Chapter 48
M aya woke up alone.
That was no fun. She’d had dreams of waking Matthieu up with her mouth around his cock.
Then she glanced at the time on the clock on the nightstand.
Holy crap!
How had she slept in that late? Her babies would be busting and hungry.
Jumping up, she glanced around for something to wear and saw Matthieu’s shirt.
She quickly pulled that on over her head and rushed out of the room.
Where were they? She checked the room she’d chosen for Big B and Tank.
Although when they’d gone to bed last night both animals had still been in front of the fire.
They weren’t in the bedroom and the only one in the living room was Princess Priss who was asleep on the sofa.
Where were they? She rushed outside and spotted the rest of her animals with Matthieu. He was throwing a ball for Dougie as Gummy pranced around. Tank and Big B were lying in a sunny patch. Tank was actually on his back with his legs in the air, sun worshipping.
She took him in for a moment, smiling.
“Maya? What are you doing?”
She turned to Matthieu. “I slept in! I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? You needed the rest. Something must have tired you out.” He winked at her.
Her cheeks grew hot and she knew she must be red. Then he frowned, staring down at her feet.
“Where are your shoes?” he demanded.
“Oh, I forgot them in my rush. I thought I better let my babies out before they had an accident.”
He raised his eyebrows and moved toward her, wrapping his arm around her waist. “You really thought that I wouldn’t take care of them?” He lifted her into the air and carried her inside.
“Oh no, it’s just . . . I, um, well, I guess I didn’t think about that. I’m just used to looking after them myself.”
“I know that. But you’re not alone anymore.” He set her down and tapped her nose as she stared past him, outside. “We’re a team.”
“We are?” she asked, startled.
“Yep.”
“Because you really don’t seem like a team player.”
He looked amused at that. “Well, I am the leader of the team. So I am in charge.”
“Ahh, that makes more sense.”
“You can sleep in if you want to, Maya.” He put his hand on the back of her neck. “I’m here to share the load.”
“That’s going to take some getting used to,” she told him.
He nodded. “I get that. But, there’s something I want you to do for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Start wearing shoes when you go outside,” he said firmly.
She had to grin. “I’ll try.”
“Try harder.”
“Are you sure they’ll be all right outside? What if the fence has a hole in it? Gummy could easily escape. Or what if a wild animal attacks?”
He squeezed the back of her neck. “You need to trust me. I’m going to take care of them and you. They’re safe. We’re not far away. All right?”
She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right. Sorry. It’s hard not to worry.”
“I know it is, but I’m going to help you with that. And I think the best way is to spend some time in Little headspace. What do you think?”
“I think . . . I want to try.”
“Good girl. I’m going to let you take a shower and get dressed on your own. But after that, you’re completely mine.”
Wow.
That sent a small shiver through her. She liked the idea of being completely his.
“I wondered where you were,” Matthieu said from the doorway of the playroom.
She glanced up, giving him a shy look. She’d dressed in a pair of olive-colored overalls with a white T-shirt underneath. Her hair was pushed back with a thick white headband. There were white sneakers on her feet. She looked adorable.
“I thought I’d come get into the right mindset.”
“How are you getting on?”
She let out a small laugh. “Not so great.”
“Maybe you need Papa’s help,” he suggested.
“I think I do.”
“Let’s have breakfast first. I’ve set it up outside.”
She stood and took his hand. He led her to the back porch where he’d set up breakfast on the small table.
There were croissants and jelly. Cream cheese. Strawberries and raspberries.
“Yummy!” She clapped her hands.
“Glad you approve, Bébé,” he said as he held a chair out for her.
Then he sat next to her and grabbed a croissant. “What would you like on your croissant?”
“Oh, I can make it,” she told him, trying to reach for it. He lightly smacked her hand away.
“Papa will get it.”
A small bark had him glancing down to find Dougie staring up at them with his strange eyes.
“No, Dougie,” he told him. “You’ve had your breakfast.”
The dog gave him a sad look and he sighed.
Maya giggled. “Dougie likes his food.”
“That much is obvious.”
“Hey! Rude. Oops, here comes Big B. She definitely likes her food.”
He shook his head. “They’ve had their breakfast. You need to eat. What do you want?”
“Um, grape jelly and cream cheese! Yum, yum, yum.”
Already she was slipping into Little headspace. He wondered if she realized it.
He made her croissant and poured her some coffee, making it how she liked it.
She picked up the croissant and ate it enthusiastically as Big B and Dougie gave up and wandered away.
“Aren’t you eating?” she asked.
“Aren’t you eating, Papa ?” he said. “I’m Papa in Little headspace.”
“Aren’t you eating, Papa ?” she repeated.
Sassy. He had to hide his smile.
“I already had my breakfast.” But he drank some coffee as she ate.
“That was so good.”
“Another one.”
“No thanks,” she said, wiping her fingers on a napkin.
“No thanks, Papa .”
“No thanks, Papa ,” she repeated his words, smiling up at him.
He grabbed a napkin and wiped her face clean. She had jelly all around her mouth.
“What are we going to do now?” she asked.
“I thought we could take everyone for a walk. And then come back to play for a while before we head into town to get the packages.”
“Okie-dokie!”
Goofy, but adorable.
“What do you think of this stone, Papa?” she asked, rushing over to him with another stone she’d picked up. “Who do you think it looks like?”
“The Rock,” he said dryly. He was leading Tank and Big B while she had Dougie’s lead. They’d left Gummy back at the house with Princess Priss. She hadn’t looked like she was in the mood for a walk.
Maya giggled. “No, Papa! It looks like the Eiffel Tower.”
“Ahh, I can see that. Now, stop running around. You’re going to trip or stub your toe.”
They were walking along by the river and he was worried she might slip and fall in. She rolled her eyes at him.
“No rolling your eyes,” he warned.
“Papa, don’t be such a worrywart. I’m fine.” She bounced away and picked up another stone. “Oh, this will be great to skip through the water.” She bent and drew her arm back, letting it fly. It sunk straight into the water.
“Oh, bummer! I need another one.” She searched around.
“Maya, come away from the river. Now,” he warned.
“But I’m just looking for another stone. Ohh!” she cried, her arms windmilling as she tried to keep her balance.
Matthieu jumped forward, knowing he was going to be too late. She fell right into the water.
He dropped the leads, hoping the animals wouldn’t leave and raced to her. But she was already standing and climbing out of the river.
“Shit! Maya! I told you to stay away from the river and to be careful.”
“I’m sorry, Papa.”
Poor thing looked miserable. He guided her back to the animals. To his shock, Tank had Dougie’s lead in his mouth. Dougie was trying to get to them and Tank was holding him back.
That dog was extremely smart.
“Good boy, Tank,” he said. “Hold him for me a bit longer. Good girl, Big B.”
Big Berry snuffled at him from where she stood next to Tank.
He’d thought Big B would stay put and that Tank would stay with her. Dougie was the wildcard, though. And Tank had obviously thought the same.
“Let’s get you dry,” he said to Maya, whose teeth were chattering. They drew off her wet clothes and then he removed his shirt and undershirt. He used his undershirt to dry her before pulling the shirt over her head and bundling up her clothes to carry.
“Th-thanks,” she said as she slid her feet into her wet shoes with a grimace. He couldn’t do anything about her wet shoes, but couldn’t walk in them or she’d rub her feet raw.
He took the leads back into one hand and held her clothes in the other. Then he turned and crouched down. “On you get.”
Maya was freezing.
She was miserable.
What had started out as a really fun walk had now become the absolute pits.
And now, she was also confused as she stared at Matthieu’s back.
“What?”
“Get on, Bébé,” he said with waning patience in his voice.
“Why?”
“I can’t carry you when I have the animals and your clothes to deal with. So I’ll piggyback you.”
“Oh, I can walk.”
“Maya, you have until the count of three to get on my back. I should tell you that if you wait until after three, the small spanking I was gonna give you when we get home is going to turn into a big one.”
“Why am I getting a spanking?” she cried. That was just mean. Couldn’t he tell she wasn’t in the mood?
“For not listening. Now, up you get. One. Two.”
Maya wasn’t an idiot. She got up before he got to the count of three.
Maya was definitely an idiot.
She stood in the corner of the playroom and realized she was a big idiot.
And now her bottom was going to pay the price.
“Come here, Maya.”
Turning, she pouted as she dragged her feet and walked over to where Matthieu sat on a chair.
After getting back, he’d put her in the shower and washed her. Yep, he’d washed every inch of her.
It had been heaven and hell. Hell, because it was the biggest tease and at the same time, it had felt like heaven. Because she loved being taken care of. She’d thought it would be harder to let him take control, to let him take charge.
Maybe it was this place. It made her feel like she was free to be someone else. Someone who let others take on some of her worries, her responsibilities.
Or maybe it was just that it was Matthieu and over these past few weeks, she’d come to trust him.
To love him.
“Why are you being spanked?” he asked.
“Because I slipped into the river?”
“No.” He frowned at her. “You know why.”
“Because I didn’t listen to you.”
“That’s right. You could have been badly hurt or worse. You need to listen to your Papa.”
She knew he was right and she was already crying before he even got her over his lap. His smacks were fast and solid. Her bottom grew hot quickly. She was still a bit tender from yesterday.
At this rate, she wasn’t going to sit comfortably the entire time they were here.
Maybe you should start behaving yourself.
Maybe.
“Papa, no!” she cried as he moved his hand to her upper thighs.
“Papa wants you to know that he’s very serious about your safety,” he warned as he spanked her several more times.
When the spanking was over, her bottom was hot and she was sobbing. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, lying down on it with her next to him.
She cried until she was yawning.
“Time for a nap,” he told her.
“I don’t needs a nap. I got up late. I needs to play.”
“Nap first, then you can play.”
“Noo,” she grumbled.
He ran his fingers through her hair as he whispered to her in French.
Darn it.
That wasn’t cool. He always managed to get her to do exactly what he wanted when he spoke in French.
It was his superpower.