Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(13)

There was a long, protracted silence. Heavy, tension-filled. Lexis and I never turned away from each other, not even to face John. Our gazes were linked by invisible chains. We were panting. Ready to leap at each other.

"Belle," John said with resolve, "you're up. I'm putting you in charge. Of the case, of our new prisoners.

Maybe your lack of objectivity will actually help. I've never seen you so determined. Just don't let me down."

Maybe he wasn't a coward, after all.

Lexis gasped.

"I won't," I said, and now it was my turn to be smug. "You have my word."

"Good. But for the record, you need to go in there, forget this love nonsense and be professional. Do your job. Be the agent I know you're capable of being."

Forget this love "nonsense"? I knew John was married because Cody had once made a reference to his wife, but wow. The poor woman, to be saddled with a husband who eschewed love.

"But if you fail," John added, "I'm sending Lexis in and placing her in charge. That means she'll be your boss."

"Not gonna happen," I said with a confidence I didn't feel. Still. There was a chance I'd say something to strike a memory match in Rome's brain, and he would tell Lexis to go f*ck herself.

I left the room smiling.

Rome was prowling the length of the small interrogation room when I stepped inside. Immediately I smelled the earthy fragrance that always emanated from him. Immediately I reacted, my legs trembling, my blood heating.

Part of me expected him to stride to me and mesh his lips against mine, his tongue plundering deep, his hands all over me. That's how it would have been if he'd remembered me. But he spotted me, stopped and scowled.

"You," he said, and I could have sworn there was disgust in his voice.

Don't be hurt, don't be hurt, don't you freaking be hurt.He couldn't help it, I assured myself. As John had said, his memories had most likely been wiped. This in no way meant Lexis's former prediction that I might not be Rome's true love was coming to fruition.

Oh, ouch. I hadn't considered that angle until now.

"Yeah. It's me." I was surprised at how calm and assured I sounded. Maybe it was because Rome was on his feet, looking healthy and as strong as ever. Big and muscled, tanned and breathtakingly sexy.

The walls were plain gray, and yet, for Rome, they were a complementary backdrop. Even in his anger - what the hell had I done to make him mad? - his black-framed eyes glowed like magical sapphires and promised untold sexual delight. His teeth were sharp and white, ready to sink into me, to nip and nibble.

I shivered.

His nostrils flared. "Stop that. Now."

"Stop what?" I asked, confused. I hadn't done anything.

"Whatever it is you're thinking. Stop."

Was he kidding? "Why? You have no idea what I'm thinking."

"I can guess. You want me, and I don't like it. Yeah, I know we were engaged. I don't remember, but I've been told, seen pictures. That doesn't mean anything to me right now." Wereengaged, he'd said. Don't be hurt! "You're awfully full of yourself, aren't you?" My pride spoke for me, and I was helpless to stop it. "Maybe I'm looking at you but thinking of another man. One who actually remembers me."

"Fuck this. John," he shouted. He even banged a fist into the two-way mirror, rattling the walls. "Get her out of here."

My jaw clenched, but I managed to say, "Sit down, Agent Masters." Remember me. Please. "John asked me to speak with you and he's our boss, so we'll speak. Whether you like it or not. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can part."

Sadly, that propelled him into instant motion. He stomped to the table and sat, then waved his hand for me to do the same.

Pretending indifference, I tossed my notebook and pen on the surface. Eyes narrowed on him, I smoothed my jeans and sat across from him. "This interview isn't about us. It's about what happened to you that night at the warehouse. Have you remembered anything since waking up?" I asked, getting down to business. Surely something would trigger his memory as I hoped.

Ever the stubborn male, he said, "I've already answered that question. Several times."

"Not for me."

For a long while, he simply peered over at me, expression blank. I shifted left, right, realized I appeared nervous (I was) and commanded my body to still. Then Rome surprised me by saying, "I broke into the laboratory with a fellow agent and helped neutralize the eighteen on-duty guards - a few with a syringe full of night-night cocktail, a few with sleeper holds and a few with gunshots. Then we freed the prisoners."

When he offered no more, I arched a brow. "That's it?"

"Yes."

Nothing new. "Well, then, you can just start over. This time, break it down for me minute by minute." He scowled again, but did what I'd asked. I learned how he'd taken the guards by surprise, tracking them through the vents and dropping onto them without them ever being aware. I learned how he'd copied data from the computer system, though the disks he'd stored that data on were now missing, gone like his memories. But I learned nothing that would help me.

"Okay, then." I tried another avenue. "What do you remember doing before that last mission?"