“Nothing.” He went still.
She leaned up, resting her forearms on his chest so she could stare do
wn at him. “Daddy.”
He ran a hand over his face, looking sheepish. Okay, now she really had to know.
“When we first came here, you seemed so untouchable. An ice princess. Like you’d never even have a snotty nose let alone wipe it on my shirt.”
“I didn’t wipe my snotty nose on your shirt!” she protested. “It was my tears.”
He grinned at her.
“I’m not an ice princess. I’m just not very good at meeting new people. I’m awkward. And you’re gorgeous and intimidating and I didn’t really know what to say to you. I was scared of saying something weird.”
“I know. You’re my quiet, sweet princess.” He leaned up and kissed her nose. “Now that you’ve calmed down, it’s corner time.”
“What?” She gaped at him. “But you just punished me.”
“I also want you to stand in the corner and think over all the—”
A knock on the door interrupted him and she gasped, trying to reach back to cover her bottom with her hands.
“It’s okay. He won’t come in.”
“Bain?” Dominic called out.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, man. But I need you to come out here. We’ve got visitors.”
Bain helped her stand and pull on her panties and pants. Ouch. She was going to have to start wearing skirts if he was planning on spanking her often.
Funny thing was, as painful as it was, she actually felt a bit lighter. He didn’t like her calling herself names. He really did think she was special.
“Who do you think it is?” she asked. She never had visitors.
“I don’t know, but I want you to stay behind me until I give you permission to move.”
Permission? Seriously?
She just shook her head at him as he opened the door and stepped out into the corridor with a nod at Dominic. “Who is it?”
“Ahh, well, it’s Caleb Pierce and a couple of other guys. They were entering the building when I was coming in, so I brought them up with—”
“Arianna!” Bain snapped as she flew past him. But she ignored him in a rush to see her best friend. She raced around the corner and opened the door, throwing herself at the big man standing in the foyer. He caught her, turning in a circle with her held tight against him.
Caleb was tall, just a few inches shorter than Bain but not nearly as wide. He had white-blond hair and a fair complexion. He was her best friend, pretty much her only friend growing up, and she’d missed him so much. She sunk into his embrace.
“Arianna!” Bain growled. “What do you think you’re doing!”
She turned her head. “It’s all right. I know these guys. It’s just Caleb.”
“Just Caleb?” the man in question asked.
She smiled up at him then kissed his cheek, ignoring the rumbling noise from the big man behind her.
“Hey, what about the rest of us? Got some sugar for us?” Aleki asked, stepping forward. She leaned out of Caleb’s embrace and Aleki caught her easily.