Page 50 of Derek

He smirked.

Sonja straightened her spine. “I guess it’s time for my punishment?”

Derek nodded, and Sonja sighed. “All right, Daddy. Will you please punish me for lying and not going to sleep when I was supposed to?”

“I will, babygirl.” He stroked her cheek and shocked the hell out of her when he added, “But I want you to tell me what you believe is a fair consequence.” He helped her stand. “Let’s have dessert, and you can tell me what you’ve decided after we’ve finished eating.”

Sonja had brought home two blueberry cobblers from The Sweet and Savory Table. She served them with a dollop of plain yogurt, which she preferred over ice cream. Today, while she worried about the right punishment, she barely tasted the scrumptious dessert. If she went too light, Derek would think her a wuss and maybe decide she wasn’t on board with his control, but she definitely didn’t want anything too harsh. Somehow, she had to come up with something that was related to her infraction.

A lightbulb went on and it must have shown on her face.

“Have you come to a conclusion?” Derek leaned back in his chair as if he’d caught on to her thought process.

“I have, Daddy,” Sonja answered. “I broke two rules, and I expected to be punished. I didn’t expect to have to come up my own penalty, but I think I have.”

“Okay, whatever it is, I’m proud of you already, babygirl.”

Sonja drew a deep breath and looked Derek straight in the eyes. “For getting distracted with my tablet instead of going to sleep, I’m going to give up my tablet for a month.” She paused and tried to gauge his reactions.

“Hmm.” He stroked his cheek. “Do you think the punishment fits the transgression?”

She frowned. “You don’t?”

“No, baby, I think that punishment is too severe. You went to sleep late once, and this is thirty nights without your tablet. Besides, you use your tablet for other things.”

She nodded. “You’re right about that. How about we make it a week, and I’m not allowed to use the tablet after 9:00 pm?”

“That sounds more reasonable,” Derek agreed. “What about lying about it?”

“That one is harder, but I think I found a good one for that, too.” She paused before adding, “Although, I’ll hate it.”

Derek chuckled. “Punishment is meant to be nasty, so you learn something from it and hopefully don’t repeat your mistake.” He raised one of his eyebrows. “What did you come up with?”

She swallowed and answered, “Because I didn’t tell the truth, I think it’s fitting that I don’t get to speak at all.” She tried to gauge his response, and he made a gesture for her to continue. “I-I want you to gag me for an hour the next time we’re at Club Indigo.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “That’s a great punishment. However, your lying happened in private, so you don’t have to atone for it in public. I know how you hate humiliation.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” She hoped he could hear the sincerity in her voice, although she still dreaded the gag.

He narrowed his eyes. “You can also swap the ball gag for a bare-handed, bare-bottom spanking.”

“Do you mean here or at the club?” she asked.

“Does it matter?” he returned.

She shrugged.

“No, babygirl, here and now.”

Sonja nodded. It was a no-brainer. She’d enjoyed his over-the-knee spankings before, and even though this wouldn’t be a sensual spanking, it still would be much better than drooling around a ball gag. “Please, spank me, Daddy.”

Derek gave her a stern look. “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you.” His features softened somewhat as he added, “It pleases me that you’re willing to submit to the punishment you deserve. Go to the bedroom, get undressed, and stand in the corner.”

Sonja hurried off to do his bidding. Inside the bedroom, she pulled her dress over her head and pouted when she realized Derek wouldn’t see her new bra-and-panty set. She folded her dress and placed it on the chair. She placed her underwear on top of that and went over to the corner in the room, by the closet.

While she stood there waiting, the weight of her actions pressed down on her, and she had a hard time not moving or making a sound. She didn’t want to displease Derek more than she already had, so it was paramount to her to maintain her form. The door opened and closed, and with her heightened senses, she could hear the rustle of clothing as he moved through the room. A slight creak told her he’d settled on the bed.

“I’m proud of you, babygirl. You followed my orders to the letter, and I can see you’re doing your best to please me.” Derek’s voice was soft and clear.

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