Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 81930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Marcus and Isla shared a look, then stared up at him.
“You’re sure, Daddy?” Isla asked. “We know it’s a special place for you.”
“And it will always be there if I need to visit. But my home is with the two of you and this is where you need to be.”
Marcus sighed. “Good, because I don’t like a lot of change.”
“He’s really bad with change. Once, I couldn’t find the brand of boxers he likes as they’d sold out and he refused to wear any until I found some more.”
“Yeah… that’s what happened, Marcus said slyly.
“Marcus!” she protested.
“What? It was fun watching you blush whenever I walked into a room, imagining that I was commando under my pants.”
“You’re terrible.”
“All right, it’s settled. I’ll move here. We might need more space though. Do you think you could handle living in a new house if it wasn’t far from here, Marcus? I’m going to need an office and it would be good to have a playroom and a nursery.”
They both gaped at him.
“What is it? You don’t want that? I guess we can make this work.”
“No, I’d be all right with moving to a different house. In the same neighborhood,” Marcus added.
“You want an office, Daddy,” Isla asked. “Does that mean—”
“I think I’m going to try writing again. I don’t know how it will go. But I’ve had a few ideas in my head—” he broke off as they both hugged him tight.
“That’s great!” Marcus said. “I can’t wait to read them!”
“Me too!” Isla cried.
“Only if they don’t give you nightmares,” he warned. But he did have plans to write them their own story. “But none of this was what I actually meant to talk to you both about.”
“What is it, then?” Marcus asked.
“It’s about what happened yesterday.”
Isla had had a few nightmares last night about what had happened. And he knew that it hadn’t entirely hit her yet, but he’d been there for her when it did.
“What about it?” Marcus asked.
“What did I tell the two of you to do?”
Then shared a look.
“To go downstairs?” Isla asked.
“That’s right. And you disobeyed me, didn’t you?”
Isla fidgeted on his lap.
“We couldn’t just leave you and Cullen!” Marcus protested.
“That’s exactly what you should have done. It was a safety matter, which I do not take lightly. Your health and safety are what is most important to me, and I will not allow the two of you to get hurt when I can prevent it.”
“Are you gonna spank us, Daddy?” Isla asked in a quiet voice.
He gently grasped her chin, tilting her face back. “Yes, I am, little one. But you have your safeword if you need it.”
She sniffled, nodding.
“I haven’t forgotten what you said about yourself either, so your punishment is going to be worse than Marcus’ is.”
“Hey, wait! No! I’ll take her extra punishment,” Marcus said.
Eliot turned to him. “Do you think that I’ll harm her?”
The other man’s eyes widened. “No, Daddy.”
“That I’d give her more than she could take?”
“No, Daddy. I just love her.”
“I love her as well. I love both of you. So, while it’s sweet you want to take some of her punishment, that’s not how it works. And Isla needs to know that she’s loved. That saying bad things about herself is not okay. Agreed?”
“Yeah, I definitely agree with that,” Marcus said.
“Right, so this is what is going to happen. You’re both getting a spanking for not listening to me. I know we weren’t exactly together then, but I feel I can’t let this go without addressing it. I want you to know going forward how serious I am about your safety. It’s going to be fifteen each and you’re going to write lines. Fifty lines saying you will obey Daddy. And Isla, this isn’t a punishment exactly, but rather an assignment. Tomorrow, we’re going to get you a notebook. And every day for a month, I want you to write something good about yourself. Understand?”
Isla gaped at him.
Had she misheard him?
“A whole month? There’s not that many good things about me!”
Both men glared at her.
“You should make her do it for two months, Daddy. And spank her butt right now for that.”
She swallowed heavily, glancing up at Eliot. Instead of anger and pity, she saw concern.
“Baby, there are so many amazing things about you that they would fill several books. And we both want you to realise that. To know that you are so important to us. And that your worth is infinite.”
Oh.
That was so sweet.
A few tears dripped down her face and Marcus wiped them away. “What he said. He’s the writer, he’s better with words. But we love you, La-la and we don’t want your parents in your head saying all those bad things to you. So, if you hear them, you just come find one of us and we’ll set you straight.”