responsible adults need their naughty bare bottoms spanked slow and hard?” he repeated, wanting her reply.
Almost as if against her will, Sadie shook her head in tiny back-and-forth jerks.
“Who does then, Sadie?” he smoothly asked. “Who needs to have her naughty bottom spanked until she learns how to be a good, sweet, well-behaved, little lady, who will never again raise her hands against either a fellow Little or our dear Nanny J?” His gaze never left her, so he didn’t miss the hitch that made her shaky breath stumble or the flick of her gaze as it dropped to stare at the paddle before snapping back to him.
She squirmed, and he’d be damned if he couldn’t already feel the weight of her as she reluctantly laid herself over his lap. Or the quiver that stole through her as he bared her bottom before running his hand over the softness of her naked skin. Or the heated slickness he was absolutely positive he would find, should his fingers forget themselves long enough to follow the curve of her bottom down between her thighs and skim what he was sure would be wet, slick folds.
She didn’t answer.
She didn’t have to.
“Is Mr. Paddle going to spank my bottom?” she whispered hoarsely.
“If you finish reading that contract and sign at the bottom of page three, placing yourself under my authority as a resident of the Ranch, then yes, Sadie, Mr. Paddle is going to spank you until I am confident you will never strike anyone—Little or staff member—again. More than that, however, if you continue reading the second contract attached to the first and put your signature on the bottom of the last page, gifting me with your submission and accepting me as your Daddy and Dom for the rest of your stay, not only is Mr. Paddle going to spank your bottom, but it is going to spank you very long and very hard, and I’m not going to stop until I know for a fact you have learned your lesson. A Little in my nursery is never given the same degree of discipline my personal Little receives. You’re going to cry for me, Sadie. Frankly, I think you need the release.”
She was trembling, but she wasn’t running. Her eyes were still glazed, but fear wasn’t the strongest of the myriad of emotions he read in them. Not even when they grew watery, and she was catching her breath and fighting to blink back tears.
“I’m scared,” she blurted, but if that was true, he didn’t for a second think it was either himself or the paddle that had sparked it.
“What are you scared of?” Was she even aware she’d dropped her stuffed kitten?
“The last time this h-happened… it didn’t turn out so well.”
“You’ll have your safeword,” he assured her. “I promise, I will stop if you use it, and I will absolutely stop if I think you’ve hit your limit. I will never willingly, knowingly cause you real harm. I will hurt your bottom, but I will not hurt you. I will not break you down, Sadie, without knowing exactly how to put you back together again. Those are promises you can bank on.”
She swallowed hard. “O-Okay.”
“You also don’t need to feel like you have to agree to something you’re not ready for. If you like, I will allot you one week’s grace in which you can get to know me and the Ranch and can be more comfortable with the man I am before we put the clauses of those contracts into action.”
Her face shuttered, but not before he thought he glimpsed… was that disappointment?
“Finish reading the contract,” he told her, now knowing he would have to do some pretty hard convincing before he agreed to grant her any grace period at all.
Glancing at the paddle again, she bowed her head and didn’t speak again until she had done exactly that. He watched while she read carefully and completely. She didn’t sign the first contract or his when she reached the end.
“Can I think about it for a minute?”
Liking that she was taking it seriously, he nodded. “By all means.”
Leaving the contract where it was, she pushed away from his desk. He was prepared for her to walk away, maybe as far as the window, while she considered her options. He was even prepared to have to chase her to the door. She wouldn’t be the first Little when confronted by the prospect of physical consequences who panicked and ran.
What he wasn’t