Page 21 of Taming His Brat

“Twenty—Daddy please! Twenty-one! Please, I’m sorry!” It was her own fault she was getting behind because she kept trying to plead with him between the strokes and there just wasn’t enough time.

“You’re falling behind, girl. If I don’t hear that number before the next one lands, it’s just going to be a bonus.” He didn’t even pause while he warned her, and the belt slashed down across her bare ass four more times just while he was saying it.

It left her uncertain of what number to count since she hadn’t been able to count any of those, but he helped her out. “Start with twenty-five.”

She appreciated that those weren’t extras, but there was something ominous about the way he said it that made her wonder how long this was going to go on. Her tolerance for pain was high and she could play for hours when she was in the right mood and with slow preparation.

But this was punishment. There was nothing sexy about it and there had been no slow building of heat, so she was finding herself already close to tears. She was struggling to hold them back when she counted thirty and surprisingly, he stopped. As tempting as it was to look back over her shoulder, she didn’t dare.

“You got anything extra you want to confess while we’re doing this? Anything you might feel guilty for?” he asked pointedly.

The way he said it made her wonder if he already knew what she’d done. It felt like she was being led into a trap, but she couldn’t be sure. “N-no Daddy. Nothing important.” She was going to regret lying and she knew it, but it slipped out before she really thought it over.

There was an ominous silence, and it made her twitchy. She tried to stay still but every time he moved, she flinched in anticipation of another smack. Finally, it came, a hard strike to her right cheek with the flat of his hand. It stayed there, holding the heat against her skin and squeezing the rounded flesh until she squirmed.

“Do you know why I’m so pissed at you right now, Charlie?”

She sniffled and jerked her head in a quick negative. “I guess ‘cause I’ve been ignoring you a lot lately?”

“I’m not mad because you’re all wrapped up in forming a relationship with your mom. I get that. I’m not mad because you’ve been blowing off everything else—annoyed, but not mad. No, what has me absolutely furious right now is that I thought we were past you sneaking around behind my back.”

Her insides did a queasy roll and her ass tightened reflexively with fear. She realized it had been stupid of her to think that Sam wouldn’t know she’d put off the work on the house. She’d known it was a mistake not to tell him from the start, but she’d gone with ‘better to ask forgiveness than permission’ and went right ahead anyway.

Now she was really in for it. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I swear I didn’t think it was a big deal. I thought it would be okay.” That was another lie and an obvious one so there was no surprise when his hand swept up and then crashed down across her left cheek with enough force that she cried out.

“You didn’t think it would be a big deal? Really?” His tone was absolutely frigid, and she knew if she looked back his eyes would be ice.

“I mean, okay I knew you’d be annoyed but I didn’t think you’d bethismad.” She sniffled and pulled a little tighter into herself. “It’s just been hard trying to please both of you and I thought it would be easier if—”

He interrupted her with a growl. “You didn’t think at all, Charlie. If you had, you would have known this was a huge deal. Not only did you break the rules and go behind my back, but you broke our trust too and I’m not even sure what you thought you were going to accomplish.” The harsh tones had softened towards the end and there was a note of confusion and hurt there. “I want to know why you’d do this.”

He was so upset, and it was her fault. Her chest tightened making it hard for her to breathe and tears started to roll down her cheeks. The beginning signs of a panic attack were lurking.

She was messing things up again. She hadn’t meant to. It hadn’t seemed like a huge deal. She’d figured letting fate decide when the work would start was a fair compromise. Her legs trembled as she tried to calm herself. She’d expected a punishment when he found out, because she’d gone against him, but she hadn’t expected anything like this.

“I—I know I shouldn’t have, Daddy. I’m really sorry,” she whispered.

“The worst thing about all of this Charlie is that I really don’t understand why you’d do it. I thought this ranch was important to you. I thought you wanted to help me run things. We had big plans together, so I just don’t get it.”

Now it was her turn to be confused and she pushed herself up on her elbows and half turned to look at him. The consequences of getting up without permission were the last thing on her mind. “Wait… Sam, you know the ranch means everything to me. Besides you it’s the most important thing in my life. Spending time with my mom and holding up the construction to keep her comfortable has nothing to do with that.”

He just stared at her. The anger dropped away and left confusion in its place. “Charlie … this isn’t about your mom or the construction.” He paused and frowned. “Though I guess we’re going to be talking about that one too.”

She realized in that moment she’d just ratted herself out and could only sigh, but that left her completely unsure of what he was talking about. “I don’t understand. If that’s not why you’re mad then what did I do? As far as I know that’s the only rule I’ve broken lately.”

His eyes narrowed and he was silent as he searched her expression, probably looking for a sign of guilt, but she was being honest. She had no clue.

“I’m talking about you calling around, asking if anyone was interested in buying the ranch, Charlie.”

“What?” She could feel her face twisting with shock. “Seriously, Sam?” She pushed herself up off the desk and turned so she could look at him directly.

He frowned but didn’t say anything about it. He was more concerned with what was happening. “I was told today that you had called several different spreads in the area and were feeling out their interest in acquiring this ranch. Either the whole thing, or in pieces.”

She shook her head firmly. Now she knew she was in the clear, at least on this one. “No way. I would never do that. I’m never going to sell the ranch and even if I wanted to, I don’t think I can until I get my degree. And even then, we’ll both be equal owners, so you’d have to agree anyway.”

“You’re sure about that? You need to be real sure, girl, because this is serious.”

“C’mon, does that sound like me? Okay, yes, I went behind your back about selling some of the fields sure, but that was for a plan. You know I wouldn’t sell the whole ranch. I’d never do that.”

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