She nodded feeling a little better. Jillian always put everything into perspective. “Why don’t we head back? The boys have been playing shop long enough and all of you look like you need a nap.”
She snorted. “I doubt Zeke and Rory are going to let me sleep.”
As soon as she said it, she blushed. Jillian laughed and slipped her arm over Maura’s shoulders.
“You go, Maura.”
* * * *
Zeke leaned back in the chair irritated he didn’t have eyes on Maura. He knew she could handle herself, but something in him made him want to have his attention on her and not her brother. He kept going on about work and for the first time in a long time, he could care less. He wanted Maura. Now.
“I heard from a source that Petersen is finally ready to deal,” Conner said.
Zeke brought his attention back to his friend. “About fucking time. The guy was an idiot. The cartel was letting him go down for the laundering and they were threatening him and his family.”
“I think the bastard was waiting for a better deal,” Conner said.
“No. He was expecting to be saved by his Columbian connection,” Rory said. “Zee and I saw it a lot in Ireland, but then the mob there is much more family oriented. Sure, they have families here, but they have lost that in the last few decades. I doubt they would have hired out like that. And if they did, it would have been someone they considered family. Now, they don’t have give a damn who they hire as long as they do their job. That way, the people who work for them are expendable.”
Rory knew better than most. Zeke didn’t know much about it, but he knew Rory had worked undercover for the British government in Ireland. His knowledge of the Irish mob was considered one of the best in the world. It was one reason he had money to spare. Many intelligence agencies paid him well to consult on cases. Hell, he didn’t even have to leave the confines of their apartment. They sent him a secure file, Rory told them what he knew, they paid him.
Conner rolled his shoulders. “Anyway, I heard from a friend that his lawyer finally got him to sit down with the federal prosecutor. I hope he takes it.”
“You want scum like that to walk the streets?” Rory asked.
“No,” Zeke said surprised that Rory didn’t pick up on it. “He knows that if Petersen turns evidence over, the three of us will be off the cartel’s hit list. They’ll go after him.”
“Or that’s what I hope. I know bringing the three of you here isn’t much, but it allows for some space. And here, especially in the places locals love, people take notice of a new face. Miami is such a melting pot.”
“Honolulu is too,” Zeke pointed out.
Conner shrugged. “But the house is in an area not a lot of tourists go. And the streets aren’t that easy to set up a stake out. It is safer.”
He understood his concern, but Zeke didn’t like the idea of his friend doubting his ability to protect Maura.
“And before you argue with me, I know both of you can protect her. She’s had enough lessons from you and me both for self-defense so she will argue that she can take care of herself. But this way, she is close during this time. Just removing you from the area is good. It also puts pressure on Peterson. Plus, we have the office to talk about here. I want to come up with some planning for expanding here in the Pacific Rim.”
“We could do that online.”
Conner looked at Rory. “Is he really bitching because I brought him to Hawaii for a week?”
“I do believe he is,” Rory said chuckling. “You know our boy, Zee. He likes to work.”
Conner shrugged. “That’s why we understand each other and why we do well on the business front.”
“So, you want to talk that over today?” he asked not really wanting to. His every thought was getting Maura to the house and watching what Rory would do to her. He hadn’t seen what kind of toys Rory had bought, but Zeke was sure it would please Maura. Just concentrating on Conner’s words was getting difficult. Of course, anything was difficult when you were walking around with little blood in your brain.
“No. In fact, I have an idea that Jillian would yell at me.”
“Tsk, tsk, done in by a woman,” Zeke said with a smile.
Rory shook his head. “Being done in by a woman like that, I can see why the man is busy.”
“She’s worried about Maura. She thinks something’s going on with her.”
Of course there was, but he couldn’t tell Conner that. They had been friends for a really long time. He had no problem when Zeke and Maura hooked up. Okay, Conner had a few but he had gotten over them, especially when they ended it. Rory and him bringing Maura into their bedroom that might be the end of their friendship if he didn’t handle it the right way.
And, there was part of him still trying to figure out what the hell he had been thinking. What he did know was he had been thinking with the wrong part of his anatomy. Still, he didn’t regret it. Couldn’t.
“She thinks she has a lot to live up to,” Rory said. Zeke glanced at him somewhat surprised that he had picked up on that tidbit. “What? I pay attention.”
Conner sighed. “Maura has always been an over achiever. Even before Mom and Dad died, she seemed destined to blow through school. I always felt like I was trying to catch up with her.”
“You’re older,” Zeke pointed out.
“True, but the fact still remains that she read full books at the age of three, could do multiplication at the age of five. It was a bit daunting to be struggling with school myself, and she was showing me how to do algebra.”
Rory laughed. “You’re kidding.”
Conner’s eyes narrowed and Zeke knew why. There was something in Rory’s tone that wasn’t just being amused by a teenage Conner asking his sister for help on homework. A hint of admiration threaded Rory’s tone, and it wasn’t just admiring her math skills. It was almost intimate. They didn’t need Conner picking up on what was going on—not yet. If Zeke had his way, he would definitely like to continue the relationship, but he needed to be patient for that. And they definitely didn’t need Conner butting in.
“So, I think that we need to just keep an eye on the Peterson trial. He will probably take a deal and if he does, he’ll be the target,” Zeke said, trying his best to deflect Conner’s suspicious study of Rory. Of course it worked, because work always caught Conner’s attention.
“Yeah. The word I hear is he is about to cave. They’ve threatened him and his family, so that will probably push him to turn.”
The door opened. Jillian stepped in first, Maura followed behind her. She was smiling and already looked more relaxed. Her hair was already wavy from the humidity and her cheeks were rosy. Zeke always forgot how happy Maura was in Hawaii. She would never move there, but it was hard to ignore the way she was already flushed from the sun. You would never know they lived in Miami by the way she worshiped Hawaiian beaches.
“What have you two been up to?” Conner asked as he crossed the room to pull Jillian into his arms for a kiss.
“Just talking. Plus she was talking to Adam about his bike. Maura had a lot of questions about where to get a rental on the island.”
Conner leveled a look at Maura.
“No.”
She crossed her arms and frowned at him. Zeke knew then that Conner knew exactly what she had been thinking. It was odd that he used to feel left out when they did that. Now, though, he knew exactly how her mind worked.
“I can do what I want. I am an adult.”
“I do not want to get a call from Zeke about you being in a wreck.”
She made a face. “I don’t know why you think I would get hurt.”
Panic tightened his gut. Maura was good at most things, but riding a bike would be a disaster. She wasn’t all that great at driving her car because her mind was always on something else. Panic had him stepping in. Maura was exceptional at everything but balance. “No. I don’t think you should do that.”
Conner was now giving him that narrowed loo
k he had just given Rory. He didn’t blame him. Zeke knew he had sounded proprietary but at least they had a longer history together.
Zeke shrugged. “I don’t want to deal with Conner. He’ll blame me.”
“And then, I’ll have to kill him.”
She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Fine.”
But he knew she was still working it out in her head.
“I think we need to get to the house, get settled. If we get some sleep, then we can go out tonight,” Maura said.
“Where do you think you’re going for the night?” Conner asked suspiciously. Of course he would know that Maura was going to want to pop into Rough ‘n Ready and while her brother might not have a problem with it, he wouldn’t want to be there for anything.
“I wanted to drive around later today. Rory saw little to nothing of the island when y’all got married a few weeks ago. So, if we can get some sleep right now, we can get out in this evening.”
Conner nodded. “Okay, but make sure you check in. I don’t want to hunt you down.”
“Don’t worry about it boy-o I think we take care of her,” Rory said.
“I can take care of myself,” she said, as she walked to Conner. He took her in his arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek then pulled her close. He whispered something that had her smiling, and she pulled back. Conner handed Maura the keys.
“Don’t goof off too much while you are on the island.” He looked at Rory and then Zeke. “Keep an eye out. I doubt they’ll come out this way looking for you, but be careful.”
Rory rolled his eyes, but Zeke understood. Conner and Maura were closer than most siblings because of what they had been through, and with the age difference, Conner looked at her more like a daughter.
“Don’t worry, Conner,” Zeke said, after catching his eye.
Jillian laughed. “That’s like trying to tell the world to stop spinning.”
They headed out the door to the Jeep. He slipped into the driver’s seat and stared at his friend. He had been happy that Conner finally found a woman tough enough for him, who wouldn’t take any of his shit. But, now, seeing Conner with his arm around Jillian, he felt a tug of jealousy. He wanted nothing but happiness for his friend, but he wanted some of that himself. Zeke had never thought he would be the home and hearth kind of guy, but now, he wanted it. More than anything he would like to find some middle ground with Maura and Rory. Maybe, this week would allow them to find it.
He sighed and pushed those thoughts aside. He had to live one day at a time right now and worry later.
Once they were out on Kam Highway, Rory asked, “Do you think we need to stop for food?”
“No,” Maura said. “Jillian told me she got the essentials. We can go out later and pick up particular things we want.”
“I thought you would want to get out on the beach,” Rory said.
She laughed. “If I wanted to spend more time on the beach, I could do that in Miami, although I do prefer the beaches here. No, I like the nighttime here. There is something about the way the air feels on your skin here at night. Plus, why would I want to hang out on a beach? I have two very sexy men who have decided to make me their play toy for a week. I would be an idiot to want to spend more time on the beach.”
Zeke smiled as he glanced up in the mirror. He could tell that Maura had stunned Rory a bit, but that was a given with Maura. She was very open. She had secrets, but Zeke understood that she would never play coy with them. She had accepted their terms and she saw no need to pretend.
“Why indeed?” he asked and gunned the Jeep. The sooner they got to the house the better in his opinion.
It only took them twenty minutes to get to the estate where they were staying.
“Why doesn’t your brother have something like this? He can definitely afford it.” Rory asked.
Maura smiled. “Jillian is a creature of habit. She doesn’t really like change and has that temperamental writer personality. It doesn’t show up that often, but man, does it rear its ugly head when you change her home base. I think he might be planning to add on. She owns all that land down to the beach.”
Zeke laughed. “Did he clear that with her?”
“No. He knows how to handle her. He’ll reveal it in stages.” She shrugged. “He understands her and she understands him. He’s so happy with her.”
Zeke unlocked the door and they stepped into the foyer. It was a fantastic house, one with a view and he knew to buy it, several million dollars would have to be plunked down on it just for the down payment. He didn’t even want to know what Conner had paid for the week.
“I forgot just how freaking big this place was,” Rory said. He glanced at Zeke. He knew they were both remembering the little flat where Zeke’s mother had raised them. It would have fit in the living room of this house. Hell, there were times in their careers they had both slept in the street thanks to the work they were doing at the time. Never would he have thought they would make it to some place like this.
“God, it feels good to just be here. I can’t wait to get my clothes changed,” Rory said.
She collapsed on the couch and smiled up at them. “I’m assuming we’ll be able to use the master bedroom. It has a California King in it.”
“Let me guess, you called dibs on it,” Zeke said with a chuckle.
“But of course. He was spending every night over at Jillian’s anyway. Her cousin and his husband stayed here with us though. They were so damned sweet. Newlyweds. So, what was I saying?”
“That there is a California king in it, so we can fit in it,” Rory said.
“Sounds good.”
“We probably should have stopped off for some food. I think there might be milk, but now that I think about it, Jillian’s idea of staples is coffee, creamer and cold pizza. A Whole Foods just opened up over here.”
She smiled when she said it and Rory gave him a look. Zeke smiled. “Give it up, babe. Either we go for coffee now or we go later.”
She bounced off the couch. “Great. I’m going to go freshen up.”
She gave them both a kiss and then dashed up the stairs.
“Does she do this a lot?” Rory asked as he followed him out to the Jeep.
“No, and that’s why I don’t get pissed. Maura hardly ever asks anyone to do anything for her, so she needed some downtime.”
“You think she’s changed her mind.” Rory said as he followed Zeke to the Jeep.
“No. She hasn’t. Maura is kind of a loner. She has a few very close friends. Everyone else she could take or leave. When she’s surrounded by a lot of people it overwhelms her brain sometimes. She’ll regroup and then…watch out. I have a feeling for once, Rory McAllister, you’re about to get your fingers burned.”
Rory laughed as he climbed into the passenger seat. “Good. There are a few things I would like to get…especially whipped cream.”
Chapter Seven
Maura leaned back under the showerhead and sighed. She always liked to have a shower right after she landed. Sure, she had one on the plane, but she needed to relax now. It was hard to really loosen up wondering what was in store for her. Rory had already shown hints of his inner Dom and she would be lying if she didn’t admit to being intrigued. Just thinking about what he would be like once he fully unleashed it sent heat racing over her nerve endings.
With a sigh, Maura turned off the water. She had been in the shower so long, the glass had fogged up and she couldn’t see out. She opened the door just enough to slip her hand out to grab the towel she had put there and found the hook empty. Frowning, she eased the door open not wanting to let too much of the cooler air into the stall. That’s when she saw Rory standing a few feet away, her towel hanging from his fingertips. Zeke was sitting on the counter smiling at her.
“You took your shower without us,” Rory said, obviously not happy with the situation.
She looked at Zeke. He said nothing, but there was a sparkle in his eyes.
“I’m talking to you now, Maura, d
on’t look at Zee.”
She turned her attention back to Rory. His tone was no longer one of the playful lover. This was the Dom out in full force.
“I didn’t know you wanted to take one with me.”
“When it comes to you being naked, I want to know about it.” Rory said.
She glanced at Zeke and he was no longer smiling. He was watching them. His avid interest had her responding. A shiver of need slipped through her, heating her blood. So, the D/s was about to start. She had been with a Dom before, but…this was different. The other had been more about exploring her desires and it had been all professionally handled in a club. This was more familiar.
“Step out,” Rory said, holding his hand out. She did as he ordered but she was surprised when he threw the towel at Zeke. He caught it easily and came forward to dry her off.
“Now that we are starting this,” Rory said moving back to lean against the counter. “I need to know your safe word. Zeke said you’d played before, so I’m sure that you know what that means.”
She nodded. “Bulldogs.”
“Good.”
Zeke started to dry her off but he was taking his time. With each soft stroke of towel, he was teasing her. She looked down at him.
“Look at me,” Rory snapped. She gave him a disgruntled look. “You don’t want to play by my rules, we can call this off.”
Just as he said it, Zeke moved the towel up her leg just barely brushing her pussy. The small touch had her knees going weak. Maura was embarrassed to admit that she was already growing damp. The combination of the two men was already driving her crazy and they had barely started.
“Now,” Rory said as he walked toward her. “I have a little fun planned this afternoon.”
Zeke moved behind her and started to slip the towel up her legs. Sinful pleasure spread through her as he continued to dry her skin. He moved up to her ass, cupping both cheeks through the towel and squeezing.
“You liked watching Zee and me, didn’t you?” Rory asked.
A Little Harmless Fantasy Page 9
