Page 18 of The Rogue and His Flower

“You know, you really should stop racing. It’s dangerous,” I say, pulling my hands back and cursing myself internally for touching him willingly.

“Are you concerned I might get hurt, Daisy?”

“I’m concerned you might kill someone else,” I retort. “Aren’t you a little old to be racing motorbikes anyway?”

“So my rough hands gave me away? Good to know,” he replies, ignoring my question. “Anything else?”

“Your scent,” I confess.

He raises an eyebrow. “My scent?”

“You’ve been wearing the same aftershave for years,” I say, feeling the tension stretch taut between us. “It was unmistakable.”

“That’s very observant of you, one could assume you’re a little obsessed with me,” he says pointedly.

“Don’t read too much into it, the scent is overpowering. You might want to refrain from dousing yourself in it,” I reply snarkily.

“At what point, exactly, did you realise it was me, Daisy?” Dalton asks, the heat in his gaze replacing the earlier anger.

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters. You were turned on.”

“I was not!” I protest.

“You were moaning.”

“I was out of my mind,clearly.”

“With lust?” he insists.

“With stupidity.”

“So why not stop me?”

I flick my gaze away, staring out of the window at the beautiful view, hating that I didn’t stop him, that I let him touch me like that, that my decision got Tomasz fired.

“Daisy, why didn’t you stop me?” he persists.

“Because I’m an idiot,” I offer.

“Daisy,” he warns. “Answer me now or so help me?—”

“Because I liked it, okay?” I hiss. “Are you happy now? I liked the feel of your hands on me.”

“You liked it?” he questions, surprise lighting his eyes. “You like me?”

“That’s not what I said. I don’t like you like that.”

“Yet you allowed me to touch you. You enjoyed it. Explain.”

“It’s complicated,” I admit, pressing my eyes shut as tears prick the back of my eyes.

“So uncomplicate it. Tell me what you mean,” he adds, a little softer now.

I force myself to look at him. “Please, Dalton. Don’t make this any harder than it already is. I should have stopped you the second I realised it was you. In fact,youshould never have touchedme. Why did you?”

“Because I was angry.”

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