Chapter 17
LORENZO
She’s been silent the entire car trip. I’ve been grinding my jaw and trying my best not to snap the fucking steering wheel in two. I'm pissed about her not answering my question, but also at the fact that she removed the listening device I bugged her with.
A crackle of tension runs between us like a physical barrier, and I try not to laugh, because she's playing the wrong fucking game with me.
This is why working with men is easier. Women have emotional highs and lows that I can’t regulate. They are complicated beings, and I have no experience in reading their emotions or caring about their feelings, because I’ve never had to.
“Stop here,” Lily commands.
“Why?” I growl. We’re in one of the busiest areas of Manhattan. Thousands of people scamper throughout the night. There’s nothing but restaurants and luxury stores surrounding us.
I’m forced to come to a stop at a traffic light, and she goes to open the door, discovering it's locked. She looks over her shoulder furiously. “You’ve seriously locked me in here?”
“It’s a safety lock meant for children,” I deadpan.
Her eyes narrow. “Then I’ll just have to break it.”
I bury the smirk wanting to form on my lips, knowing it’ll piss her off even more.
Still, when she looks at my suit, directly at where I holster my gun, I say, “The glass is bulletproof, sweetheart, so even if you do find the courage to attempt to steal my gun and take a shot, you’ll only be damning us instead. ”
“You’re so infuriating. Unlock the door right now. I need out.” It’s the dangerous edge to her tone that has me watching her cautiously. I have enough sense to know that something definitely happened tonight, and it's not simply because I bugged her and asked about her father’s vice.
I know better than to poke too much in a time like this, even if my curiosity is piqued. I’ve seen Luca do it enough to Ara to know the wrath that follows isn’t worth it.
I round the corner and pull over.
The moment the engine switches off, Lily all but throws herself out of the car.
“Lily,” I call out after her. For fuck's sake, this woman drives me insane. I lock the car, then catch up to her, but come to a stop as I look up at the store she’s beelined for.
Cartier. My entire body tenses as I look at the stores on either side.
Fuck me, she really is going to drag me through the perils of retail therapy.
I adjust my belt and suit jacket, then push through the door after her, accepting the challenge head-on.
A staff member near the door gives me an insincere greeting and a suspicious once-over as I follow Lily.
If I didn’t know she was pissed off, I would’ve thought that bright fucking smile on her face meant she was the happiest person alive right now.
A woman behind the counter is already talking with her, agreeing with her quick choices.
I come to a stop behind her, but am treated like I don’t exist as Lily slides a ring on her finger and admires it.
She then shifts to a pair of earrings, and we stop at every fucking display as she coos enthusiastically with the sales clerk over every piece.
“You have good taste as usual, Miss Taylor,” the clerk encourages as she continues putting items to the side. “Will that be all for today?”
She's chosen several items in the span of five minutes. I’m actually impressed. I’m not one for jewelry personally, but I can appreciate the classical style Lily prefers.
“That comes to one hundred and twenty-two thousand,” the woman says with a smile.
“Wonderful,” Lily replies, then suddenly turns to me and slides her hand over my chest. “My boyfriend here is buying them for me as a little apology gift.”
“Excuse me?” I glare down at her.
She’s smiling sweetly now and batting her thick eyelashes. “Thanks, honey.” Lifting on her tiptoes, she presses a kiss to my cheek before heading for the exit.
That. Little. Brat.
“How will payment be made, sir?” the woman asks, grabbing my attention before I storm after Lily.
I don’t have to pay. I know that. But Lily is challenging me, and I’m not one to ever back down, even if she’s being a pain in my ass.
One that needs to be placed over my knee and punished again. My cock jumps at the thought.
And so, I find myself handing over my card, hurrying the woman along because Lily is already gone. I take the bag and head for the door. By the time I’m out of the store, she’s already on to the next.
What the fuck is this hell?
By the time I enter the second store, she’s somehow magically racked up three garments to try on.
I spot the back of her as she enters the changing room. I beeline for it, ignoring the woman who asks me to remain in the waiting area. The store itself looks like the lobby of a luxury hotel.
I never go shopping; everything is ordered for me and delivered to my home. And although I understand having expensive taste, she’s lashing out.
I open the red velvet curtain and freeze.
She’s wearing only a white G-string, exposing perfect tits ample enough to fill my hands.
Her gaze flies to mine, but instead of the skittish, shy Lily I’m used to, a different version of her stands in front of me; this one furious, raging, looking for somewhere to release all that pent-up anger.
“Want to explain this?” I say, lifting the Cartier bag.
She turns, ignoring me, and steps into a dress.
My jaw grinds as my gaze drops to her ass, and I step into the tiny space, pulling the curtain closed. Fine. If she wants to play this game, I’ll goad her into giving me a reaction. “What's with the pissy mood?”
Her head whips in my direction, and I feel smug, assuming it was that easy to draw her attention. Because I’d rather have her wrath than her cold shoulder.
“You ignored my rule about not going into my room and bugged me,” she accuses.
We're still stuck on that, eh? “That’s it?”
“That’s it?” she says in disbelief, throwing her hands in the air. “Oh, I forgot I’m talking with a criminal.”
“Don’t lump me with petty crooks,” I growl. This can’t be all she's upset about. There has to be more.
“I can’t breathe with you around, Lorenzo. You need to give me space,” she bites. “I don’t need you within five feet of me all the time.”
“Your safety is my priority. So until I'm released from this mission, you're stuck with me being your constant shadow.”
She sucks in a sharp breath and then scowls as she turns toward the mirror. Fuck me, I can’t say anything right with this woman.
She admires her reflection. The dress is beautiful, but only because she’s wearing it. The back of it gapes open, the zipper not zipped. She infuriates me, and yet, I find myself stepping closer, closing my fingers around the tiny zipper, and slowly pulling it up for her.
She watches me through the mirror, her breath hitching as I reach the top.
It’s a tight dress. Different from the usual free-flowing ones she wears.
It accentuates her curves in all the right places, and now that I’ve seen her bare tits, I can’t unsee them.
Suddenly, I hate this dress because it’s showing too much cleavage.
After a moment, she says, “You can unzip me. I want to try the next one.”
I remain standing behind her, looking down at the small scar between her shoulder blades. I trail it with my finger. “How did you get this scar?” It’s the only blemish or imperfection I’ve discovered on her smooth skin so far.
Lily pulls her long, wavy hair over her shoulder, blocking my view of it. “Just being a reckless kid. Can you unzip me now?”
“Hmmm,” I hum, not at all liking the vague answer, but who am I to ask for her secrets? I unzip the dress, my gaze roaming over her exposed skin. My cock twitches, and I swallow hard.
She’s so incredibly smooth, so opposite to me in every way. So polished and yet perfectly cracked.
“Lorenzo,” she says quietly, and it brings me out of my fixation. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” I ask, my voice gravelly. I hate the restraint I have to impose on myself around this woman.
She's too tempting.
She turns, facing me again as she swallows and looks up at me through her eyelashes. “Like you want to break me.”
I chuckle because wanting to break her is an understatement. “Well, you’ve been a brat. You should be punished in some way.” Her gaze dips down to where my cock is pressing against my pants. “Why are you really upset tonight?”
“I told you. It's because—”
“You told me only part of the reason,” I say, placing my hands up against the mirror on either side of her and leaning into her space. “I know I’m not the only one you’re angry with.” My shoulders bunch. It’s the only way I can make sure I don’t put my hands on her.
To feel her curves.
Tempted to taste her.
Curious how tight she'll be around my cock.
My jaw tics. This woman and her fucking floral scent are slowly undoing me. I’m no better than a starved man begging for his next meal. But I can’t submit.
Something soft and vulnerable shifts in her gaze. The flicker of the sweet Lily I’ve come to know. “My father set me up on a date in two weeks. I have no choice but to go.”
“You always have a choice.”
“No, I don’t.” She looks away, but I grip her chin to force her to look back up at me.
“You’re not wearing this fucking dress on a date,” I warn her.
Her eyebrows furrow. “You don’t own me.”
“No, I don’t, because you’d know if I did,” I growl, irritated by her defiance.
“Is everything okay in there?” a saleswoman calls from the other side of the curtain.
“We’re fine,” I bark, not breaking eye contact with Lily.
“O-okay. Just let me know if you need anything,” the woman replies before leaving.