At that, he lost the battle with his laughter. “Bloodthirsty little brat.”
She grinned. “I’m just saying, I’ve always wanted to feed the sharks. It’s not my fault if you give me the perfect opportunity.”
“Uh-huh. Well, for now you’re going to have to settle for letting me feed you. What do you want to eat, brat?”
Turning, she studied the menu for a moment before glancing back up at him, that calculating gleam in her eyes again. “I want ice cream.”
So his babygirl wanted to test him. That was fine. “You can have ice cream if you eat some real food first.”
“Ice creamisreal food. Dairy is one of the most important food groups.”
“Something substantial, with some kind of protein. Then you can have ice cream if you’re a good girl and don’t pout about it.”
Eyes narrowing, she firmed her chin, looking every bit like a Little girl about to have a tantrum. “I don’t want protein. I want ice cream.”
Leaning down, he dropped his voice so only she could hear him. “It seems to me that what you really want is for Daddy to take you to one of those family bathrooms, pull your pants and panties down and spank your bare bottom. Is that what you want, little girl?”
“N-no, Daddy,” she whispered back, her cheeks flaming bright red.
“Then I suggest you stop arguing with me before you end up eating lunch on a red-hot bottomandyou lose out on any treats for the rest of the day. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good girl.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek before straightening again. “Now, what do you want to eat?”
“Um. Chicken tenders, please.” Still blushing hotly, she peeked up at him through her lashes. “I’m sorry.”
Poor thing, she looked and sounded so damn sad he couldn’t help but feel the sting of guilt for coming down on her so hard. “It’s okay, baby. I’m not mad.”
“It’s not okay. I was being a brat for no reason.”
“You were being a brat because you wanted to see what would happen. And that’s perfectly okay.”
Surprise had her eyes going round as she stared up at him. “It is?”
“Yes, baby, it is. Little girls need to push boundaries so they know where the lines are drawn. And now you know, don’t you?”
The blush that had mostly faded came rushing back to her cheeks. “Yes, Sir.”
Again came that little prickle of guilt. She was a good girl so much of the time, he hated having to scold her, especially when she looked so miserable afterward.
Giving her hand a tug, he turned her to face him. “Would you like to know therealreason we’re at the aquarium today?”
Curiosity filled her eyes, banishing the lingering sadness. “I assumed we were here to see the fishes. Is that not the case?”
“Well, yes and no. I added a little something extra onto our tickets.”
“What kind of something extra?”
“After lunch, we’re going to go back downstairs. And you’re going to get to swim with a shark.”
Chapter Eleven
Sam
Shock rooted her to the spot as she stared up at him, her mouth literally hanging open. “What did you say?”
A grin spread across his face. “Well, I don’t know that it’s really swimming with them. But you’ll get to be in the tank with them, and some of the rays, too.”
