Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
The only thing worse than the burn in her bottom was the rock still sitting in her stomach. Guilt, Kylie had called it at breakfast. But other than a few times when she’d unintentionally done something that had actually hurt someone, she’d never felt guilty about breaking a rule. Ever. It just wasn’t in her nature, the way it seemed to be for some submissives.
So why was she feeling this way about something as silly as changing her shoes? Was it because Samuel kept insisting she was a good girl when she knew damn well she wasn’t? What about him was so different that just knowing she’d disappointed him made her want to cry?
She didn’t have any clearer answers by the time she gingerly settled herself onto a chair in the library. The burn from the peppermint oil had already faded somewhat, but every time she shifted in her seat, it would reignite for a few miserable seconds.
Thankfully, it was only the second day of school so her homework load was relatively light. There were just the math problems her “Daddy” had assigned the day before and a short research paper for her Western Civilization course that was due in a few weeks. And that could wait a bit.
Oh and that stupid workbook from the summer. Ugh.
Which presented a whole new set of problems. If she didn’t do the workbook, would she understand the math homework? But what if she didn’t have time for the homework because she spent all her time doing the workbook?
She’d already faced the embarrassment of not having her workbook, and she didn’t really want to go through that again with her homework in the morning. Maybe it was better to get that out of the way so at the very least she wasn’t showing up to class empty-handed tomorrow.
Feeling somewhat more settled now that she had a plan of sorts, she pulled out her math book and dropped it on the table before reaching into her backpack for the notebook she’d picked out at the school store specifically for this class. But the bright red notebook was nowhere to be seen, which meant she didn’t know which pages she was actually supposed to work on.
A further exploration of her bookbag revealed she also didn’t have her workbook. Which made no sense because she hadn’t taken either of those things out of her bag the night before.
Had she?
Frustration wrapped around her, a tight band constricting her chest as she struggled to think of what to do next. Normally, she’d just tell herself she’d work on it later, but Samuel’s words were still ringing in her ears. How much worse would her punishment be if he found out she’d spent all afternoon at the library and done nothing?
She could go ask him, but she could already see the disappointment in his eyes when she told him she didn’t have what she needed to complete her homework or her workbook. And she didn’t have a key to their apartment yet, either, so she couldn’t simply sneak over and retrieve them from her room. Or wherever else she’d left them lying around.
Her phone buzzed, and the band around her chest eased a bit when she saw the group chat notification on her screen. A couple of the people in that particular chat were also in her math class. Opening the message, she typed out her question.
Anyone got the homework from Professor Eaton’s class?
It only took a few seconds for a response to come through and she nearly wept with relief.
Harmony: Yup. Pages 157-159, all of the even-numbered questions. We did the odd-numbered ones in class.
Dan: Wait. Is Eliza Bennett actually doing HOMEWORK?
Eliza: Shut up, Dan. I do homework. Sometimes.
Harmony: A little birdie told me she’s got that hot new math teacher to keep her in line. What’s the story, El?
Eliza: Ugh. I do NOT want to talk about it right now.
Kylie: Leave her alone, you guys. El, want me to come keep you company in the library? I can be there in about an hour.
Eliza: Oh my god, yes please! Rescue me!
Dan: Homework? In the library??? Who are you and what have you done with Eliza?
Kylie: Shut up, Dan.
Harmony: Shut up, Dan.
Dan: Shutting up, geez. Did everyone get their sense of humor removed over summer break ?
Poor Dan. Grinning down at the messages, Eliza inhaled deeply for the first time since she’d realized she didn’t have her notebook with her. Out of habit, she swiped to open one of her many social media apps but was greeted with nothing but a black screen and a message reminding her she didn’t have access to that app right now.
Right. Stupid parental controls or whatever he’d put on her phone to basically turn it into a brick while she was at school.
Having a Daddy was the worst .
She set the phone aside, since it wasn’t good for anything at the moment anyway, then stared at the math book in front of her.
What was she supposed to be doing?
Math homework. Right. What pages?
Picking her phone up again, she opened the group chat to find the information Harmony had sent her, then laughed at the playful abuse the rest of the chat was heaping on Dan’s head. Even Hayleigh, who had graduated already and was interning with a local interior designer, had joined in.
Before she knew it, another half hour had passed and she still hadn’t opened her textbook. Setting the phone firmly aside, she flipped open the book—and realized she hadn’t actually looked at Harmony’s text with the homework assignment. Which meant looking at her group text, again, hopefully without getting distracted this time.
She tried. She really did. And it took another three tries, but she finally got the pages from the text Harmony had sent and flipped her math book to the right page.
Now she was presented with a new issue. No matter how long she stared at them, the problems on the page simply didn’t make sense. Maybe if she’d had her other notebook, with the problems they’d solved in class, she could figure them out. Or if she had her workbook from the summer.
But she didn’t, and the array of numbers and letters in front of her might as well have been an alien language.
“Fuck this,” she muttered to herself, shoving the math book back into her bag. She’d just have to swallow her pride later and ask Samuel for help. Surely one of the benefits of having a professor for a Daddy was getting one-on-one help.
Just as she was zipping her bag up again, a shadow fell over her. She looked up to find Kylie standing in front of her, holding a giant cup of coffee.
“Oh my god. My hero!” Taking the cup, she lifted it to her lips and sipped. “Mmm. Pumpkin spice latte. You know the way to my heart.”
“I do, and it sounded like you could use a pick-me-up.” Dropping onto the seat at the table across from Eliza, Kylie sent her a sympathetic smile. “Rough day?”
“The roughest.”
“I, ah, noticed you’re still wearing the flats.”
“Wearing the flats again, you mean. I changed into the heels before Business Law, but Samuel caught me.”
Kylie winced. “Uh oh. Are you in trouble?”
“So much fucking trouble, Ky. He put a plug in my ass, and the lube had peppermint oil in it or something and it fucking burns . And that’s not even counting all the spankings I have coming when I get home. I just keep racking them up.”
“It’s always a struggle to get used to new rules and expectations.” Lips twitching, Kylie took a sip of her own coffee. “Especially with someone as stubborn as you. ”
“I am not stubborn. I just don’t see why I should be expected to follow all these stupid rules.”
“Because they’re the rules, babe. That’s kind of the point of having them.”
“But some of them are just stupid. Like, why can’t I wear the shoes I want to wear?”
“I don’t know. Did you ask him?”
“Not really.” Shifting a bit under Kylie’s unwavering gaze, she winced as the peppermint oil flared to life again. “He did say it’s to help me stay in the mindset of being his Little girl. Which I hate.”
“I know you do but… it kinda makes sense.” At Eliza’s glare, Kylie just rolled her eyes. “Well, it does. He knows he’s locked in a battle of wills with you right now, and he’s not going to give you any kind of leeway until you’ve proven you can be trusted with it. And breaking every single rule he gives you isn’t exactly proving that to him, babe.”
“I shouldn’t have to prove anything. Shouldn’t he just trust me until I do something to prove I don’t deserve his trust?”
“Under ideal circumstances, sure. But you’ve already proven to Master Derek and the rest of the Ranch that if someone gives you an inch you’re going to take a mile. I love you, Eliza, I really do. But if I’m being completely blunt here, I think the way he’s going about this is probably the best way, in the long run.”
Betrayal burned in her stomach, worsened by the niggling thought that Kylie was probably right. Which meant Samuel was, as galling as it may have been, also right. “Even all the ‘Little girl’ stuff? Knowing how much I hate it?”
Kylie shrugged. “If it bothers you that much, make ageplay a limit. ”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“Then you don’t get to bitch when he uses tactics you despise. And, I’m sorry, but it’s obviously working. The fact that you’re here in the library, doing homework, is a testament to his process. Speaking of, are you finished? I’ve got some stuff I can do if you’re still working, but if you’re finished for the day I can wait until I get back to the dorm.”
The unfinished math homework and as-yet-unstarted history paper silently mocked her from her backpack. But she didn’t know when she’d get to just hang out with Kylie like this again now that they weren’t living together. And she’d already made up her mind to ask Samuel for help on the math stuff, and she had more than enough time to work on the history paper.
“All done. I can’t leave the library, though.”
“Wow, he really is strict, isn’t he? No problem.” Eyes sparkling, Kylie rose from her chair and held out a hand. “Let’s go check out the romance section. Maybe if Emily can point us in the direction of some naughty Daddy books for you to read, you’ll find you don’t hate the idea of having a Daddy as much as you think you do.”
“Yeah, right. And for my next trick, I’ll make pigs fly.”
He found her curled up on a beanbag chair in the romance section of the library, a pretty blush on her cheeks as she flipped the page on an Arabella Cole novel. Arabella, he happened to know, was the pseudonym used by one of the professors here at Rawhide University. His real name was Dalton Rogers and as a professor he had a love of classic literature, but as Arabella, he wrote incredibly filthy books filled with deep ageplay .
Interesting reading for a girl who claimed to hate the idea of having a Daddy as much as his little Eliza.
“Enjoying your book, little one?”
To his delight, she jumped, her eyes wide and the flush in her cheeks darkening as she pulled the book against her chest. “Oh my god, you scared the shi—stuff out of me!”
Crouching down, he reached out to cup her cheek. “Good girl. Thank you for catching yourself before you said a naughty word. I know it isn’t easy changing those old habits.”
The blush on her face darkened adorably. “Oh, um, no. I guess it isn’t.”
“Do you want to take your book home with you?”
“No!” As if realizing she’d protested a little too loudly, Eliza cleared her throat and snapped the book shut. “It was just… an experiment.”
Taking the book from her, he returned it to one of the carts to be reshelved later before helping her to her feet. With her hand firmly locked in his, he picked up her backpack and slung it over his shoulder with his briefcase. “What kind of experiment?”
“I can carry my own book bag, you know.”
“I know. What kind of experiment?”
She let out a sigh full of aggravation, but she didn’t push the backpack issue. “Kylie had this idea that if I read some sexy Daddy books, maybe I’d be more okay with the idea of having a Daddy.”
Heart pounding against his rib cage, he gave her arm a gentle swing as if her answer to his next question wouldn’t potentially make or break their relationship. “And? What’s the verdict?”
“Too soon to tell, I think.” Silence fell, and he nearly had to bite his tongue in half to force himself to give her the time to think it over. “I like some of it. The caregiver stuff, where he gives her baths and has a schedule for her to follow. And the idea of just getting to sit and play or color or whatever isn’t awful . But I still hate the idea of diapers and bottles and stuff.”
“Then we’ll keep diapers and bottles off the table for now, unless you’re extra, extra naughty.”
“Couldn’t we take them off the table entirely?”
“We could. If you’d like to add them to your hard limits list.” It was a nice enough day to walk, so he skipped the golf carts in favor of a leisurely stroll to the employee apartments. Partially so they could enjoy the crisp autumn air after being cooped up inside all day, and partially to put off the punishments she had coming. He had a feeling once she’d gotten her bottom well and truly paddled, she wouldn’t be feeling so chatty.
And he desperately wanted to hear her thoughts on what she’d read.
“I had a feeling you’d say that,” she said with a sigh. “It’s not a limit, it’s just that the idea of going to the bathroom in a diaper doesn’t give me the same tingly feeling the other stuff in those books did.”
“How did the diaper play make you feel?”
“I dunno. It made my tummy hurt a little, and I felt… embarrassed, I guess? For the people in the book. Which is probably silly, but I figure if I feel that strongly about people who don’t even exist, it would probably be even worse in real life, right?”
“Perhaps. For some, the embarrassment and the humiliation is part of the thrill, though. They enjoy being ‘forced’ to endure something so embarrassing.”
“Oh. I don’t think I would like that very much at all.”
“Well, if you can be a Big girl and follow Daddy’s rules, you won’t have to find out.” By the time they reached that point in their conversation, they’d made it up to his apartment. Dropping her hand, he unlocked the door and pushed it open, gesturing for her to step inside. “For now, little girl, we have several naughties to discuss from today, don’t we?”
“Or, we could call today a test run and start again tomorrow with a clean slate.”
The smile she shot over her shoulder was pure sass, and his palm positively itched to connect with her bottom. “Hmmm.” Pretending to mull it over, he locked the apartment door behind them and hung their bags on the hooks in the entryway before he followed her to the living room where she was waiting for him, looking every bit like a mischievous Little girl. He gripped her chin, tilting her head back and forcing her to look up at him. “We could do that. But then what would we do about the knots in your tummy?”
“How did you…” She caught herself, and her eyes narrowed. “Maybe I don’t have knots.”
“Eliza. Be honest with Daddy.”
“Ugh, fine . I have knots in my stomach. Happy?”
“Thank you for your honesty. And lucky for you, Daddy knows exactly how to untie those knots and help you get rid of all those yucky feelings in your tummy. So the only question left is, would you rather have your spankings now, or wait until after dinner?”
“Can we just get it over with? Please?”
“Of course, little one. Take your tights and panties off and go put them in your clothes hamper. You won’t be needing them the rest of the night.”