Drilled

by Jayne Rylon

  “You better call Uncle Joe. Nathan said something bad happened and everyone is freaking out.”

  “Bad? What kind of bad?” Kate stood up straight and then turned a bit ashen before sinking back into her chair.

  Damn it. Everything was falling apart.

  “An accident.” Landry was looking at the hand-me-down phone he’d talked Mike into activating so he could stay in touch with Klea and Nathan now that Joe’s kids were out of their area code. “Somebody got hurt. Not Uncle Joe. Somebody who works for him.”

  “Shit!” Mike stood from the table, his chair scraping on the floor as he jammed his hand into his pocket. But just as he touched his own phone, it began to buzz beneath his fingers. He hauled it out and went onto the patio to talk in case he had to shield the kids from something gruesome. Hopefully Nathan wouldn’t text them pictures before he could find out if everyone was okay. Physically and beyond.

  Bad shit could go down on a construction site. They’d been lucky to avoid anything serious at Powertools the past twenty years, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen to anyone at any time.

  And Joe was new to this…

  It was a lot of responsibility to be the one shouldering that burden. Mike knew that all too well. Maybe he could lend some support, even from far away.

  “What happened?” Mike barked as he connected the call from Joe.

  “I should have been paying more attention. I didn’t see they were working close enough to get crossed up. The roofing framers, I mean. Adam got tangled in Cole’s pneumatic hose and fell from the second story while carrying some trusses. Looks like he fractured his tibia and maybe screwed up his kneecap too. I watched him fall like some shit out of The Matrix, except I couldn’t get there in time. But fuck, it could have been worse. So much worse. And it would have been my fault.”

  “No, it wouldn’t have been. That’s not your job.”

  “To take on everyone’s issues? Accept blame for whatever happens? Could have fooled me. The buck stops with the foreman, doesn’t it? At least it does when you’re the one running things. I don’t know that I’m cut out to be one of those. I’m not you.” Joe sounded miserable.

  Was that what he did? Mike wasn’t sure. He did his best for the guys, and the woman, in his crew. Not to mention the rest of their lovers and kids when they were outside of work. But right now he couldn’t do shit to protect Joe or help him carry the burden he knew was heavy as fuck. As much as he wished he could take charge and solve the problem or, hell, even just hug the guy…

  His arms weren’t long enough to reach.

  “If I could do this for you, I would.” Mike pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “You can’t. I signed up for this, and if I don’t follow through I’m going to let Eli and Uncle Tom and the rest of the Hot Rods down. On the other hand, if I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, someone could literally die—” Joe cut off with a strangled groan that made Mike sure he’d thought that was a possibility earlier in the day.

  “Look. Maybe I can come out there for the weekend. Go over your plans and help you do a safety review with everyone. Would that help?”

  “I don’t know if it would improve my skills magically, but it would make me feel better. To know I’m not missing something simple that’s going to get one of these guys maimed at least.” Joe sighed. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, of course. I want to come. We were all heading that way in a week anyway for Kyra, Ollie, and Van’s party. Maybe I’ll just stay. Let me talk to Kate about it and make sure she’s okay by herself with the kids for a few days and then I’ll call you right back.”

  “See. Even now you’re covering my ass.” Joe shook his head, but the glimmer of relief in his tone was reward enough.

  “I do enjoy doing that from time to time.” Mike figured if dirty jokes didn’t make Joe loosen up, nothing would.

  Fortunately, his friend gave a halfhearted chuckle. “Come out here, save it, and you can do whatever you want with it. Deal?”

  “You know I’d do this no matter what. Just because you fucking left us doesn’t mean I don’t care anymore.” Mike hadn’t meant to sound so bitter, but maybe part of him had been stung and even a tad jealous. The Hot Rods project was a big deal. Hell, with their reality show, it would probably land Joe a million new jobs that could keep him in Middletown for the next decade instead of only the summer. For a split second, Mike wondered if he should convince Joe to come home instead of helping, but no, that was selfish and he was a dick to even think it.

  Joe groaned. “I’m an idiot, I know. Thanks for standing by me anyway, Mike.”

  “Always. I’ll call you in a little bit. Go check on your crewman, and try to cut yourself a break.”

  “I will if next time you have some problem like this, you lean on me too. You shouldn’t have to shoulder this shit by yourself. I’m sorry I was too ignorant to realize you’ve been doing it all this time. Or to take advantage of handing the stress off to you. Your job sucks, you know that?”

  “Only sometimes.” Mike felt something in his chest ease. “But I’ll take you up on that. Thanks. Talk to you soon.”

  3

  Mike was glad to see the kids had gone to their rooms when he wandered back into the kitchen. Kate, however, was cleaning with a ferociousness that could only mean she was trying to alleviate some of her tension. He could think of better ways to do that for her.

  He crossed to her, took the washcloth from her hand, and set it aside before gathering her into his arms. She smelled like sunshine and summer, just like she had the first day he’d rescued her from falling off a roof. Not so different from what Joe had wanted to do for his crewman earlier.

  “It’s going to be okay.” Mike hugged her.

  “Promise?”

  “Yeah. A worker fell from the second story.”

  “Shit.” Kate looked up at him with wide, worried eyes. The fear of heights had never quite left her after her near miss.

  “He’ll be all right. Busted his leg but got off pretty lucky, to be honest.”

  “What about Joe?” she asked, still not relieved. The bond between the Powertools crew ran deeper than the professional connection between the construction workers. They were a unit, had been for damn near twenty years now.

  “His ego might be more shattered than that other guy’s leg.” Mike stroked his fingers through her hair until she melted against him. “Would it be okay with you if I went out there this weekend? Maybe for a few days, or even until you guys come out for the wedding stuff? To double check him on his plans and his procedures so he feels more comfortable?”

  Kate hesitated, which actually surprised him. She was always the first to offer to help someone out. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten about her acting a bit weird earlier either.

  “If not, that’s okay. I’ll figure out another way.” Mike started imagining how they might do things over video conference and screen share, although he understood that Joe needed someone to hold his hand more than he needed any of that other shit. He was a solid construction worker and had decades of experience.

  It was only his confidence that needed bolstering.

  “No, no. It’s fine.” Kate patted his chest. “We’ll be good for a week. You’re right. It doesn’t make sense for you to go and come back just to turn around and head out there again.”

  “If Landry and Abby didn’t have swim camp, I’d take the kids with me.” Mike thought of how he might lighten Kate’s burden too. Maybe Joe was right. He did it automatically, all the time, and sometimes it could be exhausting. But he wouldn’t change it for the world.

  “You’re so sweet.” Kate leaned into him, tipping her face up. And he wasn’t about to ignore the offer. “But no, they’re fine. We’ll do okay without you even if we’ll miss you every single minute.”

  Mike smiled. They didn’t need him, but it was nice to know they liked having him around anyway. He lowered his head and brushed his lips against Kate’s, loving how even no
w she could fire him up despite the tense circumstances.

  Or maybe because of them.

  Kate was his relief. She was the one who talked him down and helped him work out his worries and frustrations in a much more productive way than ruminating on them. “You know you saved me, right?”

  She paused and angled her head as she stared into his eyes. “How so?”

  “I might have caught you that day on the roof, but every day since you’ve made my life easier, you’ve kept me happy, and you brought the crew together not just for a good time now and then, but for life. It’s you, Kate. You’re our glue.”

  “Of everyone, I fell for you because you take care of them so well.” Kate caressed his cheek. “You never understood how special it is that you can be a leader and still one of them. It’s not nothing. I love you for it.”

  Mike shrugged. “It’s just what I do.”

  “I know, and that’s why it’s sexy as hell.”

  “You think so?” He grinned at his wife.

  “I do.” She beamed right back.

  Without thinking, he slid his hand beneath the hem of her skirt and lifted it, exposing her stomach. Suddenly, he was ready for dessert. Making love to her would never get old. Neither would it get boring despite the adventures they shared with the rest of the crew.

  Kate could blow his mind without even trying, and fortunately she liked doing it often.

  “Mike…the kids…”

  “Need to learn to stay out of the kitchen when I’m hungry.”

  She laughed, but she lost concentration on the feeling of him stroking her soft skin and instead kept peeking over her shoulder nervously.

  “Come on.” Mike took her hand and led her out the side door onto the patio. Lush green plants, most of them part of her edible herb garden, and flowers that blossomed in a riot of colors screened them from the view of the neighbors and from most of the windows of their house.

  He trapped her against the brick wall. It must have warmed her back, infusing her tense muscles with heat that helped to relax them almost as much as the caresses and kisses he began to lavish on her.

  “The kids…” she objected again, this time less vehemently.

  “Aren’t gonna bother looking for us when they’re talking to Klea and Nathan.” Mike saw she wasn’t entirely buying his logic, so he spun around and grabbed the grill, wheeling it in front of the door. The massive six-burner loaded down with a full gas tank and the essential tools that went with it ensured the door couldn’t open even an inch. “Better?”

  Kate laughed. “Yeah. That’ll hold them for a few minutes. Enough to get dressed if necessary. But don’t start something if you’re not sure you can stand being interrupted.”

  “In that case, I guess I’d better hurry.” Mike leaned in again, this time dipping his head to rake his teeth along her neck. And where she’d seemed tired and kind of queasy not too long ago, he did his best to chase those sensations away and replace them with pure fire.

  “Yes, you should do that.” Kate reached for his jeans and unbuttoned them with a practiced flick of her fingers that still riled him every time she did it.

  He lifted her into his arms and her legs wrapped, automatically, around his hips as they had so often before.

  “Are you sure your back is up to this?” she asked, entirely serious.

  “It could be broken and I’d figure something out.” He tugged her closer. “But I’m not lying. It’s been feeling better than it has in years since I got that epidural steroid shot a couple weeks ago.”

  If she doubted him for an instant, she wouldn’t let him hurt himself, no matter how good it felt to her. Kate was more like him than she knew. Getting old sucked, but he wasn’t ready to allow any aches or pains to keep him from what they were about to do. He wasn’t dead yet.

  “Well, if it’s sore I’ll rub it later,” she promised. “How’s that?”

  “You can rub it even if it’s not,” he said with a smirk that caused her to laugh again and smack his shoulder. Hearing it made him even harder than he had been when she’d opened his jeans. Making Kate happy was his favorite pastime.

  Even more, Kate understood that he needed this as much as she did. It killed him to feel so out of control when it came to Joe and the crew. Being separated lately was bad enough, but being far away when his best friend needed him…well, that wasn’t a feeling he was comfortable with.

  As his desire to be in charge grew, she let him take control.

  Mike growled as she turned pliant in his arms. He flashed her a wolfish smile before kissing the shit out of her. As he did, he rocked against her, impressing on her how hard he was and how well he was about to fuck her with arcs of his hips that stroked his hard cock over her mound.

  Glad that she’d worn a simple sundress that day in an attempt to avoid the amplified effects the heat seemed to have on her lately, Mike hiked one of Kate’s thighs onto his hip, letting the silky fabric fall away.

  He reached beneath it to her panties and yanked, ripping them from her in a move he’d perfected over the years. Thank god she enjoyed shopping for pretty new lingerie.

  The lace fluttered downward and draped over one of the plants.

  Suddenly Kate’s need became ferocious and his matched her mounting desire. Fortunately, she’d always been able to do that for him, ramp him up. Even if that meant cheering him on as he orchestrated the crew’s group-sex sessions.

  She reached between them and yanked his jeans open wide, making him grateful the zipper didn’t maul his dick given the fact that he hadn’t bothered with underwear that day…or most.

  Too bad the Powertools were scattered right now, focused on a number of different projects and stretched out across several states. Otherwise he might have called an emergency gathering.

  Until they could be together again next weekend, Kate would be more than enough.

  His hands gravitated to her ass, holding her at the exact right level for him to increase the pressure of his hard-on stroking against her. He adjusted his stance, angling his hips so that the next time they ground together, the blunt tip nudged her opening instead of gliding past it.

  Kate cracked him up when she adjusted her dress, shielding the spot where they joined from view. Too bad. He’d never get tired of watching them come together and his flesh fuse with hers.

  On the brink of penetrating, he paused.

  “You’re not teasing me, are you?” Kate glared.

  She nipped his lower lip, making him chuckle. “Never. You want it?”

  The desperate sound she made would have probably embarrassed her with anyone but Mike or the rest of the crew. After decades together, she trusted them completely even with the most vulnerable parts of her psyche. The facets of herself she revealed only to them.

  So he figured he should reward her for her candor.

  “It’s yours,” Mike said without waiting for her response. He groaned as he rocked forward, lodging a few inches within her. It shocked and thrilled him that she could still make him feel this good, that his body fit hers so perfectly. It was exciting every time.

  Kate threw her head back, rapping it on the wall, as she tried to worm her way down his shaft. Mike held her hips in his steely grip and ignored the pleading of her body as he filled her at his own steady, relentless pace. He kissed her so that she had to lean forward a bit and wouldn’t hurt herself again.

  Deeper and deeper he slid into her, working her open, as she did her best not to scream her satisfaction and blow what little cover they had.

  Even years of practice didn’t take away the thrill of burying himself within her fully. Mike filled her completely, possessed her from the inside out. And she loved every second, raking his back with her neat, short nails.

  When he was balls-deep in her, he paused, brushing the hair from her face so he could crush his mouth to hers. This kiss was different than the others. Urgent and possessive. Mike’s tongue swept into her mouth, parrying with hers as she met him swipe fo
r swipe.

  Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she tried to show him what she needed: for him to move.

  So he did.

  Mike retreated a bit, making her whimper, but only until he drilled into her. He took her fast and hard against the wall, refusing to go easy when she’d told him often that it made her proud to know she could handle all of him, in and out of bed…or against a wall. She spread her legs, sure he wouldn’t let her fall as his hips hammered hers. And she was right about that. He wouldn’t drop her now or ever.

  However, this wasn’t going to be one of their legendary all-night fuckathons. It was going to be fast, hard, raw, and so damn powerful they didn’t need hours to be satisfied.

  When his chest mashed to hers, she gasped. “What the hell did you just do to me?”

  “This?” He rubbed against her, repeating the motion. Sensitive in a way she wasn’t always when it came to her breasts, she clamped down on his dick at the contact.

  “Fuck yeah, Kate,” he rumbled against her neck, just below her ear. “You needed this too, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” she gasped. “And I didn’t even realize how bad until right now.”

  Things were odd lately, off balance since Joe and Morgan had left the group. None of them wanted to admit it, but they all knew it was likely to be more than a seasonal change. They’d lost an integral part of their crew, and the rough, furious fucking Mike was giving his wife was filling part of the void with overwhelming passion.

  He was a man of action, but lately there hadn’t been anything he could to do to fix the crew’s problems. This at least he could take care of for them both.

  He pumped into her with long, steady glides that had her biting her lip, presumably to keep from screaming for more. She didn’t have to anyway, because no way in hell was he stopping before they’d taken each other over the edge.

  Kate arched her back, her eyes slamming shut when his torso tapped her clit as he bottomed out in her again and again.