A Little Harmless Fantasy (12 page)

“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 look 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.”

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, don’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.