Page 12 of Keeping His Brat

Charlie gaped at him, her mouth hanging open. That was a new one and he could tell she wasn’t pleased about it. “But what if I have to … go?”

He could see by the way her cheeks darkened that the embarrassment was increasing. “Then you can take it out, clean it, and put it right back in. And before you try to argue with me about it, you should think about how uncomfortable it would be to ride a horse with a plug in your butt. I can give you that experience if you push.”

Judging by the look of pure horror on her face it wasn’t an adventure she wanted to explore, and she quickly ducked her head down and hid her flaming face against his chest without a word.

“That’s better. Now, go get ready for bed before your mouth gets you in trouble.” He snatched the washcloth off her and sat up with a groan. His body hated the idea of getting back up for anything, but the fire needed to be banked, and the lights needed to be shut off.

He felt guilty leaving the dishes in the sink, he liked to keep things neat, but he was just too tired to bother. He’d been feeling so run down lately and the mad dash through the storm hadn’t helped. Charlie could take care of it tomorrow as part of the chores he was planning to give her.

He did have the foresight to set up the coffee pot, and program it to start around the time his alarm was set for. He forgot half the time, but he had a feeling the next morning was going to be hard.

Charlie had retrieved her pajama bottoms, taken care of her bathroom business, and was curled up in bed waiting for him when he returned. The house was dark and quiet, perfect for sleeping, but even a strobe light and a brass band wouldn’t have kept him awake much longer.

And she might have felt punished by the restriction on sex, but the long and exhausting day had ensured Sam wouldn’t have been up for it anyway. He barely had time to pull her into his arms and drag the covers over them before he was out like a light.

His exhaustion ensured a deep and dreamless sleep. It lasted until the alarm went off just after five a.m. and even then, it felt like he’d barely slept at all. He had trouble pulling himself into the waking world.

He left Charlie sprawled across the bed and wrapped in most of the covers so he could go and take a long hot shower. There was already a smell of coffee from the kitchen, and he paused to breathe it in deeply, as if he hoped to suck the caffeine out of the air as he passed.

Sam was beyond exhausted and the ache in his head was telling him that it wasn’t just a short night of sleep dragging him down. He couldn’t remember if he’d felt something off before he’d had to rescue Charlie.

“Fuck, I don’t have time to get sick,” he muttered to himself in the shower. But he could feel it coming on anyway. Somewhere between the long work week, the bitter cold and the dousing in icy rain he’d managed to pick up a bug. His sinuses were already starting to clog, though the steam helped with that enough that when he got out, he was starting to feel semi-human.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and went straight to the coffee pot and poured himself a mug. Although he usually liked it black and sweet, this time he added enough milk to cool it down. He was too desperate for caffeine to wait for it to happen naturally and he didn’t have the time to stand around blowing on it.

He grimaced as he gulped down a mouthful on his way to wake Charlie.

“Hey, Charlie, up and at ‘em.” He didn’t shout, but his voice was loud enough in the silent house. When it had no effect, he nudged her leg where it hung over the edge of the bed. She mumbled something that sounded grumpy and the leg retreated under the blankets. She wasn’t a morning person, but he knew how to get her up.

He set the mug down, carefully out of the way, and then yanked the covers to forcefully unroll her. Sometimes that wasn’t enough, and his hand was needed to provide motivation, but this time she sat up blinking owlishly and then scowled at him.

“It’s too early,” she said even as her eyes flicked over to the clock.

“It’s the normal time. I know you’re tired, but you’ve got a lot to do today. Extra punishment, remember?” He crossed his arms over his chest and refused to be moved by her morning attitude.

She narrowed her eyes and frowned. “Oh. Yeah.” And then she wiggled a little as if she’d only just remembered. Of course that reminded her she still had a plug in her ass.

“’Oh yeah’ is right. You’re staying home this morning and—”

“Good! I can go back to sleep.” She reached for the edge of the blanket, ready to pull it over her.

“No, you can’t, and I want you up and dressed before I leave the house just to make sure you don’t. Dealing with your discipline kept me up late and if I don’t get to sleep in neither do you.” He waited to see if she had anything to say about that.

Charlie just looked down and sighed without comment, apparently she’d decided not to make things worse. Which was smart, he was feeling pretty grumpy himself.

“I want this house spotless by the time I come back to check. Since you don’t know when that will be I suggest you start working immediately. And after I inspect your work, we’ll decide how your afternoon is going to go.”

“But Sam, I was supposed to help with—”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “I know what you were supposed to do. Now you’re doing this instead. Spotless. I mean it.”

There was a long, drawn-out sigh and when he narrowed his eyes in warning, she cut it off to say, “Yes Daddy.” After a short pause, “Can I—take the plug out, please?”

“Yes. Now, get up and get moving.”

He didn’t wait to see if she obeyed, just grabbed his coffee, and finished it on the way to the kitchen for a refill. By the time that was gone he could hear her in the bathroom getting ready to shower. He grinned, waiting. Sure enough a second later he heard a high pitched squeal as Charlie realized there was no hot water left.

It wasn’t part of her punishment, and he would have warned her if he’d thought of it. He’d just needed the extra heat this morning to clear his sinuses. But hewasfeeling cranky enough to be amused about her getting hit with a cold spray instead of the hot she’d been expecting.

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