Nigel Read online

  *****

  Nigel took the punch to the face but turned so that little force struck him. He spit out blood and smirked at Phoenix. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

  “I’m holding back. Didn’t want to mess up your pretty boy looks in case you have a press conference later.” Phoenix rolled his shoulders.

  “Don’t hold back.” Nigel rumbled at him. He needed this outlet. So many things in his life he had no control over. He hated feeling powerless. This fight was exactly what he needed to release his pent up energy. Plus, he really enjoyed punching the shit out of Phoenix.

  Nigel circled his opponent in the cage. Phoenix was good, very good. That’s why they signed him on. He didn’t show his emotions when fighting which made it hard to gauge his next move. As good as he was, he wasn’t without faults and weaknesses. He favored his right ankle, which Nigel took advantage of.

  Nigel faked a kick as he swept low and hit Phoenix’s ankle from the side. Phoenix caught himself before he hit the ground and glared at Nigel as he stood back up. “Dirty fighting, Nigel? I didn’t think you would lower yourself to that.”

  “I wasn’t always a businessman. I grew up learning to fight on the streets.” To prove his point he threw a punch knowing that Phoenix would block it. He twisted to the side and shoved his elbow into the big man’s back.

  “Nice one Nigel.” Hammer called out from the other side of the cage. They had gathered a crowd.

  Phoenix charged Nigel who tried to kick out with his leg but he missed. Phoenix jabbed Nigel who returned jab for jab. Phoenix wasn’t going to easily budge his position. Nigel sent a knee which landed soundly on his opponent.

  Two strikes broke them apart. Nigel got a leg kick from Phoenix. Inside leg kick from Phoenix winded him forcing Nigel to take a few steps back.

  “Kick his ass Phoenix!” Zen called out obviously deciding to coach Phoenix from the sidelines. Nigel glared over at Zen the Sin who just shrugged. Things had been prickly for a long time between the two of them; ever since Nigel had showed interest in dating Zen’s now mate, also Rage’s half-sister, but Nigel had his own supporters.

  “You’ll get him next time Nigel!” Roxy yelled out. He looked over at the impulsive red-head and gave her a bloody smile.

  Nigel received more leg kicks. He got in a left hand making Phoenix stagger back and blood pour from his eye. He heard a gasp and turned to glance to the side. Amelia was standing close to the cage and she looked pale. The distraction was just what Phoenix needed.

  Phoenix slammed into Nigel’s middle and pushed him to the fence. Using his momentum he grasped Nigel under his arms and pulled him backward and over him until Nigel hit the ground knocking the wind out of him.

  “Okay, that’s enough for today.” Hammer acted as referee during the match. He came inside and got between the two of them when they didn’t immediately break it off.

  “I could go again.” Phoenix taunted him.

  Hammer growled at him. “Enough Phoenix!”

  “Well fought Phoenix.” Nigel begrudgingly told him as he slowly rose to his feet.

  Phoenix looked surprised at the compliment. “Thanks, you’re not so bad for a suit and tie guy.”

  Nigel chuckled, but it turned into a groan. “Make sure you work on that ankle, it’s a weakness your opponent can exploit.

  Phoenix just nodded at him. He glanced at Amelia and looked once more at Nigel. “Don’t hurt her again.”

  “I won’t.” Nigel watched as Phoenix left the cage and walked past a confused and shocked Amelia.

  Hammer slapped him on the back a little too hard making him groan in pain again. “Not bad Nigel, but you’re out of practice. You need to get your speed back up to avoid taking all those hits.”

  He snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know.” He managed to climb out of the cage and walk over to Amelia. She had a range of emotions running across her face. Worry, confusion, frustration, and arousal, before she seemed to settle on anger.

  “Hi babe.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I—you—what were you thinking?”

  “I needed to blow off some steam.” He leaned on the leg that didn’t hurt so much.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do with you.”

  “Take me to bed.” He tried to give her a sexy smile but grimaced from the pain.

  She rolled her eyes and snorted. “Let’s get you to the healers first.”

  “That might be best.”

  She moved to wrap her arm around his waist to help him walk. She was too short to lean on but it felt comforting to have her close to him. Her scent was appealing.

  “Are you sniffing me?” Amelia asked raising her eyebrow at him.

  “You smell delicious. I want to take you back to my place and eat you until you scream my name.” Her arousal got stronger.

  “Not until the healers see you first. Besides, it may be a few hours before you move well enough to do that.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  “If you agree to be a good boy and not give the healers a hard time, I will reward you.”

  He perked up. “How?”

  She laughed. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  Damn she was good, she worked him like no one else. “Fine, let’s get to the healers.”

  Chapter 13

  “Mr. Nigel, you need to remain in bed while the healing injection works its way through your whole system.” Healer Jacobi told him.

  “How long will that take?”

  “An hour at least here, and then we recommend you spend a couple hours in your suite resting.”

  Amelia watched him stubbornly shake his head and try to stand back up. She pushed past the healer. “I’ll make sure that he stays in bed.”

  The healer looked at her smaller figure with doubt. “Very well, someone will come and check on your progress in an hour and they will release you if you’re doing well enough, until then we will monitor you from our office.”

  “No problem.” Amelia reassured the healer he would stay in bed. Once the man left, Nigel let her know how displeased he was.

  Nigel grumbled. “I don’t need to be treated like a child.”

  She glared down at him. “Stop acting like one! Why were you fighting with Phoenix?”

  “We were practice fighting. I needed a way to release my frustrations.”

  “So you took it out on Phoenix’s face?”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Do you have feelings for him?”

  “Of course I do. He’s my friend.”

  “That male is interested in more than being just friends.”

  “He knows that’s not how I feel about him.” She folded her arms over her chest drawing his eyes there. “My breasts don’t talk, look at my eyes Nigel.”

  He chuckled. “Your breasts are calling my name.”

  She groaned with frustration. “Be serious for a minute here.”

  “I’m being dead serious. Phoenix tried to warn me off of you, he wants me to leave you alone. I refused and told him to mind his own business. We both decided a little time in the cage would allow us to get out our anger. It worked, I’m not angry anymore but I am feeling something else that needs to be worked out.” He reached out and pulled her onto his bed.

  She gasped. “Nigel you’re still healing!”

  “I can heal with you next to me.” He nuzzled her neck making goose bumps form all over her body.

  “You’re distracting me.” She meant to push him away but ended up arching so that he could cup her breasts.

  “Is it working?”

  “Yes.” She couldn’t fight against his seduction. His lips his hands were working her body into a frenzy.

  He tried to maneuver around and under him but pulled something. “Ouch”

  “Nigel, you need to be lying down.”

  “Only if you promise to ride me.”

  She blinked at him and felt her face redden. “I—” She looked over to the doorway.

&nb
sp; “Go lock the doors babe and come back. If you don’t come back I will track you down.”

  She sighed giving up. “Fine, just stay there and don’t move.” She pushed off the bed and went to lock the door. She turned back to find Nigel had kicked off the sheet and was lying completely naked on the bed. She licked her lips as she walked back to him.

  “Take your clothes off, Amelia.” His deep sexy voice made her shiver with anticipation.

  She reached behind her and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall down to her feet. She kicked out of it. Then she unbuttoned her silky blouse and let it slide down her arms. It was thrilling to have him watching her every move. The sensations were building up a need in her. She took off her heels and removed her underwear. Last was her bra, the snap was in the front she undid it and parted the thin lacy fabric.

  “Let your hair down for me.”

  “Nigel, it’s too much trouble to put back up.”

  “Please.” The need in his voice and eyes were too tempting to ignore. She knew she wouldn’t be able to deny him anything.

  She reached up and undid the pins holding her locks in place. Long tendrils fell down and over her shoulders. She now stood before him completely naked and vulnerable.

  Nigel smiled at her. “You are so beautiful, you take my breath away.”

  She smiled back at him. He knew the right thing to say to make her feel at ease. She climbed up on the bed and straddled his feet. “You’re beautiful.”

  He snorted. “I’m a male, males aren’t beautiful.”

  She leaned down, her breasts brushing against his knees. “You are.” Then she bent down and licked the tip of his cock. He was fully erect and some of his cum pearled on the tip. He tasted spicy and warm. She loved that about him, his taste was addicting and she wanted more.

  She wrapped her hands around the base of his dick. He was all hard steel wrapped in smooth flesh. She knelt between his legs and took him into her mouth. She sucked him then pumped up and down. She took him down her throat as far as she could without choking. She used her hands, her tongue and her throat to squeeze him.

  “Amelia—I’m going to come.” He reached for her hair and held her on him. Then he growled as he released his seed into her mouth.

  She pulled back and licked her lips. “I love the way you taste.”

  “I want to taste you too.”

  She shook her head and she climbed up his body straddling his hips. “We won’t have time for that before the healers come back.” She nuzzled her mouth against his nipple. When she felt his cock jerking up against her she looked at him in surprise. “Already?”

  He put his hands on her waist and lifted her slightly until he was just at the entrance of her womanhood. She lowered down on him and closed her eyes enjoying the feel of him filling her up. She would never get enough of this, of him.

  “I want to see your eyes.” Nigel whispered as he cupped her breasts.

  She opened her eyes and stared at him, his beautiful face. God she loved him so much. “Nigel—” Her voice choked up with so much emotion.

  “You feel so damn good.” He lifted up making his cock drill deeper inside of her. She got caught up in the passionate rhythm that he set for them. She rode him just like he wanted and when she arched her back with her hard climax, she whispered a mumble of words including her love for him.

  *****

  Nigel frowned watching as Amelia hopped around on one foot trying to pull her skirt back on. “Don’t go back to the office. Once I’m released we can go to my suite and spend the rest of the afternoon in bed.

  Amelia stopped what she was doing to look at him with frustration. She had one high heel on and was holding the other in her hand waving it in his direction.

  “I have work to do, I’m keeping things up until this mess with Clark is resolved.”

  “Has Dom found anything?”

  She shook her head. “Not yet, but we’ve got someone coming in to help us.” She finished getting dressed and looked over at him. He was silent, brooding and the most strikingly beautiful man she had ever met. She loved his full bottom lip, his amazing blue eyes, his sharp intelligence, and she loved everything about him. She loved Nigel with all her heart.

  She came over to his side and bent down to hug him. “I promise, we’ll fix this.” She kissed his lips lingering. She had to pull back fast before he reached for her. If he touched her again she would bend on her will to work and remain with him.

  “I owe you a dinner.” Nigel called out as she reached the door.

  She smiled. “I’ll wear something sexy.”

  He winked at her. “Me too.”

  God the thought of him being any sexier was almost too much. She quickly left the room and made her way back up to the office. Hopefully the IDJ hacker expert will have something that will help.

  Chapter 14

  Amelia knocked on the door before she entered Nigel’s office. She stopped in surprise at seeing Dom leaning over the shoulder of a redhead with long braids going down her head. “What’s going on? Who’s this?”

  The redhead looked up briefly. “Hi I’m Samantha Porter, Rachel and Trig sent me”

  Amelia had been expecting a man. She shook off her surprise and moved forward to shake hands with the woman. “Oh, you’re the hacker.”

  “I prefer the title of Technical Security Expert. Are you Miss Jones?”

  “Yes, but please call me Amelia.”

  “Call me Sam.”

  “So how are things going?” Amelia watched how Dom interacted with Sam, there was chemistry between them though they both were trying to ignore it.

  Dom tried to reach for the mouse but Sam smacked his hand away. The look on his face was hilarious. Amelia had to fight not to laugh.

  Sam glared at him. “I’m running a tracking program now.”

  “I thought we did that already but it only traced the money to a phony account in Nigel’s name.”

  Sam snorted. “That’s a standard track that can easily be manipulated. This is my own tracking program. It tracks a numerical code.” At Amelia’s confused look Sam explained further. “It’s like this, every time someone signs on to a computer there is a specific numeric code that shows up. It is specific to that person.”

  “What if someone uses a public computer that doesn’t require a log on?” Amelia asked.

  “That’s a little more difficult, but I could still track down and narrow the list of people the code would belong to by checking to see what things that person viewed and if they check their email—bingo. I got them.”

  Amelia nodded her head still not sure how all that worked, as long as it did work was what mattered. “How long will it take?”

  “It will depend on how tech savvy the person is who set up the transfers, they may try to divert my tracking program to keep me from finding them. Don’t worry, I’m the best there is so I’ll get them eventually.”

  Dom growled. “The board members arrive tomorrow, I need to have some answers.”

  “Keep your pants on big guy. I can’t rush the program. I’ve used it before and it’s never taken longer than ten hours.”

  Dom sighed. “Fine. Can I have my seat back?”

  “That’s actually Nigel’s seat.” Amelia shrugged when Dom glared at her.

  Sam got up and grabbed her laptop. “I have the program tied into my laptop to notify me when the program is done. I’ll grab something to eat and take a nap. Where am I staying?”

  Amelia looked at her in shock. “You haven’t settled in yet?”

  “Nope. I just arrived an hour ago and was told to report to Mr. Dom Reese immediately.”

  The phone rang and they all three looked at the caller ID. Dom frowned. “That’s Clark’s cell. Amelia, could you show Sam to my suite. I want to keep her presence hidden for the moment. I need to meet with Clark to keep him in the dark.”

  “No problem. Sam, come with me. Where did you put your luggage?” Amelia watched as Sam pulled on a large backpack.
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br />   “No luggage, everything I need is in my backpack. I like to travel light.”

  “I can understand that.” They walked out of Nigel’s office and she could hear Dom calling Clark back.

  “So, are all the guys on this ship as hot as Dom?” Sam asked her curiously. They entered the elevator.

  “Most of them, yes.”

  “Is Dom seeing anyone?”

  Amelia raised an eyebrow at her question. “I wouldn’t know. Dom’s real private about his personal life.”

  “Maybe he’s gay. He seems real interested in protecting this Nigel person. Could they be lovers?”

  Amelia cracked up with laughter. She couldn’t help it. “I can safely say, no way in hell.” At Sam’s pink cheeks she let her know gently. “Nigel likes women—a lot. In fact, Nigel and I are lovers.”

  “Oh—OH! You are so fucking lucky. Nigel is almost as hot as Dom.”

  “I think he’s hotter.” For some reason she felt she needed to defend Nigel.

  Sam didn’t seem to take offense. “To each his own is what I always say. Oh do you think I could meet some of the fighters? Are they as intimidating in person as they seem on the T.V.? I heard Zen the Sin was married, is that true?”

  Amelia smiled throughout the onslaught of questions that Sam bombarded her with. “I’m sure we can arrange for you to meet some of the fighters. There’s an event coming up in a few days. I can get you a seat in the VIP section with a pass to attend the after party.”

  “Awesome!”

  Boy, Dom had his hands full with this energetic woman. The elevator doors opened and they got off on the VIP floor where Dom’s suite was located. She used the code key that Dom gave her to open the door.

  “Here’s the key. You can order room service.”

  Sam looked disappointed. “I was hoping to eat out at one of those fancy restaurants. I freelance for the IDJ and usually all they offer me are coffee and stale donuts.”

  “Maybe after all this with Nigel is resolved Dom can take you there. He doesn’t want anyone to know you’re on board right now.”

  “Right, that makes sense. I guess I’ll have to order room service.” Sam had a gleam in her eyes. She almost felt sorry for Dom if the girl was going to run up the bill to the room.