Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Mace
I hate leaving her. I long for the day I’m so intimately knowledgeable about her body that it won’t seem remotely awkward to see her naked and help her dress. It’s coming, but we’re not there yet.
I’ve got dinner in the oven. It’s ready. All I need to do is dish it up and serve us. I don’t know of her having any food allergies, nor am I aware of her being picky. But I doubt I can go wrong with a chicken and rice casserole with steamed broccoli on the side.
When I hear her behind me, I spin around. My heart stops. It does so every time she enters a room. She slays me in every outfit, but she’s fucking stunning when she’s Little.
She’s wearing a white cotton dress. It’s simple. Nothing fancy. But because it’s white, I can see that she doesn’t have a bra on. When she spins around, the skirt flares out, and I get a glimpse of her panties, which are also white cotton.
Autumn takes my breath away. She looks so pure and innocent, which she mostly is. She’s not ignorant about her kink because she has researched and read about it. But she hasn’t practiced age play before, so watching her blossom into her inner Little is delightful.
“What do you think?” she asks, coming closer. She has put her hair into low pigtails and added white ribbons at the base. I love that she’s barefoot. I don’t know why that appeals to me, but it does.
When she’s close enough, I pull her into my arms and kiss her lips. “I think you look fucking precious. I’m a lucky man.”
She smiles. Her mind is not on her problems, and that’s good. She needs a break from the insanity that has shattered everything she believed about her life.
I pull out a chair, wait for her to sit on it, and push her up to the table. With a flourish, I also put a bib on her to cover the white dress. I’ve already put a plastic spork next to her princess plate and added a sippy cup.
She’s grinning as I fill her plate. “That smells so good, Daddy.”
My heart. I’m so glad the word Daddy is sliding off her lips easily now. It was hard for her to say it the first time, but hopefully the dam has opened up.
“Do you like broccoli?” I ask, scooping up some casserole for her.
She nods. “I do.”
I add several spears to her plate and set it in front of her.
Autumn politely waits for me to fill my plate and sit next to her.
“I’m starving.”
“I bet you are. Hopefully, we can get you on a better schedule. You need to eat more and regularly.”
She takes a bite and moans. “Delicious.” As she continues eating, she quiets.
I keep a close eye on her, not wanting her to go into her head and fret.
“I feel like we’re tiptoeing in a state of limbo,” she says.
“I agree. There’s this ominous presence that looms, waiting. It’s suffocating. I want it gone.”
She nods. “That’s exactly it. And I hate that the only way to eliminate it is for you to kill someone.
That’s not a world I’m familiar with. I know my dad has killed people.
I know you have, too. Probably more than I can imagine.
But that was war. This is not. You’re a civilian.
Civilians don’t run around like vigilantes, taking the law into their own hands and doling out punishments. ”
“Some civilians do, Baby. That’s why Black Blade Protection exists. We take care of things that no one else is capable of or willing to do.”
She pushes her food around on her plate.
I point toward the barely touched meal. “Eat, Baby girl. I mean it. No more upsetting thoughts.”
“Okay…” She finishes her meal in silence.
I don’t mind us talking at the table. On the contrary, I enjoy light back-and-forth banter, but I want her to eat without growing nauseous over the constant reminder that a man is on the loose who murdered her father and spied on her for heaven knows how long.
His perverse voyeurism could go back longer than any of us would care to ponder.
He has violated my girl in a way that won’t be easy for her to recover from.
She has me now. I’ll do everything in my power to replace the icky thoughts with ones of joy.
I hate what she’s going through, but at the same time, I’m grateful that it wasn’t worse.
If she’d come home one minute later, this story would be on a very different path.
She would have called the police and dealt with her father’s death exactly the way Samson planned.
She would be at home now, and that motherfucker would be living in her house, wooing her, pretending to be her knight in shining armor.
I need to stop letting my mind wander there, too. It makes me furious every time.
When we’re done eating, Autumn takes her dishes to the sink. “Can I clean up?”
I pull her into my arms and tip her chin back with one finger. “No, sweetheart. You can wait on the couch. I’ll be finished here in a minute, and then I’ll come spank you.”
Her cheeks pinken. “Okay, Daddy.”
When I join her, she’s sitting on the edge of the cushion, wringing her fingers together in her lap. I squat in front of her and set my hands on either side of her hips. “Why are you so stressed? I’ve spanked you before. You know what to expect.”
She looks up at me. “It’s not about that. I think I have anxiety. Mostly about you going after Frank.”
I scoot closer and wrap my hands over hers in her lap. “I can’t leave this alone, Baby girl. You would be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.”
She nods rapidly. “I know. I get that. But I’m still scared for your safety.”
Hoping to lighten the mood, I smirk. “That scrawny thing? You think I can’t take him?”
She rolls her eyes dramatically.
“I’ll have men with me, sweetheart. We’ll be prepared and have an elaborate plan.”
“Okay.” She keeps nodding. “I know. But I’ll be worried.”
“That’s natural. When the time comes, I promise I won’t leave you hanging around without information for any longer than absolutely necessary.” I stand. “Now, how about that spanking? I bet you’ll feel better if I take you over my knees.”
“I bet I’ll feel very Little.”
“That’s probably a good thing. Let yourself escape.” I sit next to her and point in front of my knees. “It might help if you spend some time in a deeply Little headspace. Escape reality.”
“Like really young?” she asks as she slides off the cushion.
“No. Deep role-play. Doesn’t matter the age.
What matters is letting yourself fully immerse in any younger age.
Tell yourself you’re five and that you’ve been very naughty.
Close your eyes if you need to. Go into your head and accept the fact that Daddy is going to spank you for misbehaving.
Afterward, Daddy is going to make you stand in the corner, where naughty girls go to think about their poor choices. ”
“But it’s just pretend, right?”
I pull her between my legs. “Yes, Baby girl. It’s always pretend.
You’re not actually five. You’re an adult.
But it feels good to let yourself regress.
It’s deeply submissive. It’s a conscious decision to be Little and turn your care over to me.
It only works if it’s something you crave.
I can’t force you to submit that way, or any way at all. ”
She stares at me. “Okay.”
I shift my grip, so I’m holding her fisted hands in one of mine, and I set my other palm on her chest. “Being Little is a feeling that’s in here.
It’s something you’ve known about yourself and craved for a long time.
But knowing and doing are two different things.
You have to experiment to find out what appeals to you.
You already recognize you like to be spanked. It won’t be shocking this time.”
She licks her lips. “Will you…”
“What, Baby? Will I what? You can ask me.”
Her cheeks turn red. She’s embarrassed to ask for what she needs.
“Autumn, I’ll do anything for you. Almost anything. Even Daddies have their limits. I’m not going to draw blood. Nor will I agree to verbally humiliate you beyond normal age-play behavior. It’s not my thing. But anything else.”
She draws in a deep breath. “Will you spank me harder this time? In my books, I like it when the heroine cries. I mean, I think I would like to experience it.”
I smile. “Sure, Baby. We can try that. It’s not unusual. Some Little girls like to be spanked until they cry. It can be even more cathartic than the pain.”
Her shoulders relax.
“And put sex out of your head. There may be a time in the future when I will let you come after a really hard spanking, but not today. It combines too many emotions. I want you to focus on the release you get from the pain without any expectations or hope for more. After I spank you, I want you to stand in the corner. It will give you time to regroup while still submitting deeply.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Her voice is small. She’s in her Little headspace.
I release her. “Take your panties off, Baby girl.”
She steps back and carefully reaches under her dress to grab the elastic and lower them down her legs without giving me a glimpse of her pussy.
As I expected. It’s not that she’s incredibly modest. I suspect in the future she won’t worry about exposing herself.
Nor do I think she has issues with any part of her body.
She’s just shy because there are lines we have not crossed yet.
I scoot forward and pat my thigh. “Come to this side, Baby girl.”
She doesn’t hesitate, but she’s fidgeting.
I cup her chin. “You’ll lie over my lap, and I will hold your dress up while I spank your bare bottom.”
She gives a jerky nod.
“I’m going to pause and check in with you like I did last time. I need to make sure you want me to continue. If you enjoy the feeling, I’ll keep going. If you want me to stop, say the word. Understood?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
I take her arm, helping her climb over my thighs. She tucks her arms under her chest when I scoot back so she can rest her cheek on the couch cushion. Her legs, too.
Her breath hitches when I pull her dress up.
“My girl gets embarrassed when I expose her naughty bottom.”
She whimpers. It’s normal. She’s in Little space, and her Little is shy about her Daddy lifting her dress. Hell, so far, her adult probably feels the same way.
With my free hand on the small of her back, I rub her bottom. Fuck, she’s pretty. The pale white skin that never sees the sun has a few freckles on it.
My first swat is light, warming her up. I maintain that gentle pressure for about a half a dozen before pausing. “You okay, Baby girl?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
I spank her harder for another round, covering her entire bottom, noticing that she stiffens more this time.
Rubbing the heated skin, I lean over to be sure I can see her face. “Tell Daddy what you’re feeling.”
She surprises me by lifting onto her elbows and twisting her head to look at me. “Can we do it differently?”
I hold my hand still on her bottom. “Tell me what you need.”
She bites her lip as her cheeks turn dark pink.
I move my hand from the small of her back to her face, stroking her red skin with my thumb.
“Autumn, there is no right or wrong with age play. Nothing we do has to fit into a mold. I don’t even care if we do things differently from other people.
We’re learning about each other and developing our own kink relationship, whatever that looks like. ”
She swallows, but still doesn’t speak.
I want her to be able to share her thoughts. “Our relationship will only work if we’re honest with each other at all times. Age play is meant to make you feel loved and cherished. For a lot of Littles, that includes punishments like this one.”
“In books, the Little sometimes misbehaves on purpose because they want to get spanked.”
I smile. “Super common in real life, Baby girl. And keep in mind, the rules we establish that land you over my knees will mostly be silly. Like no running in the house or no touching the hot stove. You’re a grown woman.
You can run or touch the stove without getting injured, but if those are hard rules I set, you will be punished when you break them.
That’s how Littles end up getting what they crave from a punishment.
They intentionally break pre-established rules. Does that make sense?”
She gives me a small smile. “Yes. So… If I were to break a rule, it would be like acting.”
“Sure.” I’m not sure where she’s going, but I suspect I’m going to like it.
“But people don’t like to be spanked. I mean actual children. They wail and squirm and throw a tantrum.”
I chuckle. Ah ha. I think my girl needs more role-play here. “Is that what you want to do, sweetheart? Fight me on this?”
“Is that weird?”
“Not at all. Remember, we make our own rules. If that’s something you enjoy, then we’ll incorporate it.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not a bit.”
“It feels odd to simply lie here and let you spank me. It’s not…authentic, or something. I should argue and try to get away.”
“Let’s try it and see how you feel. But that means we need a safeword. Something you can use that will let me know you are no longer enjoying yourself. If no doesn’t mean no, something else has to stand for it.”
She scrunches up her cute face as she thinks. “Eggplant.”
I chuckle. “Eggplant?”
“Yes, it’s a weird word. It’s an ugly, stupid vegetable, not an egg. And it’s gross. Don’t feed me that. It’s slimy. And why is it purple? And who thought it resembled a man’s, uh, erection.”
I laugh. She’s adorable. I love that we can pause in the middle of our spanking to discuss her needs. I wonder if she has any idea how Little she is while she tells me how and why she hates eggplants. “Cock,” I supply.
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, that.”
Yep, she’s adorable. And I have a perfect segue. “What have I told you about rolling your eyes?”
Her breath hitches. “I didn’t mean to, Daddy.” Her voice is the Littlest I’ve heard it. And fake. She swings a hand back to cover her bottom. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”
I lean in closer to hold her gaze. “I need one more minute with adult Autumn. Are you with me?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl. We’re going to try this. You may flail around, argue, whine, cry, scream, kick—anything you want. But if you’re done, you say eggplant, got it?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Are you okay with me overpowering you? I’m much stronger and larger. I can hold you down and force you to accept your spanking. Is that what you want?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispers.
“Then, let’s get started.”