Devaney’s Doctor Daddy by Honey Meyer

Chapter Twenty-Four

After feeding her dinner, Eric gave her an enema and a bath before putting her in a diaper and an indecently short nightgown. All of those things combined made her not quite lazy, but content, relaxed. More so when he leaned up against the headboard of his big bed, took her in his lap and gave her a sippy to drink from. All the worries of her real life felt very far away.

When she’d finished drinking her sippy, Eric took it from her and put it on the nightstand. Mmm, was he Eric right now though? No, he felt very much like Daddy at the moment. Daddy who took care of her, Daddy who cuddled her, Daddy who spoiled her.

“How you doing, Devy baby?”

“Mmm, good,” she replied, scratching lightly at his chest through his button-up shirt. He was always so handsome, always dressed like a grown-up. It should’ve made her feel silly to be in his lap in this frothy periwinkle confection of a nightgown, but in reality it made her feel safe.

“I’m glad, buttercup.”

She lazed in his lap for a few minutes before he gave her a little squeeze. “Hey Devy, I thought we should talk. It’s nothing bad, but I wanted to make sure you’re not super into little space when we do. Where you at, babygirl?”

“I don’t feel little exactly, just calm. Safe. I couldn’t be this loose if the boys were around but I’m not zoned out.”

“Okay, we’ll give it a go then. But you tell me if it’s too much and we can press pause. This is a conversation I need to have with big girl Devy, alright?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

She could be a big girl and still call him Daddy, right? She hoped so. It had been a long time since she’d been able to relax and breathe and be happy but Eric made her feel that way regularly, both when she was his special little patient, his babygirl, and when they were grown-up Devy and Eric.

Eric sat her up a little more but she was still solidly in his lap, in his arms.

“As my little girl and my special little patient, I have responsibilities to you. My job is to keep you happy and healthy and safe and help you be your best self. Everyone needs different levels of support and direction to flourish and I feel like mostly what you need is some solid ground to stand on and you’re driven enough to launch yourself. Of course some praise and encouragement never hurt anyone either. That sound about right?”

It still stunned her that Eric could offer her these things so easily. He made it sound so obvious, like of course that was what you did for the people you loved. In her experience that was more like a unicorn—did men like that really exist?

“I think so? But I haven’t had that for a long time so I can’t say for sure.”

“I get that. Nothing’s ever set in stone anyway. People change, relationships change, needs change. But for the most part, I don’t get the feeling that discipline is really something you’re looking for or that you need.”

“Probably not,” she agreed. “Carrots have always worked better than sticks for me.”

“That’s what I thought. I’m not a big disciplinarian outside of scenes, really. I don’t usually set a whole lot of rules and dole out punishment when they get broken. But that’s not to say you don’t have responsibilities. You absolutely do, they’re probably just different than what you’re used to.”

Carter had had a lot of expectations of her: looking a certain way, acting a certain way, making sure their family seemed a certain way. But none of those seemed like what Eric would require of her.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, that chicken madeira you just made was incredible and you can cook whenever you want, but cooking or cleaning or…”

Eric hesitated and she tipped her head, wondering what else he was going to say.

“Or winning the doubles tournament at the country club isn’t anything you need to do to make me happy. What I do insist on is that you’re always honest with me. That means telling me when you’re upset or unhappy or not feeling well. It means coming to me when you need help. When you need something and you don’t let me know? Makes me feel like I’m not worthy of your trust. I swear I’ll do whatever I need to do to earn it, but I need you to trust me. I get that it’s hard because people have made you feel like you’re bothering them or that you’re bellyaching about nothing but I promise I’ll never do that.”

Oh, wow. It was a lot to ask, to hand over your trust to someone, but if she were to give it to anyone, she’d give it to Eric.

“Think you can do that for me, buttercup?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

He raised a brow and she felt a twinge of guilt because of course she wanted to, but had she? No. It was terrifying to be that vulnerable and also her conditioning ran deep. Don’t bother people, don’t be trouble, stop your whining and get over it.

“I…I haven’t always but I want to. I’ll try harder, I promise.”

“I know you will, baby, I know,” he told her, rubbing her back with his big, steady hand. “You’re a good girl.”

Devaney preened under his assurances, loving not just that he thought she was good but knowing that she needed to hear that he did.

“Sometimes little girls find it helpful to have a firm reminder of what’s expected of them.”

“What kind of reminder?”

She pictured having a list of rules on the fridge like she did at home for the boys:

Devy baby will

1. Always tell Daddy the truth.

It was kind of funny. But she didn’t think that’s what he meant. Besides, that would be there for anyone to see like Eric’s friends or his housekeeper and that would be humiliating and he said he’d never do that.

“Like a spanking,” he said carefully, studying her face as he did. “It’s not a punishment because you’re not in trouble. It’s to help you remember to make good choices even when it’s hard.”

Oh. She’d never been spanked in her life. Not really, not like she thought Eric meant.

“Would it hurt?”

“Yeah,” he said with a lopsided, almost apologetic smile. “I’d make you cry. But then I’d make you feel real good afterward.”

“You always make me feel good.”

She hadn’t quite meant to say that out loud, but it was true. Yes, Logan and Chase brought her a lot of joy and they often had fun together but they didn’t support her, take care of her, and she didn’t want them to. That wasn’t their job and she wanted them to have childhoods. Eric on the other hand…it might make her blush that he’d heard it, but it didn’t make it not true.

Eric blinked at her, his eyes wider than she’d ever seen them before his focus narrowed and she felt the weight of his intensity. He was kind and good-humored, easygoing, but she would never make the mistake of thinking he was some kind of lightweight—no, he was downright piercing.

“If that’s true and you trust me, then maybe we could give this a shot? If it doesn’t help or it’s too scary then we never have to do it again. It’s not required, just a tool in the toolbox. But I do think it’s a tool you might find useful.”

Well then. She wasn’t thrilled about being turned over Eric’s knee for a spanking that hurt badly—although she could imagine how he might spank her to please them both, even or maybe especially if he lit up her ass a bit. He’d assured her it wasn’t a punishment which was good because she didn’t think she could tolerate being spanked for misbehavior in real life—play scenes were different.

And like, fuck misbehavior. She was a grown woman and human. She’d make mistakes and she’d do her best to fix them and she didn’t see how a spanking would help that. Although she could understand how people who carted around their guilt might be able to drop it if they felt like they’d done their penance.

“Okay, Daddy. I’ll try it.”

* * *

The woman in his lap made him happier than he could’ve ever imagined. Putting herself in his hands, trusting him as well as she knew how, going from soothing babies and winning over his friends to cooking him one of the best dinners he’d ever had to being a submissive and willing woman in the course of a single day—she was perfect. He wasn’t usually glad that anyone had vomited in one of his exam rooms, but he couldn’t help but be grateful that Devy had puked all over his floor.

“So should we do this now or did you need some time to prepare?”

She gave him the cutest skeptical pout and wrenched her mouth to the side. “I don’t know that I’ll ever be ready to be spanked.”

“Oh, I bet you will,” he said with a wink. Not this time, but he would show her how enjoyable a good girl spanking could be. “But those will be different. Someday you’ll beg me to spank you and I’ll very happily oblige.”

“You sound very confident, Doctor Southerland.”

“I am.”

She was teasing him now and her arms came round his neck and she leaned in to give him a tender kiss. His little buttercup was honey sweet. He returned her kiss with a bit more passion and she matched him but he couldn’t let them get carried away. Not yet. After he’d impressed this lesson upon her backside he’d carry her away to anywhere she wanted to go.

“Not yet, babygirl,” he chided gently and tapped the apple of her cheek with a fingertip. “You need anything before we start? A drink? Maybe to use your diaper? Anything?”

Devy rolled her plush pink lips between her teeth and looked up at him shyly. “This is maybe silly—”

“If you need it, it’s not silly to me.”

She cracked a smile. “Could you…could you tell me again I’m good? I just need to know for sure I’m not being punished for being bad, I don’t think I could deal with that.”

“Of course, baby. You’re a very good girl, always. You’re a great mom and a fantastic cook and you work so hard. Generous and sweet and kind and funny. And even if you weren’t any of those things, you’ve got a heart of gold, I know you do. You’re a good, good girl and I’m so lucky to have you.”

A pretty pink flush gathered on her cheeks but she didn’t tell him to stop. No, his little girl cuddled closer and he hugged her as hard as he could without squeezing the air from her lungs.

“This spanking isn’t a punishment. Not at all. It’s just to help your brain get rewired so you know for absolutely sure that keeping secrets from me isn’t helpful. You’re not bothering me, ever, and you’ll just hurt my feelings by keeping things from me. Part of being a good girl is to not just show me shiny happy Devy all the time. I love you in the sunshine but I’ll love you in the rain too. You just have to let me.”

She nodded into his shoulder, inhaled a breath that sounded close to a sob, and he gave her another squeeze.

“I’ll tell you what a good girl you are during your spanking too because I want you to get the right message. I don't want to do any harm although you might have a bruised and sore bottom for a few days. This isn’t about making you good, it’s about helping you be just a tiny bit better. You’re already so much better than good enough, you understand me? Such a good, good girl.”

There was a sniffle and his heart skipped. He hadn’t mean to upset her—he’d meant to reassure her. Way to completely fuck that up, Southerland. What the fuck? Girl asks for comfort and you make her cry. Hudson should take away his daddy license.

As much as he loved holding her, he had to pry her away so he could see her, understand what was going on behind that pretty face of hers.

“Devy baby. What’s the matter? I didn’t mean to make you cry, buttercup, that was supposed to make you feel good.”

“It—it did,” she said, haltingly, fat tears rolling down her pink-splotched cheeks. “I just didn’t know how much I needed to hear it.”

“Oh, sweet girl.” Eric enfolded her in his arms again, pulling her as close as he could without suffocating her. “I’ll tell you over and over and over, however many times you need to hear it. You’re my good girl.”

He knew she’d cry while he spanked her—he’d make sure of it—but he hadn’t expected her to burst into tears before. That was alright—he hadn’t been lying when he said he’d give her whatever she needed.

It was a compliment, really, to have her weeping on his shoulder, letting her emotions pour out of her because he was certain she wouldn’t have given this to Carter. No, that fucker was one of the people who’d forced her to build those walls of tight smiles and “everything’s fine” and independence to the point of self-destruction. Devy was blessing him by letting him see not just the fair weather but the storm too, just like he’d told her he wanted.

He held her and rocked her gently until her crying subsided, and when she peeled herself away to sniffle and rub at her nose, she looked at him, embarrassed and apologetic. "Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. This is exactly what I’m talking about. I don’t like to see you cry because it means you’re upset, but it does mean a lot that you’ll let me see you cry. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“See? There’s my bright girl.”

He kissed away her tears, savoring the taste of the salt on her skin, the way she allowed him to comfort her.

Eric had known for a while now that she was the one for him, but this just added another layer of certainty. Especially when after a while Devy took a deep breath and looked at him with those luminous, earnest eyes, screwing up her courage, and told him, “I’m ready now, Daddy.”