Chapter One
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl who went to sleep exactly when she was asked to. The end.” Meredith set the book down in her lap and looked pointedly at the little girl sitting up in her bed.
“That’s not how the story goes,” Alice said pointedly.
“How do you know?” Meredith blinked innocently at her charge. “You’ve never read it.”
“I’ve read enough,” Alice mumbled.
“Either way, it’s time for bed.” Meredith was firm. She didn’t want to be. Nobody wanted to be firm with a sweet little girl. That was her job, though. Alice’s father paid Meredith a lot of money to live at their ranch and to make sure things went smoothly. He was away a lot on business, and he was constantly working. As a single dad, he just didn’t have the time to offer Alice that she needed. That was where Meredith came in.
Sometimes her job was very difficult, but most of the time, it was enjoyable enough. Alice was a good little girl, and despite the fact that she hated bedtime, Meredith really couldn’t blame her. After all, going to bed sucked.
Period.
Meredith in particular was quite bad about going to sleep on time. Even though Daniel, Alice’s father, tried to institute a strict everyone-goes-to-sleep-by-ten policy, that just didn’t work for Meredith. Like a naughty kitten, she was sneaky. Only, she didn’t sneak food or string. She sneaked books. Long after Meredith told her employer and his child she was going to bed, she’d lay in bed reading. She’d browse book after book on her Kindle and just let herself become totally immersed in imaginary worlds.
And oh, she loved it.
Meredith loved getting swept away in magical worlds where the Daddy Doms spanked their littles, where the service submissives were always rewarded, and where the Dommes always found true love in their submissives. She loved reading about secret underground BDSM clubs, and she loved touching herself to stories where good lovers were rewarded and naughty submissives were spanked.
Okay, so maybe Meredith needed to get off of the ranch more often. She did, honestly. She went to coffee shops and playdates. She went to the store and she went to meetups with friends. Sometimes she even went to dinner by herself, but most of the time, she didn’t. She liked staying around the house. She loved it, even.
There were so many wonderful things that she liked about being on the ranch, but sometimes, Meredith felt really lonely. Maybe she should start dating, but that would take time and energy she didn’t have.
“I don’t want to go to bed,” Alice said again.
“Sorry, kiddo.” Meredith pulled the covers up to Alice’s chin and tucked the blankets in around her.
“It’s so early,” Alice yawned. “I’m not even tired.”
“I know.”
“It’s not fair,” Alice protested.
“It’s Daddy’s rule,” Meredith pointed out, but Alice just frowned at her.
“It’s a stupid rule,” she whispered, hissing the words.
“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Meredith smirked, winking at Alice. Alice smiled back at her. Now it was like they had a little secret just for the two of them.