Prelude to a Fantasy: Prequel to Harmless Book 8 (4 page)

“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 died 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 jaundice 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, then said, "What else do you
have on your agenda today? It's almost five."

"I'm going to meet with Tina. 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 Tina. 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. 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 "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 from 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 manage 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 it's 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 as
futile, he knew that, but he put up the fight for a few
seconds.

"Think about it, Zee. You, me, a woman who
likes to be tied down..."

Rory’s voice trailed off then he turned
Zeke's chair around. He leaned closer a, bracing his hands on the
armrests. The soap they had shared that morning in the shower
permeated the air and brought back the memories. Zeke closed his
eyes and shuddered.

Rory nuzzled Zeke's neck then he felt his
teeth nip at the sensitive skin. He was a weak man. When it came to
temptation there were only two people in the world who could get
him to forget about the consequences. One of them had just dyed her
hair blonde. The other was Rory.

"You know you like the idea, doncha, love?
You're picturing it right now."

Of course he was. His cock twitched as he
tried to keep his cool but he had never had control when it came to
Rory. It was one of the things that both he and Maura had over
Zeke. He couldn't resist either of them and right now, he wanted
Rory. Needed him so much his hands were already shaking.

Rory kissed a path up to his mouth and then
attacked his mouth. His tongue thrust into his mouth, over and
over. How could it that this man could make him come undone so
fast?

When he pulled back, Rory smiled. “Come on,
Zee. It’ll be fun. Just think of everything that we could do. She’s
hot for it too, you know she is.”

Zeke knew Rory was right. Knowing that he
could watch her submit, one of his ultimate fantasies…Damn.

“Need a little relief, love?” Rory asked,
his voice teasing Zeke as his fingers slipped down his chest.

His cock hardened further and his body
yearned. He wanted that, wanted to feel Rory’s talented mouth on
his flesh. But…they were at the office and at the moment, the door
was unlocked. They didn’t hide their relationship, but having sex
at the office was something else. As co owner he couldn’t do
something like that—no matter how much he wanted to.

“No. Not at that office.”

Rory rolled his eyes but backed off. He
liked to push Zeke’s buttons and he had a lot of experience doing
just that.

“There was a time when that wouldn’t have
stopped you,” Rory said.

“I wasn’t a boss then. Plus, we are about to
leave for an entire week, or more. I don’t want anyone walking on
us starting our vacation early.”

Rory gave him a smirk then walked away to
the windows that overlooked Miami. There was something else bugging
him, something that Zeke knew he was trying to work out in his
head.

"You have to let it go with Maura. While she
might be up for a little play, Conner would not be happy."

Rory rolled his shoulders. It was a sure
sign that he wasn't happy with what Zeke had said. One of the best
things and one of the worst things about Rory was that once he got
an idea, he would never let it go. It was something that made him
good at his job, but it also made him a pain in the ass lover.

"You think she would go for it?"

Zeke sighed. Rory wasn't going to let it go.
"I think she might. It wouldn't be good."

Rory glanced over his shoulder and smiled.
Those damned blue eyes twinkling at him. "I thought you said she
was good. I thought what you said was she particularly
liked..."

"I know what I said. It would cause problems
here though."

"Problems? How?"

"Not everyone is like you. Especially women.
The complications at work would be tough. It was hard enough last
time when Maura and I decided to split ways. Besides, you know what
happened last time we brought a woman into the bedroom."

"It was one hot fucking night, that's what I
remember."

Zeke shook his head. Rory was right and with
Maura, well, it would go beyond most of his fantasies. But their
last experience had been very bad.

“So, you forget when she started to stalk
you? How she threatened me? You always do have a selective
memory.”