Page 52 of Daddy's Naughty List

A warning she ignored, as usual.

“Itismy business if my brother can’t take the stick out of his?—”

“Noelle.”

This time the warning was clear in Dom’s voice, and for once Noelle heeded it, though she did so with an indignant huff. “Fine.”

“Good girl,” Dom said, his smile warming with approval. “Come on, let’s go get some hot chocolate.”

Everything about Noelle seemed to light up, reminding Ian why he put up with knowing the things he knew about their relationship. “With marshmallows and extra whipped cream?”

“Of course, sugar plum.”

Taylor’s expression turned sulky as their friends took their place in line. “Noelledoesn’t have to choose between toppings.”

Not for the first time, he was torn on how to respond.

On the one hand, Taylor genuinely seemed to love it when he was strict. After all, she’d been the one to introduce him to the whole idea of being her Daddy and giving her rules and punishments. The stricter he was, the happier and less stressed his Little girl seemed.

But he couldn’t help but wonder if sometimes hewasjust an asshole, like Noelle often said. Did it really matter if she had a little extra sugar with her hot chocolate? It was a treat, after all.

So if he was just being overbearing, should he forgo punishing her for blatantly ignoring him after he’d told her no? Or did it not matter if he was being unreasonable? Shehaddefied him, and that was clearly against their rules. But he hated the idea of punishing her for something that was potentially his fault in the first place.

Fuck, this Daddy thing was complicated sometimes.

“We’ll talk about it at home.” There. That would buy him some time to think, and give Taylor something to squirm about the rest of the evening.

Best of both worlds.

Chapter Two

The ride from Charleston to Lost River was only about thirty minutes, but it seemed to take forever as Taylor’s mind raced with all the devious punishments her Daddy might come up with. It had been so long since she’d done something really naughty, and her bottom kept clenching in anticipation as they drove.

“All right, Tayter Tot. Let’s go get you ready for bed,” Ian said as he put the car in park in their driveway.

Her stomach, which had previously been full of butterflies, dropped to the floor. “Oh. Um. Okay.”

Pausing with his hand on the door, Ian raised a brow. “Something wrong, baby?”

“No, it’s just… I thought I was in trouble.”

The stern look he sent her had the butterflies going wild again. “You probably should be. It was very naughty to ignore what Daddy said like that.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Daddy.”

To her surprise, his expression softened. “And I’m sorry for not just letting you enjoy your treat. A little extra sugar never hurt anyone, right?”

“Right.” It was the best response any Little girl could hope for. Not only did she get what she wanted, she also wasn’t going to get spanked for being sneaky about it.

So why did she feel like she wanted to cry?

“I think we’ll just call it even on this one. Sound good, baby?”

No. No, it does not sound good. I wanted a spanking, dammit.

But Ian was the Daddy, and if he didn’t think she deserved a spanking then she should honor that decision. She’d read that on a website somewhere about being a good Little. With that in mind, she forced herself to smile back. “Sure. Sounds good.”

If Ian noticed the sulk in her voice, he didn’t comment on it. “All right. Sit tight so Daddy can come let you out.”

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