“And what do you anticipate being the most efficacious in the instance of a person being out two hours past their curfew?”
“If that were the case—hypothetically of course—”
“Of course.”
She knew how to play this game. Float an idea and if it went over like a lead balloon then you could laugh awkwardly and pretend it’d never happened. Yeah, she knew this game from asking a few of her boyfriends for things she wanted. And backpedaling just as quickly when it became apparent that while they might be up for a little spanking, they were not tops in the very deep way she needed, and were definitely not daddies. No.
They expected her to be as independent and competent at home as she was at school. And while she would fight anyone for equal rights for women and damn straight she could take care of herself when necessary, she didn’t always want it to be necessary.
Much to her ever-loving dismay, sometimes she just wanted to hand herself over and be taken care of. Sometimes she needed someone to give her permission to stop studying and go to bed because she was beyond exhausted. But no one ever had. And even if they had, would she have been able to accept it?
Arthur nodded, keeping his commanding gaze on her the whole time, maybe wondering what she was thinking about all this. Wouldn’t he be shocked if he knew?
“Then I think that person might have earned themselves a spanking.”
The breath flushed out of her lungs and it felt like the world had turned upside down. Was this what it felt like to be an astronaut? Feeling weightless and vaguely breathless and topsy turvy?
“I see,” she hedged.
“Indeed.”
They blinked at each other and Saoirse could feel her face heating. She had dreamed of this. Having a man to take her in hand. Not by some God-given right because that was all sorts of bullshit, but because he was smarter and stronger and steadier than she was and she trusted him to have good judgment when she wasn’t able to. All while still respecting her intellect and independence when she could handle it.
It wasn’t an easy thing to find.
And perhaps she hadn’t found precisely what she was looking for anyway because it was possible Arthur simply enjoyed being a disciplinarian and found all the satisfaction he needed in the discipline itself. She liked that part, oh, did she ever, but there was more to it for her and she was greedy: she wanted the total package.
A daddy who would look after her, discipline her when she behaved badly, but one who would also cuddle and coddle her, dote upon her and spoil her, and yeah, okay, fuck her into next week.
But she could at least have this one piece and that might have to be good enough. It had to be better than nothing at all. Which was what she was currently working with and look how that’d turned out.
Her whirling thoughts were interrupted by Arthur speaking again.
“So it’s up to you, princess. Should I call your mother and we’ll get you checked into the best and most comfortable rehab facility money can buy or are you going to hand yourself over to me?”
Honestly, it wasn’t even a choice and this time she didn’t hesitate.
“I choose you.”