She padded out of the room after him and back into the kitchen. Daddy pulled ingredients from the fridge while she prowled the perimeter of the small room.
“Here, kitty kitty. Daddy has a treat for you.”
When she turned around, he was lowering a bowl to the floor. Frowning, she looked up at him.
“It’s milk. You don’t have to if you’re not ready,” he added gently. “But it’s there if you’d like to try it.”
Leaving it at that, he straightened and went to work on the potatoes. The bowl of milk sat on the floor a few feet away from where he was working, waiting expectantly. How a bowl of milk managed to have expectations, she wasn’t sure, but it definitely felt that way to her.
Well, the least she could do was check it out. If it was too much, she didn’t have to do anything with it. Daddy would understand.
Armed with that knowledge, she crawled the few feet to the bowl and looked down at the creamy liquid inside. She’d never been a big milk drinker, other than what she put on her cereal. But kitties loved milk, so, when in Rome, right?
Lowering her head, she stuck her tongue into the cold milk. It didn’t taste any different than she remembered it and she wasn’t sure what cats really saw in the stuff. She gave it another tentative try before she sat back on her heels and looked over at Daddy.
“You don’t have to finish it, baby,” he said without taking his eyes off the pot on the stove. “Thank you for trying.”
“Daddy, I think I’m ready to be a person again.”
“All right, jellybean.” When she stood, he glanced over at her with that raised eyebrow. “While I’m finishing dinner, you can go clean up the mess the kitty made in the bedroom.”
Pouting, she crossed her arms. “But your kitty made the mess and it’s your room.”
“Hayleigh Anne, you can either clean up the mess or you can skip dessert. Your choice.”
Dammit. He knew just where to hit her to make it hurt. “I’ll go clean up. Sadist.”
“That’s the second time tonight you’ve called me that. I think I’ll have to show you just how true it can be.”
Desire tightened her core and caught her breath in her throat. “You don’t have to do that.”
Turning away from the stove with a distinctly satisfied smirk, he shook his head. “Oh, I definitely think I do. Go clean up the kitty mess and dinner should be nearly ready when you finish.”
Chapter 10
Dinner was,as expected, delicious. Salad and all. But they could have been eating takeout pizza for all she cared at that point. The only thing on her mind was his promise to show her how much of a sadist he could be.
Her mind raced with possibilities as they finished their meal and cleaned up together. With all of the food put up and the dishwasher running, she felt like she might jump out of her skin at any moment.
Which she nearly did when he placed a hand on the back of her neck.
“Relax, jellybean, or I’ll have to change your nickname to jumping bean.”
“It’s not nice to tease people, Connor.”
The hand on her neck tightened, sending a shiver of anticipation down her spine. “Keep pushing your luck, little girl. We have all night.”
“Sorry, Daddy.”
“Much better. Before we start, I want you to promise me that you’ll use the Ranch safeword if you need it. Understood?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl. Now, be a good little kitty and crawl for Daddy.”
Embarrassed heat flushed her cheeks, but she lowered herself to all fours on the tile and looked up at him.
“To the bedroom, kitty.”