Chapter 36
Rocco folded his arms, his jaw setting in a hard line. “Where were you today?” He stood menacingly across the living room. She swore he was the only man who could make black scrubs look sexy. But that scowl on his face was throwing her off.
Jemma closed her laptop and placed it on the coffee table before responding. “I was here doing research on the op.”
She preferred a sweet, ‘Hi honey, I’m home’ over this surly version of Rocco, who’d returned to the bungalow near midnight.
“You weren’t here. I came home to have lunch with you, but you were gone,” Rocco said, his dark eyes shrewd and full of suspicion.
“I went to the park to have a picnic lunch,” Jemma said, her anger rising. “I was out for a few hours, then came back here.”
“And I guess you left your cell phone at home?”
“As a matter of fact, I did. I had my laptop and access to wifi if I needed it,” Jemma said, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn’t like explaining herself to anyone, especially not the man who’d been sweet, funny, and caring this morning. Who the hell was this Rocco?
“Did it cross your mind to check if I’d called or left you a text?”
“You know what, it didn’t. So sue me,” Jemma said, then threw her hands in the air. “What the hell is going on with you?”
“Funny, I could ask you the same thing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Any reason why you didn’t tell Lenny and Tank about the man we saw with Vance and Eddie in Samana? Not only did they not know about him, but they also hadn’t received any of the photos you took to cross-reference him to criminal databases,” Rocco thundered. “Why is that?”
“Because while you’re at the clinic playing doctor all fucking day, I need something to do. You think it’s easy for me to sit around waiting for you to come home when I’m used to overseeing a half dozen undercover operations across the U.S.? I didn’t need to ask Lenny to do what I could do from my own laptop,” Jemma said, nervousness leaking into her voice.
Was Rocco suspicious of her? Could he be on to her search for Nomar? But how? The only way would be if he remembered where he’d seen the man before. That it was the same man who’d attacked her in the club at La Placita.
Her mind raced. She didn’t know what her next move would be if he called her on it. Telling him the truth wasn’t an option.
But there had to be a reason for this change in him. Rocco was acting like he didn’t trust her. Like she was going behind his back and keeping him in the dark. Jemma groaned inwardly. That was what she was doing, but it didn’t give him the right to act like some jealous, jilted lover, questioning her every move.
Wait … was that what was going on here?
“Why are you coming at me like this? It’s not like you, and it’s pissing me off,” Jemma said, pointing a finger at him.
Rocco unclenched his fists and rested his hands on the bar separating them. “Did it ever occur to you that I might be worried about you when I didn’t hear from you all day?”
“Worried? Damn it, Rocco. I never should’ve told you why I can’t go undercover anymore. I went from being a strong, badass supervisor to some weak damsel you need to protect from the big bad men of the Sombro Cartel.” Jemma lashed out. A flare of annoyance and determination surged within her. “I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to worry about me because I went a few hours without talking to you.”
“I know you can take care of yourself. That’s not why I was worried …” his voice trailed off, and he heaved a deep sigh.
“Then what’s the reason?”
“Because you’re fucking important to me. The most important person in my life outside of my mother, and I care what happens to you,” Rocco blurted out. “I care about you.”
Jemma’s mouth fell open but she couldn’t make herself speak.
The vulnerability in Rocco’s words touched her so deeply that it melted all her anger away.
“I care about you.” Jemma rose from the couch and closed the distance between them. She stroked the taut muscles of his arm.
“I’m not going to apologize for wanting to know you’re safe,” Rocco said, resisting her attempts to ease his frustration.
She guessed she’d have to work harder to get him to relax. Jemma’s voice was low, seductive. “You don’t need to apologize. I promise I won’t let my guard down when we’re not together,” she said, her hand sliding up his arm to rest on his chest.
His heartbeat quickened under her touch.
“Promise that you’ll keep your cell phone with you and answer my fucking texts,” Rocco demanded, and she knew he was serious.
She forced her independent streak away and gave in to having someone in her life who cared whether she lived or died. Not because they were family or work colleagues. But because she was special to him.
The more time she spent with this man, the more she doubted she could live without him. It was a sobering thought for someone who’d been alone for most of her life, dabbling in short-term relationships and inconsequential flings.
Along the way, she’d convinced herself that this closeness wasn’t something she wanted or needed. Rocco made her rethink everything she thought she knew about herself.
And she was glad for it.
Jemma gently gripped his shoulders, massaging them, then softly kissed his neck.
A husky moan rumbled from Rocco.
She had him where she wanted him.
She might not be big on words and talking about her emotions, but she could show him that his feelings for her were mutual.
Jemma slipped her arms around his neck, then gazed into his gorgeous face as her body pressed against his. His arousal was thick and hard against her.
“You see what you do to me?” Rocco said, his voice low and husky.
“Yes, I see,” Jemma said, feeling a spark of mischief dance through her. “Now, I’ll show you what I do to you.”
A curious expression played across his face, but he didn’t have to wait long to find out what she meant.
Jemma dropped to her knees before him, pulling the pants of his scrubs down with her. She stared at the massive bulge in his boxer briefs. His cock stretched the soft cotton. She slipped a hand inside and freed it from constraint. It throbbed upright in her face, and she couldn’t resist swiping her tongue across the wet tip.
“Jemma...” he groaned out. His hand caressed her head, fingers threading through her hair, as he forced her to look up at him. His eyes held a question that could only be answered in one way. She tightened her hand around his shaft and stroked his length as she grinned back at him.
This man was her undoing.
A blissful intoxication she didn’t want to resist.
Opening her mouth, she wrapped her lips around the head of his cock. He tasted salty and sweet mixed with the heady scent of his masculinity. He grew harder as she slid her mouth up and down his shaft. Encouraged by his thrusting hips, she tilted her head at the perfect angle to take him deeper.
His face was a mask of pleasure as his brown eyes locked onto her, watching her with an intimate passion that sent shivers across her body. She’d never wanted to please a man as much as Rocco.
Or want to be pleased by him.
Swirling her tongue around the massive girth in her mouth, she increased the speed and pressure of her strokes. Her free hand found his ass, squeezing and massaging his firm flesh as his thrusts into her mouth became more chaotic and intense.
Rocco twitched and flexed as he pressed a hand against the wall to balance himself. His breaths grew erratic. His cock jerked against her tongue. He was close. Only seconds away from exploding within her mouth?—
Jemma squealed as Rocco jerked away. His strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her into the air. They spun in a dizzying circle until she fell backward onto the couch. Rocco yanked her thong down her legs.
“I’m coming inside of you,” Rocco growled.
She was definitely wet enough. He stroked her sensitive clit, triggering intense pleasure through her body, then followed the move with a forceful thrust. The friction building from his strokes was enough to drive her wild. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she held on as he pumped harder and faster until he arched his back and came inside of her.
Her orgasm was only a second behind, rocking through her body in devastating waves. She squeezed her eyes closed, riding the powerful orgasm that shook her uncontrollably. As the intensity waned, she opened her eyes and stared into Rocco’s gorgeous brown pools.
He looked at her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The only one he wanted to look at for the rest of his life. Panic sliced through her. Could this be happening? Could this connection be so pure and real and … hers?
Rocco kissed her softly. He pulled back too soon for her liking, stroking the strands of hair from her face.
His semi-hard cock was still inside her when he said, “Now that we’ve cleared the air, I found out some interesting information from Dante this evening that could mean a trip to the Palmchat Islands is in our future.”
Jemma laughed, then slapped him on the ass. “You have great timing. I’m listening …”