Unable to speak around the bar in my mouth, I nod, widening my eyes to silently plead with him to take it out before the minute is up.
To my dismay, he pulls his phone from his pocket instead and sets a timer. Putting the phone aside, out of my line of sight, Daddy folds his arms and pins me with a hard stare. “Little girls do not use words like ‘asshole’ in this house, Tabitha Grace. There are plenty of other ways to express your feelings without using grown-up language. I don’t expect you to be perfect, but Idoexpect you to be respectful, and part of being a sweet, respectful, polite Little girl is not using those words. Nod if you understand me.”
I understand. It isn’t fair, considering I’ve heard the “adults” in the house say far worse than what I said. But Idounderstand that he doesn’t want me to use those words, unfair as it might be,so I nod vigorously, praying my enthusiastic agreement will earn me some leniency.
It does not.
For a full sixty seconds, I sit on the counter, trying and failing miserably to keep my tongue from brushing against the disgusting soap. By the time the timer goes off, tears are streaming down my cheeks and I’ve silently vowed to myself no less than a dozen times to never, ever use another “grown-up” word again.
“Here you go, little one.” Pulling the soap from my mouth, Daddy hands me a cup of water. “Use this to rinse your mouth and then it’s time for your spanking.”
Desperate to rid myself of the burning, acrid taste, I rinse and rinse and rinse until it’s mostly gone. The taste lingers, though, and I have a feeling it will stay with me for a long while.
Sniffling against my tears, I hand the cup back to Daddy. “I’m sorry I was so naughty.”
“You weren’tsovery naughty, little firecracker. It’s natural for Little girls to need to test their boundaries and a good Daddy understands that.” Plucking me off the counter, he settles me on his hip and carries me into the nursery, where he sits on the oversized chair in the corner and flips me over his lap. “And a very good Daddy makes sure to reinforce those boundaries with rewards and punishments.”
With that, he strips my diaper from me and swats my bare bottom, all in one breathtakingly fast move. Over and over his hand falls, scorching every inch of exposed skin.
“Owie, owie, Daddy, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
To my surprise, the spanking ends there. Daddy sits me up on his lap, cuddling me close. Seemingly from thin air, he produces a pacifier decorated with pink rhinestones and pops it into my mouth. Closing my eyes, I snuggle into his embrace,letting the sucking of the pacifier soothe the lingering ache in my chest.
“You’re a very good girl, Tabby. But even when you’re naughty, Daddy will always be here.”
Cuddled in his arms like this, I can almost believe him.
Almost.
We sit like that for a long time, with Daddy rocking me gently as I suck my pacifier, until the burn in my bottom fades to nothing more than a memory. “Are you ready to go pick out some play clothes to wear outside?” he asks softly once my sniffles have stopped.
I hesitate for a moment, then nod. Part of me wants to stay cuddled up in his arms forever, but the more pressing part of me really wants to go play with my new cousins.
Daddy rises from the chair with me still cradled in his arms and carries me to his bedroom, where all the boxes from downstairs have been stacked. Someone has laid all of my play clothes out on the bed, and Daddy picks up a pair of denim overalls covered in pretty embroidered flowers. “I know it’s not as pretty as your dresses, but they’re still very cute. What do you think?”
Out of all the choices in front of me, theyarethe prettiest, so I nod.
“Perfect,” Daddy declares, setting the overalls aside. “Which shirt do you want to wear with them?”
Pulling hard on the rubber tip between my teeth, I scan my options carefully before pointing to a long-sleeved shirt covered in flowers that almost match the ones on my overalls.
“I think that’s a perfect match. Let’s get you dressed so you can go outside and play for a bit before lunch.”
He makes quick work of wrapping me in a fresh diaper and putting me in my new clothes before brushing and braiding my hair. Once I’m dressed, he shows me my reflection in the floor-length mirror in my nursery and I have to admit I do actually look kinda cute.
Not as cute as I looked in my fluffy princess dress, but cute enough.
Still sucking on my pacifier, I look up at him and nod, and he must understand that I'm telling him I’m happy with the outfit because he immediately scoops me up and heads out the door.
“When we’re outside, you don’t go anywhere Daddy or another grown-up can’t see you,” he lectures as we make our way downstairs. “No touching any of the vehicles, and no climbing trees. If Daddy catches you doinganythingdangerous, you won’t sit comfortably the rest of the day. Understood?”
I nod again, my excitement at going outside to play growing the closer we get to the front door. Daddy opens the door and pauses, sticking his arm outside, reminding me of the way he checks the water in the tub.
“Hmmm. It’s not too cold, so you should be fine in just the shirt. But if you start feeling chilly, you let Daddy know so we can get you a jacket, okay?”
Another nod, and I wriggle my butt, hoping he’ll get the hint and put me down. He does with a loud laugh, setting me on my feet and sending me out the door with a swat to my diaper-covered bottom.
I step out onto the front porch and gasp at the expanse of land that greets me. It seems to go on for miles and miles, with no one else around, giving the impression we’re the only people left in the world.
