AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“All is forgiven, princess. But I believe your daddy would like a word with you now.”
It took more effort than it should have to keep the stern expression on his face when she stood and dragged her feet to come stand before him. Trapping her chin between his fingers, he forced her to look up at him. “What happened,piccolina?”
“I wanted to read a book, but Benny said I couldn’t until I’d cleaned up the other toys.”
Glancing behind her, he took in the mess of dolls and clothes scattered around the miniature house. Apparently she’d started to embrace her role as his little girl, a fact that made his heart soar. “Benny was right. Little girls should always clean up after themselves before they move on to a new activity.”
“I guess,” she replied, still obviously sulking over her punishment.
“Did Benny explain to you that if he has to discipline you, you’ll earn yourself a second punishment from me?”
“He might have said something about that,” she mumbled.
“How long were you in the corner?”
“Ten minutes.”
“Then that’s ten swats from me.” Tucking her under his arm, he flipped her dress up and delivered ten crisp swats to her bare bottom. They probably wouldn’t have hurt all that much if she hadn’t still been nursing a freshly paddled bottom from earlier, but as it were, she danced and squealed with each spank.
Her hands flew to her bottom as soon as he released her, and he watched with amusement as she tried to rub out the sting. “That hurt!” Accusation colored her tone, but her eyes danced with excitement.
“It’s meant to hurt, Amara. Little girls need hard spankings to learn from their mistakes. Go clean up and then you can choose a book for me to read to you.”
“Really?” Pleasure lit her entire face. “Nobody has read to me in ages!”
“What kind of daddy would I be if I didn’t read to my little girl?”
With a giggle, she rushed off to clean up the mess she’d made. Emilio met Benny’s gaze over her head and with a jerk of his chin indicated for Benny to follow him into the hall.
“We have a problem,” he said as soon as the door shut behind them. “There is a file in my safe I want you to look over. Giorgio Vitali is changing his game. Sex,” he supplied at Benny’s confused frown.
The older man’s eyes hardened. “That will never do.”
“I know. I don’t think Amara is aware, but I do think she may be more involved in his organization than she and ‘Uncle Gio’ have let on. If she wants out, she’s going to need my protection.”
“Should I call Father Russo?”
It was a relief to have someone who understood him so well. It certainly saved him from explaining every request he might make. “Yes. Even if we can’t wrangle the legal documents as quickly as I would like, Vitali won’t go against the church.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes. He knows the other families won’t stand behind him if he openly defies the church. The marriage itself will cause some salacious whispers, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“All right. I’ll make the calls.” Benny started to turn, then stopped. “Oh, before I forget, the toxicology reports on the syringe came back.”
His stomach tightened with what he vaguely recognized as fear. “And?”
“A mild sedative. It seems Miss Amara was telling the truth, after all.”
The knot in his stomach loosened somewhat. “Thank you.” He still wasn’t convinced she’d told him the entire story, but at least she hadn’t lied about the contents of the syringe. “If Vitali stops by, ring me immediately. Otherwise, I do not wish to be disturbed.”
With a knowing smile playing at his lips, Benny inclined his head. “As you wish, sir.”
