ChapterTwenty-Eight
Gideon
Isabella’s head whips up, but instead of the fear and worry I saw in my nieces’ eyes when I first boarded the plane, all I see is relief as she staggers to her feet, throwing herself at me.
“Daddy!” Arms around my neck, she clings tightly to me, seemingly holding on for dear life as a sob bursts out of her. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t hate me!”
That’s one fear I’m happy to put to rest. “I could never hate you, little doll. Never.”
Pulling away, she swipes at the tears streaming down her face with a pitiful little hiccup. “You’re n-not mad?”
I can’t help but laugh. “That’s not at all what I said, little girl. I said I could never hate you, and that’s true. But you are still going to get that pretty bottom spanked nice and red once we’re in the air.”
“But I don’t wanna be in the air!” She wails. “I wanna go home! I don’t wanna go back to New York!”
“Good, because we aren’t going to New York.”
“What?” Voice shrill, Juliet glares up at her Daddy. “But I saw the reservations! And the tickets!”
Jasper raises a brow. “And how exactly did you see that, princess? Were you snooping on Daddy’s computer?”
Apparently realizing she’s just implicated herself in even more trouble, Juliet drops her gaze, her cheeks turning pink under her Daddy's scrutiny. “I plead the fifth.”
“As I’ve told you before, princess. The only law when you’re with me is my word. The only rights you have are the ones I give you. And in about ten minutes the only right you will have is to kick and scream as much as you want while I paddle your naughty little bottom.”
“No!” Still strapped into her seat, Victoria speaks up, her expression full of righteous anger. “You can’t spank her! She was just trying to help a friend!”
“You should be far less worried about the state of Juliet’s bottom and more worried about the state of your own, little thief.”
Some of the anger fades from Victoria’s face, along with a good bit of color. “But… we just wanted to help,” she whispers.
“I know you did, little one.” Maxwell runs a hand over her hair. “But did any of you stop to think that Isabella could have gotten hurt with your plan?”
“No! We were so careful! We thought ofeverything.”
At Juliet’s outburst, my brothers and I all share a look. They both nod, and I take up the lecture, pinning both of my nieces with a stern glare. “Really? You thought of every possible thing that could go wrong?”
Now it’s Juliet and Victoria sharing a look. “Um. Yes. Everything,” Juliet repeats, though she sounds much less sure of herself now.
“Really. So you thought of whether or not Isabella would have enough air locked in the trunk of your car? Of what might happen if you were in an accident on the way to the airport? You thought of the fact that she was hiding in a closet instead of safely strapped into a seat during takeoff like she should have been? You all had a plan for her to have money to get a new apartment and feed herself while she tried to get her place in the ballet back?”
Silence fills the cabin of the plane for several long moments before Juliet sighs. “Okay, I guess we didn’t think ofeverything. But we really did just want to help!”
“Then you should have encouraged Isabella to come to me. I’m her Daddy. It’s my responsibility to make sure she’s taken care of.”
“But she wanted to go back to New York! You never would have let her do that!” Victoria is still looking a bit mutinous, and judging by the narrow-eyed look Maxwell is giving her, that certainly doesn’t bode well for her bottom.
“You’re right,” I concede, pulling my little doll more tightly against me. “I wouldn’t have. But you’ve known me for a long time now, Victoria Rose. Do you really believe I would just let my Little girl be miserable without at least trying to fix it?”
Finally looking properly abashed, Victoria lowers her gaze to the floor. “No, Uncle Gideon.”
“No, I wouldn’t. Which is why I’ve been in talks with our builders for some time now to have an auditorium built just for Isabella to be able to perform for us, and our occasional guests to the island. I know how much she misses dancing for an audience, and I want my Little girl to have everything her heart desires.”
Gasping, Isabella twists in my arms, looking up at me. “You didn’t tell me that!”
“I wanted it to be a surprise. If you’d come and talked to me instead of trying to take matters into your own hands, we would be on our way to a lovely vacation right now.” Above our heads, the seatbelt sign goes off with a quiet “ding” and I smile. “But since you didn’t, and since you think you’re all Big girls who can make decisions for yourselves, we are going to let you all choose your punishments.”
All three of our Little girls pale a bit at that news, their eyes somehow managing to widen even further as Victoria swallows hard. “We have to choose how we get spanked?” she asks in a scared whisper.
