Page 38 of Daddy's Lesson
“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” Zoe practically purred the question as she rolled over in bed, just popping her eyes open after our post-sex nap.
“Arggh,” I groaned, stretching carefully so as not to upset Zoe’s head still resting on my chest, and twisted my wrist to look at my watch. It was six p.m., about an hour and a half before I needed to be at the club for our regular Friday night meet-up.
“Food,” I grunted, pulling myself up so that I was sitting against the pillows. “And then we have to get ready to go to the club.”
Zoe’s reaction was immediate as she sat up with a start, twisting her upper body around to look at me, her head no longer resting on my chest and her post-sex languish gone. “Come again?” she replied, in her best snooty professor voice.
I was pretty sure if she’d been wearing her glasses, she’d have pulled them down to peer at me over the tops of the rims.
Her reaction was puzzling to me—or it would have been if she was any other submissive—but she was Zoe. What she lacked in experience she made up for in enthusiasm, so I’d forgotten how green she really was. I’d also forgotten that out of all of our clients, she was the only one who hadn’t already been a Penthouse member.
“I go to the club every Friday,” I informed her. “It’s an informal business meeting of sorts, and really just a way for us all to catch up after a busy week. As my submissive, I assumed you’d go with me.”
She shot me a withering glare, popped her mouth open, then softened. “It’s a business arrangement, Lennon, and as fun as it is, we can’t forget that. I’m not your submissive.”
Her words were sharp, shooting through me like an arrow to the heart. But I couldn’t let her know that, and yet, it was still too early to insist that what we had was more than just business. So instead, I shot her a withering glare of my own.
“For the purposes of this contract you are, and it’s not outside the scope of reality that as my submissive, or even as my client, you would attend the club with me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I thought you said it was a business meeting. Why would I accompany you to a business meeting?”
“Informal business meeting,” I corrected. “It starts that way, but once we open, it's a regular club visit with friends. It’s just a way to unwind, and it's something that is important to us. But it's not a bunch of hush-hush, top-secret shit. Jasmine will be there, and probably Audrey, as well, and maybe even Erin.”
I frowned as I voiced the thought. When was the last time I’d seen Erin with Theo? They’d been coming to play regularly, starting months ago when she’d first contracted his Rent-A-Daddy services, but come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her in weeks. Interesting. I’d have to ask him about that.
And I would, but right now I needed to concentrate on the matter at hand. Zoe was staring down at the pristine white down comforter, her expression pensive. I could tell she wanted to say something, so I just waited.
Finally she looked up at me, sighing deeply. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not go. It’s just really not my scene, and I’m barely comfortable with what we’re doing right now, in private. I just… I won’t have a good time, and I don’t want my discomfort to negatively affect you. So can you please just go by yourself tonight? I’m more than capable of minding myself for the evening, Lennon.”
At the use of my name rather than my title, I inhaled sharply, grabbed her by the curve of her hips, and upended her over my lap, face first, landing a good smack before she even had time to protest. “What did you call me, young lady?”
Instantly she transformed from cool, sophisticated professor to repentant little girl, throwing her hands back to cover her still-pink bottom. “Daddy!” she shrieked. “Daddy, I meant Daddy!”
“Uh-huh.” Shoving her hands out of the way, I pinned them to the small of her back, and laid down a volley of hard smacks across both sides of her cheeks. “Why is calling me by my preferred title so important?” I asked, pausing my onslaught to give her time to answer.
She sighed. “Because it keeps us both in the right headspace.”
“And why is that so important?”
I hated this part. I hated the reality that there was a power imbalance between us, and that we had to actively work to turn it on its head. On my end it wasn’t a hard shift; I’d been out of school for a decade, and it’s not like I would have ever submitted to her just because she was older. But for her, it was a real struggle to overcome the idea that she could be with someone so much younger, someone who had once been a student. It was something I had to actively work to counteract.
The reluctant tone in her voice when she finally answered told me she hated it as much as I did. “Because it’s a shift for me, due to our history, to think of you as the one I submit to, and give you power over me after having had you as my student, even though that was a long time ago. Also, because it feels weird to me since I’m so much older than you. Having to use a title to address you ensures that the power balance stays where it should be.” She repeated the words rotely, as it was not the first time we’d had this discussion.
“Good. So you do understand. Then why do we keep having to have this discussion?”
“I don’t know, because Lennon is your name?”
I answered her sass with a hard smack to the tops of her thighs that had her bucking off my lap. “Ouch! Stop! I didn’t mean it like that… I mean… it is your name. I’m used to addressing people by their names. This title thing is new to me, okay?”
I answered by way of a few more good, hard smacks before helping her off my lap. Her hair fell in her eyes as she looked up at me. “Daddy, may I please stay home while you go to the club tonight?”
I huffed a breath, knowing I was going to give in even though I didn’t want to, also knowing it was too early in our arrangement to push. “You may,” I answered, pushing her hair back from her face, and tucking it behind her ear. “I know you’re a grown-ass, independent woman who doesn’t need my round-the-clock guidance, and I don’t want to push you to do something you aren’t ready to do, but I do hope you’ll accompany me sometime in the future.” I lowered my voice to a whisper and leaned close to her ear. “Just the thought of you in nothing but a G-string and garter belt, strapped across a spanking bench, getting your ass paddled while you beg Daddy for forgiveness, makes me hard.”
It aroused her, too, though she wouldn’t say it. She didn’t have to. It was evident in the way her lips parted ever so slightly, her pupils dilated, and her breathing became shallow as a blush rushed up her chest and neck to color her cheeks. I didn’t wait for a response, just pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, and pushed out of bed.
“Takeout for dinner?”
Zoe shrugged.