Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

“ T hom?”

“Yeah, babe,” he said, opening his eyes. He’d been drowsing, the soft whup-whup-whup of the chopper lulling him back into exhaustion now that his adrenaline rush was wearing off. He could see land in the distance, but it was too far away. Flying this low over the water gave him nothing but sea to look at, and the lack of stimulation just made him that much more tired.

Eying him in concern, Avery asked, “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

Rolling his head against the seat, he reached from his seat to hers and stroked her cheek with his finger. It made him smile when she tilted her head to press her face against his palm. “I’m fine. As far as kidnappings went, they were downright pleasant, which I suspect had to do with Finn’s brother. Did you find his stuff on the dark web?”

She nodded. “How do you know?”

“He told me right before I decked him. Jesus, Avery, you were so brave. I know very few people who could have done what you did at our house. You gave Christian the opportunity to bring us in on what Fariq has been up to and to help stop him before anyone else gets hurt.”

“Then why’d you deck him?”

Thom grinned. “I don’t care if the asshole is saving the world, he doesn’t get to put his hands on my woman.”

Avery giggled, that same delightful sound he’d heard only one time before. “You really are an ass.”

All right, that woke him up.

“Oh, I am, am I? Let’s see, I already told you I was going to welt your ass and then fuck it. That’s for putting your life in danger and disobeying me. Calling Daddy names will get you a mouth full of soap added onto the bill. Would you care to try for a ginger plug up your bottom hole? I’m pretty sure it’ll burn like hell, especially after I’ve fucked it. With that in your ass and me in your pussy, I’ll bet you can’t hold still.”

She looked out the window first, then cleared her throat before glancing his way. If she thought he was joking, he wasn’t. The minute he got her home, he was taking his belt to her ass. Maybe by the time he was finished, he’ll have decided which hole of hers he wanted to fuck hardest or first.

“D-Daddy?” she squeaked.

“Eyes front, little girl. Where are we headed?”

“Back to Tarifa.”

“Is that where you left from?”

“Yes.”

“We’re alone and you’re in trouble. How are you supposed to answer me?”

She smiled happily and seemed to relax. “Yes, Sir.”

“Then I’d rather not go there. We’re too far from Wales, but if we stop to refuel, do you think we could make the safe house in Monaco?”

“That shouldn’t be an issue, especially in this buggy. This is a sweet ride.”

Thom looked around. It was smaller than the corporate chopper but larger than her personal one. “Where did you get it? I’m assuming no one at the firm knew you’d gone until after the fact.”

She looked embarrassed again. She ought to be; this little stunt of hers would definitely have got her friends in trouble too. “Yes, Sir. Zara talked to Ghazil and he arranged for it.”

“Zara? And let me guess, Finn?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I’ll have Noah talk to Ghazil. We’ll buy this chopper so we’re not arrested for grand theft.”

“Uh…” She laughed. “I don’t know we can, Daddy. It’s a prototype. They won’t sell. They’d be out of their minds to.”

“In that case, I’ll have John call them. He can make them a very lucrative offer.” He shook his head.

“What?” she asked.

“Some daddies have little girls who want to dress their own stuffed animals, spending hours and hours playing with them. Others color or play with toys. Mine wants state-of-the-art war machines that she can use to attack heavily armed fortresses. I guarantee, if I can get this for you, you’ll have it completely pulled apart and reassembled within the first two months.”

She flew in silence for a bit, chewing on her bottom lip. “Do… do you wish I was more like other little girls?”

Thom laughed. “No, baby. Daddy loves you just the way you are, even when you’ve been a naughty girl and need your bottom spanked.”

“But I rescued you.”

“Arguing with Daddy will earn you another spanking. Is that what you want?”

“No, Sir. I just thought…”

“You just thought you’d mind me when you felt like it and could ignore the rules when you wanted to. Did the contract you signed have any such provisions?”

“No, Sir.”

“So, you broke several rules and deserved to be spanked. I need you to know that you can always count on me to provide you with the care, concern, and loving discipline you need. Isn’t that what you told Daddy you wanted and needed?”

“Yes, Sir,” she said morosely.

“Do you think that I don’t love you or care enough about you to provide what you need? Or, maybe you don’t think I’m capable.”

“No, Thom. That’s not it at all. It’s just, well… I did just save you.”

“By immediately disobeying what I told you regarding rule eleven,” he told her. “Believe me, that is very prominent in my mind right now. It’s also very prominent in my mind that had you stayed put and done what I told you to do, relaying that message to Mandy, then I’d have been saved by the guys at our firm—you know, the ones who get paid to put their lives on the line—and you, Finn, and Zara wouldn’t all be expecting bright red bottoms.”

“Would you stop reminding me, please?” she moaned, rubbing her head under the lip of her helmet. That she felt guilty at least about this part was obvious. “They shouldn’t get in trouble…”

“Of course they should. Either of them could have stopped you, but they didn’t. Finn, I suspect because of her sense of guilt. Croft’s going to need to get that spanked out of her. It isn’t healthy to hold that kind of emotion in. As for Zara, I’m sure she was cognizant of the danger, but the idea of outfoxing Noah had way too much appeal. You and I, little girl, are going to take at least a day or two to get things straightened out between us.”

“Don’t you think, just maybe, we ought to make sure this info gets to where it needs to go?”

“As soon as we land, you are going to hand that off to me. I’ll transmit the information to Mac over our secure satellite and he will deliver it to General Markoff in Belgium.”

“Was Mac on his way to Belgium?”

“No. Normally, as our chief IT guy, I’d have gotten it to Markoff, but I’m going to be tied up for a few days getting a certain little girl of my acquaintance to understand a few things. Noah would have been the next logical choice, but again, he has to take care of Zara. You do see where this is going, don’t you?”

“If I’d followed protocol, you’d be safe, our boss wouldn’t be on his way to Belgium, and Finn, Zara, and I wouldn’t be facing disciplinary spankings. It’s just weird, Thom. Before we got together, not one of you would have batted an eye.”

“That’s not true, baby. Think about it, none of us have ever wanted you put in the crosshairs. As much as we could, we kept your escapades strictly to flying. Dangerous flying at times, but not assaulting the compounds of international arms dealers. But today, you just took it upon yourself to do this solo. When was the last time anyone on this team—this being so important, let me stress it twice, team —went off on a tangent by himself? Add to that, we’re the only ones that work together.”

They flew the rest of the way to the safe house in Monaco in a companionable silence. Avery piloted the chopper, while Thom made arrangements to get the information to Mac and ultimately to Markoff.

Following the GPS coordinates to the safe house, she was impressed when she flew in over the harbor. The firm had completed the work needed. While the fishing cottage looked like many others dotted along the coastline, the difference was that there was a short landing strip, as well as a helipad (the concealing doors of which didn’t even open up to reveal the hidden helipad until Thom entered a computer code) and a dock. The landing strip and helipad were well camouflaged, but the dock looked as though it, and the attached boathouse, had been there for decades. No one flying randomly overhead would ever have guess that this was, in fact, a top echelon safe house.

Once they had landed, Thom activated the hangar and the landing pad sank back into the earth, letting the doors close automatically overhead. The brief darkness that followed was quickly interrupted by the flicker of the hangar lights as they winked on. With the chopper powered down, they got out.

“This,” Avery said, clearly delighted, “is a little Bondian even for you.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I thought you’d get a kick out of it. There’s a tunnel that leads back to the cottage, one that leads out to the docks, one to the barn that houses the plane and another that leads down the road to an old shack where we’ve got an SUV and a motorcycle stashed.”

As she always did, Avery took the time to not only secure the chopper but to refuel and ensure that it was ready to go with minimal preflight in an emergency. Pride, admiration, and lust—all three tickled at him as he watched her work. Holding out his hand when she was done, he escorted her up into the cottage.

The closer they came, the quieter Avery got. He wasn’t surprised and he didn’t have to pretend he didn’t know why. But he did let her stew in her increasingly nervous thoughts while he engaged the security measures and downloaded Christian’s data to a secure system that Mac had with him.

“Any idea what we’re delivering?” asked Mac.

“Not a clue, but Reid was adamant that it be delivered only to Markoff. Mac, I’m worried that they have this thing so compartmentalized that Reid’s position is compromised, and his life is in real danger.”

“Do you think we need to get him out?”

“I think if Markoff doesn’t offer us some assurance that they’re going to get him out, then we should consider it a wedding gift to Finn and just go in.”

“Agreed. Where do you stand on Avery’s involvement?”

“As long as she’s with the team, I’ll deal with it. The fact is there’s nobody better at what she does, but she is never to go in alone again.”

“Don’t snarl at me, buddy,” laughed Mac, “that’s all on her. You need to get her on board with her new reality. If we need to, we can go with Junior flying; not as good as Avery, but I don’t know that we’ll need your girl’s finesse. Get her lined out, Thom. She needs to mind you, because otherwise, I’ll fire her before I have to bury her.”

“Will do, boss. I’ll be available if you need me, but when this is over, I want to spend a few days with Avery.”

“I find a good stout strap works wonders in these situations.”

“I won’t need one. Trust me,” Thom said, turning his frown on Avery, quietly listening to the exchange from the doorway. “She’s going to know the full depths of my displeasure before we’re done.”

Her face paled. For a moment, they both stood there, not moving, not speaking, and the longer it went on, the more lost she got. What he had seen as Mac’s approval, endorsement, and support of their relationship, he suddenly realized Avery must have seen as her loss of status with everyone else on the team.

“Talk to me,” he coaxed. “This doesn’t work if you won’t share with me.”

“Daddy…” She rubbed her hands before bracing herself with a deep breath. “You need to know how much I want this… how much I want you… how much I feel for you, but I’m struggling.”

“With what?” Leading her to the comfortable couch, he pulled her down to sit beside him.

“Like I said, this… being with you is like a dream come true, but I know you believe I deserve to be spanked for what I did, and from your point of view, I understand. But now, I feel like I’m not even doing this right,” she said, finally succumbing to the stress and exhaustion.

Thom took her hands in his before saying, “Let’s dispense with the protocol for the moment. I’d rather you learned to accept that you now having a loving, dominant, and strict daddy, that you have rules, that you know what those rules are, and that when you break those rules, you will be punished. But even more than that, I need you to accept that the team is going to know we’re a committed couple and that you answer to me.”

“But isn’t the protocol important?”

He shook his head. “It only has the importance that we give it. I believe protocol and rules are there to provide structure and support. If they’re causing you to stress out, then it’s counterproductive. Answering to me will get easier as we go along—mainly because I think you have a deep-seated need to do so. As for the team, you know all of the rest of the guys love you like a little sister and want what’s best for you. And all of them have some form of dominant/submissive relationship; their women recognize and submit to their authority… some of them more easily and naturally than others.”

“But I really want the protocol and rules. My childhood was chaotic at best. Yours was horrible…”

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds…”

“The murder/suicide of your parents? The foster homes?”

“I don’t remember my parents at all. When people talk about what my dad did, it’s like they’re talking about somebody else. For most of my young childhood, I was with a wonderful foster family. When they left the country, the system wouldn’t let me go with them. I got moved around quite a bit as I got older, but I was never abused or neglected so I had it a lot better than a lot of kids. I thought your parents were still living.”

She laughed. “They are, and they’re great people. They loved me and everybody around us, but mostly they loved each other. They saw me as an extension of that love and didn’t want my spirit burdened with anything close to rules. They were so busy ensuring I had lots of life experiences that they failed to give me anything that felt like I could just be a kid and rest. I never truly felt safe. I never knew when we were going to move or into what kind of situation. We were always leaving to go somewhere else. I was never in the same school for even two grades in a row. We lived in a commune, in a forest fire watchtower, on a working cattle ranch, at a ski resort… you get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love them as people, but their parenting skills left a lot to be desired.”

“So, my trying to make it easier by saying we can dispense with protocol isn’t helpful or what you need at all, is it. See? This is why you can’t just shut down and not talk to me. We’re going to add a new rule, just like you are forbidden to deny me your orgasms, you will talk to me regardless of how much you think you don’t want to.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding. “That’s not always easy for me, but I’ll try. Just understand, I learned to hold my emotions in and not to burden anyone with how I was thinking or feeling. I need to know you won’t give up on me and that I can count on your consistency. I need you to hold me accountable. I need to know that when I let my temper overrule my better judgment, that you’ll help me rein it in. Not to mention the mind-blowing sex.”

Thom laughed. “Careful, little girl. You’re still in a lot of trouble. You broke one of the most important rules even when you knew what I wanted. By doing so, you put yourself at unnecessary risk and disobeyed me.”

“I know, but will you acknowledge just one little fact for me? If it had been me they took, you’d have stopped at nothing to go in and get me out. So why am I being punished for doing the same thing? I saved you…”

“Yes, you did,” he said, nodding. “But you did it in entirely the wrong way. You would still have saved me by passing my message to Mandy. Instead of doing what I told you, which was to follow the rules, you immediately broke them, putting yourself at risk. Avery…” He took her hand in both of his. “This is new for me too. I want it every bit as bad as you do, but I fully acknowledge that we’re going to have to feel our way on some of it. I’ve known what I wanted with you almost from the first time I met you. But I never, in my wildest dreams thought it would happen. It wasn’t until Noah and I got close and started talking that I wondered if it might be possible.”

“I really am going to kill him.”

He laughed. “No, you’re not. Noah never betrayed your secrets or told me anything specific. I only knew that your last relationship had ended badly after I shared with him how I felt about you. And it was only when I shared with him that you had a very dangerous side job that he told me anything specific.”

“You make me feel safe and loved and cared for,” she said. “The first time you spanked me is the first time I ever felt truly safe. Calling you Daddy and Sir makes me feel like we both know our roles. And when you scold me or call me little girl or kitten, it’s all I can do not to have an orgasm on the spot.”

“All good things to know.” Pulling her into his lap, he kissed her tenderly. “Having a daddy isn’t just about great sex or being called names that are loving and not demeaning. Part of me feels compelled to see to the needs and desires of the woman you are, the aforementioned mind-blowing sex. That part includes the part of the man that plans to use you hard and keep you sore until your body gets used to handling my libido. I want to hear you scream my name and call me Daddy as you come. Then there’s the other part that wants to cherish the little girl in you that lies right beneath the surface, that needs those rules and protocols, that needs to be spanked when she’s been naughty.”

Avery nodded. “And I was really naughty. I knew when I did it that you would be upset with me.”

“The ends don’t always justify the means,” he said, his cock swelling as he rocked her. He knew she could feel the bulge rising beneath her. “Daddy’s going to spank you for risking your life and for your deliberate disobedience. I’m going to spank you because you’re my little girl and you need to know that I will always care for you, even if part of that caring means you’ll end up over my knee begging me to stop long after I’ve turned your pretty little bottom bright red. Even when that means the strong, vibrant woman I love needs to be humbled by Daddy’s use of her bottom hole. Even when you’ve screwed up more than once and Daddy thinks you need to be welted or to have your pussy spanked. I want you to know, how much Daddy loves you and that I will always be here for you no matter what. Understand?”

Her need to submit ran deep. The more he talked, the more he felt the tension easing out of her. With every punishment he named, the closer she snuggled in to him until her head was on his shoulder and her arm was hugged around his neck.

“Thank you,” she both whispered and sniffled.

“Is there anything you want to add before we begin?” he asked.

“Only that I’m sorry I disobeyed you. I should have gone to the team for help.”

“I appreciate that, and I forgive you. But you still need to be corrected for believing that you knew better than Daddy, don’t you?” He waited for her reply, giving her all the time she needed to contemplate the ordeal ahead and, knowing what was coming, to truly submit herself to his authority.

“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered.

Thom kissed her again. “That’s my good girl. Daddy’s proud of you. I want you to go into the bedroom and take off all your clothes. Stand in the corner between the bed and the window. Before I punish you, for as long as you’re facing the corner, I don’t care how you stand. I want you completely focused on why you’re there and the discipline you’ve got coming. When I’m done punishing you and send you back to the corner, however, you’re to stand like you did at your place in Arizona—hands flat on the wall, bottom pushed out, and legs spread. You’re going to put yourself on display so Daddy can admire his handiwork and your acceptance of his loving correction before he fucks you from behind.”

Her breathing had changed. No longer slow, deep, and rhythmic, it had become shallow and rapid. He liked that change, especially when he noticed her nipples had tightened.

“Okay, up you get,” he said, helping her to her feet.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Do you have to use my bottom hole?”

“Daddy doesn’t have to do anything. Daddy will fuck whatever hole he chooses, whenever he wants to. You need to be humbled, Avery, and that is how I am choosing tonight to do it. I promise, I’ll be gentle with you when I take you like that, but as they say, the first time is usually the worst and I know my cock won’t make it easy for you.”

“You’re going to make it hurt,” she said flatly.

“No, not this time,” he assured, stroking her back. “It’ll be uncomfortable, almost certainly, but not painful. Not if I can help it. To put it in perspective, baby, the spanking that precedes it will be painful. The fucking I give your pussy in the corner afterward is going to reflect your punishment and will leave you sore too. But when Daddy uses your bottom hole for the first time, he’s going to go nice and slow so that his little girl gets almost as much pleasure as she does when Daddy plows her pussy. You, little girl, will submit, and will take pleasure in doing so. I intend to have you screaming Daddy’s name as you come.”

He loved seeing her blush almost as much as he loved hearing her giggle. Turning her toward the bedroom door, he got her walking with a soft swat to her soon-to-be very sore bottom. “Go on, go get ready for Daddy. I’ll be in within a few minutes.”