It was on the tip of his tongue to scold her for lying again, but he held back and reviewed their afternoon in his mind. She’d been knocked out by the time he’d tucked her in, and they hadn’t really discussed any of his usual rules. This one was on him.
Giving her a reassuring smile, he reached up and cupped her cheek. “You’re not in trouble, little one. In the future, I expect you to stay in bed until I come and get you, but I neglected to tell you that beforehand. Bad Daddy.”
“Bad Daddy,” she echoed with a wide grin, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Does that mean you get a spanking now?”
“Nice try, little one. I’m the only one who gives out spankings around here. Did you enjoy your nap, babygirl?”
“Yes.” Pink color slashed across her cheeks. Was she remembering why she’d been so worn out in the first place?
Trying to ignore the sudden hardening of his cock, Owen reached down and took one of her hands in his, pulling her over to the bed where he sat and guided her so she was perched on one knee. “I have some questions for you, Julia, and it’s very important that you answer me honestly. Okay?”
Wariness filled her eyes and her spine stiffened under his hand. “What?”
The need to soothe and comfort took over and he ran his hand in small circles over her back. “It’s about your time at the Ranch. Before Hayleigh.”
There it was. A flicker of… something. Shame or guilt, something in that same family, before the shutters slammed closed and her eyes no longer held any sort of emotion. “I don’t want to talk about the Ranch.”
“You don’t have much of a choice, Julia. The Ranch is the whole reason you’re here.”
“No, I’m here because I was a jerk to Hayleigh and Chef Connor, and I agreed to let you punish me for it so I could move on with my life. I never agreed to the third degree about my whole fucking life, Owen.”
Yeah, he’d definitely hit a sore spot. Gripping her chin, he forced her to look at him. “I understand this subject is upsetting to you. But call me anything but Daddy or Sir again this weekend and I will wash your mouth out with soap so thoroughly you’ll be tasting it for a week. Do you understand me, little girl?”
Her face had settled into stubborn lines, and he fully expected her to push him. But a moment later, she nodded and ground out a “Yes, sir”.
“Good girl. If you need to yell or scream or even say some naughty words, I’m willing to allow it right now so you can get some of these big, scary emotions out. But I won’t have you taking it out on me just because I’m a convenient stand-in for the people you’re really mad at.”
Another pretty blush colored her cheeks as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, worrying at the plump flesh for a moment before nodding again. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“Apology accepted, babygirl. Now, tell me about the Ranch.”
“There’s not much to tell. I applied for a job, I got the job, I got fired. End of story.”
“Well, for starters, we know there’s a lot to unpack between you getting the job and getting let go. But what happened with Hayleigh is only part of it.” He paused, weighing his words carefully. “I spoke with Jared. Sadie says you never really liked the Littles on the Ranch… is there a reason why?”
Julia pulled away and he reluctantly let her slide from his lap. Twisting the hem of her skirt between her fingers, she began to pace the floor in front of him. “I don’t understand what any of this has to do with why I’m here.”
Definitely something there. “Because I can’t help you if I don’t have all the facts.”
“Does it matter?” Stopping in front of him, she turned to face him, and for the first time since meeting her, he saw genuine sadness in her eyes that nearly broke his heart in two. “It’s not going to change your mind about punishing me, right?”
“Probably not,” he agreed, though it killed him to do so. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss all her worries away. “But if you can help me understand why you had such a… visceral reaction to Hayleigh, maybe we can figure out how to help you move past all of this.”
With a roll of her eyes, she crossed her arms and glared at him. “All I need is a good, hard spanking and I’ll be able to move on just fine. I know what I did to Hayleigh and Connor was beyond the pale, and I know that I need to prove I’ve learned my lesson so Connor will give me a recommendation letter. I accept that. I don’t accept your prying.”
“You have a safeword,” he reminded her. “You can use it now if you need to. Otherwise, we are talking about this.”
“Why? Why does any of it matter? Can’t you just punish me? Please?”
If he’d ever had to do anything harder than ignore the sudden plea in her voice, he couldn’t remember. But the change in tone, the slight quiver in her voice, told him they were close to a breakthrough. So, even though it was killing him, he pushed. “No. I am not punishing you again until you tell me everything.”
“Asshole.”
He reined in the flash of fury, giving her only a raised eyebrow in response. Punishing her now would give her exactly what she was looking for — a reprieve from the emotions she was trying to avoid dealing with. A way for her to calm the waters of whatever storm was brewing inside of her. “That’s five minutes in the corner with a bar of soap in your mouth. I will add one more minute every time you swear at me or call me anything but Sir or Daddy. Tell me about the Ranch, Julia.”
“No.”
“We’re not leaving this room until you talk to me. And you won’t get your next punishment until I’m satisfied you’ve told me everything. The longer you wait, the longer you have to feel this way.”