Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
Marcus carried her a safe distance from the attack. “Little girl, open your mind for me.”
Unsure how to do that, Carina looked at her Daddy’s dark green eyes and nodded. His eyes glowed red as he focused on her. She could feel him gliding through different spaces in her brain. Bits of the attack faded from her mind, easing the lingering terror. Was he erasing her memories?
“You are fine, mate. I am concerned that the accident injured your brain. I merely smoothed over a few rough spots and blunted tonight’s trauma. Do you have a headache now?”
She shook her head gently and discovered the pain had evaporated. “I’m okay. Thank you.” Carina promised herself she’d consider how she felt about Marcus monkeying around in her brain another day. For now, he’d eased her discomfort and that was all that mattered.
“Perfect. Hold on tight, Little girl. I’m going to whisk us back home.”
She barely had time to tighten her arms around his neck and nod before he set off.
Marcus ran so fast her eyeballs dried out from the breeze.
Carina closed her eyes with a gasp, as the rapid movement completely disoriented her.
Marcus cupped the back of her head and pressed her face into the curve of his neck. “I’ve got you, Carina. You’re safe.”
She imagined she was on a roller-coaster ride that went at a supersonic speed. The blare of the sirens vanished. Not that they cut off, but the sound faded abruptly. As quickly as his rush, Marcus slowed to a walk.
Carina peeked up to see his mansion looming in front of them.
She smiled against his chest. While she hadn’t stayed with Marcus for long in the impressive house, Carina loved being a part of this place.
His presence and impact filled every space.
He’d designed an amazing nursery for her.
Everything she’d fantasized about was here.
A thought disrupted her happy reflections. His place was miles away from Nightfall and their race through the early morning, vacant streets of downtown flew past. “How did we get here so fast?”
“Home is the best place for you, Little girl.”
He’d evaded her question. Carina allowed that to slip by as she celebrated that he referred to this as her home.
She’d never been so happy to walk into a house in her whole life.
Just as she always felt safe with Marcus, his mansion seemed like a castle fortified for protection.
Only a moat with alligators would make it more threatening to attackers.
“Want me to start the digging tomorrow?” he asked. The corner of his mouth tilted up with amusement.
“You really shouldn’t read my mind,” she told him, not meaning a word. Strangely, she’d gotten used to Marcus’s presence in her brain. “How come I can only talk to you in my head when we’re together?”
“Our connection is not complete, Little girl. Soon, you will choose whether to deepen our bond or leave it as it is. That is for another day. Now, I need to get you clean and make sure you’re not hurt.” He headed toward his bedroom.
“I can still feel their hands on me,” she said and shuddered.
“Never again, Little girl. I should have protected you better. The glamour I put on your hiding spot should have kept you undiscoverable. The clan will need to research what special skills this group has to see through my efforts. I endangered you. I won’t ever forgive myself for that.”
She could hear the self-blame in his words. Carina’s heart sank deep. She had to tell him but didn’t want to let him know she hadn’t obeyed his directions.
“Your heart is beating fast again, Carina. Try to pull your thoughts from everything that happened. Let’s think of cheerful things—your nursery, your friend Karla, French fries, chocolate….”
“You did nothing wrong. They were so close. I got scared that they’d find me, and I’d be trapped in that boxy area. I ran into the shadows on the side of the building.”
“You left where I told you to stay?” he asked incredulously.
“I didn’t know you’d added some vampirey voodoo stuff over that area,” she protested.
The silence that followed made Carina bury her face against his chest. “Don’t send me away! I’m sorry.”
“I’m never going to send you away, Little girl. You are mine,” Marcus corrected her in a deep voice that rang with steely determination.
When they reached the nursery, he walked inside and sat down in the rocking chair with her cradled on his lap. Marcus took a moment to rock her slowly, giving each of them time to recover from the evening’s events. He rubbed her shoulder and arm as she melted against his shoulder.
Is my shirt getting wet?
Her muffled sniff made him pause in propelling the chair back and forth. “Carina, I’m so sorry you were scared.”
Her quiet sounds grew louder, becoming heartrending sobs. Marcus rocked her again to console her.
“Little girl, you are safe and sound. I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” he assured Carina as an ache grew inside his chest. He should have rampaged through everyone like in the old days and never left her side. “I wish I’d done more.”
She turned her tear-streaked face up to face him. Grabbing his shirt, she shook him as much as someone her size could move a boulder. Her spirit enchanted him.
“Daddy. It’s all my fault. If I’d stayed where I was, maybe those guys would be alive. Maybe they would have given up and left. I should have trusted you.”
“Costa’s men chose death the minute they touched you, Little girl. Your actions had nothing to do with their intentions to harm you,” he stressed as he wiped her cheeks.
When she continued to cry, his heart felt like it might tear in half.
He had to fix this—to help her understand.
Marcus brushed her hair from her face so he could see her clearly.
He attempted to gentle his expression from the fierce scowl he normally sported, hoping to show her everything was okay.
“Violence has filled my world for centuries. I head security at Nightfall because that’s who I am. My survival depended on eliminating threats and living while others died. When I became a vampire, I naturally fit into the role I’ve played in our clan for centuries.”
“But you’re not mean most of the time.”
His expression turned stern. Surely she understood, with her he was different.
“I’m not mean to you ever. I might be stern, and I might give you consequences for your behavior, but I’m never going to shout at you or abuse you.
Well, I might yell if you put yourself at risk by running out into traffic. ”
“Kinda like tonight, huh? I really screwed up.”
“You didn’t trust me, Little girl. Part of that is because we’re new. You don’t know everything about me. But I live a dangerous life. I have to rely on you to obey me immediately.”
When she opened her mouth to talk, he suspected Carina would repeat she hadn’t realized he had veiled the area around her hiding spot.
He pressed a finger to her lips. “From now on, you can ask me any questions you want after the bad guys are handled. Okay? Do what I say, and we’ll discuss why later. ”
Carina nodded slowly. She reached up to wipe the last of her tears away before saying, “I’m sorry, Daddy. Can you forgive me?”
Marcus’s heart melted a bit more. He didn’t understand how he could care about her so deeply. “As soon as you give me a hug and kiss, I can.”
Carina threw her arms around his neck and plastered her lips to his. Marcus braced the rocker to keep it from crashing backward. He allowed her to lead the kiss until she lowered one hand to grab his shirt. Lifting her mouth from his, she glanced down at his chest, avoiding his eyes.
“I don’t think I’ll ever stop blaming myself,” she admitted and tugged the handful of material in her grip. Instantly, he understood she needed him to take control.
“What do you need to forgive yourself for, Carina?”
“I didn’t follow your directions and stay in the shelter you created for me.”
As he considered her words, Marcus stroked his fingers over her back and bottom.
His hands had delivered vengeance to so many.
He savored her soft curves before smoothing his palm over Carina’s rounded bottom and smacking her butt sharply.
Carina jolted backward in surprise. “Are you ready for your spanking, Little girl?”
She blinked at him in shock. “My spanking?”
“Did you follow your Daddy’s instructions, Carina?” he asked in a firm tone. She would always blame herself for the aftermath of her leaving, no matter what he said. Actions were worth more than words.
“No.”
“Daddy’s going to punish you because you didn’t stay where he told you to remain and you put yourself in danger. I’m not punishing you because those men grabbed you. They’ve already paid for their behavior.”
He paused as she considered that. Finally, she nodded and whispered, “I understand.”
“Good girl. Spankings are magical for Little girls. They wipe any misdeeds, like they never existed.”
“Really?” she whispered.
“I will never lie to you, Carina. Come, Little girl. Let’s get you in position.”
It didn’t surprise him that Carina cooperated as he stood her in front of him. “Littles get spanked on their bare bottoms. These need to come off.”
He reached under the dress she had worn out and stripped away her panties, whisking her shoes off with them. “No biting.” He paused to tell her when she caught her lower lip between her teeth on one side. Obediently, she released it.
“Good girl. Stretch over my lap. Daddy will help you, but you must move into position.”
Carina hesitated before slowly leaning over his thighs.
He settled her into position with her fingertips and toes dangling close to the carpet but not touching.
Marcus flipped the hem of her skirt over her back, exposing her rounded cheeks to his appreciative gaze.
He rubbed a calloused hand over her delicate skin and treasured her responsive shiver.
“This spanking will hurt. You’ll need a safe word. Red works or anything you’d like to use. It needs to be a word or phrase you’d not normally say. What’s something you don’t like?”
“Elevators.”
“Why do you not like elevators?”
“I read a book when I was a kid with all these true stories about how people died in elevators. They’re total death traps!” Carina told him. “You should never take one.”
“What a horrible thing for a young person to read. Perhaps I need to monitor what’s on your tablet.”
“Will elevator be okay as a safe word?” she asked in an obvious attempt to distract him. Marcus let the subject drop.
“That works. Shout elevator if you absolutely need me to stop and anytime in the future you need a breather.”
“Will you be angry with me if I use my safe word?”
“No, sweetheart. I won’t be angry with you unless you should use it and you don’t,” he explained.
“Okay. I’m ready for my punishment, Daddy.”
Marcus didn’t allow her any time to worry about it.
He spanked her lightly, scattering the impact over her buttocks and upper thighs.
Marcus concentrated on the sit spots, as he wanted her to remember this punishment for a couple of days.
She submitted so beautifully for him. Gradually, he increased the strength of his swats.
Marcus didn’t wish to hurt her, but she needed to learn this lesson.
Her skin changed from pale to pink to red as Carina twisted and kicked on his lap.
“Daddy, that’s good. I don’t need any more,” she pleaded.
Marcus didn’t reply but continued to deliver her consequences for putting herself in danger. He trapped her legs behind one of his calves so she wouldn’t hurt herself. One sniff started an avalanche of tears. Soon, Carina drooped over his legs, surrendering completely.
“Last two, Little girl.”
She nodded.
Quickly, Marcus popped her buttocks twice before rubbing his hand over her red bottom. “Are you going to follow Daddy’s instructions from now on, Little girl?”
“Yes, Daddy. Always.”
He lifted her and cradled Carina in his arms. Rocking her again slowly, he felt her relax completely against him. Marcus wiped her tears from her face with his shirt and kissed her forehead.
“You did so well, Little girl. I am very proud of you.” Marcus rocked her slowly as he thanked the fates for bringing them together.
“I’m better, Daddy. Well, not my butt. That hurts.”
“You’ll have a reminder for a couple of days to be my good girl. Rest now.”
He held her close as he moved the chair gently underneath them. When she yawned a few minutes later, he grabbed a pacifier from the small table next to them and rubbed it across her lips. Carina accepted it easily, never opening her eyes. In minutes, she drifted to sleep.
Marcus wished this moment could last forever. Seeing those men carrying Carina off had scared him for the first time in many, many years. The depth of his feelings for her were deeper than anything he’d ever imagined. His Little girl had become his life in such a short few days.
She had to choose to stay with him. He couldn’t lose her—not in a million years.