Page 12 of Sadie's Little Christmas

Definitely no grace period.

“You were very naughty, Sadie. I don’t just promise. I guarantee it. I intend to teach you a lesson, and you will learn it through wails and tears.”

“But… what if I do?”

“Like it?” he guessed.

She nodded.

That surprised him. Studying her a moment, Derek shoved out of his chair and went to her. She swallowed hard, watching him.

“Sadie, your body is your own, and until you grant me your consent, I will not violate your personal space. However, I think right now, more than anything, you could use a hug, and I’d like to give you one. Do I have your permission to hold and comfort you? Nothing more, just that.”

Her breathing had quickened again. Shyly, she nodded.

“Face the corner.”

She turned, and wrapping his arms around her, Derek pulled her back into his embrace. Her head didn’t even come as high as his chin, but she felt so good in his arms. A small lost little bundle who, despite her ready objections, needed exactly what he could give her.

Careful to keep his hips turned away from her, he said, “There will be times, baby girl—”

“I’m not a baby,” she interrupted. “I’m not a little either, but I’m definitely not a baby.”

“There will be times,” he began again, not bothering to correct her, “when I give you spankings you enjoy so much, you orgasm while I’m doing it. The spanking you get today won’t be one of them. And of course, that all depends on which—if either—of the contracts you decide to sign.”

“But what if I do?” she insisted.

“Why do you think you will, darlin’?”

She stared dead at the wall, her small body stiff in his arms.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She nodded, quickly shook her head, then reluctantly nodded again.

“Is this what happened at the club?” he asked, tipping his head so he could see her face as he held her.

“We started at the club, but then we went back to the apartment.” Her soft breath caught. “H-he tied me to a hook over the door. I… I liked it,” she whispered. “I-I liked it so much, he couldn’t go hard enough.”

He tightened his embrace, holding her that much closer, and didn’t interrupt.

“They say he raped me, but…” She shook her head, her whisper so soft, he could barely make it out as she confessed. “I liked it, too. It wasn’t supposed to happen. Before we started, we agreed it wouldn’t, but I never told him no, and I… I c-came. I came even harder when he choked me. I couldn’t get enough.” She shook her head at herself, her small voice turning wondering. “I liked everything he did to me. Until I woke up in that ditch.”

“That was not your fault.”

“That’s what Mr. Stark said.”

He tightened his embrace.

“Darlin’, you liked everything he was doing because whatever else he was, he was good enough to get you into subspace and keep you there. It qualifies as rape because whether you were into it at the time or not, it happened after you agreed sex wouldn’t be part of the scene. He never should have initiated it while you were in subspace and unable to give consent. From what little I know of the situation, I’m willing to give your roommate the benefit of the doubt and say perhaps he wasn’t entirely a bad person. But he was a bad Dom, and he deserves to go to jail not just for violating your body and your trust, but because of every decision he made once he realized he’d gone too far. Those were his decisions, not yours. None of that was your fault.”

“But what if it happens again?” she protested. “What if I like it so much, I can’t stop?”

Turning her around, he held her at arm’s length, forcing her to meet his steady gaze.

“That’s what I’m here for, Sadie darlin’. Go ahead and let go if you need to. I know you have no reason to believe it yet, but you can trust me to always watch out for you. I have no business being your Dom, much less your Daddy if I can’t do that.”

“But—”

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