Chapter 28
Holden
U nder any other circumstances, he would have considered making Frankie wait for a spanking to be part of her punishment. But sitting in his living room, waiting for another man to come and take her over his knee was turning out to be a punishment for him as much as her.
There was a part of him that still wondered if this was the right move. It made sense, and his gut told him she’d feel better about getting Lottie in trouble if she suffered the same consequences. But he was a territorial man, not used to sharing the women he cared about, and just the thought of someone else spanking her was enough to fill him with a jealous rage, no matter how much he trusted Braden.
“Is that them? I heard a car door.” Popping up from the couch for the fifth time in less than fifteen minutes, Frankie twisted her hands together, her gaze flitting from him to the front door and back again.
Urged on by the need to provide the comfort she’d asked for when she’d agreed to his plan, Holden rose to his feet, drawing her into his arms and holding her there until she settled with a sigh.
“You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“I know.” Another little sigh before she pulled back to look up at him, her expression resolute. “But I deserve it. Lying to you was bad enough, but getting Lottie involved… If she got a spanking, then I at least deserve what she got.”
He couldn’t argue with her logic, but he took her chin in his hand, holding her gaze as he spoke. “You deserve whatever punishment your Daddy decides to give you. If you’re uncomfortable with someone else spanking you, then just say the word and we’ll change course. And you will accept the punishment I decide on, and you will not punish yourself further once it’s done.”
Everything about her visibly relaxed at his words. “That helps. But I still want to do this.”
“You’ll use your safeword if you change your mind.”
An order, not a request, and judging by the way her expression sobered, she took it as such. “Yes, Daddy.”
The doorbell rang, interrupting their moment, and he nearly swore under his breath. “Go stand in that empty corner over there, pants and panties at your knees and your hands folded behind your back.”
Even though they’d discussed how she’d present herself for her punishment, her nose still wrinkled at the command. “I hate the corner.”
“I know. Which is exactly why I’m putting you there.”
Turning her toward the corner in question, he sent her scurrying with a hard swat to her bottom. He waited, watching as she readied herself per his instructions, putting her bare ass clearly on display before he made his way to the front door.
Lottie and Braden were on the front porch, the former looking even more nervous than his own babygirl. “Thanks for coming. Frankie is waiting for us in the living room.”
“Oh man. This is fucking surreal .” Movements jerky, Lottie stepped into the entryway, twisting her head around to take in the spacious foyer before locking her gaze on his. “Are you sure she’s okay with this?”
“Yes. And she knows she has her safewords if it gets to be too much.”
“Same.” A weak smile trembled on her lips. “Daddy said I could use mine if I needed to. But not to like, interfere with her punishments. Just if like… I can’t take it.”
“Understandable.” And a relief, honestly. Hopefully that would be enough to prevent any hurt feelings or jealousy after it was all said and done.
“Lottie-bug, why don’t you go join Frankie in the living room and give Holden and I a minute to talk.” With his arm wrapped around Lottie’s waist, Braden leaned in to press a kiss to her temple.
“Oh. Um. Okay. Sure.”
“Straight through there.” Holden pointed toward the room he’d just left. “Fair warning, I put her in the corner with her pants down to wait for us.”
“Oh, god.” Red flooded Lottie’s cheeks, and anyone who didn’t know any better could be forgiven for thinking she was the one about to be punished. “Right. I can do this.”
Holding her head high, she marched toward the living room, and Holden couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched her leave.
“You’re sure this is how you want to handle this?” Braden asked when they were alone.
“No. But she is, and that’s what matters.”
“Right.” Shaking his head, Braden blew out a breath. “I do occasionally punish some of the submissives who work for me but this feels… different.”
“Yeah, I get that. You can always safeword out too, you know.”
“I know. But after talking to Lottie, I do think their relationship will be better for it if she knows Frankie had to face the same consequences she did.”
“About that… you said six with your belt for Lottie?”
“Yes.”
“Right. Double that for Frankie.” At Braden’s frown, Holden nodded. “She instigated the lie and she put Lottie in a position of needing to cover for her. It’s only fair she receive the same punishment but for both infractions.”
“And she can handle that? Physically?”
“Yes. She’s been eating more, and she’s been doing a bit of strength training with me. She’s tougher than she looks.”
“Good to know.” Braden blew out a breath before straightening his shoulders and meeting Holden's gaze. “Well. Should we get started?”
Frankie
How was it that standing in the corner of her Daddy’s living room, her bare ass on display, was more humiliating than any other punishment she’d ever gotten, including the one public scene they’d done?
“Oh, geez. Your Daddy does not play.”
Lottie’s voice, a mixture of sympathy and amusement, only had that humiliation burning hotter beneath Frankie’s skin. “This is so embarrassing.”
“Yeah, I bet it is. You look kinda hot, though. Sexy in a very naughty kind of way.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s exactly what Holden was going for.”
A giggle rang out from behind her, and Frankie couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe not,” Lottie said with another laugh, “but he sure as hell nailed it anyway. Would you be offended if I said my Daddy was probably going to get very lucky tonight?”
Considering the arousal dripping down the inside of Frankie’s thigh despite her embarrassment—or because of it, maybe—she couldn’t really hold it against her friend.
Silence fell between them, more uncomfortable than Frankie was used to, before Lottie spoke again, much more quietly. “Did you really binge?”
More guilt, more shame. “Yeah.”
“Because I was mad at you?”
The pain in her friend’s voice nearly broke her. “No. There was a lot more to it than that. You didn’t make me binge, Lottie-baby. Please don’t take that on.”
“It’s kind of hard when?—”
“Charlotte Ann.” Braden’s stern voice cut off whatever Lottie had been about to say, and Frankie immediately straightened, even though he wasn’t addressing her. “Do I need to put you in the corner as well, little girl?”
“What? I didn’t even do anything!” The indignation was clear in Lottie’s tone, and Frankie winced. Don’t go getting yourself in more trouble, Lottie-baby.
“Corner time is not for socializing.”
“Well, I didn’t know that.”
“Really?” There was an edge now to Braden’s words, one that had Frankie’s stomach clenching in response. She’d heard stories of how strict he could be, and now she’d willingly placed herself at his mercy. “Are you allowed to talk or move when you are in the corner?”
“Oh. Umm… No, Daddy.”
“Then you should have realized Francesca would have similar rules. Especially since I am the one in charge of disciplining her tonight.”
“Sorry, Daddy. Sorry—do I have to call you Master Holden?”
“Holden or Sir is fine for tonight, Charlotte.”
“Sorry, Holden. I wasn’t trying to get Frankie in trouble.”
“I know you weren’t. But Francesca knows the rules for corner time just as well as you do. Don’t you, little siren?”
Annoyance pricked at the back of her neck. Why were they being such assholes?
Well, if they could be sticklers for the rules, so could she. Straightening her back, she stared at the junction of the two walls in front of her and remained silent.
“Francesca. I asked you a question.”
Fear, delicious and sharp, traveled up her spine at the steel beneath his words. But she wasn’t quite ready to give in.
“Little girl, you can either answer me now or I can have Braden add another six to your count and then you can answer me. Which is it going to be?”
Shit. A dozen with the belt was going to be bad enough, the last thing she wanted was an extra six. “I’m not supposed to speak while I’m in the corner, Sir.”
Silence fell around her, punctuated several long seconds later by a smothered snort of laughter.
“ Charlotte Ann. ”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! But she has a point!”
“She does.” To Frankie’s surprise, her Daddy’s voice sounded almost as amused as Lottie’s. “To clarify, you may answer questions from myself and Braden, Francesca. Though I believe you’ve already answered my original question as it’s clear you do know the rules of corner time.”
No way around that particular question, and she was already in trouble for lying. “Yes, Daddy. I do.”
“So you knew better than to engage in a conversation with Charlotte, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she answered with a sigh.
“Braden will be adding two more to your count, then.”
“What?” Anger replaced the amusement in Lottie’s tone. “But that’s not fair! It was my fault, too!”
“Thank you for admitting you knew better, Charlotte. Turn around and place your hands on the coffee table.”
“But Daddy .”
“Now, little girl.”
“Ugh, fine.”
From the corner, Frankie listened as they moved around. And, a moment later, as the clear sound of leather connecting with bare skin echoed around the room, mingling with Lottie’s cries of distress. Just twice, the same number Frankie herself had earned for breaking the rules, which was a relief. The whole point of having Braden punish her was so she could stop feeling so damn guilty about getting Lottie in trouble, which would never happen if Lottie kept getting herself in more trouble.
“Are you going to be my good girl now, Lottie-bug?”
There was a soft sniffle before Lottie’s much more subdued response. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. Go stand with Holden, please.” When Braden spoke again, his voice was harder, scarier than Frankie had ever heard it. “Francesca. You may come out of the corner now.”