“Here is what’s going to happen. All five of you are going to line up and present your bottoms for the paddle. Each of you will receive five swats from the paddle, given to you by your own grownup. That is your punishment for agreeing to go along with Taylor’s naughty plans. Once all of you have received your swats from your grownup, Edie will give you another five for completely disregarding her wishes by trying to put up the Christmas lights after she said no. Do you all understand?”
He watched as five heads bobbed in unison. “Good. Now, Taylor. Per your own admission, this was your plan. It was also your idea to lie to me and the other grownups about why you wanted to play outside on your own. Correct?”
Eyes wide, Taylor bobbed her head again. “Y-yes, Daddy.”
“Because your decisions and your actions put your friends in danger, you are going to receive your five paddle swats from me and Edie, as well as one more from every other grownup in this room. So that’s a total of fourteen swats for you.”
The other Littles exploded, their indignant shouts echoing around the room. But a few hard stares and whispered threats eventually quieted them down, though Noelle continued to stare daggers at him.
Too damn bad. His Little girl had earned this punishment, and he was damn well going to deliver.
“Furthermore,” he continued, rolling over Noelle’s threatening growl, “Matty promised you a spanking from him, personally, if you or any of the other Littles broke the rules he laid out for you. What were those rules?”
“Um.” Taylor’s voice was barely a whisper. “N-not to use any tools and, um, not to involve the animals. But Daddy, we didn’t break either of those rules! We didn’t, I promise!”
“Unfortunately for you, little girl, we are all in agreement that a ladder is a tool. On top of that, you also broke the ruleIgave you about staying in the front yard. So before you and your friends line up for your paddling, you are going over Matty’s knee for the spanking he promised you.”
“That’s not fair!” Eyes blazing, Noelle jumped to her feet. “She’s already getting punished more than the rest of us, it’s not fair she gets a whole other spanking on top of that! You’re just on some fucking power trip because?—”
“Noelle.” Dom’s voice, calm but firm, cut off her tirade. “Stop right there, little girl. You and I will discuss this at home.”
“But—”
“No. This isn’t up for debate. You will sit back down and listen, or I will take you into Edie’s bathroom and wash your mouth out with soap before you get your bottom paddled. Am I making myself perfectly clear, little girl?”
They stood, staring at each other for several long, tense moments before Noelle finally caved. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. Sit down. Now.”
With an indignant huff, Noelle dropped back to the ground, her arms crossed over her chest.
Ignoring the stabbing sensation in his chest from Noelle’s words, Ian let his gaze travel over the sulking group again. “Does anyone have any questions they would like torespectfullyask?”
Noelle rolled her eyes, but the other four Little girls just shook their heads.
“All right. You can all sit right there and watch Taylor take her spanking from Matt, and hopefully the next time someone tries to talk you into breaking an important safety rule, you’ll think twice.”
Chapter Fourteen
Heart pounding, Taylor watched as Matt slipped from the living room and returned a moment later with one of Edie’s dining chairs. Setting it in the middle of the room, he sat and crooked a finger at her. “Come here, Taylor Grace.”
Jesse and Carly each gave her another squeeze. Drawing on their strength, she pushed up to her feet and shuffled across the room to stand beside Matt. “I’m really sorry, Matty,” she whispered, her throat already clogged with tears.
“I know, sweetheart. But you understand why you’re getting spanked?”
“Yes, Sir. I broke two of the rules you and Daddy gave us.”
“And you understand we gave you those rules for your own safety? Because especially when you’re in Little space it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of something and not be as careful as you should be?”
If she hadn’t already been feeling Little, his lecture, delivered in that even, gentle tone would have had her slip-sliding right into that headspace. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl. You’re going to go over my lap and then I’m going to pull your panties down, because a spanking for something this serious should be delivered on the bare bottom. But you know if I do anything that makes you too uncomfortable, you can always use your safewords to tell me to stop, okay?”
“I know.” But she appreciated the reminder all the same, because sometimes it was easy to forget that when she was deep in her Little space.
“All right. Come here, Taylor.”
Taking her hand, he guided her down over his lap and a moment later he had her skirt flipped up and her panties were being tugged down to her knees. Embarrassment flooded her, heating her entire body at the thought of everyone seeing her bare bottom.