A Little Harmless Fantasy (2 page)

Before
she could talk to Conner about not inviting the guys, Zeke walked
through her office door, and of course, Rory followed behind him.

“Has
Conner talked to you about this trip?” she asked.

“No
I haven’t,” Conner said on the phone.

“Trip?”
Zeke asked, his brow furrowing.

“Let
me talk to him,” Conner said.

“No.
I’ll tell him.”

She
didn’t need her brother sniffing out her mood with Zeke. Both
men were relentless and they would badger her. At least in Hawaii,
she could ignore them and enjoy the sunshine. Not to mention, a trip
to Rough ‘n Ready would help.

“Maura—”

“Love
you,” she said and hung up.

She
took a second to gather her composure. Maura had found it best when
confronted by the dual assault of having both Rory and Zeke in the
room to be prepared. If she didn’t, her tongue stuck to the top
of her mouth. When she felt she was ready to address them and not
drool on herself, she looked at them.

“He
wants us to be in Hawaii when the trial starts.”

The
men shared a glance. It irritated her on some level she didn’t
completely understand. What was she thinking? Of course she
understood. It made her feel small and petty but she seemed unable to
move past it. She hated they knew each other so well a glance was all
they needed to communicate. Worse, she hated being jealous of it. She
was envious of their intimacy and their secrets. It would be bad
enough if she was just hot for one of them, but both of them had her
hot.

Both
of them—and that was the problem.

She
was definitely mental. What sane woman would be envious of two men
who obviously have the hots for each other?

What
made it even crappier were the dreams she had started having about
both of them. It was disturbing her sleep and now disrupting her
work. That was not good. Going to Hawaii was going to make it
worse—unless she could find herself a Dom to play with while
she was there. It might help her work out the demons that seemed to
be chasing her for the last few months.

She
glanced at Zeke and tried to keep her mind on the conversation. It
was hard to do because the man was beyond gorgeous. What made him
even more tempting was the fact that he didn’t see himself as
attractive. His mother was Haitian and his father had been Irish, and
both of them were easy to see in his character and his looks—not
to mention his voice. His skin was dark brown, his eyes the color of
milk chocolate and he had the body of a tough Irish fighter. All
sculpted muscles and that stiff upper lip. Now that he had shaved his
head and grown a goatee, he was even sexier. He was often times too
serious, but maybe that is what appealed to her. He was hot and
smart, two things that weren’t always easy to find.

“Maura?”
he asked, those dangerous lips turning down.

She
pushed those thoughts aside. Thinking about his lips wasn’t
something she should do. Especially since Rory was now in the
picture.

“As
I said, he wants us there. It is kind of odd, but then, I can work on
computer stuff there with no problem.”

“And
you agree with it?” Zeke asked.

She
didn’t really pay attention to the question. He had a baritone
voice with that Irish lilt to it that just made her melt. She could
remember hearing it first thing in the morning after their first
night together.

“Uh,
no. I would rather stay here because I have a load of work to do, but
he wants us there. I will adjust. He’s using the lame excuse
that he needs us there and he’s sending new hires for the
upcoming Honolulu office here to be trained.”

“That’s
actually a good idea,” Rory said.

She
forced herself to look away from Zeke to Rory. An Irishman himself,
Rory was what most people would call black Irish. Dark hair, blue
eyes, and a lanky muscular build made him a treat for the eyes, and
she had been dying for a bite. He was unconventional in every way. He
had dyed some of his hair blond, probably just because he wanted to.
The tats made him stand out even today when everyone seemed to be
getting one. She had only seen glimpses of them because apparently,
Rory liked to have his tats in naughty places.

He had a quick temper and she had often wondered if that is why he
got into BDSM. Zeke had said when they were younger that Rory had
learned to control it.

They
were opposites in a lot of ways. Zeke thought through everything.
And, that is one of the reasons she had been sure he was a Dom. When
she had found out he wasn’t, even after he tried to play a bit,
she had been disappointed. But, apparently, that was Rory in some
capacity—from the rumors she heard.

Zeke
was good at looking at the positive things and making the best. Rory
had a jaundiced view of life that she truly appreciated. The few
times he had been around her without Zeke, his sarcastic comments had
gotten a chuckle from her.

And
sadly, she wanted them both. But they were apparently interested only
in each other.

“So,
he thinks we can’t protect you?” Rory asked with a
sarcastic tone.

“I
can protect myself, thank you very much,” she said watching him
settle in the chair in front of her desk and then lift his feet to
the edge. “Feet off, McAllister.”

Rory
gave her a sweet smile, although there was nothing sweet behind it,
and did as she ordered. She had a feeling he wasn’t accustomed
to women telling him what to do.

Zeke
ignored the byplay. He crossed his arms and looked down at her. “Did
he hear something about the Alvarez family?” he asked. Of
course, Zeke would think of the case first.

“No.
But he just thinks it would be best if we were gone. And you know
Conner. If he has decided we need to be gone, that’s the end of
the discussion. He rented that house he had for the wedding.”

“That
sounds like a brilliant plan,” Rory said. “Are we taking
the jet?”

“Yes.”

Zeke
opened his mouth to ask another question but she had too much to
worry about. And she needed them out of her office right now. The
combination of sexy men was starting to give her the vapors.

“Call
Conner and ask him anything. I am assuming we are leaving tomorrow
morning. Can you boys be ready by then?”

“I’ve
been ready for months, love,” Rory said with one of those cute
lopsided smiles that made her insides quiver. But she ignored it. Or
pretended to. He had been saying things like that the last few weeks
and completely confusing her. It was as if he was flirting with her
and she didn’t get it. She didn’t have the time to even
think about it.

Zeke
did not like it from the look on his face. He gave Rory a warning
glance, and said, “What else do you have on your agenda today?
It’s almost five.”

“I’m
going to meet with Jennifer. She needs to take over my meetings if I
am going to be gone next week.”

Rory
nodded. “Right-o. I have a few calls to make too. Your brother
doesn’t like to plan ahead.”

She
laughed. “If you knew Conner before Jillian, you would never
say that. But this was planned. He checked out the house, probably
offered an obscene amount for it, and then worked it out with
Margerie. He plans, but he likes to pretend he doesn’t.”

“And
you let him do this?” Rory asked.

“I
don’t let Conner do anything. But, when all you have is each
other, you learn to allow for your eccentricities.”

She
started to pull up some files on her computer. After a few moments,
they were still there, both staring at her. She sighed.

“Go
away.”

Zeke
opened his mouth but Rory chuckled. “Let’s go, Zee. The
lady has work to do. Let us know if you need anything.”

Rory
stood and headed to the door. With a worried glance in her direction,
Zeke followed Rory out the door. When it clicked shut, she leaned
back in her seat and growled. She couldn’t stop herself. It was
impossible. Every single day she had to deal with them and every
single day she felt as itchy from the inside out. Worse, she had an
idea that neither of them had any idea what they did to her. Zeke
knew she loved him. They were going to drive her crazy. She needed to
find herself a man in Hawaii and ignore the two men who had been
driving her crazy.

She
closed her eyes. If only she could listen to her common sense, she
would be able to do it. Unfortunately, her common sense seemed to be
on a holiday. The only thing that she could think was how much fun it
would be to play with both Rory and Zeke.

She
was doomed.

* * *

“You want to tell me what that was about in there, Rory?”
Zeke asked as they walked down the hall to where their offices were
located.

“What do you mean?” Rory asked. His attempt to sound
innocent failed, at least with Zeke. Most people would never guess
just how devious the man truly was.

“You questioning Maura about her brother like that.” He
didn’t like it. He knew that Rory was planning something and it
wasn’t going to be good. Whenever Rory got crazy plans in his
head, Zeke was always left cleaning up the mess and dealing with
heartache.

“Nothing. Just wondered why she would do it for him. She’s
a workaholic.”

That much was true, but it didn’t sound like a reason Rory
would be curious about something like that. He hated to admit it but
Rory could be superficial with people in his life. Not the ones that
mattered, but when it came to acquaintances, he kept everything on
the surface. “But she loves Hawaii and a chance to see him, she
will do anything.”

They reached Zeke’s office first and he stepped in his mind on
the plans for the flight. He would have to make sure to get ahold of
Michaels and tell him of the switch of staff on the job, although
Conner probably already did, cheeky bastard.

“I get that. It’s unnatural.”

Zeke shook his head. Of course Rory would think that. With his fucked
up family, Zeke understood why he never wanted to see them…or
talk to them.

“To you and me, maybe. To them, no. They have always had each
other’s back. It’s kind of heartwarming to see the way
they look out for each other.”

Rory said nothing as he leaned against the doorjamb.

“What?” Zeke asked.

“You have that tone in your voice when you talk about her. It’s
the same one I heard last year when you were involved with her.”

Zeke bit back a sigh. He settled in the chair and looked at his
oldest friend and lover. They had known each other for so long, it
was hard to remember a time when they hadn’t been together...or
on each other’s mind. Zeke had known that Rory hadn’t
been really happy about his relationship with Maura. It was hard to
make someone understand his position.

“She wanted things I couldn’t give her.”

He hated to admit it, but that was the truth of the matter. He had
never felt like such a loser as when he realized that he could not be
the man she wanted in the bedroom. They might not be together
anymore, but just being near her made him feel better. It was
pathetic to even admit that to himself, but it was the truth. He
might have allowed her freedom from their relationship, but he
couldn’t get her out of his head…or his heart.

Zeke could tell his honesty did not sit well with Rory. But they had
promised each other that this time they would be honest. He loved
Maura, maybe as much as he loved Rory. And, his heart still hurt when
he thought about the night Maura and he realized it would never work.

“What kind of things?”

Zeke glanced over Rory’s shoulder and saw Denise the office
manager standing there. Six feet tall and plastic surgery perfect,
she smiled at Rory. He smiled back, but Zeke felt no jealousy. She
wasn’t his type.

Maura was.

“Hey, Denise, did you need something?”

“No, I just wanted to leave these with you. They need to be
signed by the end of the month.” She slinked in and handed him
the forms. She gave him a smile that he knew was an invitation. It
was no secret he and Rory were involved. Worse, people had heard the
rumors that they sometimes brought a woman into their bed. When that
had made its way around the office, he had to deal with women who
wanted to experiment.

One hard and fast rule that he and Conner both believed in was not
fucking the help.

“Thanks. I have to make a few calls before six tonight.”

“Oh,” She said. “Have fun in Hawaii.”

With that she left them alone. Rory stepped into the room and closed
the door.

“What was it Maura wanted?”

He should have known Rory wouldn’t let it go. “She’s
a sub. You know I don’t do that.”

He was busy looking over the papers Denise just gave to him, but when
the silence extended, he looked up. The interest on Rory’s face
was enough to make him want to curse.
Dammit
.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t like her. Admit it, you never spend
time with her alone.”

He shrugged. “I got the vibe that she didn’t want to have
much to do with me once I moved here. I figured she was jealous of
me.”

He had known she was hurt when Rory had come back into his life, but
it had been almost a year that they had called off their
relationship. Still every now and then he would catch her looking at
him with something akin to longing in her gaze. It made working with
her very hard because he couldn’t help wanting her.

Zeke walked to his desk. Rory hadn’t liked her because Zeke had
told him about their relationship. But, now, he might be changing his
mind.

“A week in Hawaii just the three of us could be a lot of fun.”

He stepped behind Zeke’s chair and started to rub his
shoulders. Zeke tried to resist the temptation. It was futile, he
knew that, but he put up the fight for a few seconds.