She shuddered. “I can’t remember, I think that confrontation with Susan stirred things up in my mind.”
He hugged her against him. “I’m sorry, love.”
“It’s not your fault she’s a bitch who got fixated on you.” She leaned back. “You should go back to sleep. I’m going to stay up for a bit.”
“No, you’re not,” he said.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”
“What’s the rule when you wake up at night, Caley?” he asked. His voice was so calm that for a moment she missed the hint of steel.
She straightened her back. Uh-oh. “Umm, I’m to wake you or Issy up. But—”
“Did you wake me up?”
“No. But—”
“What happens when you break a rule, Caley?”
She shifted around on his lap. “But—”
“No buts,” he said sternly. “What happens?”
“I get punished.”
“Did you think that just because Issy wasn’t here that the rules didn’t apply?”
“No,” she whispered.
“So how do you think I should punish you?”
“Time-out?”
“I don’t think so.”
Standing, he carried her into the bathroom. He set her down in front of the counter.
“Pull off your panties and nightie. Grasp hold of the edge of the counter then lean right over, spread those legs.”
He picked up her hairbrush.
Oh hell. She was in trouble.
She stripped off her clothes and got into position. “Couldn’t we talk about this?”
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked calmly.
Standing, she turned. She looked around for something to say to delay the inevitable. “Umm.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you stalling?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Maybe.”
He shook his head.
“You need a reminder of what happens when you break the rules. This is about your care. I want you to know you can come to me. About anything. Issy isn’t the only one who can take care of you.”
There was a hint of something in his voice. Hurt? Vulnerability. She wasn’t used to hearing that from him. He always seemed so confident.