“I, umm, might have done a little cleaning.”
“A little cleaning, huh? I think my idea of a little and yours might differ greatly. This place is practically sparkling.” He sat on the bed, but didn’t keep her on his lap. Instead he stood her between his outstretched legs and reached for the top of her sweatpants, pulling them down.
“Any headaches?” he asked calmly. What was going on?
“No, none. I feel great. I promise.”
“Great, huh? That’s good.”
What was he doing? Why was he taking off her pants? Her body stirred. Was he finally going to fuck her? Yeah, right. It was more likely he was stripping her off for a nap. He leaned down and she held onto his shoulders as he pulled the pants off each foot.
“I got a little bored. Are you mad?” she asked, trying to gauge his mood.
“Mad, no. I’m not mad. What else did you get up to?”
Okay, she really didn’t want to answer that question. “I don’t want a nap.”
“Well, what you want isn’t always what you need. And you might feel differently after.”
After? After what?
“You haven’t answered me. What else did you do?”
Oh crap. She looked down into his stern eyes and she just knew he knew. “How did you know?”
“How doesn’t matter. Tell me,” his voice was a low growl.
“There were these squirrels. I thought they might be hungry. I dressed up real warm, I promise. And I only went as far as the end of the clearing. You wouldn’t want me to let them go hungry, would you?”
“Leaving some bread out for them couldn’t have waited until I got home?” His voice was patient. Calm.
And somehow, she thought it was the calm before the storm.
She bit her lip. “I guess that was an option. I was just so excited when I saw them out there and I didn’t really want to wait.”
“And you didn’t think about the fact that you had been told to stay inside? That you don’t have any warm clothes? That you could have slipped and fallen and been stuck out there for hours?”
“You shouldn’t always think the worst, Daddy.”
“Oh, I can see that I need to, since you obviously don’t.” He gave her a stern look. “This was a very serious breach of rules, little girl. So far, you’ve just been given a few swats because I’ve been waiting until you recovered. Obviously, that was a mistake. If you’re well enough to clean and be naughty, you’re well enough for a spanking. So, you’re getting twenty-five with my hand. Fifteen for going outside when you were told to stay inside, ten for the other rules you broke.”
“Daddy, no, that’s way too many.”
“Believe me, baby, this is me going easy on you. If I wasn’t worried about pushing you too hard, you’d be getting much more. Daddy would be getting his belt.”
Bear glared at her as she gave him her best puppy dog eyes. He wasn’t giving in this time.
“I’m not used to sitting around. I’m used to doing things. I’m used to being useful. And I feel good now. So, when I got up to use the toilet and I saw that there was a sink full of dishes I just figured I’d help you.”
He hated that she kept thinking she owed him something.
“It doesn’t feel right to just sit here while you do everything,” she told him.
He got it. She had basically lived a life of servitude. She certainly wasn’t used to anyone doing anything for her. It didn’t mean he had to like it. And it didn’t mean that it was going to continue.
How could he get her to see that taking care of her made him happy? That he wasn’t keeping some sort of damn ledger that said who owed who what?
He cared about Ellie. More than he thought he would care about a woman again. But it wouldn’t be fair of him to talk her into something more. She had just gotten out of a controlling relationship. She had escaped because she wanted a chance to be on her own. To know what it was like to be independent.