He studied her in turn. “You definitely seem better. Lots of good food and plenty of sleep have helped.” He checked her food diary daily. It made her feel a bit funny, but he was trying to help her.
He’d also given her a set bedtime which was way earlier than what she thought it should be. She’d never been the best sleeper, and as a consequence often stayed up late until her body just gave out on her. That was completely unacceptable to Clint who seemed to think she should get at least ten hours every night.
She knew everything wouldn’t be plain sailing. But she was happier than she’d ever been. She felt safe, loved, taken care of. “I love you, Clint. I’m so grateful that you hired me.
His face softened then he sat on the sofa and pulled her onto his lap. She nestled her head against his chest.
He ran his hand up and down her arm. “You know what it means if you’re well enough to go back to work, don’t you?”
She stiffened, sensing a trap.
“It means you’re well enough for the punishment you have coming to you.”
Well hell. Guess she should have seen that one coming.
He’d boxed her in well and truly, because if she said she wasn’t up to the spanking she had coming, she couldn’t go back to work and if she wanted to go back to work…her bottom cheeks clenched together.
He tilted her chin up. “Longer you put it off, the more you’re going to worry about it. You trust me, don’t you?”
“Yes. I trust you more than anyone.”
Satisfaction filled his rugged face. “You know I won’t truly harm you.”
Of course, he wouldn’t. He was far to protective for that. He brushed a lock of her hair back off her face. “You scared me. I don’t like to be scared. I know I share some of the blame in why you didn’t come to me, but there were others you could have talked to like Ellie or Bear. You’ve also lied to me several times about your health and wellbeing. This is going to hurt. But I won’t take you past what you can cope with.”
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “I trust you, Daddy. I’m just a bit nervous.”
He cupped the side of her face. “Nerves are to be expected, but I don’t ever want you to be scared of me.”
She leaned back to smile up at him. “I could never be scared of you.”
“Good.” He stood and carried her out of the living room and into his study. He locked the door behind them.
“Why are we coming in here?” she asked.
“Because I don’t want to give you a big punishment in the bedroom or living room. Smaller spankings are fine and you can expect them to happen in any of the rooms of this house.”
Wonderful. Something to look forward to.
He settled on the huge leather couch that sat in front of the fireplace that he must have lit earlier. The heat reached out, trying to soothe her tattered nerves. He settled her so she sat on his lap, which was unexpected. She’d kind of been expecting him to swing her over his lap and start whaling on her.
“Don’t look so worried, little darling. I’m not going to jump on you,” he said with a hint of amusement.
She gave him a wry look. “Sorry, like I said. I’m nervous.”
“That’s because this is your first real punishment and you’ve had to wait for it. That wouldn’t normally happen. Punishment is given straight away, which eases all guilt since the slate is wiped clean.”
That wasn’t something she was used to. Both Brian and her aunt had loved bringing things up over and over.
“All right, baby. It’s time.” He set her on her feet. “Pull your pants and panties down. You might as well strip them off completely because you won’t feel like wearing them after.”
Well, that wasn’t ominous or anything.
“You’re really going to make me strip my pants off?”
“Yep. I’m waiting.”
He could just wait was her first thought. But her second thought was that she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. So, with hands that trembled she pulled off her pants, stepping out of them and folding them neatly. Even though she was getting spanked didn’t mean she could be messy. She hooked her fingers around her the band of her panties. She saw the way Clint’s eyes warmed, his breath hitching. She slid them slowly down. She didn’t know anything about being seductive and this didn’t really seem to be the time. So, she just pushed them down and placed them with her pants then stood there with her hands in front of her pussy, feeling ridiculously shy and unsure.