He raised his brows and waited.

“It’s dumb. I don’t think I can say it out loud. ‘Cause… this is new, and a little weird, and I don’t want to force you into anything.”

Eddie nodded. “Lucky for you, I have no such qualms.” With one quick move he flipped her facedown across his lap and swatted her bottom over the top of her leggings.

“Ow! Eddie!” She scissored her legs, twisting in an attempt to climb back into his lap, but he held her in place and swatted her again.

“That’s Daddy to you. Now tell Daddy what you want. This is your last chance to talk or your pants and panties come off.”

“I-What? You can’t-Ow!”

He swatted her again, much harder this time, and repeated the action on the other cheek.

“Okay, okay, okay! It’s just… Daddies and their Little girls… don’t have separate rooms!”

Eddie’s breath caught as he remembered how she hadn’t followed him into the room that was supposed to be hers. Lifting her up, he placed her on the couch beside him, and stood, striding through the still open door. He returned with her suitcases in his hand and set them next to his. “There, was that so hard?”

“It was pretty hard, actually.”

He could tell she was serious, but also teasing. He grunted. “My hand was hard you mean.”

“Yeah, that too.”

“It’s gonna be awkward, and not feel real until we move past that spanking hanging between us, isn’t it?”

“I’m trying not to make it that way, but… it’s all I can think about.” She blew out a breath, and he could tell she was about two seconds away from living up to the nickname he’d given her. “You don’t have to. Like… you don’t have to do any of it. It’s okay if you’re just caught up in the Rawhide of it all. This place… it kind of has that effect, I think. And yeah, I like you, and yeah, you can spank me. But it doesn’t have to be all this. I don’t want to force your hand, or like… obligate you. I know I’m a lot.”

“Tizzy…” He growled, and the sound must have shocked her because she stopped abruptly and looked up at him.

“What?”

“You’re the perfect amount. And I want to spank you. And I want to be your Daddy, and yeah, maybe I’m caught up in the Rawhide of it all, maybe we both are, but… what if we’re not? What if this place, and the timing of Georgie and Lucas getting together and getting married… what if it’s just finally giving us an excuse to do what we’ve always wanted to do?”

“I…” She licked her lips. “What’s that?” she asked breathlessly.

“This.” Crossing to her in two long strides, he leaned down, tilted her chin up, and captured her lips in a soft, longing kiss. He kissed her just long enough to make sure she was kissing him back, then pulled away. “I’ve dreamed about doing that for a very long time. And I think you have too.”

“I have,” she admitted softly. Her cheeks were fully flushed now, and she covered them with her hands.

He knew the skin would be warm, and he longed to feel what she was feeling. But he knew now was not the time to be slow and gentle and romantic. That might work with other girls, but not with his Tizzy. If he didn’t make a very clear and possessive move soon, she would start to do her Tizzy thing. He’d be giving her just enough rope to hang herself.

He pulled her to her feet. “So stop questioning it. Stop second guessing, and talking yourself out of it, or trying to talk me out of it, and just trust your Daddy.”

He could see in her eyes that was easier said than done. He shook his head. “Enough of this. We will go over limits and rules and all that stuff later. Right now all you need to know is that your safeword is apple.”

Her eyes lit with mirth. “Apple, huh?”

He didn’t answer her. Instead, he unzipped the loud garish airport hoodie he’d given her and tossed it onto the couch behind them before lifting the hem of her tunic and pulling it over her head. Her bra was bright orange and trimmed with lace, and even with the padding, he could see her nipples were hard and pointed, pushing through the fabric.

She looked at him, with her face still a mask of shock as if she couldn’t quite believe what was happening, and he dropped to his knees in front of her, working the zipper on the side of her boot, removing them one by one. Then her socks, bright orange and purple striped, and finally her leggings. He was beyond pleased to know that her panties matched her bra. Her body was svelte, with long athletic legs, and wide curvy hips. A stray curl the color of the sunset draped over her shoulder to brush over the soft swell of her breast. He looked up at her from where he was still kneeling. “You’re gorgeous.”

She hugged herself and shivered.

Pushing to his feet, he stood in front of her, dwarfing her. “It’s time for your spanking, little one.”

The pulse point in the slim column of her throat jumped. “Okay, Daddy.”

Tizzy