He had to maintain some semblance of medical decorum.
“Let me know if this hurts,” he instructed, then gently palpated her abdomen, feeling for any sign of internal bleeding or swelling. The tightness of her stomach muscles revealed she was in excellent shape. Her skin was warm under his fingers. He couldn't help but take a deep breath of the faint scent of cocoa butter wafting from her.
He gently pressed his fingers against the bruises on either side of her ribcage, checking for any tenderness or swelling. Jemma winced but otherwise didn't show much discomfort.
“How much pain are you in?” Rocco asked as he pressed harder.
"A little bit," Jemma admitted. “But I’ve been in worse.”
He didn’t doubt it. In their line of work, there were always opportunities to find yourself on the wrong end of a fight. Rocco continued his examination, gently prodding and probing the bruises while examining Jemma's reactions.
"It looks like the bruising is mostly superficial," Rocco said, relieved that there didn't seem to be any internal injuries. “Now I want to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
He gently ran his fingers through her hair, feeling for any bumps or lumps that could indicate a head injury. He checked her pupils with a penlight on his keyring and asked her basic questions. Her answers were coherent. She showed no signs of dizziness or confusion.
"You're fine," Rocco said after a moment. “You’ll be sore, and that headache you’re trying to pretend you don’t have may stay around until morning, but I don’t think it’s anything serious. I have pain meds I can give you if it hurts too bad."
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Rocco said, knowing she wouldn’t like what he said next. But there was nothing she could do about it. “I want you to stay here?—”
“What?” Jemma shrieked.
“Just for the night. I’ll take you back tomorrow. With everything you went through, you shouldn’t be alone in case some complication arises,” Rocco insisted. “It’s that or I take you to a hospital to get checked out officially.”
“I’m not going to a hospital.” Jemma pressed her hands on her bare hips, and he thought he was going to fucking lose it. “I can’t let anyone find out what happened tonight. This has to stay between us. No one in the DEA or on my Proteus Team can know about it.”
“So, you’ll stay here then?” Rocco pressed.
“Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
Rocco crossed his arms over his chest.
Jemma threw her hands in the air. “Yes, I will stay here overnight. Now, your turn.”
Closing the distance between them, Rocco said, “I won’t tell a soul.”
She looked up at him with gratitude in her eyes. An irresistible urge tugged at him as he caressed her face.
“Rocco—” Jemma said, her hands resting against his chest but not pushing him away. “What are you doing?”
“This,” he said, then silenced her with a blistering kiss.
Chapter 16
Breathe, Jemma.
Just breathe.
She couldn’t believe this was happening.
Jemma closed her eyes as Rocco's warm lips crashed against hers, his tongue tracing the outline of her mouth before delving deep inside. He overwhelmed her senses, unleashing a primal, wanton lust within her. She slowly opened her mouth to let him in further. His mouth devoured hers, tongue teasing and tasting every inch of her. She gasped as he nibbled on her lower lip before his mouth moved hungrily across her skin, leaving wet, passionate kisses along her jawline and down to her neck. Her heart raced faster. She threw her head back in ecstasy as he sucked gently on her pulse point, groaning softly at the sensation.
Heat pooled between her legs, and she moaned, pressing her body against his. His hands roamed down her back, over the curve of her ass. She arched into his touch, wanting more. Her nipples hardened under his palms, and she whimpered at the sensation.
There was no more denying how much they wanted each other.They’d been magnetically drawn to each other since they met, and now there was no holding back.
Rocco pulled away, his breaths coming out heavily as he stumbled away from her. “We can’t do this,” he said firmly, his voice laced with disappointment. “You went through a horrible experience tonight. I would never try to take advantage of you?—”
