Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
Most Little girls argued and whined over writing lines, but Eliza had almost seemed relieved by the punishment. Then again, he might be too if he’d gotten the spanking and mouth-soaping she’d just received.
He hadn’t really been prepared for her tears. From what Derek had said, she hardly ever cried during a punishment. So when she’d broken down sobbing in his arms, he’d been both worried and humbled that she’d apparently felt comfortable enough with him to be so vulnerable. Especially after such a short time together.
Which was part of why he’d felt compelled to be vulnerable right back. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told her he’d fallen for her the moment he’d seen her picture. While he wasn’t a man prone to flights of fancy and he’d never before believed in the concept of love at first sight, when Derek had first sent over her picture and file, he just knew.
And now she knew exactly how he felt, and what he wanted from her. He was willing to bend a bit, to give up some of what he loved most about being a Daddy if she genuinely couldn’t bring herself to be his baby. Hopefully, she would be willing to bend a bit as well.
Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Eliza Bennett had a Little buried deep inside her. And he wanted nothing more than to bring her to the surface where she could be loved and cherished the way she deserved.
He put in the order for the pizza, then joined her at the table to review his notes for his classes the next day. She glanced up when he settled in the chair opposite her, surprise flickering across her face before a shy smile curved her lips. For the half hour it took for the pizza to arrive, they worked in a companionable silence.
“Done!” She proclaimed, dropping her pen onto the table and giving her hand a vigorous shake.
Just as she lifted her arms over her head in a stretch that had her breasts straining against the fabric of her button-down shirt, the doorbell rang. “And right on time,” he said, forcing himself to stand and walk to the door instead of ripping her shirt open and teaching her exactly what it meant to be Daddy’s good girl.
He retrieved their dinner from the service submissive on the other side of the door and carried it back to the kitchen. To his surprise, Eliza was already up and pulling plates from the cabinets. Her skirt was still tucked into her waistband, giving him a perfect view of her still-reddened bottom.
Beautiful.
“Thank you for getting the plates, little one.”
Turning around with the plates in hand, she wrinkled her nose. “Do you have to call me that?”
“Yes. Like the shoes, it’s a good way to remind you of your role as my Little girl.”
“I thought you might say that,” she said with a sigh as she set the table .
Inspiration struck and he placed the pizza on the table and took her hand. “Come with me.”
Leading her over to the charts he’d hung on the wall, he gestured to her “Good Girl” chart. “I’ll make you a deal. If you can earn and keep five Good Girl magnets every day for a week, your reward can be one Big Girl day. You can wear whatever you like, and I’ll take you to a Big Girl activity of your choice. How’s that sound?”
Interest lit her eyes. “Can I use naughty words during my Big Girl day?”
“As long as you aren’t calling anyone names or saying them in anger toward someone… yes.” It wasn’t his preference, but he could bend. He could be flexible when the situation warranted it.
He could.
The wheels in her mind were working so hard he swore he could hear the gears turning. “And my Big Girl activity can be whatever I want?”
“Did you have something specific in mind?”
She nibbled her bottom lip, the way he’d noticed she did when she was nervous. “I was thinking… maybe a trip to the Dungeon. With you.”
Fuck. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to yank her into his arms and claim her right then and there. “I would love nothing more than to take you to the Dungeon and leave my marks all over your beautiful body, Eliza Bennett.”
“But?” she asked, sounding suddenly wary.
“ But , I am going to need to be convinced that you have been one hundred percent honest with me about your limits and your needs before that can happen.”
“I am being honest.”
“Then all you have to do is convince me. ”
Again with the nibbling before she finally nodded. “Deal.”
To his amusement, she stuck her hand out like any good businesswoman. He took her hand in his and gave it a firm shake.
“Done. Now, were you a good girl today?”
An adorable pink blush crept into her cheeks as she reached behind to rub at her bottom. “I think you know the answer to that.”
“Just because you were naughty doesn’t mean you weren’t a good girl. Let’s see… You ate breakfast and lunch, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And we’re about to eat dinner.” Picking up one of the sparkly Good Girl stars, he placed it on the “Three Meals a Day” square for Tuesday. “What about your homework?”
“Um. Well. I tried.”
“Okay. We can talk about that one over dinner. Water?”
“No,” she admitted with a sigh. “I tried but it’s so boring .”
Laughing, he reached out and ran a hand over her hair. “Maybe we can get some of those flavored drops for you to make it less boring. Let’s see… I know you went to all your classes today, since you only had the one and I spoke with Professor Remington after your class.”
“You did?” she asked as he moved a magnet to the correct spot. “What did he say?”
“That you behaved yourself, for the most part. He said he had to get on to you for talking to your friends a couple of times, but other than that, you were polite and attentive.”
“Attentive is not usually a word people use to describe me. ”
“I’m aware.” And he had his thoughts about that, but he wanted to observe her a bit first before he broached them with her. “I think we should add setting and clearing the table to your chart. Once we get settled in a bit more, I’m happy to cook, or order in for us. Did you brush your teeth this morning?”
“Of course I did.”
“Another Good Girl star for you, then.”
“I don’t need stars for basic chores and hygiene.”
He sent her a deliberately stern look that had her rolling her eyes. “Well, I don’t .”
“I’m a firm believer that good Little girls should be rewarded as often as possible to help build good habits. Besides, the more opportunities you have to get stars, the easier it will be for you to earn a Big Girl Day.”
“You want me to earn a Big Girl Day?”
“I want you to have goals you’re excited about, and you seemed very excited about your Big Girl Day.”
“I am. Thanks,” she added, her tone both grateful and confused.
“You’re welcome, little one. Ready for pizza?”
“Oh, um. Shouldn’t I lose a star? I broke the naughty word rule three times.”
Pride welled in his chest. “That’s true… but I think maybe we can let you keep your star, just this once. You had a hard day, and I don’t think that’s a rule you’ll be breaking again soon, is it?”
“No, Sir.”
“Good.” Cupping her face, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Daddy’s very proud of you, Eliza. I know today was hard and we had some pretty big speed bumps. But you took your punishments, and now we can start fresh again tomorrow. ”
Pure pleasure lit her eyes. “Thanks. I’m sorry I was so naughty today. I would say I really don’t mean to be but, well, most of the time I do it on purpose.”
God, she was adorable, with her eyes still red and watering and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and pleasure. It was too tempting of a package, and he found himself leaning in, his gaze locked on those pouty lips of hers before he realized what he was doing.
Clearing his throat, he released her and nudged her toward the table. He poured them each a small glass of soda and served up their pizza before taking his spot across from her. “Why do you think you do naughty things on purpose?”
Apparently giving the question some serious thought, she scrunched up her nose as she chewed and swallowed her first bite of pizza. “Usually it’s because I think the rules don’t make any sense. And if they don’t make any sense, well, why should I have to follow them?”
“What kind of rules?”
“Well, the shoes are an obvious example. But like, when I lived in the dorms we had lots of rules about keeping our rooms clean and lights out by a certain time. Rules like that make sense for the Littles but c’mon. We’re all adults here at the University.”
“You’re adults, but also submissives. And most submissives thrive with some kind of structure and discipline.”
“I guess. Sometimes it just feels so arbitrary, you know?”
“I can see how it might feel that way. Are there any other reasons?”
She grinned, and he wondered if she knew how fucking potent her smile was. “Sometimes I just like being in trouble.”
“What do you like about it? ”
“I don’t know, really. The adrenaline rush, I guess. Like, a scene in the Dungeon is great for a little stress relief but nothing beats the thrill of knowing you’ve done something naughty and waiting to see if you get caught. And then you do and your heart is just racing while you wait for your punishment.”
“Did you feel that way about your punishments tonight?”
“No, Doctor Eaton, I did not.” She stuck her tongue out at him, then burst into giggles. “Tonight was just awful all the way around.”
“What do you think made it different?”
“Seriously, are you hiding a psychology degree somewhere?” Taking another bite of pizza, she did that same little nose scrunch she’d done before when she’d been seriously thinking about his question. “I think it’s because I wasn’t in control. Usually when I break the rules I mean to break them. Today I just felt totally out of control of everything, even my own emotions and reactions.”
“You meant to break the rule about your shoes,” he pointed out.
“I did but… I did that because I was mad. I dunno, I can’t really explain but it just felt different. I felt kinda yucky about it the whole time I was wearing them.”
Interesting. “And now? Do you still feel yucky?”
She frowned. “Actually… no. I feel lighter, I guess? Kinda how I’ve always heard the other submissives talk about how they feel after a punishment. I don’t usually feel so yucky beforehand, so I’ve never had that ‘Everything has been forgiven’ feeling afterward, if that makes sense.”
“It does. Thank you for being honest with me. I’m afraid I have a few more questions.”
“Of course you do,” she said with a laugh, waving her pizza around. “Ask away. ”
“When I asked you about your homework, you said ‘I tried’. Will you tell me what happened?”
It was like watching someone flip a switch. Her face crumpled and she set her pizza down again. Perfect white teeth nibbled at her bottom lip. “If I tell you, will you promise not to be mad?”
“I can’t promise that. But I can promise to listen and keep an open mind.”
“I guess that’ll have to be good enough.” She sighed, and the sound was so sad he nearly jumped out of his chair to scoop her up and cuddle her on his lap. “I get distracted easily.”
“I may have heard a rumor about that.”
“Teachers are the biggest gossips, I swear,” she grumbled. “Well, I got to the library and realized I had my math textbook but not my notebook or my workbook, even though I swear I had both of them in there last night, and I don’t remember taking them out. So I had to text the group chat to see if anyone could give me the assignment. Which was a whole thing because I kept getting distracted by the chat, but I eventually did actually start the homework.”
“Good job. I’m proud of you for not just giving up at the first bump in the road.”
“Yeah?” The barest hint of a smile flashed, then faded just as quickly. “I did give up, though. I tried the problems, I really did. But I didn’t have my notes from class and I couldn’t figure anything out.”
“I want you to look at me, little girl.”
He waited for her to raise her gaze to his, then put as much conviction as he could into his tone. “I will never, ever be upset with you for trying. Even if you try and it’s too hard, or you need help, I will always be proud of you for at least giving it a go. You never have to be afraid to tell me that you struggled with something. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl. Finish your pizza and we’ll go over your math problems together.”
Sighing dramatically, she picked up her half-eaten slice. “I was worried you might say that.”