Wrong Place, Wrong Man

Chapter 10 - Caught

BONNIE
Oh, fuck.
Lorenzo shrugged out of his jacket with the unhurried precision of a man who had nowhere else to be.
I stared at him from the edge of the dock.
“No.”
He folded the jacket once and laid it over the roof of the car.
I took another step backwards.
“Lorenzo.”
His hands went to his cuffs.
That was worse.
Much worse.
He unfastened one, then the other, his eyes never leaving mine as he rolled the sleeves of his white shirt neatly over his forearms. Black ink emerged with every turn of fabric, intricate lines disappearing beneath the remaining sleeve and continuing over the backs of his hands.
Apparently even preparing to drag a woman out of the marina required immaculate presentation.
“You stay right there.”
One dark eyebrow lifted.
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“I’m perfectly capable of staying in the water.”
His gaze travelled over me with deliberate leisure, taking in my dripping hair, soaked blouse and the torn skirt plastered against my legs.
“You’re shivering.”
“I’m furious.”
“You can be both.”
I hated that he was right.
I hated even more that he looked completely untouched by the last half hour. While I had sprinted barefoot through a park, assaulted one of his employees with a shoe, jumped into freezing water and spent God knew how long hiding beneath docks, Lorenzo looked as though he’d just stepped away from a private dinner.
Not a single dark hair seemed out of place.
The bastard.
He stepped onto the dock.
I backed away.
Wood creaked quietly beneath his shoes.
“Don’t come any closer.”
He continued walking.
“Did the part where I jumped into the f*****g ocean not make my feelings clear?”
“Marina.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“You jumped into a marina.”
“That’s what you’re correcting?”
A faint hint of amusement touched his eyes.
“You’re very particular when you’re angry.”
“I’m about to become very particular about where I kick you.”
That finally stopped him.
His gaze dropped.
Slowly.
To my bare feet.
Then travelled upward again.
My torn skirt had twisted around my legs, the slit now exposing considerably more thigh than its designer had ever intended. The ivory silk of my blouse had become almost translucent, moulded by water to every line beneath it.
His attention lingered.
Not crudely.
That might have been easier.
Lorenzo looked at me with the quiet concentration of a man who had discovered something he wanted to study at leisure. There was nothing hurried about his gaze, nothing apologetic either. He allowed it to move over me as openly as if the privilege belonged to him.
Heat crawled across my skin despite the cold.
I folded my arms across my chest.
His eyes returned to mine.
“Finished?”
“No.”
The answer came without hesitation.
My lips parted.
Arrogant f*****g bastard.
“Enjoy the view while you can.”
“I am.”
I should have been offended.
I was offended.
Unfortunately, some treacherous part of me was also intensely aware of the way his rolled sleeves tightened around his forearms and the black ink disappearing beneath them.
That irritated me considerably more.
I pointed toward the lane. “Go away.”
“No.”
“I escaped.”
“You were found.”
“By you.”
“Yes.”
“Your men didn’t find me.”
“No.”
“So technically, I won.”
His mouth curved slightly.
“That isn’t how winning works.”
“You said if I got away from your men, I was free.”
“I said if you got away, you were free.”
“No. You specifically said your men.”
His expression changed.
Barely.
I saw it anyway.
I straightened.
“You did.”
He regarded me in silence.
A tiny spark of triumph warmed my chest.
“You remember.”
“I remember everything I say.”
“Good. Then we’re done here.”
I turned.
“Bonnie.”
I kept walking.
There wasn’t actually anywhere useful to walk, considering the dock ended in approximately twelve feet, but principle was principle.
“Bonnie.”
“No.”
“Come here.”
“I think we’ve established how I feel about that phrase.”
I reached the end of the dock.
Wonderful.
I looked at the water.
Then over my shoulder.
Lorenzo had stopped several yards behind me.
He watched me.
I watched him.
“If you’re considering jumping again,” he said, “I wouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because this time I’m coming after you.”
A chill that had nothing to do with the water moved down my spine.
I lifted my chin. “Maybe I’m a better swimmer.”
“Maybe.”
He took another step.
I stepped onto the very edge.
“Don’t test me.”
Something darkened in his eyes.
“There it is again.”
“What?”
“That belief that I’m the one being tested.”
His voice had changed.
It was quieter now.
Lower.
The same voice he’d used in his office immediately before touching my mouth.
My body remembered it before I wanted it to.
I tightened my jaw.
“You’re very full of yourself.”
“And you’re stalling.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
He took another step.
“You’re cold. You’re exhausted. Your feet are bleeding, although you’ve apparently decided not to notice, and you’ve been in the water long enough that your lips are beginning to lose their colour.”
I looked down instinctively.
There was a thin smear of blood along the side of my foot.
Damn.
“I’ve had worse.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
He was close now.
Too close.
I stepped backwards.
There was no dock beneath my heel.
My stomach dropped.
I caught my balance just before I fell.
Lorenzo’s hand moved instantly.
I slapped it away.
“I’ve got it.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Clearly.”
“I said I’ve got it.”
“And I’ve decided I’ve had enough.”
“Congratulations.”
His jaw shifted.
It was the first real sign of irritation I’d managed to pull from him.
I smiled.
There you are.
“You find this amusing?” he asked.
“A little.”
“I’ve had twelve men searching the waterfront for you.”
“Thirteen if we count you.”
“We don’t.”
“Why? Management exemption?”
His eyes hardened.
I should stop.
I knew I should stop.
I smiled wider.
“You’ve wasted almost forty minutes of my time.”
“Oh, I’m devastated.”
“Two of my men are injured.”
“One has a sore foot.”
“You hit another in the face with a shoe.”
“He grabbed my bag.”
“You bit Marco.”
“He put his hand over my mouth.”
“You kicked him.”
“Also deserved.”
“And then you jumped into the water.”
“You were there for that part.”
A muscle moved in his jaw.
God, annoying him was satisfying.
I tilted my head. “Anything else you’d like to put in my performance review?”
His eyes settled on me.