Prelude to a Fantasy: Prequel to Harmless Book 8 (2 page)

“Maura.”

God, the way he said her name always made
her melt. That and made her panties so damned wet.

She shook her head to clear it. “What?”

“I said forget it. You are not going back to
the club.”

She shrugged allowing him to think that was
what she was thinking. “I wasn’t planning on doing it tonight.”

“Or any other night. We can’t spook that
woman. Your brother has been looking for her for too long.”

That much was true. Her brother had taken
the disappearance of Marjorie Rizzoli personally, although he
hadn't been the person in charge of the protection duty.

"It wouldn't hurt to go back."

He ignored her long enough to have the door
ding open. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the elevator.
She was getting damned sick of him pulling her along like she was a
naughty toddler. But it was hard to be too angry when her skin came
alive every time he touched her.

"I’m not about to have you go there again on
my watch."

"You don't have to go with me."

"There is no bloody way I would let you go
back there on your own."

"I am over the age of twenty-one."

He said nothing as he marched her down the
hall to their suite.

"Zeke, I'm not doing this to be a pain in
the ass."

Silence. He opened the door and practically
thrust her into the room.

His frown irritated her. She opened her
mouth to say something but he growled.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I am not about to let you go back there on
your own."

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "I
believe I’m over the age of consent. I think I should be able to go
where I want."

Okay, so that made her sound like a spoiled
brat, but she didn't care. She did a little bit, especially with
Zeke. She'd been half in love with him for a year and it wasn't
just because of his sexy Irish accent or the fact that he was a
straight up Alpha. He was also kind and so understanding. There was
such a good core to the man it made her all gooey inside.

Although he would never accept that she
thought of him that way.

"First, you can’t. Your brother would kill
me. Why not wait until he gets here?"

The desperation in his voice confused her
but she wouldn't let it deter her.

"Because there is no freaking way he will
let me go."

And it had nothing to do with the fact that
his baby sister wanted to go to a BDSM club. No, for Conner it
would be about the case. He would worry about her spooking his
quarry.

"So, you just expect me to take you back
there and watch you wander about to find a man for the night."

The anger in his voice made her blink.
"I-I'm not looking for a man for the night. I just want to look
around more."

"No."

She blinked again. "What?"

"I forbid you."

She settled her hands on her hips and glared
at him. "You have no right to forbid me."

In the next moment he exploded. "You cannot
expect me to watch you there, strutting around...I can't do
it."

The words were ground from some part of him
as if it had been wrenched from somewhere dark and dangerous.

"I--"

"No."

He started approached her and she backed up.
"You cannot be so cruel to expect that from me."

She couldn't say anything. He continued to
stalk toward her, his dark chocolate gaze centered on her. It was
if she were the only thing in the world. The dangerous tone in his
voice scared her a little but it also sent a thrill of excitement
coursing through her veins.

She came up against the door leading into
her bedroom. She held out her hand but he paid no attention to
it.

He placed his hands beside her hand on the
door. “I will not allow it. I can’t.”

She tried to swallow but she found her
throat dry. “Y-you can’t?”

Without breaking eye contact, he nodded his
head. “And I won’t.”

She swallowed. She knew Zeke was lethal and
many people were frightened by just the look of him. He was tall,
lean, muscled. Add in the dark skin and the dreads and people
assumed he was a threat to their safety. But she had never really
been scared of him.

Until now. Not that she thought he would
hurt her, but he was threatening her sanity. She licked her lips
and he moaned, bending his head closer. In that one instant their
breaths mingled their lips only inches apart.

“Oh, fuck it,” Zeke said as if making some
decision.

She wasn’t left long trying to figure out
what he was all about. He crushed his mouth against her. For a
second she couldn’t respond. Her brain had fizzled and all thought
seemed to drain from it.

He pulled back and he was breathing heavily.
“Maura?”

Her lips tingled, heat danced over her nerve
endings. She looked at him and noticed her glasses were fogged up.
Regret and embarrassment filled his expression.

“Listen, I’ll leave.”

She realized he was stepping back, moving
away from her. It was her one chance. That thought pushed her to
step forward, grab him by the shirt and jerk him back against her.
She pulled off her glasses and threw them on the table next to the
door.

“Yeah, fuck it, sounds about right.”

He froze for only a couple seconds, then he
wrapped one arm around her as he opened the door with his free
hand. They stumbled into the room and barely made it to the bed. He
didn’t hesitate. He tipped her back and they both fell on the bed.
The giggle that erupted from her mouth stopped him. He pulled back
and looked down at her. An odd look came into his eyes as he
continued staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

“I haven’t heard you laugh like that in a
really long time.”

She couldn’t say anything to that. Breath
tangled in her throat; her chest started to hurt.

His lips curved. “Breathe, Maura, you’re
going to need it.”

She shivered at the heat she heard in his
voice. Without another word, he bent his head and kissed her.
Slowly, sweetly…keeping his eyes open the entire time. She allowed
the pleasure of the kiss to take over. Something in her chest
loosened.

He pulled back. “Maura.”

She knew he was going to say something that
would hurt, so she lifted her fingers to his mouth. They didn’t
need that tonight. She wanted him now, for as long as they could
handle it. For once in her life, she didn’t want promises about the
future. She just wanted him.

“Don’t. No promises, no worries.
Just…us.”

He hesitated then nodded. “Just us.”

He slipped off the bed and pulled her with
him. He spun her around, made quick work of her dress, tossing it
on the ground behind him. He moved her hair aside and trailed his
fingers down her spine.

“Of course you’re not wearing anything
beneath that.”

His tone was so chastising she laughed.

“What?” he asked, his fingers still dancing
over her skin.

“It isn’t what a girl dreams of hearing. I
mean, you find me naked beneath my dress and you complain.”

He turned her around. “Not complaining.”

“Really? You don’t sound all that impressed
with me.”

“You take my breath away.”

It was an old line, one he had probably used
on more women than he could count, but it sounded wonderful. He
slid his hands around her neck, then allowed one to skim down her
body. The moment he touched her nipple, she sucked in a breath.
They were so damned hard and so damned sensitive right now. He
pinched it and she moaned.

“All of you is beautiful, Maura.”

His voice was so serious it did funny things
to her insides. She tried to look away, but he slipped his fingers
beneath her chin and forced her to look at him.

“No. You are. I know you think you’re some
geek but you’re beautiful. In your looks, but more importantly
inside. You’re kind and what makes you so sexy to me is that you
are strong. Don’t ever let anyone, man or woman, tell you
otherwise.”

She studied him for a moment, her heart
melting. He always seemed to say the right thing to her. Cupping
his face, she kissed him. His sigh sounded as if he had been giving
some kind of gift. When Maura pulled back, she watched him again.
Waiting.

He smiled pulling off his shirt and his
pants. If she had lost brain cells before seeing him completely
naked, she definitely problems now. The man was a god, all hard
muscle, dark skin. Her gaze dipped lower. Lord have mercy. His
erection bobbed up against his stomach. She reached out and wrapped
her fingers around it. He leaned his head back and groaned as she
stroked him. The action told her how much he wanted her, wanted
this and damn that was a powerful thing to her.

She needed a taste, needed to feel the
thrust of his cock inside her mouth. But before she could do that,
he pulled her hand away. Irritated, Maura frowned up at him.

He smiled. “Sorry, love, but you do that,
and it will be over in a matter of seconds, I’m afraid.”

Before she could respond, he tumbled them
back on the bed. They landed on the plush mattress with an oomph
from both of them, but he wasted no time. He kissed his way down
her body, nipping at her flesh. The touch of his mouth and tongue
against her skin pushed her further, had her body begging for some
kind of relief.

Then, he settled himself between her legs.
He didn’t hesitate. Pressing his mouth against her pussy, he
slipped his tongue inside her. Oh, God, he was dangerous. Over and
over, he teased her, adding a finger. Just as she thought she would
explode, he pulled back. Kissing his way up her body until her
reached her breasts. She arched up against his mouth the moment he
pulled one of her nipples between his teeth. The small movement
shot straight to her sex. Every cell in her body tingled with need,
anticipation.

He pulled back abruptly. “Bloody hell.”

He slid off the bed and for a moment, she
thought he was leaving.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she rose
to her elbows and watched him go through his pants. He said
nothing. “Zeke?”

“I need a bloody condom.”

Relief poured through her. “Oh. I have some
of those.”

His head whipped up and he was frowning.
“And just why did you have condoms?”
She laughed. Zeke wasn’t big on jealousy and neither was she.
Still, she liked the fact that he was a little upset she had been
planning something.

“Well, until you freaked out at the club, I
had hoped to invite you back here with me.”

His frown dissolved into a grin. “Nothing
wrong with that, love.”

She knew it was an endearment he used often,
but tonight, it meant more. At least to her it did. She would allow
herself this indulgence.

“Where?”

“Bedside table.”

He rushed to get it and then joined her back
on the bed.

She stopped him by placing her hands on his
chest. “Whoa, Zeke, I didn’t get to play with that beautiful body
you just showed me.”

“I promise you can do that later. Right now,
I have to be inside you more than I need my next breath.”

He knocked her speechless again. Who said
things like that with a sexy Irish accent? She slipped her hands up
to cup his face. She pulled him down and kissed him then, long,
wet, and erotic.

He moved between her legs, donned the
condom, and entered her in one long, swift thrust. She moaned and
he stilled.

“Sorry, Maura.”

“Oh, no, that just felt so fucking good,”
she said as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Don’t stop now.”

He laughed, as he slowly pulled out and then
thrust back in. Each stroke hard, soon the headboard was slamming
against the wall. Slowly he built up his rhythm. Tension gathered
in her stomach then slipped down to her pussy. God, she was so
close to exploding. Then, he reached down and pressed his thumb
against her clit. She came apart, her orgasm causing her to
convulse.

He followed her moments later, her name on
his lips.

* * * *

In the dim moonlight, Zeke watched her
sleep. She was always so vibrant when she was awake so it was kind
of nice to see her now. Maura was a part of him that he would never
be able to shake. He skimmed his fingers over her arm. He couldn’t
stop touching her, didn’t want to. He knew it wouldn’t last. He had
seen the look in her eyes when they’d been in Rough ‘n Ready. Maura
had never been the kind of woman who hid her desires, and it was
pretty obvious to him she wanted to play.

Damn him for not being a Dom. He could never
do it. It just wasn’t what he wanted in bed. At least, he didn’t
want to do it. Now…watching Rory do it—that was a different thought
all together. But the other person he loved would never accept that
kind of relationship. He couldn’t even keep Rory around for more
than six months before his first lover would bail on him.

She lifted her arm and slid her hand up his
chest. The small move had his heart jerking and his libido racing.
Lord, she did him in.

“Zeke?”

He looked down at her and knew what she was
asking. He wanted that. He wanted to lose himself in her, in them,
and forget everything that existed outside of the room. It was
going to break his heart in the end but he couldn’t resist her.
Zeke knew that no matter what, he would love her until the day he
died.

He leaned down to kiss her, pushing away his
thoughts and living in the moment. He would take all she offered
and try to walk away in the end. But for tonight—for however
long—she was his.

Read how Maura and Zeke finally get back
together forever—including the very sexy Rory McAllister in the
upcoming January release: A Little Harmless Fantasy.

What starts as simple fantasy among friends,
becomes an overwhelming need that none of them can deny.