Page 124 of Wallflower

“Oh, I’ll be okay.”

He pulls back just enough to lock my gaze, something passing between us that goes unsaid. I can see the torment on his face.Hedoesn’t want to go back down there, past all the carnage he wrought to get me out.

“Okay,” I whisper. “Let’s get out of here, they can handle it.”

Relief smooths over his face as he straightens. “Find the other members of the team, they’ll show you where the bodies are. Maximus is the one with a face full of lead…” he looks to me, smirking coyly, “not the one missing a dick.”

Rose sleeps a concerning amount. The doctor says it’s natural after what she’s been through, but I know it’s more than that. She’s withering, wilting before my very eyes, and because it’s not on my terms, it’s irritating the hell out of me. When she breaks apart, it will be because of me, and the carefully crafted plan finally coming to fruition, not crumbling under what she suffered through at Bleakcrest. She’s stronger than that. And soon, I’ll see how well she can handle me.

Tension tightens like a noose around my neck as Rose mumbles in her sleep. Eyes roving beneath their lids, she groans in sleepy agony. The pitch is familiar, I’ve heard it a time or two since being home. She’s in the midst of a nightmare I have no hope in waking her from. They cling to her so deeply, it’s betterfor her to ride them out than be ripped from that reality and dropped into this one. A few times, despite the peril in her mind, the dream’s conclusion has been good. Those are the days when I see her shine the brightest, almost like she’s herself again.

Rolling over, she settles, breathing slow and quiet. The breath I was holding hisses out of me as I round the bed to continue monitoring her, pulse gradually returning to normal.

Emotion slithers its way through my veins the longer I linger. I try to force it away, rip it out at the roots, but she’s dug herself far and wide. I feel her even in the places I dare not wander. She’s fucked my head past the point of reason. I’m unsettled and untethered, and because of that, I’m clinging to the original plans like a fucking lifeline.

Take over Maximus’s empire, and demolish the strongest woman I can find. I’ve already got her falling for me, I can see it in her eyes when I enter a room. The fog lifts just enough that a small smile almost always curves the side of her lips. When she’s primed and ready to dive headfirst into love with me, I’ll rip it all out from beneath her—shattering her to dust.

But in order to make any progress, I need her to wake the fuck up and stay conscious for more than a few hours at a time. When awake, she spends more time in her head than with me. Cognizance is a line she dances along with dangerous steps. Hopefully, finding out what the hell happened to her sister will bring some life back into her hollowed out eyes.

The purple flowers she snatched up on the way out of Bleakcrest have dried out, lying in a pile of petals and shrivelled roots on the side table. I move to swipe the remnants into my palm, wanting to dispose of them as silently as possible, but her cold fingers land over mine, scaring the absolute shit out of me. “Don’t take them,” she whispers.

“They’re dead.”

“It’s okay, I like them.” Rose looks up at me. Seeing me for the first time in what feels like an eternity, instead of looking through me. Slowly, she’s getting through this, processing all she endured.

“Do you need anything?”

“Nope,” she says softly.

“Are you sure? Kyle’s got a hidden stash of ice cream. It’s moose tracks.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

She smiles, gentle and warm, shaking her head.

“Coffee? Chocolate? Peaches? I bought the good ones, I swear.”What the fucking fuck is happening to me? Stop blabbering, she said no.

“Ripley,” she sighs, “I’m okay.”

“Are you?”

Rose pulls back the covers. The slowly healing lashes marring her naked skin leave small blooms of red across our white abstract dinosaur design sheets. “Stay with me?”

“You need to eat.”

“Don’t tell me what I need,” she bites back, and my dick jumps.There she is.“Either get in, or get out.”

I internally roll my eyes, but slide in beside her with a schmuck’s grin upon my face.

“Tell me something.”

“Like what?”

“Anything,” she replies.

Looking deep into her eyes, I’m ready to confess shit to her I’ve never said to anyone before, and I don’t know why. “I’m worried about you,” I whisper.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” she groans jokingly.

“Hey!”