Checkmate (Neighbor from Hell #3)(50)

Rory's life would be a lot different than it was now. He knew that much at least. He couldn't go back and change things, but he could at least help make her life easier by keeping her safe. He still planned on enjoying himself while he did it and holy hell was he enjoying himself. There really were no words to describe what it felt like to kiss and hold Rory.

He couldn't get enough of her. He must have kissed her half the night last night and he'd been surprised to discover that he didn't want to stop. He'd still love to get her in his bed, but that wasn't going to happen and he had no plans on trying either. This was more than enough for him. He'd enjoy kissing and holding her until the project was done and then it would be time to move on, for both of them.

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Andrew asked, grabbing another bottle of water.

"It's the truth," Connor bit out.

"Then why did you buy the house next to hers?" Andrew asked with a knowing smile.

"Because it was within my price range and it was the only house on the market at the time that wasn't built in the twentieth century," he explained, again. The fact that Rory owned the house next door was only a bonus. He loved his house almost as much as he loved giving Rory hell.

"Okay," Andrew said slowly. "Then why are you dating her if you're not in love with her?"

"The last time I checked, you didn't have to be in love with a woman to date her. Just want her," he said, not bothering to point out that he really wanted Rory since his friend probably already knew that.

"True," Andrew said, thoughtfully. "But that doesn't explain why she's dating you."

"Is it so hard for you to believe that she desperately wants me?" he demanded, offended that the man thought so little of him. He was a great catch and the man damn well knew that.

Andrew pursed his lips up in thought as he asked, "Do you want an honest answer?"

"Yes!"

"Then yes, yes it is," Andrew said with a shrug.

"I hate you," Connor snapped as he turned to leave, but of course the man wasn't done yet.

"What did you do, Connor?" Andrew asked, stopping him in his tracks.

* * * *

"She's going to kill you," Andrew said hollowly twenty minutes later when Connor finished sharing his brilliant plan with him.

"Probably," Connor easily agreed with a chuckle as he grabbed another bottle of water.

"Normally, I stay out of the weird shit the two you have pulled on each other over the years, mostly because it entertains me, but I have to tell you that I think this plan is going to come back and bite you in the ass," Andrew said, sounding completely serious.

"It's just part of the game we play," Connor said with a shrug. "She'll understand it." She'd be pissed at first, but eventually she'd realize that he'd simply played the game better than she did.

"Connor,-"

"It's fine, Andrew. Just let it go," Connor said, feeling his patience begin to fray. The last thing he needed was his friend getting on his ass about a plan that he knew was going to work.

Andrew put his hands up in surrender. "Fine. It's your life, but just keep that in mind when you f**k this up."

"This is a done deal," he replied, heading for the door and knowing that there was absolutely no chance of him f**king this up.

* * * *

"You're still not talking to me?" Rory asked, biting back a sigh when Jacob continued to ignore her.

"You're going to have to talk to me at some point," she felt obligated to point out as she sorted through the large stack of mail that he'd gone to town to pick up even as she noted that Jacob hadn't picked up her customary extra large hot chocolate and vanilla cream donuts that he normally picked up for her every Saturday when he did the mail run.

Apparently he was still in a mood, she thought with a little head shake as she tossed the bills and junk mail on his desk. She really wasn't sure why he was mad at her. She wasn't even the one that duct taped him to the chair. If he should be mad at anyone it was Connor, she thought, ignoring the delicious little shiver that raced through her body at the mere thought of the man.

Granted, she could have untied him and she'd planned on doing that after she made him sweat it out for an hour or two yesterday. But, was it really her fault that she'd forgotten all about him when she was busy trying to figure out how to get out of the deal she made with Connor? She eventually remembered that she'd left him taped to the chair and sent Bryce a text message to release him. Jacob was probably still upset about the dress and makeup her brothers threw on him. maybe it was the photos, she mused with an inward shrug as she dropped the rest of the mail on his desk.

"Did the supplies I ordered from Henderson's come in yet?” she asked, wondering just how long the big baby planned on giving her the silent treatment.

He shook his head.

"Uh huh," she said, sighing heavily as she reached out and toyed with the pencils in his old Dunkin Donuts coffee cup as she shot him a hopeful look, but the stubborn man simply continued to type as he ignored her.

"Would you forgive me if I offered you a raise?" she asked, wondering if groveling was going to be necessary to get him to stop pouting.

A shrug.

"An extra week of vacation?" she asked, not really sure that she'd be able to survive even that long without him running things.