She nodded and then gasped when Zee took a hard right turn.
“Dude,” she said punching him. “Slow down.”
“You know that Conner is going to want to keep us there forever. I am ready for bed.”
He heard the way Zee’s voice dipped over the word and understood that Zee wasn’t just planning on sleeping. He was as ready for a submission from her as Rory was. She had been so fucking responsive to him on the jet; he could just imagine what she would do when he pushed it to the next level. The fact that she liked watching Zee and him together was even more arousing. Not every woman they took to bed did like that part of it. In fact, he was pretty sure she was the only one who looked forward to that part of it. He couldn’t wait to tie her down and make her watch.
He shifted on his seat trying to ease the tightness of his jeans. Fuck, he was getting a hard on. Not a good idea. Part of it was Maura’s fault in a way. The woman intrigued him more than anyone before, except for Zee.
“And, here we are,” she said, her voice bubbled, excitement filling every syllable. Zee had barely put the jeep in park when she jumped out of it and ran to the house. The door was already slamming open.
Jillian Dillon came running out squeeing, her braids flying behind her. As the two women embraced, Rory realized just how opposite they were. Sure, he had seen Jillian a couple of times at the office and then at the wedding, but seeing them together told him just how odd a pair they made.
Jillian was a tall black woman, tattooed and pierced, with long dark braids. She lived life on her own terms as an erotic romance writer. Dressed in a pair of cutoffs that had seen better days and a red tank top, you would never know the woman controlled billions with her family’s company. If you looked up free spirit in the dictionary, you would probably find her picture. He often wondered just how they made it work as friends, but there was some kind of connection between the two women.
Conner came out behind her, a frown on his face. Rory wasn’t sure that he had ever seen the man smile other than the day of the wedding. From the moment he met his new boss, there had been a patent distrustful air about him. At first, Rory had assumed it was his relationship with Zee, but he soon found out that Conner could care less about that. He looked at everyone that way, which is one of the reasons he was good at his job. But the moment Conner saw Maura, his entire expression softened. That was family—something he would never understand.
She untangled herself from Jillian and launched herself into Conner’s arms. “I missed you so much!”
Conner, in a display Rory would never expect, pulled her up off the ground into a bear hug.
Zee must have read his expression. He walked up beside him. “They are very close.”
“You don’t have to tell me that, Zee.”
“No, I guess not.”
Jillian shaded her eyes. “Come on boys. I just put on some Kona and I think we can scrounge you up something to eat.”
“I’ll cook,” Conner said, his arm now draped over Maura’s shoulders.
Rory knew he was just her brother and was not a competitor for her sexual affections but it bothered him. He had never been possessive except when it came to Zee. Not like this. He had to control the need to tell her brother to get his damned hands off her. He shook his head and smiled at Jillian.
“I would love a good breakfast,” Rory said.
“Then I better cook because while Jillian is good with writing books and making coffee, her idea of breakfast is usually left over pizza.”
She shot her husband a nasty look. “I can cook. But when I have a man trained to do it so nicely, why should I bother.”
He growled and for the first time in a few minutes, finally let go of his sister. Rory barely kept himself from walking up the steps to the porch and slipping his arm around her waist. For some reason, he wanted everyone to know she belonged to him and Zee. It was an odd feeling, but maybe it had more to do with the lack of sleep than anything else.
Conner swatted his wife on the ass. “While I would like to argue with her, Jillian is right. I do a lot of the cooking because someone gets too caught up in work to notice that we have nothing to eat.”
She shook her head and gave Zee a hug. “Hey, Mr. Man, how are you doing? I like the baldhead. It gives you a real ‘The King and I’ look, especially regal with that goatee.”
Zeke laughed. “As long as you don’t expect me to sing, we’ll be fine.”
She gave him a smile and Rory felt the power of it. She didn’t downplay her attributes, but she was so laid back he forgot just how powerful they were. When she turned all that attention on him it was hard to miss.