His lips twitched, though he managed to mostly keep his stern expression in place. “Princess, you are the farthest thing from a doormat.”
“I don’t feel like it right now.”
Now he let the smile curve his lips as he placed a finger beneath her chin, nudging her head back. “Would it help to know that I’ve had men killed for disrespecting me the way you do on a regular basis?”
“I’m not sure what it says about me that I actually do feel better knowing that.”
“Good. Final rule… no picking fights with your father.”
“Aw, what’s the fun in that?”
“I mean it, Aria. We aren’t here to antagonize him or cause a scene. Like it or not, he is the owner of this club and as such you will show him the respect he is due.”
“Or?”
“Or, I will be forced to deal with any disrespect you show him swiftly and publicly. Tell me you understand or we will get in the car and go home instead.”
It rankled, more than a bit, to be dictated to about how to talk to her own father. But she could also admit that Killian had a point. Here, he wasn’t just her father. He was Braden Elliott, owner of Club BDE, and disrespecting him in front of his patrons and employees would be… crass.
“Yes, Sir. I understand.” She couldn’t quite bring herself to call him Daddy, not with her own father right upstairs.
“Good girl. Let’s go have some fun.”
Killian
* * *
Despite his stance that they weren’t at the club to pick a fight with Braden, he could feel his shoulders tensing with every step they took. Bracing for a fight he didn’t want to have with a man he was still grieving the loss of.
But he was done grieving the loss of his club. Braden would likely never forgive him for the things he’d done, but he wasn’t going to simply roll over and give up the other friends he’d made here over the years just because he was no longer on friendly terms with the owner.
At the front desk in the lobby, Shane, one of the club’s most infamously bratty submissives, looked up. His smile flashed, then faltered slightly, worry creeping into the whiskey of his eyes. “Master O. We… weren’t expecting you.”
Beside him, Aria stiffened, so he laid his free hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he offered Shane a breezy, devil-may-care smile that didn’t at all match the thundering of his heart. “You know me. Always bucking expectations.”
Shane’s grin returned full-force. “True that. But, ah, just so you’re aware, I’m supposed to let Daddy B know if you show up. Especially if you bring a… guest.”
His gaze flicked to Aria then back to Killian, who didn’t even bother to sigh. “Go ahead. Do we need to wait?”
“No, he just said to let him know, not to stop you or anything.”
“Good. We’ll be upstairs if he needs us.”
With Aria tucked beside him, he made for the metal stairs that led up to the restaurant area of the club. “And you were worried about me picking a fight,” she grumbled, and maybe it made him an incredibly perverse creature, but the annoyance in her tone helped to smooth out his own aggravation.
“He’s just doing his job. As the owner of the club and your father. If we’re being honest, I’m a little shocked he didn’t straight up revoke my membership.”
“I would have picked more than a fight with him if he’d tried.”
At the top of the stairs he paused, pulling her hand free of his arm to lift her fingers to his lips as he grinned. “My bloodthirsty little princess. I am rather enjoying this side of you.”
“Yes, well, injustice never sits well with me,” she said primly, but he caught sight of the glow of pride in her eyes before she deliberately turned away. “So, are we here to mingle and show my father you aren’t afraid of him, or are you going to whisk me away to another of those delightful little rooms and have your way with me?”
“Yes and yes. We have a room reserved, but we have a few minutes yet.”
She glanced up at him again as they moved through the club. “How did you manage that?”
“A friend. Ah, there she is now.”
