Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
She was a sweetheart. Mace knew they had other things to discuss. Things that didn’t require words. But he needed to ask a few more questions before that discussion started.
“You said Erwin”—because he was not calling that asshole a Daddy ever again—“refused to spank you for punishment. But there are several reasons to spank someone. If he knew you were interested in spanking, did he ever spank you for emotional release or pleasure?” Mace figured he knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it.
The confusion on her face made her answer unnecessary.
“N-no. He didn’t spank me at all. But I wrote a lot of lines.
I don’t think he paid enough attention to know when I needed emotional relief, and…
well, I’m not trying to be mean, but my pleasure wasn’t something he paid much attention to either. ”
No maybes about it. When he got to Wilder, he’d be having a discussion with Erwin. And that conversation wasn’t going to need too many words either.
“Daddy? I already know I’m sorry for everything I did wrong today. Do you want me to write my lines for you now?”
“Not right now.” There might come a time when he’d give her lines to write, but it wasn’t going to be tonight.
He couldn’t get over how right she felt sitting on his lap. When she moved to sit beside him instead, he put a hand on her thigh. “I like you where you are, firefly. It’s time for us to talk about this afternoon.”
She nodded, lowering her gaze to her fidgeting fingers. Adorable, but he wanted her full attention. “Eyes to me, babygirl.”
Her gaze slowly lifted to his. He didn’t like the defeat shadowing her eyes. Wishing he could coddle her and lull her to sleep after her busy day, he forced sternness into his eyes and voice. “Do you remember what I told you to do before you joined the freeze tag game earlier today?”
He could practically see the wheel turning in her mind, trying to give him an honest answer that wouldn’t get her in trouble. She wasn’t going to find one. No, his little firefly had some things to answer for.
Heaving a deep sigh, she finally answered him. “You told me to keep my sunglasses on, Daddy. I tried. I really did. But they kept sliding down my nose.”
“I can see how that would be annoying.” Hopefully, the doubt in his tone would point her to the answer he expected. He brushed her bangs to the side with gentle fingers and ran his thumb over the goose egg still evident on her forehead. “Has your headache come back?”
“No, Daddy. My head feels fine.”
He wasn’t convinced, not even close, but he let it slide. For now. “There’s still a big bump. I want you to go get Hopsicle out of the freezer and hold it to your head while we talk.”
Relief lit her face. She hopped off his lap and bolted toward the kitchen. As if unable to stop herself, she sock-skied halfway across the room. He was up and headed toward her in a second. His girl needed some serious boundaries set.
He made it to her in three long strides. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her to his hip and landed three solid swats on her backside.
She yelped and tried to cover her bottom with her free hand. “Ow! Daddy! Ow!”
“Oh, you haven’t seen ow yet, babygirl. I know you did not just run and slide across the floor on your way to get a boo-boo bag for the knot on your head.”
She stared at him, and he wasn’t sure what he saw in her eyes. Shock? Absolutely. But there was more. If he had to guess, he’d say wonder? Maybe… or was that hope?
She looked at the floor she’d just glided across, as if watching an instant replay that would prove him wrong. Turning back to him, she frowned. “I slide on the floor all the time. It’s no big deal. I didn’t fall or anything.”
This girl was going to be the death of him. She had no fear. At least none she heeded. “New rule. No running or sliding across the floor in this house or any other.”
Yep. It was definitely wonder he saw in her eyes. He was going to kill Erwin Pierce. The people of Wilder would thank him.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I won’t do it again.” Before he could comment, a mischievous twinkle brightened her eyes. The one that warned him to brace. “And I’ll get that order put in for you.”
Knowing he was going to regret it, he asked, “What order is that?”
She grinned. “You know. The industrial-sized roll of bubble wrap. Although maybe one of the giant bubbles you can get inside and just roll around in would be better. What do you think?”
He was in so much trouble. She was drawing him in fast. It wasn’t like he lacked experience, but he’d never felt like this before. He wasn’t the leap-before-you-look type. He was Mr. Slow and Steady wins the race. At least he used to be.
“What do I think? I think you're going to need a bigger boo-boo bag when I get finished with you. Tell me you know I’m serious about the no running or sliding rule, naughty girl.” His voice cracked like a whip, not loud, but sharp enough to let her know he was serious.
“You may think that boo-boo bag means you aren’t in big trouble, but you would be wrong. ”
He folded his arms, watching her shoulders slump. “I get you, Daddy. Promise.”
After grabbing Hopsicle, she walked back to the couch, planting each foot with deliberate care, heel to toe, dragging out every step as if the floor might crack beneath her like thin ice if she moved too fast.
Just what he needed. A smartass little firefly.
Her chin lifted a fraction, challenge still sparking in her eyes.
He felt that challenge all the way down to his boots.
Erwin might have wounded her, but he hadn’t broken her.
Not even close. She wasn’t cowed. Wasn’t crushed.
She was testing her boundaries with careful little nudges, checking for weak spots in the fence.
He folded his arms over his chest, slow and deliberate. He let the silence stretch, thickening the air between them. He remembered this dance. Hell, he even enjoyed it when it wasn’t manipulative.
The sass sparked something in him. It was the same spark he got riding a wild horse in a rodeo. Heat coiled low in his gut. Challenge accepted.
When she climbed into his lap again, carefully this time, pressing the frozen frog to her forehead, he adjusted her automatically. One arm banded around her waist, the other steadied the ice pack against the goose egg still marring her brow.
She fit his lap perfectly. Now they could talk. “So when your sunglasses slipped, the only solution you could come up with was to take your sunglasses off?”
“I didn’t take them off, Daddy.”
“Oh, really? Then why weren’t they on your face when you ran into Laura?”
“They fell off by themselves. And the stupid things made me get tagged while I was bending over to pick them up. I tried to wear them, but they didn’t want to be worn. So, it wasn’t my fault.”
Triumph laced her voice, bright and victorious. He instantly recognized the sound of a Little who thought she’d found a loophole. Heat flickered low in his gut. He’d almost forgotten how much he appreciated a strong-willed Little. The challenge sharpened everything.
“I see.” His tone stayed even and measured. “And there was no way to put them back on while you were frozen?”
When she didn’t answer immediately, he waited, watching her. His face carved from stone, keeping his calm, unreadable stare locked in place. That same look had made hardened men back down without a word.
The silence stretched on, but he wasn’t going to be the one to break it. Inside, though, satisfaction and anticipation wound through him. She was testing him.
That was good. Heat flared in his chest, ignited by focus, not anger. He kept that focus on his little firefly. She was full of fire, and he preferred his fire where he could see it. He barely restrained his grin when she finally came up with an answer.
“Nope. I didn’t have time before Sadie unfroze me.”
“But you did have time to stuff them into your back pocket.”
“Yes… I mean, I did, but that was easier. And anyway, if I’d put them back on my face, they’d have just fallen off again.”
The adorable glint in her eye told him she thought she had outsmarted him. “So, when you came to ask Daddy for help, what did he say?”
“But, Daddy, I didn’t come ask you for help.”
“That’s the problem. When you have a problem. When you’re feeling bad or out of sorts. Or when you feel like it for any reason at all, you come to Daddy. And do you know the most important time you come to Daddy?”
Fiera shook her head. “No, Daddy.”
He gave her his sternest Daddy look. “When you are thinking about breaking a rule. Especially when it comes to your health and safety. Do you understand?”
Her lips formed a perfect “O”. It made him want to forget the lesson she needed to learn and picture the many other things he’d love to teach her. Like taking his cock into her mouth through those luscious lips. His hardening cock approved of that plan.
That wasn’t what she needed now, though. She needed to know Mace was her Daddy who cared about her and cared enough to hold her accountable when she broke the rules he’d given her.
“I get you, Daddy. I’ll try to remember next time.”
She really thought she had him right where she wanted him. “Thank you, babygirl. I promise I’ll help you remember every time you forget. There’s no better time to start than now. It’s time for your punishment.”
She scrunched her brows. “Punishment? But I just explained how it wasn’t my fault.”
“I remember. Are you feeling dizzy or nauseated?”
Fiera eyed him with suspicion, but as he was coming to expect, she answered him honestly. “No, Daddy. I haven’t felt like that for hours.”
“Good.” With a nod, he lifted her from his lap, sat her beside him on the couch, and held out his hand. “Give Hopsicle to Daddy. I want to put him back in the freezer for now.”
Mace returned the bag to the freezer with deliberate care.
Then he headed down the short hall to his bedroom and retrieved the wooden hairbrush he’d set aside earlier while Fiera had been bent over the paper he’d given her, carefully writing out her apologies.
The smooth weight of it settled into his palm like it belonged there.
When he came back into the living room, he didn’t hesitate. He crossed to the couch and placed the brush on the coffee table directly in front of his naughty girl.
It landed with a soft, final thud.
“Let’s talk,” he said once he was seated beside her again.
Fiera’s wide-eyed gaze never left the hairbrush, staring as though it might leap up and sink its teeth into her. Smart girl. It just might.