Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
The earth is sacred, and we are her children
David
He’s not my Daddy.
The words might have been whispered, but they played in his mind as if they’d been shouted in a canyon and were echoing off its walls.
It was time he remedied that misconception.
As the others ate the sandwiches, chips, fruit, and cookies that the Bears had prepared for lunch, David slipped away to make a request.
He'd stepped out of the forest to see Tula wasn’t among the others, but instead found her standing at the very edge and scanning the river. He smiled and joined her. “Are you that anxious to be part of another demonstration?”
She jumped a bit and turned to look up at him. “You startled me.”
“I can tell, though I didn’t mean to. Are you okay?”
“I am now,” she said softly. “So what do you need help demonstrating?”
He chuckled. “How about you look around and see if you can figure that out?”
Tula did exactly that, looking first to the river and then at the forest before returning her gaze to him.
“Can you give me a clue? I don’t see any horses, so guess we’re not riding today.
Which leaves something involving water, hiking, or”—she gestured toward the mountain across the river—“maybe climbing?”
Instead of answering immediately, he studied her upturned face before shaking his head. “Tell me, otter, have you ever had a Daddy Dom before?”
If he’d asked her if she could fly he figured she wouldn’t have been as shocked. He’d admit it wasn’t exactly the topic he’d begun with, but her innocence of consequences had prompted him to cut to the chase. He watched as her surprised expression changed to contemplation.
“Tell me, Sir, if I say no does that mean you’ll want a different camp buddy?”
Seemed his otter was ready to do a bit of cutting herself. “Hold that thought, okay? I’ll be right back. Do not move from that spot.”
“Yes, Sir, feet glued,” she said.
He considered the pat to her ass he gave her as incentive to assure they’d remain stuck while he was gone.
“Travis, can you handle camp for a bit longer? I’d like to take Tallulah for a walk.”
Travis chuckled. “Though our charges identify as Littles, they are big enough I’m not really afraid anyone is going to wander too far. Enjoy the walk. But I can’t guarantee you won’t be inundated with questions when you get back. Littles are quite nosy.”
“We’re not nosy, we just look out for each other, Daddy.” Where Wren had come from David wasn’t sure, but Travis didn’t seem the least bit surprised.
“If you say so.” Travis chuckled. “How about you go see who wants to play a game.”
“On it!” Wren disappeared almost as suddenly as she’d appeared.
“Go, I’ve got this,” Travis assured him. “You can return the favor later.”
“Deal,” David said.
He found Tula exactly where he’d left her.
He held out his hand and when she gestured to the ground, he chuckled.
“Okay, you may unglue your feet.” The only clear spot on this part of the river was the small cove where they’d beached the canoes so once she’d slipped her hand into his, instead of walking along the bank, David led her into the forest.
“To answer your question, unless you tell me you’d like a different buddy, as far as I’m concerned, we’re a couple.”
“A couple as in buddies, or a couple as in… well, a couple couple?” she asked.
He smiled. “A couple as in I’d really like to kiss you again. May I?”
“It depends,” she said as she stopped walking.
“On?”
“On if your role in that couple is my Daddy.”
He’d heard how people would swear their hearts did all sorts of things he knew to be medically impossible, but when his felt as if it couldn’t decide to flip, skip, or simply stop, he understood. “I’d be incredibly honored to be your Daddy, Tula, but there are things we need to discuss.”
“What things?”
“I’m not avoiding the question, but there are far too many things to cover on a walk. I promise we can start going over them tonight.”
Her nose crinkled but she nodded. “Okay, so I guess that kiss will have to wait?”
“You guessed wrong, little girl.” He pulled her to him and slid his hand to cup the back of her head as he bent his.
The kiss was like coming home as he took it deeper when she instantly opened her lips as a single swipe of his tongue asked for entry.
His fingers curled into her hair while hers curled into the fabric of his shirt.
When she whimpered, he dropped his hand to join his other in order to lift her off the ground.
Her legs wrapped around his waist as if she wanted to burrow into him as much as he wanted to do the same.
She was so incredibly soft, yet he’d witnessed the flex and pull of muscles and tendons as she’d swum and as she’d so very easily pulled herself into the canoe.
It was only when she whimpered again that he realized she most likely needed to breathe.
Still, the only distance he was willing to concede was to release her mouth while keeping his forehead against hers.
“I think we’re skipping a few steps, otter,” he muttered as she drew in a deep breath.
He loved the sound of her giggle but loved her murmur of, “I think that only matters when climbing a mountain, Daddy.”
Sweet Jesus.
Was there another word that held as much meaning as that one did?
Daddy.
It possessed a power he’d never truly understood until now.
With it, he wasn’t accepting her as a temporary playmate or casual partner.
The moment he heard it settle, not in his head but in his heart, he knew he’d found the other half of his soul.
But with it also came responsibility and that was what had him smiling and kissing the tip of her nose rather than crushing his mouth against hers again.
“Thank you, Tula. That means more to me than you’ll ever know,” he said reverently. “Still, mountain or man, there are steps to take to assure your safety.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is that some fancy way of saying the kissing is over?”
He chuckled. “No, never over, just means we can look forward to another. But, for now, we need to exchange some rather important information.”
“Fine. No, I’ve never had a Daddy Dom, but I’ve been looking for a long time. I’m twenty-four years old, I’m single and though I’m a Little, I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions.”
He was a little perplexed at the force she put behind that last sentence.
“I can assure you I’m not the sort of man who wants to rule you, Tula.
Do I want a Little, yes? Not so I can take away her identity or her self-worth, but to treasure.
The only rules I’m interested in are the ones we will agree on. ”
“I just meant in case you were a little worried about my uncle, you don’t need to be.”
He groaned. “To be honest, I’d sort of forgotten about him, but now that you brought him up—”
“He’s a big teddy bear,” she assured him.
He quirked his brow and she giggled.
“Oh, I like that. It makes my tummy feel all fluttery. Do it again!”
Good grief, she was unlike any woman he’d ever known. “It’s supposed to give you pause, little girl.”
“I know.” She smiled. “But it’s still sexy as hell… ouch!”
He grinned as she squealed. “Little girls don’t curse unless they want additional swats added to their spanking.”
“I’ll file that away,” she said and for some reason, he was pretty sure she’d be testing him but he was perfectly okay with that.
“Back to your uncle, he’s a man I respect with every bone in my body. And while he might be a softy for you, I’m pretty sure that he won’t extend that courtesy to me if he thinks for a single moment I’m taking advantage of you.”
She shook her head. “Uncle Moses not only trusts me to make the right choices, he’d never ever have let you take me away if he didn’t know you’d never take advantage of me or anyone else for that matter.
Master David, you are far more like Uncle Moses than you think.
You are both men who not only walk in nature but wear it like a cloak around your hearts.
The Crow clan believes in the sacredness of the earth.
We’re only visitors and, like us, you demonstrate reverence and respect every time you walk among her forests, travel her rivers, or climb her mountains. ”
He was stunned at the way her words made him feel.
The visions those words had painted would remain with him until the day he took his last breath.
He had to clear his throat before he cupped his palm around her cheek and said, “You’re the true poet, otter.
If I embody even a small part of your culture, then I am so very humbled and honored. ”
“And that is why the universe brought us together. So, we can take all the steps you want, but you’re my Daddy from this moment forward.”
“As I said, it is my honor, but right now I am your camp counselor who needs to remind you that actions have consequences.”
“Um, you’ve already said that.”
“I’m well aware, but it’s been my experience that spoken words can be easy to forget, but when they come with an incentive, those words are actually heard and not brushed aside.
” When her expression didn’t shift from confusion to understanding, he moved to a fallen tree and took a seat, drawing her to his side. “Let this be that incentive.”
Comprehension flashed into her eyes as he drew her down, not to sit on his lap, but to lie across it. “You’re spanking me?”
“I am.” He adjusted her so that she’d feel more balanced even in a rather precarious position.
“For saying he… um, ‘h’ ‘e’ double hockey sticks?”
“No, I gave you a warning that cursing again would add swats to the spanking you’d already earned.”
“Earned? Why?”
“Tell me, Tula, when you were looking at the river, the forests and the mountain, who did you see?”
“You.”
“Who was with you before I arrived?”
“Nobo… oh.”
“Oh is right. What is the rule?”
“But you are my buddy and… ouch!”
“The rule?”
“To always have a camp buddy with you.”
“And why would that be necessary?”
She lifted her head and turned it back to look at him. “Does my answer have any effect on the length of this spanking?”
He wanted to chuckle but refrained. “Should it?”
She sighed. “Asking a Little that is like asking her to bend over and grab her ankles. As much as I don’t want it to, I’m guessing the answer is yes.”
“Close. Add a ‘Sir’ to that ‘yes,’ and before bending over, these come down.” David hooked his fingers into the waistband of her shorts and dragged them down, making sure her panties went along for the ride. “Now once again, why do we have the rule in place?”
“To make sure we won’t get hurt, though, since you’re gonna smack my butt, please tell me even you can see how that can be seen as rather ironic.”
“Otter, spankings aren’t meant to be all sunshine and rainbows, they are meant to remind you of rules and the consequences earned when those rules are ignored. They might not be pleasant, but I promise they are never meant to harm you.”
She looked back again. “It’s still gonna hurt, though, right?”
“Right,” he confirmed. Lifting his hand, he brought it down on the left globe of her ass, knowing that though he’d probably hear a million more, this first sweet squeal she gave was one he’d never forget.
He began the task of teaching his Little that it was his job to keep her safe.
If doing so meant he’d need to redden her rear, so be it.
He’d delivered a dozen smacks before her hand reached back, fingers fluttering as if seeking to keep his spanking hand at bay.
He easily captured her wrist and pinned it to the small of her back, and when she simply jerked her other arm free from where it had been tucked between their bodies, he captured it as well.
She wiggled, she squirmed, and she squealed but she was going nowhere until he was sure she’d think twice before wandering off again. She might be twenty-four, but she was his Little girl and her safety was his top priority.
“What are you going to do the next time you want to go for a walk?” he asked as he began his second round.
“I wasn’t walking. I was just standing…”
It wasn’t the words that changed his target, it was the snarky tone in which they had been muttered that caused his hand to cup and land against the slope of where her ass met her thighs. Her reaction was instant.
“Owwwww! Sorry! A buddy! I’ll get a buddy to go with me!”
“Much better. Let this next set imprint that on your brain.”
“It’s imprinted, Daddy, it’s already chiseled in stone!”
She was just too cute. He increased his pace, peppering her bottom with quick smacks that he knew stung if the sharp yips she was uttering were any indication.
“Daddy! That hurts!”
“I know, otter, but it not only hurts less than being injured when alone and unable to get help on your own, but this spanking is also meant to help you remember that you are precious to your Daddy.”
Her cry wasn’t what had him looking up. It was a sharp sound that he knew hadn’t come from his hand.
Shifting his gaze from Tula’s reddened buttocks, he zeroed in on the rustling that didn’t come from any four-legged creature.
Though, put those two together and they did indeed have four legs.
As he continued to spank the naughty Little dangling over his knees, he knew she wouldn’t be the only one going to bed with a rather tender backside.
When his Little girl stopped attempting to escape the spanking, but accepted it and went limp over his knees, he knew she’d never forget her first spanking at his hands.
He delivered the last of the third set and then rubbed his palm across her globes.
They were warm to the touch, the skin flushed a pretty rose.
“I hope this spanking serves to remind you to think about your actions because they have an effect on others. If something happened to you, I’d be devastated.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
He lifted her and turned her to sit on his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Her sigh as she pressed her cheek against his chest was one of contentment that had him dropping a kiss to the top of her head.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, otter?”
“Even though I was bad, will you kiss me again before we go back?”
Using two fingers, he lifted her chin until he could see into her eyes. “You will never be bad, Tula. And you will be naughty but know this: Once you’ve been punished, you are forgiven and have a clean slate. And it will always be my pleasure to kiss you, otter.”
“Thank you, but just know I don’t plan on ever being naughty again.”
This time he set the chuckle free. “You can try, little girl, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men.”
The smile that had been a bit tremulous changed to one that had his heart catching in his throat as her arm slid around his neck. “Good thing I’m neither a mouse nor a man, then,” she said softly as she brought his head down so she could press her lips to his.
He allowed every cell of his being to soak up the beauty of this woman who’d made his heart complete by becoming his Little girl.