Page 144 of The Rogue and His Flower

“Sterling’s place. He’s invited us all over for dinner. Everyone will be there.”

“Everyone?”

“Ben’s got a night off from the bar,” I say, eyeing her briefly, hating how she stares out the window as the evening light draws in and darkness seeps into the sky. “Drix and Lia are coming, of course.”

She nods. “Yes, I recall him mentioning that when I spoke to him earlier in the week. Will Sterling’s dad and stepmother be there too?” she asks.

“No, they’ve gone away for the weekend. Harlow’s joining us though,” I say, my fingers flexing and tightening around the steering wheel as I try to shake off this feeling of unease. “Sterling figured it would be good for us all to catch up seeing as we haven’t managed to do that since we left for our honeymoon.”

“I’ve kept you from your friends,” she says, finally turning to face me.

I force a smile, trying to mask the turmoil bubbling inside of me. “Ourfriends, and no, Daisy, you haven’t kept me from anything or anyone.”

“When you’ve not been working, you’ve been stuck keeping me company,” she counters. “Can’t have been much fun for you.”

“Daisy…” I warn, hating how she sees it that way. “I don’t want to be anywhere else. You’re my wife, and my place is by your side. I–”

“Hmm,” she hums, staring back out of the window, her walls going back up.

“If you’re not feeling up to this, we can go back home,” I offer, all the other words I want to say dissolving on my tongue.

“It’s fine,” she says, shaking her head. “I could use the distraction.”

“Distraction? Don’t you think we should talk–” I begin, but she cuts me off, reaching for my thigh, and squeezing it briefly.

“What good would that do? We’ve run out of options, Dalton.”

If the warmth of her touch didn’t instantly remind me of how good it feels to have her hands on me, how I’ve longed over the past few weeks to get back to that easy affection we shared on our honeymoon, I would’ve argued back. As it is, I can barely stop myself from pulling the damn car over, hauling her into my arms and kissing the damn breath from her, to remind the both of us how good it got between us on our honeymoon, how easily she brought to life that part of me that I had suppressed for so long, that was so desperate for emotional connection.

Instead I keep fucking driving.

We haven’t been intimate since our honeymoon, and I don’t mean foreplay or sex, given she’s still healing both physically, mentally and emotionally. I just mean emotional connection. I’ve had no expectations of her, but it’s as though there’s an invisible wall keeping us apart, it’s unseen but very much real, tangible. Before Daisy I would’ve run from the kind of intimacy and connection that didn’t lead to sex and shared orgasms. But since her, it’s all I want, and I feel fucking bereft not experiencing the love she showered me with on our honeymoon. She’s hurting, but I’m hurting too, and the truth is, I don’t know how to fix us, or this situation, and I’m scared. I’m fucking terrified I’m losing her.

As we pull up at Sterling’s stately home, the warm glow of the lights spills out of the windows, the sound of laughter and chatter drifting through the crisp evening air. Daisy sits beside me, her hands fidgeting in her lap, her eyes fixed on the windshield.

“Ready?” I ask, leaning over and taking her hand briefly, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Yes,” she replies, unhooking her seat belt, opening the car door and slipping out before I can press her further.

As we make our way inside, we’re greeted by our friends. Daisy is instantly wrapped in their warm embraces, and I’m metwith concerned looks and firm handshakes. Maybe I’m just as incapable of hiding my real emotions as Daisy is.

“You got a minute?” Drix asks, pulling me to one side as Lia wraps her arm around Daisy’s waist and they head over to Harlow, Sterling’s stepsister, who’s waiting in the lounge.

I watch Daisy slip into easy conversation with a gracious smile, keeping her pain underwraps. But I see her. I know her, and I don’t know how much more of this pretence I can take.

“How about a drink in the billiards room?” Sterling suggests, noticing the look passing between me and Drix. “I don’t know about either of you, but I could do with a shot, or five.” He eyes Harlow, and I see the agony in his gaze. I’m pretty sure it matches my own.

“Yeah, same,” Ben agrees, glancing at me. “Looks like you need a drink too, mate.”

“Why not?” I shrug, throwing one last look over at my wife.

“Lia, Daisy, Harlow. We’re gonna catch up for a bit. Are you good for a while on your own?” Drix asks.

“Sure,” Lia replies for the three of them as Daisy’s gaze rests briefly on mine. Her eyes flicker with something I can’t quite interpret before her attention is drawn back to Harlow who smiles at something Lia says.

As we step into the dimly lit room, the scent of aged whiskey, cigar smoke and leather envelops me, and I follow the guys to the bar in the corner of the room. Sterling lines up four cut glasses, pouring a shot of bourbon into each.

Drix and Ben take a seat on the bar stools, and I lean against the counter, picking up my drink and knocking it back in one go, welcoming the burn of the fiery liquid as it slides down my throat. It will be my one and only drink tonight given I’m driving.

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