“With my residents we have plans in place, but visitors can be a little trickier. You will be given the choice of who you would like to dole out your punishment for this naughty mess the three of you made.”
“I’d like to choose Cade, please.” There was no way I wanted to be punished in any way by a complete stranger. Play was one thing, but punishment was a whole other situation.
“Very well. I think that’s a wise decision.” He pulled out a pink pad of paper. “This is a naughty slip. I fill it out, and you take it to the person you choose to answer to, then bring it back to me signed by them when your punishment is over.”
“What does the punishment need to be? Are there, like, requirements or something?” If this wasn’t the thing that would help me broach the subject with Cade, then nothing would be, but this was all so new, and I didn't know what the expectations were.
“No, darlin’. Every Little has different needs, and I leave it up to the Top to choose how best to handle the situation. All I need is the acknowledgement that it has been dealt with. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl. And even though it sounds like you’re doing a pretty good job of figuring things out on your own, I want you to know that we do have professional psychologists on staff who are more than willing to help through any situation you may find yourself in.”
“The girls told me, and I promise to keep that in mind if I need to talk.”
“Good. I’m glad you’ve found fast friends in Wren and Reese, even if they did lead you slightly astray.” He winked as he held out the slip to me. “Bring that back signed in the next few days, please.”
I nodded. “Yes, Sir.” I took the slip and hurried out. It had been such a weird day, and it was barely noon. How much more could the day possibly have in store for me?
Answer: So much more.
Chapter Ten
Cade
Surprisingly enough, my morning flew by, and I was just getting out of the shower from a long ride and time out in the barn with Travis when I heard Riley come into the suite. I quickly rubbed my hair dry and threw on my favorite pair of sweatpants before leaving the room.
I found her standing just inside the door staring at her feet and wringing her hands, which was strange in its own right, but weirder still was that she was covered in colorful paint.
“What on earth happened to you?” I asked, barely holding back the laugh.
“It’s a long story. I—I promise to tell you, but I’d like to get cleaned up first.”
Her voice shook with nerves and she could barely make eye contact. My stomach tightened with worry, but I was doing my damndest not to smother her.
“Of course, baby. How about you shower and I order us some lunch?” I asked, making an effort to keep the worry out of my voice.
I didn’t want to send her off to a shower. I wanted to run her a bath and help her scrub all of that paint off as she shared thetales of her morning, and how she came to be a human canvas. Then I wanted to take her clean body to bed and do dirty things to it to help us both work up an appetite for said lunch.
“Okay.” She nodded, but she didn’t move.
“Is everything okay?” I asked. Closing the gap between us, I took her hands in mine. The paint was pretty dry and didn’t get on me at all. In one of her hands was a folded piece of paper.
I gently took it without any resistance on her part. “What’s this?” I asked.
Tears filled her eyes. “I got in trouble,” she rasped.
Trouble? For what? With who? What the hell was going on? I felt the ire raise in my chest. She was mine, which meant the only trouble she could get into was from me. I quelled my anger enough to find out more.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked carefully.
“I’m embarrassed.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed about anything with me, Rip. You know that.”
She shook her head back and forth. “This is different.”
“Okay, well, do you want to talk or do you want to clean up? Tell me what you need.”