He hadn’t had to confine her; he could have sent her back to the dayroom after he’d delivered her punishment. But doing that would guarantee she’d be stuck in the corner for at least ten minutes so Nancy could get her rocks off on viewing Ariana’s red ass. Daddies didn’t always have to order it to be done after a girl had been punished. If the nannies felt the other girls would benefit from seeing the results of one naughty girl, they would act on their behalf.
It shouldn’t have bothered him; Ariana being humiliated in that way, but it did. If she was going to have to endure such embarrassment, he wanted to be present. Her face would turn a soft pink; her tears would quietly slip down her cheeks. His cock would throb just looking at her, but it was his right to make her endure it. Not Nancy’s.
“Costello?” A voice came just before a knock on his door.
Opening the door, he found Maria standing with Ariana behind her.
“Here she is, like you requested.” Maria stepped to the side, giving him a full view of his little girl.
Dressed in a white nightgown with pink ribbons tied into bows at her neck and on her sleeves, she kept her hands folded in front of her.
“Very nice. Thank you,” he said as he dismissed Maria. “Come in, Ariana.”
She walked slowly into the room, her bare feet making no sound against the carpet. Her hair had been brushed and left loose around her shoulders.
“Did you have a good afternoon?” he asked, closing the door and flipping the lock.
“I did a lot of reading,” she answered. “Picture books,” she added quickly, catching Costello’s attention with her sharp tone.
“Hmmm.” He worked his boots off and tossed them beside the dresser.
“Did you apologize to Shelby?” he asked, pulling his shirt over his head.
When he dropped the polo to the dresser, he caught her gaze. Her eyes fixated on his chest. Working at the House was the least dangerous job he’d held as an adult. The scars and marks on his chest attested to the street violence he’d endured while working his way up Romero’s ranks.
“I tried, but she was upset about something. Nanny Maria took me back to my room.”
“Shelby is having a hard night,” Costello said, reaching for his belt. She cringed at the jangle of his buckle, and he stilled. “Ariana. Come here.”
She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Slowly, she crept back across the room until she was just out of his reach. Did she think he couldn’t simply step toward her and grab her?
“I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
She looked ready to blurt out a retort, but instead shook her head. What was going on in that little mind of hers?
“I only punish you harshly when you deserve it. I’ll never hurt you like that when we are having alone time.” He closed the gap between them and knuckled her chin higher. “Sometimes I’ll want to hurt you, to make you cry, but it will be good for you. For both of us. It’s a little confusing, but you’ll understand after I show you.”
“Okay,” she said plainly, but he heard the disbelief in her voice. Normally, his first time with his little girl she was nervous and skittish. Ariana looked resolved and ready.
“Did Maria give you your medicine already?” he asked, brushing her hair behind her shoulders.
“Yes. She said she only gave me a little though. She said you wanted me to be your big girl tonight.” Ariana’s body stiffened as he unraveled the pink bow holding the bodice of her nightgown together.
“That’s right. And do you know what big girls do with their daddies?” he asked, working the second bow open.
She shook her head.
“Well, that’s what you’re going to learn tonight.” He grinned and pulled the ribbon on the last bow, opening the nightgown and exposing her naked body beneath. With both hands, he pushed the material over her shoulders and down her arms, leaving it in a puddle at her feet.
Her gaze lowered from his face, back to his chest.
“Move down to your knees for me, Ariana.” He put light pressure on her shoulders. Once she knelt before him, he ran his hand over her head. “Did you have your bath yet?”
“No.” She shook her head, keeping her gaze fixated straight ahead.
“Good, you can take it after we’re done here.” He worked open the button on his jeans and pulled his zipper down. Even the warm sensation of his own hand wrapped around his cock as he pulled it out for her, gave him some relief from the burning desire he’d been fighting all day.
Her eyes widened.
“I gave you lots of kisses the other day. A Daddy will do that whenever he wants his little girl to feel good. But sometimes, Daddies need to feel good too. And that’s your job.” He slid his hand down her face, hooking his hand around her chin and pulling her head back. Once her gaze worked its way up his body and steadied on him, he ran his thumb over her lower lip. “Open your pretty mouth for me, Ariana. Daddy’s going to feed you.”