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A line developed between his brows, a little furrow of uncertainty. “Really? Because you’ve pretty much ignored me at any event we’ve ever been at together. For years.”
Sable shrugged—the good shoulder—as well as she could while lying down. “That’s how you let boys know you like them, right? Completely ignoring them?”
The furrow was gone, replaced by dark brows arching halfway up his forehead. “Has that worked in the past?”
“I don’t date a lot,” she conceded, and they laughed. Together. It was sweet and goofy and funny and it showed off his smile. She felt suddenly possessive of that smile, wanted to keep it all to herself. But Jethro was a friendly, kind man. He wouldn’t be so stingy with his smiles and she had to admit she loved his generosity.
He bent down and kissed her forehead, stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You’re the prettiest thing, you know that?”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“And I don’t mean to be one of those asshole guys who tell women to smile, but—I like seeing you smile. I like seeing you happy.”
“I like being happy. I think.”
“What does that mean, baby?”
His gaze flicked over her, examining her face.
“It means I don’t think about it a whole lot. Whether I’m happy or not. And now that I am, I don’t think I have been much, that’s all.”
Now Jethro looked beyond his usual deliciously stern self and had waded into severe.
“Well that stops here. I know you’re not going to be happy all the time. That’s just life and sometimes life is hard. But from this second, I want you thinking more about what makes you happy and we’ll see if we can’t get you to smile more often. I want to give you joy, little miss.”
He tapped her nose and she giggled. When’s the last time someone had wanted to give her joy?
“I want to give you that, too, Daddy. But I’m not really sure how,” she mumbled, feeling completely lost.
She wanted to make her parents happy but she’d never figured out how. Everything she did fell short. Most other people she interacted with, it was in a predatory way. How much could she get out of them, what could she win? It wasn’t about happiness—it was about money and power. With Jethro looking down at her the way he was, those suddenly felt very empty.
“You make me very happy when you’re a good, obedient girl for me, and when you put your trust in me. And you’ll make me happy when you allow me to discipline you.”
Those things would make her happy too.
“For example,” he continued, “if you’re feeling well enough, it would delight me to punish you for spilling your food earlier, and then reward you for taking your punishment so well. Which I know you will because you’re tough as nails, and I know you want to be good for me.”
Oh. Being punished sounded horrible and wonderful at once. Being rewarded just sounded wonderful.
“I feel well enough.”
He huffed a laugh at her. “Are you just saying that because you want a reward?”
She bit her lip and looked toward the ceiling, making him laugh again.
“Okay. But you’ll tell me if it’s too much. There’s a certain level of pain I enjoy giving little girls, but anything beyond that won’t please me. Understood?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Very well. I’ll get the mongrels out of here and then we’ll get started. Don’t want to be late to the party, and I suspect you’d like to stop at home before we go.”
