“Tomorrow,” he assured her as he pulled the bed covers down. “Now put your PJs on and go to bed.” As soon as he’d reached for her suitcase to retrieve her PJs she’d skipped back to the living area of the suite and was inspecting the artwork on the walls. Lack of sleep was making her manic. Gage suspected herding cats into a river would be easier than getting her to settle down. Exasperated, he followed after her.
“I don’t want to go to bed now!” she protested when he grabbed her hand. “It’s not even nighttime yet!”
“It is in Miami,” he pointed out as he half led, half dragged her back to her room. “I want you to get some more sleep now.”
Before they were halfway there she yanked her hand away and ran back to the front room.
“Nikki!” he growled. He knew she was tired and acting out but his patience was wearing thin. She wasn’t the only one who needed sleep. “I’m not asking, I’m telling you. Get back here this instant. You are going to bed.” He waited for a second and then added, “Don’t make me come in there and get you again.” When he realized she wasn’t coming back, he’d had enough of her bratty defiance.
In the next room the TV roared to life as Gage closed his eyes, inhaling deeply in an effort to center himself. This wasn’t how he’d imagined his day going but he had an idea how to get it back on track in a hurry. Without hesitation he walked into the sitting room, hoisted Nikki up from the couch and tossed her over his shoulder, ignoring her squeals of protest as he returned to her room. Kicking the door shut behind him, he quickly sat down on the edge of the bed and rolled Nikki off of his shoulder to land across his lap with her bottom facing up.
“I told you to go to bed. When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it,” he explained as he tugged the waistband of her leggings down enough to bare her purple panty-clad bottom, then tugged the panties down to reveal her bare backside. If she insisted on acting like a child he intended to treat her like one. Perhaps a firm spanking would remind her who was in charge. “If you disobey me on simple things, how can I trust you to mind me on important ones?”
“I’m sorry!” she spluttered as she wriggled free of his grasp and jumped up on the bed, just out of his reach. Quickly tugging her panties back in place, she gaped at him in shock. “What are you doing?”
“I’m about to give you a spanking,” he snapped. “And if you don’t get off that bed and come here at once it’s going to be a lot worse.”
He watched as she backed away, her eyes darting about the room looking for an escape route and finding none. It would have been easy to snatch her off the bed and bend her over his knee again but he preferred to let her work out the futility of her resistance on her own.
“You can’t be serious,” she squeaked, holding one hand up to ward him off. “You can’t spank me.”
Gage raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing.
“Ok, ok,” she huffed, hopping off the bed but still staying just out of reach. “I’ll go to bed. You don’t have to spank me.”
“This isn’t a negotiation,” he chuckled, watching her muscles tense. She was planning to dart around him to the right, her body loudly telegraphing her intentions even as her face lied and claimed she wasn’t going anywhere. Easily predicting her next move, he took a step back and she sprang for his trap, making a break for the door only to run right into his grasp. “And now you’ve definitely made things worse.”
“Nooo no no nooo noo,” she pleaded, words rolling rapid fire off her tongue as she struggled to get loose of his grip. Tugging and yanking against him, her face turned an impressive shade of red as she tried to argue her way out of her punishment. “You can’t spank me, noo, seriously no, you can’t! I’m not a, no wait, wait, Gage wait, Daddy please!”
Ignoring her protests he sat back down on the edge of the bed and drug her across her lap. For someone as small as Nikki she was surprisingly strong, but even her best attempts to wriggle free were no match for him. Pressing one hand down firmly on the small of her back, he quickly pulled her panties down to bare her backside once more. Her heart-shaped ass was firm and inviting, the pale skin at odds with the lightly tanned skin elsewhere on her body, presenting the perfect canvas for his hand to leave its mark on. Contemplating where to start, he let his fingers trace the outline of her smooth buttocks, smiling slightly as they tightened up in anticipation of the spanking to come.
“You can’t do this,” she sniffled, her efforts to break free waning as her energy ran out.
Gage could hear the outrage and humiliation in her voice as she tried one last time to talk her way out of a spanking. “I can,” he assured her, nonchalantly working his hand down to the fullest part of her clenched buttock. “And I will.” With a sharp snap of his wrist, his hand flicked away only to come back down against her tightened cheek with a resounding thwack.
“Owwwww!” Nikki squealed indignantly as her efforts to break free resumed in earnest. “That hurts!”
“Yes, it does,” he agreed, admiring the crimson handprint already blossoming across her backside. “I warned you what would happen if you continued to disobey me.” Before she could say another word he delivered another lightning fast strike, this time on the opposite cheek and harder than the first.
“Shit!” she howled, no longer trying to escape but still unwilling to accept her punishment without argument.
“Watch your mouth,” he scolded as he watched the secondhand print angrily blush into view.
“I’m suh... suh... sorrryyyyy!” she blubbered. Every muscle in her body had grown taut, her hands clutching the bedspread in a death grip as the reality of her situation sank in. “I’m sorrrry!” She tried to crane her head around enough to look him in the face, no doubt to put her puppy eyes to work, but that wouldn’t help her now.
Gage drummed his fingers on the lower curve of her backside, causing her to flinch with every tap. He kept it up, dancing them across the bared flesh until the muscles finally began to relax, then snapped another sharp spank across her ass.
“Godda... ahhhhowww!” She stopped herself mid-swear this time. He’d caught her off guard with that one, plus it had crossed the first smack where the flesh was already complaining, making the spank even worse. She couldn’t stop the tears though, which were starting to flow if the sniffling and sniffing were any indication.
Before she could catch her breath Gage delivered three more spanks on the same cheek, one after the other, enjoying the way each smack made her entire ass jiggle and clench. The individual handprints now merged into one huge splotch, fifty shades of red with numerous fingers pointing this way and that as if guiding Gage to spank here next. Most of them pointed to the opposite cheek, and Gage agreed it had been neglected. He would rectify that at once.
“Yaaaaaa oowwww!” she screeched as his palm crashed into her miserable bottom, the impact shooting a ripple across her backside up her back and clear to her shoulders. “I’m sorrrrryyyyy Daddyyyyy!”
To his amusement she drug the bedspread she’d been clutching up to her face and bit down on it in an apparent effort to muffle her squeals and steel herself against whatever punishment she had left. He paused to caress the red marks he’d given her, and was pleased to feel her stomach clench against his thigh. She was sorry, of that he was certain. Ordinarily he would have continued her punishment until she had no energy left, until her muscles went limp and the outraged cries was replaced by ones of resignation, but it was her first spanking and he took pity on her. There was no doubt this was a lesson she would feel for the next few days, and remember for far longer.
“Next time you get the idea to disobey me or try to run away from me I want you to remember this,” he said, tugging her panties and leggings back up before helping her off his lap. Averting her eyes, she rubbed her bottom and sniffled as tears rolled down her cheeks, though Gage could see the river was quickly slowing to a trickle. She was repentant, but still feeling defiant too. Gage admired her spirit though he suspected it would make him w
ant to strangle her over the next few days. Gently brushing the hair out of her face, he gave her a reassuring smile. “You have to mind me, Kitten,” he said softly, wiping the tears from her cheek with his thumb. “I would rather make your backside hurt now than see someone else hurt you a whole lot worse because you were disobedient.”
“They’re not going to get me here,” she argued, her fingers twisting the hem of her t-shirt as she stared at the floor. “And I don’t want to go to bed. I’m not tired!”
His earlier annoyance with her vanished, replaced with adoration. All he wanted to do was kiss her pouty lips and his cock stirred enthusiastically at that idea. The small taste he’d gotten of her in the shower suite had driven his desire to possess her into overdrive, and despite repeatedly telling himself to keep things professional until they got back to Miami, it was obvious that ship had already sailed. Even when she was at her brattiest, all he could think about was being inside her, especially now that he’d smelled her, tasted her, made her come over and over. He’d lost track of how many times he’d dreamed of taking her hard and fast against the nearest wall, or going down on her while she sprawled across his sofa, or tying her up and burying his raging cock between her delectable lips.
Now wasn’t the time though. He couldn’t afford to lose himself in her, not yet. There was a job to do, and only a few days to get it done. “You’re way beyond tired,” he chuckled, pushing her to the side while he still could and grabbing her backpack off the floor. The small bag conveniently hid his growing arousal while he picked out her pajamas. They were gray with black and pink leopard spots on them and the top had a hoodie with fluffy ears attached. Once again he found himself knocked sideways by how different she was from anyone he’d ever met. She wasn’t the first woman he’d handed a credit card to buy clothes on, but she was certainly the first one to forego Jimmy Choos and Prada for fuzzy PJs and sparkly tights. He wondered if he’d also financed some new kitten ears for her, and smiled hopefully at the thought.
Gage was thoroughly enjoying his unexpected role as her guardian. It had been years since anyone looked to him for protection, certainly not since his time in the military. He’d forgotten what it felt like to be responsible for someone else, and until now he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that role. The fact that he got to be in charge of the same girl he’d been warning himself away from for months was icing on the cake. Every time he turned around she managed to surprise him. She could go from unflappable and in charge as she was behind her bar, to completely out of control and in dire need of a firm hand as she was now. He wasn’t sure which side of her he liked best, but he looked forward to getting to know them both better.
He really wanted to make her brush her teeth and wash her face but Gage decided to quit while he was ahead. It had been enough of a battle just getting her into her pajamas and into bed. Even though her eyelids were sliding down and she couldn’t stop yawning, she struggled to stay awake.
“Tell me a story,” she begged as he pulled the covers up to her chin. “A bedtime story!”
“A story?” Gage couldn’t think of any stories to tell, at least not any she needed to hear. “I don’t know any,” he hedged. The incredulous look she shot him made him laugh. “Ok, maybe I know a few but you don’t want to hear them. They’re boring.”
“I don’t care,” she countered. “Tell me a funny one. It’ll help me go to sleep.”
That sealed the deal. He rummaged through his memories looking for a story she might enjoy. Most of them were not the kind of stories anyone wanted to hear, but he had some funny ones from when he had been in the Marines. Maybe she would find them amusing as well, or at least be bored enough to finally go to sleep.
“Ok, there were these four soldiers.”
“That’s not how you start a story,” she argued. “The best stories always start with ‘Once upon a time.’”
Gage sighed and tried again. “Once upon a time, there were these four soldiers.”
“King’s soldiers?” she interrupted.
“Um, sure. Yes. They were soldiers for the king of America.”
“That’s not a king, silly,” she giggled. “He’s a president.”
Gage rolled his eyes. “You want to tell the story?” he grumbled. When she didn’t say anything he continued. “There were these four soldiers who worked for the king of America. They were living in,” he paused while he thought how to word it. Clearly she wanted the fairy tale version. “The Land of the Rising Sun,” he grinned. “They worked hard for the king and got paid once a month. And every time they got paid they all headed to the bar to celebrate.”
“You mean a tavern,” she corrected through a yawn.
“Yes, of course, a tavern. They went to the tavern to drink beer and meet girls.” To his relief her eyes were already starting to close. “One night when they went to the tavern, some of the local peasants got mad because all the pretty girls were paying attention to the soldiers instead of them. It wasn’t long before everyone got into a huge fight.” A smile played at his lips as he recalled that day. One of his buddies had been flirting with a beautiful Japanese girl and she’d been flirting back just as enthusiastically when her ex-boyfriend showed up with seven or eight of his friends. All hell had immediately broken loose. “The bar, I mean, the tavern owner yelled that he was calling the cops and everyone ran. The next day the soldiers’ CO called them in because he’d found out what had gone down, and he ordered them punished.”
“Were they thrown in the dungeons?” she mumbled sleepily.
“Worse,” he chuckled. “Their CO made them wear these Hello Kitty armbands everywhere they went and had them cleaning toilets for weeks. Everyone that saw them made fun of them.” After a moment he added, “The end.” He stroked her hair one last time and then left the room. Just as he pulled the door closed she called out to him.
“Gage?”
“Yes, Kitten?”
“Your story kinda sucks.”
“Goodnight, Kitten,” he laughed as he pulled the door closed behind him.
Chapter Twelve
Thursday morning Nikki woke up to the heavenly smell of pancakes and bacon. For the first time in nearly a week she felt rested and alert. Although she’d fought tooth and nail to stay up after their arrival, she was glad Gage had made her go to bed. She didn’t want to spend what little time she had in Japan stumbling around yawning and exhausted.
She found Gage with his laptop and some coffee seated at the table, with a wide assortment of food laid out across it. “I thought I’d leave the cooking to the hotel this time,” he said without looking up from his laptop. “There’s pancakes with smoked bacon and maple syrup, and a few other things I thought you might like. Healthier things,” he added, looking up at her with one eyebrow raised as he gestured to a bowl full of yogurt sprinkled with granola and assorted berries. “Wash your hands!” he scolded before she could pick anything up. Nikki rolled her eyes and stomped to the sink to quickly wash them, then skipped back to the delicious spread waiting for her on the table.
“Aren’t you eating?” she asked as she grabbed the plate of pancakes and bacon. The yogurt might have been the healthier option but she never turned down a plate of carbs and sugar. “Oh Em Gee,” she moaned through the first delicious mouthful. “Who knew I had to go to Japan to find the best pancakes ever?”
Gage smiled indulgently as he shook his head. “I already ate,” he said as he went back to studying his laptop screen. “And we’re going to have to work on that sweet tooth of yours. You’re under a lot of stress right now. You need to get plenty of sleep and eat right. The last thing we need is for you to get sick. But,” he added, “I suppose once in a while won’t hurt.”
Nikki sat down across from him and concentrated on her breakfast while he outlined his plans for the next few days. They had come to Tokyo to get her out of sight and give whatever was going on back home time to die down, but he still had a job to do and that meant he wouldn’t always be
around. He made her promise she would stay in the hotel whenever he was gone. “You don’t speak Japanese,” he reminded her, “and Tokyo is a labyrinth if you don’t know your way around. It would be easy for you to get lost.”
She promised, but crossed her fingers under the table. She’d looked Tokyo up online before they left and already had a lengthy list of places she wanted to check out while they were there. This might be her only chance and she wasn’t about to spend the entire time stuck in a hotel room, no matter how fabulous it was. She’d even discovered a website that featured locals who would show you around the city, and many of them didn’t charge for the service. Best of all they spoke excellent English. Gage had taught her a few polite words and phrases, but she wasn’t going to get very far with just arigatou gozaimasu and konnichiwa.
She wouldn’t be able to do anything interesting today though. Gage was parked at the table with his laptop and showed no signs of going anywhere. “So what are you working on anyway?” she asked, pushing back from the table and heading for the sofa. Her stomach groaned from too much food, but it had been too yummy to leave any of it on the plate. “Is this for your...” She hesitated before continuing. She wasn’t sure how much he’d be willing to share about what he did for a living, or how much she wanted to know. “Is it for your job?”
“Actually I’m doing some research on you,” he admitted as his fingers flew over the keyboard. “Trying to connect the dots between you and whoever wants you dead.”
An unpleasant shiver ran up her spine. She wanted to pretend it was all just a bad dream, that no one was willing to pay thousands of dollars to have her killed, but pretending didn’t make it go away. At least she had Gage to protect her. She couldn’t imagine a better person for the job.
“I keep coming back to the Velvet Jacket,” he went on. “It’s the only place I can think of that would put you in a position to run into someone with this sort of connection.”
Under Daddy's Protection Page 10