Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
She looked over her shoulder to see what looked like a thick wooden rod emerging from her bottom. “Take that out!” Experimenting, she quickly confirmed if she turned, it would strike the wall, reverberating through her bottom.
“Not going to happen until you stop reacting and start talking to me. What’s going on, Little girl?”
“Nothing. I could stand here all night,” popped out of her mouth.
“Good. I don’t think you’re done thinking.”
She peeked back over her shoulder to see him move two wooden chairs from the kitchen table to occupy the space behind her on each side. Immediately, the object he called a thinking stick whacked one chair, making her knees wobble in reaction.
“You let me know when you cool off enough to not think the worst of me and I’ll finish telling you what Kade said,” Talon told her in an even tone.
After a scrape on the floor, silence filled the house.
What was he doing?
Elizabeth started to turn around but a vibration on the plug filling her bottom made her stop. Something had tapped the long shaft of the thinking stick extending behind her. She tried just turning her head, but a new vibration made her stop.
“Think, Little girl. That’s what the thinking stick is for.”
“I don’t like this,” she wailed.
“Only you have the power to end this. I’m just going to sit here and tap on the thinking stick in your bottom every few minutes to remind you what you’re supposed to do while you’re in the corner.”
“This isn’t fair. I just had a scary encounter…”
Talon interrupted. “The police need to know what happened. I will be there only to explain what happened behind the scenes while you were driving.”
He tapped the thinking stick again. “You may be interested in what happened at the Jester’s compound.”
“What happened?”
“After you finish thinking,” Talon assured her and tapped the rod again.
“This is so unfair. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be thinking about,” she hissed.
“How about why you’re lashing out at your Daddy? Or why you needed to challenge me? Do you not think I’m your Daddy anymore? Do you need someone else? There’s something going on in your mind that you’re not sharing with me.”
She could hear the tight rein he held on his emotions. It was killing him to ask her these questions. Hearing them out loud from him made her sick as well. Tears spilled from her eyes. Elizabeth tried to conceal them, but her breath hitched, revealing her sobs.
Immediately, everything stopped. He removed the plug and released her from the elevated hook in seconds. Gathering her onto his lap, Talon rocked her gently as he used his shirt to wipe her tears away.
“Talk to me.”
“My ex-husband didn’t think much of me in any way. He interfered with so many things, making it look like I was incapable of taking care of everyday things as well as my job tasks. I almost lost my position after I took him to the end of the year holiday party, and he regaled the senior partners with stories that made me look like an idiot and him the superstar.”
“That sucks, Buttercup. I’m sorry. Someone obviously didn’t fall for his bravado.”
“There were two women partners and one man who I’d worked with on cases. They stood up for me. I was under extreme scrutiny. My divorce actually was a boon. The others realized that he was obviously not a supportive partner.”
“Lawyers are pretty perceptive, I would assume.”
“We definitely learn human behavior and motivation,” Elizabeth agreed. “When you said I couldn’t go to the police station by myself, all that stuff came back up.”
“Do you think your ex-husband and I are similar?”
“Oh, good heavens, no! You’re about as different from each other as possible,” she assured him.
“I’d hope so. You scared me tonight, Little girl. First with the Jesters and then with your anger toward me,” he told her with a very serious expression.
“I’m sorry.” Tears welled again in her eyes.
“This was a very difficult day. You worked a long shift at work, dealing with things and people I can’t imagine. You had some assholes chasing you down.”
“This ranks in the top five of my worst days ever,” she admitted.
“I’d hate to see what the other four are,” he commented, and Elizabeth just shook her head. She didn’t even want to think about anything else negative.
“Let’s see if we can make the evening end nicely. It’s past your bedtime. How about a warm shower with Daddy and a bedtime story?”
She lifted her eyebrows in a silent question before asking, “Does bedtime story mean something else?”
“No, Little girl. Bedtime story means I read you a book and you go to sleep.”
“Is it going to be boring?” she asked.
“Of course not. Now up.” He quickly removed her panties and slacks so she wouldn’t trip as he said, “Let me put the soup away. Would you like to take some for your lunch tomorrow?”