Page 74 of Daddy's Lesson
“I asked, didn’t I?”
He looked at me pensively for a few moments, then lifted me off his lap and stood. I watched as he crossed the room to the blackboard that already held so many sexy memories for the two of us, and blocked it with his body as he wrote. When he stepped aside there were five words written in bold block letters: Lesson Number Eight: No Ultimatums.
“Ah.”
“I had a little bit of a drunk chip on my shoulder last night still when I came up with my plan. I was going to bust in here like a Neanderthal, declare you mine, and then go into a whole ‘lesson’ about why we don’t give each other ultimatums.” He shrugged, looking sheepish. “I still think that’s important, but I realized I needed to change the delivery.”
“Did you, though?”
It was an easy question to pose now that the worst was behind us and we knew we were on the same page. When I’d woken up this morning, certain I’d lost him forever, I’d been devastated. Now that I knew that was not the case, I felt relieved, and insanely guilty. I could see what he was saying, that the problem had been too multi-faceted and delicate to deal with it in such a careless and demanding way, but now that it was dealt with, careless and demanding was what I craved. Well, demanding, anyway.
“Lennon…” I sighed softly.
“Yes?” He crossed the space between us in a second, as caring as attentive and always as he got down on his knees on the floor in front of the couch so he would be level with me. “What is it, baby?”
“I feel… guilty… and like… maybe like I could use the lesson.”
I saw his jaw tick as his brows raised, and I rushed to explain. “I don’t ever want to jump to those conclusions again or put my past issues on you, and I see what you’re saying about ultimatums. They aren’t good for our relationship, especially since you’re so reasonable and willing to compromise. And I know you forgive me, and I know we could put this behind us and forget it, but I don’t think I can. So, Daddy, will you please teach me a lesson, one last time?”
“Of course, babygirl.” His tone was gentle but stern as he helped me to my feet, closed the living room blinds, and undressed me until I was standing before him completely nude.
As he always did when we had our blackboard sessions, he positioned me over the arm of the couch, giving me a throw pillow to rest my head on. I always buried my face in it.
I could hear him moving around the room behind me, walking into the kitchen, then opening the hall closet, where he’d taken to keeping his implement bag. My chest got tight as I wondered what he was gathering, and how much of a ‘lesson’ I was in for. In my mind, it could never be enough.
But he gave no clues, and soon he was standing behind me, his large, smooth hands rubbing circles on my bare ass. “You sure about this baby girl?”
“Y-yes.” My voice faltered, not because I was uncertain or scared. I wasn’t. Something felt off. Something I couldn’t explain or understand.
“Alright, then. The lesson is ‘no ultimatums in this relationship’. I’m going to start with my hand.”
“Okay. I mean, yes, Sir.” I nodded.
His hand was hard as it cracked against my left cheek with a powerful smack that echoed through the room.
I gasped, welcoming the pain, but just as suddenly, I cried out without thinking. “Red!”
He stopped immediately and pulled me into his arms.
CHAPTER 19
Lennon
“Are you sure about this, babygirl?” I stood in the foyer of Zoe’s home with one hand on the doorknob and the other wrapped loosely around her waist. She was dressed in a silky black panty set and one of my sports jackets, with a pair of kitten heels on her feet. Nothing else.
Her eyes shone with pride and surety as she beamed up at me. “I’m sure Daddy.”
She’d safeworded with me this morning, but it wasn’t because she’d changed her mind about accepting a correction, or because she was afraid I’d be too harsh. The reason, as it turned out, had been quite the opposite. My brave, beautiful girl wanted to return to the scene of the crime to accept her punishment there. When she’d explained her reasoning, I’d been overcome with pride and love and a million other emotions, but now that the time had actually come, I was nervous.
“I want you to know you don’t have to do this. Any of it.”
“Lennon.” Her voice was harsh with a hint of exasperation. “I know that. And I appreciate you. But…” She faltered, her delicate brows furrowing as she looked for the right words to explain her plight once again. “When I showed up at the club, believe it or not, my reason wasn’t to check and make sure you weren’t drinking. It had nothing to do with that. I came because I’d had a breakthrough and I wanted to share it with you, but also, I wanted to have another one. The Penthouse is a part of you. Playing there is significant for you, and I assume an important part of any relationship you imagined yourself being in.”
I shook my head. “It’s not important. I don’t care about that. I want you to be comfortable.”
“Well, I won’t be until I feel like this is fully dealt with. And it wasn’t a cutesy little misunderstanding or a funishment. Dealing with it the same way we dealt with those things, it didn’t feel right. This feels right. Because it’s not only you I upset last night. I made a scene in front of your friends and clients. And a lot of them won’t be there tonight. Some of them will never know how I chose to make it right. But the ones that do, I want them to see that I know I was wrong. I want it to be clear that you didn’t deserve any of what I said or did last night. I know that, and I want others to know that I know it. You deserve that.” She reached up and patted my cheek. “I trust you Daddy, and I know I don’t have to do this. I know you would never make me. I want to do it. So, can we please just go now? You texted your friends and told them to be there, right? They said they’re coming?”
I nodded. “All but Theo.”