He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her as he walked through their cabin and into the living room. He sat on the sofa with her straddling him and held her close until they both stopped shaking.
“You’re okay,” he muttered to her. “You’re okay.”
She wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure her or himself. Finally, she pulled back to look at him. She knew that as soon as he got over his fright, she was going to be in big trouble.
“I sorry, Daddy. I thought I could get back down on my own.”
He narrowed her gaze at her. “You’re not supposed to climb trees without me.”
“I know.” She hunched her shoulders miserably.
“And especially not that tree. What did I say about that tree?”
“That it was too tall, and I’d get stuck.”
“And that’s just what happened, isn’t it? What were you going to do if Daddy hadn’t come home?”
“Wait until you did.”
“It’s growing cold and you didn’t have a jacket on. What if you’d slipped and fallen? Little girl, don’t you know how much you mean to me? What if you’d been hurt?”
She sniffled, feeling miserable. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. Is you gonna punish me now?”
“I sure am.”
She wiggled off his lap and stood with her head lowered. “Do I gots to get my naughty girl paddle?”
Bain had bought the naughty girl paddle after she’d gone to the park to meet with Jerome. During their trip here, she’d thought about throwing it out the window several times. But he’d warned her that he’d just buy another one and use it every night on her ass for a week if she did that.
“Yes. Off you go.”
Her naughty girl paddle wasn’t that big. It was black leather with heart shapes cut out on one side. The inside of the hearts was red. It hung from a hook in her playroom. Next to it sat her time-out chair. Something else she wasn’t fond of.
Her feet dragged as she walked back towards him and held the paddle out. “Here it is, Daddy.”
“What do you say?”
“Please, Daddy, will you paddle me?”
“I will.” He stood. “All right, angel. Take off your pants and panties pull them right off. Then bend over, hands on the seat cushions.”
She pulled her clothes off her bottom half then leaned over.
“Spread your legs wide.”
Already, she could feel tears welling. She knew she’d frightened him and that he really was serious about her safety.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“Me too, baby. It’s a count of ten.”
Without any further warning, the paddle landed on her ass several times. She rolled up onto her toes. Holy fuck! That hurt!
There was a pause and he struck again. She shuffled from foot to foot. “Ow. Owie.”
“I know, baby. Gonna need you to stay still.”
She took in a shuddering breath. The next two were no less painful. The heat built. Her poor ass throbbed. She wasn’t going to be sitting comfortably for a while.