Page 96 of Under Daddy's Spell

As she reflected on the two times he’d spanked her, butterflies took flight in her stomach. They’d left her a bit tender, with her skin tingling, but the sensations hadn’t lasted long beyond the very grown-up things he’d done to her afterward.

Her crime this time was far worse, so should be her punishment. And wasn’t her daddy devious for giving her the choice? He might think she wasn’t taking it seriously enough if she chose something too light. Too severe, and she could suffer unnecessarily.

She inched the drawer out farther and tried to look at it from his perspective. For bad girl butt-swatting, there was so much to choose from. Plastic and wooden spoons, an assortment of spatulas, slotted and not, but also a bunch of things Tessa put in the “hell no!” category.

She took out the most obvious choice, a long-handled stirring paddle, but it was thicker than she would have liked and narrow. Taking biology in college instead of physics helped her none, so she went on instinct.

Eyeing the business end of the stirrer, she decided a larger paddle would distribute the ouch factor more widely. Therefore, she discarded it and picked up option number two, a slotted pancake turner. Made of plastic, it was more flexible than wood, but she didn’t like the whistle it made when she flicked it back and forth and was acutely skeptical of the slots. Yikes!

Next, she pulled out a rubber spatula. It had a lot of give to it. When she tried to bend it, it nearly folded in half using only her fingers.Feeling under pressure to make a decision and not add to her troubles, she went with what she had and raked everything into the drawer with her arm.

Convinced she’d never browse Target's utensils and gadgets aisle the same way, she returned to the bedroom with the innocuous kitchen tool. He’d said to choose two, but the other item, which had come to mind first, he kept in his closet.

As she walked in, he came out of the bathroom, wiping traces of shaving cream from his smooth jaw and neck.

“That was fast. Let me see what you got?”

When he held out his hand, she laid the spatula across his palm.

He stared at it then at her before he held it up and flicked it in a swatting motion through the air, like she had.

“This is what you think you deserve for scheming behind my back, lying more times in the past two days than I have fingers and toes, and twice giving me a magic muffin without my knowledge? I’m disappointed, Tessa.”

“No, I...” Her face went up in flames as she gathered the nerve to say it. “I thought you could use that as a warm-up to twelve strokes with your belt.”

He looked at her, blond brows arched. “Bold choice for a beginner.” Then he nodded. “Stand by the bed and wait for me while I get it.”

The lead up to this was torturous, but she suspected it was all part of his lesson.

When he returned, a wide leather belt looped double in his fist, he crossed to the bed and had a seat on the padded bench at the end. Next, he spread his thighs and pointed to the floor between them. “Right here, baby girl.”

She went readily, not wanting to add any other misbehavior to her already long list.

“Can I explain something first?”

“In a sec,” he murmured, whisking her borrowed T-shirt over her head. Standing naked before him made her more vulnerable than ever, but that, like the long buildup, had to be what he was going for.

“I wanted to make sure you understood I didn’t intentionally give you a magic muffin the first time.”

His fingers curled around her hips and brought her deeper into the V made by his spread legs. “Do you expect me to believe it was an accident?”

“Yes! I mean no.”

When she didn’t go on, he prompted, “Which is it, Tessa? Yes or no?”

“I was angry after you spanked me that first time, and we weren’t getting along so well. I was waiting for one of the guys to walk me out and started flipping through the spell book. There are others in stock I’d never touched other than to put them on the shelf when they arrived. But this one is two-and-a-half centuries old, given to me by an odd little man. I don’t mean little, as in little person, or that little people are odd. But he was several inches less than me—”

“He was short.” His hands slid to her bottom, in a not-so-subtle warning that his patience was waning. “Moving on.”

“I came across this peace spell. It was supposed to make things more amicable between us. Anyway, it called for some herbs, spring water, and a few silly words. It was harmless, Daddy. You have to believe that. I’d never give you anything I thought would make you sick.”

“I believe you, Tessa. But you already told me about the muffins. And you’re getting worked up again.”

“I didn’t tell you how they were magic, just that they were.” She took a deep breath and tried to slow down. “I whipped up this potion, but when I thought about how silly it was, I changed my mind and dumped it out. I forgot about the extra herbs in the grinder, and Angie baked them into your peach muffins. But she didn’t know. Please don’t be angry at her.”

“I wasn’t ever angry, baby. I was disappointed that you didn’t trust me enough to talk to me before this spiraled out of control.”

“I know better.”

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