“We all need rest.”
She looked at Rory. “Thank you.” Then she looked at Zeke. “Thank you both for that.”
“You’re most welcome, love,” Zeke said.
Rory slipped out of her and then off the bed. Zeke pulled her into his arms.
“You sure you’re alright?”
She nodded as Rory joined them in bed behind her. He scooted up behind her and rested is arm across her and then over Zeke’s back.
“Good. Now everyone shut the bloody hell up. I need rest.”
Zeke and Maura laughed. The concerns she had were still there, but at the moment, she felt too damned good to care.
* * * *
Maura woke up a few hours later. She kept her eyes closed while she snuggled against Zeke.
“Well isn’t that the cat ate the canary look?” Zeke said, his voice a low rumble against her ear.
She opened her eyes and found him smiling down at here. There was very little sun shinning through the windows, so she knew the sun was setting. Was there anyone who could resist this man? Why would anyone want to?
“Sorry, but after that, any woman in her right mind would feel that way.”
He chuckled and she lifted herself up off his chest. The bed was empty except for them. “Where’s Rory?”
“Went out for a run.”
“Ugh, don’t tell me he is some kind of fitness geek.”
“No, but I have a feeling he couldn’t stick around.”
She blinked knowing she was missing something by his tone. Before today, she would have never asked, but now she would. “Why?”
Zeke slipped his hand up to cup her jaw. “He knew that you might have been a sub, but he is...a little more extreme than what you are accustomed to. He didn’t push you that far today.”
She shivered in delight. She had a few things she wanted to try and she hoped that Rory was up for it.
“Damn, it’s a good thing he’s not around to see that look. We would never make it out of the house tonight if he did.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. Plus, for him, it is all about control.”
She snorted and dropped back on the pillow. “Nice of him to think of that now.”
Zeke didn’t laugh like he normally would. Or she would have thought he would.
When he looked at her, he was studying her with a very serious expression.
“What?”
He hesitated, then asked, “Are you sure that you are okay with this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
He hesitated. “I don’t want you to think you have to do this to make me happy.”
“Do you think I would do that?”
“You might.”
“Are you happy?”
His lips twitched. “Yeah. Having the two people together I love the most, of course I’m happy.”
Her heart did that little jig whenever she heard him say that. He didn’t do it often, but before now, it had hurt so much. When everything had fallen apart and they realized they would be more friends than lovers, she hated hearing him say it. Knowing just how much he loved her, sharing this with him, seemed to make it so special.
“Then why are you worried?”
“I don’t want you to do it just for me. I want you to do it for yourself.”
She smiled. “Oh, I promise you, it was all for me in a way. Besides, you need to get over yourself. I might do a lot of things for you, but this isn’t one of them.”
He chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. Soft, innocent kisses, gliding over her mouth. He deepened the kiss. Her body came alive; her mind completely lost any train of thought. It had been two years since their first time together and he still could do this to her. He touched her and she was lost.
Within moments, the kiss turned hot and she couldn’t control herself. She rose up to deepen the kiss, trying to pour all her emotions into it. She straddled him. She needed the connection, just the two of them.
“This is allowed, yes?” she asked as she kissed him. His cock was already hard against her sex.
“Yeah, I would say so,” he said, a bit of humor and desire filling his voice.
She kept her eyes opened as she kissed him again. This time, it was slow, sweet and wet. Maura had said once that he made her toes curl every time he kissed her, and it hadn’t changed. That link was still there, still strong.
He reached over to the table and grabbed a condom. She took it out of his hand and sat up.
“I think I can help you with that,” she said smiling as she opened the package. Positioning the condom on the tip, she unrolled it. She took her time, caressing his flesh as she rolled it on his penis. He was groaning by the time she finished.
The power it gave her to do this, to give this to him, coursed through her veins. She raised herself up to her knees then took him inside her. He let her have her way for a few moments but he rose up, wrapped his arms around her and took a nipple into his mouth. As she rode him, she felt that connection grow stronger. She did her best to let him feel the love she had for him. Soon, Maura moaned his name as she came, her body convulsing with her orgasm.
She continued to ride Zeke and leaned down to kiss him.
“Come for me, babe, do it,” she said against his lips. She cupped his face. “I love you, Zeke.”
He thrust one last time inside her and came whispering her name as he did. He fell back on the mattress taking her with him.
Maura settled her head against his chest and felt herself being lulled back to sleep by the beat of his heart and the warmth of his body.
Chapter Eight
Maura loved the nighttime in Hawaii. She had access to decent beaches in Miami, although she preferred Kailua Beach to them, but the nighttime was truly beautiful. Zeke and she thought it best to take Rory down into the heart of Waikiki for the night. She liked to walk along the beach as the sun was setting and the tiki torches were being lit. And she loved the fragrant, balmy air. She smiled as Rory turned onto H-1.
“So, you haven’t thought of moving here now that your brother’s moved over here,” Rory asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t think so. It’s fun, I love the island, but I’m afraid that I would go stir crazy. I need change every now and then. If I can’t see fall foliage, at least I can fly to it relatively easily, I would be unhappy.”
“Where are we going?” Zeke asked from the backseat.
“I thought we could hit Ala Moana tonight. I’m in the mood for a pork ball.”
“I should have known. We haven’t been on the ground for 24 hours but you feel the need to grab one of those clusters of cholesterol.”
She smiled. “You know that it’s my addiction.”
“What’s a pork ball?” Rory asked.
“They are heaven on earth,” Maura said.
“They’re filled with fat,” Zeke said.
“He pretends to hate them but then he always eats them,” Maura said.
Rory laughed. “Yeah. He likes to pretend he’s all Mr. Health, but when you get him near something greasy…all bets are off.”
“Well, these are not really greasy. It is sort of a savory sweet dough with a pork filling. One of them is enough to fill me up for dinner. I have no self-control when I get them. It’s probably a good thing I don’t know how to cook them.”
“Face it, you don’t know how to cook anything,” Zeke said teasingly.
She frowned at him. “I can cook macaroni and cheese.”
“You can’t count using the blue box as cooking.”
She stuck out her tongue and he laughed. He was often too serious so she treasured when she could make him laugh. “You can’t either. I don’t know why a woman is expected to be a great cook and men get awards when they boil water.”
“Nope, you know my skill is in cleaning up the mess others leave behind. But, Rory here can.”
She glanced at Rory who seemed to be concentrating on the traffic with renewed interest. “You can cook?”
He shrugged as i
f embarrassed that Zeke had told her about it. “I like to dabble in the kitchen.”
“Dabble as in I know how to throw a steak on the grill or--”
“As in, Rory here can make a soufflé you would kill for,” Zeke said, pride infusing his tone. It was hard not to smile at the way Zeke talked about Rory as if he were some kind of wonder. But even as she did, she felt a little twinge of jealousy. These men were going to go back to the way things were before they came to Hawaii. When she got home, it would be just her.
“What’s wrong?” Zeke asked.
She glanced at him and gave him a smile even though it felt forced. “Nothing. I think the jet lag is getting to me. Plus, I’m hungry.”
He looked like he didn’t believe her, but he let it go. Zeke was always good at giving her space.
“There’s Ala Moana,” she said and gave Rory instructions on where to park. When he parked, she slipped out of the jeep and felt something stir the fine hairs on the back of her neck. Maura looked around but didn’t see anyone looking at her. She walked a little further, listening to the guys talk about nothing of importance and she felt it again. This time, she stopped and looked around the parking garage. It was well lit and busy with tourists and locals on a Saturday night.
The guys walked a few steps before they stopped too. They were both frowning.
“What’s wrong?” Rory asked.
She shook her head. “I think I’m just tired.”
She fought the urge to look behind her as they walked into the shopping center’s food court. The place was filled with a wealth of locals and tourists. It was large, housing at least 20 places to eat. She didn’t pay attention to anything else. Maura made a beeline for her favorite Asian eatery. She heard Zeke chuckle behind her.
“What if we don’t want to eat that, Maura?” he called out.
“You can feed yourself, Zeke,” she said, but didn’t turn around.
He didn’t follow but Rory did.
He grabbed her by the arm. “Slow down, love. You sure do eat up the ground with those long legs.”
“What’s the use of walking slowly when you know what you want?”
He shook his head and his lips twitched. “To enjoy the journey?”
She rolled her eyes as she stepped into line to wait to give her order.
“So, you don’t eat all the healthy stuff?”
“I watch what I eat but I have been blessed with good genes. Zee’s father had all kinds of issues.”
“But he didn’t die because of that. He died in a bomb, right?”
Rory looked surprised that she knew. She tried not to take offense to it, and she really shouldn’t. Rory and Zeke had known each other for so long. She was pretty sure that Zeke rarely got involved with women the way he had with her. Their relationship was different for him…for her. They always seemed to have that connection, the ability to call each other in the middle of the night just to talk.
“What is going on in your head?” he asked.
She shook herself out of the funk. “What do you mean?”
“Zeke said that you have a computer in there,” he said smiling at her. She usually hated when people talked about her intelligence that way. But when Zeke did, it didn’t bother her. And, apparently, it included Rory now.
“When I get tired, I can’t keep my thoughts organized. I’m trying to do that right now.”
“Ah,” he said, but she knew he knew she was lying.
This was their first night in Hawaii and she didn’t want to ruin it with sad thoughts or regrets. Living in the moment…that’s what she told Jillian she would do. And dammit for once in her life, she would.
“Ready for the best thing on this island next to pineapple and malassadas?” she asked.
Rory studied her for a second then grinned. “Bring it on.”
* * * *
Rory finished off his second pork ball and realized that Maura had just finished eating one.
The sweet, savory taste lingered in his mouth as he tried to figure out just what went into the delicacy. When he had left Ireland, he had discovered an entire world of different tasting food. Granted, he did have a soft place in his heart for bangers and mash, but a lot of their food was really bland. Thanks to the job, he and Zee had travelled the world over. They’d eaten in dives starving dogs would avoid and five star restaurants that had served presidents and kings. He was always intrigued in the way to cook things up, how they were made up. It was one of the reasons he had been good at making bombs once upon a time. It was all about what went into it and the execution…just different ingredients.
When he licked his last finger, he nodded. “You’re right. Those are heaven. I need to figure out how to make them.”
Zee looked at them from across the table as he ate his salad. “You two are disgusting.”
“You’re just jealous, Zee,” Rory said, but his mind went back to the treat they had just eaten. “I’ll have to play with it a little, but I think I can figure it out.”
Maura smiled. “Then, I will do anything for you if you can. I love those things but I have yet to find a place in Miami that makes them this way.”
“Hmm,” he said. “Just what would I get in return for making you these?”
She frowned and then again, he was reminded how literally she took everything. “I could clean your house.”
“No.” Zeke said. “You are not cleaning our house. You don’t know how to clean.”
She glanced at him and was going to open her mouth but something caught her eye. Rory followed her line of vision and saw a tall man striding down the row toward them. Waist length hair and strong Native American features of his face made him look fierce. Maura squealed and jumped up and ran toward him. He opened his arms and caught her in a big hug.
Rory couldn’t hear the man’s voice but he caught the smile and was on his feet before he knew what he was doing.
Zee caught him, wrapping his fingers around his forearm to stop him. “Slow down, love. It’s just the owner of Rough ‘n Ready.”
He glanced at Zee.
“Who?” he asked looking back at the man holding his woman.
His woman? Shit. That was not smart to be thinking. He looked at Zee again and noticed the way he was studying him. “What?”
Zee shrugged. “I don’t know if I ever saw you freak out over a woman before.”
Rory knew what he was talking about, but he ignored it. If he argued with Zee it would make him more suspicious. It was bad enough it took every ounce of his control.
“So, he owns the club. Does he have to paw all over her?”
Zee’s face went blank, then he laughed. “Oh, my, God. You’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous.” He knew he sounded desperate as he counted backwards from ten. The man was still touching her and Rory’s fingers curled into the palms of his hands. Zee was still chuckling and with more than a little desperation, he said, “Conner wouldn’t be happy if we didn’t protect her.”
“Sure, love, you keep telling yourself that. Some day you might just believe it.”
Rory tossed Zee a furious glanced and headed off to Maura. He tried not to look so intent on reaching her, but something pushed him forward. He watched as Maura took a seat next to a rather largely pregnant woman. Zee caught up to him.
“That’s Micah’s wife, Dee. He is very happily married, so you don’t have to worry about them.”
“He wasn’t one of the Dom’s she was involved with?”
Why did that matter? It had never bothered him before but for some reason he couldn’t get the idea out of his head that this man had touched her. From the look he was giving Rory, he knew that he was being sized up.
“No. We met him when we had to came over on one of Conner’s old cases.”
He nodded as they finally caught up to the trio. “Micah, how’s everything?” Zee asked.
The man was tall—taller than either Zee or him and that was saying a lot. He continued to stand behind his wife
’s chair. He didn’t appear to be doing anything but Rory sensed that the man continued to scan the area looking for threats. No matter.
“Everything’s going well, except that someone had a need to come get some frozen yogurt.”
The diminutive brunette smiled up at them then glanced at her husband.
“Stop looming like the Grim Reaper, Micah, and sit.”
His lips twitched before doing what his wife ordered.
She turned her attention back to them. “I think I met you at the wedding.”
Then he did remember meeting them. She hadn’t been as pregnant then.
“Yes. We did. I’m Rory McAlister and this is Zeke O’Brian.”
“Oh, I know Zeke well since he turned me into the feds.”
Zee shook his head. “I didn’t turn you into the feds. Just into Conner.”
She laughed then turned back to Maura. “So, I like the blonde hair.”
And they had been dismissed. He had an idea that the woman was a sub with a husband who ran a BDSM club and the fact that he screamed Dom just by his actions. But she really did run things in her own way.
“Yeah, and yours is completely brunette now. I don’t know why you would have changed it before.”
She laughed and he watched as Micah turned his head slightly, his expression softening a bit.
“So, you boys here for a vacation?” she asked.
He would usually take offense at being called a boy, but he had a feeling Dee Ross didn’t mean anything by it.
“Yeah.”
Then, her and Maura started talking.
“Are you here because of Peterson?” Micah asked.
Zee nodded. “In a way. I don’t think we have anything to worry about, really. We turned everything over to the FBI, they took it from there. We aren’t even mentioned in any of the papers. They conducted their own investigation. Conner just thought it best if we were removed from the situation at least during the beginning of the trial. Plus, he was worried about other things,” he said looking over at Maura.
Micah followed his line of vision and nodded in understanding. “What flavor did you say you wanted, babe?”
“Chocolate. But I can get it.”
“No, you sit. You remember what the doc said about staying off your feet as much as possible. Maura?”
A Little Harmless Fantasy Page 11
