He shrugged. “Not until Zeke said something. She…well Jillian claims there are times you don’t try to tell me anything because I will just ignore it.”
She gasped theatrically and put her hand on her chest. “Never say you are…stubborn. It can’t be.”
He chuckled. “Well, she claims we both are.”
“Yeah. She’s said that to me more than once. Although, I have to say she’s turning into something of an old mother hen. And while we’re on the subject, when am I getting a little niece or nephew?”
“Jesus, kid, we just got married.”
“You two have so much sex, I’m amazed she isn’t pregnant already.”
He rolled his eyes. “Probably sooner than later.”
“You are getting kind of old.”
“Gee, thanks.” He studied her. “What about you. Are you seeing anyone?”
Damn, he thwarted her again. Best way to answer was a non-answer. Conner himself taught her that. “No, not really.”
“What does not really mean?”
“It means if you aren’t careful, I will go into detail about something that will totally embarrass and disgust you.”
He sighed. “Are you going to settle down any time soon?”
“Why should I? You didn’t do it for a very, very, very—”
“Watch it.” He slanted her a look.
“Well, you are a bit older than I am right now. Besides, you know my view about marriage.”
“I think you should reconsider that.”
She would have argued with him before. She had never thought to marry. Her years in the dating scene had convinced her that she wasn’t the type of person to settle down with one guy.
Now, if she could get Rory and Zeke into a happily ever after, that would work.
“Tell you what. I’ll reconsider it. But, work on giving me that nephew or niece, okay? I would love to go crazy shopping for little outfits.”
He nodded. “Okay. Although, you know Jillian, she’ll want to work her release schedule around it.”
Maura laughed. “Yeah, but then you can’t complain too much, buddy. You will probably come up with a chart.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
God, it was good to hear that again. Conner had been on the edge of something horrible before she’d convinced him to go to Hawaii for a visit. She had almost lost him and while he was thousands of miles away most of the time, she knew he was there all the time for her. She stood and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and tears burned her eyes. The warmth of the embrace made her feel as if nothing in the world could hurt her—just like it had all those years ago. He had been the hero, the one who had strode through the ER that horrible night their parents died and picked up the pieces of their life. He kissed her head.
“How about you buy me a pork football for lunch?” she asked.
He leaned back and looked down at her. “I’ll do you one better. How about Bubba Gumps?”
“Sounds fantastic.”
She pulled back and he put his arm around her like he had a hundred times before. Probably a thousand.
“You know I love you, kid, right?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yeah. And I kind of like you.”
* * * *
Rough ‘n Ready was busy, even for a Monday evening. Being the only official BDSM club on the island, it made sense to Rory.
It was a nice club. Huge even. The red and black was to be expected, but not every club could make you feel welcomed the moment you walked through the door. Micah Ross had the ability to do that. He’d never really been one for clubs, except to play out some of the scenarios with a sub. Sometimes a sub needed certain things that only a club would allow for in a safe way. Public submission was one of them. Rory had a feeling that this club had some great playrooms. He was still irritated they weren’t going to get to use one of them
“I’m going to say hi to Dee,” Maura said. Then, she looked at him. “If that’s alright with you.”
Rory fought to keep a smile hidden. Maura might say she wasn’t that experienced, but she understood that she was his to order around in Rough ‘n Ready.
“Yes, love, go ahead.”
She smiled, gave both of them a quick kiss, then ran off in the direction of the bar. They both watched her and he would have been amused if it weren’t so damned pathetic. Maura had dressed in the tiny little dress he’d picked out. He thought it would be great to see those long legs all night long. Now that he noticed all the other men watching her, he realized he’d made a mistake. It took all his control not to beat the shit out of the men looking at her.