Page 15 of Rocco

“Maybe.” Jemma shrugged. “You’ll be dealing more with my team than me.”

“Can I drive you to your hotel?”

“No need. I’m staying in a hotel not too far from here. I can walk,” Jemma said.

“I’ll walk with you,” Rocco insisted.

No way in hell she could let that happen. “It was a pleasure getting to know you, Just Rocco.”

He gave her a smile of understanding that damn near made her heart explode.

“You too, Just Jemma.”

With those final words, she turned and walked away from him before she made a big mistake.

Now, all of that was coming back to haunt her.

Could she objectively evaluate Rocco when the first thing she’ddone when she got back to the hotel was fantasize about him as she pleasured herself with her vibrator?

Jemma exhaled loudly. “I’m not saying that the two of you are wrong. But we need Fallon to weigh in on Rocco’s unique situation.”

If all three agreed, Jemma wouldn’t stand in the way, even if she’d be responsible for watching over the handsome agent.

“You bring up excellent points, as usual,” Tank said, sobering from her perspective. “Fallon will be here in thirty minutes. Once she finishes her report, we can regroup and make the final decision.”

Jemma nodded, then glanced around. She could read the tea leaves. The likelihood that Rocco wouldn’t be part of the operation to take down El Sombro was shrinking by the minute. That meant she needed to have a conversation about what transpired between them. What had started as a challenge and banter between two agents had ended feeling like an intimate … date.

She needed to make it clear to Rocco that she wouldn’t hang out with him like that again.

And more importantly, they needed to keep that encounter a secret. The last thing she needed was for the Proteus Team or the Proteus Deputy Agent in Charge to learn about it. They might read too much into the encounter and come too close to the truth.

“Where’s Agent Forrester now?” Jemma asked, hoping her tone was professional and distant.

Lenny pointed toward the house. “Inside, prepping for the psych analysis.”

“I’m going to check on him before Fallon gets here,” Jemma said, then left the two men.

Walking across the cracked sidewalk, overgrown with weeds sprouting from the concrete, she reached the door and turned the knob. The door opened, and she paused. Hesitation clawed at her.

Maybe seeing Rocco wasn’t a good idea.

Maybe avoiding him like the plague and ebola combined was a better approach.

Pros and cons rattled in her mind at rapid speed.

No, she had to do this.

There couldn’t be a hint of familiarity between them when they were around the rest of the Proteus Team. It would trigger questions Jemma was not going to answer. She had to lay the ground rules for Rocco, so she wouldn’t be in an uncomfortable or inappropriate situation later.

Jemma stepped inside the house and glanced around. A living area stretched in front of her, and beyond it was a kitchen. To the right, there were two doors. One was open, revealing the edges of bedroom furniture in the dark shadows. The other was closed. The thundering splatter of water pelting against tiles rose from the other side.

Rocco was in the shower.

A vision of what she imagined his muscular body would look like naked under a stream of water invaded her mind. Warmth pooled between her thighs, and she groaned. Squeezing her eyes shut, Jemma tried to force the thoughts away.

“Jemma …” Rocco’s voice boomed in the small space. “Are you okay?”

Chapter 10