Nigel Read online

  Nigel grabbed her around the waist. “Easy honey.” He glared at Sophia and pointed at her. “You! Get your ass out of my suite and don’t come back. In fact, you have exactly fifteen minutes to pack your shit and be ready to be escorted off the ship.”

  Sophia got to her feet and crossed her arms. “You can’t do that! You’re not in charge anymore Nigel. Clark’s going to be taking over and he’s got big plans, like getting rid of these halfsies altogether.”

  Amelia finally stopped kicking and pulling so he felt it was safe enough to let her go. “I’ve got news for you, Sophia, Clark is full of shit and he doesn’t have any control over this ship.”

  “You can’t kick me off because you’re not in charge either.”

  “I know someone who is, and who can.” Amelia took her phone out and dialed Dom. “Dom, I found Sophia throwing her skinny ass at Nigel and I’m killing mad. Get her off this ship now or I will throw her out with the waste disposal! Yep.” She hung up and looked at Sophia with a satisfied expression. “You’ve now got ten minutes to get your shit. Dom is sending security for you.”

  Sophia grabbed her things stormed past them and out the door slamming it behind her.

  Nigel went to reach for Amelia but she stepped away from him. “Amelia, she came here, she threw herself at me. I was trying...”

  She walked up to him and then slapped him across the face. “Fuck!” She jumped around holding her hurt hand. “Why do you have to have a fucking hard head?”

  “Let me see it, come here.” He moved her to the sofa and sat her down. He slowly opened her hand and noticed the red mark there. He lifted her hand and kissed the center. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  “For what? I’m the idiot that hit you.” She shivered when he licked her palm.

  “For letting that female in my suite to begin with, for not tossing her out on her ass, for having a hard head.”

  She sighed. “Nothing happened?”

  “I swear, she kissed me and I pushed her away.”

  She pulled her hand from him and stood up pacing back and forth. Her voice shook. “I’m not usually a jealous person, or a violent one. I want to punch her lights out. I can’t stop seeing her hands on you, her lips—”

  Nigel couldn’t stand to see her hurting and know that he had something to do with that. He stood up and went to her taking her in his arms. “Shhh...I’m yours Amelia. Only yours. I long for your kisses, your touch. You are the one that owns me body, soul, and heart.” He kissed her tasting her tears. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her until he had her back against the wall.

  He didn’t stop kissing until he got the response from her he sought. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened up to him. “Sweet, baby you’re so damn sweet.”

  She wrapped her legs around him making her skirt ride up. “Nigel.”

  “Do you believe me? Nothing happened with Sophia. She’s not the one I crave. You’re the only female I have ever loved since my mother died.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his. “Yes, I believe you. God Nigel, I love you so much.”

  He carried her to the bedroom. “Let me show you just how special you are to me.”

  She giggled. “Nigel, I don’t have time. I only came to check on you.”

  “There is always time for this, for us.” He nuzzled her neck making her moan.

  “Dom…”

  “Dom can wait, I can’t.” He removed her clothes slowly and loved every inch of her body with his mouth and hands. They both needed that reaffirmation of their love. Never would he let anyone come between them again. He would do everything in his power to make sure that Amelia didn’t doubt his feelings for her. She was everything to him.

  Chapter 19

  Amelia sighed with relief that it was the end of a very long day. All she wanted to do was go home to Nigel, shower–preferably with Nigel, then order room service and go to bed and make love to Nigel.

  Dom had left to go and get ready to present the evidence to the board members. He asked that she not come because he wanted to findings to be shown with a neutral tone and he said that Amelia was too personally involved to keep her feelings out of it. She agreed, if one of the board members tried to refute the findings she might be prompted to kick some boardroom ass. She stayed behind to finish up a few things in preparation for Nigel’s return.

  She was turning off her computer and getting ready to leave when heard her cell phone beep. She checked her phone and noticed that she received a text from Nigel. Poor guy was probably going stir crazy.

  “Could you pick up the contracts that were dropped off at the lobby desk?”

  She smiled. He was back to his bossy self. “Yes Sir. Dinner later?”

  “Yes.”

  She took her purse and locked up the office. Heading to the elevator she got in and smiled at the couple breaking apart from kissing. She couldn’t count the number of times she had seen people making out in the elevators. An image of her and Nigel plastered against the wall had her breathing a little heavy.

  She pushed the button for the Lobby several times. She couldn’t wait to get back to Nigel’s suite. She had him on her mind all day. She almost didn’t come back to work after they made love but she wanted to keep things running smoothly for Nigel. He worked too hard to have Clark screw it all up.

  She arrived on the Lobby level and left the elevator. She stepped up to the front desk and was greeted by the clerk Tammy.

  “Miss Jones, can I assist you?”

  “Hi Tammy, there was a courier that should have brought documents for Nigel.”

  “Yes, he just stepped back outside for a moment, he said that he forgot something. Did you want me to send someone out after him?”

  “No, I’ll run outside and look for him.” She didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary. She exited the ship’s main entrance and walked down the loading ramp. They were docked at the nearest spaceport where the board members had gotten on board. They were scheduled to leave in the next few hours.

  She stood outside trying to stay out of the way of all the traffic, it was crowded on the spaceport. It looked like a tiny underground city with shuttles rushing back and forth, some in the air some on the ground. All different types of aliens could be found on a spaceport. Amelia loved traveling with the GCFA from spaceport to spaceport. It took her out of her old boring life back on Earth.

  “Excuse me miss, are you Mr. Nigel’s assistant?”

  She turned to find a large plutian alien looking at her. “Yes, do you have something for him?”

  “This way, I was just bringing it inside, but got detained.”

  She followed him around the corner, but stopped mid-stride thinking twice. Following a stranger to a secluded location was a bad idea. “I’ll just wait for you by the entrance.” She started to back up but she bumped against someone behind her.

  “Sorry.” She tried to step out of the way but she felt something sharp in her arm. “Ouch!” Everything started to get dark and she felt her legs begin to give way. Her last thought was, ‘I’m a fucking idiot!’

  *****

  Nigel had been pacing impatiently back and forth in his front living space when someone knocked on his door. He was going to add her security access to his suite as soon as possible. He went to open the door expecting Amelia but found Dom standing on the other side in the hallway.

  “Dom, how did everything go?” He stepped to the side to let his friend in.

  “The board members accepted the evidence we presented on your behalf but they are postponing their meeting with Clark until the IDJ arrives to arrest him for forgery and stealing GCFA money.”

  Nigel breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s over then.”

  “It will be once Clark is in custody. We don’t want to tip him off that something is wrong. The best thing to do is to just remain here with Amelia until it all blows over. Take a little mini vacation.” Dom went over and sat down on the sofa stretching his legs out.
>
  “Thanks Dom, it means everything that you came all this way to help me.”

  Dom waved his hand in the air. “Just let me nap on your couch and we’ll call it even.”

  “What’s wrong with your suite?”

  “It’s been taken over by a really short red haired hacker that won’t fucking stop talking to me.”

  Nigel laughed as he sat down in the chair across from him. “You can stay until Amelia gets here then we’ll have to kick you out so we can get to that mini vacation.”

  Dom lifted his head. “Amelia’s not here?”

  Nigel shook his head. “I thought she was with you, meeting with the board members.”

  “I had her remain in the office just in case Clark tried to tie her in with your supposed criminal behavior. That was a couple of hours ago. She should have closed the office by now.”

  “I haven’t received any messages from her on my phone, in fact, my cell phone hasn’t gone off all afternoon.” Nigel looked on the coffee table where he thought he had placed it earlier that day. It wasn’t there. “Let me check my bedroom. Could you call her on your phone? It’s not like her to go this long without checking in.”

  Dom took out his cell. “I’m calling the office first. It’s ringing...now it has gone to voicemail. I’m checking her cell phone...it went to voicemail too.”

  “Something’s not right Dom. Amelia would have called me by now. I know I had my cell phone earlier today, before Sophia came by.”

  “I remember Amelia calling me about having her removed from the ship. I sent security to escort her off hours ago. Do you have a tracker implant you can activate for Amelia?”

  Nigel shook his head. “I requested approval from the GCFA board members to offer it to the rest of our staff, they only approved it for our fighters. Damn it! I should have overridden their decision.”

  “Stay calm. Let me contact Rachel and Trig. There has to be a way to track her, especially if she has her phone with her. It could be that she let the battery run out. Was she supposed to come here after work?”

  “No, she was going to call me and I was going to meet her at her suite to help her pack her things.”

  “She may be there packing and her cell phone died. I’ll call her suite for you.”

  “I can’t just stand around here, I’m going to go check her suite myself.” Nigel left his suite and walked briskly to the elevator. He was trying to control his emotions. If anything happened to Amelia, he would lose it. She was everything to him.

  He arrived on her floor which was a few floors down from his executive level. Getting out of the elevator he headed to her suite. He didn’t bother knocking, he rammed the door and it came off the hinges. Something inside of him told him something was wrong, really wrong.

  “Amelia!” He looked everywhere but couldn’t find any sign of her. She was gone.

  *****

  Dom made his way to his own suite while talking to the head of security, Rachel, on his phone. “She’s missing. I know it’s not been twenty-four hours, but do we really want to take the chance that whoever has her won’t kill her? Can’t you track her cell phone? How long will it take? Shit, I think I know someone who can do it sooner than that.” He hung up his phone as he opened the door to his suite.

  “Sam!” Dom rushed in the suite not seeing her at first, he headed to the bedroom calling out her name. “Sam!”

  “What?” Sam yelled back from the front room.

  Sam was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed wearing one of his shirts. He didn’t have time to question what the hell she was doing.

  “I need you.”

  She smiled up at him. “Wow, that didn’t take long. I have to warn you I don’t usually get involved with people I work with but I’d make the exception for you.”

  He frowned. “I meant—I need your help finding Amelia. We think she’s been kidnapped.”

  “Call the IDJ.”

  “They won’t do anything unless she’s been missing over twenty-four hours. We can’t wait that long. It will also take hours for their people to track her cell phone. I need you to find her for us.”

  “Okay, let me get my laptop.” She got up and Dom got a glimpse of what was underneath the shirt, or what was missing under the shirt. His breath caught. This was not the time or place, but later, he would have to talk to her about what she wore around males.

  “Put on some damn clothes!”

  “Fine!” Sam yelled from the bedroom.

  Dom called Rachel back. “Have your security team ready and get someone from the IDJ available to help with rescue and retrieval.”

  “Of course. Sam’s great isn’t she?”

  “Yeah, she is. She’ll contact you as soon as she has a location.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ve got to go hunt down Nigel.”

  “This must be tearing him up. Wait, I thought Nigel was with you. Where is he?”

  “I have an idea. Keep in touch. Also, Nigel’s cell phone is missing. We think there’s a connection to Sophia Laguard. Did you people take her off the ship like I requested?”

  “Hold on.” Rachel put him on hold. When she came back she was steaming. “Damn it all to hell. Davidson had Sophia moved to his suite and told security that she was his personal guest. They didn’t check with me first or I would have taken care of the matter myself. I am so sorry. Do you want me to handle it now?”

  “No, I’ll take care of it. I’ll have Sam call you when she gets a location.”

  “Dom, tell Nigel we’ll find her.”

  “I will.” He hung up and turned around to see that Sam was sitting at his dining table with her laptop. “How long before you trace Amelia’s cell phone?”

  “If she’s still on board maybe five minutes. If she’s not on the ship it could take thirty minutes up to an hour depending on the interference.”

  “Can you track more than one phone? I need to find Nigel’s cell phone too.” He wrote down the cell numbers and placed it on the table in front of her.

  “Let me see.”

  Dom watched as she got absorbed with her work. She bit her bottom lip and when she found something, her face lit up. She went from adorable to fucking hot in just seconds. She was completely naked under his shirt. He shook his head. He couldn’t get caught up in a romance right then. He had to control his emotions.

  “I’ve got Nigel’s phone located on this floor, room 240.”

  He growled. “Of course, Sophia, that bitch.” He went to the door.

  “You know whose room that is?” Sam called out.

  “Yes I do. When you pinpoint Amelia’s location, call Rachel and Trig. They have contacts with the IDJ who will help us.” He left heading down the hallway. Raised voices alerted him that he was walking into a heated situation. He picked up pace. He should have never let Nigel out of his sight. He should have personally made sure Sophia was off the fucking ship.

  Chapter 20

  “Where is Amelia?” Nigel demanded as he barged into Clark’s suite. He just knew that the other male had something to do with Amelia being missing. His anger turned furious at spotting Clark and Sophia sitting down having a formal dinner without a care in the world.

  “Hello, Nigel. I would say it’s nice to see you again but I don’t think you barging in on my dinner date is very polite. What do you think my dear?”

  Sophia pouted. “That’s very rude Nigel, your manners have really slipped back to caveman days.”

  “Where is Amelia? If you have harmed her in any way—”

  Clark leaned back in his seat. “I don’t hurt women. I’m a businessman, I make deals and run corporations.”

  Nigel glared at the other man. “Deals?”

  “Yes. For example, if you were to publicly announce that you were behind the embezzling of the GCFA funds and resign, a deal could be made. One where a certain brown haired woman could find her way to a local diner, unharmed.”

  “If I don’t?” Nigel moved sl
owly forward.

  Clark shook his head. “Poor thing might never be found again, alive.”

  “You bastard!” Nigel launched himself at Clark surprising him and taking him down to the floor. The table tipped over on its side and knocked Sophia out of her chair. She scrambled to get up to her feet and back out of the way.

  Clark swung up at him, but it was clear he wasn’t much of a fighter. Nigel punched him once knocking his head hard against the floor. Clark shook his head groaning in pain and dazed. He floundered around like a fish out of water. Nigel took advantage of his pain and confusion, and he jammed his knee on Clark’s chest pressing down hard.

  “Where the hell is Amelia?” Nigel demanded again pressing and cutting off some of Clark’s oxygen. Clark was having hard time breathing.

  Nigel heard heels on the floor behind him and looked back to see Sophia making a run for it. He was about to go after her, furious that she helped Clark kidnap Amelia. If Clark didn’t talk, he would make Sophia talk for sure. Sophia went out the door, and just as he was about to get up to go after her he saw her stumble backwards through it again. She tried to leave again but was shoved back inside the room by Dom.

  “Guess where your phone is, Nigel?” Dom hit a button on his cell phone and Nigel recognized the ring tone to his phone coming from Sophia’s purse. Dom snatched her purse from her and removed Nigel’s phone.

  Nigel growled at her but the wheezing sound from below him got his attention back to Clark who was turning a disturbing shade of white. He eased up a little letting the male get some oxygen.

  “Tell me where she’s at.”

  Clark tried to play the innocent victim. “Dom, call security. Nigel attacked us during our dinner without provocation!” He tried to push Nigel off of him but he was no match physically.

  “I think setting him up for false embezzling charges, kidnapping his girlfriend and then threatening to have her killed if Nigel didn’t resign is enough reason to kick your fucking ass. I heard every bit of that as I was on my way here and better yet, I recorded it on my phone.” Dom waved his cell phone in the air.