His Firm Hand (15 page)

“No, she doesn’t. I did tell her that I wanted to visit with you and her mom, but she had no idea I would move this quickly, and in all honesty I’m not sure how she’s going to react when I tell her.” Paul held his hands up in the air, prompting his father-in-law to listen. “Please, let me try to pave the way for you.”

“What in the hell am I going to tell Marianne? She’ll be devastated.”

“I’m betting she’s a lot more perceptive than you might think where her girls are concerned. Remember, she doesn’t hear from them much, either.”

Chuck threw his arms up in the air. “Jesus, my daughter doesn’t want to speak to me. I have to take care of this right now.”

“All I’m asking is that you wait another day.”

“I’m not one to let things simmer,” he warned, shaking his head slowly.

The young waitress sauntered back over to the table. “Will there be anything else?”

“I think we’re done here. We were just talking about the struggles of raising daughters,” Paul shared, winking at Chuck.

Placing the check down on the table, she cackled. “Good luck with that one, gentlemen.”

Chapter Fifteen

“Well, you certainly work fast, Dr. Fazio,” Michele sneered as she threw her school tote into the kitchen corner.

“I’m sorry, did I have the conversation about wanting to see your dad with someone else yesterday?” he asked, casually opening the refrigerator door.

“Excuse me, but you specifically said you wanted to see my
parents
. That would indicate visiting with
two
people,” she corrected in a sassy tone.

“Unless you’d like to continue this conversation with your bare, glowing bottom in the corner, I’d change your tone, young lady.” A hard edge entered his voice as he swiveled around to meet her eyes.

“Sorry, but I was caught off guard when my dad called to tell me that you met him for coffee today.”

He sighed in exasperation. “What else did he say?”

“He was upset that I didn’t return his call on Halloween,” Michele said, avoiding his gaze as she pulled a bag of pretzels out of the cabinet.

“You’re going to spoil your appetite, baby doll. I was hoping we might have a mature discussion over some comfort food. Are you in the mood for chili?”

“What’s there to discuss? As usual, he talked and I listened. It wasn’t really very interesting,” Michele commented as she chewed on a mouthful of pretzels.

“Your dad loves you, and he’s extremely hurt that you shut him out of your life.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “So he said. Too bad it didn’t occur to him while he was busy pretending that I didn’t exist.”

“Your dad worked long hours on the road while you were growing up and was exhausted when he came home. Just because you weren’t on his daily radar—”

“The term
invisible
would be more appropriate. By the way, he and my mom paid plenty of attention to my sister.” She turned around and bent over in the pantry, looking for another snack.

“From what he shared, it sounded mostly like negative attention, but I guess from your point of view, anything was better than nothing. Please don’t turn your back on me… I’m just trying to understand why you’re so angry.”

Michele stood up straight and pivoted to glare at her husband. “You wouldn’t find a more compliant teenager. I never gave them an ounce of trouble, and they repaid me by pretending I wasn’t around. I’ve never met a couple who were more self-absorbed. Some people really shouldn’t have children.”

“If you’d like, I can take you across my lap right now and give you more attention than you’ve ever dreamed of.”

She grinned. “I used to fantasize about having a daddy like you.” Her gaze lowered along with her chin.

“And I’ll always be here for you, sweetie. I promise.” He tilted her face upward and brushed his knuckles down her soft cheek. “So, maybe it would be a good time to let go of that old grudge you’ve been harboring and allow your parents to assume a different role in your life. You don’t need to depend on them emotionally anymore, but you can still play nice when you see them. I won’t ask for more than that right now.”

She looked up at him and nodded reluctantly. “Okay.”

“That’s my girl,” he soothed as he hugged her tight.

“Paul?”

“Mmm hmm?”

“Was this your plan all along? Did you bring back the DD aspect of our relationship and tack on the age-play for good measure because you suspected that I didn’t feel loved growing up?”

He inhaled a deep breath. “I must admit, my initial thoughts were just to let you air out some obvious pent-up aggression, and the age-play fit us like a glove. But after a couple of weeks I saw how much you not only enjoyed our scenes, but really seemed to flourish with me as a father figure. It was obvious that you didn’t have a good relationship with your parents, but my suspicion of how much you still craved a daddy who would give you his undivided attention wasn’t confirmed until our new relationship was already in motion.”

“Do you think I’m ridiculous being this upset with them? I know there are plenty of people who’ve had much worse situations with their parents and probably would’ve been happy to be ignored. I mean, it wasn’t like they abused me.”

“No one has the right to judge whether or not your feelings are justified. All that matters is what’s important to you.”

“I really should have returned my dad’s call. You know how I hate when you don’t respond to me right away.”

“Because you feel like you’re being ignored?” he asked in a gentle tone.

“Do you really think if my parents come here for Thanksgiving, it will repair our relationship?” Her arms and eyes crossed at the same time.

“I’m not so delusional to assume that everything can be fixed overnight, but I imagine it’s a start. And, of course, that invitation will be your decision, Michelie. Give it some thought.” His mouth curled into a smile as she puckered her lips. “You do have the best teenage expressions.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice, but it’s much more fun face to face.” She pondered for a minute, looking up at the ceiling. “Is that offer to cook me a pot of chili still on the table?”

“You know I always make good on my offers, young lady.”

Chapter Sixteen

“It’s amazing you agreed to help me with this project,” Michele said as they carried in bags of supplies from the local candy shop.

“I really think it’s important for us to do something together in preparation for the holiday. We could’ve prepared pies, but you didn’t want to take on the task, and we both know that I’m not a great baker.” Paul’s eyes widened, tallying the receipt while Michele placed two five-pound bags of chocolate on the table. “Apples and a couple of cans of pumpkin would have been much cheaper.”

“My mom likes everyone to rave about her pies, and I didn’t want to step on sensitive toes. Didn’t I just receive a lecture about playing nice?” she asked, elbowing him in the ribs.

“Do we have a recipe for these little artistic morsels you intend to put together, or is this something you conjured up in that creative mind of yours?”

Michele reached for her laptop on the counter and opened it. “I have pictures on my Pinterest page.” Typing a couple of necessary keywords, she downloaded several images on the screen. “Here, take a look.”

“Hmm. So we’re dipping a variety of cookies and pretzels in chocolate and making them look like turkeys. It doesn’t seem too difficult, but how are you melting the chocolate?”

“Surprise! I bought a double-boiler pot the other day at Macy’s,” she said, rummaging under the counter closet. “You can’t believe how sly I was, getting this into the house without you seeing it.”

“So, you bought that little item behind my back, eh?” he asked as a thick eyebrow darted upward. “What else have you snuck into this house without me noticing?”

“Just a few things over the last couple of weeks. Remember, it was your idea to host Thanksgiving.” She walked over to the pantry and pulled a large shopping bag from the bottom shelf.

He nodded, reaching for the bag as he peered inside. “No wonder the sales clerk at the candy supply store seemed to know you. You’re obviously a regular customer.”

“It was all for a good cause, right? I-I mean, our edible decorations will be the hit of the night and look at all the father/daughter bonding we are accomplishing at the same time,” she said nervously as her eye began to twitch. “M-maybe sneaking it into the house wasn’t such a good idea.”

Paul sat down and scratched his head. “Okay, I know it seems like there’s a calculator attached to my hand most of the time—”

“And I don’t really understand why. We both have careers and plenty of money.”

“My dad is probably the most frugal man I know. While it’s possible that my love of a budget is innate, learning how to manage money was extremely important in the family I was raised in and became a part of my personality.” He stood, casually rolling up the sleeves of his white cotton shirt. “But regardless of how I feel about your purchases, the fact remains that sneaking something into our house is just like lying to me. And you know what the penalty is for being dishonest.”

Michele’s shoulders started to sink. “Can’t we make the candy first, daddy?”

“I promised you there would be a punishment for lying. Have I let you down yet?”

“No, you’re really good at keeping your promises,” she said facetiously.

“And your sassiness has hit an all-time high. I’ll put everything away, and you will get ready for bed. Now.”

Michele dragged her feet halfway upstairs and looked over her shoulder.

“I’ll meet you in our room,” Paul promised, pointing his finger upward.

Michele had just sat down on the bed as Paul silently entered their bedroom.

“Why do I feel there’s a lecture about to surface?”

“Get into position over my lap, please, and let’s get this done,” he advised in a quiet and eerily calm voice, taking a seat next to her.

Without a word, Michele slowly placed herself over both his knees, submissively lifting her bottom in the air. Paul raised the soft flannel nightshirt and rubbed her backside in a circular motion with the palm of his rather large hand. “I know your parents didn’t take much of an interest in you when you were growing up, and it’s obvious that you’re now spending an inordinate amount of time planning and plotting silly escapades just to see if I’ll react. Well, am I passing your test, princess?” he asked as his palm landed with a crisp crack across her bare bottom.

“
Youch
.”

“Every time you behave like a naughty little girl instead of a grown woman, I will take you across my lap and give you this kind of attention.” Another hard slap was heard as his sentence ended.

“Oww, okay, I get it! Are we done here?”

“Oh, we’re nowhere near done. I’m not feeling confident that all your needs have been met tonight,” he said, accentuating every word with a solid smack to each pink cheek.

“Jesus, that burns.”

“Not as much as this will. Lift your tushy up,” he commanded. After delving his finger into the wet folds of her pussy, he quickly pushed it into her other small quivering hole up to his knuckle.

“Whoa. What are you doing?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious, don’t you?” he retorted, filling her small channel with his thick, long digit.

“Oh, my God, not so fast. You’re not using any lube, and this couldn’t possibly be on the teenage punishment list!”

“If you remember correctly, there was an earlier promise of mixing up the discipline as I see fit.” He moved his finger deep into her anus and began pumping it in and out.

“It stings, Paul, it really does,” she whimpered as her eyes filled with tears.

“Do you want me to be the head of this house?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“I’ll spank your bottom every day and punish this sweet little hole each night before you go to bed, if that’s what it’s going to take for you to trust how much I love you.”

“I’m sorry I hid things from you,” she choked out as tears dripped from her eyes.

His finger stayed deep inside her behind as he spoke. “I’m never going to run out of attention for you. I like giving it as much as you enjoy receiving it. That’s why we make such a good pair.” He grinned, petting her head with his other hand.

“Charming
and
threatening at the same time. You truly are one of a kind.” She peered up over her shoulder at him with reddened eyes and blinked twice.

“Go over to the corner and stand there while I wash my hands.” He watched her walk slowly across the room as he followed close behind. “Bunch your nightshirt up like you’re supposed to,” he scolded, smacking her rump on his way to the bathroom.

After returning to the room, he opened the closet door that held a full-length mirror and positioned it so she could see her backside. “Have you ever seen your naughty red heinie in the mirror?”

She shook her head.

“Well, take a good long look at it while you think about how much your husband loves you in order to achieve that beautiful hue.” He stopped for a moment to let her ponder the idea. “And when your corner time is finished, you can join me on my lap for a hug.”

After fifteen minutes, Paul cleared his throat. “Well, have you had enough time to think about the shade of your bottom?”

“I know you love me,” she said in a very small voice.

“Come over here. I need to hear that sentence a little louder.”

She ran into Paul’s arms and snuggled into his warmth. “I know you love me,” she repeated as he rocked her in his arms.

“And I’ll never leave you,” he whispered in her ear. “That’s really why you’re testing me, isn’t it?”

She looked up and gazed into his smiling, understanding eyes. “I’m afraid you’ll get tired of me. It must be exhausting paying attention to me all the time.”

“Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

“Wow, that’s deep, Dr. Fazio. Did that wisdom come from a fortune cookie?”

“
Confucius
,” he admitted, kissing her forehead.