Arthur
Ishifted my gaze to the door as a knock sounded. “Come in,” my voice boomed across the room.
“That girl is a firecracker,” Geraint said, his brows knitting together. “Wouldn’t go without a fight. She held a knife to my throat. Two, actually.” He sounded in disbelief that anyone would dare do such a thing. “Made all sorts of demands on the way here too. It took me an entire week to get her alone, and trust me, it was not easy. I have reeled in brawn with less hassle than this one.”
My pulse quickened at the thought of her in my home, under this roof, sharing my space, and eventually my bed. I had wanted this woman since the day I met her, and what made her more appealing was the fact that she was stubborn. But she’d eventually give in, they all did.
I liked the thought of bending her strong-willed mind. I liked the idea of bending every part of her. I stood and made my way to the door. “I’ll talk to her.” I didn’t miss the confused look on Geraint's face, but he knew better than to comment any further on it.
She stood in the parlor of her suite, wearing a white lace dress. Brown suede boots graced her feet, and her hair fell in tumbles around her. She turned around suddenly, her gaze resting on me, surprise and confusion in her emerald orbs.
“You? You brought me here. Where is my brother?” She was on her feet in seconds. She closed the distance between us, looking up at me for answers. She was in my space now, and she had no idea what staying there meant. I had to control my temper with this one, or I’d blow and do something I’d regret.
“Gabriel is fine. He’s settled in well. He seems to like his new quarters quite a bit. How have you found yours? Satisfactory, I hope.”
“What kind of question is that? Her features contorted in disbelief. “What the hell is this? Why are we here?”
“All in good time. For now, you might as well make yourself comfortable.”
“I want to see my brother.” She demanded, her hands on her hips.
Geraint was right. She should need to learn who was boss and I had a good mind to show her. Woman submitted to me. They bent, and they bowed, called me fucking daddy. I would not allow this little girl to dictate how I treated her.
“I don’t think you understand who's in charge here, little bird.”
A low growl left her lips, and she swung her hand upward. I gripped her wrists in my hands in one fluid motion. She was so fragile; one snap could break her. Her skin felt soft on my palms.
“Ah, ah, let’s not be hasty, shall we? If Gabriel is to be well looked after, and he will be, you need to cooperate.” I raised her wrist to my lips and placed a kiss there, surprising us both.
She frowned at me and pulled her wrists from my grasp. I let her go and watched as she wrapped her small arms around her middle.
“What do you want from us?” She moved a stray curl away from her face, her voice finally dropping an octave.
“Let’s sit, shall we?”
I smirked, unbuttoning my jacket and sitting cross-legged in an armchair. She reluctantly did the same. “It’s simple, principessa, I want your father to come to get you.”
She frowned. “He’s in Italy, last I heard. And what makes you think he’ll come for us?” She responded abruptly as she crossed her legs, her skirt riding up slightly. How I wanted to know the secrets she kept between those thighs.
I levelled with her. “Because you’re his little girl, and every Daddy wants to keep his little girl safe...”
She turned away from me, my words seeming to offend her. “You don’t have a fucking clue who Charles Russo is.”
“On the contrary, I know all about him.”
She looked cornered, but she held her icy stance, her eyes betraying nothing. She stood and walked toward the glass doors that led out to the generous wrap-around balcony. I’d asked Geraint to give her a guest room, instead of taking her down to the basement.
I walked toward where she stood, admiring the way her dress hugged her small waist then flared out at her hips. Her hair fell down her back like a waterfall, and I could imagine my fingers running through it, my hands wrapped around the silky strands. My erection pressed hard against my slacks.
“Are you going to hold me here against my will?” She turned her gaze to me, her eyes, hard and unrelenting.
“You’re free to leave whenever you want, Gaia.”
“And what about my brother?”
“He’ll have to tell you for himself. But you aren’t seeing him until you learn to behave.” She needed to learn a lesson.
“What is this, fucking kindergarten? Behave, did you seriously just say that?”
I ignored her sarcasm. “You’re free to walk the grounds and the house. For now, you’re going to have to trust that your brother is okay. If you’d been less unruly, you might have seen him by now.”
“Unruly?” She quirked a brow. “Sorry, Daddy,” she said sarcastically, batting her lids and biting a finger. I needed to leave this room before I did something prematurely.
“That’s what you fucking assholes want, don’t you? Someone to bend for you, kneel for you, look up at you and call you Daddy?” Her voice was low and sexy, and it angered me that it had the effect she’d wanted. “But I bend for no one, Calthorpe, and it’s best you not forget that.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, principessa.” I gripped her chin, our faced inches apart. Her eyes widened, darting from my eyes to my lips. “You’ll bend, little bird, and you’ll beg me for it.” I let her go roughly, walking away and slamming the door behind me. I picked up a vase in the corridor. The sound of it crashing against the wall echoed down the hall.
“I told you she was a firecracker,” Geraint commented.
