Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Cas

She never showed up for dinner. She never answered her phone and only texted me to check in once. By the time she stumbled through the front door of our suite at five the following morning, I was seconds away from calling local jails and hospitals and I was pretty sure I was going to have an aneurysm and a heart attack simultaneously.

Not only was she late as fuck, she was falling-over drunk, dressed in a barely there little black dress with see-through cutouts all over and rhinestone hooker heels. And as the kicker, she had a guy with her. A drunk guy in a white dress shirt and black slacks who looked like he'd been part of a wedding party. Hopefully not the groom.

Rising from the couch I'd just sank down on to prevent myself from pacing a hole in the carpet, I put myself between them. I towered over Wedding Guy and Polly was too drunk to notice or care. Did she even know he'd come back with her? At least she'd remembered what room we were in.

"Leave," I boomed, with no patience for niceties as I pointed at the door.

Wedding Guy's eyes grew big and his Adam's apple trembled as he swallowed hard. "Okay!" he squeaked, and then he was gone.

Polly was dancing around the room to music only she could hear. I stood in front of her and cleared my throat.

"Cas!" she exclaimed as if surprised to see me, in the suite I'd paid for. "This was the best birthday ever! Thank you for bringing me here. You know what, I really thought I hated you, but maybe I don't. Maybe you're actually a pretty good guy." She hiccuped. "Yep."

"You were supposed to meet me for dinner." I checked my watch. "Nine hours ago. Where is your phone? I've been trying to call you all night. I was worried sick."

Polly stopped swaying long enough to look up at me and blink twice.

"You weren't supposed to drink until I was with you. What time did you start?"

"As soon as I made it to the lobby!" Polly answered, pointing her finger and then booping my nose.

I saw red. The urge to yank her over my knee and spank her ass raw was strong. And it might win out, but when it did I wanted her to be sober enough to remember it and to consent. Not that I thought she would.

I sucked in a breath, willing myself to calm down and not say or do something I'd regret later.

I'd just opened my mouth when she leaned forward and puked all over my shoes. Shit.

Stepping out of them gingerly, I scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom where I placed her in front of the toilet and held her hair while she continued puking. It didn't take long for her to empty the contents of her stomach and begin dry heaving. I couldn't help but wonder if she'd actually eaten. It didn't look like it. This was exactly why I'd wanted her with me when she started drinking.

But I didn't say any of that. I just rubbed her back until she collapsed on the cool bathroom tile then I carried her to bed, placed an empty trashcan nearby just in case, and force-fed her aspirin and water. She was going to be miserable when she woke up. There was nothing I could do about that, but hopefully I could lessen her pain.

"Goodnight, Daddy," she mumbled as she hit the mattress. I was sure I hadn't heard her right but that was what it sounded like.

She conked out immediately before I could ask her to repeat herself and I laid down on the couch so I could hear if she needed anything. After the long night I'd spent worrying, sleep should have been a breeze, but it wouldn't come. I was too mad and I just felt so incredibly hopeless. I was sure she'd called me Daddy. I'd called her babygirl all day but if she'd really been my babygirl, instead of my best friend's little sister, I'd have known exactly what to do.

In this case, if she wasn't going to listen to me when I gave her common-sense rules, could I even continue the road trip? More importantly, could I be the jerk who called it off after the first night?

Fuck. I didn't want to, but I couldn't have another night like this one. Tossing and turning while I considered my options, I finally came up with a plan.

Rolling off the couch, I slipped on my shoes and headed for the door. It was time to put my plan into action.

Polly

The sun streamed through the blinds, forcing my eyes open. My head was pounding. My throat was sore and scratchy, and I felt like I would throw up if I moved.

"Morning sleeping beauty." Cas' gruff voice brought the events of the day before to the forefront. He'd been over-the-top nice and thoughtful, and I'd behaved like a spoiled brat because I was offended he'd dared to give me a few common-sense rules to follow. Not my finest moment, and I was paying for it now.

"Oh god. I'm gonna be sick," I moaned, clutching my stomach wondering if I could even make it to the bathroom without falling flat on my face.

"There's a garbage can beside the bed," Cas interjected. His voice was dry with not an ounce of humor in it. Unsurprisingly.

"Did you put me to bed?" I croaked, moving enough to angle my body toward the garbage can.

"After I sent home the random guy you brought back with you and cleaned the puke off my shoes."

"Oh god." A piercing pain made my head feel like it was going to split in half. "Cas… I'm really sorry."

"Oh, you're gonna be," he drawled as I heard his footsteps move across the room.

What did that even mean?

"You ignored every single thing I said. You didn't meet me for dinner. You didn't call or text once to let me know you were safe, nor did you answer my calls or texts. You drank without me. I'm not entirely sure you ate a goddamn thing before you got drunk. You tried to bring home a stranger, who, I sincerely hope, was part of a wedding party and not the groom, otherwise you could have potentially ended a marriage last night or prevented one from happening, and quite frankly… you behaved like a spoiled petulant child."

Each word was a stab to the heart, filling my gut with guilt while I wished for a time machine to go back and clean up the mess I'd made. "I'm so sorry, Cas. And it's probably almost checkout time too. Let me get dressed and we can get on the road. I promise I won't do anything like that again. I don't even know what came over me."

"It's way past checkout time," Cas corrected. "Don't worry, I booked us for another night. You're not going anywhere today, not until we get a few things straight."

There was something in his tone I couldn't place, but I figured he just wanted to yell at me and make me promise it wouldn't happen again. I deserved that, and it wouldn't.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled again.

Cas didn't say anything, but he disappeared and came back with a bottle of Gatorade and two aspirin that he placed in my hand, and stood over me watching as I took them. He refused to move until I sat up and downed the entire bottle.

I was so thirsty, but also so hungover that my stomach threatened to revolt after every sip. I got it down though and set the empty bottle on the nightstand before slumping down and pulling the covers over my face. I felt like I could sleep forever or at least until my head stopped pounding.

But Cas wasn't having it. He pulled the covers off me and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "Go shower. You reek like a distillery covered in vomit. When you're dressed, come out to the main room. I'll order up a nice greasy breakfast."

Holding my stomach, I shook my head, but Cas ignored my quiet protest.

"Trust me kid, it's exactly what you need."

I did trust him, and I wanted to make up for the way I'd acted, so I stumbled to the bathroom to do as I was told. The shower felt amazing and by the time I emerged, led by the salty scent of bacon, I actually felt halfway human. I took the seat across from Cas at a table set for two and let him pile an ungodly amount of food on my plate.

I took the first few bites cautiously, but it tasted wonderful and felt good to have something other than alcohol in my stomach.

The silence was making me nervous though, so I spoke just to have something to say.

"I'm really sorry, Cas."

He picked up a piece of bacon and chewed it before answering. Finally, just when I was about to start sweating, he pointed a finger at me, and said, "That cannot happen again."

"I know, I'm sorry and it won't, I promise. I've learned my lesson."

"I don't think you have." The tone of his voice sent a shiver down my spine.

"I have. Really," I protested weakly.

"I thought about this all night," he continued, "about whether or not I really wanted to go on a two-week road trip with someone who wouldn't listen to me when I gave them simple, non-arbitrary instructions."

"Oh." I dropped my fork and stared down at my plate. I hadn't considered that response, but it made sense. "I really won't do it again. I'll listen to you, I promise."

"Yeah, I know you think that, but I'd rather make sure of it."

"H-how?" I hated that my voice cracked.

"Well…" Cas laid his fork across his empty plate and regarded me seriously. "The way I see it, we have two options. One, we pack up and head home tomorrow."

My heart sank. That was what I was afraid of and what I deserved, but what I really didn't want. "What's the second option?"

Cas looked for a moment, like he wasn't going to give one. "You called me Daddy last night," he finally said.

I opened my mouth to respond, to stutter out something about him hearing wrong or me being drunk out of my mind, but he held up a hand to stop me and continued.

"I'd called you babygirl all day. And I am a Daddy, but you aren't my babygirl. I probably had no right to act the way I did, but I was just trying to show you a good time while keeping you safe."

I opened my mouth to respond again, but he stopped me yet again. "You need to be."

I choked on a slice of bacon and downed a glass of water to wash it down. "I… beg your pardon?"

"For the duration of this trip, you need to be my babygirl, or at least I need to be able to treat you as if you are."

"What does that mean?"

"It means whatever I say it means," Cas said gruffly, "but for starters, it means you accept a punishment for breaking every single one of my rules last night."

"A punishment?" I whispered. "What does that mean?" But I was pretty sure I knew. I knew what it meant in the books I read, at least.

"For starters, you'll stand in the corner while you tell me all about your night. Then you'll go over my knee for a long, hard, bare-bottom spanking. Tomorrow, when we're on the road again, you'll be making the trip with a plug in your ass to remind you to behave and follow the rules. You'll also wear the plug any time you do anything without me, as a reminder to behave."

Oh god. I hadn't put panties on after my shower, but if I had, they'd be drenched. Cas was literally threatening me with my dirtiest fantasies. But it was Cas . The man who'd known me for seven years and been somewhat of a father figure for the entirety of those years. Cas, who drove me crazy. Cas, who was my brother's best friend. Oh god. What would Jared say if he found out? Would he give Cas the boot? Did I want that? Was I willing to risk it?

Cas must have been able to see the internal way playing out across my face and he chuckled. "It's your call, babygirl. But those are my terms. You don't want to agree, we'll call the whole thing off."

I was pretty sure he wanted me to say yes and take the second option. It was written all over his face and that clinched the deal for me.

"I'll take option two," I finally whispered, my cheeks hot.

Cas blinked as if he honestly hadn't expected that, and slowly nodded. "Okay, babygirl. Finish your breakfast."

"Yes, Daddy." If he asked or acted offended, I'd swear that it just slipped out, but the truth was I was trying it on for size. I'd fucked up so badly and I felt awful. The fact that Cas was willing to punish me instead of giving up on me and taking me home had me feeling some kind of way.

I felt small. I felt chastised. I felt… Little. Like a naughty child who'd been caught doing something bad and was just waiting for their punishment to be handed down. Only mine had been handed down. Now I was just waiting for it to start.