She obeyed, bending over the padded leather. The position made her feel small and exposed and strangely safe all at once. Tanner adjusted her stance, tapping the inside of her ankles until her feet were spread just enough. His hand smoothed over the seat of her leggings.
Then the first swat landed.
It was firm and heavy, solid, and the loud crack echoed in the quiet room. Heat bloomed across her right cheek. She gasped, rising up on her toes as the burn sank in.
Tanner didn’t ease her into it. He set a steady, deliberate rhythm right from the start, each swat building on the last until her entirebutt was on fire. He covered every inch of her bottom. The sting spread, licking downward to her sit-spots. She whimpered, gripping the edges of the bench so tight her knuckles turned white.
“Ow. Oh, wait. Wait!” She tried to shift her hips to avoid his hand, but he held her in place without missing a swat.
“Waiting is what you should have done when you were filling out your limit list. Do you have any idea what could have happened? You checked green on things you didn’t even understand,” he said, voice stern as swat after swat landed on her aching backside. “You could have ended up in a situation you couldn’t get out of. That is not acceptable, Cupcake. Not ever.”
“I’m sorry,” she cried out. And it was the truest thing she’d ever said. She should never have come here in the first place, much less check that she was fine with whatever anyone wanted to do with her. “Really… ouch! I get you… oh! Oh! I’m so sorry!”
He didn’t even slow down.
Another swat. Then another. Her breath hitched into little sobs. Tears prickled hot at the corners of her eyes. If she was honest, she didn’t really want him to stop. Not yet. She needed this. Needed the fire blazing across her ass to wash away her fear and guilt.
Tanner paused, his big, warm palm rubbing slow circles over her throbbing skin. “You are never coming back here alone. Say it.” He accompanied the command with another smack.
“Oh! I… I won’t come back unless I’m with you, Daddy,” she managed, voice thick. “I promise!” She might not even come back with him.
“Damn right.” His hand came down again, even harder this time. “Because you’re mine to protect. Even if you don’t understand that yet.”
Junie’s breath caught on a sob. The words hit something deep inside her.Mine to protect.She wanted to be his so badly it hurt.
She’d hoped that meant he was finished. She wasn’t going to have a butt left if he kept going. But he did. The spanking continued withsteady, firm, thorough strokes. She was never going to be able to sit down again.
Tanner lectured the entire time, his voice calm but unyielding, each swat driving the lesson deeper into her skin and her heart.
By the time he finally stopped, her bottom was hot and throbbing. Her face was wet with tears. A rawness she’d never known filled her in the best possible way.
He helped her stand, then pulled her into his arms. Sobs of remorse and pain broke free. She buried her face in his chest, breathing in his familiar scent as he held her tight. One big hand rubbed slow, soothing circles on her back while the other cradled the back of her head like she was something precious.
“You did so good, Cupcake,” he murmured against her hair. “I’m proud of you for using your voice when you needed to. But we’re not ever doing this again. Right?”
Junie sniffled and shook her head against his warm chest. “N-no, Daddy. Not e-ever.” She felt small and safe and completely owned in the best possible way.
He carried her to the big armchair and settled her in his lap. She curled into him as if she belonged there, tears soaking his shirt while her sore bottom pressed against his hard thigh. He held her close, one hand gently stroking her hair, telling her without words how precious she was to him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m so sorry, Daddy.”
“I know, babygirl.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I know you are. All is forgiven. But you’re going to remember this the next time you think about doing something reckless.” He tilted her chin up with gentle fingers. “And, by the way. If you want to know if something is true, all you have to do is ask me. I will always tell you the truth.”
She nodded, clinging to him tighter. Her body ached, her heart felt raw and open, and yet… she felt lighter than she had in days.
For tonight, at least, she was his Little.
And nothing had ever felt more right.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Tanner pulled up to Rainbow’s Edge the next afternoon. He’d given Junie the morning to rest after everything they’d put each other through last night, but he needed to make sure she was as all right as she’d assured him when he’d taken her home.
Tanner knocked once on the front door, then let himself in like he had a hundred times growing up. The house smelled warm and inviting now—freshly baked cookies, vanilla, and that faint hint of paint and crayons that always clung to Miss Belle. A far cry from the rotten food and stale whiskey it used to smell like when they were kids.
“Miss Belle?” he called out softly.
The pint-sized woman came bustling around the corner, her bouncy blonde curls springing with every step and her bright floral cardigan swaying. The second she saw him, her face lit up like Christmas morning.
