Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

“Rise and shine, Tayter Tot.”

Whining at the overly chipper sound of her Daddy’s voice, Taylor pulled the covers up over her head to block out him and the sunlight pouring into their bedroom. Whatever time it was, it was clearly too early for him to be waking her up.

“None of that, baby,” he said with a chuckle. “Time to get up. Daddy has a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” That was enough to have her peeking out from under her covers. “What kind of a surprise?”

“The kind that you’ll only get if you get that naughty bottom out of bed right now.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Throwing off the blankets, she rolled out of bed, bouncing on her toes in front of him. “What’s my surprise?”

A grin spread across his face. “Breakfast first, then you can have your surprise.”

Bottom lip pushing out into a pout, she glared up at him. “You tricked me.”

“I did not. I said you couldn’t have your surprise if you didn’t get out of bed. I never said you would get your surprise as soon as you got out of bed.”

“Tomato, tomahto,” she grumbled.

Tapping a finger on her lip, he shook his head, that mischievous grin still on his lips. “No pouting, little girl. We have a big day and you don’t want to spoil it by sulking, do you?”

She didn’t, so she heaved a dramatic sigh and shook her head. “No, Daddy.”

“Good girl. Daddy’s going to go get started on breakfast. You go potty and then you and Mr. Floppy can meet me downstairs.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

With her mind racing as she tried to figure out what kind of ‘surprise’ he had in mind, she went to the bathroom and washed her hands before grabbing Mr. Floppy and heading down the stairs.

For a whole week now, she’d spent nearly all her time at home as Daddy’s Baby. And it was fun, it really was, but she was starting to miss the strict Daddy she’d fallen in love with. She’d gotten a couple swats here and there for not following directions, but even though she’d broken a couple of their long-standing rules she still hadn’t earned a real spanking.

Was she being ungrateful, she wondered as she took her usual place at the island. She’d spent a whole week being spoiled and pampered beyond her wildest imagination. So what if he overlooked the fact that she snuck an extra brownie after dessert or said a naughty word when she didn’t get her way?

But even as she tried to convince herself there was nothing wrong with how he’d been treating her, that knot in her stomach grew heavier. She didn’t want to be naughty, not really. And when she was naughty, she still craved the cleansing a punishment would bring her. The way things stood now, she was getting a lot of things she wanted, but nothing she needed .

“What are you thinking so hard about, Tayter Tot?” Daddy asked, glancing over his shoulder from his spot at the stove.

“Nothing.” Liar .

“You’ve got an awfully big wrinkle between your eyes for a Little girl not thinking hard about anything.” His tone turned teasing, but there was a current beneath the words that told her he wanted an answer.

But how could she tell him that, as wonderful as he’d been this past week, she wanted… more ?

Deliberately smoothing out her expression, she smiled at him. “Just trying to figure out my surprise. Is it another trip to see Santa?”

“Not this time, baby. And I can promise that no matter how hard you try, you’re not going to guess.”

“Can I have a hint? Please, Daddy?”

“Nope.” Turning from the stove, he carried a plate full of eggs and bacon and fruit to the island and placed it in front of her. “Be careful, Tayter Tot. It’s hot.”

She didn’t actually need him to say it, but something in her warmed at the warning. And she immediately felt guilty for being so ungrateful earlier. “Thank you, Daddy!”

They ate together, and she even ate all of her fruit without arguing to make up for her mean thoughts. Daddy cleaned her hands and face before taking her back upstairs to pick out an outfit for the day.

Her first clue came from the outfit he chose. The fluffy tulle skirt and matching shirt that said Naughty or Nice? in white rhinestones was definitely a “Little” outfit. Certainly not something she would wear out in public.

“Are we going to Matt and Carly’s?” she asked, bouncing on the bed as he tried to wrestle a pair of red and white striped knee socks onto her feet.

“If you don’t stop wiggling, we’re not going anywhere,” he said with a laugh. “And if I tell you where we’re going, it won’t be a surprise.”

Forcing herself to sit still, she sighed. “No fair.”

“Very fair.” Daddy tugged the first sock into place and repeated the process with the second sock before sliding a pair of glittery white Mary Janes onto her feet. “There. You look fucking adorable, Tayter Tot.”

“Fucking adorable!” she repeated with a giggle, losing herself in the Little space she’d been occupying for so much of the past week.

Shooting her a glare, Daddy wagged a finger at her. “Just because Daddy says it, doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for Little girls. Any more naughty words from you and you’ll be tasting soap the rest of the day. Understood?”

“Yes, Daddy. Sorry.”

“Good girl. Daddy’s going to get dressed and then we can go get your surprise.”

Twenty minutes later, she was in the car, a silk scarf covering her eyes as Daddy drove… somewhere. He’d been annoyingly tight-lipped, refusing to give her any hints at all about where they were going. And since he’d blindfolded her, she couldn’t even try to guess from the road.

“Daddy, are we there yet?”

“Almost, Tayter Tot.”

The car turned, and beneath them the road went from smooth to bumpy, and she could hear the familiar sound of gravel beneath their tires. Squealing with delight, she reached for the blindfold. “We’re at Edie’s!”

“Don’t you touch that scarf, little girl.”

“But I already guessed!”

“Taylor Grace.”

Lowering her hands to her lap, she huffed out a breath. “Fine. But it’s silly to leave it on when I already know where we are.”

“You did guess correctly. But that’s not all of your surprise. So just be a good girl and leave the blindfold on. And you have to be perfectly silent until the blindfold comes off. Understood?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl.”

When the car rolled to a stop, she strained her ears trying to listen. She heard Daddy’s door open and close, then the sound of his boots crunching over gravel before her own door opened. Excitement bubbled in her tummy as he helped her out of the car, holding onto her hand tightly as he guided her up the familiar driveway, and then the stairs to Edie’s house.

The scent of cookies baking filled her nose as they stepped inside, and it was everything she could do not to rip her blindfold off and go searching for Edie.

Finally, after what seemed like hours , Daddy stopped her in what she was fairly certain was Edie’s living room.

A dozen questions burned on the tip of her tongue, but she was trying so hard to be a good girl, so she pressed her lips together tight to keep the words from slipping out.

Murmurs met her ears, letting her know there were other people in the room with her. And that Daddy was obviously not being held to the same promise of silence that she was.

Rude.

From her left came a muffled sort of sound, like someone was trying to talk but they had something in their mouth. And then the unmistakable sound of a Daddy’s palm connecting with a naughty bottom.

What the hell was going on?

Before she could break her vow of silence, however, the blindfold was suddenly pulled from her eyes as shouts of “Surprise!” filled the room.

Standing in a circle, facing each other was her, Noelle, Carly, Ginny, and Jesse. For a moment, they simply stood and stared at each other before Jesse let out a piercing squeal of excitement and they all rushed toward each other, crying and shouting and talking a mile a minute.

Well. Except for Noelle, who still had a ball gag in her mouth decorated like Santa’s suit. She looked up at her Daddy who laughed and unhooked the gag from her mouth before sending her back into the fray.

“Mommy and Daddy said they had a surprise for me but I had no idea it was you guys!” Tears pooled on Jesse’s lashes as she hurled herself at Taylor for a hug. “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Same! I’ve missed you and Edie so much!”

Jesse was passed around from Little to Little for a hug, and even Noelle embraced her for a few seconds before passing her off to Ginny. Once she’d made the rounds, she turned and flung herself at Edie and Grant who were standing behind her with wide grins on their faces.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best Mommy and Daddy ever!”

Laughing, Edie wrapped her arms around Jesse’s neck and squeezed. “That wasn’t what you said last night.”

“Well, yeah, cuz last night you were mean and spanked me for no reason!”

Grant raised an eyebrow at his pouting Little girl. “If you really think it was for no reason then obviously the lesson didn’t sink in. Do we need to take a trip upstairs, little outlaw?”

Throwing her hands behind her, Jesse shook her head. “No, Daddy. I know it was for a good reason. Promise.”

“That’s what I thought.” Glancing around, he looked at the other Daddies and jerked his head toward the kitchen. “What do you say we go have ourselves a beer and let the girls and Edie have some alone time?”

The Daddies followed him into the kitchen with a few reminders to behave, mostly from Matt and Dom. As soon as they were gone, Edie curled up in her usual spot in her oversized armchair, a gleam in her eyes as her Little girl snuggled up against her.

“All right, naughty girls. Tell me everything I’ve missed.”