Page 27 of Daddy's Mercy

Her nose wrinkled, and he just barely resisted the urge to lean over and kiss the tip. “What makes you think I was worried about anything?”

Because you had a literal panic attack while standing in the corner, babygirl.Not wanting to embarrass her further, he paused and weighed his words before answering.“Well, you said you wanted another spanking. But when I gave you the option, you opted to go to the corner instead. What changed?”

“Do I have to say?”

“Afraid so, sweetheart. Despite the rumors, I’m not actually a mind reader.”

“Sure seems like it,” she mumbled, lifting her mug to her lips. She took a slow sip of hot chocolate, more to stall than anything if he had to guess. With a soft sigh, she sat the mug down on the table again but didn’t meet his eyes when she spoke. “I was worried if I was too naughty, you’d send me away. Or at least change your mind about letting me be Little and stuff while I’m here.”

“Then I’ve got somegreatnews. There is nothing you could do, aside from revoking consent, that would make me do that.”

The barest hint of a smile tugged at her lips when she looked up again. “Really?”

“Really. Little girls test their boundaries, especially in new situations. It’s perfectly natural for you to be curious. So, if you want to be naughty, you can be as naughty as you need to be until you feel comfortable with our situation. Just remember that naughtiness comes with consequences, and I can be very creative when it comes to dishing out said consequences.”

“Oh. Um… okay.”

“Okay. Now that we’re on the same page, you’re going to finish your hot chocolate and then you’re going to rinse out your mug and put it in the dishwasher. After we finish cleaning up, we can play a game.”

“What if I just leave my mug on the table instead?”

“That’s a choice. But that is a choice that will result in you playing games while sitting on a sore bottom. Up to you.”

“Oh. Um. Okay.”

In the end, she did as he’d instructed and rinsed the mug out before placing it in the dishwasher, though it was clear she’d struggled with whether or not she was going to be naughty the entire time.

Even during their games, she was a perfect, proper Little girl, even though he gave her plenty of opportunities to be ‘naughty’. Little instructions here and there he secretly hoped she’d rebel against, so he could redden her perfect ass again and then hold her and assure her everything was fine.

Unfortunately for them both, she was perfectly behaved up until the next day.

* * *

She hadn’t expectedto feel so… unsettled, as if constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Every time Dean gave her some small, insignificant order, she was tempted to simply ignore him. A few times she’d nearly told him where he could shove his instruction.

But each and every time, she chickened out.

And she wasn’t even sure why. Yesterday, she’d been so determined to get him to spank her again that she’d acted like a complete and utter child, stopping just short of throwing a tantrum. So why was she keeping herself from the one thing she truly wanted? Dean had laid all her fears to rest in his steady, unflappable way. Yet here she was, still tiptoeing around like she was walking on eggshells.

It sucked. Big time.

The worst part was, she didn’t have anybody to talk to about how she was feeling. While Dean had been more than understanding so far, she really didn’t know him all that well. And… he was a man.

As soon as the thought popped into her mind, she paused mid-picture and rolled it around a bit. Maybe that was the problem. She was having a boy problem, so she needed girlfriends to talk to.

Which presented a whole other set of problems. One, she didn’t really have any girlfriends to speak of. The two she had, well, her ex-boyfriend had tried to kill both of them. While they didn’t really seem to be holding a grudge over it, she wasn’t sure they considered her a ‘real’ friend these days.

Two, even if they did, she had no way to contact them. She could probably ask Dean to set up a call, but then she’d have to tell himwhyand she just wasn’t ready to be that honest with him so soon after their confrontation yesterday.

As she was staring down at her half-finished picture trying to decide what to do next, a loud buzzing jolted her out of her contemplation. She glanced up as Dean grabbed his phone from the desk and pushed to his feet.

“I have to take this outside. I’ll be back in a few minutes, sweetheart.” Pausing beside her, he smiled down at the coloring book in front of her. “Your picture looks beautiful. I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.”

“Thanks.”

The office door clicked shut behind him and MaryAnn leapt to her feet. He’d left the computer unlocked, which briefly had her wondering who was calling to make him so distracted. Another woman, maybe?

It’s not like he owes you anything. You’re just his temporary babysitting charge. Don’t be clingy. Pushing away the unwelcome thought of Dean talking to some nameless, faceless lover, she slid into his chair and clicked on an icon that looked like a camcorder. When her own face popped up on the screen, along with a list of contacts, she grinned. Halfway down the list, she found Olivia's cell phone listed.

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