Royal Arrangement

III

Annie

I should hate him.

I should want to slap him across his smug face. His handsome face. To knee him in the groin or run out and call the police.

But for some reason, I don't. I don't want to do any of that.

Even as I stare into the mirror at my punished ass and see dark pink hand prints across my cheeks. I don't hate Daniel. Even as I wince as the suddenly too-rough-for-comfort material of my panties makes contact with my behind, I don't hate him.

But I should.

I stand in the mirror and admire his handiwork. My ass is sore and there isn't a single spot that isn't painted a dark shade of pink. Even down to mid-thigh, it's thoroughly punished and hot to the touch. There's no part of my ass that hasn't suffered the wrath of Daniel's large palm. There was no escaping his punishment. I reach behind me and try to rub the pain out of my cheeks. My hand dips lower to my s*x. I'm more than ashamed to realize that despite the f****d up punishment, I'm wet. Some part of that turned me on, I'm not sure which part but I can't deny my body's reaction.

I'm confused and mortified. I can't believe that after I was beaten I found solace in the arms of that royal bastard who was the one who beat me in the first place. I held on to him for dear life and sobbed and that was shameful. That's why I ran into the bathroom, I couldn't stand looking at his face. He pulled me over his lap and spanked me like a child and a f****d up part of me liked it.

What is happening to me?

I should hate him. But all feelings of hatred disappeared when he held me in his arms and comforted me. I expected him to shove me off his lap angrily and storm off, leaving me to deal with the aftermath alone, but he didn't. He let me cling to him like a little girl as I sobbed into his chest. And while I did, he rubbed circles into my back and stroked my hair. He was a sadistic bastard and an asshole, but in that moment, he felt like my tender lover, someone who didn't blackmail me into a forced marriage and child bearing contract while punishing me shamefully when I broke their bullshit rules.

And they are bullshit. That much I know for certain.

I pull out my phone and type in a quick message with my shaking fingers.

Me: Can't make it to drinks tonight.

Of course, she answers immediately.

Aline: OMG WHY

I bite down on my lower lip.

Me: Explain later.

A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts. "Annie? Come out."

Me: Can't talk now. Gotta go.

I shake my head stuff my phone back into my pocket before burying my head in my hands. This is all so confusing. How am I supposed to face him? And more importantly, where's a whole to drop into when I need one? "No. I'm just going to stay in here."

"Are you disobeying me?"

I wince again at the reminder of what happens to my poor defenseless ass when I'm disobedient. What just happened five minutes ago is something that I don't want to repeat. I quickly wipe my blotchy red eyes with some toilet paper and wash my face. I open the door. Daniel's there, towering over me, a look I would mistake as concern on his face if I didn't know better. I'm not going to let him intimidate me just because he hit me. I straighten my spine and raise my chin. "What do you want?" I can't keep the venom from my voice.

Daniel raises a brow but says nothing of my tone "Lift your skirt. Pull down your panties. Turn around. Let me see." I glare and reluctantly do as he commands, my face heating up in embarrassment as I lift my skirt, pull my panties down mid thigh, and present my punished flesh to him. He rubs my ass and gives my globes a firm squeeze causing me to whimper. He chuckles and I frown in annoyance. His hands travel down to my thighs and he strokes the heated skin. "Such a Good girl...So f*****g beautiful... I love these thighs... they're my American Thighs."

I snort and spin around, dropping my maids skirt. "What did you say?"

He grins. "American thighs." I can't help the smile that finds its way on my lips. How ridiculous. American thighs, just like that song. I can see he likes the classics. He holds out his hand and grabs mine in his own. "Come here."

I reluctantly follow him until he moves toward the bed again, pulling my panties back as I go. I dig in my heels. "No. Don't hurt me again." I'm panicking. I don't want another spanking. My ass hurts and I don't want him to hit me again. "Please."

"Relax my little American. I am not punishing you." He turns around and grabs my face in his hands and brings my eyes up so I have no choice but to look at his face. "I will tell you when you are being punished, but you will probably already know."

I roll my eyes. "You assume you'll punish me again."

He smirks knowingly. "Oh, I know I will. Just now you proved my point. You rolled your eyes. That's disrespectful. You have a sharp tongue and a feisty attitude and I know you will be over my knee again, Annie." He must see the look on my face. That's me, how can I change who I am? I'm loud mouthed and free spirited and unapologetic and he knows it. And I also know it's going to get me in trouble.

A lot of trouble.

"Now, come here. Lay on your stomach on the bed. And don't move."

I pause to think. He said he wasn't punishing me. Do I believe him? As much as I hate to admit it, he hadn't lied to me before. I swallow my pride and do as I was told, hoping to avoid any further punishment. I push my face into the sheets in embarrassment and fear. I hear his footsteps walk away from the bed and then the sound of a drawer opening and closing. Daniel walks back over to me and lifts my skirt. He loops his fingers in the waistband of my panties and begins to pull them down. I freak out and whip my head around. "You said you weren't going to punish me!"

I try to get up, but he steadies his hand at the small of my back and pushes me back down. I whimper. "I did say that, didn't I? And I meant it. You are not being punished Annie but if you disobey me again, I will, " he leans close to my ear. "And this time, I'll take my belt to your ass." Anger surges through me. What a f*****g bastard. He gets off on this. I can practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Do you understand?"

I push my face back into the comforter. "Yes." It's muffled, but I'm sure he understood.

"Good girl." Those two stupid words shouldn't do anything to me, but when I hear them come from Daniel's lips, my heart flutters. I feel a strange sense of pride and my stomach feels all warm.

I wait for what he's going to do next. The suspense is killing me. I know he isn't going to punish me. I don't understand why, but his words comfort me. I actually believe him. I nearly jump when I feel him rub something cold on to my backside and down my thighs.

"What are you doing?" I don't understand. This was all so confusing. Just a few minutes ago, he was hitting my ass, and now he's soothing the pain away in gentle strokes. This man is so damn infuriating and I feel myself melting into his touch.

"This is aloe lotion. It will help with the pain." He continues to rub the lotion into my punished ass as he speaks. "Tonight we have a social gathering. I am going to introduce you to the world as my fiance. You will be respectful and you will behave and if you do, you will be rewarded when we get back."

"Rewarded?"

He chuckles. "Yes. You'll have to behave so you can see." Daniel pulls up my panties and then sets my skirt back in its original position. He pats my ass. "Up you go. There are some dresses hanging up in your closet. For the remainder of the agreement, you will live here, with me."

I hiss as my ass makes contact with the bed, no matter how soft it looked it feels like steel. Daniel looks at me in obvious amusement. I want nothing more than to say 'f**k you' or 'you asshole' but I know where that would get me. "Why? What about my things?"

His eyes darken. "Paparazzi. This must look real. I can't have my fiance living away from me." He turns to the dresser and places the lotion back inside. "Your things will be brought here this evening while we are at court. Tonight you are meeting the nobles and I will introduce you as my fiance."

I bite my lip, suddenly feeling aware of the seriousness of the situation. Having your ass spanked will do that to a girl. "I don't think I can do this..." I mumble. I can barely face them as a maid, and now I'm going be introduced as Daniel's fiance? "I'm warning you now, Daniel. I'm not good at this sort of thing."

He narrows his eyes. "You don't have a choice, Annie. Play the part or you'll feel my belt." He turns his back to me. "Be ready in an hour."

With that, he storms into the bathroom. A minute later I hear the shower running.

What an ass.

I angrily hit the bed sheets and storm over to the dresser. How dare he? I was just trying to be honest, and he has to be an asshole. With all the moments of kindness that melt my heart, there are the moments where Daniel is truly mean and cruel. He spanked my ass until I was a sobbing mess, but then he comforted me and soothed some of the pain away. He reassured me, then he threatened to beat me with his belt. Ugh! He's so infuriating. It would be so damn easy to hate Daniel if he didn't have his moments of warmth and affection.

With a huff, I turn towards the closet to the right of the bed. I assume that would be my side. The idea of sharing a bed with Daniel both terrifies and excites me.

Would he touch me? And when were we going to have s*x? He said he wanted an heir, yet he hasn't even tried to f**k me even though I clearly felt his erection when he was spanking me. It was hard not to, it was so large.

I blush at the thought. I open the closet and am taken aback by all the dresses. I'm also more than a little freaked out. These all look like they will fit me, which means he knows my size. I'm careful to choose a dress that won't show my punished thighs and one made out of fabric soft enough to avoid irritation. I pick out a silk navy blue dress with a sweetheart neckline that hugs my curves and flares out at the bottom. I step into it and then find a pair of black heels.

Next to the dresser is a fully stocked jewelry box. I pick out matching blue teardrop earrings that looked like they cost more than my house back home. I feel sexy, yet uncomfortable. Clearly, my outfit is expensive. It feels strange to go from wearing a simple maid uniform to an multi thousand dollar dress and even more expensive earrings.

Daniel emerges from the shower, his hair damp, but dressed in a full suit and jacket. He looks me up and down, assessing my appearance, and smiles. "You look so f*****g sexy." I blush bright red and he goes into his dresser and pulls out a matching tie and a velvet box. He drops to one knee and looks up into my eyes. I can see playfulness in them.

Okay, Prince, I'll play along.

"Annie Rose Shaw, will do me the honor of being my fake wife?"

He opens up the box and inside sparkles the biggest diamond I have ever seen. It glitters in a silver setting and the princess cut catches all the lights. I start to fake freak out, playing the role. "Oh. Em. Gee. YES! Yes baby! Yes!"

He laughs and slides it onto my finger. "You're a good actress. I knew I chose well."

I'm shocked at how perfectly the ring fits and admire it on my finger. This isn't real, but maybe I can pretend it was? Maybe I can pretend Daniel is the love of my life and that we are going to get married and create a family together. After all, that's what I'm supposed to do, right? I shake the thoughts from my head and hate to admit that the idea of Daniel being my loving husband with little kids around makes my heart skip a beat.

No. This isn't real. Don't think that way.

I know in that moment that I need to close off my heart, or I'm going to get hurt.

~~~

After Daniel finished, an older woman knocked on the door. Daniel let her in. Apparently, he hired a personal stylist. She smiled warmly at me and lead me into the bathroom. Before he let me go, Daniel leaned down in my ear and reminded me what would happen if I didn't behave. I blanched and nodded before going to meet the woman in the bathroom. She twisted my blonde hair into a complicated up do with pins and hairspray and covered my face in expensive makeup with brands I haven't even heard of. She swiped on a deep red lipstick and accentuated my eyes with liner and smoky black eye shadow. She applied blush and foundation and by the time she was done, I didn't recognize the woman staring back at me in the mirror. She was beautiful and perfect. Everything I'm not.

Daniel leads me through the castle some time later with a hand on my lower back. It's a possessive gesture that makes me shiver. Clearly, this man is dominant. I'm lost in thought as we roam the halls. In that moment, I realize that I know almost nothing about the man who's engagement ring I wear on my finger.

Where did he grow up?

What was his favorite color? What was he allergic to?

Was he a picky eater?

I realize that I know the answers to none of these questions and I begin to freak out. My heart begins to race and my breath quickens as I walk on shaky legs. Daniel notices and he looks down at me. "Are you nervous?"

I look up at him since he's significantly taller and shake my head. "No, well, yes, but that's not what I'm thinking about." He raises a brow, urging me to continue. I take a deep breath. Will he be angry at me for prying? Will he want to punish me? I'm always walking on eggshells around this crazy man. I remember his threat about beating me with his belt and became highly aware of the throbbing in my backside. "It's just... I don't know anything about you." My breath catches in my throat his eyes darken. "I mean, I don't mean to pry, but what if someone asks a personal question? I just.."

I just don't want to mess this all up.

I bite my lip and look away.

His look of annoyance slightly softens. "What?"

"I just... don't want to let you down."

He tears his intense gaze from mine and I release a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Don't worry about that. I won't leave your side all night. Nobles are vultures. You'll see." Daniel speaks with such disgust that it makes me want to ask him about it but I refrain. I don't want to anger the dominant man who has a tendency for spanking.

And neither did my ass.

We approach a large ballroom at the end of the hallway. Daniel removes his hand from the small of my back and grabs my hand. He brings it up to his lips and plants a soft kiss on my knuckles before taking my hand in his own. "Relax, Little American. You're so tense."

No s**t, I want to say, but I stay silent.

We walk through the doors and I nearly drop to the floor.

There were about a hundred people all impeccably dressed and chatting about. Once Daniel steps through the door with his hand in my own, all eyes fall on us. I feel my face heat up. I wanted to turn and run. I can't do this. Surely Daniel will understand? He gives my hand a squeeze. I can't tell if it's meant as a warning or reassuring gesture but I don't care. For some strange reason, it calms me. Daniel lets go of my hand and wraps his arm around my shoulders. He pulls me tight to his chest and plants a kiss on the top of my head. It's so kind and I melt into a puddle on the spot. Then I remember that this isn't real. Daniel is just playing the part. And that makes me angry.

How dare he play me like this?

My anger subsides when I remember that this is the agreement. This is all pretend.

Daniel clears his throat. "I would like to introduce my betrothed, Annalise Shaw." All the eyes fall on me and I mentally note that I would berate Daniel for this later. I don't have time to dwell because he leads my by the shoulders into the crowd I was dreading. Daniel makes well on his promise and stays glued to my hip the entire night. He never leaves me once, not even when he's motioned over by some older men. I met so many people that I didn't even try to remember their names. Suddenly, I feel every muscle in Daniel's body stiffen.

What makes him react this way?

"Danny."

Daniel turns me around and I come face to face with a man no younger than Daniel. His face is handsome and his jaw is sharp, accompanied by a sculpted nose and bright blue eyes. Familiar blue eyes. Bright blonde hair frames his angled face. He's pleasing to look at. Where Daniel has the fallen angel look, this man has the full on angel look. "Michael." Whoever this Michael is, Daniel knows him, and I can extrapolate that by his tone there is no love lost between them.

Michael turns to me and smiles warmly. I smile back. I like this man. "Ah, you must be the beautiful Annalise." He bows, which confuses me. He speaks in a think Verilian accent, like Daniel does. I notice many similarities, from their eyes, to the way they carry themselves, and even their bone structure. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I didn't think anyone would ever to agree to marry my ass of a brother."

I bite back a laugh. Brother. They're brothers. That makes so much sense.

And boy, he has no idea. I bet if he knew that Daniel had to blackmail me to be his wife, and then recently spanked me, he would laugh. I'm about to reply when Daniel gives my ass a warning squeeze. I look up at him and see raw fury in his eyes. Tread carefully. They say. "Haha.. the pleasure is all mine. And please, call me Annie. You must be Daniel's brother?" I momentarily look back up at Daniel and he looks a little calmer. Instant relief. Dodged a bullet there.

Michael nods. "Of course, Annie. and yes, Daniel is my brother. Well, how did you two meet?"

Before I can stop myself, the lie is already out of my mouth. "I was a maid in the castle tasked with cleaning his suite," I look up at him lovingly and squeeze his bicep as I draw closer to him. "One thing lead to another, and well... I couldn't imagine my life without him." I look around the room for a second and see everyone staring so I make a move. I stand up on my tippy toes and press my lips to his in a passionate kiss. I take him by surprise, but he quickly takes control of the kiss and moves his mouth against mine. It seems like the rest of the world disappears leaving just me and Daniel and the sensation of his lips on my own.

"Easy there." Michael's deep laugh causes me to pull away. I can only imagine how shameful I looked an blush. He turns to me. "Have you met my wife yet, Annie?"

I curiously look up at Daniel again. I was curious to see how he reacted to his brother but all I saw was complete anger. His blue eyes are dark and his jaw is tense. I gulp and shakily answer Michael's question with a shake of my head. "No, I haven't," I manage to say.

What made him so angry? I was just trying to play the part. People were watching and I needed to make it real. Surely he had no reason to be angry with me. I look down where my dress met the floor, suddenly nervous. I look back at Michael and decided to focus on him, unable to look at Daniel's furious expression.

He smiles fondly. "Well, Cassandra is over with the other ladies. I'm sure they would love to make the acquaintance of the woman who stole my brother's cold, dead, heart." He points to a group of elegant women to the right.

Ouch.

I don't waste any time. I've got to get away from Daniel. Something clearly set him off and I need to give him space. I nod happily and plant a fake smile on my lips. I lean up and kiss Daniel on the cheek. "I'll see you later, okay honey?"

That left Daniel no room to argue. If he didn't let me go, he'd look like an ass. "Okay baby." He says through gritted teeth and I escape into the crowd toward the group of gossiping women. When I was out of Daniel's reach, I took a huge breath in relief. I definitely don't want to poke the bear, and Daniel certainly is the bear. And I've seen his claws. Not pretty. I shake the thoughts from my head and walk closer to the women. They stop their chatter and turn to stare at me. I instantly feel out of place. I certainly look out of place. All these women are beautiful with dark hair and perfect faces and I can't help but small.

"Oh my, you're Annalise aren't you?" One of the women says, smoothing out her red dress and looking down her nose at me. I recognize her. I've seen her roaming the halls when I was a maid. Her voice is smooth and her eyes are a bright chocolate color to match her long hair.

I nod and the women shoot me a look of... was that pity? They all look at me with sorrow in their eyes. Why are they pitying me? Isn't Daniel the most eligible bachelor in Verilia? Isn't every girl dying to get a night with him? So why are they looking at me like that?

"Oh dear..." An older woman mumbles and looks back down at her champagne flute before taking a sip.

I suddenly feel bold. "Excuse me but... why are you all looking at me that way?"

Another woman wearing a green gown speaks up. "Well Daniel is..." she trails off and winces. "Let's just say there have been a few scandals."

"Oh yes, you're foreign so you don't know." A woman wearing a black dress that hugs her curves nods in agreement.

My face scrunches up in confusion. "I'm sorry, I have so many more questions about Daniel, but I don't even know your names." I laugh nervously.

The first woman who spoke to me nods her head. "My name's Vanessa." She flips some of her brown hair over her slender shoulder that peeks out behind her red dress. She's beautiful and her dress hugs her body like a second skin. Tall and skinny, I can't help but be a tad bit envious.

She seems a bit rude, but I feel I should give her a chance. Everyone acts like this around me, maybe she's a little different. After all, I saw pity in her eyes.

To my complete shock, she rolls her coffee brown eyes. "What's the deal with you and Daniel anyway?"

I don't quite know how to answer. I mean, what am I supposed to say? I can't tell the truth and I sure as hell don't want to lie so I keep my mouth shut.

"What's he see in you? You're a foreign whore." Vanessa spits.

The other ladies giggle and keep their noses in their champagne flutes as they turn away from us. They're clearly taking her side on the issue. None of these nobles bitches will stand up for me, or stand up to Vanessa. She' clearly an alpha female. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She smirks. "You're not even that pretty."

I narrow my eyes and smirk back. "Well his ring is on my finger, not yours, so I suggest you suck it up buttercup." With that, I walk away. I don't even bother meeting Cassandra, I assume she was one of those ladies but I can't care any less. At this moment, I need to get away from them or I'm going to lose my temper. As much as I'd love to knock Vanessa on her noble ass, I know that Daniel wouldn't be too happy. And when Daniel isn't happy, I feel the consequences first hand.

Pun intended.

I return to him. He's talking to an older man and frowning. I wrap my arms around his waist and stare up at him, feigning exhaustion and smile weakly. I hope he gets my signal that I want to leave. He narrows his eyes and scans my face before wrapping his arm lovingly around my shoulders. Signal received. "If you'll excuse us, my fiance isn't used to these social gatherings and it is getting quite late. We are going to have to retire." Daniel leads me out the door and around the corner until we are alone, saying frivolous farewells to nobles we pass on the way.

I'm thankful to have left the party, but the look in his eyes tells me that the night isn't over yet. Daniel's clearly still pissed off at something and I fully intend to find out what.