Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Corner time sucked.
It really, really sucked.
Nobody ever told you how boring it was. All right, so she’d never met an adult who had been given corner time as a punishment. She guessed that if she had they would likely tell her it was boring.
Because there was no way that anyone would find this interesting.
She sighed. Loudly.
“Little girl, you need to be quiet while in the corner. Your time will now start over again.”
Drat.
Finally, about twenty hours later, she was let out of the corner. She was so hungry and thirsty that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk over to Daddy.
Stumbling, she headed toward him.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you in pain? Is it your foot?” he asked worriedly.
“No, I was standing there for a thousand years without any food or water. I’m dying.”
He snorted and then picked her up, putting her on his hip. “I suppose you best have a nap, then, if you’re so exhausted.”
“What? Noooo. I’m not tired, Daddy.” She plastered a wide smile on her face. “I just need a drink and some yummy veggie snacks.”
He set her down in front of the plate of snacks and she picked up a piece of carrot, dipping it into the ranch.
Actually, that wasn’t that bad.
Who knew?
Jeb was surprised by how relaxed he felt.
There were always a million things that needed doing on the ranch. Normally, his mind was always on his to-do list.
But it felt quiet in his brain today.
And it was because of her. Because of how she made him feel.
He tried to tell himself that he’d feel this way with any other Little. But he had a bad feeling that he wouldn’t.
Casey was somehow worming her way under his skin and into his heart. Which wasn’t a good thing.
She was leaving. She didn’t want to be tied down to a rancher ten years older than her with a son. A son who he had to protect from hurt. He didn’t want Wyatt to think that anyone came before him.
“Are you all right, Daddy?” she asked as she glanced up from her picture.
“Ahh, yeah. I guess.” Part of him wanted to run. To tell her that something had come up and he needed to go.
However, that wasn’t fair to her. This was her first time letting her Little out like this. And he wouldn’t ruin this experience for her.
This was his issue.
He was the one developing feelings when he knew that he shouldn’t. All he had to do was get himself under control.
She ate the last piece of cucumber while studying him. “You’re sure you’re all right? You look like my oldest brother, Brendan, after he’s eaten too much curry. If you know what I mean.”
Jeb thought he did. And that wasn’t a flattering comparison.
“I’m fine,” he told her. “Did you have enough to eat?”
“Uh-huh. It was actually pretty good. If a bit lacking in sweetness.”
Jeb decided to ignore that criticism as he put everything on the tray and then set it down by the door. He’d take it down later when he got lunch.
But right now . . .
Moving over to where she sat, he crossed his arms. “Right, little girl. Time for your punishment.”
“I was hoping you’d forgotten about that,” she grumbled as she took the hand he held out to her.
“It’s been less than an hour since we last talked about it,” he said as he led her toward the bed.
“Yeah, but you could be getting forgetful in your old age,” she told him.
“Old age? I’m thirty-five, you brat.”
He sat on the bed and tugged her between his legs, tickling her under the arms and down her sides.
Giggling, she twisted around trying to get away from him.
“Stop! Stop! You’re not old! You’re young and gorgeous.”
“That’s better,” he said, stopping. “But you’re the gorgeous one.”
Staring at her flushed, smiling face, he couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his hand around the back of her head and drawing her in for a kiss.
The kiss quickly deepened and he settled her on his lap so she was straddling his legs while facing him.
“Baby, fuck. You taste delicious,” he murmured. “I want to kiss you all over.”
“I like the sound of that,” she said.
“Yeah?” He grinned. “Good. I like knowing that you want me as well.”
“I do,” she said as she tried to thrust back and forth, obviously searching for some friction. “Touch me.”
“I will. But not today. You’re not quite ready to have me touch you.”
“I feel ready!”
Another grin. Wow. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled like this.
“I’ll touch you all over when I’m ready to fuck you,” he told her. “Because once I start touching you, I’m not going to want to stop.”
“Good, because I don’t want you to stop.”
“Not happening today, baby,” he said firmly.
She groaned.
“Keep testing me and I’ll add to your punishment.”
Casey’s lip dropped out in a pout. “That’s so unfair.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, baby. But I want our first time to be special. Not rushed because Wyatt is coming home soon. All right?”
“Yeah. I guess that’s all right.”
“That’s my sweet, good girl. So precious.” He kissed her again, lighter this time and then he lifted her off him. “Time for your punishment.”
Nooo.
This really wasn’t fair. But she knew there was no point in arguing. Daddy could be very stubborn.
It was something he had to work on.
Lifting her, he placed her over his lap with her legs and chest resting on the bed. Then he lifted her skirt.
She tensed, realizing he could see her panties. They were green with an alligator face on the bottom with his teeth open and the words: Bite Me written next to the face.
Oops.
“Interesting underwear, baby,” he said.
“Um, yeah. I forgot I had those on.”
He snorted. “Well, I’m not going to bite you, but I am going to spank you. On the bare bottom. Unless you want to safeword?”
She thought about that for a moment, then she shook her head. She wanted to see what being spanked was like. Casey told herself that it would be helpful to know before starting her job at a BDSM club.
However, the truth was that she just wanted to know what it felt like to have him spank her.
“No, Daddy. I don’t need my safeword.”
“Good girl.” He slid her panties down.
She waited tensely for him to say what he thought of her bare bottom.
Jeb rubbed it gently. “You might just have the cutest bottom that I’ve ever seen.”
“Thanks, Daddy. Does that mean you won’t spank it and risk its cuteness?” she asked, starting to worry about what this was going to feel like.
Was it going to hurt really badly?
“No. That doesn’t mean that at all.”
Slap!
“Hey!” she cried. “Aren’t you supposed to warn a girl, first?”
“You were starting to worry,” he said. “I thought it was best to start so you didn’t get all worked up.”
Smack! Smack!
“See? Isn’t that better?”
Okay. They needed to have a talk about what was ‘better’ because getting her bottom spanked didn’t make her feel ‘better.’
His hand continued to smack her bottom until it was hot and throbbing and her breath was coming in sharp pants.
There were even tears in her eyes.
“Now, you’re being spanked because you didn’t speak very nicely about yourself.
And I don’t like to hear you say things like that.
Because my girl is beautiful and amazing and I won’t hear anyone say anything bad about her.
If anyone else said those things, I’d take them in hand.
Which is why I won’t hear you say anything awful either. ”
Oh. Wow.
“I also don’t want you to ever put yourself in danger. Because you are precious. And special. The world would be a much darker, sadder place without you in it.”
That was so nice. She couldn’t actually believe he’d said that.
And as he started spanking her again, she realized that she was letting go of all the guilt she’d felt over what had happened the other day with the swing and the burned meal.
She sobbed it out, and the knot in her tummy that she hadn’t actually realized was there, unraveled.
Jeb turned her over, lying her on her side and tucking her into his chest. She wrapped herself around him, holding on tight.
And she knew that she didn’t ever want to let go.