Chapter 26
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“Relax. They’ll be fine.”
Colt’s words do little to reassure me as I continue pacing the living room. “I should have gone with her. You know how Gray can get when she’s angry.”
Rising from his chair, my twin places his hands on my shoulders, stopping me in my tracks. “And you know Gray would never lay a hand on any of our Little ones in anger, but especially not Josie. She loves her, almost as much as you love her.”
“Right.” Some of the worry unknots from my stomach. “I just worry.”
Colt grins. “Of course you do. You’re a Daddy.”
He’s right. But I’m not just a Daddy. I’m Josie’s Daddy.
And that makes all the difference in the world.
Movement from the corner of my eye draws my attention to the entryway between the living room and the kitchen, where Gray is standing with Josie’s hand clutched in hers. And I can see the resolve in my sister’s eyes, but thankfully none of the anger from before.
Our gazes lock and she gives a small nod before looking down at my babygirl. “All right, sweetheart. Time to face the music.”
Nibbling nervously at her bottom lip, Josie nods and drags in a deep breath before stepping forward. When she reaches me, I take her hand, guiding her over the arm of the chair we dragged to the middle of the room for this exact purpose.
“All right, little girl,” I lecture as I flip her dress up and reach for the tabs of her diaper. “You were very, very naughty, Josephine. We are a family. We take care of each other. And to drive that point home, our family is going to help with your punishment.”
I watch her tense, her bottom clenching in anticipation. “Wh-what do you mean?”
Reaching for the buckle on my belt, I pull it free, letting her hear the jangle of the metal, the snap of the leather.
“As I said, you are going to feel Daddy’s belt on your naughty bottom.
But every five strokes, I’m going to stop and ask our family if they think you’ve had enough.
And I will not stop until the decision is unanimous. ”
Silence greets my pronouncement, but then Lanie jumps up from her Daddy’s lap to glare at me. “Well I already think she’s had enough! You guys are just being mean!”
“Melanie,” Axel growls, reaching for her to pull her back onto his lap. “That’s enough.”
“But—”
Clamping a hand down over her mouth, Axel sighs. “I’m going to put her down for a nap. I’ll be back.”
Lanie glares daggers at me as her Daddy hauls her out of the living room and upstairs. I let my gaze travel over my siblings, waiting for each one of them to nod in agreement.
Ford is the holdout, but as always, he eventually gives in with a sigh of his own.
I nod at my family, dragging in a deep breath as I brace for what needs to be done. “All right, then. Let’s get started.”
Josie
A soft whimper escapes my lips before I press them together. I’m determined to bear this punishment as stoically as possible. I hurt the people I love most and if anyone has ever deserved a spanking, it’s me.
There’s a sort of whistling sound and then the loud crack of leather meeting flesh echoes around the room. It takes a moment for the pain to register, but when it does, it’s an all-consuming inferno of agony.
Fucking hell, I forgot how much his belt hurts.
But I’m still determined to take my whipping like a Big girl, so I press the toes of my Mary Janes against the hardwood to keep from kicking up as another stroke lands. And another. And another.
By the time he brings the belt down for the fifth time, right across my sensitive sit-spots, tears are stinging my eyes and my breaths are shaky and ragged.
“All right. Who thinks Josie has been properly punished?”
Fuck. I hadn’t anticipated how difficult it would be, waiting for my tribunal to sign off on my punishment. It’s torture, waiting for them to decide, and I can’t even find the strength to turn my head and see who’s voted against me.
“Again, then.”
Number six rips a cry from my throat and I lose the battle to keep my feet pressed against the floor. “I’m sorry, Daddy, I’m sorry!”
“I know you are, bug. But you need to put your feet down or Daddy will have to strap your thighs.”
That gets my legs moving. “S-sorry, Daddy,” I sniffle past the tears slowly trickling down my cheeks.
“It’s all right, baby. This is a hard punishment for such a Little girl and Daddy is so proud of how well you’re taking it.”
His words give me enough courage to make it through the next four strokes of the belt without moving. When it finishes and he once again asks his family for their verdict, I collapse over the arm of the chair, gasping for air.
My whole bottom feels like it’s on fire and I just know wearing a diaper is going to be torture after this. But I deserve every stroke and more, if that’s what my family decides.
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Auntie Gray’s voice is a low, deadly growl. “Can’t you see she’s had enough? She’s already apologized. What more do you want?”
“Gray.” By contrast, Daddy’s voice is soft, but firm. “This is a family decision.”
“Maybe our family is full of assholes.”
Someone laughs. “That goes without saying.”
Uncle Eli, I think, and Auntie Gray growls again in response. But her anger at the situation clearly doesn’t move whichever of my uncles is holding out, because Daddy taps the belt against my bottom once more.
“Again.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I brace for the next strike of the belt. By now my whole backside feels like it’s on fire and I can’t help but cry out as fresh agony blooms across the fullest part of my bottom.
“I’m s-sorry!” I choke out, tears streaming freely down my cheeks as I sob. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
My apologies become a mantra as the thick leather connects with my aching flesh again and again and again. This time when I collapse over the arm of the chair, I’m sobbing too hard to hear what anyone is saying.
But then a familiar pair of arms lifts me up and I curl into Daddy’s broad chest, my tears soaking the flannel of his shirt.
“Shh, little bug. It’s all over. Daddy’s got you.”
Relief floods my veins, but it doesn’t ease my tears.
If anything, I’m crying harder now, my entire body shaking with my sobs.
I’m vaguely aware of the fact that we’re moving, of him juggling me in his arms, of the sound of running water.
But when he tries to put me down, I cling to him even more tightly.
“Daddy just needs to get your clothes off, baby, and then I’ll hold you as long as you want.”
It takes every bit of strength I have to loosen my grip on him as he sets me on my feet and peels my dress from me.
And then I’m in his arms again, this time pressed against his bare chest as he lowers us both into the tub.
I let out a low hiss as my welted ass comes into contact with the steaming water and Daddy once more soothes my distress.
“My brave little lovebug,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my hair. “You took your spanking so well, baby. Daddy’s so fucking proud of you.”
By now my tears have finally begun to slow and I sniffle loudly as I snuggle closer to him. “Y-you are?”
“Of course, baby. I’m always proud of you.”
“Even though I’m horrible and selfish and I betrayed our whole family?”
His arms tighten around me. “You are none of those things. You were a scared Little girl who made a bad choice, but it’s all forgiven now.”
“It’s not.” Fresh tears well in my eyes. “They all hate me.”
“Nobody hates you, bug. If anything, they love you so much that the thought of losing you again terrifies them almost as much as it terrifies me.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “I’m so sorry.”
“No more apologies, little one. You made a mistake and you were punished and we will never talk about it again. Understood?”
It shouldn’t be that easy, and I doubt it actually will be in the long run. But I don’t have the energy to argue, so I let my eyes drift closed as we float in the water. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl.”
His praise settles deep in my soul, and I swear it wipes away the last of those lingering doubts and yucky feelings. I have no doubt they’ll arise again from time to time, but for now, I’m Daddy’s good girl and that’s enough.
For a long time, we simply float in silence, until the water cools around us and he begins the process of washing me from head to toe. But when he reaches my poor, welted bottom I can’t help but whimper as the washcloth brushes over my tender skin.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay, Daddy’s right here.”
Clinging to him, I bury my face in his neck as his finger probes my bottom hole. “Daddy, no.”
“Yes, bug. Daddy needs to make sure his babygirl is clean everywhere. Especially this sweet little hole.”
I can’t help but clench at the invasion, soft whimpers slipping past my lips as he forces me to open, to accept his finger.
“There we go,” he murmurs, pushing even deeper inside me. “Now we can get that bottom hole nice and clean for Daddy’s cock.”
Fear ripples through me and my muscles instinctively clench around him. “No! It’s too big!”
Beneath me, his chest ripples with laughter. “As much as I appreciate the compliment, I assure you that it is not too big, baby. Your little hole was made for this. Made to take Daddy’s cock.”
“Nuh-uh!”
He moves his finger in and out of my bottom, and I let out a low whine as pain and pleasure swirl together inside me. “Josie. Look at me, baby.”
I force my head up, force myself to meet his dark, burning gaze. “Y-yes, Daddy?”
“Do you trust me, baby?”
Not once in our time together has he ever asked me that.
Even when I gave him my virginity at the tender age of eighteen, he never had to ask.
The fact that he does so now, when he’s talking about claiming the last part of me nobody has ever touched fills me with both fear and a love so strong it feels as though my chest might burst from it.
Keeping my eyes locked on his, I reach for the last bit of courage I have left in me.
“Yes, Daddy. I trust you.”