Page 35 of Daddy's Arms

“I don’t know. I just don’t feel good.” She put as much ‘Little’ into her voice as she could, hoping to gain some sympathy.

But judging by the set of her husband’s jaw, her plan failed spectacularly. “Your tummy hurts because you disobeyed your Daddy last night and you drank too much alcohol. Now, unless you want to startandend your day over my knee, I suggest you get your butt in the shower in the next thirty seconds.”

Most of the night was something of a blur, but there was one thing she knew for certain. One shred of hope she could cling to, that might, possibly save her from the punishment he seemed certain she’d earned. “It really was just one drink.”

The blue of his eyes darkened with anger. “I’m not in the mood for your games, Olivia Jane. Get in the shower. Now.”

Hurt mingled with the throbbing in her head and the churning of her stomach until she felt tears burning in her throat. “Fine. Don’t listen to me.” She stalked to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, a move her head immediately regretted.

“Asshole,” she muttered, flipping the shower on. “It was one drink.” But the words sounded hollow, even to her. She’d known when they’d put the concoction in front of her that it wasn’t really ‘just one drink’. Hell, she hadn’t even meant to finish the whole thing.Hadshe drunk the whole thing? She couldn’t remember. However much she’d had, it was clearly too much. Feeling sorry for herself, she climbed into the shower and lifted her face to the warm spray.

By the time she stepped back out, she was feeling marginally better. At least, her head wasn’t throbbing quite so much. Her stomach was still coated with sickness and her heart hurt with the weight of the guilt she was carrying.

The guilt wasn’t assuaged by the bottle of water and the two painkillers sitting on the counter. Even when he was pissed, her Daddy took care of her.

Maybe he’d spank her before work if she asked nicely enough. She couldn’t go the whole day feeling like this. Somewhat bolstered by the thought, she shrugged into her robe and headed for the stairs.

She’d just reached the bottom step when a familiar female voice reached her.

“Please don’t be mad at Liv. I ordered us the drinks. I didn’t realize they’d be so big.”

Olivia crept closer to the kitchen, curious to see where this conversation would go without her.

Her husband’s voice was a low rumble she had to strain to hear properly. “I appreciate that, Shannon. But this is between me and Olivia.”

“I just hate seeing you guys fight. You’re so perfect for each other.”

Deciding she’d eavesdropped long enough, Olivia stepped into the kitchen. As soon as she did, James’s head snapped up, his eyes locking on hers. “Yes. We are.”

Turning away from the island, Shannon grinned. “Guess we got a little carried away last night, huh, Liv?”

Without taking her eyes off her husband, Olivia shrugged. “I guess so.”

Shannon cleared her throat and crept toward the entryway of the kitchen. “I’m going to run up and grab a shower while I wait on my ride. Thanks again for letting me crash here.”

She hurried away, leaving Olivia alone with her obviously still very pissed off husband. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, baby. How do you feel?”

Tears filled her eyes at the simple question. “Not so good.”

“Hmm. I bet. Come here.”

When he opened his arms she ran to him, throwing herself into the comfort he offered. “Are you super mad?” she asked, the question muffled against his shirt.

“I am definitely mad. But we can talk about it tonight.”

“Oh.” Nerves danced in her tummy. “Um, I was kind of hoping maybe we could talk about it before work.”

“No. We don’t have time to properly handle this before I have to leave.”

“Fine.” Even more hurt and angry than she’d been before her shower, she yanked herself from his grasp and turned to walk away. “Guess I’m not as important as work.”

The sharp volley of swats caught her by surprise, making her squeal and dance away from his hand. “James! We have company!”

“Yes, we do. Which is the only reason you’re not bent over this island getting your bottom warmed up good and proper.” With one hand wrapped around her arm to hold her in place, James used his other hand to grip her chin and forced her to look up at him. Fire flashed in his eyes. “You are the most important thing in my life. But I won’t have you trying to guilt me into dealing with this before I’m ready. I am still far too angry with you to punish you for last night just yet. I’ll see you in the office, and for your sake you had better show up with a better attitude, little girl.”

He kissed her, hard and quick, then dumped the remainder of his coffee in the sink before stalking out of the kitchen. The guilt she’d been trying to assuage dug its claws in deeper, tearing her to shreds from the inside.

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