by Allysa Hart
I grimaced at the threat. The pain from my earlier spanking had definitely faded, but I could still feel the effects of it, and I certainly didn’t want another one. “Soap isn’t in my diet plan,” I said with a sarcastic undertone.
“Well, then, choose your words wisely, little girl.”
“Seriously, you want to know what’s wrong? You have me all confused inside, and now I’m pining over a stupid bear. That’s what’s wrong. Happy?” I tried to push off his lap, but he wouldn’t let go, so I crossed my arms over my chest and turned away from him as best I could.
He sighed behind me. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You could drop all of this, and we could just date like normal people?” I asked hopefully, a little surprised that I left dating on the table. I was starting to really like Yule. He was sexy as hell, and his joy for life really lifted my spirits. Besides this whole Santa gig, he was practically the perfect man.
“What kind of Daddy would I be if I gave up?” Yule’s eyes sparkled mischievously when he looked at me, and his grin was the cat-that-ate-the-canary type. “Why don’t you grab the bear box and bring it over here? Let’s see if you still feel the same after you can give your bear a cuddle.”
I got off his lap and retrieved the cardboard package shaped like a house before returning to the couch, opting to sit next to Yule instead of on him. I did my best to ignore my longing to once again be in his arms.
We both sat silently for a moment. I didn’t want to open the box. I didn’t want to want the bear that was inside, didn’t want to be hit with the disappointment I knew was in store. And I was mad at myself, too, for being so ridiculous. I was a grown woman, and I was sad that I had picked the wrong teddy bear. Yule set his hand on my thigh and gave a squeeze.
“He’s probably lonely all stuffed in that box.”
I smiled and rolled my eyes but reached up and opened the top. Confusion washed through me as I pulled out the tie-dyed Santa bear. “What? How?” I shoved back the overwhelming emotions, refusing to show how overjoyed I was to see the colorful stuffed animal.
“Your Daddy is Santa Claus, little one. Anything is possible.”
“No. This is too much. This is all too much.” I shoved the bear back inside its house and forced it closed. Setting it down on the couch between us, I got up and stomped to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
Throwing myself facedown on the bed, I covered my head with my pillow and screamed. It was better than the alternative of crying. I wasn’t angry, just overwhelmed. My world had been flipped upside down, and there was no way I could flip it back. Yule made me yearn for things I had long since given up on. Growing up without a father had been difficult, but I had learned to cope. My mother was wonderful and loved me with all her heart. She made sure my every need was met, but a little girl needs a father. I needed a father. Now I had this man in my life calling himself Daddy and opening emotional doors that I had locked tight. Ugh.
“Little elf,” Yule spoke through the door. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t answer, mainly because I didn’t know the answer. Yes? No? I feel more alive than I have in years, and it scares me? What was I supposed to say?
The door creaked open. I couldn’t see him, but I heard his footsteps approach the bed and then the side of the mattress sank with the weight of his body. He rubbed my back but said nothing. His touch was comforting and reassuring, and his mere presence settled my soul.
“I don’t know how to process all of this,” I finally admitted as I lifted the pillow off my head.
“You’re thinking too much, little one. You need to relax and let go. You need to trust me.”
“It’s harder than you make it sound.”
“No doubt. So how can I help?”
“That’s just it. It’s not you. You’re doing all the right things. You’re like the perfect man, aside from this crazy obsession with Christmas.”
“I’m Santa. Christmas is kind of my gig.”
I groaned and dropped the pillow back on my head, talking through the fabric and not caring if he could understand my words or not, “I know. I know. I don’t even hate it as much as I thought I would, but we can’t keep going like this.”
“Like what?”
“This Daddy stuff. I can’t handle it. It’s too much.”
He lifted the pillow and tossed it onto the other side of the bed. “Little elf, you promised me the weekend. Are you reneging? Is that really what you want?”
Yes. “No.”
“I didn’t think so. So, here is what we are going to do. We are going to watch some silly Christmas classics while we string our popcorn, then we are going to flip on some Christmas tunes, enjoy a nice simple dinner, and decorate that amazing tree you picked out. After all that, we will get you ready for bed and call it a night. And we’ll do all of that because Daddy wants to spoil his girl and enjoy the time we have together. Okay?”
“Can we not and say we did?”
“Can I redden your tail and then do it all anyway?”
“No, thank you.”
“Well, then, it’s settled. No more moping, just relax and let go. You will be surprised how much fun you can have.”
I took a step back and surveyed our handiwork. The tree was finished except for the Santa topper. Crystal had tried her very hardest to loosen up, but she was still hovering right on the cusp of her adult self and the little girl she kept locked up tight. I needed her to find the little girl inside her this weekend. There was no chance for a redo, and we were running out of time.
Squinting at the tree, I rubbed my temples and reviewed my plans for the next day. If a trip to the teddy-bear store and a visit with Santa hadn’t done the trick, I wasn’t sure that anything I had planned for tomorrow would, either.
I was starting to lose hope, and when Santa loses hope, well that’s when snowballs hit the fan, because hope is kind of Santa’s thing. Aside from candy canes and presents and flying reindeer, that is.
I took a deep breath and tried to reassure myself, but before I could put on a happy face, I was nailed in the back of the head by a flying object. A light one that felt suspiciously like a piece of popcorn. Grinning, I whirled around, to find her standing behind me, feigning interest in a wooden gingerbread man I had placed on the mantle.
Crossing the room, I tapped her on the shoulder, fixing my face into that of an amused but stern Daddy. “Did you throw popcorn at Daddy?”
Crystal bit her bottom lip and shook her head. There was a light in her eyes that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.
“Now you’re lying to Daddy? You’re being very naughty right now, little one. Do you need a spanking?”
“No.” Her hands flew behind her to cover her bottom, and she shook her head emphatically from side to side.
“No, Daddy?” I coaxed. I hadn’t gotten her to actually call me Daddy yet, unless she was referring to me in teasing, but we were close. She wanted to. I could almost hear her thoughts at war with one another.
She nibbled her lip and blinked up at me but didn’t take the bait. Instead, she picked up another piece of popcorn and flicked it at me. “Ooh, you’re in for it now,” I laughed, lunging toward her.
She shrieked as she ran, tossing the contents of the bowl over her shoulder as she tried to get away from me. She wasn’t fast enough, nor did the avalanche of popcorn create the obstacle she apparently thought it would. I caught her wrist, tossed her over my shoulder, and pinned her on her back on the couch.
“There’s only one way to deal with these kinds of naughties.” I rolled up the sleeves of my red flannel and kept my expression as grim as possible. She gulped, watching each measured movement I made. I took a deep breath and shook my head. “Just remember you asked for this.” Then I staged a tickle attack. She wiggled with all of her might to get away, giggling and squealing the whole time.
“Uncle! Uncle! I give up!”
“Not so fast! I don’t hear any magic words.”
> “Please!” she screeched breathlessly between gales of laughter.
“Close, but not quite what I’m looking for.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her and smiled, pinning her hands above her head. Her expression changed to one of amused annoyance. She knew she was stuck. I had her right where I wanted her, and she liked it.
“Okay, okay! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Please stop.”
“Well, since you asked nicely,” I teased, loosening my hold without letting go. She reared up till her face was inches away from mine. I could smell the cocoa on her breath, and a handful of candy canes had tinted her lips to a bright red. She looked flushed, and her eyes were dilated with arousal. We were close enough to kiss, and God, but I wanted to.
Inhaling deeply, I pushed my body off hers and stood, offering her my hand. There would be time for kissing once the weekend was over. Provided I didn’t muck everything up between now and then.
“Ready to add the finishing touch?” I asked, gesturing toward the tree. Dismay flickered in her eyes for a moment, but she quickly pushed it aside and nodded eagerly, reaching for the Santa topper in my hand. She looked adorable rising on tiptoe to add the final decoration, and I wanted to scoop her up and toss her into bed. And join her there. One more day, I reminded myself silently, as she came to stand next to me with her hands on her hips.
“You know, it’s not so bad-looking all put together. I kinda like the piney smell, too.”
I wrapped my arm over her shoulder and hugged her close. “So, little elf, what you’re saying is that Daddy was right?”
“Oh geez, don’t get a big head or anything.” She nudged me with her elbow and rolled her eyes. Luckily, I didn’t have a rule about eye rolling, or this minx would never sit again.
“The First Noel” began playing on the stereo and I turned Crystal to face me.
“May I have this dance?” I bowed, extending my hand for her to take. Crystal giggled and laid her hand in mine.
“I guess you can, but I’m not sure you deserve it. You’re kind of mean with the no coffee, and the spanking, and all the rules.”
She was teasing, and I chuckled. “You are so sassy.”
“I can’t help it. I have this urge to just… I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Buck the system?” I suggested.
“Yes! Like I don’t want to care about anything! I want to act out, not follow the rules, not worry about expectations. Is that weird?”
“Not at all, little elf. That means you are beginning to trust me and yourself. It’s exactly what I want from you. I want you to feel that childlike freedom and to experience Christmas in the way you should have when you were a child.”
She nodded and laid her head on my shoulder, pressing her body against mine as we moved in time with the music. “I think it’s working.”
Her quiet admission elated me. It was what I had been hoping and waiting for. Now I just had to make sure she stayed in this headspace and didn’t go backward or in and out like she had been all day. We danced through the song in silence, and when it ended, I spun her in a circle and dipped her with a dramatic flourish.
Once upright again, she smiled through a big yawn. “That was fun.”
“Yes, it was, and now it is time for bed.”
“I’m not tired,” she protested. “I want to have more hot chocolate and watch another movie.”
“There’s always tomorrow, little one.”
“Then it will be over,” she pouted.
I understood her unspoken worry and mentally mirrored it with my own. “It doesn’t have to be. Let’s see how tomorrow goes and then we can figure out the rest, okay?”
“But I still don’t want to go to bed.”
“It’s cute that you think you have a choice, little elf. It’s well past nine, and I’ve kept you up late enough already. Little girls need sufficient sleep.”
“Nine! Are you kidding me? I never go to bed before eleven,” she argued, despite the fact exhaustion was evident in every line of her face and the sag of her shoulders.
“Not tonight. Let’s go.” Not entertaining argument, I turned her toward her room and sent her off with a smack to her perfect backside.
“Ow,” she whined, rubbing the spot. “You don’t have to be so rough!”
“There’s more where that came from if you are not ready for bed in fifteen minutes.”
“Fine.” She drew out the word with exaggerated exasperation.
“I’m sure you mean ‘yes, Daddy’?” I quirked a brow at her, and she stuck her tongue out at me. “That’s not very respectful, little girl.”
“Well, I’m not feeling very respectful. You’re being mean, and it’s not fair!”
I raised my eyebrows and refrained from stealing her favorite move, the eye roll.
“You’d better start feeling it, little elf. Little girls who are rude and disrespectful to their Daddies end up feeling very sorry for themselves when they are sleeping on their tummies with a hot bottom.”
She scowled, and with my mind-reading abilities turned on, I could hear her mental struggle as she pondered how far to push me, and if the risk would be worth the reward, or whether she might like the consequences of pushing too far. It was a very enlightening conversation she was having with herself, and it let me know that no matter what happened, I had to stay firm in my resolve. Daddies did not like to be tested.
The war played out for several minutes, and finally, she turned and headed for her room, arms crossed over her chest and feet heavy as she stomped down the hall. “Whatever,” she mumbled.
I was elated that she was getting comfortable enough to push, but I was a Daddy, and she was about to find out exactly what happened to little girls who poked the bear. She hadn’t been that naughty, but I had made threats, and they must be followed through.
“Crystal Angelina Turner, get your little butt back here right now, and try that again, with less attitude this time.” She froze, but did not turn to obey. “If I have to count to three, you will be getting extra with the wooden spoon, little girl.” That got her. Eyes wide, she turned to stare at me open-mouthed over her shoulder. I pointed to a spot in front of me and waited, adopting the stance of an impatient Daddy. “Now, please.”
She turned, but didn’t take any steps to move toward me. “I don’t want a spanking.”
“That’s funny because you seem to be begging for one. Come here.”
It was going to be a standoff. That was evident when she propped her hands on her hips and jutted out her chin, meeting my firm stare with a smoldering glare. “I don’t want to.”
“One.” My hand came to rest on my thick leather belt. I wouldn’t use it on her, but she didn’t know that.
“Stop counting!” she whined, deflating from her earlier defiance. “I’ll be good and get ready for bed. I really am tired.” She started down the hall to her room.
“Two,” I continued. “It’s too late to obey now, little one. You made your bed, and now you have to lie in it. On your tummy. After you take the spanking you have coming.”
She turned but stayed rooted in place.
“You do not want me to get to three. I suggest you obey.”
Finally accepting her impending doom, she dropped her chin to her chest and shuffled toward me, slowly. With her cute little pout and defeated stance, she actually looked more like a naughty six-year-old, than a thirty-one-year-old woman, if only for that brief moment.
“I’m nothing if not patient, little elf,” I said as she shuffled toward me at a snail’s pace. “I don’t care if it takes you all night to get here. All you are doing is delaying the inevitable and making me want to forgo my hand altogether and wear you out with my trusty wooden spoon.”
Heeding my warning, she picked up her pace, quickly coming to a stop in front of me. She took a deep breath and clasped both hands in front of her, staring down at them.
Hooking my finger under her chin, I raised her face until her gaze met mine. “Daddy doesn’t like that kind
of testy and rude behavior, little girl.”
She gave a soft moaning whine and nibbled her lip. “Sorry?” It came out like a question.
“Are you?”
She shrugged. “If I am, will you not spank me?”
“It’s a little late for that. You had several chances, and you continued to do whatever you could to make it worse for yourself. Now, do you want to tell me what’s going on in that little head of yours? When little girls test their Daddies like that, there is usually an underlying reason.”
“I’m not tired. I never go to bed this early, and it’s been a fun day. I don’t want it to end yet.”
Pure exhaustion radiated off of her body, and I knew it was partly responsible for her little state of mind and her testy behavior. I wasn’t complaining, but I was going to do what had to be done. “I’m pretty sure you are beyond exhausted, and you are telling fibs right now, but that’s okay. Even if I am wrong, you will be nice and tired when I’m done with you. For the record, though, I did not tell you to go to bed. I told you to get ready for bed. There’s one more thing on the agenda for tonight.” Well, two now, I mused.
“Oh. Oops.”
Shaking my head, I held my hand out to her. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
“You don’t have to spank me! You should have told me the plan. This isn’t my fault, it’s yours,” she argued desperately but placed her hand in mine and allowed me to lead her down the hall to her bedroom.
“That’s interesting logic, but you might want to reconsider that kind of behavior justification. It won’t end well for you. Your time and energy would be better spent searching for any shred of remorse you have for your attitude and disobedience.”
She stayed quiet and didn’t resist me at all as I sat down on the bed and flipped her over my knee.
I sat and listened. Her mind was racing with all sorts of things she wanted to say. Some were remorseful, others flippant, and some were self-deprecating and angry, but she couldn’t settle on any one thing. I gave her a minute to think before I pushed her further by hooking my thumbs into the waistband of her leggings and lowering her pants. Her hands flew backward, and she squealed.