Disconnecting the call, Hayleigh pushed open the door of her closet and crawled into the bedroom. She paused for a moment, listening for any movement before she jumped to her feet and hurried into her pajamas. As excited as she was, she figured it would take her all night to fall asleep, but she was practically out before her head hit the pillow.
Chapter 8
“Hayleigh. Miss Conway!”
The stern tone startled Hayleigh out of the lovely daydream she was having about a certain sexy Chef and the sleepover they had planned for that evening. Jerking in her chair, she focused on Headmaster Jenkins, who was watching her with a stern glare she knew all too well.
“Sorry, Headmaster. I guess I was a little distracted,” she admitted sheepishly.
“See me after class for your pink slip. Perhaps your new Daddy can help you understand the importance of paying attention in class.”
Her heart sank to her knees at his pronouncement. Connor had made it abundantly clear, more than once, that getting in trouble in class would mean a session with his belt.
Blinking back tears, she nodded. “Yes, Headmaster. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t let it happen again. Now, to continue with our lesson, pet play is a very popular kink within the BDSM community. As with any other kink, there are hundreds of different ways to experiment with pet play.”
Pictures of women and men dressed as different animals flashed on the screen behind the headmaster. One in particular jumped out at Hayleigh and had her leaning forward in her seat. It was a woman, dressed in a black leotard with matching furry ears and tail, lying on her back with her hands and legs up like a playful kitten. A man was seated in a chair beside her, dangling a cat toy above her face.
The entire scene called to some part of her she’d never known existed before that moment. There was a serene sort of joy in the picture which she craved. And the woman looked like she hadn’t a single care in the world outside of that cat toy her – Dom? Owner? – was teasing her with.
Then the picture changed. The moment was lost. Some of the other pictures looked like fun, but none of them really spoke to her the way the little kitty girl on the floor had. Would Connor be open to experimenting with her? Or would he think she was weird? He’d indulged so much of her exploration with her little side, and letting her inner brat out to play, it almost seemed unfair to ask him for more. But she couldn’t shake the curiosity that had planted itself in her mind with that one single picture.
The lecture ended, and Headmaster Jenkins dismissed them for the day. As the rest of the class funneled out of the room, Hayleigh hung back to get her naughty slip.
“Be sure to explain to your Daddy exactly why you were given this, Miss Conway. I expect to have it returned with his signature Monday morning.”
“Yes, sir.” She tucked the little pink paper into the binder she carried with her, but she made no move to leave the classroom. “Sir?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes, Hayleigh?”
“If someone was interested in, um, the stuff we talked about today…”
“Pet play?”
“Yes, sir. How would I, um, I mean, hypothetically, how might someone see if their partner was interested as well?”
Leaning back in his chair, Headmaster Jenkins silently studied her for a long moment before answering her. “Well, there are many ways for someone to drop hints about new things they’d like to experiment with. But would you like my advice on how to proceed?”
“Hypothetically?”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Hypothetically, the person in question should talk to their partner. Just ask them point blank if this is something they’d like to experiment with. I have it on good authority that our hypothetical person has a very open-minded Daddy.”
Heat flooded her cheeks, but she managed to nod. “Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome. Be sure to return that slip with your Daddy’s signature on Monday. And have fun,” he added with a wink and a wide smile.
She rushed out of the room and headed straight for the kitchen. Connor had gotten special permission from Master Derek that allowed her to go straight from the Littles’ wing to the kitchen once her classes were over every day. Normally she’d at least stop by her room and change, but he was taking the whole night off and half the day tomorrow for their ‘sleepover’ and she didn’t want to miss a moment of it, even if part of their time together might be spent over his knee.
The kitchen was in full dinner-prep mode when she burst through the door. Julia glared at her when she rushed in, breathless.
“What are you doing here? We’re in the middle of dinner prep,” she snapped, waving a wicked-looking knife in the air.
“Da… Connor asked me to meet him here when I got out of class,” she explained. Calling Connor Daddy in private had come naturally, but she still struggled with referring to him that way with others.
“You can wait outside.”
The happy butterfly feeling she’d had on her way to the kitchen was quickly being replaced with irritation. “Where is he?”