“Junie,” he said, “I love you more than I ever thought possible. You’re my Little girl. My Cupcake. My everything. Will you marry me?”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she threw her arms around his neck. “Yes! Yes, Daddy, of course I will!”
They kissed for a long time, slow and deep and full of promise.
“We’ve got company,” she whispered in his ear.
Tanner looked around, searching for the danger, before smiling.
Twenty yards down sat Dodger. He was just sitting there watching.
“Is it true that Dodger saved my life?” Junie asked, staring at the wolfdog along with Tanner.
“The doctor told me later that if you had gone without oxygen for even a few seconds longer, you probably would have died. It was Dodger that initially pulled him off you. Dodger stopped him just short of crushing your windpipe. If Dodger hadn’t followed you, we wouldn’t be having this picnic today. Strangely enough, he probably saved Preston’s life, too. Although considering where he’s going to be for the next twenty-five years to life, it may not have been a mercy.”
Tanner reached over and pulled her chin toward him. “Let’s not talk about that now.”
“But Dodger…” As she was speaking, she looked back across to find the wolfdog gone, almost like a mist that had been blown away by a sudden breeze. “Pup is so much smaller than Dodger, but both of them did their best to help. They are pretty incredible, aren’t they, Daddy?”
“They are,” he agreed, dropping a kiss to her forehead.
Later, after the sun had warmed the grass and they had celebrated their engagement in the most deliciously sinful way on the blanket surrounded by chokecherry trees, Tanner’s expression grew serious again. He stood, reaching down to help Junie up.
They gathered their picnic kit back into the basket and headed back to the cabin.
“Since you’re feeling better,” he said quietly, “it’s time to talk about you disobeying me and leaving the cabin.”
“I was really hoping you’d forgotten about that,” Junie said, as they walked hand in hand across the grassland between the thicket and the creek. They stopped near a willow tree that had planted itself beside the stream.
Tanner studied the thin, flexible branches for a long moment, running his fingers along them before choosing one, being sure to cut it off way down the stem where the thin branch was strongest. Holding the picnic basket in one hand, Tanner carefully tested the lithe switch with the other. Bending it slightly, he listened to the soft swish it made.
It sent a shiver racing down her spine. She’d read about switches in a few Daddy books, but she’d never imagined she would experience the feel of one in use.
“Let’s go back to the cabin,” he said, and then handed her the switch. “I want you to carry this and think about how horrible everyone’s life would be if something had happened to you.”
Back inside the bedroom, her hands trembled as she stripped off every piece of clothing under his quiet gaze. He told her to stand facing him with her hands clasped behind her head. The position left her completely exposed, and the cool air of the room brushed against her most private places. She could feel how wet she was. The realization made her cheeks burn with embarrassment even as warmth pooled low in her belly. She didn’t understand why her body reacted this way when she was about to be punished, but it did. It was as much a part of her as her love for Tanner.
Tanner peeled the bark from the switch with slow, deliberatemovements. When he was finished, he walked over to her. “Turn around, babygirl. Hands on the end of the bed. Spread your legs wider and lower your elbows to the mattress.”
She obeyed, even though her face flamed hotter. The position pushed her bottom out and left her completely open to his view. She clutched the comforter, heart hammering. A trickle of apprehension ran down the backs of her legs.
Tanner’s voice was calm but firm. “You can cry. You can call out. But you cannot scream, and you can’t move. I don’t want to hit anything but this gorgeous backside. Understand?”
She nodded quickly, but when he started to speak again, the words tumbled out of her in a rush. “It wasn’t really my fault, Daddy. Anyone would have fallen for a text like that. I was just?—”
“One.”
The single word stopped her cold. Her mind and heart warred inside her. Part of her wanted to keep arguing, to make him see reason. The other part—the deeper, softer part—knew she didn’t actually want to win this battle. She turned around quickly and got back into position, elbows on the bed, legs spread, bottom raised and vulnerable.
“Oh no… oh no…” she whispered, her whole body trembling as she clutched the comforter in a death grip.
The switch hissed through the air a split second before it snapped across her bare bottom. A burning line of fire bloomed instantly. She would have shot upright if Tanner’s strong hand hadn’t held her firmly in place.
“No! Daddy, wait!”
The switch hissed sharply again, biting across her bottom twice in quick succession. A hot flood of tears gushed from her eyes.
“Oh god, wait. Please! Ow!”
