Chapter 10
DANE
As much as I enjoyed chasing my little fox through the woods, there is something about the sweetness of having her wrapped around me, her long limbs anchored around my waist and neck that speaks to a part of me I’ve often considered dead.
Even my sweet little nieces haven’t been able to tap into this softer, quieter side the way Vanessa so effortlessly does.
Bouncing her gently in my arms, I press a kiss to her frizzy braids as we make our way to another room, one I had to fight my sister to have added to my suite. Gray is a bit of a penny-pincher at times, and that side of her was never more in force than when we were making plans for our house.
But I was able to win her over in the end, and now I have a room dedicated to the most sacred of all Little girl requirements: The Stuffie.
Stepping into the large room, I flip on the light and gesture to the rows and rows of stuffed animals. “Welcome to The Stuffie Room.”
“You have your own toy closet?”
“Something like that.” Chuckling at her confusion, I carry her over to one wall lined with various stuffies in all shapes and sizes.
“I knew we’d all have our own Little girls someday, so I’ve been collecting these over the years.
Whenever a new babygirl joins the family, I pick out the perfect stuffie for her. ”
“What stuffie would you pick for me?” She sounds more curious now, which seems promising. If she’s curious, she’s not fighting or trying to escape.
Not that I mind either, as both give me reasons to punish her adorable bottom. But I do eventually want her to feel like part of the family and she can’t do that if she’s constantly trying to flee.
“I would probably choose a fox, for obvious reasons,” I tell her with a grin. “But I was thinking you might like to help me choose.”
Her nose wrinkles slightly as she scans her surroundings. “You don’t want to pick for me?”
“I can, if you want me to. But no other Little girl has ever seen this room, and I thought it might be more special if we pick your stuffie out together.”
“Oh.” Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she nibbles at the soft skin. “That’s… sweet, I guess.”
She sounds almost aggravated, as if the thought of calling me sweet sticks in her craw. Which it probably does, and for good reason.
“I thought so,” I say cheerfully, without giving any hint I've picked up on her annoyance. “So, what do you think?” Shifting her onto my hip, I bend to pick up a stuffed white fox with oversized ears. “Do we go with the obvious choice of a fox or something different?”
“The fox is cute, but…” Twisting in my arms, she looks around, and a moment later she gasps loudly. “Is that Nessie?”
Turning to follow her line of sight, I laugh at the giant Loch Ness Monster I picked up on one of our travels. “It is. Would you like a closer look at her?”
“Yes! I fu—I mean, I love cryptids!”
“Is that so?”
Her head bobs frantically. “Yes. I love all things spooky and weird, but Nessie is one of my favorites.”
When I scoop the stuffie up to hand it to her, she lets out a sharp squeal of excitement. “I love her!”
“Then she’s all yours, little fox.” A loud but muffled cry reaches my ears and I grin at my Little girl. “Sounds like our alone time has come to an end. Time to go celebrate.”
Like flipping a switch, all the excitement drains from her face in an instant, and I find myself grieving the loss. It was fun, seeing her so happy and carefree for a few blissful moments, but clearly that time has passed. “There’s nothing to celebrate.”
“Our family would beg to differ,” I say breezily as I carry her back toward my bedroom. “And you will be polite about the gifts you receive, Vanessa Dawn, or I will spank your bottom right in front of everyone. Am I understood?”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re understood.”
Pausing in front of the door connecting her nursery to my room, I let out a loud, disappointed sigh as I set her on her feet. Taking hold of one arm, I turn her to the side so I can pepper the backs of her thighs with sharp, stinging swats. “Is that how you talk to your Daddy, little girl?”
“No, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
I cap off her punishment with two extra-hard swats before swinging her back up into my arms. “Are you going to be Daddy’s polite Little girl or do I need to fill your bottom with Daddy’s cum before we go see our family?”
“I’ll be good.” She sounds exactly like a child who just got in trouble and is feeling pouty about it, which I find too fucking cute for words.
“Good girl.”
“Wait!” Her panicked shout freezes me in my tracks as I reach for the door. “I’m not wearing any clothes!”
Amused even more now, I raise a brow. “Everyone has already seen you in your wedding finery, little fox.”
Eyes narrowing, she lets out a loud huff of air. “Well that doesn’t mean I have to parade around the house in nothing but a diaper all the time!”
She will if that’s what I want. But I’m willing to compromise a bit if it will make her more comfortable.
At least for now.
“All right.” Carrying her over to her crib, I set her down on the soft mattress inside. “You stay right here and Daddy will be back with something for you to wear.”
“What kind of something?” Suspicion colors her tone and I can’t help but chuckle.
She really is a clever little thing.
“One of Daddy’s shirts, for now. We’ll have to call your Uncle Max to have some proper Little girl clothes sent over soon.”
“Is Uncle Max one of your brothers?”
“No, he’s just… a family friend.” He’s actually one of the wealthiest men on the planet, but that information might be a bit much for my Little girl at the moment.
With her eyes still narrowed, she tilts her head. “What if I don’t want to wear those big fluffy dresses?”
“That’s fine. We’ll have plenty of clothes to choose from. Daddy will want you to wear them sometimes, but if you’d rather wear overalls or shorts to play with your cousins that’s fine. Lanie likes to play outdoors whenever she can, so she doesn’t wear the fluffy dresses unless she has to.”
“I see.”
There’s a hint of something in her tone that I can’t quite place, and it burrows beneath my skin, an itch I can’t quite scratch as I try to pin down what might be happening in that busy brain of hers.
“In the meantime, you can wear one of Daddy’s shirts around the house.
I’ll be right back and then we can get to our wedding brunch. ”
“Okay.”
I should probably push her to say “Yes, Daddy” but she’s being so cooperative I don’t want to risk it. There will be plenty of time to enforce manners later.
Leaving her in her crib, clutching her new stuffie friend, I ease open the door to my bedroom, holding up my hands when my family all turns as one. “I’m just coming to grab a shirt for Vanessa and then we’ll be ready for you guys.”
“Hurry up, Uncle Dane!” Lanie whines, slumping dramatically against Axel’s chest. “We’re starving.”
“Melanie Brynne, don’t be rude.” My brother frowns down at his Little girl, who smiles sheepishly but otherwise doesn’t look the least bit repentant. “I swear I’m starting to think I don’t spank you enough,” he mutters with a shake of his head.
I catch my brother Eli’s eye and we both look away quickly to hide our grins. We’ve had more than one discussion about how much our brother lets his Little girl get away with, but agreeing with him on this point would only paint a target on both our backs so we let it go.
“I’ll be right back with Vanessa.” Grabbing an old t-shirt from my dresser, I head back to the nursery.
And stop dead in my tracks at the sight that greets me.
“What do you think you’re doing, little girl?”
Vanessa
Fuck.
I knew it was risky, climbing out of that crib and trying to escape through a window. But I had to at least try. Nobody ever became a Final Girl by just doing what she was told.
Now, however, I’m wishing I’d stuck with my plan of pretending to be a good, well-behaved Little girl until I won another shot at my freedom. Because the ice coating Dane’s voice does not bode well for my already sore ass.
Spinning away from the window I hadn’t even managed to open, I shove my hands behind me, as if that will somehow be enough to protect me if he decides I need to be punished. “Um. I was just… exploring.”
“Exploring.”
It’s clear from the flat tone of his voice he doesn’t believe me. But I’m stubborn, probably too stubborn for my own good, and I refuse to confess to something he didn’t actually catch me doing.
“Yes.” I tilt my chin in the air. “It’s my room, right? Why shouldn’t I be allowed to explore?”
“Because Daddy told you to stay in your crib.” With slow, deliberate steps, he advances on me, and my breath catches in my chest. “If you had asked, Daddy would have told you that there’d be plenty of time to explore later. But you didn’t ask, did you, little fox?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay, time to try the “be the goodest good girl ever” plan again. Ducking my head, I drop my tone, adding a soft sniffle for effect. “No, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
Bare feet stop in front of me, and then he grips my chin, forcing me to look up into those dark, glittering eyes. And I can’t be sure whether I should be relieved or terrified to find amusement dancing there in the brown.
“My naughty little fox. When Daddy tells you to stay put, that means you stay exactly where I put you. Understood?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl. That’s ten with Daddy’s hand for disobeying, and then you can have your presents.”
Before I can ask what kind of presents, he has his arm wrapped around my waist, and his hand is peppering the tops of my thighs with sharp, stinging spanks. The pain from my multiple punishments last night comes flaring back to life and I can’t help but dance and cry out as he swats me.
After the final spank falls, he scoops me up, and even though I hate myself for it a little bit, I instinctively wrap my arms around him.
“Shh, little one. Daddy’s right here. It’s okay.”
And to my never-ending shame, I do actually feel a bit better as he bounces me in his arms. My sniffles are no longer for show, but the inevitable result of trying to hold back tears as I bury my face in the side of his neck.
“Poor little fox,” he murmurs, patting my back exactly like one might to help settle a fussy baby. “You’ve had a rough start, haven’t you?”
“Uh-huh.” Okay so maybe now I’m deliberately making my voice sound a little extra pathetic. But I can’t help but that that if he feels sorry for me, he might start to feel guilty about keeping me prisoner.
It is, as far as I’m concerned, as good a plan as any I’ve come up with so far.
“Poor baby. I know it’s been hard, but I think you’ll like what our family has planned for you. Let’s get you dressed so we can get to our post-wedding celebration.”
Carrying me back to my crib, he sets me on my feet inside the small prison and pulls a worn t-shirt from under his arm. It’s unbelievably soft, which I enjoy, and I find myself smiling in spite of everything as I hug the shirt to me.
“Can’t forget Nessie,” Dane says with a chuckle as he hands me my new stuffed friend. Plucking me from the crib, he carries me over to the door connecting our two rooms and pushes it open.
We’re greeted by a room full of his entire family, and the loud, familiar cry that turns my blood to ice.
“Chivaree!”