Brett and Daisy ended up sleeping on the carpeted floor of Daisy's room. When she woke sometime later, she heard his heart beating steadily. All the lights were still on, and the carpeted floor was hard and uncomfortable. Brett lay on his back, his beautiful face youthful in sleep, his shirt lifted just enough to expose his navel and the gorgeous muscles of his abdomen. She looked at him in utter awe. This was the man she loved, the very man whose body gave her such pleasure, a man whose thoughtfulness moves her over and over again. He was still there. But from the frown that marred the space between his brows, she knew he was still hurting. She slid her hand into his sweatpants. And for the first time since they had been together, he wasn’t hard in her palms, but he quickly swelled and thickened as she stroked him from root to tip. Fear lingered just beneath her arousal, but she was more afraid of losing him than of living with the demons inside him. He stirred, his arm tightening
Morning came and they dressed for work together. Brett appeared somber yet collected. But Daisy knew he was anything but. "You really won’t give up on me, will you?" he asked quietly. She held up her right hand and showed him her ring. "You’re stuck with me, Lexington. Get used to it."On their drive to work, he cuddled her in his lap, and again on their ride to Brett's business lunch later in the day.Daisy didn’t speak more than a dozen words during the meal, which Brett ordered for her that she obviously enjoyed. She sat quietly at his side, her left hand resting on his hard thigh beneath the tablecloth, a wordless affirmation of her commitment to him, to both of them. As Brett discussed a new factory acquisition that was still in progress, he placed his warm, strong palm on Daisy's own that was already resting on his lap. They kept that connection throughout the entire meal, each of them choosing to eat one-handed rather than separate. With each hour that passed, both of them
Daisy exhaled in a rush, relieved. With her cellphone phone in hand, she ventured to see what the hell was going on. She couldn’t register the door shut behind her over Ugo's shouting. "Fuck you. We talked about this. You said you'll be cool with whatever I choose. So what changed. Huh?" "Really, you want me to be cool with some guy on the side arrangement? News flash, I'm not cool with such. I can't handle it." Daisy heard Hollis's strong and firm voice. "You're blowing this out of proportion," Ugo barked. "It’s such a simple thing." Hollis came storming out of Ugo's bedroom in such a rush that Daisy plastered herself to the hallway wall to get out of his way. Ugo followed, him reluctantly and got shot a narrow-eyed glance by Daisy who was replied with a fuck-off middle finger. She left the two confused humans alone and went back to the kitchen, angry at Ugo for once again pushing what could be a sweet man out of her life. When she came out to the kitchen almosr fifteen minutes
Brett arrived Daisy's apartment just as dinner was coming out of the oven. He came with a garment bag in one hand and a laptop case in the other. When Daisy first opened the door and saw him on the threshold, a shiver of unease slid through her. "Sunshine," he called quietly, and followed her back into the kitchen. "It smells delicious in here.""Well, I hope you’re hungry, I made a tad bit of too much food." She replied, recalling how she channeled all that anger she felt as a result of her ruckus with Ugo into making dinner.He dropped his stuff on the breakfast bar and approached her cautiously, his gaze searching her face as he neared. "I brought some things with me to stay the night, but I’ll go if you want. At any time, just tell me." Daisy blew out her breath in a harsh rush, "I want you here.""I want to be here." He paused beside her. "Can I hold you?" She turned into him and squeezed him hard. "Please." He pressed his cheek against hers and hugged her close. The embrace w
Then, because she really didn’t want to fight, she moved on. "What did Sheila say when she saw it?" Daisy asked.Brett relaxed. "It was difficult, of course. Even more difficult when she realized that I've seen it." He leaned back in his chair and exhaled harshly. "Seeing Manuel's face on the video, seeing what he really thought of her, that will hurt her. It’s hard to see yourself being used that way. Especially by someone you think you know, someone who’s supposed to look out for you." To hide her reaction, Daisy busied herself with refilling both her glass and his. He spoke as if he'd had a similar experience. What exactly had been done to him? After a quick gulp of wine, she asked, "Your Aunt would be devastated if she ever find out.""Well, they compliment each other." Brett said.She paused and waited for more, but that was it. Not wanting to pry, she asked another question. "How are you doing with it, with Manuel and Sheila?" "What can I do. Over the years, I’ve made every a
Work went on as usual for Daisy. Neither Ugo nor her have sent any apology notes. Yet, somehow they know they can't remain mad at each other. After work, she followed Brett to L-fitness gym, Ben dropped them off at the curb and they headed inside. The place was hopping and the locker room crowded. She changed and stowed her stuff , then met Brett in the hallway. She waved at Jamie, the trainer who’d talked to her on her first visit to alL-fitness, and got a smack on the ass for it. "Hey," she protested, swatting at Brett's chastising hand. He tugged her ponytail and gently urged her head back, tilting her mouth up so he could mark his territory with a deep, lush kiss. The way he pulled her hair sent electricity sweeping across her skin. "If this is your idea of a deterrent," she whispered against his lips, "I have to say it’s much more of an incentive.""I'm quite willing to take it up a notch." He nipped her lower lip with his teeth. "But I wouldn't suggest testing my limits tha
Immediately they approached the venue of the event of the evening heads turned as they walked to the ballroom and eyes followed Brett. Slowly, he slipped into that business-like facial feature that always made Daisy feel like a big wedge had been pushed between them. She got a nervous twitch from all the attention he garnered, but he seemed oblivious and completely unruffled. He was pretty much mobbed the moment they stopped walking. Feeling uneasy, Daisy stepped away to make room for those vying to catch Brett's attention and wandered off to find some champagne. Lex and Gibson had done the pro bono advertising for the event, so she spotted a few people she knew. As she managed to snag a glass off a passing waiter’s tray, she heard someone call out her name. Turning, she saw Armstrong, her high school mate that she had somehow discovered she was also related to, when her mother said so. In order to make her understand better, her mother had to sketch her maternal tree and she saw A
"Including girlfriends." Lana smiled awkwardly. "If you could spare him a moment, I’ve been hoping to introduce him to someone for the purpose of business.""Of course." Daisy replied. Her voice sounded calm, but she was anything but calm. Brett gave her a cursory kiss on the temple before he stepped closer to Lana and offered his arm to her, leaving Sheila standing awkwardly next to Daisy. Daisy felt sorry for Sheila, she was looking so dejected. "Your new hairstyle is absolutely beautiful, Sheila."She glanced at Daisy, her mouth tight, and then it softened with a sigh that sounded filled with resignation. "Thank you. It was time for many changes, I think. Also, there was no reason to keep stressing myself when the ultimate winner is back in the picture." Daisy frowned in confusion. "You lost me." "I’m talking about Lana." She studied Daisy's face. "Oh!" she faked a gasp. "You don’t know. She and Brett were an item for almost three years. He proposed and she said no. Instead sh