His eyes narrow, and my heart stutters in response. I really don’t want a punishment first thing in the morning, especially with how sore I already am, but he’s beingridiculous.
“This is important to you?”
Something in his tone has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as I shift from foot to foot in front of him. “I dunno. It would just be… nice, I guess. And fun. Don’t Little girls need fun?”
To my surprise, he smiles. Not just that small, cruel smirk I’m used to, but a full-blown grin. “That’s very true. They do.All right, I’ll visit the store in town and see about getting some bubbles for my Little girl.”
Emboldened by his shockingly quick capitulation, I press forward. “While we’re talking about my bath…”
“Taking a bath is non-negotiable, Camilla.”
I roll my eyes toward the ceiling, then yelp at the sting of pain in my thigh when he slaps me. Embarrassment heats my cheeks, because no matter how many times he punishes me, those solitary swats always make me feel the most like a misbehaving child. “That’s not what I was gonna ask,” I grumble, well aware I am pouting and acting like a sulky Little girl.
Probably because I amfeelinglike a sulky Little girl after that swat. I can feel myself sliding deeper and deeper into my Little space, completely against my will.
“What did you want to ask me, sunshine?”
The use of my new nickname both rattles and comforts me. “Can we please turn the hot water up?Please? It’s way too cold.”
Frowning again, he dips a hand into the water and shakes his head. “It’s a perfectly comfortable temperature. Any hotter and you might get burned.”
“Oh my god, Donovan, you’re being an insane person. It’s freezing!”
Again he looks up at me, but this time there’s a hint of calculation in those dark eyes. “I suppose I could warm it up a bit.”
Triumph wells in my chest. But only for a moment before he completely deflates me with one single sentence.
“But only if you ask meproperly.”
“What do you mean?”
It’s a stalling tactic. I know exactly what he wants of me. The one thing other than using my diaper I’ve refused to give him, no matter how many different ways he’s punished me for it.
“Say ‘Will you please turn the hot water up, Daddy?’”
I don’t want to. God knows I’d pretty much rather do anything than call the man who’s been my main source of torment the past year by such an intimate name.
Anything… except take another cold fucking bath.
It doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s just a word.
Except, it’s not just a word. And it does mean something to me. I’ve never called anyone Daddy before, and I always thought when I finally did, it would be for keeps. Or at the very least it would be my choice.
On the other hand, I really, really don’t want to get in that water. Maybe I’m just weak, but the thought of yet another too-cool bath has tears pooling in my eyes.
Swallowing hard against the tightness in my throat, I force the words out. “Will you please turn the hot water up… D…D…Daddy?”
I don’t know what response I expected, but it certainly wasn’t for his entire face to light up like a child’s on Christmas Day. And I definitely wasn’t prepared for the way my heart would trip in my chest at his excitement.
“Anything for my sunshine.”
My sunshine. Despite my best efforts, the walls around my heart crumble a little more at those words.
I spend the rest of my bathtime trying to figure out exactly what his reaction means. Is he really that happy to have me calling him Daddy? Or was he just excited to finally break me?
The questions are still bouncing around in my brain when he lifts me out of the tub and carries me back to my changing table. I’m so distracted by my internal debate, I don’t notice him putting a fresh pair of gloves on until he grasps my ankles and lifts them straight in the air.
“What are you doing?” The words come out sharper than I’d intended, earning me a frown.
