“She had Conner.” Fuck, now he sounded defensive. He didn’t like when they had discussions like this. Zee always got hurt and Rory ended up ticked off.
“Yeah, but she was in the car with them when they died.”
“She survived.”
“Just to watch her parents die.”
“Is that what she told you?” he asked, not able to keep the snarl out of his voice.
“No. Conner told me she used to have nightmares. I do know she was stuck in the car with them for three hours after. The bastard drunk who hit them just sped off and left them there. When…” Zeke glanced at him apparently not wanting to reveal too much. He sighed. “When we were together, every now and then, she would have the nightmares. She tried to hide it, but they disturbed her. If she’s under a lot of stress, she tends to have them. It’s another reason Conner probably wants her over there.”
Rory said nothing to that, mainly because now he was starting to admire her. She never mentioned anything about it. And, she did work like she was just like everyone else at work. Tonight had to be one of the few nights she left before anyone else, and she worked as if her brother didn’t own the company. That made him like her even more. Not once did she act as if she expected something to be done for her. Dammit.
“Then, add in that she is a geek, a woman with a mind so sharp it's scary. She was always an outcast. In college at sixteen...it wasn’t easy.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Stop being an ass,” Zee said without much heat. “This isn’t a one night stand or even just a week. If we pull her into a threesome, then we just go on together without her, she’ll be an outcast again. She doesn’t need that. No one deserves that.”
Rory knew he spoke of his mother and father. Zeke’s father’s family had never accepted the wife and child he had brought back from Haiti. They were pretty much left on their own when his father had died.
“Okay. We’ll be careful, but I already put it out there. Besides, we don’t have to end it when we come back.”
It was dark but he sensed Zee’s glance. “What are you saying?”
“Maybe we leave it up to her at the end?”
Even as he said it, it sounded so wrong...but so fucking delicious. Having a sub that enticed Zee the way Maura did in the relationship would be beyond anything they had done before. She wouldn’t go for it probably, but there was always the slight chance she might.
“I have a feeling she’ll say no anyway.”
Rory said nothing. In their line of work, he had learned a long time ago how to read people and what he saw today told him that there was at least a good chance she would say yes. Of course, arguing with Zee was like arguing with a brick wall. Once he set his mind on something he just would not let it go. The only way to prove Zee wrong was doing it in front of his face. He wanted it as bad as Rory did, he was just afraid. Worrying about it tonight. They had an early start to their day and there was no reason to keep debating what Maura might or might not do. Rory turned toward Zee and slipped an arm over his waist. With Zee’s even breathing filling the air, Rory followed him into sleep.
Chapter Four
Irritation slipped down Maura’s spine as she hurried along the tarmac. She was late. She was never late, ever. It always made her feel as if she had lost control. Her stomach clenched. Her head was pounding, her eyes scratchy and her basic attitude was crap. Seriously, if someone challenged her on something, there was a good chance she would punch the person in the throat. This was not how she wanted to start her day off. Normally she liked to be up with the sun. Today, not so much. Maybe she would sleep for the entire seven days she was in Hawaii.
Her phone buzzed with Zeke’s ringtone. She flipped it open. “What?”
“Well, top of the morning to you, darlin’.”
She sighed. “Sorry, I’m on my way to the plane right now.”
“Are you alright?”
No, she wanted to scream. She had spent most of last night thinking about Rory’s invitation. When she had grabbed a few hours of sleep, she had been haunted by the idea of having two sets of hands on her, two mouths and two voices thick with an Irish accent as they drove her crazy.
“Yes, just had some things that caught me off guard. I can see the jet.”
He said nothing for a moment. She sensed he wanted to ask her questions. About what? Did Rory tell him what he had asked her? Of course he probably did. Those two shared just about everything.
And they wanted to share her.
Heat slipped through her blood and danced over her nerve endings. She stopped in mid step and ordered herself to calm down. She had decided not to allow it, right? She had thrown the idea out to Zeke when Rory had moved in but it had been desperation. She had been scared of losing Zeke once and for all—even as a friend. Knowing that now, she would be beyond pathetic. Her emotional well-being would be damned to hell if she agreed to it. She had thought about how it would hurt when they returned and that had been the deciding factor. She would never be able to work with both of them after that. Seeing them together now was tough enough. After seven days in their bed, it would be too painful.