Page 10 of Lion's Little Scamp

Irish stared across the room, deep in thought. Finally, she slowly nodded her head.

“That makes sense, I suppose,” she whispered. “Now can you please tell me about mates and why I feel so drawn to you?”

Harrigan wanted to kick the recliner back and then pull her down to rest against his chest but stopped himself. Revealing that he was a shifter, and a lion shifter at that was a discussion to be held while sitting up, just in case she wanted to climb from his lap.

Rubbing one hand up and down her back, he took a deep breath.

“I am a shifter, a lion shifter to be exact. And you, my sweet scamp, are my mate.”

Harrigan had never been one for tact, but by the stunned look on Irish’s face, he may have been a little too blunt in this announcement. He was stunned when she did not leap from his lap and run, but once again stared across the room as she thought through his announcement.

Finally, she blinked and turned to look at him. “And what, exactly, does being your mate mean?”

Now it was Harrigan’s turn to stare across the room as he considered his answer. “Being the mate of a shifter means that you’ll never again have to live in a box or go hungry. I will take care of your every need – food, house, clothes, anything you need. I will make sure you will be safe, healthy and happy. You will be my entire world.

“I will also spoil your Little with games and toys and stuffies. And whenever you break rules or are naughty, I will spread you over my lap and spank some sense back into you. Does that sound like something you’d like?”

He had to fight down a smile, and a groan, as she shifted on his lap, pressing her thighs together as the scent of her arousal filled the air.

“Um, can I think about it for a little bit, like maybe overnight? It’s a little overwhelming to have someone want to be my everything. No one has ever wanted to be anything to me before.” Her voice was soft and watery, as if she were on the verge of tears, or panic.

“Thinking things over is good. Take all the time you need. But in the meanwhile, can I give you a hug?”

Irish nodded. “I think I’d like that.”

Harrigan gently wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. As he held her, she relaxed and snuggled closer. Harrigan found himself bending his head forward to rest his cheek on the top of her head. Something inside him that had always been coiled tight, relaxed.

Time had no meaning as they cuddled together. When she sighed deeply and relaxed fully, he knew it was time to move on to the next stage of the evening.

Shifting under her, he squeezed her a moment before pulling his arms from around her. “All right, little scamp, it’s time for your spanking before I tuck you into your bed. It’s been a long day and you need to rest. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

He had spoken more in the past twenty minutes than he had in the past month. Normally, he spent the time he wasn’t flying in his lion form patrolling the mountains around Bratburg Institute.

Irish stiffened, but did not argue her need for a spanking.

“How do we do this?” she whispered.

“You’re going to stand up, and then I’ll move to the couch. Once I’m seated, you’ll lay across my lap with your body and legs on the couch. I won’t make you take off your pants and panties tonight, but all future spankings will be on your bare butt.”

Irish didn’t say anything, just climbed from his lap and stood waiting.

“I need a verbal answer, sweetheart. You can call me Sir or Daddy, though my preference is Daddy.”

Irish swallowed and nodded before whispering, “Yes, Sir.”

Harrigan stood and tried not to be hurt when his mate took two steps back, away from him. He was a big guy and had no doubt her experience with big men was not a happy one.

She backed up and he moved to the couch. She hesitated before crawling onto the couch. He helped position her so that her bottom was positioned over his right thigh and the rest of her body rested on the cushions on either side of his body.

“Comfortable, scamp?”

He forced down a grin when she looked over her shoulder with a disbelieving expression. “Uh, sure. I guess, though I’m still not sure this is necessary.”

“Oh, sweetheart, it is very necessary. You need to know that I will punish you, but I will never push you past what you can handle. We didn’t talk about safe words. Do you have one?”

“Melon,” she answered after a moment’s hesitation.

“All right. You call out melon if things hurt too much, physically, or emotionally, and everything stops so we can talk about the problem. That doesn’t mean you’ll get out of your punishment, just that we may have to modify things a bit. Understand?”

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