Page 31 of A Very Naughty Christmas

Knowing that she couldn’t avoid this conversation, no matter how badly she wanted to—even if she’dwantedto run, her legs wouldn’t be able to take her far—she trudged toward him, her head down.

She could feel him tense when she approached, but he didn’t say anything. Somehow, that made it even worse. She hated having to be the one to speak first in something like this. “Daddy…”

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he surprised her by saying. “Let’s get you inside. You look cold.”

It was funny, she had been so hot from all the walking that she hadn’t even felt the cold. Daddy Alex reached for her bags and she gave them willingly, all but one. The one with his gift, she kept clutched tightly to her chest. She saw him arch an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. Then with her bags in one hand and the other pressed against her back, he guided her to the front door and waited patiently while she fished for her keys and unlocked the door.

Chapter Seven

“So, let’s get this straight,” Daddy said, the muscle in his jaw twitching as he stared down at his little girl. “Even after I told youspecificallynot to, you decided to go to the village by yourself anyway?”

“Well… technically you didn’t say not to,” she countered, though she didn’t meet his eyes. “You just said thatyoucouldn’t take me.”

“No.” He gritted his teeth for a moment and inhaled deeply, making sure he had his emotions under wraps before he continued. There was no denying that he was angry, but that was only because he’d become so concerned. Every possible awful scenario had run through his head while he’d waited for her to return one of his calls or texts—and since he was a cop, he had no problem imagining a thousand legitimate ways his little girl could get hurt. So when he’d seen her walking up, clearly unhurt, his relief had quickly turned to irritation that she could have let him worry, then anger that she’d disobeyed him. “No, Sara, I plainly told you to go home.”

“I didn’t really see what difference it would make,” she said, her voice wispy and growing quieter all the time, belying her words.

“Thedifferenceis that I came straight over here after that dispatch call to fulfill my promise to you, and instead of finding you here safe and sound, as you’d led me to believe you’d be, there was no answer. Not to my knocking, or to any of my calls or texts. I didn’t know where you were or what might have happened to you. Do you realize that I’ve been on your doorstep for half an hour? I was minutes away from breaking the door down when I spotted you.”

Sara swallowed hard.

“Well? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself, little girl?” he boomed.

Sara was visibly shaking now, but she just bowed her head lower and didn’t reply.

“Fine. I have plenty to say for both of us. First of all, not only did you disobey me, but am I to assume that you were going to cover up where you’d been with a lie as well, assuming that I hadn’t seen you with my own eyes?”

If possible, Sara sank even further down in her chair.

“I am so disappointed in you, young lady. I can’t even believe this. And while you betterbelievewe are going to talk some more about this, right now I have to get back to work.”

“Wh-what?” she ventured timidly.

“I came here with only enough time to drop you off for your shopping. But I’ve run outof time and need to be getting back. But first—” Alex reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small tube. “Take off your pants.”

“What for?” Sara asked, her lower lip trembling as she looked at the tube he held.

“Do youreallywant to add arguing to the list?”

His stern, commanding bellow must have made her decided that she did not, in fact, want to, because she was quickly standing and yanking down her pants.

“Turn around and bend over the chair,” he ordered. “Put your palms on the seat and—yes, like that.”

“What is that stuff?” Sara asked as she obeyed. “What are you going to do with it?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he replied briskly as he uncapped it and applied a good-sized dollop to his finger. He quickly applied it to her right cheek and rubbed it in before doing the same to her left. “Good. Now, while I’m at work I want there to be no confusion: you are restricted to this house. Is that clear?”

“Y-yes, Sir.”

“To thisroom, as a matter of fact. You will be serving corner time, first of all. I’ll set the timer before I leave. Then you’ll be writing lines and by chance if you get done with them before I get off work, you can go nap.Notelevision, internet, or telephone privileges. I will be checking on you hourly. If I don’t hear back from you withinfive minutes, the spanking you’ve got coming will be that much worse. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied, sniffling. “Perfectly clear.”

“Good. Now give Daddy a kiss before he goes to work.” When Sara leaned over and kissed his cheek, he told hold of her shoulder and made sure he had her attention before he said, “I still love you as much as ever, baby, but you messed up big-time. I love you too much to let that slide.”

“I know, Daddy,” she whimpered.

“Good. Now, get that nose in the corner. I’ll be setting the timer.”

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