part of this crazy family. It made her feel less alone.

  “You’re really not with me, are you?” he murmured. “Okay, sweetheart, I want you to just relax. I’m going to make all the decisions right now and all you have to do is what you’re told.”

  “You like to boss people around, don’t you?” she mumbled.

  “It’s what I’m good at.”


  With that, he pulled off his jeans.

  She immediately slammed her hands over her eyes. “You have no underwear on. Why don’t you have any underwear on?”

  “Mia,” he laughed. “Jesus, in all my years, me stripping has never made a woman cover her eyes and ask me about my habit of wearing underwear.”

  Okay, so she got that her reaction was maybe a little childish. And probably more than a little insulting. But he was naked. Alec Malone, the man who centered in so many of her dreams was standing there naked.

  And she . . . she was standing there in her underwear, covering her eyes like an idiot.

  “This . . . I . . . shit.”

  “Second time I’ve ever heard you swear,” he commented. “Not sure I like it.”

  She removed her hand from her eyes, looking straight up at him. “Fuck.”