A Little Harmless Fantasy (4 page)

She swallowed. “Uh, what kind of things? You don’t need
much there. I do want to do some diving.”

She was talking fast and her breathing was erratic. A sure sign that
he had rattled her, which he knew was hard to do. He wasn’t
proud how much of a rush it gave him, but it did. He could feel it
singing through his blood.

He settled one hand on the hood of her car and leaned in. “I
have a few toys I want to bring.”

She swallowed. “Toys? Like...a boogie board?”

He shrugged. “And some other things. I do have a favorite pair
of handcuffs I would like to bring.”

Her face flushed and she looked down. “Bring whatever you want,
Rory. I’m sure you and Zeke will have a bunch of time to play.”

He heard something in her voice he hadn’t heard before.
Interesting that she was jealous, but there was a part of him that
wondered if she was jealous of just Zee...or both of them.

“They aren’t for him. You know he doesn’t play.”
He paused and leaned closer. “But I hear you like to play.”
Even he heard the way his voice deepened over the words. His gut was
twisted from the jolt of lust that had hit him. He drew in a breath
and sighed when he recognized honeysuckle. He had gone from slightly
aroused to almost overwhelmed with need for her. He pulled back.

Her face washed of all color. This wasn’t arousal. She wanted
to look anywhere but at his face. She was embarrassed. No—not
embarrassed. She was mortified.

“I would appreciate if you wouldn’t play sick games with
me, Rory. I might not be as sophisticated as some other people, but I
know you two are together.”

She tried to turn and get into her car but he stopped her.

“We are together, but we have brought women into it before.”

She stopped trying to get past him. “What?”

He couldn’t believe that Zee had kept that from her. Of course,
he had a feeling that both Zee and Maura had been hiding things from
each other. That shit was going to stop in Hawaii.

“Zee told me why you broke it off.”

She sighed. “Do we have to talk about this in a parking lot?”

He glanced around. “Tell you what. You live close by, right?”

She nodded.

“Why don’t I follow you? That way you can pack while we
talk.”

Her eyes narrowed and she worried her lip. She really didn’t
trust him. He didn’t know if he should think she was smart or
be offended. Rory decided he was both.

“Maura?”

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“If you tell me to leave, I’ll leave,” he said
holding his hands up.

She blew out a breath that caused her bangs to blow up. It was an
innocent gesture but for some reason, it turned him on. Right now,
apparently everything turned him on.

She nodded. “Okay, but I
will
kick you out if you
irritate me.”

He smiled. “I’ve always liked a woman with a little
spunk.”

She rolled her eyes and slipped into her car.

Rory almost danced with glee on the way back to his motorcycle. He
didn’t understand why but he knew he wanted her, and he wanted
to share her with Zee. It would be delicious.

Now all he had to do was get her agreement and convince Zee.

And then the fun
could begin.

* * * *

Maura’s stomach tightened as she walked up to her front door.
Pulling in a deep breath, she tried to order her nerves to calm down.
From the moment she ran into Rory in the parking lot, her hormones
had been bouncing all over the place. She punched in the security
code and cursed when the light flashed red. Dammit, he had her all
crazy. It wasn’t her fault. Since she’d seen him in the
parking lot he’d been looking at her strangely. It was like she
was his next meal.

She fought the shiver that worked through her body. Focusing, she
punched in the code again and was relieved that she got it right this
time. She opened the door and stepped in. Rory easily followed her.
It was probably a bad move. Conner had always taught her to keep her
suspect in front of her, but she was afraid of showing him too much
from her expression right now. Another Connerism. Do your best not to
let the enemy see if you’re flustered.

And she did see him that way. The enemy. She didn’t know what
he was up to, but she didn’t like it. Maura especially didn’t
like the way he made her react. Hell, her hands were shaking and that
was just not like her. Why?

Because he’d been looking at her like he wanted to eat her up.
It made her nervous. And hot. Very, very hot.

“Wow,” he said as he walked in and looked at the
entryway.

At one time she had the same reaction to the house that Conner had
bought several years earlier. They had grown up middle class, their
father the first to graduate from college. Conner had taken his job
at the FBI and turned it into a very lucrative security company. She
shut the door behind him then took off her shoes. He followed suit.

Not everyone did that but she figured that Rory understood the
practice. Zeke and he had spent a lot of time in the Far East. “Thank
you.”

“No problem. I’m always happy to accommodate a woman.”

She rolled her eyes trying to hide the way it made her feel to have
him flirt with her. He had a little bit here and there, but nothing
like this. It was a full frontal assault that she wasn’t
prepared for. If she thought about it too much she would definitely
freak out.

“This is a pretty nice place,” he said looking around.

“Thanks. I lived here with Conner, and he and Jillian always
stay here when they come back.” They stood in the entranceway
staring at each other. The silence stretched and she felt the need to
fidget—which would definitely let him know how nervous that
made her. “Oh, would you like something to drink?”

He nodded.

“Come on. There’s always beer here.”

“How about some water?” he asked.

She shrugged as she led him into the kitchen. She had noticed that he
didn’t drink, at all. Oh, a nice wine from time to time, but
only one glass. “Whatever you want is fine by me.”

She retrieved a glass and filled it with ice and water. When she
turned around, he was standing right behind her like he had at her
car.

“Stop doing that.”

He was looking at her mouth. “What?”

“Sneaking up on me. Zeke does it too and it drives me crazy. I
hate that whole ninja thing he does.”

His lips curved and she felt heat spiral through her blood.
Damn,
he had a good smile
. Forget that, it was a freaking delicious
smile.

“Ninja?”

Maura knew she shouldn’t be so charmed, but it was hard to
remember why. He was attractive even with the broken nose and the
scar above his right eyebrow. The sexy Irish accent pulled her in
every time. She needed perspective. She needed space.

Shoving the glass at him, she said, “You make no sounds at all.
It freaks me out.”

“You don’t like me.”

She should have expected him to make a bold statement. He was blunt
and a lot of people didn’t like dealing with him because of it.
Funny, it was one of the things she liked about him. He wasn’t
really that rude, but she got the feeling he didn’t like to tap
dance around anything. Maura could respect that. She had the same
problem and it was one of the reasons she had very few female
friends. From the time she hit her teens, Maura had never been good
at playing the social game.

She wanted to take a step back but the counter was there. She rubbed
her temples. God, she was getting another headache. They were
starting to be her constant companion the last few months. The stress
of running the office without her brother was starting to get to her.
The trip to Hawaii might be good for her in more ways than one. Sure,
Zeke was Conner’s business partner, but she couldn’t let
Conner down. He had done so much for her and now she could do this
for him.

“Could you at least step back?” she asked.

He hesitated then did as she requested. “You’re avoiding
my comment.”

She released the breath she had been holding. “No I’m
not.” Of course she was. She wanted this conversation like she
wanted to wear pantyhose in August. “I like you, Rory. I’m
just not comfortable around you.”

“Honesty.” He nodded. “I knew that Zee wouldn’t
be involved with a woman without integrity.”

She’d had a feeling Zeke had told him they’d been
involved. If not, someone in the office would have. They had been
discreet, but people weren’t stupid. And for all of Zeke’s
faults, he had been candid with her before they hired Rory.

“Listen, I know you two are together, that’s fine.”

He cocked his head to one side and studied her. It was different than
most of the other times he had looked at her. Before, he had barely
taken notice of her. No, that was wrong. He did pay attention, but
not any more than he did anyone else. Now, though, he seemed to be
looking at her with an interest she had never seen before.

Finally he spoke. “But it isn’t. Not for you...and not
for Zee.”

“You give Zeke something I cannot.” And that hurt more
than she would ever let anyone know. It always felt like someone had
taken a knife to her chest. She blinked when her eyes started to
burn. “I want him to be happy.”

He straightened and set his glass on the counter beside him before
approaching her. With every step he took toward her, her pulse
increased. Having Rory concentrate on her and only her was almost too
much for her to take. Her nerves were sparking with an energy that
she hadn’t felt before in his presence.

“Zee didn’t call it off because you couldn’t give
him what he needs.”

She snorted to hide the pain. “I don’t think you know
what you’re talking about.”

He settled one hand against the counter then the other, effectively
caging her in. She felt trapped, but for some reason, she didn’t
want to escape. Her nipples were hard against the lace of her bra and
her mouth was suddenly dry. It was just like when they had been at
her car.

“Zeke never explained it to you, did he?” Rory asked, his
voice drawing the words out, his Irish accent thickening.

She shook her head because she could not speak. All the air in her
lungs seemed to back up and her throat clogged. He was looking
directly into her eyes and she felt herself melting.

“Zeke doesn’t like to play at BDSM.”

She sighed and inwardly cringed at the wistful sound. She hated that
she sounded like a little lost girl.

“I know.”

“I do though.”

She shook her head even though she knew it was true. She had heard
the rumors, but she had never believed it because Zeke hated BDSM. He
didn’t like playing either role with men or women.

Rory nodded, one side of his mouth curving up. God he was driving her
crazy with small gestures. No wonder Zeke was so in love with the
man. He could probably seduce the most conservative man into bed.

“And here’s a little secret,” he said, his voice
rougher than before. He leaned closer until his mouth was
against her ear. His warm breath feathered against her skin and she
shivered.

She needed to get some control over the situation and, not to
mention, her body. “What’s your secret?”

He chuckled and she realized he had been waiting for her to ask.
“Well, love, Zee likes to watch.”

He teased her earlobe with his teeth as her brain shut down. God
that felt good. She hadn’t had a man since Zee and it had been
so long.

“He what?" She asked closing her eyes enjoying the way his
teeth grazed her ear.

He took his sweet time answering her. Of course, she didn’t
really care because what he was doing to her ear lobe had her entire
soul humming.

“He likes to watch me tie a woman up and dominate her.”

The image he was creating was a little too much for her to deal with,
but it was there now and there was a good chance she would dream
about it tonight.

“R-really?” she asked.

“Yeah, and then, we fuck her until she can’t walk.”

She shivered again and tried to swallow. “Umm.”

“Or...we drive her crazy by making her watch us. Zee really
does like a cock up his ass.”

Her brain was melting. And her body. That was melting too. Her
panties were beyond damp and every sane thought she had evaporated.
He tickled her lobe with his tongue. He smelled like sin and that is
all she wanted to do. Sin. With him. And Zeke.

“Do you think you would like that, love?” He asked, his
Irish lilt deepening over the words even more. Oh, lord, he was going
to make her come just by talking to her and playing with her ear.
What kind of man could do that? Apparently an Irishman because Maura
was just about to lose it. He was dangerous with that mouth. She
could just imagine what he would do with it on different parts of her
body.

“Maura?” he asked and there was a hint of something else
there. It was more of a demand and of course she responded.

“I-I’m not sure.”

He chuckled as he nuzzled her neck. Tendrils of need unfurled through
her blood. He slipped his fingers along her jawline, then down to her
breast. He hummed when he came in contact with her nipple. “I
think you are, love.”

That was the truth. She could picture what he was describing and her
body yearned. Her hormones were telling her to just hop on him and
enjoy the ride. Hell, the man had her glasses fogged up. She wanted
it so badly it scared her.

Maura grabbed onto what little sense she had left and said, “I--I
need you to move.”

He paused. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. And, true to his word, he stepped back.

“You’re not playing games?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t have gotten both of us worked up if it was
just a game, Maura. I don’t play that way…unless it’s
for the job.”

He glanced down. She followed his line of vision and she saw his
hardened cock easily through his jeans. She blushed.