CHAPTER FOUR: The Consequences

“Now, Jane.”

I knelt down.

My heart was beating fast as I looked up at him.

Damien got up and walked toward me.

He stopped in front of me and raised my chin with his fingers.

“Do you understand why you’re being punished?”

I nodded.

“Because I broke your rule.”

“Exactly.”

He held my gaze for a few seconds before leading me back toward the couch.

When we got close to where he had been seated before, he sat down and instructed me to lie across his lap.

I found myself obeying.

I lay flat on my stomach across his lap.

He raised my short skirt to my waist.

“I’m going to spank you ten times, and you’re going to count with me.”

“Yes, Daddy,” I said, my voice shaky.

The word spank made me feel some kind of way.

I was supposed to be scared.

But I wasn’t.

A part of me wanted it.

I knew that was strange.

I knew I shouldn’t be feeling that way about being punished by him.

But I couldn’t deny it.

The first lash landed.

“One,” I counted.

Another.

“Two.”

He continued.

“Three.”

I counted every one.

Four.

Five.

Six.

By the time he got to seven, I was gripping the edge of the couch.

“Eight.”

Nine.

“Ten.”

Silence filled the room.

I took a deep breath.

It was over.

Damien helped me sit up.

He looked at me seriously.

“What would you say?”

“I’m sorry, Daddy.”

I lowered my eyes.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

He stared at me for a moment.

“I wouldn’t disobey your rules again.”

I knew I should have been thinking about how badly I had messed up.

Instead, somewhere deep in my mind, a completely different thought appeared.

I wouldn’t mind being punished again.

I immediately pushed the thought away.

What was wrong with me?

Damien stood up.

“I hope you understand that I don’t enjoy disciplining you.”

I looked at him.

“Really?”

His eyebrows lifted.

“Really.”

I nodded.

Then he walked toward the kitchen.

I watched him curiously.

A few seconds later, he returned with something in his hands.

“I got you chocolates.”

My eyes immediately lit up.

“Really?”

He held up two bars.

“But you can only have a little tonight.”

I frowned.

“Because I disobeyed?”

“Exactly.”

I smiled.

“I’m sorry, Daddy.”

He stretched the chocolates toward me.

I took them from his hand.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t make me regret giving them to you.”

“I won’t.”

He gave me a look.

I quickly corrected myself.

“I mean it.”

He nodded.

“That’s all for tonight. Go upstairs.”

I hugged the chocolates to my chest.

“Goodnight, Daddy.”

“Goodnight, Jane.”

I turned and walked upstairs.

As soon as I entered my room, I closed the door behind me.

I looked at the chocolates in my hand.

A smile slowly spread across my face.

I couldn’t believe my first day in Damien’s house had already turned out this way.

I had broken one of his rules.

I had been punished.

And somehow, instead of being afraid of him, I felt even more drawn to him.

That scared me more than anything.

Damien’s POV

I sat in my chair in my private office, staring at the papers in front of me.

I had been trying to work for almost thirty minutes.

I hadn’t read a single line.

My mind kept going back to Jane.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Jane was my best friend’s daughter.

I had known her since she was a child.

I had carried her when she was little.

I remembered the days when she would run into the house, excited to see me.

She had always been beautiful, just like her mother.

Her mother had passed away during childbirth, and I remembered how difficult that period had been for everyone.

To me, Jane had always been someone I needed to protect.

Someone I had watched grow up.

But now…

Now things were different.

She was twenty years old.

She was no longer the little girl who used to follow me around the house.

And I had noticed that difference the moment she walked through my door.

I rubbed my forehead.

I shouldn’t be thinking about her this way.

I shouldn’t be noticing the way she looked at me.

But I couldn’t ignore it either.

She wanted something from me.

I could see it in her eyes.

Even tonight.

When she called me Daddy, there was something different in her voice.

Something that made me uncomfortable.

Not because I didn’t understand it.

Because I understood it too well.

I stood up and walked toward the window.

The city lights were visible in the distance.

I needed to remind myself why she was here.

Her father trusted me.

He had left his daughter in my care because he believed I would protect her.

And I intended to do exactly that.

But the problem was becoming clear.

Jane wasn’t making it easy.

She was already testing my patience on her first day.

And somehow, I had a feeling this summer was going to test mine too.

I looked toward the door of my office.

The same door I had specifically told her not to enter.

I wondered how long it would take before she broke that rule too.

A small smile appeared on my lips.

Knowing Jane, probably not very long.