Page 14 of Rogue Royal
Douglas frowned. “What do you mean?”
“If you get into trouble, I’ll receive a call to sort it out. You need to keep your end of the bargain.”
Douglas’s mouth twitched as he studied Maverick. “You’re right. I will be on my best behaviour.”
Maverick placed the tablet to the side and reached for the bowl of fruit. Spearing a strawberry with a fork, he lifted it to his mouth, and Douglas watched as his teeth settled around the succulent fruit. Douglas swallowed hard as Maverick chewed and hummed, his eyes fluttering closed for a few seconds before meeting Douglas’s gaze.
Immediately, Maverick’s gaze dropped, and he sniffed and fidgeted on the sofa while finishing his mouthful. Douglas had figured out Maverick sniffed when he was uncomfortable with a situation. Douglas grabbed his cheesy crisps and sour cream and chive dip—his favourite snack of all time. He lifted one crisp, dipped it, then crunched it, groaning as the flavours burst onto his tongue. It was nowhere near orgasm level, but it was damn good, nonetheless.
“Eat up,” he repeated his earlier words when he found Maverick staring at him, not moving. “You need the energy.”
Maverick stared at him for a second longer and dutifully devoured the fruit. Once he’d started on the yoghurt, Douglas settled in and ate more crisps. They were bad for him, but he exercised enough he could eat them whenever he wanted.
There was something about sitting alongside someone else in near silence. Something…companionable. He wasn’t used to it. Most people he interacted with liked the sound of their own voices and couldn’t wait to ask for what they wanted, regardless of what Douglas thought or said. It was the reason he hated formal events so much. At them, he was forever being asked if he could give more visibility, more money, more…anything. He understood the need, but sometimes, he would’ve liked for someone to speak to him as a person first and a benefactor second.
Maverick didn’t appear to be like that, although Douglas’s instincts had steered him wrong before. Many past relationships, if he could call them a relationship, had ended on a sour note when they sold the story to the highest bidder. It had happened more times than he could count, and Douglas had thought all of those guys were different.
No, nothing could happen between him and Maverick, but he could introduce him to the club. He was sure Maverick would benefit from being there. The problem was getting him there.
“Thank you for the food. I’m going to leave you to your meeting with Prince Frederick.”
Maverick stood, and although it had been Douglas’s idea to get some rest, he found himself reluctant to part ways.
“Get some sleep, and I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“If your migraine returns, come see me.” His tone brooked no argument, and he received an imperceptible nod from the man.
He watched as Maverick collected the tablet and strode to the door. Maverick hesitated with his hand on the door handle. “Thank you for earlier. It was…eye-opening.”
With those cryptic words, Maverick exited. What did he mean by them? Eye-opening in what way?
Douglas groaned and laid his head on the back of the sofa, staring at the ceiling. He needed to forget about Maverick because the guy worked for him, or rather, his father. It would cause many problems.
He placed the plate on the coffee table and stood, brushing off any crumbs that may have found their way onto his clothes. Sighing, he made his way down the corridor to Freddie’s rooms. He had no knowledge of what the meeting was about because Freddie had requested it, but it couldn’t be anything too formal; otherwise, they would be in one of the offices or meeting rooms.
“Hi. What’s all this about? You rarely need to arrange a meeting to speak with me.” Douglas sat across from his brother and feigned relaxation when, in fact, he was as tense as a sub expecting a spanking.
“Glad you could make it. This meeting has two aims. One is to get more than five minutes of your time to talk to you. I know you’ve been busy, and it brings me onto number two. To give you a bit of spare time to get away from all the different meetings you’ve had.” Freddie grinned.
Douglas shook his head and laughed. “And Mother thinksI’mthe one who needs watching.”
“There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing. If anyone asks, we’re talking about the charities you’d like to be involved in.”
“And will we be discussing them?” Douglas reached for the mug of tea on the coffee table after Freddie had pointed to it.
Freddie sipped his own brew. “We will, but it can wait for the moment.”
Douglas crossed his ankle over his knee and rested his cup on his leg. “I sent Maverick home.”
Eyebrows lowered, Freddie sat forward. “Why?”
“He had a migraine earlier, and he’s been working too hard.” Douglas cleared his throat and diverted his gaze to his cup, which he moved in circles to swirl the contents around. “I gave him a head massage to help ease the headache.” He wasn’t sure why he’d admitted it, but Freddie might help him encourage Maverick to try the club.
“I thought for a minute he’d done something wrong.” Freddie sat back again, studying Douglas like he would the reactions of his sub. “That was nice of you.” He paused, tilting his head. “What’s troubling you?”
Douglas stood, pacing over to the window, and leaned his shoulder against the frame. “I think he would benefit from visiting the club, but he doesn’t seem interested.”
