Page 3 of The Rogue and His Flower

"Daisy?" Dalton questions.

I push upright, ignoring his offered hand, and stride past him with a feigned air of confidence.

As we step out of the office, the heavy door shuts behind us with a resounding thud, the hallway stretching before us. Like the rest of Highwood Manor, this wing has been extravagantly decorated with expensive artwork and sparkling chandeliers, the only signs of life are our footsteps echoing off the marble floor, which has been polished to a flawless shine. This is not a place of warmth or comfort; it is simply a demonstration of wealth, every detail meticulously chosen to flaunt the Gunn’s status and distinguish between those who have and those who do not.

Thanks to Hubert, who adopted me at the same time as Drix, I have lived a comfortable life. Our family home is well-lived in, and filled with love, unlike this place which lacks such warmth.

Picking up my pace in my haste to get the hell out of here, I ignore Dalton’s penetrating gaze as he analyses my every move, matching me stride for stride. His scrutiny is unnerving, as though I’m under a microscope waiting to be dissected.

“What?” I bite out, throwing him a glare.

“I suppose congratulations are in order?” he replies with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

“Excuse me if I don’t jump up and down for joy. This isn’t exactly how I envisioned my happily ever after,” I reply, the bitter taste of irony filling my mouth as my steps falter.

I’ve spent my whole life imagining what it would feel like to fall head over heels in love, to make a family of my own after I was so thoroughly mistreated by my birth parents, and yet here I am about to walk into a loveless marriage. At least I’ll get a baby out of this, someone of my own who I can cherish and shower with love, something which was sorely missing in my early childhood.

“You agreed to this,” he reminds me, pulling up sharp.

“I agreed to be your wife, to bear your child. I didnotagree to give up my freedom.”

“Your signature on that contract says otherwise,” he points out.

Drawing in a steadying breath, I nod, turning to face him. “Fine. At least Drix is now free from his debt and can love the woman he deserves, and I get to be a mum. It’s the only thing I’ve ever truly wanted anyway.”

“So when do you plan on using me as a sperm bank to make a baby?” he asks, anger blazing across his face.

“As soon as possible after the wedding,” I retort, ignoring his self-pity. “If I’m lucky I will fall pregnant quickly, then I’ll only have to wait a year after the baby is born to be free of you.”

He shakes his head, swiping a hand through his hair. “Fucking perfect,” he mutters.

A sharp stab of guilt penetrates my heart, alongside the dull ache I always get when I’m on my period, but I ignore both. “This is anarrangedmarriage, Dalton, not a chance for you to indulge your sex addiction. You willneverget to fuck me. Jerk off into a damn jar and hand over your sperm, I’ll deal with the rest.”

He flinches, then his expression hardens. “Are you forgetting we have to make this look believable? Otherwise the contract is null and void.”

“In public I will play the role of your devoted fiancé and wife, but behind closed doors we will be what we’ve always been to each other.”

“And what’s that?” he prompts.

“No more than two people connected by the person we both care about. You’re not my friend, Dalton, and you’re certainlynotgoing to be my lover.”

A slow smile creeps up his face as he reaches for my strawberry blonde hair, tugging on the strands. “Yes, but youwillbe my wife, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone suspect otherwise.”

I laugh in his face. “We both know you won’t be able to live without sex. I imagine you’ll be relieving yourself as regularly as you do right now with the women you like to string along. Don’t worry though, I’ll play the obedient wife, and turn a blind eye so you can deal with yoururges. Perhaps I’ll find someone too,” I add, just to rub it in.

“See, here’s the thing, Daisy,” he says as he pushes the boundaries between us and steps closer, his body dangerously close to mine. “If you’d read the contract fully, instead of staring at it blindly, you’d notice that marital affairs are off the menu, for thebothof us. Can’t have you implanted with another man’s seed, now can we?”

“Your father is such an arsehole,” I snap back.

He shrugs. “Get used to it.”

“Back off,” I growl. I don’t like the way the heat from his body penetrates mine, or the gleam of challenge in his eyes. “I’m not a game to be won, Dalton. There will be nothing between us, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. So good luck with that.”

“You really don’t know me very well at all, do you, Daisy?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I have a one hundred percent success rate when it comes to women.”

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