Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The ride from Charleston to Lost River was only about thirty minutes, but it seemed to take forever as Taylor’s mind raced with all the devious punishments her Daddy might come up with. It had been so long since she’d done something really naughty, and her bottom kept clenching in anticipation as they drove.

“All right, Tayter Tot. Let’s go get you ready for bed,” Ian said as he put the car in park in their driveway.

Her stomach, which had previously been full of butterflies, dropped to the floor. “Oh. Um. Okay.”

Pausing with his hand on the door, Ian raised a brow. “Something wrong, baby?”

“No, it’s just… I thought I was in trouble.”

The stern look he sent her had the butterflies going wild again. “You probably should be. It was very naughty to ignore what Daddy said like that.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Daddy.”

To her surprise, his expression softened. “And I’m sorry for not just letting you enjoy your treat. A little extra sugar never hurt anyone, right?”

“Right.” It was the best response any Little girl could hope for. Not only did she get what she wanted, she also wasn’t going to get spanked for being sneaky about it.

So why did she feel like she wanted to cry?

“I think we’ll just call it even on this one. Sound good, baby?”

No. No, it does not sound good. I wanted a spanking, dammit.

But Ian was the Daddy, and if he didn’t think she deserved a spanking then she should honor that decision. She’d read that on a website somewhere about being a good Little. With that in mind, she forced herself to smile back. “Sure. Sounds good.”

If Ian noticed the sulk in her voice, he didn’t comment on it. “All right. Sit tight so Daddy can come let you out.”

“You don’t have to say that every time,” she mumbled, deliberately keeping her voice low enough he couldn’t hear as he climbed out of the car. The spanking she’d hoped to get for the hot chocolate would have hurt, but she’d been counting on him not being too mad.

Being rude to his face, however, was more likely to end with her standing in the corner with a bar of soap in her mouth than with a fun little spanking, so she wasn’t willing to push her luck on that front.

“Shower or bath?” he asked when they stepped into the small house they shared on the edge of town. It was one of their nightly rituals, and an easy way for her to tell him if she wanted to be Big or if she needed some Little time.

She’d been hoping for Little time. The parade and seeing Santa and the hot chocolate and spending time with Noelle had all put her firmly in that headspace, but she hadn’t been able to really let her Little free in public. So she’d been looking forward to coming home and letting Daddy Ian take over for a bit.

But now she just wanted some space from him. Space she wouldn’t get if she chose Little time. “Shower.”

A frown tugged at Ian’s mouth. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m kinda tired, actually. I think I’ll just grab a shower and head to bed.”

The frown deepened as he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. “Do you feel okay, baby? It’s barely ten. Usually I have to threaten your sitting privileges for a week to get you in bed before eleven.”

“I feel fine. Guess the parade just wiped me out.”

“Okay. I’ve got some papers to grade, so just let me know when you’re out of the shower and I’ll come tuck you in.”

“Sure.”

Guilt pricked at her as she climbed the stairs, because she knew she had no intention of letting him know. It was petty and small of her, but she didn’t want to be near him just then.

The worst part was, she couldn’t really pinpoint why she was feeling that way. Not getting the spanking she’d earned wasn’t the end of the world. Or their relationship.

But for reasons she couldn’t explain even to herself, it felt… big. Too big for Little Taylor to deal with, so she’d just have to wait until her Big side was ready to take over for a bit.

Leaning back in his office chair, Ian pressed the heels of his hands to his aching eyes. How long had he been at this, anyway?

A glance at the clock told him he’d been sitting there far longer than he’d intended, which accounted for not only the pressure behind his eyes but the ache in his neck.

That quick glance also told him Taylor should have been done with her shower a long time ago. Worry snaked its way around his gut as he pushed out of his chair and made his way upstairs.

“Taylor? You okay, baby?”

No answer.

Worry grew to panic and he hurried up the last few steps, making a beeline for their bedroom. But instead of finding her unconscious on the bathroom floor, or the dozen other scenarios his overactive imagination had managed to conjure in those few seconds of worry, he found her in bed. Curled up on her side with the covers wrapped tightly around her.

Now it was a different kind of worry making his stomach churn as he approached the bed. Why hadn’t she called for him after her shower? He’d already been thrown off by her not wanting any Little time when they got home, but in all the months they’d been living together, not once had she gone to bed without him tucking her in.

Was she mad at him about something? Running the day through his mind, he couldn’t think of anything he’d said or done to piss her off that badly.

He was tempted to wake her up and demand answers. But on the off chance she really had just been extra tired, or she wasn’t feeling well, he decided it could wait until morning.

Stripping down to his boxers, he climbed under the covers with her, smothering a laugh when her brows furrowed in her sleep and she let out a soft whine as he gently unwrapped her.

“You have to share the covers, my little burrito,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

A growl slipped from her lips and she tightened her grip on the comforter. “Mine.”

Even in her sleep she was a brat, and this time he couldn’t help the quiet laugh that escaped. “I love you, Tayter Tot.”

She was already fast asleep again, so she didn’t answer. But she did snuggle into him when he pulled her close, so that had to count for something.

Right?

During the work week, it was rare for her to wake before Ian. But on weekends, or when school was closed like it was now for the holiday, he liked to sleep in.

Normally, she would get up and take herself downstairs to watch cartoons or something while she waited for him to get up and make breakfast. The one time she’d tried to make breakfast for him, he’d very firmly told her that was Daddy’s job and forbade her from ever doing so again. And since she hated cooking, she’d happily handed over that particular chore.

But this particular morning, she wasn’t in the mood for cartoons. Not because she was still upset about not getting spanked the night before, but because in the harsh light of day she was feeling more than a little silly about how she’d acted.

So what if he hadn’t spanked her? That was his decision as the Daddy, and she should have been grateful to have a Daddy who was willing to overlook the occasional naughty behavior. Instead, she’d sulked about it like a baby, and she’d missed out on getting her usual bedtime cuddles—and possibly more.

Feeling inspired by the ‘more’ she’d missed last night, she slid her hand down Ian’s muscular stomach and under the waistband of his boxers. A familiar hum of excitement raced through her when she found him half hard already.

“Mmm. What are you doing, naughty girl?”

Spurred on by his sleepy question, she wiggled around until she was eye to eye with the bulge in his boxers. “Nothin’.”

Beneath her, his chest vibrated with laughter. “That doesn’t feel like nothing, baby.”

Tugging his underwear down, she grinned at the sight of him swelling under her attention. And when she took him in her mouth, sucking hard in the hopes of helping things along, she couldn’t help but giggle at his sharp inhale. “Fuck! A little gentler, baby.”

Since this was in part an apology for being such a brat the night before, she obeyed, sucking gently, teasing him with her tongue as he hardened to the thick length she was used to.

“Come here, baby.”

Delighted by the gravelly need coating his voice, she wiggled out of her panties and climbed on top of him. Ian gripped her hips, guiding her down as he groaned.

“Naughty girl,” he said with a low chuckle. “Waking Daddy up so early on Saturday.”

The sharp swat he delivered to her bottom got her moving with a gasp. “I just wanted to play, Daddy.”

“Well now you can play all you want. But you don’t get to come until Daddy says so.”

Though she was secretly thrilled by the order, she pouted down at him. “That’s just mean.”

Opening his eyes, he grinned, and there was just enough wickedness to the gesture to have her heart beating faster in her chest. “I can be meaner.”

As if to prove his point, he slid a hand over her thigh to where they were joined, rolling his thumb over her swollen clit. Pleasure arced through her, and she let her head fall back as it washed over her while she rode.

Slow and easy, just like their love. Though some people had been shocked by how quickly their relationship had progressed, to Taylor it felt like they’d been making their way to each other their entire lives. They’d shared a life for as long as she could remember, and while making that leap from friends to lovers had been terrifying at first, once they’d jumped it had just been… easy. Simple. Fun.

But slow and easy didn’t mean boring. As Ian was busy proving now, working her toward that frantic peak the way only he knew how.

“Daddy…” she whined, grinding her hips against him, desperate for release.

His grin deepened. “Tell Daddy what you want, baby. Use your words.”

Heat flooded her body, not just from the ecstasy building inside her but from the embarrassment that came with begging for pleasure she’d never quite gotten used to. “You know what I want.”

“And what I want is to hear you say it. Tell Daddy what you need, baby.”

That sweet, coaxing tone only embarrassed her more, which he damn well knew. “I wanna… I wanna come, Daddy. Please, Daddy, please!”

“That’s my good girl. And since you asked so nicely… Come for me, Taylor. Let Daddy feel your sweet little pussy squeezing my cock.”

Head thrown back, she cried out for him as the need inside her finally fractured, shattered. Frantic now, she rode him hard and fast, and a moment later he followed her over that peak with a shout of his own.

Collapsing on top of him, she hummed happily as she snuggled into his embrace. “Morning, Daddy.”

“Morning, baby.” A satisfied smile curved his lips. “I seem to have worked up an appetite. How do waffles sound for breakfast?”

“With chocolate chips?” It was a futile question, because chocolate chip waffles were only for special occasions, yet that didn’t stop her from asking every weekend anyway.

A frown tugged at his lips, giving her the answer before he even spoke. But then his expression cleared and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Of course, baby. Whatever you want.”

Just like with the hot chocolate the night before, it should have made her happy to get what she wanted. But just like before, her stomach twisted with the feeling that something was not quite right between them.

And it was damn well time to get to the bottom of it.