22. Chapter 20
FRANKIE
P unishment.
She was about to be punished for lying to him, and she deserved it. She had this guilt inside that she wanted to get rid of, and she knew the only way she would be able to do that was if she got punished.
Without thinking, Frankie got up from her seat and walked to the corner, putting herself in timeout.
“Wow, peaches, what are you doing?” Noah asked, slight panic enveloping his voice. “You don’t put yourself in timeout. Come here.”
But Frankie stayed there. She had lied to him, and she needed to pay for it. This was how she was going to do it. She hated timeouts, always got in her head, but it was the best way to punish her.
Gentle hands wrapped around her shoulders, bringing her out of the corner. Fighting against his hold, she tried to escape their grasp and put herself back in the corner. She needed to be punished.
His hands moved to cup her cheeks, making her look at Noah in the eyes. “We do not put ourselves in timeout. You said it was a hard limit, and we don’t do that. I would never stick you in the corner when you told me you get in your head. Never.”
Frankie stared at him.
“I never want you to put yourself in timeout again. That is off the list of punishments you will ever get from me. Understand?”
She nodded. Frankie wasn’t expecting him to be this upset about her putting herself in timeout. She was expecting him to leave her in the corner to think about what she had done wrong.
But once again, Noah surprised her.
“Good. I was thinking a spanking, but I don’t want you yelling with your voice, so we are going to go with lines,” Noah explained.
Frankie groaned and leaned her head on his chest, taking a deep breath. Lines were horrible. No one should have to do lines, not in this day and age. Her hand always cramped up, and she could never finish them in one go. They sucked.
“I know lines aren’t your favorite, but you do the crime, you have to do the time as well,” Daddy gently said, rubbing his hand up and down her back. “It’s no fun, but the sooner you start, the sooner you will be done.”
The sooner she started, the sooner her hand was going to hurt. Maybe she should ask for the spanking instead, but then her bottom would hurt and she didn’t want that either. What was she going to do? Frankie didn’t want the guilt anymore, but she didn’t want to be in pain.
“Come on, I can feel you thinking, and I don’t want you to get in your own head about everything.” Daddy pushed her back gently.
Her eyes went wide when she realized what she had just called him again .
Daddy .
She called Noah, her boss, Daddy . There was no going back now. She was done for. Her heart was going to break if he told her he didn’t want anything to do with her when she was all healed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She shook her head and motioned with her hand. If she wanted to get out of talking about this, she needed to start on her dreaded lines.
Daddy chuckled, grabbed her hand, and led her to the kitchen table. “You sit here while I go get the paper and pen. Then we’ll talk about what you’ll be writing and how many.”
Frankie placed her hands on the edge and her head on them, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down.
Was she really going through with this? Was she really not going to stop herself from calling him Daddy in her mind?
It was a dangerous road she was going down, but she didn’t know if she would be able to stop.
“Are you okay, Little bug?” Daddy asked.
Bringing her head up, she realized he was kneeling right next to her. When did he get back? She hadn’t heard him walk back into the room, unless she was really in her head and blocked everything else out.
“Little bug?” he called out again. “Are you feeling okay?”
She nodded, but so much was going through her mind.
Was she really going to be okay? Probably not.
Frankie had grown some form of strong attachment to him, and there was nothing she could do about it.
The claws had sunk deep into her, and they were never letting go.
Not unless she wanted to feel like she was dying if she tried to get rid of them.
“I want you to write ‘I will not lie again about my health’ sixty times. All neat and legible. When you are done, you can bring the paper to me and I will look them over. If any of them are not okay, you will have to write them again,” Daddy told her, placing the piece of paper in front of her.
“I’m going to start making something to eat.
We’ll try something hot and cold to see which one you like more. ”
Nodding, Frankie started to work on her lines.
“Are you almost done, Little bug?” Daddy asked, turning around from the stove.
Frankie glared at him. She didn’t like the name Little bug. Was that all she was to him? A bug that was meant to be squashed?
“Now, why are you glaring at me?” he asked, crossing his hands over his chest. “Because I gave you lines?”
She shook her head.
“Because of the nickname, Little bug?” he asked, taking a step forward.
Frankie nodded. If she had any blank spots on her piece of paper, she would have written it down for him. Or well, if her hand had allowed it. It was aching fiercely, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to write anymore, even if she wanted to.
“Okay, that’s fine. No Little bug anymore. Now, are you almost done?” Daddy asked once again.
Her shoulders relaxed when he’d said he wasn’t going to call her that nickname anymore. It was like he really cared and didn’t want to call her something she didn’t like.
“Frankie?” Daddy brought her out of her thoughts.
She held up the piece of paper and got out of her chair and slowly walked over to him. Daddy stayed in his spot in the kitchen as she handed him the paper. Taking a deep breath, her stomach rumbled as the aromas around her smelled amazing. What was Daddy making?
“Don’t get too close to the stove. I don’t want you to burn yourself,” Daddy gently instructed as he looked over her lines.
Right. Hot. How many times had she burned herself when looking at the food she was making? Too many. That was why Frankie stayed with eating simple things… things she didn’t need to cook.
“I’m warming up a tomato soup I made last month and had in the freezer. And for something cold, I made Gazpacho soup the other day that you can try,” Daddy explained. “The tomato soup is almost done, and I’ll get the Gazpacho soup out and put some in a bowl.”
Frankie blinked several times at Daddy. She didn’t know who taught him how to cook. Was his food any good? If it was, she was going to have to figure out some way to stay with him forever.
“Surprised?” Daddy raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t think I could cook?”
Her shoulders went up as she jerked her gaze to the floor, feeling embarrassed that he caught her shock.
“My mother taught me when I was growing up. I took an interest in it from a young age. She decided to let me fall in love with it rather than shooing me out of the kitchen,” he explained.
“It’s all thanks to my mother and her allowing me to be in the kitchen.
Now, these lines look perfect. All is forgiven. ”
Frankie looked at him and nodded. She really wanted a hug right now as he said those words, but she was just going to have to settle for the words instead.
“Come here,” Daddy said, holding his arms open.
Before she could even blink, she was in his arms, nuzzling her head into his chest.
“Oh, baby,” he cooed at her. “You really needed this, didn’t you?”
Frankie nodded, holding him tighter. She didn’t want it to end. Not so soon.
“Sweetheart.” His voice had gone all soft. “Any time you need a hug, you let me know. I don’t care what time of day it is or even if it’s in the middle of the night. If you need a hug, I will give you one. Does that sound okay?”
She hesitated for a second. Frankie had found herself needing a hug a lot recently. Ever since he had given her the first one, she found herself craving them all the time. She wanted to feel his arms wrapped around her, making her feel safe and secure, but also loved.
“How about this? When you need a hug, you come to me and ask for a hug. When I need a hug, I’ll come to you and ask for one. Does that sound okay?” Daddy pulled away slightly.
Frankie whimpered at the loss of contact but gazed up at him.
“Does that sound like a deal? We both come to each other when we need a hug, no matter what time of day or night it is.” He searched her face. “And yes, Daddies do need hugs as well. Sometimes we are fragile and need to feel like we matter.”
Frankie made an O with her mouth. She guessed that would make sense. Daddies were also human and needed love and care.
“So, do you think you can do that?” Daddy asked.
Frankie nodded. She was going to try, at the very least. She didn’t know if she was going to succeed at it since she had never asked for a hug before in her life.
But there was a first for everything, right?
“Now, let’s get you fed,” Daddy gently spoke.