Page 60 of Daddy's Naughty List

“Hmm.” He gave the thermometer a twist, mostly to remind her it was there, and grinned when her bottom automatically clenched around it. “I thought maybe the reason you were so naughty today was because you’re not feeling well. But if you were just being naughty for no reason…”

“Maybe I feel atinybit yucky.”

“Then maybe you should stop fussing about having your temperature taken, huh?”

“Yes, Daddy,” she said with a sigh, resuming sucking on her pacifier.

“Good girl.”

The timer on his phone signaled the end and he pulled the thermometer from her bottom. One hundred even, which was a bit high but still within the ‘normal’ range, according to the booklet.

“No fever. You’re a perfectly cooked Tayter Tot.”

“Told you.” Turning her head, she glared up at him.

“I know, but it’s a Daddy’s job to make sure of these things.” At least, he was pretty sure that was a Daddy’s job. Some days it still felt like he had no clue what he was doing when it came to being her Daddy. “How about we go downstairs and make some of that peppermint and chocolate popcorn you’ve been begging for and watch some Christmas movies?”

“Really?” Excitement lit her eyes, but only for a moment before it died out again. Looking worried, she pulled the pacifier out of her mouth, rolling it between her fingers. “But… aren’t you going to spank me again? For the ladder and for not apologizing to Matty?”

He really should. She’d taken ten years off his life when he’d seen her about to step up onto that ‘not a step’ at the top of the ladder.

Now that he’d had some time to think, however, he was second-guessing himself. Again. Matt always preached about how important it was to follow through if he’d promised a punishment, but his babygirl just seemed so…sad. How could he spank her when she was already so upset?

The answer was simple. He couldn’t. “Do you understand why what you did with the ladder was so dangerous?”

“Yes, Daddy.” Sincerity rang in her voice, solidifying his decision.

“Then as long as you promise me you won’t do it again, we can skip the spanking. You are going to call Matty and apologize before we make the popcorn though.”

“Oh.” Pushing up to a sitting position, she cradled Mr. Floppy to her chest. “You don’t think I deserve another spanking?”

“I think you’re obviously having a really hard day and a spanking won’t fix that. But popcorn and Christmas movies might.”

A shy smile curved her lips. “Maybe.”

“That’s my girl.”

There was a knot in her tummy that wouldn’t quite go away. She’d actually been looking forward to her spanking in the hopes it would make her feel better.

But Daddy had said no, and he was the Daddy. So if he didn’t think she needed a spanking, then she would try to just ignore that little knot and hope it went away on its own.

Calling Matty to apologize helped a tiny bit, especially since he lectured her for a solid five minutes about being a good girl and listening to her Daddy, and by the time she hung up the phone, the knot wasn’t hurting quite as bad.

“All right, Tayter Tot.” Phone in hand, Daddy scanned the recipe on his screen. “First things first, we need to pop some popcorn.”

“I’ll get it!” Hopping down from the stool she’d been sitting on at their island, she raced for the pantry and yanked open the door. “Found it!”

She emerged with the jar of popcorn kernels held high over her head, and Daddy grinned as he took the jar from her hand. “Good girl. Why don’t you and Mr. Floppy have a seat and I’ll pop the popcorn.”

“Aw. But I wanna pop it!”

“Not this time, baby.”

Sighing, she hopped back up on the stool and kicked her legs. “I’m not actually a baby, you know,” she grumbled as her toe smacked against the back of the island.

“Maybe you could be.”

That got her attention, enough for her to completely forget about that knot in her tummy for a moment as she looked up at him. “What?”

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