“So, what’s your reason?”
“My reason is that I can’t handle it,” Jemma said, then tossed back the tumbler of rum in one fluid motion. She slammed the glass back on the bistro table. “My work life is complicated enough. I can’t deal with love on top of that. No matter what the romance books and movies say, relationships are fucking messy, and they take a lot of work, attention and mollycoddling.”
Rocco bit back his laughter as a horrified expression crossed her face. But it did nothing to make her any less beautiful.
“You know I’m right. I’m making the decision based on me. Not what I’m trying to protect somebody else from,” Jemma said, rather smugly. “So, what do you think about that?”
“I think we can agree to disagree,” Rocco said.
“You’re not going to debate me on this?”
Rocco couldn’t. Seeing her getting all riled up was testing the limits of his restraint. His cock twitched in his pants, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.
He shook his head. “You’re entitled to your views, and I’m entitled to mine. I don’t need you to agree with me.”
“Well, that’s no fun …” Jemma said, a hint of slur in her words.
“I don’t know. I’m having an amazing time.” Rocco glanced down. She’d finished off his rum and hers. “So I take it you’ve never been in love?”
Jemma glared at him as if he’d sprouted two heads.
“I get it … you’re a hider,” Rocco said.
“What does that mean?”
“Most people who haven’t been in love are hiding or seeking,” Rocco said, enjoying the chance to lay out his unfounded theory to her. “Some are seeking love but not finding the right person. Then, some hide from love because they’re not sure what to do if they find the right person. You’re a hider.”
“This is when I come back at you with a riveting argument of how you are so dead wrong,” Jemma said, then flipped strands of her hair over her shoulder. “But I can admit that could be … accurate. So, what about you? History of love? Hiding or Seeking?”
“Never been in love,” Rocco admitted. “But definitely a seeker.”
“Now, that makes no sense. How the hell are you seeking if all you do are one-night stands?”
“I’m seeking the intellectual and emotional connection first,which doesn’t require sex,” Rocco explained. “I need that woman whose mind captivates me, who challenges me and is strong enough to handle me. Someone who can keep my attention …”
“Like a woman you can spend,” Jemma paused and glanced at her watch. “Hours talking to without getting bored or trying to get her in bed?”
Rocco’s smile faded as her words sank in. “Yeah. Like that.”
His eyes locked with hers, a risky game of chicken where neither was willing to blink first. Jemma tried to pretend he wasn’t affecting her as much as she was getting to him, but he could see through the wall she was hiding behind. Jemma definitely wanted him, even if she knew she shouldn’t.
She cleared her throat, then said, “So, how does a doctor turn into a DEA Agent?”
Chapter 7
Only thirty minutes.
When Jemma had glanced at her watch, she’d expected more time to have passed. Not because this unexpected conversation with Rocco was a chore. Quite the opposite. She was engrossed in him. As the sun set and the sky turned from a glowing purple streaked with orange to deep indigo, she was convinced they’d been together for hours.
Boy, was she wrong.
She glanced at the three empty tumblers sitting in front of her and reflected on the two piña coladas she’d had at Barrachina and knew she could blame this strange feeling on the alcohol. She knew better than to contemplate a hook-up with a fellow DEA agent. Especially not an agent who might become part of a Proteus operation. If Rocco stayed as the UC on the El Sombro op, she’d become his boss.
Jemma groaned inwardly as she snuck a glance at Rocco, who looked positively blindsided by her abrupt change in conversation. But what else was she supposed to do? It was one thing to think about indulging in a one-night stand with the sexy agent. It wasanother thing entirely to take his agreement with her words as a challenge.
Like a woman you can spend hours talking to without getting bored or trying to get her in bed …
Could she be that woman?
