Hammer It Home: Powertools, Book 6 (15 page)

He was coming to hate the contraption. His doctors wouldn’t let him switch to crutches until he regained feeling in his limb. Rightly so, they feared he’d put pressure on it or bang into things, causing more damage unintentionally. The specialists hadn’t said so yet, but their frowns and dampening reassurances led him to believe he was getting close to being written off.

What if he
never
recovered fully?

It seemed he should face the possibility. This could be the new him. His new life. What the hell use was he to the crew like this? He wanted to run, but he had nowhere to go and a leg that wouldn’t support him regardless.

“Need help getting to the bathroom?” Morgan scooted aside, giving him a wide berth.

“No!” He hated how she flinched. Yet he couldn’t stop the frustration boiling inside him from erupting in a roar. “I do not want help taking a goddamned piss. You might almost be a mother, but I’m no fucking baby.”

She raised a single brow from where she lounged. Kate scrubbed her eyes, blinked a few times, then huddled closer to Morgan as if to protect her.

Bile rose in his throat. He tried to escape faster, nearly capsizing his wheelchair in his haste to climb over the arm and haul his leg into position. A vision of his dumb ass, sprawled helpless—and completely devoid of the last scraps of his pride—across the plank flooring rushed into his brain.

Before it became reality, someone snagged the handles of the chair and returned his prison to level. Dave plopped into place none too gently. Footsteps on the hardwood confirmed the rest of the crew had returned from their outing.

“I admit I missed the beginning of that tirade…” Joe’s menacing rumble rose goose bumps on Dave’s skin. “But you sure as shit sounded like a child just then, douchebag. Don’t you
ever
talk to my wife like that again. Bum leg or not, I’ll bury my steel-toed boot up your ass.”

“He likes that sometimes.” James strutted into view, trying to disperse the tension between the two men. “In fact, maybe that’s part of his problem. It’s been a while, huh? You’ve dodged every one of our sessions since the accident. Sex is a great way to blow off some steam, you know?”

Dave’s gaze flicked to Kayla. His wife tried to pretend everything was normal, putting away the berries with the same determination she’d harnessed to forge on with their lives the past several months. Even turning her back to set buckets in the refrigerator couldn’t disguise the stiffness with which she carried herself.

James had hammered a sore spot, hitting a little too close to home.

“Holy shit.” Neil jammed his foot in front of the wheel of Dave’s chair when he would have rolled away and locked himself in the bathroom. “Look at your face. You really aren’t getting any, are you? Did the accident affect—”

“What? Jesus! No.” He sputtered, “I can still get it up.”

Mike ushered Kayla from the kitchen. She crumpled onto the end of the bed, with Devon close beside her. Dave was grateful for the bond the two women had formed. He hoped his wife could take solace in that since he’d fucked up their perfect relationship. Maybe it was time to cut her loose so she could find a real man. How long could they go on like this?

“Then why is your wife crying?” Devon bristled on behalf of her friend. “What are you doing? To both of you?”

“Ah, damn. Kay, I’m so sorry.” He paused to gather his courage before ripping his heart out of his chest. Losing her would be a hell of a lot worse than losing the use of his leg and that had just about killed him. He’d never survive. But as long as she was happy, able to find someone who deserved her, that’s all that mattered.

“You are?” She went very still. When she faced him, a glimmer of hope danced in her eyes. “Does that mean you’re ready to quit shutting me out? I miss you, Dave.”

“No, it means I’m ready to leave.” He shoved Neil at crotch level, forcing the tall man away so he could roll. “You deserve better than taking care of me. All of you do.”

Fury contorted Kayla’s features beyond recognition. She never got angry, never mind exhibiting this unholy rage. “How dare you!”

If Joe hadn’t braced the chair, they both would have somersaulted backward at the force of her impact when she flew from the bed and onto his chair. She wasn’t careful of his leg when she straddled him. Fists balled in his shirt, and seams popped as she shook him, rattling his teeth. He could do nothing more than stare, his jaw hanging wide open, when she went ballistic.

And still some part of him registered the feel of his naked wife in his arms.

Mainly the part hardening between them.

Jerking off in the shower every morning and a couple times during the day hadn’t brought him a fraction of the satisfaction she had without even trying.

“You swore to love me for better or worse. This is pretty fucking awful, and you’re stranding me on my own?” Rage evaporated from her, passing as quickly as a violent summer storm. It morphed into something more insidious and painful. Kayla deflated in his arms. She molded perfectly to his chest, then begged, “Please, don’t do this to me. Please don’t
choose
to leave me. I cried every night you were unconscious in that hospital because I was afraid death would steal you from me. But this…this is worse. You’re a ghost of my husband. A shadow of my best friend. Don’t do this. Please.”

He gulped, unable to argue against her raw agony.

“I can feel you. Your body responds even if your brain is trying to fuck you all up.” She kissed the trails of synchronized tears he hadn’t realized he shed. “Stop doing this to yourself. Stop thinking for two damn seconds and listen to your body.”

“The mangled one? The broken one? Great idea, babe.” He snorted.

“I need you,” Kayla whispered. “Don’t make me suffer alone.”

“I know you’re hurting, but enough is enough.” Devon looked horrified. “Dave, pay attention.”

“You’re about to make the biggest mistake of your life.” Mike dropped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “We won’t let you do this. Fix it while you still can.”

“Why do you want me?” He couldn’t stand the rasp his voice had transformed into. Weakness infiltrated every part of him.

“Because I love you.” Kayla kissed him gently. She tasted divine. Like blueberries and sunshine and promises.

“I’m useless.” He closed his eyes. “I’m not getting better, Kay. How long are we going to act like things are just fine? I’m not. May never be again.”

“Do you think I fell in love with you for your leg?” She bit his earlobe hard enough to sting. “Maybe you hit your head harder than they thought in that crash. If this is how things are, that’s fine. I love you, Dave. However you are.”

He wished he could believe her. What job would he have? A pity role on the crew? Desk jockey for their company? He’d rather not be involved. Living half alive seemed worse than finding a new place.

“Quit thinking so hard.” Morgan laid a hand on his arm despite how he’d treated her.

“The doctors can find nothing wrong with your leg, Dave.” Kayla peppered his face with kisses. “Tests are all positive. Maybe one or two more surgeries will get the nerves talking again.”

“And maybe they won’t.” Dave shook his head.

“Okay, so what?” Joe jiggled the wheelchair. “You’ve already lost enough, without adding your soul mate to that list, haven’t you?”

Dave wanted to argue, but Kayla warmed him. Her body heat penetrated the ice he’d packed around his heart. She rubbed against him like a cat, fuzzing his logic and stealing his arguments. What if this was the last time he ever held her?

Something primal in him roared, wanting to make it count.

He opened his eyes and met her stare. Point-blank, they assessed each other.

Kayla raised up enough that she stole the soft pressure from his cock, which had tucked against her through his pants like a tracking missile locked on its target.

“Get him naked. Someone. Anyone. Hurry.” She surprised him with her desperate plea.

“Don’t!” Dave barked at the same time Neil reached for the waistband of Dave’s sweats.

The crewmember didn’t hesitate. He worked the cotton beneath Dave’s ass then off his legs, despite the fact that Dave hadn’t allowed himself to roam his own home, part of a naturist resort, nude since the accident.

“Oh, Dave.” Devon knelt on the floor beside his chair. Her fingers wandered along the length of his disfigurement.

“Don’t touch it.” He tried to focus, but Kayla returned, sinking over his bare flesh, spreading her wetness on his aching shaft. They were torturing him, and he didn’t know if he wanted to survive. “I’m so weak. Lame.”

“When I look at this, I see how strong you were to fight through the pain. What the hell was all that for if you’re going to quit now?” James joined his mate in petting the wounded leg. Dave couldn’t feel their hands, but he imagined what such tender touches would have done to him.

His cock flexed, brushing Kayla’s belly.

She shifted, causing the chair to creak. Joe made sure it didn’t tip.

Kate, Morgan and Mike observed with eagle eyes.

“Put him inside me,” Kay ordered Neil.

“This isn’t smart.” Dave couldn’t bring himself to say no outright.

“But you want it as much as I do.” His wife rested her forehead on his.

“More. God, you have no idea how bad.” More squeaking followed in time to his trembling. He gripped the arms of the chair so hard he didn’t understand how they didn’t buckle. It was the only way he could keep himself from wrapping Kayla in his arms and begging her to keep him, injury and all, even though he knew how selfish that request would be, unfair to the woman he loved beyond measure.

“That’s all I need to know.” Long, gentle fingers cupped his cheeks and angled his face so he couldn’t help but observe the devotion in her eyes a moment before she settled her lips on his.

The unique taste of Kayla nourished him. Starving without her, he’d started to lose touch with sanity. After whetting his appetite with the sweet appetizer, he devoured her offering. Engrossed in their lip-lock, he didn’t notice when she began to squirm, aligning her pussy with his steely erection.

Neil assisted her in taking Dave inside.

The moan he unleashed came straight from the pit of his belly. He’d abstained for months because he could never turn away from this. Knowing he might need to leave for her own good, he’d refused to bind himself tighter to her warmth. Kayla bestowed ecstasy, rightness and comfort as if her gifts were ordinary. Fuck that.

“Go slow,” Neil instructed Kayla. “I can see how tight you are around him. I can’t believe you’ve waited so long. Both of you.”

Mike stepped closer to Kayla’s side to see for himself. “I should have realized something was broken. I thought you just were avoiding the group, not your own wife too. Dumb bastard.”

Dave barely grunted when Mike smacked him upside the head. He deserved it. Besides, the light impact shoved him closer to his wife. She seated herself on him, taking him completely inside her, surrounding him with her light and love.

“Am I hurting you?” She broke their lip-lock to pant out a status check. “There’s not a lot of room in here for how I want to ride you. It’s been way too long to take this slow.”

“Here, let us help.” Neil put his hands around Kayla’s waist. “Let him go just for a moment.”

She whimpered when he lifted her. The plump head of Dave’s cock locked in the ring of muscles at her entrance. A wail broke from her chest when he slipped free.

“I promise we’ll give him right back.” Neil kissed her cheek as he laid her on the bed. Mike and Joe each grabbed one of Dave’s arms, ducking under them as they had so many times over the past months. Neil and James each held one of his thighs, careful with his injured leg.

Together, his four best friends lifted him, raising him from the wheelchair and depositing him on the mattress where his immobility didn’t seem to matter so much. It’s not like he could have moved anyway, what with four women piling on top of him, hugging him, kissing him, petting him everywhere they could reach.

Kayla straddled his hips and guided him home once more. She didn’t stop until she’d fused them completely. And this time she had plenty of space to operate. Her hips rocked in a sensual arc that stroked all the most sensitive parts of his cock with the lush tissues of her pussy. Leaning forward, she assaulted his lips while she used him for her own pleasure.

He loved every second of her erotic torment.

Dave couldn’t last. Not with the brilliance of her energy blinding him to his worries and fears. He couldn’t restrain the desperate rapture creeping up inside him, bringing unwise hope with it. “Guys. Help her. Close. Fuck.”

They didn’t have to be asked twice. Insinuating themselves between their women, the crew guys focused on Kayla with every bit of intensity their wives applied to blowing his mind. They sucked on the silver rings in her nipples, smacked her ass in the playful way she adored, kissed trails up her spine, and he swore he felt someone’s hand nudging his balls as they teased her from behind.

It was too much. For Kayla as well as Dave. She ripped her mouth from his, sitting up to drive him as deep as possible. She bucked a few more times, then stilled. Dave held his breath in the moments before she shattered. And when she clenched on him, wringing him tighter than his own fist had so many times lately, his balls churned. They drew tight to his body the instant before he came, shooting an impossible number of blasts inside his wife. His lover. His mate.

It felt so right, he knew he could never leave her without killing them both.

Harming her was something he vowed never to do again.

“Kayla.” He stroked her hair and the long lines of her back. He held her so tight she squeaked.

But when she separated their chests, just enough to peer into his eyes, it wasn’t pain he saw there. It was love.

“Are you okay?” She panted the question, still catching her breath.

“Perfect. That was amazing.” He relaxed for the first time in months. “Thank you for rescuing me from that black hole. Christ. I can’t promise I won’t go there again but I’ll try my best.”