"You activated a citadel-wide emergency alert." Not a question. Statement of fact. "Klaxons. Flashing lights. Storm shutters deploying. Staff evacuating to secure positions thinking death was approaching on lightning wings."
"I didn't mean to," I whispered. But even as I said it, I knew it was weak. Knew that intent didn't matter when the result was that level of chaos.
"Did you damage the warning system?"
"No. Someone manually shut it down. It should still function normally."
The silence stretched again. He was processing. Calculating. Through the bond, I felt his mind working through what I'd done—the progression from harmless light shows to increasingly sophisticated systems to critical infrastructure that could have actually mattered if there'd been a real emergency happening simultaneously.
"So." His voice was quiet. Controlled. "You deliberately violated a safety rule. You interfered with citadel systems including critical infrastructure. You caused a false emergency that disrupted everyone in the building." His eyes locked onto mine. "And you did all of it to test my response. To see if I'd follow through on promised consequences. Is that accurate?"
"Yes." My voice came out barely audible.
"Do you remember what consequence three means?"
Heat flooded my face. My thighs pressed together automatically. "Spanking."
His eyes flashed pure silver. Electricity crackled visibly across his knuckles. Through the bond, I felt his certainty. His satisfaction that I'd confirmed everything he'd predicted. His anticipation.
"Over my knee," he said quietly. "Now."
My legs shook as I moved around the desk. He turned his chair slightly, positioning himself. Spread his thighs to create a stable platform. His hands rested on his knees, patient and certain.
I hesitated beside him. Through the bond, I felt his recognition of my fear. Not fear of him—fear of vulnerability. Of surrendering control. Of letting him see me completely.
"I've got you," he said softly. "You tested to see if the rules were real. Now you'll learn that my promises are real too. That includes the promise to keep you safe while I teach you this lesson."
Something in my chest cracked. I moved forward.
His hands guided me with surprising gentleness. Over his lap, my weight distributed across his strong thighs. One of his hands pressed against the small of my back, holding me steady. The other rested lightly on my bottom, not yet punishing, just claiming.
My lightning-scarred hands braced against the floor. My face burned. I could feel the position—vulnerable, exposed, my bottom presented for discipline. This was intimate. Personal. Care wrapped in authority.
His hand on my back radiated warmth. Electricity hummed between us but gently now. Grounding.
"Ten strikes," he said, his voice carrying absolute certainty. "With each one, you'll say: 'Daddy's rules keep me safe.' You'll mean it. By the end, you'll understand it. Understood?"
I nodded against his thigh.
"Words, little lightning."
"Yes, Daddy." The title came out breathless. Natural. "Understood."
Through the bond, his satisfaction wrapped around me completely. Then his hand lifted from my bottom.
The anticipation built like gathering storm clouds.
"Count," he commanded.
And brought his hand down.
The first strike wasn't just his hand. It was his hand charged with controlled electricity. The shock hit my bottom and exploded outward, racing through every nerve in my body like lightning finding ground. My back arched involuntarily. My hands scrabbled against the floor. A sound tore from my throat—not quite a scream, more like a choked gasp that came from somewhere deep in my chest where I'd been holding my breath without realizing it.
The sensation was nothing like pain. Or it was pain, but pain mixed with something else so thoroughly that I couldn't separate them. Pleasure-pain-electricity-heat all crashing through my nervous system simultaneously, lighting up pathways that had never carried this intensity of sensation.
"Count," he commanded. His voice was steady. Controlled. The hand on my back pressed down slightly, grounding me.
"One." My voice shook. "Daddy's rules keep me safe."
