Page 25 of Mariah

“Hi!” she squeaked. “I… um… I just… I didn’t know what time you wanted me? Am I late? Am I too early? I can come back—”

“You’re just in time,” he replied with a warm grin, swinging the door open. “I just realized I’d forgotten something important downstairs. Why don’t you go on in and wait for me? I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Before she could respond, he swept past her, pausing only to press a kiss to the top of her head. She watched puzzled as he hurried down the hall toward the elevator bank. When he was out of sight, she shrugged, and entered his room, shutting the door behind her.

It felt weird to be in his space without him. Oh, who was she kidding? It felt weird to be in his space, period.

She’d never been in a boy’s room before, aside from her brothers’, and now she was in a man’s room. And she was no longer a girl, but a woman.

A woman in a man’s room. And not just any man, but a man who was her Daddy. The thought sent shivers down her spine. She had a Daddy. Of her very own. One who said things like jiffy. How old was Chef Graham anyway? Her gut twisted as she realized she didn’t know. Her heart sped up and she gripped her wrist, checking her own pulse.

She’d wanted a Daddy of her very own, of course, but she’d never pictured herself actually having one. And she’d assumed though, that when she did have a Daddy of her very own, she’d know his age, at the very least.

Trying to hold the anxious tears at bay, she plopped down on the couch and looked around the room. While the modest suite was wildly different from the penthouse she shared with Mister Daddy and her friends, it wasn’t that different from Knox’s. The living area and kitchenette were the same aside from a few personal touches. The door to the bedroom was open which allowed her to easily see inside. Knox kept an extra Squishmallow on his bed for Margo, while Graham’s bed was bare and neatly made with perfectly fluffed pillows and hospital corners. From what she could tell from her seat, the rest of his room was equally tidy—he showed the same scrupulousness in his bedroom that he did in his kitchen.

Her train of thought was interrupted when the suite’s door swung open again and Graham stopped over the threshold.

Mariah jumped to her feet. “How old are you?” she asked, too loudly, before clapping a hand over her mouth.

“Sorry,” she squeaked around her fingers as he entered, closing the door behind him.

He smiled, and shook his head as he walked toward her, peeling her hand away from her mouth when he finally reached her and holding it in his. “No need to be sorry for asking a question, little one. I guess there is a lot we still don’t know about each other. I’m thirty-two.”

“I’m twenty-two,” she offered, even though he hadn’t asked.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “I know. I made your birthday cake, remember?”

“Oh. Right.” Her face heated as she remembered the wish she’d made blowing out the candles. It had been a silly thing—a dare Luna had put her up to, but for the first time in her life, her birthday wish had actually come true.

Unable to believe she was actually here, with a Daddy of her own, about to be very thoroughly punished like the naughty girl she was, she cast her eyes down to the floor and gulped. “What did you forget downstairs?” she whispered. He’d had nothing in his hands when he entered the room.

“Don’t worry about that,” he answered with a wink. “Look at me, Mariah.” He hooked a finger underneath her chin, lifting her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Why are you here, little one?”

Oh god. This was the worst part. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and forced herself to answer. “We’re here because I made a big mistake that almost killed Miss Lamont and Mister Daddy Baze, and um… uh… we decided I needed to be punished to help with all the guilty feelings I was having. And to help me remember why it’s so important to be extra careful in the kitchen.”

“That’s right. And how, Miss Mariah, did we decide you were going to be spanked?”

Mariah licked her lips and averted her eyes. “You… you’re… um… my Daddy… is gonna spank me.” It was hard to get the words out, even though it had been her idea, even though she needed this. Reminding herself that he was her Daddy and actually saying the words out loud helped.

“That’s right, little girl. Daddy is going to give you a long, hard, bare-bottom spanking until all the guilty feelings melt away.” He squeezed her hand, and she looked up at him, meeting his gaze again.

“Ask me for your spanking, little one,” he commanded.

Her stomach dropped to her toes. She’d thought they were through the worst part now, but she was so, so wrong. This was way worse. She’d never had to actually ask for a spanking before. She wasn’t sure she even could, at first. But then she looked into her Daddy’s warm eyes and saw his encouraging patience. As hard as asking may be for her, she knew that by taking a Little again, he was putting his trust in her, and also doing a hard thing. She wanted to return the favor.

Steeling her shoulders, she met his gaze head-on, and uttered the words he wanted to hear, even though they felt like sandpaper in her mouth. “Daddy,” she said with a gulp, “I’m very sorry for my mistake. Please spank me so I can feel better and remember to be more careful in the future.”

The warm pride that flooded Graham’s face was worth the awkwardness and embarrassment she’d felt at having to ask for her spanking. He beamed at her. “Very good, little one. And very well, Daddy would be happy to do just that.”

With her hand still in his, he sat down on the sofa behind them, and guided her over his lap.

Margo’s breath hitched in her throat as he folded his leg over hers and pinned her hands to the center of her back. She’d been in this position many times now, regularly over the past several months, usually with Baze, and a few times with Knox when Baze and Luna had gone away for their honeymoon, but this time, it just felt different.

“Before we begin,” Graham said, speaking in an even tone, “I need your consent. I won’t always ask for it, particularly when you are being punished and especially once we’ve gotten to know each other better and become more comfortable in our roles, but this time I’d like to hear you say it. Explicitly please.”

“Yes… I consent.”

“Thank you.” Graham, her Daddy, cleared his throat. “I’m going to lower your pants now and take down your Pull-up.”