“You can make it up to me later.” Sam reached around me to set the coffee machine to brew.
“How?”
He sighed as I stood there, waiting for an answer, then ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know.”
“You make it sound like you want to spank me, as if that will erase all the nonsense I’m tossing at you.”
Sam stared at me for a moment before opening the cabinet nearest to him and setting out two mugs. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been down that road.”
“I don’t want to be punished. Okay? Let’s make that very clear,” I lied. “But I kind of thought you were going to.”
He moved to get the sugar and then the creamer out of the fridge before speaking. Fixing the coffee for us kept his hands busy and he was likely figuring out how to respond. His answers were always meted out carefully, just like his punishments used to be. “Your right eye is twitching, so I don’t think you’re telling me the truth. But I’ll go ahead and chalk up your brattitude to the accident. Clean slate, Mickie. If you start poking for a reaction from here on out, then you’ll get one.”
“A reaction or a spanking?” I couldn’t keep the curl of a smile off my lips and looked down so he wouldn’t see it.
Sam took my chin firmly in his hand and tilted it upwards to catch my gaze. “A spanking, Mickie. Now drink your coffee and get some rest.”
“Why did you stop kissing me last night?” A small prickle of fear at the thought of his rejection ran up my spine. “Am I too childish for someone your age, or do you just not like me?”
“I’ve always liked you. That’s not the issue. You had a suspected head injury.” He let his hand drop from my face. “And don’t start about my age…”
“Then what else is it, huh?” I crossed my arms in front of me to put physical distance between us though it didn’t matter much since my heart was wide open anyway.
Something about the way he easily handled every curveball I threw at him made me mad. Why had he promised a fresh start when I’d been counting the minutes until he had enough of me and flipped me over his knees like he used to? He set my arms at my sides bridging the gap and moving closer to me.
“You’re running on fumes.” Sam trailed one hand down and over my hip resting there as if reminding me of what he’d threatened to do. “We have lots of time to catch up.”
“But you… you’re infuriating!” I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what buttons I could push to spark the match. “It took me a really long time to make a move. You’re standing there like nothing happened!”
“Throwing a temper tantrum isn’t going to force me to do anything.” He spun me around, pushing me gently into the living room.
I furiously dug my heels into the hardwood floor, making him bump into me as he clearly wasn’t expecting me to put up such a fight. It was a small push, but enough to make me lose my balance. Sam twisted around as he caught me. I fought back a giggle.
“Mikayla Rose,” he said growling.
“Yes, Sir?”
“You naughtylittlething. Calling meSirwill get you spanked faster than you can imagine. Walk your butt to the couch.”
I should have stopped but the yummy tone falling out of Sam’s mouth coupled with his hunky muscular body against mine had me dying to poke harder. “Huh. Well, what happens if I call youDaddy?”
“Try it.”
Well, fuck. I hadn’t expected that answer.A spanking? Sure. A promise? Nope.I kept my hands pressed against his chest and glared. No, him tossing a challenge at my brat wouldn’t do at all. “You’re certainlyoldenough to be my Daddy,” I said before grinning at him.
“Age has nothing to do with it, brat.” He lifted me into his arms bridal style and brought me back to the couch.
“Then what?” I watched him carefully tuck me into the blanket cocoon I’d messed up earlier when I pushed them off in haste. The wheels seemed to be turning in his beautiful mind. I knew it was more than a title, more than respect, but I wasn’t entirely sure what that would entail.
“What are you asking, babygirl?”
“What’s it got to do with?”
“You’re not uneducated about dynamics. I used to keep you in line with rules and applied a firm hand to your bottom when you broke those rules. Do you remember?” Sam sat on the coffee table.
“Yes, I remember. I didn’t love the way you did it. I didn’t enjoy spankings and time out, but… it did help me in ways I can’t explain.” Sighing, I felt like this could be the start of something bigger. Something that we should have continued but stopped on account of life and neither of us wanting to step outside our comfort zones.
“A Daddy is another role in a dynamic. Sometimes the submissive partner also explores ageplay, but they don’t have to.”
