Page 3 of Learning Little Lizzie

“You mean other than her being a constant thorn in my side?” At Samuel’s raised eyebrow, Derek waved a hand. “Trust me, you’ll see what I mean soon enough. For starters, Eliza genuinely enjoys being punished, and it doesn’t matter one bit what type of discipline you choose. Spankings, paddlings, canings, writing lines, timeouts, extra chores—there is nothing she won’t endure with a smile. And then she’s right back to her old tricks.”

“How is she still here, then?”

“Nothing she ever does is truly malicious. It’s mostly just mild bratting, mouthing off a bit, maybe a prank here or there. Ask Grant about the time she glitter bombed his office.” A smile tugged at Derek’s lips before he seemed to catch himself. “But the big rules like no drugs or alcohol, things like that, she follows to the letter. It’s like she knows exactly where the line is and she won’t cross it but she’s damn well going to camp out and live there.”

“I see.”

Again, Derek’s lips twitched, but now there was a hint of mischief in his eyes as well. “I bet you do. She is pretty, isn’t she?”

Stunning, actually. With rich dark hair that seemed to come alive when she shook her head and those bottle-green eyes filled with mischief, she was leaps and bounds beyond just “pretty”. It was shocking to Samuel that even with her bratty reputation, some enterprising Dominant hadn’t managed to snatch her up yet. “She is. And I have a weakness for brats, as you well know.”

“I do know. You two would do well together, I think.”

It was comforting to know that some things never changed. Like Derek’s penchant for matchmaking. Normally, Samuel would have balked at being so blatantly set up, but he’d been captivated by Miss Eliza Bennett the moment he’d laid eyes on the picture Derek had attached to his plea for Samuel to come teach at the University and “help him with a brat problem” as the email had put it. “And that won’t be a problem, given my position?”

“Please. You’ll hardly be the first of our professors to fall for a student. At this point the University practically doubles as a dating service. All I ask is for you to be fair in dealing with her. No special treatment.”

“You know me better than that. If anything, she’ll be held to an even higher standard than her peers.”

Some of the tension visibly eased from Derek’s shoulders and his grin widened at Samuel’s words. “I would expect nothing less from you. There is one other thing, though.”

“What is it?”

“Eliza does not identify as a Little. And she’s shown no interest in anything related to ageplay. In fact, when I’ve mentioned spending some time in the Littles’ Wing, just to give it a try, she has very adamantly refused.”

“That’s disappointing.” Samuel wasn’t just a Daddy in name. He wanted nothing more than to find a Little girl who would rely on him for everything.

Everything.

“I know. If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if she does have a Little side, despite her protests. I do have a sixth sense about these things, you know.”

“So I’ve heard. But you know better than anyone how important it is to honor a submissive’s limits.”

“Ah, but there’s the catch.” Derek pulled open a drawer and withdrew a small stack of papers to hand over to Samuel. “She doesn’t have ageplay listed as a hard limit. As you’ll see, she has almost no hard limits at all.”

“Really?” Taking the papers, Sam flipped through them, anger boiling in his veins as he studied the pages. Other than a few obvious exceptions like scat play and water sports, every single item on the “kink survey” all residents and guests were required to fill out was marked “Yes”. Not a single “Maybe” or “No” to be found.

And, as Derek had said, that included every single item in the ageplay section. Including wearing and using diapers. “Did you talk this over with her? You made sure she understood what she was signing?”

“Of course. She knows what every single item on that list entails, even if she hasn’t tried it herself. I quizzed her on them in person. And she swears she is open to them all. When I got to the ageplay section, I could see they made her uncomfortable, so we spent a fair bit of time going over those items. But no matter how hard I pushed, she continues to maintain that she ‘Doesn’t like that sort of thing but it’s not a real limit’.”

“I see.” He didn’t, not really. It seemed unlikely she was actually open to every single thing on Derek’s extensive list. There was a reason behind her lack of limits, but the mystery only made her more alluring. “Interesting.”

“Yes.” Derek tapped a finger against his desk, and Sam could practically see the struggle playing out on his face before he finally spoke again. “As a matter of principle, I would not push ageplay, or anything else really, on a submissive who wasn’t interested in such. The role of the Ranch is to allow people to explore their personal interests and kinks, not to force them to endure things they are not comfortable with. That being said, if a Dominant, even one in my employ, felt that it might be an effective punishment for their submissive, I would not interfere in that decision.”

“I see,” Sam repeated slowly, his mind racing with possibilities.

“And while a romantic relationship certainly can’t be forced on any of my students, I am well within my rights to assign them guardians as needed. Said guardian would be responsible for any and all discipline that submissive may earn during the course of their arrangement.”

Ah. So that was why Derek had brought naughty little Eliza to Samuel’s attention. “Are there any punishments a guardian would be exempt from utilizing?”

“As long as you honor her limits, nothing is off the table.”

Her practically non-existent limits, which he couldn’t wait to test. “Then I humbly offer myself for the role of Eliza Bennett’s guardian.”

“Offer accepted.” Derek smacked his hand on the desk like a judge striking a gavel. “I’ll inform Eliza as soon as her classes have finished for the day.”

“As it happens, she has an appointment with me at four this afternoon. Why don’t you join us in my classroom?” Two birds, one stone, as it were.

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