Chapter 7 #2
“Excuse me?!” she says in a shrill voice.
“No, don’t be ridiculous. I’m twenty-six, not sixteen.
” Lily removes the elastic that's holding her long hair in a high ponytail and then shakes out her loose blonde curls to hide her obvious embarrassment as she walks toward the park.
I look back at the open car door and internally growl as I chase after her. This is taking up too much time.
“I need to drop you off at home,” I say, following her.
“And I told you I need fresh air,” she replies flatly.
“No, you said you feel sick.” I scan the area, noting no one else is out here at this time of night, but it doesn’t make it any less exposed.
She runs her hands over her thighs before sitting on the lip of the fountain in the middle of the small park.
Her outfit is distraction enough—tight-fitting pink pants, a matching pink bralette, and a pair of black heels—and I’m tempted to cover her, if only for my sake, so my gaze isn’t tempted to rake over her, again.
“You’re a weird friend. Do you know that?” she says, ignoring my previous comment.
Friend. Is that what she really thinks I am to Luca? Fuck me, the poor girl doesn’t have very good instincts about people.
A few dim lights dot the park, creating a contrast against her porcelain shoulders, which seem to shine, compared to her face, which is hidden in the shadows as she gazes at her feet.
“I’ve been called worse, I suppose,” I admit as I reluctantly take a seat beside her, because as much as I want to hasten this, I have a feeling that she might not be out here because she feels sick.
She looks more like a girl who’s avoiding going home.
But she’s not a girl. She’s a beautiful woman.
Precious perhaps… but she’s not at all like the others in the circles Luca mingles with.
And maybe that’s what makes her appear so breakable—because she’s so transparent.
We sit in an easy silence. I watch her as she stares at her feet, and it irritates me. Someone as beautiful as her shouldn’t be staring at the ground, but I don't care to ask about the demons she may be fighting.
“Are you just friends with Luca, or is there something else to it?” she asks.
“We have business together,” I say vaguely. Friend is definitely not the right word to describe Luca’s and my relationship. This little rabbit would shake in her boots if she knew the depths of darkness we conducted business in.
She’s studying me now. I don’t know what she’s looking for or why she stares so intently with those big blue eyes.
But she certainly doesn’t seem sick. When I’m about to suggest we walk back to the car, she moves with lightning speed.
I grab her arm tightly on reflex, but am surprised when her soft lips press against mine.
For the first time in a long time, I’m momentarily shocked into inaction.
Startled by the gentle neediness of a woman I shouldn't touch.
Yet my firm grip pulls her closer into me, her breasts pressing against my chest. I force my tongue harder against hers, exploring the depths of what this woman is willing to give me.
I wait for her to pull back and run away scared, but the more I demand, the more she opens up to me.
She swiftly adjusts herself, getting on her knees, and uses my hold on her to ensure she doesn’t fall into the fountain as she straddles me.
Her knees barely fit on either side of me from the size difference, but then she rubs herself against me, those delicate hips grinding on my hardening cock.
The moment she feels me through my pants, a little whimper escapes her throat.
Fucking hell, this woman might be my undoing.
When I come back to my senses, I gently ease her away from me. I can’t fuck this woman. I’ve never had concerns about who I fuck before, but I can't cross that line with this one. She is completely off-limits and will only complicate matters with Arabella Barone as it is.
Lily’s eyes widen in shock. “I, um—” She looks confused. “I’m sorry. I—” She throws back her head and laughs, then slowly climbs off my lap. “Can’t say I’ve been rejected before,” she says, sounding somewhat refreshed.
I’m intently watching her every move, the dip of her curves, the shimmer of her skin as the water hits it. I’d be a fiend to touch something so unintended for bloody hands such as my own.
“Trust me when I say you can’t handle me, Sunshine.”
She laughs again, the sound light and freeing, an entirely different version of what I thought I knew about her. She’s still the agreeable, doe-like woman, but there’s something more confident in her peeking out. She holds out her hand expectantly. “Give me your phone.”
My eyebrows dip. “I’m not giving you my phone.”
“Interesting that you thought I was asking. If you’re going to reject me, the least you can do is take my number.”
“Why do I need your number?”
“So you can message me later to make sure I got home safely after I call my driver to pick me up from here.” She wiggles her fingers expectantly. “Come on, you’ve already rejected me once, help a girl's ego out. Surely, a phone number isn’t going to hurt you.”
I stand. “There’s no need for any text messages because I’ll be taking you home.”
She holds her ground, placing a hand on her hip. “I’ll let you take me home if you give me your phone.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“This is not a negotiation,” I growl, then throw her over my shoulder and stride back toward the car.
She squeals as I lift her with an oomph.
Fuck me, she barely weighs anything. There’s nothing to her, yet I can’t help but have already noticed the perfection of her figure.
How smooth her ass feels under my hand, and her tits, which press against my back. A fucking temptation I don’t need.
“Put me down! This is kidnapping.”
“Trust me, Sunshine, you’d know if I kidnapped you.
” I slowly place her down on her tiptoes when we reach the car.
“For starters, I’d gag that running little mouth of yours,” I say as I rub my thumb against her bottom lip, mesmerized.
“I’d tie your hands behind your back and then lash your legs together so you couldn’t run away. ”
A physical shudder runs through her, and my cock twitches at her transparent response.
She’s off-limits, I remind myself.
It’s enough to pull me out of the trance, and I look back into the depths of her blue eyes. Her smile stretches as she brings my phone to eye level and steps back with a smirk as I go to grab it out of her hand.
When and how did she manage to steal my phone?
Fuck, was I really only thinking with my cock?
This woman cannot be underestimated.
“What’s your passcode? Luca’s birthday?” she jokes over her shoulder with a smirk. “Oh, goodness, it isn’t, right? Not that I’m judging, but even I’m not that close to my—”
I snatch the phone out of her hand. “I’m dropping you off for the night. You and I will not see each other in the future, and even if we do, let me make this very clear—you should keep as much distance from me as possible.”
This woman is slightly infuriating. Or maybe it’s because I don’t like the fact that she was able to so swiftly steal my phone without me realizing.
The corner of her mouth tilts up. “It’s just a number, Lorenzo. Stop being such a scaredy cat.”
Lorenzo. My cock twitches, enticed by the way my name rolls off her tongue.
Lily Taylor is somewhat unassuming. She probably knows she’s beautiful, but I doubt she understands the true force of her magnetism, and I’m unnerved at how it’s working on me.
Seduction never works on me. Especially when it can be used as a weapon.
But she’s so sincere, and far more daring tonight than I ever thought she could be.
Considering I still want to adjust my cock, and need to return to Luca’s side, I realize the easiest route is giving her my phone. Especially if I don’t want to technically kidnap her just to return her home. I offer my phone. “I won’t text you.”
She smirks as she enters her phone number and then hands it back. When I look down, my eye twitches. She put her name in my contacts with a flower emoji behind it. And she’s sent herself a message. New friend.
Before I can respond, she slides into the back of the car and closes the door behind her. What the fuck just happened?
I pocket my phone, trying to shake off the bizarre exchange. When I get back into the car, she’s preoccupied with her phone and doesn’t speak to me for the rest of the drive. It’s unsurprising that her apartment building is one of the most expensive ones in Manhattan.
Lily Taylor is the type of woman I usually despise most. And yet, when she climbs out of the car and then dips her head back in through the back door, she smiles at me. “Thanks, new friend. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“I doubt it,” I deadpan.
She shrugs. “If not, thanks for the humbling rejection.” She laughs, but a small blush tinges her cheeks before she slams the door.
I watch her hips sway from side to side, baffled by the contradicting version of her brought out by some liquid courage.
I thought she was a shy, doe-eyed daddy’s girl.
But now I’m certain there’s something more to be explored.
I immediately shut the thought down, sending a message to Luca.
I turned into a babysitter tonight.
Lily Taylor is a distraction I don’t need in my life. I can have any woman I want, and I choose to keep it at that. Lily is a woman I have no interest in entertaining, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I want to taste her.
But I know even one taste will be damning.
A soft knock on the door breaks me out of my thoughts, and I once again try to forget the memory, infuriated that I became consumed by it.
When I open the door, Sky stands there, wearing his bike helmet, the visor down so no one can see his face.
“Since when did I turn into some food delivery guy?” he demands, opening the visor with a scowl as he holds out a brown bag.
“Where’s the iced tea?” I demand, and he holds it up in the other hand.
I take both. “You tried the salad?”
He rolls his light-blue eyes. “Yes, not poisoned. And if you ever make me eat kale again, I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Watch your tone,” I growl, irritated by the little shit. “No onion?”
He huffs. “No onion.”
He shrugs and pockets his gloved hands. “Seem to be going out of your way for the new girlfriend, huh?” he says with an arrogant smirk.
I close the door in his face, then I open the brown bag and inspect the contents. It’s her usual order from one of her favorite restaurants. She can hate me all she likes, but while I’m in charge of her safety, I’m not going to let her wilt away into nothing.
I hover outside her door, thinking better of barging in. Instead, I place my offering on the floor and then knock before walking down the stairs. I’ve got a lot of work to do, investigating her father, and I can’t help but think Lily Taylor might be my most turbulent mission yet.