Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Warning: This story contains disciplinary spanking, so don't read if this ain't your thing!

A/N: Haven't finished reading all the reviews yet, but the ones that I have are as wonderful as always, so thank you! Without further ado, here is the next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Daddy Knows Best

Carlisle's POV:

Bella sat on the couch and I sat on the armchair I'd set across from her. I had my elbow on my knees and my head resting on my clasped hands as I intently studied my daughter. I had no idea what to expect right now. I had no idea what she had done or why she was in trouble. Whatever it was it had to have been serious though. Serious enough to where Esme, even though clearly upset about it, felt I had to be the one to dole out the discipline knowing full well that I would be harsher than she would. I wondered what my youngest child could have gotten up to. What could she have possibly done to have earned herself a spanking? A spanking that my wife felt she couldn't deliver.

When had this happened? How did Esme know? Actually, how did all the children know? It had not escaped my notice when I went down to scold Edward and Emmett that they all seemed to know why Bella was in my office. It seemed I was the only one in the dark. I felt guilt at the thought. Esme had made it clear that my interest (she used the word obsession) with work right now was not acceptable. Had I missed something?

Well, clearly I had, I mused as I took in Bella's appearance. She looked downright haggard and miserable. She was pale, even by vampire standards and though I knew she had hunted earlier today her eyes were already dark amber. When had this happened? Bella shifted on the couch, lifting her legs up and wrapping her arms around them as she looked anywhere but at me.

Esme said Bella felt guilty over what she'd done, and I fully believed her. One glance into my baby's eyes and I could see the guilt shining in them. What did she do? Clearly Bella was not going to easily offer up this information, despite the fact that she willingly came here to confess. I had my doubts about that seeing as to how she reacted with my wife. She'd looked almost betrayed, but I could never imagine my wife having coerced or tricked her into coming to my office, so there was definitely more to that story.

I took in a deep breath, my heart already feeling heavy despite not having a clue about what my daughter had done. The emotional pain she was obviously in and the fact that I knew I was going to be spanking her were already causing me grief.

"Bella," I finally called, "please look at me." My daughter let out a quiet groan before turning her head towards me. I looked into her eyes, saw the overwhelming guilt, but also anxiety and fear. My stomach clenched. I never wanted to see my children look at me with fear.

"What happened, baby girl?" I questioned her softly. "Why does your mom feel you are in need of a spanking?"

My little one's eyes shined with unshed tears as she quietly responded, "Because I was bad."

"Bad?" I asked in disbelief, giving her a gentle smile, "You could never be bad, Bella."

"But I was," she retorted miserably, "I broke my promise to you."

"What promise?" I asked, and she just shook her head, burying it into her arms. I racked my mind trying to ascertain what promise she could be talking about. Was this a promise made recently, or while she was human?

"Whatever promise you broke," I decided to say, "I will forgive you. I've told you before that there's nothing you can do that would cause me to hate you." Bella glanced up at me with her mournful eyes, a bit of relief shining in them. I smiled at her kindly while inwardly I gave a sad sigh. It seemed Bella still believed she could do something to would cause me to stop loving her.

"You promise?" she asked pitifully, and I stared her straight in the eyes as I said, "I promise."

Bella's lips curved up into the barest of smiles before they began to tremble as she held back from crying.

"You still don't want to tell me what you did?" I questioned, and she stubbornly shook her head, sniffing loudly as she once more buried her head in her arms.

"Why not, baby?" I pressed. "What are you afraid of?"

Her shoulders began to shake, but she still managed to get out a stuttered reply of, "I-I-I d-don't want a w-whipping!"

I sucked in a breath, my body freezing as my mind suddenly had no problem putting together what happened. Bella had broken a promise to me, a promise where I had threatened her with a whipping. There were only two occasions where I had done this, the first being when she promised me to never try and kill herself, and the second being just a few months ago when she promised me not to go out on her own. I didn't need to ask which one she'd broken.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, forcing my muscles to relax as I processed this information. Bella had snuck out on her own. When? How? Who knew? Did something happen? Had she been caught, or had she confessed to Esme? Most importantly, why? Why had she done this?

My heart was clenched painfully now and my stomach churned as I realized the position my baby girl had put me in. I had warned her that if she ever snuck out on her own I would take my belt to her. I didn't make empty promises. I was going to have to follow through, and I really, really didn't want to. When I had issued the warning I truly never expected I would have to go through with it. I had thought that using my belt as a threat would have been enough of a deterrent for Bella to mind me, but I had been wrong.

Now I realized why Esme didn't take care of this. As much as she didn't want to, and as angry as she seemed to be with me Esme knew that this was something I needed to handle. Bella deliberately broke a rule, a rule she promised me she would obey, and it would be up to me to teach her how unacceptable that was.

I ran a hand through my hair as I stared over at my sobbing daughter. She sounded so heartbroken, and so guilty. Guilty for breaking her promise? For being caught? Or was it something else? Did something happen?

I had a plethora of questions, but right now I knew I wasn't going to get anything out of my distraught child, so I walked to the couch, picked her up, and sat back down with her in my lap.

"You snuck out," I stated, wanting her to know that I knew what she had done, so she could begin to let go and so she could see that despite knowing, I still loved her.

"Y-Y-Yes! I'm sorry Daddy!" she cried in desperation, burying her head into my chest. I held her close, murmuring loving words into her ear so that she would know even though she was in trouble I still loved her. At the same time, however, I was resisting the urge to start scolding and demanding explanations. Why, Bella? Why did you do this? When did you do this?

Stop it, I scolded myself. You have no right to be angry with her. Why do you think she went out on her own? You issued that threat for a reason, Cullen. She wanted her independence back. She wanted to be able to interact among humans like everyone else in the family. She felt she was ready to test her control. Why would anything have changed in the past two months? Why hadn't I been watching over her more?

It's not as though she'd been causing any trouble these past two months, another part of me defended. She hadn't been whining and complaining. She hadn't pestered me even once about teaching her control. In fact, we hadn't really talked much at all, I realized guiltily. I held my newborn daughter close as I suddenly began to realize how neglectful I had been of not only her, but my entire family. I had been so absorbed in my job that I had begun to neglect those closest to me.

The hospital I worked at was located adjacent to a university, and the research opportunities were endless. It was like heaven to my insatiable curiosity. In addition to working with patients I had begun working in the laboratories and doing research with several of the professors. Neither the hospital nor the university knew how many hours I spent at either location so I was easily able to spend as much time as I wanted without the humans really becoming suspicious; and the few times a doctor or professor had pushed me into taking some time off I had shut myself here in my office, content to continue doing research on my own.

I withheld a tired sigh as Bella's cries quieted, feeling suddenly quite weary. I didn't want to deal with this right now. It wasn't that I didn't want to help my daughter, it was just that I didn't want to spank her, let alone take my belt to her. Physically chastising my kids always took a lot out of me, especially when the belt was involved; and right now I didn't feel up to it. I was totally unprepared for this. I wished my wife would have given me a little warning before just springing this on me, but I had a strong feeling she'd done this on purpose. It was her subtle way of showing me the negative effect my absence from the family had caused. Bella would not have felt the need to sneak out if I had begun working with her. At eight months I could've at least begun teaching her what to do when near a human, and how to manage the vampire in her that struggled to take control.

I stared down at my little girl who just about broke my heart when she peered back up at me with tear stained amber eyes. I would readily offer her all the comfort she needed, but it was going to be a struggle for me to be stern with her. But first I needed to find out all the details. I needed to know what happened and where this guilt was stemming from.

"I need to know what happened, Bella," I stated, and she attempted to look away, but I got a firm hold on her chin. "That wasn't a request," I said mildly and she bit her lip before giving me a resigned nod. I maneuvered us so that she was now sitting on her own, both of us turned so that we were facing each other.

"Start with when this happened," I suggested when she remained silent for too long.

"It was two weeks ago," she responded, and more pieces fell together.

"Emmett didn't take you hunting, did he?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer, and Bella nodded.

"So he lied, you both lied," I commented distastefully, knowing now that I was going to have to have a talk with Emmett.

"Don't be mad at Emmett," Bella pleaded, looking very concerned for her brother. "He was only trying to help save me from myself. If it hadn't been for him all those men would be dead!" she shouted desperately before hands flew to her mouth, eyes widening in horror as she realized what she just said.

All those men would be dead? Puzzle complete, I though idly. I didn't even try to process this thought before I looked my daughter square in the eye and said, "Explain in detail what happened starting with why you decided to disobey me."

Bella's eyes glistened with unshed tears before she regretfully began to tell me everything. I remained silent through most of it, only speaking up when I felt she was being evasive or when I wanted clarification. We had reached the part about Emmett trying to convince her to leave the humans and how she had refused. She explained, guilt literally pouring off her in waves how she'd lost complete control of herself and how nothing but killing those humans and drinking their blood had mattered to her. She could've really hurt Emmett, she remarked, all because she couldn't control herself.

And here was the root of her guilt. She had been tearing herself up these past two weeks over how she had lost control. She felt guilty for acting like a newborn vampire. It wasn't the fact that she disobeyed me, almost hurt Emmett, or even killed those men. Those facts did bother her, of course, but the worst thing that happened in her mind was the loss of control. That, to her was the cause of everything that had gone wrong, and therein laid a serious problem; because to me, her acting on her vampire instincts was completely natural and to be expected, especially for a vampire her age. Out of everything that happened it was the least concerning.

What bothered me the most was the way in which she chose to defy me. She chose to go out on her own in an attempt to prove me wrong, and to show me she knew better. She snuck out to prove she wasn't a child who needed protection. My mind flashed back to the very first time I had to discipline Bella, and I noticed several eerie similarities. Bella had been tired of Edward and Alice's over protectiveness, so in an attempt to assert her independence and to prove them wrong she had gone out drinking at a college party, endangering her life recklessly and needlessly. This time her life hadn't been in danger, but the lives of ten humans and her brother had been. Emmett was strong, but if Bella had managed to get her hands around my burly son, she could have killed him before she realized who she was fighting. That thought terrified me.

"When Emmett finally managed to get me away, he told me I should hunt before heading home because there were several groups of humans scattered around the forest," Bella continued. "I-I didn't want to. I was so upset by what happened that I just wanted to go home and Emmett wouldn't let me so we argued and then I ran and Emmett caught me and I hit him and he told me to stop but I wouldn't so he swatted me a couple times which"—

My eyes widened at this point and I interrupted her ramblings with a, "Wait, what did you just say? Emmett did what to you?"

Bella blinked at my exclamation before once more looking upset with herself. It seemed she had let slip that tidbit with Emmett. I had to fight back a brief smile as it seemed my daughter had yet to master the art of deception and lies. I knew her siblings, meaning mainly Emmett had given her 'lessons' on lying, but I was happy to see they had not proved fruitful.

"He, um, he swatted me a few times," Bella answered, "but it only stung a little, nothing like what you gave me for growling at Mom; and really I think he was more shocked than I was. He apologized even though he didn't need to because I really did deserve it, and anyways it certainly got me to calm down and actually listen to him. I ended up hunting like he wanted me to before we headed home," she informed me in a rush, clearly not wanting to get her brother into trouble.

Truth be told I wasn't sure what to think. Emmett had swatted Bella. My daughter had certainly deserved it, and she agreed with me, but I wasn't sure how I felt about Emmett being the one to do so. I was glad he didn't really hurt her though. Hmmm. I filed away this tidbit for later. Now was time to focus on Bella.

"Bella, what are you so guilty about? You told your Mom you'd learned your lesson, and I'm curious as to what that lesson was," I spoke, wanting to confirm what I already believed.

Bella shifted nervously on the couch, fiddling with her hands before hesitantly looking up at me. "I'm guilty about losing control. I never realized how tempting human blood would be and I almost killed those men. I-I thought I knew better than you, but I was wrong." There we go, I thought approvingly. So she realizes it was her pride that put her in this position. That was a step in the right direction.

"And the lesson I learned is not to go out on my own," Bella stated determinedly. "It's obvious I'm not ready to be around humans, and I-I don't think I ever will be. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment," she finished in a near whisper, wiping at eyes that I didn't think could produce anymore tears.

"You are no such thing, baby girl, now come here," I responded, opening my arms to her. She readily accepted my comfort, needing my reassurances that she was not a disappointment and that I wasn't ashamed of her. I hated that this was what had been bothering her the most. She had been beating herself up because she thought I would look down on her for acting on an instinct she had no control over. How in the world she could believe that I expected her to have good control around humans was beyond me. I'd been the one banning her from going near them! Why did she think I'd done that? Teenagers, I thought ruefully, they complicated everything.

"So-so you're not disappointment by what happened?" she eventually asked me, giving me a wide-eyed stare of disbelief.

"Of course I am disappointed, Bella," I responded, "but not for the reasons you seem to think." Bella gave me a confused look, and I just shook my head.

"Bella, I am not upset that you lost control around those humans. In fact I am not even surprised it happened," I told her in a serious tone. "You are a newborn vampire, barely eight months into this life. Control comes with hard practice, which you have had none, and even then it isn't a sure thing. No one has taught you what to do when around a human besides just holding your breath. No one has taught you how to fight against your instinct and how to attempt to control your vampire nature. Human blood calls to all of us, whether you realize it or not. You have no reason to be ashamed of what happened. Truthfully, the fact that you were able to turn away, even if just to warn Emmett to stay away was quite the feat considering there were bleeding humans less than a mile away from you."

"But you've never struggled like this," Bella retorted petulantly, "And Edward told me he went around humans at a year old, as did Emmett and Rosalie." I let out a sigh, recognizing some truth in her words. My older children had more exposure to humans as newborns than Bella did, but they had also had accidents. Both Edward and Emmett had killed humans in their first years, and they had both gone out on their first solo trips without permission. Rosalie was a different case all together. She had killed humans not out of thirst, but out of a need for revenge. That need was so strong she was able to overcome her thirst. Unlike the boys though, she waited until given permission before once more venturing amongst humans. I explained this to Bella, and she frowned back at me.

"I've learned through mistakes with Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and even Esme what works best and what doesn't, so I have been stricter with you in regards to exposure to humans because I know what killing a human would do to you. I remember what it did to them, and I wouldn't be able to stand seeing you go through something like that. That's why I've wanted you to wait," I explained honestly. "And just so you know, neither Edward nor Emmett ever went out on their own until they were over a year old. In fact, even at two years into this life I still forbade Edward from going into town alone. Has he not told you of the first time I spanked him?" I questioned, and she nodded her head, looking quite abashed.

"Edward disobeyed you by going into town and ended up getting in a fight with some human boys, almost killing one of them when they cut their head open. You showed up and got him away just in time," she recounted, and I nodded my head.

"But Emmett went out alone when he was a year old," she attempted to argue feebly, and I resisted rolling my eyes.

"Emmett was over a year old when he went out without permission," I corrected, giving her a firm look, "and need I remind you that you are only 8 months? And you haven't had nearly the amount of exposure to humans that he had."

"And why not?" she asked, having the nerve to give me an accusing glare. I narrowed my eyes slightly in warning, but otherwise let it slide as she had a bit of a point. "I told you already," I stated, "that I wasn't keen on repeating my mistakes. I exposed Edward and Emmett too early to humans and each one of them had accidents. I didn't want that for you, so I was going to wait until you were at least a year before beginning to work on your control. I wanted you to take this first year to adapt to being a vampire, and to learning to control your emotions."

Bella's brow furrowed as she took in my words. She still didn't look placated. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Why didn't you ask?" I shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you I wanted to test myself," she began to complain, but I placed my finger on my lips, silencing her as I said, "You were six months old at the time and in no way ready to be around humans. You were also antagonistic and downright rude, making demands of me rather than calmly explaining what you were feeling. That was the only time you approached me, Bella, and you have had plenty of opportunity since then to talk to me."

"You were always busy," she protested, giving me a mild glare, still intent on leveling some blame on me.

"If you had asked to speak to me, I would have made time, you know that. As it is, I will apologize for how much time I have been burying myself in work," I decided to acknowledge. "I should have been spending more time with you, and I definitely should have noticed how out of sorts you've apparently been these past two weeks. I'm sorry you've been dealing with this guilt for so long, but Bella," I added when she gave me a nod of agreement, "you would not have been suffering so greatly had you not chosen to deliberately disobey me."

My daughter immediately attempted to look away, but I captured her chin, forcing her to maintain eye contact with me. "You made the same mistake as you did when you decided to get drunk in order to prove a point to Edward and Alice," I informed her. "You allowed your pride and need for independence to cloud your judgment, convincing yourself that you knew better than everyone. You set out to prove all of us wrong, foolishly believing that without any practice you could go out on your own without any fear of consequences. You admitted to considering actually seeking out humans on your own. You didn't need to, of course as the humans found you."

"I thought humans didn't come to these part of the woods," she argued, attempting to somehow convince me that this hadn't all been a poorly thought out plan.

"Humans don't come to the areas we take you, but you weren't in those parts, were you?" I questioned, and she hesitated briefly before giving a small shake of her head.

"No, you instead sought out areas you'd never been to, not realizing that human lumbermen were crawling all over those parts of the woods," I scolded, and Bella's eyes glazed over. I knew she wanted to cry, but comfort and understanding time were over. Now was time to lay down the law. Now was time to teach my daughter how wrong her actions were. I had to be stern and hard on her. This would be a lesson she would not forget anytime soon, if not ever.

"You made me a promise, Isabella, and you went back on your word," I said sternly. "Well, now I'm going to tell you that I don't go back on my word. I told you that if you ever went out on your own that I would take my belt to you, and that is exactly what I intend to do. If logic and reason will not work with you, then perhaps a sore bottom will prove to be a better teacher."

"But Daddy," Bella began to cry, and I hardened my heart as I sharply said, "Stop crying." She immediately reared back, staring at me with wide eyes as she with great difficulty bit back her sobs.

"No more excuses and no more pleads," I lectured. "It's time for you to listen as I tell you what bothers me the most about what happened, and that is your defiance. You have been stewing over my refusal to take you amongst humans for two entire months now, and instead of having approached me about your concerns you became angry with me. You somehow got it in your head, despite not only my words, but those of the rest of the family, that you were ready to go out alone. You wanted to prove me wrong while at the same time showing me how adult you were. You didn't need protection. You didn't need to be babysat. You are a mere 8 months old, yet you knew more than your father who has over 3 centuries of experience." My daughter listened intently, her wide, glistening eyes never leaving mine as I continued to speak.

"Not once, not once did you stop to think of the consequences that you may be wrong, and damn it Bella, but you should have!" I declared strongly, giving her a look of deep disappointment. "You knew more than any of the others what to expect as a newborn. We'd had extensive talks before and immediately after your transformation on what to expect, and on what your restrictions should by, and on why these restrictions would be in place. You knew from talks with Jasper and Edward what to expect in terms of your thirst, especially in regards to humans. You knew all this. You were more prepared for this life than any member of this family, more than any vampire in history in fact, yet you still disregarded my most important rule for you without thought." Bella flinched, crying silent tears, and while my heart ached something fierce, this conversation was far from over. She needed to hear this.

"Not even Emmett, who struggled with having rules just like you do, dared disobey me so blatantly. He had months and months of practice around humans and was well prepared to deal with his thirst before he wandered off on his own. But you, my very young child, you thought nothing of the consequences. You never stopped to call on all our lessons or all our warnings, because if you had, you never would have dared go out alone."

"I'm sorry," Bella stated, giving me an earnest, pleading look, and while I nodded my head in acceptance of the apology I in no way was relenting. "I know you're sorry, Bella, and you will be forgiven, but you still need to hear what I have to say." My daughter relaxed minutely at hearing she would receive forgiveness, but still remained mostly tense, her face a mask of misery and self reproach.

"Your mother came and talked to me earlier this week about getting you out of the house more," I informed her, and her look of misery was replaced with one of surprise.

"She did?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes," I answered, "she informed me that you were feeling cooped up, and she requested that I start teaching you how to control your thirst, so you could at least be allowed to hunt with only one companion. I had agreed, telling her that I thought you were ready and how I was proud of the patience you had shown. I was completely wrong, though, and now I can see you're not ready at all."

"Daddy, please, I'm so, so sorry!" Bella couldn't help but cry. "I was an ignorant idiot, and I'll take whatever punishment you want, just please," she begged, "I can't take this guilt anymore. I can't take how disappointed you are. I know I'm a horrible daughter, but I promise I'll be better. I'll listen, I swear!" She had her hands wrapped in my shirt, and was actually shaking me a little so put my hands over hers and gently forced her to release me.

"This lecture is part of your punishment," was the only thing I said in response, and I knew it was somewhat cruel not to offer her some comfort or reassurance when she was clearly so distraught, but I felt that if I gave in now, I wouldn't be able to go through with her punishment. There would be plenty of time to comfort her afterwards, I reassured myself, mentally flinching at the heartbroken expression my baby girl now sported.

"Do you recall all those lessons we had?" I questioned, and she gave a tearful nod of her head, sniffing loudly before responding, "Yes sir." I nearly cringed at the title. I was never really a fan of being called 'sir', and I wasn't used to Bella really calling me that. It was on a rare occasion when the word slipped out of her mouth as she preferred to answer with a simple 'yes' or 'yes dad'. My other children were more apt to call me 'sir', and I knew it was as a result of their human upbringings. They'd been raised to use the term with their fathers as a term of respect and obedience, so I'd long since accepted that they'd all call me that from time to time, usually when in trouble. With Bella though, it just wasn't a natural term for her to use, but as uncomfortable as I was with it, I knew she meant it as a show of submission. She was acknowledging my place as her superior and accepting her position in our family.

"Do you realize how worse things could have turned out? Do you realize how badly you could have hurt your older brother?" I pressed, and Bella gave an obedient nod as she once more responded, "Yes sir."

"You know that as a newborn you are the strongest one in this family," I explained, deciding to reiterate for reinforcement what she already knew. "Any miscalculation on Emmett's part, any hesitation and you could not only have seriously harmed him, but you could have killed him."

"I-I know," she stuttered, rubbing at her tear-stained eyes, and I knew from her tone of voice that she really did understand. She had been present when Jasper had been teaching our family and the wolves how to fight newborns, and if that lesson hadn't stuck, Jasper had taught it again after she had been turned. I said nothing more on this subject as her fight with Emmett was a direct result of her loss of control, which wasn't her fault. She did what any other vampire would have, defending her meal. My children at times still did that on accident with each other when hunting.

I pondered over what to say next, my heart nearly breaking at how utterly defeated my baby looked. My resolve cracked a little, and I decided it was time to just put her out of her misery. She'd suffered enough, and I believed I had made my disappointment and the reason behind it quite clear. After my lecture and the spanking she was about to receive, it would be some time before this little vampire even thought about disobeying me.

"Alright Bella, I believe I have lectured you enough, don't you?" She let out a chocked sob, nodding her head mutely. "Then let us move onto the physical portion of your punishment," I declared, and my daughter sucked in a quick breath, giving me a look of fear.

"Tell me what you did wrong," I said, and she took a couple of deep breaths before dutifully answering in a shaky voice. "I d-disobeyed your order to-to never l-leave t-the house alone. I thought I-I knew be-better t-than you, and-and I didn't e-ever stop to-to t-think about the consequences of m-my a-actions. I nearly k-k-killed ten h-humans, and-and I could've really hu-hurt E-Em-Emmett," she managed to get out, her entire body trembling as she fought to keep from breaking down.

I felt terrible. The spanking hadn't even commenced and my girl was already a mess. She was one small push away from a breakdown, but there was no way this spanking wasn't happening. This would be the harshest punishment I'd ever given her, and one of the most difficult for me to give, but we would both endure it. Bella was not a fragile human anymore. She was a vampire, capable of atrocious acts if allowed to run wild. She needed to learn that obedience was not an option.

"Good," I praised lightly, "I'm glad to see you understand the gravity of your mistake. You know what to expect now, so I see no use in putting this off. Stand up," I ordered, standing up along with her. She gave me a curious look that quickly turned to despair as she watched me take off my belt. Her shaking increased, and I knew she wanted to protest, but all I said was, "You were warned," and she said nothing. Once the wretched belt was off I sat down, setting it down next to me before motioning for the girl to come stand on my right side. She looked quite distraught, but she came.

"Drop the jeans," I ordered. Bella closed her eyes briefly, but was clearly unsurprised as she began unbuttoning her pants. With a single swoop she pushed them down to her knees, and I easily had her pulled over my lap with her underwear joining her jeans before she really realized what I was doing. I was surprised to hear no crying, and felt a flicker of pride at the strength she was displaying. She was not fighting this punishment. She didn't want it and she was scared stiff, but she wasn't fighting. Good girl, I thought as I rubbed her back soothingly.

Without a single word, and without warning I raised my hand and brought it down hard. She gave a loud shriek, her body jolting from the force, and I tightened my hold on her, bringing her closer to me. This was her first real vampire spanking and she was finding out that it hurt a lot more than her human spankings had; and there was also the fact that I wasn't going easy on her. I wasn't starting out with a slow warm up and waiting for her to adjust. I was going to overwhelm her. This spanking would be very painful and leave her very sore, but I was positive the lesson would be learned.

I spanked away at my poor daughter's backside, blocking out the cries and yells. In the back of my mind I grappled over how many licks to give her with the belt. Truthfully, if I hadn't issued that threat I wouldn't be using it. Her level of guilt, the fact that she willingly chose to confess when no one would have been able to find out what she'd done, and her easy acceptance of this punishment was enough to absolve her of its harsh sting; but I had warned her. I cursed myself for the foolhardy threat, but a promise was a promise. Five licks was the usual amount I gave, but I couldn't do that. I'd use the damned piece of leather because I had to, but I'd give her only two licks. Enough for her to know I didn't back out on my promises, but not enough to add too much pain. It'd still hurt like hell, but I'd use less force than I normally would.

Mind made up I focused fully back on the wriggling bottom that was futilely trying to escape my hand. Steeling my heart, I continued on.

A/N: Sooooo, what'd you think? PLEASE REVIEW!