Page 9 of Rough Fantasy

And she did see him that way. The enemy. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she didn’t like it. Maura especially didn’t like the way he made her react. Hell, her hands were shaking and that was just not like her. Why?

Because he’d been looking at her like he wanted to eat her up. It made her nervous. And hot. Very, very hot.

“Wow,” he said as he walked in and looked at the entryway.

At one time she had the same reaction to the house that Conner had bought several years earlier. They had grown up middle class, their father the first to graduate from college. Conner had taken his job at the FBI and turned it into a very lucrative security company. She shut the door behind him then took off her shoes. He followed suit.

Not everyone did that but she figured that Rory understood the practice. Zeke and he had spent a lot of time in the Far East. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I’m always happy to accommodate a woman.”

She rolled her eyes trying to hide the way it made her feel to have him flirt with her. He had a little bit here and there, but nothing like this. It was a full frontal assault that she wasn’t prepared for. If she thought about it too much she would definitely freak out.

“This is a pretty nice place,” he said looking around.

“Thanks. I lived here with Conner, and he and Jillian always stay here when they come back.” They stood in the entranceway staring at each other. The silence stretched and she felt the need to fidget—which would definitely let him know how nervous that made her. “Oh, would you like something to drink?”

He nodded.

“Come on. There’s always beer here.”

“How about some water?” he asked.

She shrugged as she led him into the kitchen. She had noticed that he didn’t drink, at all. Oh, a nice wine from time to time, but only one glass. “Whatever you want is fine by me.”

She retrieved a glass and filled it with ice and water. When she turned around, he was standing right behind her like he had at her car.

“Stop doing that.”

He was looking at her mouth. “What?”

“Sneaking up on me. Zeke does it too and it drives me crazy. I hate that whole ninja thing he does.”

His lips curved and she felt heat spiral through her blood. Damn, he had a good smile. Forget that, it was a freaking delicious smile.

“Ninja?”

Maura knew she shouldn’t be so charmed, but it was hard to remember why. He was attractive even with the broken nose and the scar above his right eyebrow. The sexy Irish accent pulled her in every time. She needed perspective. She needed space.

Shoving the glass at him, she said, “You make no sounds at all. It freaks me out.”

“You don’t like me.”

She should have expected him to make a bold statement. He was blunt and a lot of people didn’t like dealing with him because of it. Funny, it was one of the things she liked about him. He wasn’t really that rude, but she got the feeling he didn’t like to tap dance around anything. Maura could respect that. She had the same problem and it was one of the reasons she had very few female friends. From the time she hit her teens, Maura had never been good at playing the social game.

She wanted to take a step back but the counter was there. She rubbed her temples. God, she was getting another headache. They were starting to be her constant companion the last few months. The stress of running the office without her brother was starting to get to her. The trip to Hawaii might be good for her in more ways than one. Sure, Zeke was Conner’s business partner, but she couldn’t let Conner down. He had done so much for her and now she could do this for him.

“Could you at least step back?” she asked.

He hesitated then did as she requested. “You’re avoiding my comment.”

She released the breath she had been holding. “No I’m not.” Of course she was. She wanted this conversation like she wanted to wear pantyhose in August. “I like you, Rory. I’m just not comfortable around you.”

“Honesty.” He nodded. “I knew that Zee wouldn’t be involved with a woman without integrity.”

She’d had a feeling Zeke had told him they’d been involved. If not, someone in the office would have. They had been discreet, but people weren’t stupid. And for all of Zeke’s faults, he had been candid with her before they hired Rory.

“Listen, I know you two are together, that’s fine.”

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