Page 42 of Daddy’s Hunted Bride

“We saved you both a plate from lunch. I’ll let Eli know you’re back. He was fretting about your babygirl being out in the woods without any food in her tummy.”

“We’ll be a little while, yet.” Picking Vanessa up, I plant her on my hip. “Someone still needs a bunch of naughty words washed out of her mouth.”

Gray’s lips twitch, as if she’s trying to hide her amusement at my little fox’s antics. “All right. I’ll tell Eli to give you…?”

“Five minutes.” Raising my brow, I look over at Vanessa. “Unless someone is planning to make things difficult.”

“No, Daddy,” she says with a dramatic sigh that nearly has Gray losing the battle with her amusement.

And I can’t even blame her.

“Five minutes,” I reiterate to Gray, who nods and turns to head toward the kitchen while I make my way to the half bath down the hall, where I plop my babygirl down on the vanity. Vanessa winces when her bottom hits the stiff granite, letting me know she is clearly still feeling the effects of her punishment.

A better man might feel bad about that.

But I am not that man.

Pulling a fresh bar of soap from beneath the sink, I unwrap it and run it under the water until it’s nice and sudsy before turning to my sulking babygirl. “Open wide, little fox.”

Her bottom lip trembles, just for a moment. “What if I promise to not use any more naughty words ever again?”

“Then I would say that’s a very big promise for such a Little girl, and that this soap will help you remember your promise. And then I would tell you that if you don’t open your mouth by the count of three, I’ll start adding more minutes to your punishment. One.”

I don’t even make it to two before her mouth pops open for me to place the bar on her tongue. As soon as it’s in place, she begins to gag, her eyes pleading with me for mercy.

And nobody would be more surprised than I am in this moment to realize I want to give it to her. But I’ve already relented on withholding her orgasm earlier, and if I keep going soft on her she’s going to start thinking she can get away with anything.

So I pull my phone from my pocket and set a timer for five minutes. Crossing my arms, I lean back against the closed bathroom door and just… watch.

My little fox is beautiful at any time. But seeing her in the throes of struggling with her submission, her face caked with tears and dirt as she shifts her sore bottom against the vanity, she is… breathtaking. Part of me hopes that she never truly loses that spark of defiance. Not only so I have plenty of reasons to spank her naughty little bottom, but because I truly enjoy that feisty side of her.

The timer dings, and I pull the soap from her mouth. Vanessa twists around to spit in the sink, still gagging and retching. Biting back a laugh, I fill a cup with water and pass it off to her. Unlike the first time, she rinses and spits the water back into the sink rather than my face.

Progress.

Three cups of water later, she sets the tumbler aside and swipes at the tears still streaming down her face. “Soap is gross.”

I can’t hold back the laughter now as I crouch down to grab a clean washcloth and wipe her face clean. She’ll need a bath tonight after her sojourn into the woods, but for now I’ll settle for her hands and face at least not having visible dirt. “It’s meant to be gross, little one. So that you remember how yucky those grown-up words taste.”

She huffs softly, but doesn’t fight me as I scoop her up into my arms. And my heart twists painfully in my chest when her head drops onto my shoulder as I carry her to the dining room.

There are two plates sitting in front of my usual seat, and Vanessa immediately lifts her head, sniffing the air like a predator sensing prey. “What’s that? It smells amazing.”

“Barbecue chicken and potato salad,” Eli answers in his usual gruff, grumpy voice as he steps into the room holding a bottle full of brown liquid. “And frozen hot chocolate to wash it all down. And to help get rid of that yucky soap in your mouth.”

Settling into my chair with Vanessa on my lap, I shoot him a glare. “She deserved that soap.”

My brother shrugs and sets the bottle down beside the plates. “And now she deserves Uncle Eli’s special frozen hot chocolate.”

It feels wrong, like we’re rewarding bad behavior. Or at least I’m pretty sure that’s what Axel would say. But my little fox has had a rather rough morning and she does seem at least somewhat remorseful for her behavior.

Shifting her on my lap, I pick up the bottle and bring it to her mouth. “Just a little bit and then you need real food.”

Eyes bright, she nods eagerly and I push the rubber nipple past her lips. And my heart gives another sharp twist when she suckles greedily at her bottle.

Whether she’s ready to admit it or not, Vanessa is well on her way to becoming my Little girl in every way that matters.

CHAPTER 18