Page 10 of Learning Little Lizzie

But that was when the punishments were on her terms. She hadn’t planned any of this, and that was another layer of humiliation over everything else she’d already been forced to endure.

“I’m going to overlook your tone as you’ve had a rather hard day already, little girl. But you are testing the limits of my patience and understanding, Eliza. Now, are you going to be a Big girl and come with me to the gift shop, or do I need to call Nanny J to take you to the Caterpillar Room?”

Shock had her mouth falling open. “You wouldn’t!”

“I absolutely would. Big girls know how to pick their battles. Toddlers fight everyone and everything just because they can. So, which are you, Eliza? Are you a Big girl, or a cranky toddler?”

Nothing, and she meant absolutely nothing in her life had been harder than answering that question. Because the parts of her that wanted to rebel, that screamed Make Me on principle, wanted to test him. To push him to prove he’d follow through with such an over-the-top threat.

But she could see it in his eyes that he was prepared to do exactly what he’d said. And she thought she might actually die if he took her to the nursery and put her in a diaper and a onesie with all the other very little Littles.

“I’m a Big girl,” she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears, which was its own humiliation.

Everything about him seemed to soften when she acquiesced. “Yes, you are. Thank you for being such a brave girl for me, Eliza.”

Ugh. She didn’t want his praise. Or so she would have told anybody who asked. And yet, something inside her lit with warmth at his words. “I’m not brave. You’re just an asshole.”

“Be that as it may, I appreciate you doing as I’ve asked.” His eyebrow raised, pinning her with a stern look that had her entire body flushing with need. “But we will be discussing your language and the way you address me when we get to our apartment.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Shoulders hunched as if she could somehow protect herself from all the knowing stares being sent her way, she let him lead her to the gift shop.

Thankfully, they bypassed the section of clothing with all the onesies and fluffy skirts, instead heading toward the racks that were clearly geared toward “older” Littles. To Eliza’s dismay, however, the very first thing Samuel reached for was a schoolgirl skirt much like the one Hayleigh had worn to class every day. Instead of the regulation purple and black plaid, however, this skirt was bright pink. It was cute, but it definitely gave off a Little vibe she’d rather avoid.

“No, thanks.” Holding up her hands, she shook her head in firm refusal when he tried to hand her the skirt. “Not my style.”

“I’d like you to try it on. Unless you’d prefer the outfits in the toddler section.”

Goddammit. Shooting him a glare, she snatched the skirt from his hand. “That’s going to stop working at some point, and then you won’t have anything to threaten me with.”

“Then I suppose I should get as much use out of it as possible before that day.”

Huffing out an annoyed breath, she followed behind him as he grabbed item after item off the hangers, adding to the ever-growing pile in her arms. Someone came by at one point and took the pile, stashing it in a dressing room at the back for her.

She’d handed off three such piles, delaying the inevitable as much as she could before Samuel finally sent her back to the dressing rooms with a hard swat to her bottom.

Some of the outfits, like the ones with the fluffy tulle skirts and the shirts with the cartoon characters plastered all over them, she rejected outright. But some of the outfits actually weren’t too bad.

The schoolgirl-style skirt, to her never-ending aggravation, turned out to be one of her favorites. Paired with a white button-down shirt and ombre blue-to-pink tights with a funky geometric pattern on them, the outfit didn’t really feel all that Little at all. It had a sexy edge to it she actually liked.

And despite herself, she got a little thrill in her tummy every time Samuel’s eyes flashed with interest when she stepped out of the dressing room in one of her outfits. Maybe she wasn’t the type of submissive who enjoyed pleasing people, but she certainly wasn’t immune to an attractive man looking at her like she was the last bottle of water in a barren desert.

The same man who had helped her set up her dressing room—Liam, she thought his name was—came and got the outfits she approved of when she was done. He carried her choices up to the checkout, with instructions for them to continue shopping until they were ready.

She’d hoped the clothes were the end of it. Samuel, on the other hand, had other ideas.

Taking her hand in his, he guided her over to the wall of stuffies. And the Little girl inside her, the one she tried so desperately to pretend didn’t exist, squealed with delight.

“Pick out whatever you’d like.”

“I don’t need a stuffie.” But the protest sounded weak, even to her.

“Everyone needs a stuffie. Even Big girls.” Samuel’s face lit with pleasure as he stepped forward and picked up one of the stuffed animals from the wall. “I must confess I personally have a weakness for dragons. What about you?”

For a moment, she could only stare at this elegant, gorgeous, silver fox of a man clutching a purple stuffed dragon to his chest. “You can’t be serious.”

“I never joke about stuffies, Eliza.”

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