Page 22 of His Princess Brat
Frowning, Azid took firm hold of my wrist, turned my arm over so that the palm of my hand made a cup, and deposited the pills into it. “It’s two damn ibuprofen, not a shot in the ass. Quit being so stubborn, and take the pills.”
“Okay, Daddy,” I retorted, rolling my eyes with as much scathing sarcasm as I could muster.
It wasn’t until his eyes narrowed and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk that I realized my mistake. When you spend all your time with horses and royalty, you’re not exactly versed in sexual innuendo, but I did have two brothers.
“Oh, it’s Daddy, now is it?” he drawled, giving me that odd look again.
My face flushed. “I, uh...” I stammered, my voice cutting off in a squeak when he stepped in even closer. My wrist was still in his hand, and I’d be lying if I didn’t kind of like how secure and, perhaps, a wee bit trapped I suddenly felt in his grip.
“Have you ever called a man who wasn’t your father Daddy before?” he asked.
There it went again, that odd clenching, fluttering, twisting, roller-coaster swoop and loop inside my rapidly warming stomach. I shook my head, strangely breathless.
He leaned in, so close that he could have kissed me again. My gaze went straight to his lips, but at the last second, his head turned and he whispered in my ear instead, “No Daddy I’ve ever known would take kindly to his little girl not taking care of herself.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask exactly how many daddies that might be, but he moved faster than I could sass. Before I could so much as process what was happening, he had his foot propped on the frame of my bed and, using his grip on my wrist, flipped me over his broad thigh. The ibuprofen went flying, and the next I knew, I was staring down at the rug in startled amazement.
Whap! His hand came down hard against my backside. At least I think it was hard. It was difficult to tell through the thickness of my cotton skirt and panties. It didn’t hurt, but it was shocking. I was stunned, mortified, outraged, and more than a little turned on.
“Stop!” I cried.
He did not stop. In fact, he lifted my dress, pulled down my panties, and began peppering the whole surface of my now naked bottom in smacks that sounded worse than they felt, thank God, or I’d have been quite miserable.
“What is the meaning of this?” I struggled to get away but the tips of my shoes barely touched the floor and his hold was stronger than my struggles.
“The meaning of this is to show you how Daddy treats his stubborn and disobedient little girl, when she can’t follow a simple directive about doing something for her own well-being!”
“This is not how a father behaves,” I argued. My father certainly never had. Oh, he’d talked us half to death on a number of occasions, but he’d never spanked us.
“I didn’t say father, darling, I said Daddy. And a daddy—this daddy, in particular—does whatever is best to ensure his little one’s well-being, including a spanking if she needs it.” Delivering a particularly mighty smack to a spot on my right bottom cheek that was starting to sting, he paused long enough to add, “And darling, you need it.”
I would have called him out for the implication that my father didn’t care enough to spank me, but there it was again. That sexual innuendo. I didn’t miss it this time. It was as strikingly obvious as his hand on my ass.
And he had called me his. Well, almost, anyway. Kind of. Close enough.
I shoved the thoughts of sex and longing aside, and focused on getting out of this absurd position.
“Let me up!” I commanded coolly. “Or I’ll... I’ll...” I couldn’t think of a threat and I didn’t need to.
“You’ll do nothing,” Azid finished, dropping his foot from the frame, “except march your bratty behind to the bathroom, get new meds, take them, and then agree to meet me this afternoon for tea.”
My jaw dropped. This man had just walloped my bare backside, and now he wanted me to meet him for tea?
Wait... was that a date? Was he asking me on a date? It certainly sounded like one. A date with Azid was a much better outcome to this insane encounter than I could have hoped for, and if I had to take a few pills to get it, I would take the damn meds. Besides, my butt was stinging. Ibuprofen could only help with that.
“Fine.” Following his directive to the letter, I stomped out a slow, exaggerated march all the way into the bathroom where I got two new pills from the medicine cabinet. Placing them on my tongue, I stuck it out for him to see.
“Brat,” he said affectionately, smiling as he shook his head. “You, little girl, need a daddy.”
Closing my mouth with a startled gulp, I swallowed the pills dry. My heart was fluttering wildly as he came sauntering into the bathroom after me. The sting in my bottom, which had by now blossomed into a heated throb, fluttered too, pulsing in time with my swift-racing heart. I stared at him with wide eyes as he came right up to me, that same mirth-filled smirk tugging at his handsome mouth and shining in his eyes.
He touched a stray wisp of my hair, tugging it out of my eyes and tucking it behind my ear. “Be careful, sweetheart. You’re asking for something you might not really want.”
“I’m not asking for anything,” I stammered, the tip of his finger on my ear wreaking havoc all through my trembling body.
“Oh, yes.” Azid chuckled. “You are.” Glancing at his wristwatch, reluctance tempered his smile as he looked at me again. “I’m pretty sure it’s safe to get to my room by now, and I’m supposed to be meeting with Mazi soon. So, how about I see you for tea at four o’clock... brat.”
He chucked me gently under the chin, and then he left. All I could think as I stared at the door as it closed behind him was that that stupid book of Jax’s had been the best thing that had ever happened to me.
