Page 30 of A Little Christmas Wish

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Betsy wasn’t sure how long he spanked for.

It felt like forever.

All right. So forever might have been a bit of an exaggeration. But when he lifted her off the counter and drew her into his arms, she was sobbing. And there were real tears sliding down her face. Her poor bottom was throbbing. She kept sobbing even after he stopped for good effect.

It didn’t pay to let Daddy think that he might not have spanked her hard enough.

No. That was a rookie mistake.

“Good girl, Brown eyes. All done now. You took your spanking so well.”

“I k-know, Daddy. But thank you for t-telling me.”

He let out a small chuckle as he carried her to her playroom. After unlocking the door, he sat her down on the bed.

“Ouch! Daddy! My bottom hurts.” She tried to stand up, but he placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Sitting on a hot bottom is part of the punishment. You know that, Button.”

She did.

It was just that sometimes she wishedhe’dforget.

Walking away, he searched through her drawers until he found a pair of pajamas she’d chosen the other day from LittleLand.

Gosh, that felt like ages ago. So much had happened since then. She hadn’t even really thought about the job offer from the other woman.

Right now, it was the last thing on her mind.

Ink laid her back and got her dressed into the soft pants. They were green, red, and white striped and felt like heaven against her skin. Then he stripped off the rest of her clothes and put her in a long-sleeved matching pajama top.

“There you are. All cozy?” He lifted her up so she was sitting again.

She nodded. “Uh-huh. I like these clothes, Daddy. They feels good.”

“I’m glad, Button.” He crouched in front of her, placing his hands on her thighs. “We need to have a talk about how stressed you are. I don’t like that you’re scared.”

“I just don’t want anything to happen to Zippy. I don’t know why I’m so jumpy. It’s silly, isn’t it?”

“It isn’t silly. Nothing that you feel could be silly. Understand?” he said firmly. “But I don’t like that you’re so scared you’re jumping at shadows and having trouble sleeping. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“I know. He wouldn’t even be interested in me. We don’t know he’s coming for her or where he is. I don’t know why I’m so . . . so upset.”

“Because you care so much. Because you worry about everyone else. And because you know that bad things can happen.”

She let out a deep breath. She should have known that he’d get it even when she hadn’t. Not completely.

But bad things could happen to good people.

“I’m going to do everything I can to protect all of you. No matter what is going on, that’s my main focus, my job. To love and protect you.”

“What about you? Who protects you?”

He took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it. “I do. I have this, Brown eyes. I’m not saying don’t be cautious. Don’t be careful. But I am saying you don’t have to spend every moment jumping at shadows. If you want to go shopping, you can. All right?”

“All right.”

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