Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 25071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
It had been a lot of fun, though. After she stopped obsessing over the Fox.
After peeing, which was a huge relief, she cleaned up and moved to the vanity. A scream escaped her as she caught sight of herself in the mirror.
Duke rushed into the bathroom, alarm on his face. “What? What is it? What’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?”
“Look at me!”
Okay, she kind of wished she hadn’t screamed. Her head really hurt now. But jeez Louise. Who wouldn’t scream with the fright she’d just been given?
“What do you mean?”
“I look terrible. I look like Chucky’s bride.”
Duke kind of slumped against the vanity, his hand on his chest. Then he straightened, giving her a stern look. “Baby girl, I thought something was really wrong.”
“Something is wrong. I’m the stuff of nightmares.”
“Sunny, stop talking about yourself like that,” he warned.
“I’m not putting myself down, if it’s the truth.”
“It is not the truth. And I don’t like hearing you talk like that.”
Suddenly, Duke picked her up, turning and setting her down on the vanity top. She let out a small cry.
“Daddy! My tummy is not up for being thrown around.”
“I didn’t throw you around. But I did give you an order before. What was it?” He took the cloth and finished washing her face for her.
His voice was calm, but she could sense that she was in trouble.
It was her special power. Being able to tell when she was about to get her butt spanked.
“Ahh, I don’t think it was an order. I mean, an order is something that you give your subordinates, not your soon-to-be wife.”
His whole face lightened at her words. “Wife. I like that word, Mrs. Canton.”
“Do you, Mr. Canton?” she murmured back.
Darn. She wished she felt sexier. But right now, she felt gross. Dirty, smelly, and yuck.
Not conducive to any sort of sexy time.
“You were given an order. What was it?”
She sighed as he put some toothpaste on her toothbrush. “Not to get off the toilet until you returned. But I was fine. And it’s just as well I got up, or I’d still look like the bride of Frankenstein.”
“You don’t belong to Chucky or Frankenstein. You’re my bride. My Little girl. What happens when you’re naughty and don’t listen?”
She pouted. “You can’t spank me. I feel like crap.”
“I’m not going to spank you, Little Rebel,” he reassured her.
Oh, good. Because she really didn’t think her head or her stomach could take that.
“But you are going to let me take care of you today. We’re going to have a Daddy-Little Rebel day.”
While that sounded amazing, there were several things she had to do today for the wedding.
“Duke, I wish I could. But I’ve got a list of things to do—”
“No. Now, open your mouth.”
She opened her mouth to argue. But, of course, he took advantage and put the toothbrush in her mouth.
He carefully brushed her teeth while she blushed. She really hoped he couldn’t smell her breath.
Gross.
Really not attractive this morning, Sunny.
She spat and rinsed. Then he leaned his hands against the countertop on either side of her, staring down at her with a stern expression.
“You’re stressed.”
What?
She frowned. “No, I’m not.”
“Little Rebel, don’t lie to me. I might not spank you today when you’re already miserable, but we’ve got the rest of our lives and I have a good memory.”
Sugar. He did.
“I’m not that stressed.”
“Yes, you are. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you running around, trying to do a hundred things at once and not asking for any help.”
She flushed. Uh-oh.
She’d thought he hadn’t noticed how much she had on her plate.
More fool you. Duke notices everything about you.
She both loved and hated that.
His care and attention still shocked her. The girl that had been basically left to raise herself. Whose ex had treated her like she was less than him. Who’d picked away at her until her self-esteem was in the toilet.
Yeah, that part of her was still surprised by how he saw her. Took care of her. Wanted her.
Of course, that also meant that there wasn’t much she could get away with.
Her bottom clenched at the thought of him putting her over his knee. But as much as she didn’t want her butt spanked today, she also knew that she benefited from his care. His rules and discipline.
“There are other people you can ask to help you, Little Rebel. Including me.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But I just . . . I want everything to be perfect. When I was a little girl, everything was always chaotic, you know? My parents moved around a lot. They’d have parties that would go for days and forget I existed. They aren’t bad people, just absent. And it made me . . . it made me crave normality. Or what I thought was normal. I learned quickly how to take care of myself. Make my lunch. Get myself dressed. Go to school. Maybe that’s why I fell for Greg. He seemed normal.”