I took a step back and surveyed our handiwork. The tree was finished except for the Santa topper. Crystal had tried her very hardest to loosen up, but she was still hovering right on the cusp of her adult self and the little girl she kept locked up tight. I needed her to find the little girl inside her this weekend. There was no chance for a redo, and we were running out of time.
Squinting at the tree, I rubbed my temples and reviewed my plans for the next day. If a trip to the teddy-bear store and a visit with Santa hadn’t done the trick, I wasn’t sure that anything I had planned for tomorrow would, either.
I was starting to lose hope, and when Santa loses hope, well that’s when snowballs hit the fan, because hope is kind of Santa’s thing. Aside from candy canes and presents and flying reindeer, that is.
I took a deep breath and tried to reassure myself, but before I could put on a happy face, I was nailed in the back of the head by a flying object. A light one that felt suspiciously like a piece of popcorn. Grinning, I whirled around, to find her standing behind me, feigning interest in a wooden gingerbread man I had placed on the mantle.
Crossing the room, I tapped her on the shoulder, fixing my face into that of an amused but stern Daddy. “Did you throw popcorn at Daddy?”
Crystal bit her bottom lip and shook her head. There was a light in her eyes that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.
“Now you’re lying to Daddy? You’re being very naughty right now, little one. Do you need a spanking?”
“No.” Her hands flew behind her to cover her bottom, and she shook her head emphatically from side to side.
“No, Daddy?” I coaxed. I hadn’t gotten her to actually call me Daddy yet, unless she was referring to me in teasing, but we were close. She wanted to. I could almost hear her thoughts at war with one another.
She nibbled her lip and blinked up at me but didn’t take the bait. Instead, she picked up another piece of popcorn and flicked it at me. “Ooh, you’re in for it now,” I laughed, lunging toward her.
She shrieked as she ran, tossing the contents of the bowl over her shoulder as she tried to get away from me. She wasn’t fast enough, nor did the avalanche of popcorn create the obstacle she apparently thought it would. I caught her wrist, tossed her over my shoulder, and pinned her on her back on the couch.
“There’s only one way to deal with these kinds of naughties.” I rolled up the sleeves of my red flannel and kept my expression as grim as possible. She gulped, watching each measured movement I made. I took a deep breath and shook my head. “Just remember you asked for this.” Then I staged a tickle attack. She wiggled with all of her might to get away, giggling and squealing the whole time.
“Uncle! Uncle! I give up!”
“Not so fast! I don’t hear any magic words.”
“Please!” she screeched breathlessly between gales of laughter.
“Close, but not quite what I’m looking for.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her and smiled, pinning her hands above her head. Her expression changed to one of amused annoyance. She knew she was stuck. I had her right where I wanted her, and she liked it.
“Okay, okay! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Please stop.”
“Well, since you asked nicely,” I teased, loosening my hold without letting go. She reared up till her face was inches away from mine. I could smell the cocoa on her breath, and a handful of candy canes had tinted her lips to a bright red. She looked flushed, and her eyes were dilated with arousal. We were close enough to kiss, and God, but I wanted to.
Inhaling deeply, I pushed my body off hers and stood, offering her my hand. There would be time for kissing once the weekend was over. Provided I didn’t muck everything up between now and then.
“Ready to add the finishing touch?” I asked, gesturing toward the tree. Dismay flickered in her eyes for a moment, but she quickly pushed it aside and nodded eagerly, reaching for the Santa topper in my hand. She looked adorable rising on tiptoe to add the final decoration, and I wanted to scoop her up and toss her into bed. And join her there. One more day, I reminded myself silently, as she came to stand next to me with her hands on her hips.
“You know, it’s not so bad-looking all put together. I kinda like the piney smell, too.”
I wrapped my arm over her shoulder and hugged her close. “So, little elf, what you’re saying is that Daddy was right?”
“Oh geez, don’t get a big head or anything.” She nudged me with her elbow and rolled her eyes. Luckily, I didn’t have a rule about eye rolling, or this minx would never sit again.
“The First Noel” began playing on the stereo and I turned Crystal to face me.
“May I have this dance?” I bowed, extending my hand for her to take. Crystal giggled and laid her hand in mine.
“I guess you can, but I’m not sure you deserve it. You’re kind of mean with the no coffee, and the spanking, and all the rules.”
She was teasing, and I chuckled. “You are so sassy.”
“I can’t help it. I have this urge to just… I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Buck the system?” I suggested.
“Yes! Like I don’t want to care about anything! I want to act out, not follow the rules, not worry about expectations. Is that weird?”
“Not at all, little elf. That means you are beginning to trust me and yourself. It’s exactly what I want from you. I want you to feel that childlike freedom and to experience Christmas in the way you should have when you were a child.”
She nodded and laid her head on my shoulder, pressing her body against mine as we moved in time with the music. “I think it’s working.”
Her quiet admission elated me. It was what I had been hoping and waiting for. Now I just had to make sure she stayed in this headspace and didn’t go backward or in and out like she had been all day. We danced through the song in silence, and when it ended, I spun her in a circle and dipped her with a dramatic flourish.
Once upright again, she smiled through a big yawn. “That was fun.”
“Yes, it was, and now it is time for bed.”
“I’m not tired,” she protested. “I want to have more hot chocolate and watch another movie.”
“There’s always tomorrow, little one.”
“Then it will be over,” she pouted.
I understood her unspoken worry and mentally mirrored it with my own. “It doesn’t have to be. Let’s see how tomorrow goes and then we can figure out the rest, okay?”
“But I still don’t want to go to bed.”
“It’s cute that you think you have a choice, little elf. It’s well past nine, and I’ve kept you up late enough already. Little girls need sufficient sleep.”
“Nine! Are you kidding me? I never go to bed before eleven,” she argued, despite the fact exhaustion was evident in every line of her face and the sag of her shoulders.
“Not tonight. Let’s go.” Not entertaining argument, I turned her toward her room and sent her off with a smack to her perfect backside.
“Ow,” she whined, rubbing the spot. “You don’t have to be so rough!”
“There’s more where that came from if you are not ready for bed in fifteen minutes.”
“Fine.” She drew out the word with exaggerated exasperation.
“I’m sure you mean ‘yes, Daddy’?” I quirked a brow at her, and she stuck her tongue out at me. “That’s not very respectful, little girl.”
“Well, I’m not feeling very respectful. You’re being mean, and it’s not fair!”
I raised my eyebrows and refrained from stealing her favorite move, the eye roll.
“You’d better start feeling it, little elf. Little girls who are rude and disrespectful to their Daddies end up feeling very sorry for themselves when they are sleeping on their tummies with a hot bottom.”
She scowled, and with my mind-reading abilities turned on, I could hear her mental struggle as she pondered how far to push me, and if the risk would be worth the reward, or whether she might like the consequences of pushing too far. It was a very enlightening conversation she was having with herself, and it let me know that no matter what happened, I had to stay firm in my resolve. Daddies did not like to be tested.
The war played out for several minutes, and finally, she turned and headed for her room, arms crossed over her chest and feet heavy as she stomped down the hall. “Whatever,” she mumbled.
I was elated that she was getting comfortable enough to push, but I was a Daddy, and she was about to find out exactly what happened to little girls who poked the bear. She hadn’t been that naughty, but I had made threats, and they must be followed through.
“Crystal Angelina Turner, get your little butt back here right now, and try that again, with less attitude this time.” She froze, but did not turn to obey. “If I have to count to three, you will be getting extra with the wooden spoon, little girl.” That got her. Eyes wide, she turned to stare at me open-mouthed over her shoulder. I pointed to a spot in front of me and waited, adopting the stance of an impatient Daddy. “Now, please.”
She turned, but didn’t take any steps to move toward me. “I don’t want a spanking.”
“That’s funny because you seem to be begging for one. Come here.”
It was going to be a standoff. That was evident when she propped her hands on her hips and jutted out her chin, meeting my firm stare with a smoldering glare. “I don’t want to.”
“One.” My hand came to rest on my thick leather belt. I wouldn’t use it on her, but she didn’t know that.
“Stop counting!” she whined, deflating from her earlier defiance. “I’ll be good and get ready for bed. I really am tired.” She started down the hall to her room.
“Two,” I continued. “It’s too late to obey now, little one. You made your bed, and now you have to lie in it. On your tummy. After you take the spanking you have coming.”
She turned but stayed rooted in place.
“You do not want me to get to three. I suggest you obey.”
Finally accepting her impending doom, she dropped her chin to her chest and shuffled toward me, slowly. With her cute little pout and defeated stance, she actually looked more like a naughty six-year-old, than a thirty-one-year-old woman, if only for that brief moment.
“I’m nothing if not patient, little elf,” I said as she shuffled toward me at a snail’s pace. “I don’t care if it takes you all night to get here. All you are doing is delaying the inevitable and making me want to forgo my hand altogether and wear you out with my trusty wooden spoon.”
Heeding my warning, she picked up her pace, quickly coming to a stop in front of me. She took a deep breath and clasped both hands in front of her, staring down at them.
Hooking my finger under her chin, I raised her face until her gaze met mine. “Daddy doesn’t like that kind of testy and rude behavior, little girl.”
She gave a soft moaning whine and nibbled her lip. “Sorry?” It came out like a question.
“Are you?”
She shrugged. “If I am, will you not spank me?”
“It’s a little late for that. You had several chances, and you continued to do whatever you could to make it worse for yourself. Now, do you want to tell me what’s going on in that little head of yours? When little girls test their Daddies like that, there is usually an underlying reason.”
“I’m not tired. I never go to bed this early, and it’s been a fun day. I don’t want it to end yet.”
Pure exhaustion radiated off of her body, and I knew it was partly responsible for her little state of mind and her testy behavior. I wasn’t complaining, but I was going to do what had to be done. “I’m pretty sure you are beyond exhausted, and you are telling fibs right now, but that’s okay. Even if I am wrong, you will be nice and tired when I’m done with you. For the record, though, I did not tell you to go to bed. I told you to get ready for bed. There’s one more thing on the agenda for tonight.” Well, two now, I mused.
“Oh. Oops.”
Shaking my head, I held my hand out to her. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
“You don’t have to spank me! You should have told me the plan. This isn’t my fault, it’s yours,” she argued desperately but placed her hand in mine and allowed me to lead her down the hall to her bedroom.
“That’s interesting logic, but you might want to reconsider that kind of behavior justification. It won’t end well for you. Your time and energy would be better spent searching for any shred of remorse you have for your attitude and disobedience.”
She stayed quiet and didn’t resist me at all as I sat down on the bed and flipped her over my knee.
I sat and listened. Her mind was racing with all sorts of things she wanted to say. Some were remorseful, others flippant, and some were self-deprecating and angry, but she couldn’t settle on any one thing. I gave her a minute to think before I pushed her further by hooking my thumbs into the waistband of her leggings and lowering her pants. Her hands flew backward, and she squealed.
“Wait! Wait, wait! What are you doing?”
“Well, that’s a silly question, little elf.”
“But, this isn’t right. You didn’t do it this way this morning!”
“Oh, you mean because I spanked you over your jammies first this morning? Well, I hate to break it to you, but not all spankings are created equal. That was your first one, and I was being nice. But you were given a lot of chances tonight, little one, and yet here we are. So, we will begin on the bare this time.” I grabbed her wrists and held them in my hand, pinning them to the small of her back, out of my way. “Maybe it will make a more lasting impression.” I looked over her backside, examining it for any remnants from this morning’s spanking, but as I had expected, there were none. I had a fresh canvas to paint. I rubbed my hand over her milky-white skin, and goose bumps rose on her flesh.
“Please don’t spank me,” she whimpered weakly, but with her hands pinned, there was no fight. She lay limply over my knee and waited.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself before I begin?”
She shook her head, but I could hear her thoughts. She was yelling at herself to say something, but stayed silent until the first smack.
“Ow! Shit! No, no, no!” She scrambled to get away, but I didn’t let her gain an inch, laying down five more swats before I addressed her.
“You will watch your mouth, or I will stick a bar of soap in it. Do you understand me?”
I peppered her with six more swats to make my point before she could answer. She protested and squirmed.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I understand. Stop!”
“We haven’t even started yet, little elf. I am very disappointed in your behavior, and you are going to be a very thoroughly chastised little girl once we are finished here.”
“But you made your point!” she hollered, squirming as if I was actually going to let her get loose of my grasp. “I get it! I’m sorry. I promise! I’ll be nice, and I’ll obey!”
“I don’t think you do get it. If you did, you would know you aren’t in control here, little one. There is nothing you can do or say to make me stop before I’m ready. And you are not even close to how sorry you need to be.”
I started spanking again, this time concentrating a few swats at a time to the same spot before moving on to the next. She kicked her feet and arched her back, trying to gain some leverage to get away. “You aren’t going anywhere, little elf. Maybe you should concentrate your efforts elsewhere. Like perhaps on formulating a proper apology.”
“I can’t concentrate on anything with you hitting me!”
“I am not hitting you. I am spanking your naughty bottom.” I stopped for a minute, giving her a chance to catch her breath before starting again with renewed vigor. This time I had the promised and dreaded spoon.
Taking a moment to admire the slender bamboo spoon I had found among her kitchen utensils, I smacked it hard against her sit spots, first on one side and then the other. And then I waited for the protests that I knew would come.
“Ow! Ow! Ow! What in the ever-loving…?” She turned to glare over her shoulder, her mouth dropping when she saw the offending implement. “Nooo! Not fair! Your hand hurts enough!”
“I told you that if you did not obey, I would be using the spoon. A Daddy always does what he says.”
She groaned and kicked her feet but did not argue any further. Instead, she turned away, hung her head, and braced herself for what was coming.
This spanking wasn’t really about disrespect or bratting, and I suspect she knew that, whether she was willing to admit it or not.
It was about giving in to that little girl inside her. I couldn’t really blame her for bratting, and I guess part of me had wanted her to do it because I knew what the end result would be. I wasn’t sure how I had become such an expert on Littles and Daddy Doms, but it was another job perk. I just seemed to know the things I needed to know. And I knew a meeting with the dreaded wooden spoon would do the trick. A spoon was like a Little’s kryptonite. The implement they loved to hate, and the one that brought them crashing into little space, and when wielded correctly, kept them there.
That’s the result I was hoping for, and I didn’t plan on stopping until I achieved it. Crystal was stubborn as all get-out, but she was also tired and hovering right on the cusp of giving in completely. It shouldn’t take long to reduce her to the sweet six-year-old I knew lived inside her.
Determined to prove my point, I picked up the pace and the power in my swing. The wooden spoon cracked against the pinkened skin without pattern or mercy, again and again.
She squirmed and cried out, and gasped for air between the swats, which were falling hard and fast against the fleshy center of her rounded cheeks. I loved every peep she made, and the way she squirmed against my lap had me hard and aching with need, but I didn’t let on.
I heard her soft gasp when the dam of tears broke, and she finally let loose. I slowed but didn’t stop.
“Stop,” she whimpered. “Please stop.”
I could tell the cries were coming from a place deep within her, beyond her control. She was growing desperate, saying whatever she could to stop the spanking from continuing. But she wasn’t done yet.
“I will not stop,” I informed her, firmly cracking the spoon hard against the crease between her bottom and thighs. The sit spots. That ought to do it. “I will keep going until I am certain that my little girl has been thoroughly chastised for her testing and naughty behavior and has fully received the message that her Daddy does what he says.”
“I get it! I do!” she sniveled, writhing against me.
I stilled the spoon for a second, creating a false sense of security before letting go with a fresh barrage of swats, first on the left cheek and then on the right. “I don’t think you do.”
“I do! I do! I do! I’m sorry! I promise! I won’t test you anymore, and I know when you say something you mean business, and I’ll try my best to obey and enjoy!”
“Good girl,” I murmured, continuing my onslaught. There was one more word I wanted to hear break from those pretty little lips before I could rest assured that my mission had hit its mark.
“Please, Daddy!” she gasped, when I moved my attention back to her sit spots. “Please, Daddy. I’m sorry! I’ll be a good girl. I promise.”
I slowly eased my tempo, bringing the swats down in strength and quickness while I listened to her cry out apologies and promises between quiet gasping sobs.
When her cries fell silent so did my spoon.
Her bottom was red and hot to the touch. I pulled her panties and leggings up and lifted her into my lap, holding her tight as I waited for her tears to subside. Cleaning her face with a handkerchief, I kissed her forehead.
“You’re a good girl, little elf.”
“Then w-why did you s-spank me?”
I stood her in front of me so that I could see her face. Using the pad of my thumbs, I wiped away the last few tears that had escaped. “Because even good girls need reminders that their Daddies are going to hold them to a certain standard. Daddies have to be strong and unrelenting. Trust me, I would much rather spoil you than spank you, little one, but unfortunately, with me, you can’t have one without the other. Come on, I’ll help you get dressed for bed.”
“I can do it.” Her face was a mask of uncertainty, like she wanted me to help, but didn’t want to give in that fully.
“I want to take care of you. Will you let me help you, please?” I posed it as a question on purpose because I wanted her to know it was her choice. If she did not want me to see her in a state of undress in this stage of our relationship, I would fully understand.
She shifted from foot to foot, and for the first time ever I felt like I was invading her privacy by listening to her thoughts so I stopped.
“I guess if you want to,” she whispered.
“Thank you, little elf.”
I snapped a Christmas nightgown into my hands, and she giggled. It was green and had smiling Christmas trees all over.
“That is ridiculous.”
“I know, and you will look ridiculously cute wearing it. Arms up.”
She obediently raised her arms straight over her head, and I swept her shirt up and off her body. I tried to avert my eyes, and not notice the curves of her hips or the swell of her breasts, but I was no saint. I am going to need a cold shower once she is in bed for the night, I thought, rushing to shimmy the nightgown I had chosen over her head.
“There, all nice and cozy,” I said, as I straightened it. Go brush your teeth and get ready for bed, and I will get ready to read you a bedtime story.”
“A bedtime story? Really? My mom used to read to me every night, but that stopped when I was like six.”
“Well, you are six this weekend, aren’t you?”
“Oh, right.” She giggled a little and smiled. “It’s just weird, that’s all.”
“It’s not weird at all. Now, go get ready for bed.”
As soon as she left the room, I snapped my fingers and changed into my own pajamas and pulled back her covers. By the time I got myself comfortable in the bed, she was emerging from the bathroom with a look of contentment on her face.
“You look like you belong there.”
“I feel like I belong here. Not necessarily here in this bed, but with you, wherever that may be.” I patted the bed next to me. “I have my favorite Christmas book of all time here, ready for us to read. You, my little elf, are in for a treat.”
She climbed into the bed, and I covered her up, making sure to tuck in the sides so that she was nice and snug.
I picked up the book and started to read. “‘Twas the night before Christmas…”
“Hey I know this one!” she announced excitedly.
“Well good, but this is the special Santa version that my great-grandfather wrote, so listen closely.” I continued reading. The book was close to the original poem with a few of the words changed to make it readable from Santa’s perspective.
Crystal laid her head on my shoulder and listened intently, giggling when I exaggerated the Santa parts, especially when I ho-ho-hoed loudly.
“The end.” I closed the book and kissed the top of her head. “How are you feeling, little one?”
“I think I’m tired now.” She yawned as she said it, and her eyelids drooped.
“Oh good.” I started to stand and tiptoe from the room, but she grabbed my arm before I could leave the bed.
“Do you really go down people’s chimneys?”
“I will.”
“With a giant sack of toys?”
“I don’t know about giant, but yes, I will carry a sack.”
“Wait, what do you mean ‘will’? You’ve never done it before?”
“Nope. This Christmas will be my first run as Santa, hopefully.”
“Hopefully?”
“Sleep, little elf. You can ask all the questions you want tomorrow.” Once again, I rose from her bed and tucked the blanket around her, calling Dixie up to cuddle.
Crystal’s eyes were already half-closed when the fluffy dog climbed up to settle at her feet. Taking a moment to breathe in the picture she made, I leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss, lingering for a moment longer than necessary. This woman was to be my wife, and I wasn’t sure exactly when I’d started to fall in love with her, but in this moment, when I looked at her, I knew I was looking at my future. I was head over heels.
I shut off her side-table lamp and quietly padded toward the door, but before I left her room, I remembered one last thing.
“Little elf?” I asked quietly, in case she had already nodded off to dreamland.
“Hmm?” she responded sleepily.
“What did you whisper in Mall Santa’s ear? What did you ask him for?”
A sweet smile illuminated her features, barely visible in the darkness. She rolled onto her side, turning her back to me, and grabbed her new Santa bear from the edge of the bed, pulling him into her arms. I thought she wouldn’t answer, and I turned to leave. I had one hand on the doorknob when her soft, sleepy voice filled the room.
“I told him that all I wanted for Christmas was you.”
Tears filled my eyes. “That’s all I want, too, little elf,” I whispered.