Bigger Than the Sky (Serenity Point)

by Harper Bentley

  “Babe,” he says then picks the bag off the ground setting it on the stack, pulling another one up with it as if they’re feather light then carries them over to the mixer, opens them, pours them in, puts the hose inside and turns the mixer on. He turns to look at me, his lips tipped up. “When I said I want you involved, meant with the inside. One of these bags is over a third of your weight.”

  And I frown because girl power and all that. “If you had a wheelbarrow I could’ve gotten it,” I say with a huff, pushing a lock of hair out of my face then putting my hands on my hips. I’m wearing one of his old flannels over my shirt

  “Come here,” he orders, his eyes locking to mine making me instantly wet. God.

  “Kade.”

  “Here, Amelia.”

  I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and I go there but I do it slowly. When I get to him, I see he’s not very happy that I took my time.

  “Fuck you against the house, you hesitate like that again.”

  My head snaps back as I look up at him. Damned alphas and their bossiness. “Kade, I-” I begin but his mouth is on mine, tongue inside, tangling with mine and I’ve forgotten why I even delayed coming to him.

  When he pulls away, he looks at me as if I’m the most precious thing in this world. Oh, my. “Love this, Mill. You out here working with me.” His eyes twinkle with happiness as he gazes at me and I smile up at him.

  “I kinda love it too, Kade,” I whisper.

  Then the moment’s gone and he’s back in work mode. “Couple hand trowels in the garage. Can you run and get ‘em?” he asks. I roll my eyes but nod, turning to go retrieve his tools but not before he smacks my ass making me yelp. “Hurry,” he says with a smirk when I turn back to glare at him.

  But I sort of love all of this. Almost my entire childhood I hung out with Papaw in the garage doing “guy things” and this feels totally comfortable doing this with Kade. I bring him the trowels and he moves the mixer closer to the plot then empties it inside the wood molds. We both use the trowels to smooth it out and when we’re finished, it feels good that I’ve helped him do something for the house. We stand and he puts his arm around my shoulders as we look at our completed project.

  “Looks good,” he mutters with a nod.

  “It does,” I agree. I reach over to the mixer and scoop a bit of concrete that’s still on it in my fingers then turn to Kade. I smile at him then reach up and smear the stuff on his face.

  “You really gonna go there?” he asks in warning, looking down at me, eyebrows raised.

  I bite my lips holding back my laughter. And before he can grab me, I run up the back steps into the house, giggling the entire time, thinking I’ve gotten away from him until I let out a big “Oomph!” as he nabs me around my waist with an arm. I see I only made it to the mudroom’s door into the kitchen. God, he’s fast. Damned ninja.

  He turns me and smashes his lips to mine. I squeal because some of the concrete on his face gets on mine and I put a hand up to wipe it off. But then he pulls the flannel shirt of his I’m wearing off, and the next thing I know I’m naked (fast, see?) and I no longer give a shit about concrete. He reaches behind his neck and jerks his thermal off, and next loses his boots, socks then jeans, and, wow, him naked is just a sight to see. He’s built so powerfully, his muscles so thick and corded, and his cock matches his physique perfectly, long and thick, and now I see it’s fully engorged, erect standing straight up against his stomach, the tip at his belly button. Damn. While I’m admiring him, he steps to me and bends to grab me up, wrapping my legs around his waist.

  “Gonna fuck you hard, Mill,” he warns, moving to the doorway. “Can you handle it?” he asks as if he’s challenging me.

  I raise an eyebrow and nod because of course I can handle it. But I swear, I’ve practically flooded myself now and know it’s running down his abs.

  “Fucking wet. Jesus,” he says. “Put your hands up on the frame.”

  Holy shit.

  I move my hands to hold onto the board at the top, bending my fingers around it, grabbing on.

  “Hold tight,” he commands then lifts my hips and powers his cock up inside me.

  “Shit!” I cry as he continues thrusting up because, true to his word, he’s fucking me hard.

  Oh, my God.

  “Can you handle it?” he taunts again, literally bouncing me up and down on his length, forcing me down on him, going so deep.

  And I love it. Love that he’s so passionate. Love that he wants me so badly that he’s crazy with lust right now. Love him.

  I breathe out a “Yes,” as he drives up inside over and over. When his hand moves down and he runs his thumb over my clit, I’m done and come hard, throwing my head back, my legs trembling as they lock around him and my arms fall from the door to his shoulders. He carries me through the kitchen and into the living room and lays me on the couch, his knee to the couch with his hip against the back of it, his other foot on the floor, and lacing his fingers through mine, stretches my arms over my head, his head to the side of mine, and continues pounding inside me.

  “Fucking love you,” he says roughly into my ear as he thrusts inside forcefully on the word love and holds it making me bow my back up as a long moan escapes me. “Loved you forever.” Again, he drives in fiercely, this time on the word forever.

  Wow.

  I know he feels the beginnings of another climax coming for me, because he orders, “Wait.” I close my eyes, arching my neck as I try waiting. Then he gruffly says, “Now,” and I shatter around him, pulsating around his shaft as his thrusts become smaller then he buries himself all the way inside and comes with a groan.

  We lie there breathing hard then he turns his face to mine and kisses my cheek.

  “Loved you forever too,” I whisper, clutching his hands hard.

  ~~~

  Monday morning, Clara and Bill, the couple that’s going to run the station show as do Jason, Chance and Adam, my mechanics. We meet in the front of the station and I go over my policies, showing them the timesheet where they’re to write in their hours (must get that computerized) and basically explain how I want things run. The fuel guy shows up and Jason, Chance and Adam help him. I let Clara and Bill go around ten then show the mechanics around the garage. They ask if they can organize some things and I tell them to do whatever they like that’ll help them operate better.

  At noon, I take their lunch orders and make a quick trip to Mags’. Kade called earlier and said he had to be out of town, so I skip inviting him along. The guys eat their lunch and around two they’ve finished organizing and getting familiar with everything, so they take off. I make a call to the paper making sure my advertisement’s still running, then head outside to put up the gas prices on the marquee. Papaw didn’t want an electronic one, but as soon as I can, that’s the next thing up to purchase.

  I call it a day at six then shower, pack a bag and drive out to Kade’s. I’d made the pork chops last night but we bought enough at Shop and Bag for me to make chicken tacos tonight, so as soon as I get there, I start them.

  Just as I finish chopping the tomato, Kade pulls up.

  “Hey, baby,” he says when he comes inside and kisses me on the cheek. “Smells great.”

  “Thanks,” I reply smiling at him. Then I see his face. “What?”

  “Uh, Brody called. Said some guy’s at Jen’s and is makin’ a big fuss about you,” he tells me as he washes his hands at the sink.

  “What?”

  “Said he’s got a British accent.” He’s drying his hands now and looking at me through narrowed eyes.

  Oh, shit. Aidan.

  “You’re kidding.” I’m shocked that he’d show up here. What the hell?

  “You know him?” Kade asks, apparently seeing by my ashen face that I do.

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Who is he?” he says, his eyes steely on mine. Yikes.

  “Why don’t you sit and I’ll fix your plate?�
�� I answer, pushing him toward the table.

  He humors me because he must be hungry; otherwise, I think he’d give me more of an argument.

  When I sit, he asks how things went at the garage and I tell him how my day went then I ask him about his. He tells me about the bathroom he’s redoing at some guy’s house in Seaford. He’s finished his third taco when he asks about Aidan.

  “He’s a partner in my firm.”

  As he chews, he watches me, waiting for more. When I don’t give it to him, he says, “And?”

  “And I dated him for almost a year.”

  He sits back in his chair then reaches for his beer, taking a long pull from the bottle. He places it back on the table and sits for a minute more. “You love him?”

  I frown. “Oh, God, no. Found out he was married and broke up with him about seven months ago.”

  “Sounds like a real winner.” He’s staring at me probably wondering why I gave him such a hard time about Missy when I thought he was going out with a married woman, and here I’m guilty of it myself. Well, going out with a married man, not a woman.

  “Yeah.” I look at him. “I honestly didn’t know he was married. If I had, I never would’ve gone there.”

  I can tell he’s kind of pissed about this, but he had to have known I dated some after I left.

  “How many?” he says.

  “What?” I ask not sure what he’s wanting to know.

  “How fucking many?” He slams his hand on the table.

  Shit!

  I jump about a foot in the air, and from his scowl, I gather he’s wanting to know how many men I went out with since him, which kind of pisses me off now because he went out with so many.

  “Two, Kade. Only two.”

  “You fuck them?” His eyes are boring into mine and I’m thinking this really isn’t fair.

  “Really?” I can’t believe he’d go there with me with all the notches he’s earned on his bedpost since we broke up.

  “Yeah. Really,” he spits hatefully.

  “Oh, my God. You can’t be mad at me when you slept with how many women? I can’t even believe you’re go-”

  “You fuck them?” he yells and scares the shit out of me again, and I stand, tired of this inquisition.

  “Yes! Yes, I fucked them! Happy now?” I go to the counter and start putting things away knowing I’ll be sleeping at the garage tonight because he’s being ridiculous right now.

  “Not even close.” He stands up so quickly, his chair falls down behind him and when I see him stalking toward me, I frown because I have no idea what he’s going to do.

  I turn to face him, leaning my butt against the counter. “Kade, it’s not what you th-”

  He spins me around and presses his body against me, his hands on either side of mine on the counter. “You like fucking them?” he says close to my ear.

  “Kade…”

  Ah. I get it. He was my first. He was my only for a long time. I guess like me, he didn’t think of me being with anyone else, so I know exactly where he’s coming from. But his realization is amped up with testosterone, so I’m not quite sure if what he’s feeling is the same as I did.

  His hand moves forward coming to my belly then his fingers strum at the hem of my fitted button down chambray shirt. His other hand comes up to hold my chin, keeping me pressed against him. I know he won’t hurt me, but I’m not sure I like how this is going.

  “You let them touch you here?” he asks when his fingers move under my shirt and over my stomach, against the spandex tank top I’m wearing.

  “Kade…”

  He glides his hand up and grabs my breast roughly. “They touch you here?”

  He’s mad and now I know I don’t like how this is going. I try to move away from him but he keeps me where I am. He unbuttons my shirt and pulls it off my shoulders, throwing it to the side. I can feel his heart hammering against my back. God, he’s so angry.

  “Kade, you’re mad. This isn’t a good idea,” I say while one hand moves up over my tank then dips down into the top of it where he grabs my breast again and rolls my nipple between his thumb and finger, the other hand slipping into my jeans and cupping me. My body betrays me as I moan and my head goes back against his chest.

  “You like their hands on you?”

  And now I’m alert again, out of the fog he just put me in and I succeed in stepping away from him.

  “I understand how you feel right now. I know it hurts, and I’m sorry.” I look at him and his eyes flash at me, God, so angry. “I should go,” I say as I bend and put my shirt back on leaving it unbuttoned. I grab my purse off the desk in the kitchen and go to the mudroom, pulling my coat off a hook and then I’m out the door. As far as I know, Kade’s still standing there looking daggers at where I last stood.

  Chapter 23

  I call Cassie on my way home and tell her what happened.

  “How can he be that mad? He slept with a ton of women and I forgave him.”

  “He’s a man. It’s the old double standard bullshit. Guess it’s the fact that men think they can jab their dick inside anyone and anything and it’s not that big a deal. But a woman actually takes someone inside, know what I mean? I can kinda understand where he’s coming from yet not.”

  “Well, that clears everything up,” I say with a humorless chuckle.

  “Hey, I’m just as clueless as you are when it comes to this shit.”

  “Oh, Brody called Kade and told him that Aidan’s at Jen’s talking shit on me, I guess. What should I do?”

  “Oh, I’ve got to see this guy!” she exclaims. “I’m coming into town. I’ll meet you at the garage.”

  I sigh. “You can go. I don’t wanna see him.”

  “’Kay! I’ll call Lacey to go!”

  “No!” I yell. “She doesn’t know about Aidan, does she?” Great. Cassie told her about my affair with a married man.

  “It might’ve slipped out. We were drunk at some conference we went to last year. Sorry. But I only told her because she told me about the same thing happening to her! She totally understands, Mill.”

  “Note to self: Never tell you anything I don’t want someone else to know because you’ll get drunk and blab,” I mumble.

  “C’mon, Mill. That’s one thing I’ve told in over twenty years. And Lacey was crying. I had to make her feel better.”

  “Whatever. Anyway, fine, go. Just don’t start any shit with him.”

  We hang up just as I pull up into town. The clock on the bank says it’s almost nine. Well, I’m opening tomorrow, so I needed a good night’s sleep anyway.

  ~~~

  I’m awakened by someone pounding on the door downstairs. I sit up and wait to hear it again in case I was only dreaming I heard it, but, nope, not a dream. Someone’s really beating the shit out of the front door. When I turn on my lamp, I look at my alarm to see it’s two seventeen and groan. Good grief. Then I see my phone flash and pick it up. I turned the sound off because I didn’t want to get into it with Kade in case he called, but now I see Cassie’s calling.

  “What?” I answer.

  “Mill! He’s fucking hot!” she says then giggles. She’s got me on speaker and I hear Lacey giggling in the background.

  “You guys are drunk. Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

  “We’re taking a personal day!” More giggles.

  The pounding on the door begins again. “You didn’t happen to tell Aidan where my garage is, did you?”

  “No! He guessed! I mean, there are only two stations in town. It’s not hard to figure out which one has a garage. And he told me he already knew about your grandparents and that their last name was Hale.”

  “I think he’s downstairs knocking.” I know it’s not Kade. He has a key.

  “Lacey! Aidan’s at the garage!”

  “You’d better not answer, Mill! Kade was at Jen’s scoping him out!”

  Ugh. “I don’t have time for this shi
t,” I mumble.

  “Want us to come over and help you out?” Cass offers.

  “No! Was Kade drinking?” I ask thinking I can call him to see if he can help out.

  “He was trashed!” Lacey calls out.

  And the night just keeps getting better. The pounding starts again. “Is Brody working?”

  “Think so. Call him!” Cass answers.

  “I will. You guys be careful. You’re not driving, are you?”

  “No. Randy’s giving us a ride to Lacey’s. Say hi to Randy!”

  Lord. “Hey, Randy. How are you?” I ask. He graduated high school a year ahead of us and is now an electrician.

  “Hey, Mill. I’m good. See you’re still a drama magnet.” He chuckles. He was there when I’d flipped shit on Peyton at the prom.

  “Always,” I reply shaking my head. “Okay, calling Brody. You guys be safe. Talk to you later. Bye, Randy.”

  I hang up and call Brody twice. He didn’t answer the first time, but I get him the second time.

  “Yeah?” he answers sleepily.

  “Brody, It’s Amelia. I’m sorry to wake you, but do you think you could come help me out?”

  “Why? What’s going on?” He’s alert now and I hear him sitting up.

  “Well, that guy that was in Jen’s tonight? He’s an old boyfriend and I think he’s about to knock down my door.”

  “Where’s Kade?”

  “He and I kinda got into it. And now I guess he’s drunk, so I really don’t want him here,” I explain.

  I hear him making a weird sound with his breath and I figure he’s rubbing a hand over his face quickly trying to wake up. “’Kay. I’ll be there in five.”

  “Thanks, Brody,” I say and hang up. I get up and put my robe on then head downstairs.

  When I come around the corner, I see Aidan is really at my door, his hands cupped on the glass as he peers inside. Oh, yay. I huff out a breath then go to the door and open it.

  “Amelia!” he says drunkenly then staggers a bit as he tries to get in the door. “Can I come in?”

  I block him because I really don’t want him here. “I’d rather you not. What are you doing here, Aidan?”