Page 93 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

I give Daddy the owl eye. He chuckles. “Pence must have earned himself another punishment.”

“How can you punish someone in a blow-up dinosaur costume, Daddy?”

“Oh, Harry managed last time. Hands and feet aren’t covered by the costume; Harry made full use of them.”

I wince sympathetically.

Daddy leers at me. “I haven’t punished those tender little toes in some time.”

“Because my feet haven’t done anything wrong,” I point out.

“Incorrect. Those little ice cubes find my warm, unsuspecting calves unerringly in the night.”

I screw my face up at him. “I can’t be punished for things I do in my sleep.”

“That’s where we disagree, little girl.” Daddy laughs. “Jiro and Laurel should be here within the hour and I think, in honor of their visit, we could have a Tickle Tondo Two.”

I squint at him. The first Tickle Tondo was ridiculously fun but I did almost pee myself from laughing so hard. “I thought we were dancing tonight after the hunt? I can’t dance on tickled toes.”

“Is that a challenge, little girl? I bet I can get you to dance.” He tugs the brim of his top hat down rakishly. “No one can resist the Hatter.”

It’s true I can’t resist Daddy, particularly when he’s playful.

When most of the crowd has made its way upstairs, Daddy holds his hand out to me. “Ready, little girl?”

“Ready, Daddy.”

We join the stragglers making their way upstairs. Ahead of us, Master Theo is helping a woman dressed up as a fairytale princess, with full hoop skirts that she’s struggling to manageon the stairs. Once he helps her get the hoop under control, he continues holding her hand as they walk up together. Under the princess’ gauzy pink veil and conical hat, I recognize the brown curls of Amy from playgroup.

I squeeze Daddy’s hand and tip my chin at the pair when he glances at me. He follows my gesture; a sly smile lights his face.

“Is the Little Matchmaking Bureau about to spring into action, baby?” he asks.

“Could be, Daddy. I think there’s some potential there.”

“Me, too. I remember the first time Theo met you. Do you remember?”

I nod. I was recovering from the wooden-pony punishment. Master Theo read to me. He held Peter Aloha Bunny. He shared his dessert with me. I actually liked him until I found out how horrible he’d been to Daddy later that night.

“He wasentrancedby you,” Daddy says quietly, so the couple a few steps ahead of us doesn’t hear. “I was the tiniest bit jealous.”

“You weren’t, were you?” I ask, tugging on his hand. I don’t want Daddy to be jealous. I want him always to be as secure in my love as he’s made me in his.

He holds up his free hand with his thumb and first finger almost touching. “Tiniest bit. But I realized he was responding to your littleness. Itisentrancing. I can’t blame anyone for falling for it.”

“But Amy’s not a masochist,” I point out. That’s probably a bigger issue than her littleness.

“He’s an experienced Dom. If there’s chemistry and he wants to be a caregiver, he might find that satisfies his needs. As much as I get off when you suffer for me, baby doll, caring for you fills an even deeper set of needs. I’m glad you’re a masochist; I wouldn’t change a thing about the way we play. But if youweren’t, I’d still have pursued a relationship with you. I need your joy in my life more than I need your pain.”

I lean into him and he slides his arm around my shoulders. “I didn’t know that, Daddy.”

“Do you really think I wouldn’t shape myself to be whatever you need?”

I nod, rubbing my cheek against his shoulder blissfully. “Yes, because you’re the Dom I deserve. You’re my Batman Daddy.”

He lets out a bark of laughter. “You called me that before and I didn’t realize what you were saying. Is that what the Batman stickers are in your journal? Are those me?”

“Uh-huh. You’ve always been my Dark Knight, right from the beginning.”

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