Keeping His Brat

It’s a busy month so far around here. I’m working on putting my schedule together for the rest of the year and whewwwww. It’s going to be crazy. If you’re curious I’ll fill you in on my publishing plans once I get it all settled.

In the meantime I have one serious blog post planned for this month and it will be coming towards the end (Brats! Are they subs or what?) but I didn’t want things to get too quiet around here so I thought you might like a teaser from what I’m working on right now.

I don’t have a firm deadline for when the third Daddy Takes the Reins book will be out, but I’m hoping to be able to release it by the end of July. I have several other projects in the works so we’ll see how that goes. So far I’m happy with how it’s coming along though and I’m going to be talking to the designer about the cover this week.

Keeping His Brat (unedited first draft)

He wrapped a towel around his waist and went straight to the coffee pot and poured himself a mug. Although he usually liked it black and sweet, this time he added enough milk to cool it down. He was too tired to wait for it to happen naturally and he didn’t have the time to stand around blowing on it.

He grimaced as he gulped down a mouthful on his way to wake Charlie.

“Hey, Charlie, up and at ‘em.” He didn’t shout, but his voice was loud enough in the silent house. When it had no effect, he nudged her leg where it hung over the edge of the bed. She mumbled something that sounded grumpy and retreated out of sight, under the blankets. She wasn’t a morning person, but he knew how to get her up.

He set the mug down, carefully out of the way, and then yanked the covers to forcefully unroll her. Sometimes that wasn’t enough, and his hand was needed to provide motivation, but this time she sat up blinking owlishly and then scowled at him.

“It’s too early,” she said even as her eyes flicked over to the clock.

“It’s the normal time. I know you’re tired, but you’ve got a lot to do today. Extra punishment, remember?” He crossed his arms over his chest and refused to be moved by her morning attitude.

She narrowed her eyes and frowned. “Oh. Yeah.” And then she wiggled a little as if she’d only just been reminded that she still had a plug in her ass.

“’Oh yeah’ is right. You’re staying home this morning and—”

“Good! I can go back to sleep.” She reached for the edge of the blanket, ready to pull it over her.

“No, you can’t, and I want you up and dressed before I leave the house just to make sure you don’t. Dealing with your discipline kept me up late and if I don’t get to sleep in neither do you.” He waited to see if she had anything to say about that.

Charlie just looked down and sighed without comment, apparently, she’d decided not to make things worse. Which was smart, he was feeling pretty grumpy himself.

“I want this house spotless by the time I come back to check. Since you don’t know when that will be I suggest you start working immediately. And after I inspect your work, we’ll decide how your afternoon is going to go.”

“But Sam, I was supposed to help with—”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “I know what you were supposed to do. Now you’re doing this instead. Spotless. I mean it.”

There was a long, drawn-out sigh and when he narrowed his eyes in warning, she cut it off to say, “Yes Daddy.” After a short pause, “Can I—take the plug out, please?”

“Yes. Now, get up and get moving.”

He didn’t wait to see if she obeyed, just grabbed his coffee, and finished it on the way to the kitchen for a refill. By the time that was gone he could hear her in the bathroom getting ready to shower. He grinned, waiting. Sure enough a second later he heard a high pitched squeal as Charlie realized there was no hot water left.

It wasn’t part of her punishment, and he would have warned her if he’d thought of it. But he was feeling cranky enough to be amused about her getting hit with a cold spray instead of the hot she’d been expecting.

***

That’s all you get for now. I know it’s just a tease but I promise Sam and Charlie are keeping things spicy, and there’s lots of excitement between them, as usual. I’ve also started the second Action Daddy book, but I’m very early in yet so nothing to share with you there for a while.

Have a great weekend. And remember to stay safe, stay healthy, and stay home as much as you can unless you’re vaccinated.