Lord help her. She studied the rules again. Was it bad that the one she figured she was going to find hardest was the last one?
“I don’t even notice that I’m dropping things, how am I going to pick things up?”
“Don’t worry, baby doll. I don’t expect you to suddenly change overnight. That’s why we have the Caley-basket. At the end of the day, you’re going to go around with your basket and pick up all the stuff you’ve left behind. Hmm, and we’ll start with a count of ten. If you’ve left less than ten items out, you get a smiley face on the reward side of your chart. If you leave more than ten, then it’s a frown on the punishment side.”
Yeah, that was another ‘gift’. The rewards and punishment chart was really just another whiteboard with a line down the middle. She earned smiley faces and frowny faces and at the end of each week, they got added up.
She glanced at the two jars he’d placed on the dresser. They were filled with cut-up pieces of paper. One jar had a sticker on the front that said Rewards, the other had a sticker that said Punishments.
Apparently, all those bits of paper had either punishments or rewards on them for her to choose from depending on whether she had more frowns or smiley faces at the end of the week.
She really wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“You should know that for each time you break a rule, you do get an immediate punishment. So, say I caught you texting while driving, I’d likely pull you over my knee and paddle your bottom thoroughly. Then you’d also get a frown on your chart.”
She gulped. So she got a punishment when she originally broke the rule then another one from her jar if she got more frowns than smiley faces at the end of the week.
Oh. Crap.
“You’re still owed a punishment for yesterday. I didn’t give that to you immediately because you weren’t well. That is likely the only time that I will delay a punishment.” He grabbed a whiteboard marker and started marking frowns on the whiteboard. She got frowny faces yesterday for not eating, not drinking and not obeying Daddy.
Oh. She was in so much trouble.
* * *
While Issy was cooking dinner, she grabbed up her phone and opened her contacts. She missed him. She just wanted to talk to him.
She called him before she could second-guess herself. If he didn’t want to talk to her or was busy, he didn’t have to answer.
“Hello, love.”
“Hi,” she whispered shyly then cleared her throat. “Is this a good time? I can call back later. Are you still at work?”
“No, love. I just got home.”
“I just wanted to call and make sure you got home okay.” It was lame, she knew. Basically, she just wanted to hear his voice.
“I did. Thank you.” Those warm tones soothed something antsy inside her. “I spoke to Issy earlier. He said you had a migraine last night? Are you all right now?”
“Oh yes. Too much caffeine not enough water. I’m still in bed. I’ve been here all day.”
“Poor baby, is Issy taking good care of you?”
She blushed remembering that orgasm. “Yes.”
A low chuckle came over the phone that made her blush. It was like he could read her mind.
“He’s got this reward and punishment chart for me though.” She explained it to him, pouting as she did.
“Aww, you know how to avoid the punishment jar, though, don’t you?”
She huffed out a sigh. “Yes.” She didn’t want logic, she wanted sympathy. “Still think it’s mean.”
Another laugh. She smiled. She liked that she could make him smile. There was something in his voice. Something sad or maybe it was tiredness.
“You sure you’re all right?” she asked him. He was always there for her. Talking her through things. Helping her see things in a different light. She hadn’t realized until he was gone, how much she’d come to rely on his calming influence. His advice. His help. With Issy, she could be vulnerable and know he would take care of her. She could let go. With Archer, she could tell him anything. Never hurt her. In fact, he’d done the opposite, he’d help heal the wounds on her soul.
They both had.