Rex is waiting in the living room when I walk in. Arms crossed, jaw tight, standing by the fireplace.
"Where were you?"
"Covering the front desk. Sarah called in sick."
"Did you ask permission?"
The question cuts through my explanation. "There wasn't time."
"There's always time for a text." He moves closer. "You deliberately disobeyed."
"It was just the front desk!" It comes out defensive.
"It was your afternoon off." He stops right in front of me. "What's rule number one?"
"Ask permission before saying yes to work," I whisper.
"And you broke it. Why?"
"I..." The truth sits heavy. "I didn't think. Dr. Mitchell sounded stressed and I just... said yes."
"Like you always do." There's no anger in his tone, just certainty. "Come here."
My legs move before my brain catches up. He sits on the couch, pats his lap.
"Over my knee, little girl."
My heart pounds as I drape myself across his lap. His hand rests on my lower back, heavy and possessive.
He flips up my scrub top, pulls down my pants in one smooth motion. I'm bare except for cotton panties with little hearts—the ones he'd laid out this morning.
"Ten spanks. Count them."
The first one lands gentle. "One."
"Louder."
"One!" The second stings. By five, my bottom is warm. By eight, I'm squirming. By ten, I'm gasping and wet and desperate.
"Good girl." His voice is rough. "Took your punishment so well."
His hand rubs where he just spanked, soothing. Then it slides between my legs, and he pauses.
"Someone enjoyed their spanking." He feels how wet I am through my panties. "Did being bad make you this wet, baby? Or was it the spanking?"
"Both," I admit, mortified.
"Don't be ashamed." He hooks his fingers in my panties, slides them down. "But you don't get to come. Not yet."
"Daddy—"
He helps me up, positions me straddling his lap, facing him. I can feel how hard he is beneath me.
"You broke a rule. Consequences." His hands grip my hips, holding me in place. "You're going to sit here, on my lap, while I touch you. But you don't come. Understand?"
"That's torture."
"That's punishment." His hand slides between us, finding me wet and ready. "This is what happens when little girls don't ask permission."
