A Little Harmless Military Romance Bundle (A Little Harmless Military Bundle) (42 page)

“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.

"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 he had made.

"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

"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.

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

He let his voice trail off as 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.

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

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.

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 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.”

"And you remember too. You remember watching me tie Sherry down, don't you? The way she happily would do anything I told her. You liked to watch when she sucked me off."

Rory’s voice deepened over every word and Zeke had to take a bracing breath to control his need. His body was throbbing and his cock was so hard he probably wouldn't be able to walk straight. Rory was one of the best at talking sex.

Rory walked toward him. Anticipation skated along his nerves. Zeke licked his lips. Instead of approaching him, though, Rory veered off toward the door.

"You think of that when you tell me you don't want to share her."

And with that he left him.

Zeke closed his eyes trying to calm the heat dancing over his nerve endings. Damn. The man could always control him.

They weren't Dom and sub. Zeke was truthful about that when he told Maura. And weirdly for Rory, he only liked to Dominate women. Of course, it fed into Zeke's need to watch. There was something about watching Rory work over a sub. With the right sub, Rory could send Zeke over the edge. And Maura would be perfect.

She was the right combination of sexy, smarts and submissive. He remembered the first day he met her. Never in his life did he have a reaction like that to a woman. She has smiled at him, her eyes sparkling from behind her glasses and his tongue had stuck to the top of his mouth. He actually stuttered. The only other person who had made him lose the ability to speak had been Rory.

It was inevitable that they get involved. Their arguing had only been foreplay to the bedroom. The sex had been wonderful, stellar. Still, he knew Maura had wanted—needed more. Something he couldn't give her.

But Rory could
.

The naughty thought whispered through Zeke and he shivered. He wanted it more than he wanted his next breath. He wished life was as easier, then he could have both of them. The need he had for both of them scared the shit out of Zeke. It almost overwhelmed him at times. He could give into the suggestion, but he wasn’t too sure he would come out unscathed. He also had to think of Maura. He and Rory would still be together, and she would be left alone.

He just didn't think he could do that, no matter how much he wanted her. Needed her. He loved her too much to take advantage of her. And wasn’t that just a bitch.

With a sigh, he turned his attention back to work. Zeke had learned a long time ago that life didn’t always work out the way you wanted it to.

More about Melissa Schroeder

From an early age, Melissa loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites,
Winnie the Pooh
and the Beatrix Potter books. She cut her preteen teeth on Trixie Belden and read and reviewed
To Kill a Mockingbird
in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book.

Since the publication of her first book in 2004, Melissa has had close to fifty romances published. She writes in genres from historical suspense to modern day erotic romance to futuristics and paranormals. Included in those releases is the best selling Harmless series. In 2011, Melissa branched out into self-publishing with
A Little Harmless Submission
and the popular military spinoff,
Infatuation: A Little Harmless Military Romance
. Along the way she has garnered an epic nomination, a multitude of reviewer’s recommended reads, over five Capa nods from TRS, three nominations for AAD Bookies and regularly tops the best seller lists on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.