Page 41 of His Beloved Princess
"I missed your charming company," I replied, grinning at her when she snorted. However, she looked tired; a thick layer of makeup covered the dark circles under her eyes, and her usually pink cheeks were pale. My best guess was that she got drunk at the after-party, and she felt like shit.
A loud knock on the door interrupted our conversation, and Peter stuck his head inside. "You don't have an assistant here," he pointed out apologetically, and I furrowed my eyebrows.
Electra still didn't let me know where she was. Even when we argued, she should've called or sent a message. It wasn't only about the ringing phones and incoming emails. I was worried about her.
I motioned for Peter to take a seat, and while he was fighting with Rose and her bag, I contacted the security in my apartment building. They didn't tell me anything useful. Electra left for her morning practice at six, and they hadn't seen her since then. I was glad that she followed the rules and that she went to the gym, but where the fuck did she go after?
"What happened to your face, kitten?" Rose asked Peter, leaning closer to him, supporting her chin with her palm. He was glaring at her like he wanted to murder her while she grinned. She was the definition of a brat, and as much as I hated to admit it, it was fun to watch her push his buttons. I was curious how much of her mocking he could take before he would burst through the roof.
"Do you have any idea how annoying your voice is?" Peter countered, rubbing his eyes. I leaned back in my chair, watching Rose as she closely studied the bruise on his jaw, and he jerked away from her.
"You like it rough, huh?" She continued, stretching her hand to touch his face, but he grabbed her forearm, stopping her. It was a swift move, and she winced a little.
"Don't you dare touch me," he warned in a low voice, staring daggers at her, but as crazy as she was, she only smiled.
"Oh, the kitten is showing off its claws," she mocked, her eyes lit up. She loved this kind of play, yet Peter clearly didn't understand the meaning of it. I stared at him with a sly smirk when his face flushed red. Anger was boiling just under the surface.
"I'll show you something else as well if you don't stop," he grumbled, piercing her with his fiery ich, which only earned him another wide grin.
"I'm almost curious about what you have in store for me, sunshine," she winked at him, yanking her forearm from his grasp. He let her go, but the deadly expression on his face didn't disappear. He reminded me of myself when I met her for the first time. I was all over my head with her indecorous behavior.
"Be glad that I'm not interested in you," he hissed through gritted teeth, turning his head towards me. He lifted his eyebrows at me in a silent question, and I took it as a hint to get to the main point of this meeting.
"You two are here because I'm no longer willing to tolerate public insults," I started, drifting my gaze between them. Peter chuckled, and Rose looked like she'd swallowed some spoiled food. If it were someone else speaking, she would've probably rolled her eyes and left, but thankfully, I earned her respect while we were together, and it stuck with her. "So, to deal with it," I connected my eyes with hers, which glared at me, "apologize, Rose."
"You must be kidding me!" She thundered, outraged. She reacted exactly as I expected. "I didn't do anything wrong, and you can't force me to say something I don't want to!"
"Calling someone a bastard is an insult, especially when you know how delicate the matter is," I lectured calmly, ignoring my brother's evident gratification. I had to stop Rose's comments because they could, even intentionally, cause unnecessary trouble. Not many people understood her nature. Often, she wasonly fooling around, making fun without any intention of hurting someone. However, she had to have some boundaries because she crossed the line not only with my brother but with Electra as well.
"I don't want to be rude here, but he is actually a bastard!" She shouted, breathing hard. "I just told the truth!"
"Rosalind!" I roared, and even when Peter wanted to tell her something, he shut his mouth. "Stop with this nonsense and apologize!"
"No," she spat, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at me. She acted like a stubborn child, and I wasn't ready to deal with it. However, I couldn't flinch. I couldn't show her any weakness. I started it, and it would end only with her saying the magical words.
"Rose, we know you won't leave this office without apologizing." I stood up, noticing that she had taken off her shoes. I lived with her for three years; I knew all her tricks.
"Really?" She whined, challenging me with her eyes. "And what are you going to do? Because I'm sure spankies aren't available."
She flashed me a wicked grin, and I was about to respond to her words when my phone rang. I snapped my head to look at it, and she took advantage of the situation, jumping up to her feet and running to the door. But before she could open them, Peter caught her, quickly understanding the game's rules.
"You're not going anywhere," he stated when she wriggled, trying to get away from him, but he efficiently immobilized her. He brought her back while I took the call, not learning anything about my Princess's whereabouts. My stomach twisted with fear when I momentarily imagined her in some kind of accident. My men checked every place that came to mind, and I could do nothing but wait. At least I could gain some distraction from Rose's stubbornness.
"Let me go, you pig!" Rosalind yelled, kicking her legs when Pete threw her in the armchair. "This is assault!"
"Is it?" I asked, lifting my eyebrows at her in a mocking manner. "I clearly remember that you agreed to follow the rules. I say something, you do it,"I reminded her sternly, opening the highest drawer on my table. "If not, I'll deal with your disobedience as I see fit."
"So saying what I have in mind is wrong!" She argued, glancing at Peter, who stood beside her.
"Rose," I addressed her softly, knowing it was pointless to be nice to her. It went too far for a gentle approach, yet I had to try anyway. "You're old enough to understand the consequences of your actions. Apologise and we can all return to our day."
"No!" She shouted. Her fiery gaze almost made me smile. Yet I noticed something else in her eyes. As always, she was enjoying this game. She had been alone for too long. It was the right time for her to find someone who would satisfy her need for constant attention and spankings.
"Well, you've been warned," I stated, nodding at my brother to hold her. We tied her up for the next five minutes while she was wriggling and kicking. Yes, it might sound unbelievable, but it wasn't when it came to Rose. There wasn't a better way to show her my superiority than to use my dominant status. For many reasons, this was wrong, and I would've never done this to someone else, not even to Electra, without her consent.
However, with Rose, we had an agreement. There wasn't anything sexual in our relationship, but it was the only way to keep her in check. Otherwise, she would never have listened to me, and eventually, I would've had to kick her ass out of my company.
"You're insane. You know that, right?" Peter shook his head, staring at Rose, who was lying on her back, tied up, not able to move, with a tape over her mouth.
