The sun had set and the only light in the room came from the hall light. His mind seemed to relax, his body felt…right. Something just seemed right here in bed with Zee. After years of fighting what he finally accepted, Zee was his home and there was no way he could fuck it up. And that was the reason he wanted to give him Maura, even if it was for a week.
“So, do you want to know where I was?” Rory asked him. He knew Zee was worried about their relationship. The man was a worrier and that was probably why Rory found him so attractive. He knew he didn’t have to deal with the worrying; Zee worried enough for the two of them. It was also nice to have someone, anyone, worry about him. He’d only had one or two people in his life like that.
Zee’s sigh was long and there was a bit of loneliness to it. Ever since his return a few months ago, Rory felt that there was something more going on with him.
“I figured you were starting your regular pattern.”
That brought him up short. Rory shifted in bed to get a better view of Zee. His eyes were closed and the little bit of light that was in the room shimmered over his skin. Damn, the man was still fucking hot.
Rory shook his head. “What do you mean?”
Zee sighed again. “Every time before you bug off, you start disappearing for long stretches.”
Rory pulled himself up so he could look down at Zee. Rory knew Zee was close to falling asleep, but Rory had a point to make. He had been a shit a huge part of his life and Rory knew that the biggest mistakes he had ever made were pushing Zee away when they got too serious. He was done with that. Almost dying did things to a man and it made him look at life differently.
“Zee.” He waited for his lover to open his eyes. They were deep chocolate with a dark gold encircling the iris. How could anyone resist a man who was so fucking sexy and loving? He couldn’t and thankfully, Zee hadn’t given up on him. “I’m not leaving. I know you don’t believe me and I have a lot to prove, but I’m not leaving this time.”
He said nothing. Rory needed something else, some kind of connection. He leaned down and gave him a kiss. It was sweet and hot and he never took his gaze from Zee’s.
“You know I love you,” he said. It was still hard to say the words. Zee was the only person he had ever said them to. Each time he did, Rory expected him to throw them back in his face.
Zee lifted his hand and cupped his face. “I love you, too.”
Rory let loose a sigh of relief and laid back on the bed. At one time, the words would have sent him in a panic. Now, it was a comfort.
“So where were you?” Zeke asked.
“I went shopping.”
There was a beat of silence. “For what?”
Right now, Zee wasn’t ready to go for the threesome. Strike that. Zee was ready, he just needed a little push. Zee wanted it and Rory wanted to be the one to give it to him. Rory knew watching Maura submit was going to be the ultimate turn on for Zee. Even thinking about it right now had his blood heating.
“For our trip to Hawaii. Easier to buy what I wanted here, than trying to find a place there. Since we don’t have to mess with the TSA, makes it even easier.”
Zee sighed again, this time it was filled regret. “She won’t go for it.”
“She will.”
“How do you know that?”
Rory closed his eyes and remembered her reaction to him, to the picture he had painted for her. “I talked to her about it.”
“You what?” Zee almost shouted and sat up. “I told you to leave her alone.”
His reaction was over the top. It was one of the reasons that Rory thought Zee needed to work the woman out of his system. “Hold on, lover, I just talked to her. That’s it.”
Zee laid back down with a huff. “Do you ever listen to me? Do you ever listen to anyone?”
“Not when I’m right. And buddy, believe me, I was right about Maura.”
Zee said nothing for a moment. When Zee was quiet like that, Rory knew his mind was working the issue. “What did she say?”
“I told her to just think about it. It’s a week where there can be no rules.”
“She doesn’t need you tempting her into something that would end up hurting her.”
That caught his attention. “What?”
Zee sighed. “I guess she heard a rumor about us and suggested a threesome. She immediately took it back.”
“When were you going to tell me this?” Rory asked. Silence. “Were you ever going to tell me?”
“I’m not sure.”
And that chaffed at Rory. He knew they both had secrets, but, still…it rankled him.
“I don’t know,” Zee admitted. “You don’t understand her very well.”