Chapter 10: Daddy Devious: Chapter 9

I could sit and watch Little Victoria sleep all night. But I have a call to make, and as I told her, we do have a very big day tomorrow. And with the light sedative I had added to her milk, there’s no chance she’ll wake before morning.

So I force myself from the room, switching the lights off but leaving the single unicorn night-light on in the off chance the sedative does wear off before I can wake her. I pass the mostly empty bottle off to one of my staff and head downstairs to my office.

When I join the call, the others are already there, sipping their drinks of choice and chatting about the finishing touches our builders are putting on the water park.

Jasper notices I’ve joined before I can speak, and a wide grin splits his face. “Well if it isn’t the lucky bastard himself. How is our newest addition settling in?”

“As well as can be expected, I think. My palm is certainly getting a workout,” I add with a laugh that’s echoed by the rest of my coterie. “But luckily I haven’t had to resort to more drastic measures than a few spankings. She adjusted rather quickly and by dinnertime it only took a stern look to get her to behave. I cannot wait for you all to meet her.”

“Did she enjoy her milk?” On screen, Catharina’s eyes gleam with excitement.

“She balked at first, but then she drank nearly the whole bottle.”

Catharina’s smile brightens, nearly blinding with its brilliance. Which is saying something, considering I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen Catharina Montgomery smile in all the years I’ve known her. Smirks, yes. Smug looks, plenty. But true, genuine smiles are not a currency Catharina deals in on a regular basis.

I have a feeling that is going to change now that our first Little one has arrived on the island.

“Are you still planning to take her to Doctor D in the morning?” Evander asks, swirling the dark red wine he favors in his glass.

“We have an appointment with him first thing. And then I believe Catharina is meeting us at Celeste’s for a fitting.”

“I promise not to buy out the entire store,” Catharina assures me with a throaty laugh. “Well, I promise to try, anyway.”

Victoria must be under my skin more than I realize, because I’m tempted to tell her not to worry about it, that she can spoil my little thief as much as she pleases.

But that’s a dangerous road to go down with Catharina, so I simply smile. “Thank you. I don’t mind spoiling her a bit, but Little girls sometimes need to be told no. As do Mommies, it seems.”

At that, Catharina raises a brow. “Well if you’re going to be rude about it, perhaps I will buy out the entire boutique. And the candy store, to boot.”

“Cat.” I infuse her name with as much warning as I dare, knowing that if I overplay my hand she really will send my Little girl home with a hundred pounds of candy just to spite me.

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll be good. But can you really blame me for wanting to spoil my niece a bit?”

“No. And you know I appreciate you. I just don’t want her getting the idea she can have whatever she wants just because she smiles pretty at her Auntie Cat.”

Now the smile that curves Catharina’s lips has a sharp edge to it. “You know I’m not such a soft touch, Maxwell. I’m just as quick to spank a naughty bottom as any of you, if not quicker.”

Jasper chuckles. “She has a point, Max.”

“She does,” I concede with a small nod. “But if you’ll all excuse me, I’ve had a long day wrangling my naughty little girl and I have a feeling tomorrow will be more of the same so I’m heading to bed.”

I wait for the chorus of “Goodnight” before leaving the call. It’s another two hours before I actually make it to bed, thanks to the emails that have piled up during my afternoon out of the office. When I finally climb the stairs again, I indulge in one final glimpse of Victoria, sleeping soundly in her crib. She’s sprawled on her back, her mouth slightly open and her hair a frazzled halo around her head.

And all I can think is that no one has ever looked more beautiful than my little thief.

Victoria

“Rise and shine, little one.”

Who is that? Groaning in response to the too-chipper voice, I roll to the side, yanking my blanket up over my head. Whoever he is, he needs to get out of my apartment. “Go ‘way.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the voice says with a chuckle. “We have a big day ahead of us. And I’m sure you don’t want to start that big day with a red bottom, now do you?”

His words unlock my memories of the day before and they come flooding back, filling me with all the shame and humiliation of being treated like a little girl all over again. And just like a cranky toddler, I curl even tighter into myself, as if that can somehow protect me from whatever Mr. Stone has planned for me today. “Don’t wanna.”

“It seems my little girl is not a morning person, Caleb.”

Laughter, deeper than I remember Mr. Stone’s being, fills my ears. “It would appear not, sir. Such an adorable little thing, even when she’s fussy.”

Caleb. The air in my lung freezes at the memory of the stern-faced man who greeted us at the door. Now, more than ever, I want to just hide away under the covers rather than face whatever it is these devious men have planned for me.

“Isn’t she just?” There’s a hint of what almost sounds like pride in Mr. Stone’s voice. “Caleb, will you get the solution ready? I’ll get our cranky little one out of bed and undressed.”

Undressed? As in naked? In front of someone who isn’t Mr. Stone?

My sleepy brain is suddenly wide awake and I throw the covers off, bolting upright in bed. “No, Daddy!”

Both men freeze, pinning me with equally stern, equally terrifying looks. Mr. Stone speaks first, while Caleb looks on, his mouth turned down in a disapproving frown. “You do not tell me ‘No’, Victoria. All that will get you is a red-hot bottom, and if you act up in front of Caleb, you’ll get a spanking from him as well. Am I understood?”

The single swat from Oliver yesterday had nearly been my undoing, and the thought of enduring a full spanking from Caleb has me bobbing my head frantically, suddenly desperate to avoid that humiliating fate. “Yes, Daddy. I’m sorry.”

“There’s my sweet girl. Come, now. We need to get ready for your visit to Doctor D.”

“Who’s Doctor D?” I ask as he lifts me from the crib—oh my god, I slept in a fucking crib last night—and carries me to the changing table.

Mr. Stone makes quick work of my onesie, so quick I barely have time to be embarrassed at being undressed in front of Caleb, who is busy with some kind of clear plastic bag. “Your pediatrician. You have a check-up with him today to make sure you’re a healthy, strong Little girl. Unfortunately, that also means you can’t have any food or milk until after your visit. But we’re meeting Auntie Cat for a late breakfast and some shopping afterwards. She’s very much looking forward to spoiling you a bit today.”

While he fills me in on the agenda for today, Mr. Stone again straps me down to the changing table. I wiggle a bit, though the effort is admittedly half-hearted since I know I won’t be going anywhere until he decides I can be released. “I don’t wanna go to the doctor.”

“I know you don’t care for them. But you can’t continue ignoring your health, little one. Do you need to potty?”

My usual morning needs are making themselves known and heat floods my face as I nod. “Uh-huh.”

“Would you like to use your diaper? I know I said you don’t have to as long as you’re a good girl, but it would make Daddy very happy if you did.”

“Please don’t make me.” Tears fill my eyes as I whisper my plea. “I don’t think I can.”

Disappointment flickers across his face, but he quickly banishes it with a smile. “That’s all right, then. You can use the potty like a big girl after we get this bottom nice and clean. Caleb?”

I’d all but forgotten the other man in the room with us. The humiliation heating my face burns even hotter as Caleb steps up to the crib, holding the bag from before, now attached to some kind of clear tubing with a nozzle at the end. “Here you are, sir.”

“Ah, thank you, Caleb. Would you mind holding her legs up for me?”

“Of course, sir.”

Before I can process the request enough to even voice a protest, Caleb wraps his hands around my calves and lifts my legs high. Mr. Stone removes my diaper with a few quick moves, leaving me completely exposed to them. Cool air brushes over my skin, and a strange tightness settles in my chest. If I didn’t know any better, I would say I actually miss having it on.

What I actually miss is the protection it provided. Without it, I’m completely exposed, trapped and helped as two virtual strangers prepare to…

Well, actually, I have no idea what they’re preparing to do, exactly. Mr. Stone said something about cleaning my bottom, but I don’t know what that means. And shouldn’t that wait until after I’ve used the bathroom?

Something cold and wet presses against my bottom hole and I immediately clench against the invasion. “What’s that?” My voice rises to a shriek as I try to wiggle backward, away from whatever it is they’re trying to put in my butt.

But Caleb has a firm grip on my legs with one arm, and he swats my thigh with his free hand. “Stop wiggling, Victoria. Your Daddy needs you to stay still.”

“Why? Why does he need me to stay still? What are you doing?” I’m too preoccupied with the thing Mr. Stone is pushing rather insistently inside me to be embarrassed by the sting left behind by Caleb’s hard hand.

“I told you, little one.” Mr. Stone’s voice is soft and soothing, but there’s steel beneath it, reminding me he won’t tolerate my fussing for very long. “Daddy is going to clean out your bottom before we go to the doctor.”

If that stupid leather strap wasn’t around my waist, I would be out the door in a flash. Well, assuming I could get myself out of Caleb’s iron grip and past both him and Mr. Stone. “No! That’s not what you said at all! You just said you were going to clean my bottom, not clean it out! What does that mean?”

“It means,” Mr. Stone says as the cold hard thing lodges firmly in my bottom, “Daddy is going to fill your bottom with a solution to rinse all the yucky things from your insides. Your diet hasn’t been the best, so this will help clean your system out. And we want your bottom hole to be squeaky clean for Doctor D.”

“I don’t want you to do that! Please take it out Daddy, please!” Tears are streaming down my cheeks and I can’t help but wriggle against Caleb’s hold, which earns me another set of painful swats to my thighs.

“Maybe we should give her a bottle.” Keeping his voice low, as if I can’t hear every fucking word he’s saying, Caleb frowns down at me. “You don’t want her to hurt herself.”

“Doctor D said no special milk this morning. It will skew the test results. But if you look in that top drawer to your left, there are some pacifiers. That might help.”

“It won’t help!” Doing my best to stay still despite the horrible, humiliating things they’re doing, I shake my head back and forth against the changing table cushion. “Just take that thing out, please, I’ll be good forever, just don’t put anything in my bottom!”

Completely ignoring my pleas, Caleb shifts his hold to open a drawer. Eyes lighting with triumph, he pulls out a pacifier with a bright pink unicorn on the front and presses the rubber to my lips. “Here you go, sweet Victoria. Open up.”

I open my mouth to tell him where he can shove that pacifier, and he takes the opportunity to push the rubber tip between my lips.

My intentions must show on my face, because he shakes his head at me. “If you even think of spitting that out, I will slather it with horseradish before strapping it into your mouth. Do you understand me, Victoria?”

I hate horseradish. And considering everything else Mr. Stone knows about me, it seems likely that threat has been tailor-made for me. Not wanting to risk any more punishment than I already have to endure, I nod.

“Good girl.” Caleb’s entire face lights up with his praise, making him look like a completely different man. “Suck on the paci, sweetheart. It will help your anxiety while your Daddy cleans out your bottom.”

Seriously? Does he actually think sucking on a pacifier is going to rid me of the humiliation, the fear, the absolute fury that’s been pounding through my veins for nearly twenty-four hours?

It would seem so. And since I don’t want to be sucking on horseradish, I give the rubber tip a defiant suck, if for no other reason than to prove this ridiculous trick of theirs isn’t going to work.

But to my surprise, it does seem to help ease the band of panic around my chest, so I give it another suck. And another. Pretty soon, I’m sucking on the pacifier for all I’m worth, and the tension slowly drains from my body.

“There we go. I think she’s ready now, Mr. Stone. You can open the nozzle.”