Her cheeks are so bright, they could stop traffic. “Maybe I do have to potty a little bit.”
“Then I suggest you sit your butt down on that toilet before I make it extremely difficult for you to do so.”
That gets her moving. With a shocked little squeak, she hurries over to the toilet and perches delicately on the seat.
I should start the water for her bath. But it’s so fucking sweet, watching her squirm under my gaze, so instead I fold my arms and pin her with a stern look.
“I can’t go with you glaring at me like that, Sloane!” she snaps, her brow furrowing as she jerks her head up to return my glare.
“Too bad. And that’s two. The next time you call me Sloane instead of mypropername, I’m going to get one of Daddy’s belts and make you spell it out until I’m sure you won’t forget again.”
Some of the color leaches from her cheeks. “Sorry, Mommy. But I really can’t go if someone is watching! It’s too embarrassing!”
From what I know of her relationship with Ethan, she should be more than used to using the bathroom in… compromisingsituations. Perhaps it’s just me she’s embarrassed to go in front of, which I admit I don’t mind in the least. I want her embarrassed and squirmy.
It’s fucking adorable.
Raising one brow in an imitation of a look I’ve seen Ethan deploy often, I continue watching her. “Well, if you can’t use the potty like a Big girl, Mommy will have to put you in a diaper.”
We have plenty of them from mine and Ethan’s disastrous attempts at turning me into his babygirl. But where being put in a diaper only made me sick to my stomach, the thought of puttingherin one makes me…
Ravenous.
So much so that I’m actually disappointed when Mia squeezes her eyes shut and the sound of her releasing her bladder into the toilet fills the room. Still, she did as she was told, and that deserves a reward.
“Good girl,” I praise her, unfolding my arms to lean in and press a kiss to her forehead. “Sit right there while Mommy starts your bath.”
Turning away, I flip the faucet on, sticking my hand under the stream to test the heat before pressing down the plug that will allow the tub to fill with water.
“Mommy?” Mia’s voice is soft, tentative, as if she isn’t sure of the words coming out of her mouth.
“Yes, baby?” I ask as I grab a bottle of pink bubble bath from the basket on the shelf behind the tub. Baths are the one part of being Little I didn’t mind, though I prefer to take them by myself rather than allowing Ethan to help me.
“Why are you doing this? I didn’t think… You don’t evenlikeme.”
Twisting around, I frown at her. “What on Earth makes you think I don’t like you?”
She blinks, that little furrow forming again between her brows. “Because I called Ethan to come get me.”
“I already told you, babygirl, I’m not mad about that anymore. I understand you needed help and I’m very glad your Daddy was able to rescue you.”
Tears shimmer on her lashes and her bottom lip trembles in a way that has my pussy fluttering with need. “He’s not my Daddy anymore,” she says sadly. “I never should have called him that. I’m sorry, it was really wrong of me.”
Crouching in front of her, I rest my hands on her knees. “I’ve been wrong about a lot of things in my life, especially where Ethan Hale is concerned. But the one thing I am absolutely certain I’mnotwrong about is the fact that Ethan has never once, for one single second, stopped being your Daddy.”
CHAPTER 6
MIA
Sloane’s words rock me to my core. And maybe I’m a horrible person, but I want, desperately, for them to be true. So badly it’s an ache in my stomach, a painful wrenching in my chest.
“You don’t mean that.” My protests ring hollow, thanks to that desperate ache inside me. “This is just some kind of sick game.”
“I promise you, babygirl, it’s not a game to me at all.”
I want to believe her. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more in my entire life than to push logic aside and let myself sink into the lies she’s weaving around me like the most skilled spider.
But believing those kinds of lies is how I ended up with Carl. “Oh yeah?” Gathering my courage, I jerk my head up defiantly. “Then why did you try to get me in trouble with Ethan this morning? You lied and said you told me not to have cereal!”
