Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
“What is this, Daddy?”
Anson glanced over to find Alice poking at the pumpkin on her plate suspiciously.
“It’s pumpkin.”
“Looks like baby food. I’m not a baby, Daddy.”
“It’s not baby food. And I happen to know you like pumpkin because you had pumpkin soup the other day for lunch.”
She scrunched up her nose.
Damn. It was going to be difficult to be firm with her when she was acting this cute.
However, he knew that remaining firm and sticking to his word was important. So she needed to eat her veggies.
“Do you want me to feed them to you, baby?” he asked.
She’d spent an hour playing in the bath with the kitchen utensils he’d found for her.
He had made a mental note to order some bath toys.
He’d bought some other things for her for Christmas.
They should be arriving at Joey’s place tomorrow.
They’d never have arrived on time if he’d had them posted here.
“No, Daddy. I have this.”
“Good girl.”
“Can I have another drink of water, though? Please?”
“Of course, baby.” He leaned over to grab the water jug he’d brought to the table and filled up her glass. As he turned back, he noticed that some of the vegetables on her plate were gone and she was chewing.
Hmm. Her chewing was very exaggerated.
With an internal shrug, he filled up her glass with water. She chugged the water down.
“I’m just gonna go fill the jug up with more water,” she told him.
“I’ll do that.”
She didn’t protest. Which was . . . odd. Getting up, he moved to the kitchen and filled the jug with more water. When he turned back, he noticed her leaning over and slipping some of the vegetables from her plate onto the wooden chair beside her.
That. Little. Brat.
He moved up behind and set the jug down quietly on the table, making her jump.
“Daddy! You move so quietly,” she complained.
“You know, I think I’ll sit next to you,” he told her, drawing out the chair with the vegetables on it.
“Daddy, no!” she cried. “Not that seat!”
“Why not?” He drew it out and stared down at the vegetables. “What do we have here?”
“Oh, how did those get there?” she asked with mock surprise.
“Little girl, you might want to explain what you think you were doing,” he warned.
“The veggies are icky, Daddy,” she complained.
“They are good for you,” he told her firmly. “And you need to eat them. It’s very naughty to pretend to eat them. What were you going to do with them?”
“I was gonna wait until you were in the toilet and throw them in the garbage. I wouldn’t have left them there.”
He shook his head. “That’s very naughty. I’m afraid you’re going to be punished.”
“No, Daddy! I don’t want to be punished.”
“Well, Daddy doesn’t want to have to do it. But it’s what’s best for you.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “I don’t see how it is, Daddy. That sounds like Daddy logic.”
“Well, call it what you like. You’re going to get your butt spanked. After you eat some veggies.”
“But they’re all gone, Daddy!”
“Luckily, I have more.”
What had she been thinking?
She liked pumpkin! Why hadn’t she just eaten it? Now, she was bent over the back of the sofa with her bare bottom on display, waiting for Daddy to spank her.
Not cool.
“I don’t know if I should be spanked when I’m sick,” she said desperately as she felt him come up behind her. He rested his warm hand on the small of her back.
“I think if you’re well enough to misbehave, you’re well enough to be spanked.
But if you need me to stop at any time, you just need to say your safeword.
” He rubbed her bottom. “But I think you did this because you wanted to know whether Daddy would follow through and punish you. And how you would feel about it.”
Drat.
That sounded right.
Suddenly his hand landed with a smack! She jumped with a cry. Ouch!
“That hurts, Daddy!”
“It’s meant to, little girl.”
Smack! Smack!
His hand landed several times. He stopped a couple of times to check in with her. But she didn’t feel the need to stop him. In fact, the spanking almost gave her a sense of release. Tears slid down her face as her sobs filled the room.
“That’s it, baby. Come here. Let it all out.” He drew her into his arms, resting her against his chest. She leaned into him until she realized that he was taking most of her weight.
She tried to pull back, but he tightened his hold on her.
“S-sorry, Daddy,” she told him.
“All is forgiven. Are you all right, baby?” He ran his hand over her head.
She nodded. “Am I leaning on you too much?”
“Stop worrying about Daddy. I can look after myself. And you, too.”
“I didn’t mean to be naughty.”
“All Littles are naughty at some stage,” he told her.
“So you still . . . you still want me?”
He tightened his hold before stepping back and grasping hold of her chin to tilt her head back.
“Of course I do. I want you, all of you. Your smiles. Your laughter. Your sassiness. Your naughtiness. Your loyalty. Every bit of you is mine, Alice. Understand me? I am never going to push you away again. And I won’t allow anything to come between us.”
She sniffled. “Really?”
“Really. I love you, Alice Madison. You’re my whole fucking world.”
Those words settled around her, their weight making her feel safe, cared for, loved. And she wrapped her arms around him again.
“I love you so much, Anson. I didn’t expect to ever find someone like you. You’re perfect. Protective and caring. But not mean or a jerk.”
“If I ever am, you have my permission to kick my ass.”
She giggled at the thought.
“I will love you forever, Alice,” he told her. “Always and forever.”