2
Julia
Fucking hell, Owen had a hard hand! It took everything she had not to fight him as a second swat seared her bare skin. Just because she was being treated like a Little didn’t mean she had to wail and carry on like one. She would take her punishment like the well-trained submissive she was.
Especially since she could admit she deserved it. A little.
You were more than a little mean, Julia Lynne. You were a bully.
Owen’s words echoed in her mind as his hand steadily fell on her bottom, and guilt began to work its way through the indignation and humiliation. Had she really been a bully? At the time, she’d felt justified because Hayleigh had seemingly snatched Connor right out from under her with one simple prank.
But it hadn’t been the prank, not really. That had just been the catalyst for Connor to finally make the first move with Hayleigh. He’d been watching the tall, curvy brunette for months, practically from the moment she’d arrived at the Ranch. Even in her schoolgirl uniform, Hayleigh was pure sex appeal. Julia, with her scrawny legs and practically flat chest, hadn’t stood a chance.
And that knowledge hurt more than any spanking Owen could give her.
Steeling herself against the unpleasant emotions threatening to overwhelm her, she focused on the pain. The intimate burn of flesh on flesh as Owen’s hand connected with her bottom over and over again. She craved the release she knew she’d find if she could just surrender to the pain.
But before she had a chance, the spanking stopped, and Owen’s warm hand came to rest on her bare skin. As much as she didn’t want it to, his touch sent a shiver of need up her spine.
Fuck me, Daddy.
Biting back the words, she struggled to focus on Owen’s voice. Shit. Had he asked her a question?
“Julia. Hand me the hairbrush, please. I won’t ask again.”
A spark of rebellion burned in her chest and she was oh-so tempted to refuse. But at her core, she craved approval, so she grabbed the heavy wooden brush and held it over her head for him. Her gaze caught the coiled leather of his belt, reminding her she still had more punishment coming, and a soft whimper escaped.
“Thank you, sweetheart. Ten with the brush, two with the belt for your tardiness, and then you can have a cuddle, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.” Surprisingly, the title slipped out without any conscious effort. Ugh, she was getting too deep into this role play. At this rate, he’d have her in diapers and sucking on a pacifier by Sunday night.
All those concerns flew out the window at the first crack of the brush against her bare ass. Howling at the flash of pain, she arched her back and kicked her legs up to cover her bottom.
“Legs down, Julia. One.”
Before he could get to two, her feet were back on the floor, a wave of humiliation crashing over her at her behavior. “Sorry. I’m sorry, I know better.”
“Shh, sweetheart. Sometimes Little girls can’t help themselves when they’re getting an extra difficult punishment. I’m not angry.”
“I’m not Little!”
“You are today. You’re my Little girl until you leave here.”
“But I’m not really Little.” And she didn’t want to be Little. Even if his reassurances felt like a caress and her heart skipped a beat every time he called her sweetheart. There was no amount of babying in the world that could make her want to become a Little, not for real.
“I know.” Owen’s tone was gentle, understanding. Wistful, even, unless it was her own wishful thinking. “But if you need to be Little, even just when you’re being punished, it’s okay.”
With that, he snapped the brush against her bottom again and she let out another howl. Each of the next eight swats was delivered at a slow, methodical pace, the burn spreading across her skin until she was a whiny, panting mess by the time the final blow was delivered.
“Hand me the belt now, please.”
A single tear slipped down her nose and dripped on the floor as she reached for the folded strip of leather and handed it to him.
“When Daddy tells you to do something, he expects you to do it without dawdling or stalling. Am I understood, little girl?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Thick leather snapped twice against the backs of her thighs, so quickly she barely had time to process what had happened before his hand was rubbing the sting from her skin.