Page 23 of Bound to the Daddy

“Well, no. Wait... punishments? I only have one!”

“Let’s see... you lied to me. That’s one. You failed to make it to my office in the time specified. That’s two. You didn’t call me or let me know when your car broke down, leaving you stranded until I finally came to get you. That’s three. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that you called me Mr. Rothsbourne after I told you to call me Rex. But then, you already know the punishment for that.”

“I do,” she grumbles.

“And what is it?” Her lips twitch as she swallows and refuses to meet my gaze. “I’m waiting, Steph. What’s the punishment?”

“I’m supposed to call you Daddy. But that doesn’t make any sense. You’re Brody’s daddy. Not mine.”

“I don’t have to be a father to be a Daddy.” I know I’m playing with fire, but watching her try to puzzle out my meaning makes my cock harder than it has any right to be.

“Whatever.”

“You know, for someone facing a fair amount of discipline, you sure do have a disrespectful mouth.”

“I’m not trying to be disrespectful. Trust me, I’m grateful you came and got me.”

“You certainly have an odd way of showing your gratitude then. Or do I need to add to the list of infractions?”

Instead of answering me with words, she shakes her head. Just like a sulking teenager, she crosses her arms and slumps back down in the seat. How I long to yank her over my lap right then and there and give her naughty backside a thorough warming.

I chuckle again and slide my finger under her chin, forcing her gaze to meet mine. “If you’re in that much of a hurry, we certainly can go back to my office right now if you insist. I thought taking in some nature might soothe your mind a bit first. Allow you to calm down.”

“I guess that depends. What’s the punishment going to be?”

“Oh? You assume each infraction is going to get the same punishment all lumped into one? How adorably naïve.”

She twiddles her fingers as she looks out the window, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. Glancing down at her hands, I note the raw, jagged skin where nails had once been. Unable to help myself, I yank her hand up to me and inspect the damage.

“What are you doing?” she cries out, attempting to pull her hand back.

“When did you do this? When did you gnaw off your nails?”

“Like you care?”

“I do.”

“Right.” The bitter note in her voice isn’t lost on me as I allow her to take her hand back.

“Talk to me, Steph. What’s really going on? What help do you need?”

Instead of answering me, she looks back out the window, an air of hopelessness surrounding her like a shroud. Soon, she’ll have nothing more to worry about.

“I’m in trouble,” she finally says in a sigh. “I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know what to do.”

“Tell me about it. Perhaps Daddy Rex can fix it.”

She screws up her face in disgust, forcing a choked laugh bursting from between my lips. “Is it really that abhorrent? Is it really that hard to call me Daddy?”

“Well, yeah. You’re not my Daddy. Hell, I didn’t even call my own father daddy. He was just plain old dad.”

Tears shimmer in her eyes, and I catch them before she looks away and rubs at her face with the back of her hand. “If I hadn’t expressed my condolences before, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“You might have. I just don’t remember. I don’t have very many memories about that time. It’s as if they’re all gone. Poof. One day, they were here, and the next…” Her voice wavers, thick with emotion. “And the next, I’m alone in this stupid apartment, busting my ass every day just to make ends meet. When the hell did I become the adult?”

Her pain tugs at my heart as I hear it dripping from her lips. Now, more than ever, I know she needs a Daddy in her life. One who can help and nurture her. One who can let her be free from fear and responsibility. She needsme.

“What medication do you take?”

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