Page 25 of Daddy's Little Sunshine

He took another step toward her, his face set in hard lines. “What did I say before I left? Who were you allowed to open the door for?”

Dammit, why did he have to be so specific? Skirting around the counter as he advanced on her, she shook her head. “I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?” he asked, with a calm that was somehow more terrifying than if he’d yelled at her. “You don’t remember what I said to you not two hours ago?”

The ripple of anger under the calm sent a shiver down her spine. “N-no.”

“I’m going to give you one more chance to tell me, little girl.” He stopped stalking her to cross his arms over his chest and glare. “You won’t like the consequences if you lie to me again.”

Lainey stomped her foot, her bare skin stinging when it connected with the worn linoleum. “I told you, I don’t remember what you said!”

In a flash, he was around the counter, wrapping his hand around her arm. “Little girls who keep telling lies get their mouths washed out. Stand here.” He pushed her in front of the sink and swatted her bottom.

“No, please don’t! I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to get in trouble!”

With a disbelieving snort, he cocked an eyebrow at her. “Yeah? How’d that turn out for you?”

“I’m sorry, Daddy!”

“I bet you are.” He grabbed a paper towel and wet it before squirting some dish soap on it and holding it up to her mouth. “Open.”

Clamping her lips shut, she shook her head. No way was she just going to let him put soap in her mouth!

“The hard way, then. You’d think you’d learn.” Daddy used his other hand to grip her face behind her jaws, slowly forcing her lips apart. When her mouth had opened enough, he shoved the paper towel between them. “I swear to God, if you bite me, I’ll whip your ass every day for a week.”

The acrid taste of the soap burned her tongue and Lainey gagged, but she managed to keep herself from biting down. She had no doubt he’d follow through on his threat, since he’d had no problem following through on all the previous ones he’d made.

“Now that we’ve got that mouth nice and full of soap, I have some questions.” Leaning against the counter, he crossed his arms and pinned her with a stern look. “Number one, do you remember what I told you before I left?”

Her mouth, nose, and throat burning, Lainey nodded.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought. So, you remembered that I told you not to open the door for a single soul while I was gone, but you still thought it was okay to let Ms. Edith in?”

She hesitated, tears filling her eyes, but she nodded again.

“Right. And then you thought it was somehow a good idea to lie to me about not remembering what I said, so you wouldn’t get in trouble for blatantly breaking my rules again. I think that about covers it. Unless there’s something else you need to confess?”

Another slow nod from her.

Daddy raised an eyebrow and reached for the paper towel. “Rinse, and then you can tell me what else.”

She practically dove for the faucet and rinsed her mouth out a dozen times, but she finally resigned herself to the fact that she’d be stuck with the soapy taste for a while. “I had ice cream for dinner,” she said, pointing to the bowl on the coffee table.

Daddy looked at the bowl, then back at her. To her surprise, he burst out laughing. “Sunshine, ice cream for dinner is the least of your worries. Or mine, for that matter.” Cocking his head, he studied her with a small smile. “Though I guess it just proves you were feeling more than a little defiant after I left, huh?”

She shrugged. “I guess.”

The smile disappeared and was replaced with a raised eyebrow. “And what happened the last time you were feeling a little defiant?”

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the memory. “You spanked me.”

“That’s right. I whipped your pretty little ass with my belt. You’ve still got a couple marks from it, so I’m a little surprised the lesson didn’t stick.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered hoarsely. It was fitting that he’d insisted she keep calling him Daddy, since she felt exactly like a naughty little girl right in that moment.

He shook his head. “No, if you were sorry, you wouldn’t have disobeyed me again so soon. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get through to you that these rules are for your own safety.”

Guilt swamped her. “I know they are. I just honestly didn’t think it was a big deal.”

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