Page 15 of To Catch A Rogue
Their eyes met, and Lark shot him a challenging look as she made her way up the gangplank.
Gemma nudged him in the ribs, and the breath expelled from his lungs.
"I begin to see the problem," she said dryly. "Just make sure you keep your mind on the job. And not on how tight those trousers are."
Charlie rubbed his side. "Careful now, Gem. You've been leading the team for barely a fortnight and you're already starting to sound like Malloryn."
Gemma scowled.
"Bollocks. That's the exact same expressionhewears when he's about to chastise the hell out of us. If you start lecturing me about fraternization among Rogues, then I'm going to have to sit you down and get some whiskey into you."
"Believe me," Gemma said. "I'm starting to feel a distinct sense of empathy for Malloryn right now. You said the girl was the best thief in the business. You said we needed her for the job. You didnotsay there's history between the pair of you. Or that she's 'the one.'"
He bitterly regretted ever mentioning “there was a girl" as Lark strode up the gangplank. Gemma had caught him at a weak moment.
"How the hell would you even guess it's her?" he demanded under his breath.
"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps it's the fact you gained a pathetic lovesick expression on your face when she appeared. You were practically undressing her in your mind's eye. And she was trying to incinerate you withhergaze."
"Who are you and what have you done with Gemma?" The real Gemma would have leered at him and made some sort of suggestive comment by now. The real Gemma would have started offering him incredibly frank tips on how to seduce Lark, and then started chortling about his poor "virgin ears" when he colored up.
She pressed her fingers to her temples. "I cannot afford to be Gemma right now. This mission rests on a knife's edge. I've spent every day and night since they took Malloryn trying to work out how to get him back. You springing this on me right now is enough to make me want to hit something."
Lark turned toward him, eyeing the crew and the Rogues who were on deck with a watchful eye.
"Introduce us," Gemma said.
"No." Not when she was in this mood. He stepped between the two women. "Trust me, Gem. The last thing Lark's ever going to do is let me put my hands on her. You want Malloryn back? Then you need to trust me. Lark and I aren't precisely friends anymore, but she's a professional. You told me to put together a team Balfour wouldn't expect. Well, I did. You're the distraction. You, Barrons, Obsidian, and Byrnes and the others..., Balfour's got files on all of you. He knows you. He'll expect you.
"But he doesn't know me. He doesn't know Lark or Herbert. This is my chosen extraction team, and you need to trust me."
Over her shoulder, Leo was trying unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter with his fist.
"Fine." Gemma stabbed a finger into Charlie's chest. "We don't have time to make alterations to our plans. The girl comes. But if there are any more revelations I need to know about...."
"You'll be the first to know," he promised.
"Now go meet your girl."
"She is not my girl," he told her under his breath. "And if you breathe a word of that little discussion we had that one time...."
Gemma's smile stretched like the Cheshire cat's. "Would I do that, Charlie? Would I throw you under the carriage like that?"
"Just remember who the only Rogue on your side was when you were sneaking out of the house to bat your lashes at the enemy."
If Gemma's gaze was sharpened, it would have stabbed him.
He made an abrupt about-face before she could reply, and swiftly intercepted Lark. Behind her, he could see several of the other Rogues watching on with interest. Ava and Ingrid were probably safe, but he could see Byrnes's expression narrowing with speculation, and Kincaid paused by his side to mutter something.
"You came."
Despite his promise to Gemma, he hadn't been entirely certain.
She looked almost disinterested, but that was Lark. "Someone's got to watch your fool back."
"It must have been the 'impossible break and enter.'"
"I swear, if you gloat...."
