Drilled - Jayne Rylon Page 0,5

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 now 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