She scrunched her brows, and he suspected it was to keep from rolling her eyes. “Yes.”
“Good. That means you’re my Little girl, and Littles mind their Daddies.”
She huffed out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, I know.”
“And you agreed to that."
She nodded. “I’m the Little. You’re the Daddy.”
“Just checking,” he said. “I didn't want any confusion when I spank your bottom for leaving the room without telling me.”
Her spine straightened. “But you wouldn’t have let me leave.”
Damn straight he wouldn’t have. “You’re right. But as your Daddy, that’s my decision.” She didn’t argue, so he continued. “I wouldn’t have done what you asked, not at this time of night, but is that what you really want? No—” He pressed his finger to her lips. “I don’t mean leaving. I mean, do you want a man who’ll give you whatever you want, even when he knows it’s not what’s best for you? That’s not a Daddy, little fox. That’s a sugar daddy. And if that’s what you’re looking for, then you’re right. Come morning, you need to leave.”
She crawled over to sit on his lap. “That’s not what I want. I want a Daddy. I want you.”
That was a good sign, but he wasn’t done yet. “I want you, too. Now, do you want to talk now, or after?”
She whispered, “After.”
They both knew he was talking about her punishment. They both needed it. But first, he needed her to process the severity of what she’d done.
“It’s Think Tank time,” he said gently.
Standing, he helped her to her feet and pointed to two bales of hay in the corner he put there weeks ago for situations just like this. He set one on its side and the other on its end. Folding the quilt she’d been sitting on, he laid it over the hay bale on its side so it wouldn’t chafe her knees. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t speak.
“This is your Think Tank. You’re gonna stay right there and think about what you should’ve done.”
“Where are you going to be? Are you leaving?”
For someone who’d just discussed running away, the fear of being left alone surprised him. What in the fuck had his girl been through?
“Eyes to me, Kip. I’m moving the other bale to the window, so you have uninterrupted time to think, but you can still see me from the corner of your eye. I’m not leaving, Foxy. You are not alone. I want you to think about the choices you’ve been making lately and what we can do together to change them. Understand?”
She nodded, trying to hold back her sniffles.
“It’s important you talk to me, and that starts now. Do you understand that you are not alone?”
“Y-yes, Daddy. It’s hard to talk about, and you’re the one who doesn’t understand.”
He kissed the top of her head. She was so strong, and yet so fragile. “I want you to think about why you needed to leave without telling me. We’ll talk again before anything else happens, including my understanding. Now, kneel on the bale of hay, nose to the corner, hands at your sides. I want you to stay still and think.”
He left her to focus, being sure to stay within her sight. He wanted her to know that if he were her Daddy, she would never be alone to face the hard things. After five minutes, he placed a hand on her back. “Time’s up, little fox. Sit in Daddy’s lap and let’s talk.”
He sat on the same bale she’d knelt on and pulled her onto his lap.
I rested my hand on the small of her back. “Tell me what happened.”
Silence.
“Kip.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Something happened to make you run. You’re right, I don’t understand, and only you can clear it up.”
She shook her head, hair spilling like fire over the hay.
