Page 48 of Darius

Mara stared at her reflection. Smoothing a hand over the luxurious fabric, she turned this way and that. “I love how the gems in my crown pick up the light. But I’m a princess, Daddy.”

“You are a beautiful princess, Zoí mou. I am very lucky to have found you. Would you like to read a fairy tale about a sweet princess who makes a bad decision? She’s wearing that exact gown.”

“You’re kidding? Let’s go find the book, Daddy. I’ll be the princess and you can be her royal sire.”

In a few minutes, Darius held Mara close on his lap on the oversized rocking chair. He opened the book and showed her the first picture. “Check out the princess. She looks almost as pretty as my Little girl.”

“Dad-dy!” Mara said, drawing out the word as she rolled her eyes.

“Just saying,” he teased and launched into the story, reading aloud to his Little girl. The cute tale immediately lured her in, and Mara couldn’t wait to turn each page to find out what happened to the Little girl princess who chose not to remain at the castle after dark when her Daddy had strictly forbidden her to leave.

“She’s in so much trouble. Why did she go out of the gate? She could have waited inside where she was safe,” Mara said, clearly worried.

Darius had read this book before and purchased it for one specific reason. He turned the page, revealing the princess draped over her Daddy’s lap with the stunning velvet dress folded over her back to reveal her cute bare bottom. He watched Mara’s face carefully. Her lips rounded into a silent O before she glanced up at him. Was that guilt on her face?

Continuing to read, he shared the punishment and how the princess had to stand in the corner for three minutes with her red bottom on display. Afterward her Daddy held her close, assuring the princess that all was forgiven and she was a good Little girl again. Closing the book, Darius waited for Mara to speak.

“Daddy, I didn’t stay where I was supposed to,” she whispered.

“You did not. You also put yourself in harm’s way.”

“Are you going to spank me?”

“Yes. When you’re ready to wipe your naughtiness away and start over, I will punish you.”

She sat still on his thighs, holding onto the purple fabric. After several long minutes, she whispered, “I didn’t mean to be bad. I wanted to get out of the bank to relax. If I’d stayed by the building, I could have raced back inside if something threatened me.”

“But you didn’t, did you? Because of your kind heart, you tried to find what you believed was an injured puppy. Unfortunately, people who are evil don’t worry about taking advantage of your desire to help others. That man almost killed you.”

“Going across the street was stupid. I should have followed your rules.”

“Not stupid at all. I bet you debated the whole way, ‘I shouldn’t do this.’” He continued when Mara nodded, “He manipulated you.”

“Idiot mean guy,” she spat, sticking her bottom lip out.

“He was his own worst enemy.

Mara nodded. Silence stretched between them for several beats of his heart as Darius waited to see how she would react next. He released her when she pushed against his supporting arm to slide off his lap.

“Can you spank me now? So I can be a good Little girl again?”

Her earnest look unlocked something inside him. Her trust in him deepened their already close connection. She was the perfect mate for him. Darius nodded and hugged her close before reaching under her princess dress and drawing her leggings and panties down to her ankles.

“Over my lap, Zoí mou.”

She tentatively draped herself on his thighs. Darius adjusted her position so that her fingers and toes couldn’t touch the carpet. He slowly drew the velvet fabric over her thighs and folded the material over her back. She shivered from what he guessed was a combination of the cool air and exposure.

Darius smoothed his palm over her adorable bottom. “Twenty spanks, Little girl. I’ll count them for you this time. When I spank you in the future, you will need to announce them for me.”

She immediately shook her head, though he wasn’t sure whether she thought she wouldn’t ever earn a spanking again or that she wouldn’t be able to say the numbers. He simply raised his hand and dropped his palm smartly on her right buttock.

“One.”

A hiss escaped from her mouth as a pink mark bloomed on her skin. Darius didn’t hesitate. Drawing out the spanking would be harder to take than swatting her quickly. Numbers flowed from him as he scattered the spanks across her bottom cheeks and her upper thighs.

When he reached ten, the tension evaporated from her, and Mara drooped toward the carpet. Her sweet sniffles morphed into soft sobs. He could hear her saying the numbers with him. What an enchanting Little girl.

At twenty, Darius switched his touch to rub across her pink skin. “Such a good girl. I’m so proud of you, Little girl. Come. Let me hold you.”