“Daddy, it hurts! Please stop!”
“It will only hurt for a moment, little one.”
Crying quietly now, I force myself to breathe, to just breathe. And then, to my great relief, the pain does fade, leaving behind only an odd fullness.
“There we go.” Pride echoes in Daddy’s voice as he gives my bottom a gentle pat. “What a pretty picture you make, little doll. As a matter of fact… Millie, will it affect the reading at all if I move her?”
“Um, no, sir. It shouldn’t.”
“Perfect.”
And then I’m in the air again, crossing the room to a corner where Daddy puts me on my feet.
“Face the corner and hold your dress up so I can see the thermometer, little one.”
Head down, shame washing over me, I do as I’m told, raising my dress up to my waist. Daddy shifts behind me and then I’m in his arms again as he carries me back to the chair and drapes me over his lap once more.
“I couldn’t resist a picture of my naughty little doll with a thermometer in her bottom,” he teases with another gentle pat for my exposed bottom. “We’ll need to find some more poses for you. I’d love a whole wall covered with pictures of my Little girl.”
An alarm beeps, cutting off whatever response I might have given. “You can take the thermometer out now, Mr. Drake.”
Relief washes over me as the full feeling disappears and Millie declares my temperature and blood pressure to be “perfect”.
But that feeling of relief only lasts a few seconds, right up until I hear another, much colder voice speak.
“Good morning, Isabella. I’m Doctor D.”
ChapterTwelve
Isabella
Fear, more paralyzing than any I’ve ever felt before, crawls up my spine at the sound of the doctor’s voice. I’d just as happily stay over Daddy’s knee so I don’t have to face him, but unfortunately that’s not my fate.
Daddy picks me up, perching me on his lap as he smiles at the doctor, then me. “Say good morning, Isabella.”
But I can’t speak. The man in the doorway is older than Daddy, with flecks of gray in his hair that would make another man look distinguished. On Doctor D, it just seems like another reminder of his icy demeanor. Even his smile lacks the smallest hint of warmth.
Sighing, Daddy sends the doctor an apologetic look. “She's feeling a bit shy this morning, I’m afraid.”
“No apologies necessary. Little ones can often be skittish, especially with strangers.” Doctor D’s smile widens, but it looks more like he’s baring his teeth. “But we won’t be strangers for long, will we, Isabella? We’re going to get to know each other very, very well.”
Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of.
Daddy rises to his feet with me still in his arms. “What do you need from me, Doctor?”
“If you could take her dress off, please. As pretty as it is, I don’t want it to get messed up during her examination.”
“Of course.”
I want to fight. With almost everything in me, I want nothing more than to scream and fight and resist with every ounce of strength I have. And yet, as Daddy sets me on my feet to pull my dress up over my head, it’s as though my limbs have a mind of their own. A mind that is all too eager to obey the man in front of me.
Once I’m completely naked, Daddy picks me up and lays me down on the exam table at Doctor D’s request. Even if I wanted to fight, they move too quickly for me to react, strapping me down much like my changing table at home. Only now there’s added straps on the stirrups they’ve placed my feet in, exposing me completely to anyone who enters the room.
Including dreadful Doctor D.
Settling on one of those short rolling stools every doctor’s office has, Doctor D scoots between my legs and pulls on a pair of blue rubber gloves.
“Gideon, have you tested her reaction to nipple stimuli?”
