Page 6 of Daddy's Little Patient

Her jaw dropped. “Now, hang on!”

“Nope. The doctor gave you orders. You have to show me you can follow them. Once you have recovered to the point that he and I both agree you can take care of yourself, I’ll go home. But I’ll tell you this right now, sweetpea, I’m going to take my cues from you. If your mouth wants to write checks your butt can’t cash, so be it, but don’t think for a second that you can do anything you want because you’re hurt. If you bring your brat out to me, Daddy’s coming out for you.”

That wasn’t at all what she wanted, yet the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering, and a languid pulse was throbbing low and slow between her legs. The rest of the drive to her house was made in pure silence while she tried to get those wayward sensations to stop.

As he pulled into the driveway of her little rental house, she was just starting to think this might not be too bad. In fact, this might be exactly what she needed—a nice two or three days alone with Daddy. A couple spankings, then she’d show him she could do whatever she needed to, he’d go home, she’d have a nice, hot, toasty bottom, and life would be golden again. Plus, he had a truck, and until insurance came through, she was without a car.

“Are we going to negotiate this?” she asked, as he pulled up to the walkway and parked.

He shut the car off, arching an eyebrow at her. “We just did.”

That set off the butterflies and the throbbing all over again. She blamed the medication.

“Clubhouse rules?”

“You mean, do you get a safeword?” He thought about it. “Sure, but you should know if you want to call a safeword, it’s only going to stop me long enough to talk about whatever issue you have, then I’ll proceed from there. If you were headed for a punishment, unless you do some fast-talking, I’m going toproceed straight into your punishment. If that’s what you really want to stop, I suggest you not start it.”

“What ifyoustart something?”

“Safewords absolutely apply in that situation. I plan to be one hundred percent a gentleman in all situations.”

That shouldn’t have sounded anywhere near as good as it did, but she knew Cole. She liked him. They hadn’t been dating very long, but they were the absolute definition of peas in a pod, particularly where it came to Daddies and Littles, the clubhouse, and the bedroom.

Kelly was not a people-person. She had few friends, most of whom were little more than chatty acquaintances at the club or the baristas at her favorite coffee shop. If she threw a party for all her former boyfriends, she’d only have to order two pizzas, and only because Gabe was a vegan and Tony always took his meat-loving preferences so personally. Other than that, they’d probably all get along, which was more than she could say for the short list of Doms she’d played with at the local dungeon she’d been attending. Being alone had become so much of a habit, it had taken Cole almost nine months of conversation, coaxing, and friendship before she consented to her first scene with him. And the only reason that happened was because she’d been in full-blown Little mode with crayons and everything when he’d approached her.

Her Little had liked him instantly, and the warning bells of her Big side hadn’t kicked in until after he’d plied her with juice, two mini candy bars, and the offer of a good-girl spanking, followed by the non-sexual cuddles of a gentleman.

Yeah, her Little had liked him right from the start. And once they’d moved past strict dungeon play into the bedroom, her pussy had liked him as well. It was shameful to admit, but her pussy overrode a lot of decisions it probably ought not to get a vote on.

It was trying really hard to vote on this one, too.

And God, her Little. They hadn’t been together long enough for Cole to get a good look to that side of her and how it always tended to pop out at all the wrong times—like at the hospital, and when she was grumpy. Cole handled all that fairly well, but if he stayed with her, he was going to get his first long-term exposure. She couldn’t let that happen. She really liked him and didn’t want to lose him, certainly not over something she couldn’t control.

She needed to say no to this.

As if he’d read her mind, Cole suddenly said, “You can refuse all you like, but I promised the doctor you wouldn’t be alone, and I keep my promises. By now, you ought to know that, so this part is non-negotiable. I know how hard this is going to be for you, so I’ll give you whatever choices I can.”

“Like whether I want to be held prisoner in your place or mine,” Kelly grumbled.

“Like where you want to go to rest,” he agreed. “And yes, your behavior is also your choice. You can decide to be a good girl and let Daddy take care of you, or you can sass me and push back, in which case, Daddy will take care of that, too.”

Her bottom tingled.

“Don’t for a second think the only punishment I can come up with is a spanking either,” he said as if reading that unexpected hunger in her eyes. “Right now, you’re not in any condition for that, not until your bones heal. So I promise you, little girl, if you choose not to mind me, I will find the thing you hate the most and Iwilluse it.”

Crap.

She stared at him, her eyes wide, unable to figure out how to say no when her mouth refused to obey her, and her heart was pounding so hard in her chest. The heat and pulse and butterflies went absolutely crazy when he pointed at her bag.

“Get your keys out.”

She knocked her bag clean off her lap in her startled effort to obey. Her hands trembled. That was weird. Her whole body was shaking, and she hadn’t even realized. She tried to reach through the layers of cut cloth, past her wallet in search of her house keys. However, the moment her sausage-swollen middle finger tried to hook the key ring, lightning pain shot from her hand straight up through her arm. She yanked back, instinctively cradling both casts and sucking air, struggling just to breathe. She managed not to let the welling pain-tears fall, but couldn’t quite keep the words in. “Oh, fuck… oh, fuck me… oh fuck, thathurts! I’m fine,” she added through gritted teeth. “I just bumped my finger. Fuck!”

Even she could hear the strain in her voice, but it was all she could do not to scream. Maybe those painkillers—the good stuff, according to that doctor—weren’t that great after all. That realization only helped to lay another brick in her mental wall of certainty that she shouldn’t have to listen to him.

As the pain began to recede, she became aware Cole had reached over her, snagged the bag from between her legs, and dug out her house keys.

“Wait here,” he said, getting out of the truck. The whole thing rocked when he shut the door. Not that he’d shut it hard, but there was a look on his face as he walked around the hood that grated against every independent fiber of her being. He was coming around to open her door for her.

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