Training the SECRET (Corrigan & Co #6) (13 page)

“Holy hell, this is…I
mean, I’ve never tasted myself except when I’ve kissed you after
you’ve sucked me off…but sweet Jesus. You and me together. It’s
hot. It shouldn’t be, but damn if it isn’t.”

“I knew it would be.”

“You’re an evil
seductress genius.”

“Who’s about to
make you come again.”

“After I make you
come first.”

“You want a contest,
huh? Game on, Soldier. Game on.”

We taunt each other in
between sucks and licks. I win, but then in reality, we both did. I
uncovered a little extra kink that neither one of us ever expected,
and we both had multiple orgasms, which make a little more sleep a
necessity. Unlike the last few nights, that happens with me firmly
curled in Nate’s arms as he nuzzles my neck and whispers both sweet
and dirty things into my ear until we both pass out.

I know this is wrong as
far as his training goes—he should already be there, starting his
workout. But for our relationship, it’s really good. I need this.
We
need this. Because
whether he wins or loses that fight, we’ll still be together, and
honestly that’s all that matters to me. If Brent walks, we’ll
deal with it because we’ll still have each other. Nothing is more
important than that. Nothing.

Jade

“What the hell
happened yesterday?” Brent asks when I walk into “his” office
the next day.

“I needed to check up
on my dad, so I did that. Nate is perfectly capable of running
through his workout on his own.”

“When he’s in peak
condition, yes. But he was a mess yesterday.”

“He’ll be fine.
Everyone has an off day.”

“He can’t afford an
off day with who he’s fighting.”

“Why are you hiding
it then? Do you want him to lose? You didn’t have to take this job,
you know. No one forced you to do it.”

“Of course I don’t
want him to lose,” he says, but I think he does. There’s just
something about his attitude towards Nate that I can’t figure out.
Nate swears they’ve never met, so he can’t figure it out, either.

“Then help me out
here.”

“I thought you could
train him all alone. That you ‘know his body better than anyone.’”

“I can, and I do. Are
we going to go over this again? I know you have a problem with our
relationship, but you really need to back off.”

“I don’t think so.
He’s not good enough for you.”

“Excuse me?”

Brent moves around the
desk to stand in front of me. I force myself to not flinch, or move
back. Showing fear is never an option, and really, I’m not afraid
of him. I could take him down easily. I do wish we weren’t in this
office, which is a little too far from Nate for my liking, but I’ll
just have to use the skills I’ve learned to diffuse the situation
if it gets out of hand.

“He’s got the body,
I’ll give him that, but what else has he got going for him?”

“His brains, his
compassion, his loyalty. I could go on and on, but it’s really none
of your business.”

“It is, though.
You’re my business, Jade. You always have been. I’ve already put
out the word that no one’s to touch you.”

“What?”

I know it’s been
quiet as far as I’m concerned. No one has tried to jump me, or
anything else while I’ve been out, but I thought that was because
of Nate.

“You thought everyone
was scared of your big, bad fighter, but it’s really me who took
care of you. I have more power on the streets than you realize, and I
used it to keep you safe.”

“Thank you, but that
still doesn’t mean that I’m your business. Or that my
relationship with Nate is.”

“It could be. We
could be so good together.”

Oh shit. “Umm, you
seem like a good guy, Brent, despite our differences, but I’m with
Nate. Forever with Nate. He’s seriously ‘it’ for me. I’d
apologize for leading you on, but I know I haven’t.”

“We could run this
gym together. Make it the best in the country, the world. You’ve
done an amazing job with Nate. Yeah he knows what he’s doing, but
you’ve brought out the best in him.”

“My dad and you can
make this gym the best. I have a job, and a life, to get back to once
you’re all set.”

“What if I said that
would never happen? That I’ll only stay if you’re here with me.”

“You know where the
door is.”

I should’ve seen it
coming, but I don’t. His mouth is on me and he’s trying to push
his tongue into mine. I keep my lips closed tight as I fight against
him. He’s stronger than he looks, and he won’t let me go. He
grips my hair and starts to pull as I try to gain some leverage. And
then he’s gone. There’s a crash, and I turn to see him sliding
down the wall.

“You okay, Jade?”
Aiden asks.

Honestly, I’m really
not. Because this right here, made me feel like I did when I was
kidnapped. Helpless and not able to defend myself. I never wanted to
feel that way again, but Brent just made that happen.

“Jade?”

I realize that I
haven’t answered him yet, but I can’t make my mouth work. Am I in
shock? Is this what people feel when they’ve been through a trauma?
This isn’t a trauma, though. I’ve just had an unwanted kiss. It
shouldn’t have made me feel this way. I shouldn’t be starting to
shake.

“Nate,” I hear
Aiden yell, but it’s far away. He’s right there at the door, so
why is it so far away?

I start shaking harder,
and then Nate’s got his arms around me. He picks me up and carries
me to the couch in the office. He’s sweaty. I feel like it’s not
important for me to be thinking about that right now, but it’s all
I can focus on.

“Angel, it’s okay.
I’ve got you. Just breathe. Take some nice deep breaths with me.”

He places my hand on
his chest, and as I feel his breaths go in and out, I mimic them.
Each one is slower and deeper until I can feel myself coming back
into the room, waking up from the fog I was under. I’m still a
little out of it, and so I say the only thing my mind can think of.

“He kissed me. I
didn’t want him to, but he did.”

Nate tenses beneath me.
I hear some shuffling, and then Brent is in front of us. I think he
must have a death wish because if Nate doesn’t kill him, I just
might.

“I-I’m sorry. I
didn’t think it would be such a big deal. She was just there, and
come on, Man. You know your girl’s hot.”

“The important words
in that sentence are ‘your girl.’ Jade is mine, and you touched
her.”

“Like I said, it was
a spur of the moment thing.”

“No,” I say. “It
wasn’t.”

Brent tries to make a
run for the door, but Aiden stops him. I know it’s killing Nate
that he can’t get up and beat the crap out of the little fucker,
but I’ll admit it makes me happy to know that he’s not going to
let me go in order to do that. I need his arms around me right now
more than I need him to defend my honor.

“He said you weren’t
good enough for me. I told him that’s not true.”

“You know you aren’t,
Anderson.”

“I’m
not
good enough for her, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that
stop me from being with her. You don’t get to decide who she wants,
and neither do I. Jade is a strong woman, and she’ll make her own
decisions based on what’s best for her. Right now, that’s me, so
you need to back off. We’re going to let you go and figure your
shit out, but know that if you come back tomorrow, this is never
happening again. With Jade, or any other woman. Stop trying to be a
man, and really be one. Because real men don’t try to force it,
they wait for the right woman to come to them.”

“It won’t happen
again. I really am sorry.”

I turn away from him as
he walks out, and bury my face in Nate’s chest. I still feel weak,
and I’ll need to call my therapist tonight, but at least I know I’m
safe. Again it’s because of Nate—and Aiden—but I’ve already
learned that it’s okay to need help from your friends sometimes.
Even if it is a little embarrassing.

“Do you think I was
in shock?”

“I think you have
PTSD, Jade. Did you talk to anyone after your kidnapping?” Aiden
asks me.

“I have a therapist.
This has never happened to me before, though. Even when guys got a
little pushy, I never panicked like I did now. I felt so helpless and
scared.”

“Something about that
jerk triggered it,” Nate says. “I
will
kill him if he tries that shit again. It’s been quiet where you’re
concerned so I haven’t gotten to kick any ass, and I’m going
through withdrawals.”

“He said that he
stopped everyone from threatening me. Something about being more
powerful on the streets than I know.”

“Aiden.”

“I’m on it,” he
says, pulling out his phone as he runs out the door.

“You should go back
to your workout.”

“No. I should be
right here with you.”

“Just have Ellie come
up here, and then you can go back down.”

“I like that you’re
admitting that you can’t be alone right now. It tears me up inside,
but I’m glad you’re not hiding it from me.”

“Full disclosure.
Always, right?”

He doesn’t answer me,
just kisses me on the forehead, and rubs my back. He takes out his
phone, and starts to text Ellie, but she rushes through the door
before he can even send the message. “What the fuck? Aiden just
told me what happened.”

“I’m okay.”

“No she’s not, but
she’s insisting I go down and train. Can you stay with her?”

“Yeah. Go punch
something. Or a lot of somethings. Preferably named Brent.”

“He’s got a pass
for the moment, and I probably should stick to the bags today. I’m
in the mood to kill.”

“We still need him,”
I say, because we do. My dad can’t be stressed out right now.

“Not enough for the
shit he pulled with you.”

“No. But I don’t
think he’ll try anything again.”

“He better not. I’ll
take him out before Nate can even stand up,” Ellie says.

“That’s one time
I’d let you win, Brass. I love to see all of you from the Society
kicking ass, and taking care of the world. There’s nothing hotter
than a strong woman.”

“Or a bossy one,” I
tell him with a wink.

“Only if it’s you.
And only
sometimes
.
Tonight if you need it, though.”

“TMI again,” Ellie
tells him with a smirk.

“I think tonight may
be a cuddle night.”

“I can cuddle.”

“I know.”

“I should go train.”

“Yeah, you should.”

He kisses me on the
forehead again and then leaves. I’m a little sad that I didn’t
get a lip kiss, and then sadder still when I realize that he didn’t
kiss me because Brent did. That bastard took more from me than I
thought, if Nate won’t kiss me now. I start to cry, and then
Ellie’s arms are around me.

* * *

Nate

I’ve just closed the
door when I realize that I didn’t kiss Jade. It wasn’t a
conscious decision, but I know why it happened. My subconscious knew
that
he
would still
be on her lips, but what I didn’t realize is that I should be
erasing him from there instead of denying her. I turn and open the
door, realizing that I was right. My girl is crying, and it nearly
kills me.

“Nate?”

“I forgot to give you
a proper kiss goodbye, Angel. Avert your eyes if you don’t want to
see the PDA, Ellie.”

Jade smiles at me as I
walk over to her. I kneel in front of her, and take her face in my
hands. I kiss her softly over and over again, and then kiss away the
tears that are still streaming down her face. “Thank you for coming
back.”

“Always. I’ll
always come back.”

“You can go train.
I’ve already kept you from it for too long.”

“Talk to Ellie, and
your therapist, okay?” She nods. “And then we’ll watch some
sappy chick flick while I cuddle you on the couch.”

“You hate sappy chick
flicks.”

“But I love cuddling
you.”

I give her one more
kiss, and then walk out the door. I’m proud of myself for going
back. For realizing that I should. Maybe I can actually be good at
this relationship thing. At least with Jade. I doubt anyone else
could make me as happy as she does, and I know I would never be as
whipped—and loving every minute of it—by anyone else.

I get through the first
part of my training without further incident. At one point, I see a
delivery guy come in, and Ellie runs down to collect the food. She
gives me a thumbs up, and I continue on, knowing my girl is okay. Or
at least as okay as she can be. It makes me work harder, pushing
myself to be stronger—and better—for Jade, who’s one of the
strongest, and best, people I know.

Hours later, I’m
drenched in sweat, my muscles screaming in anger at what I’ve put
them through. I wipe my face and look up to see Jade sitting at the
top of the stairs. She blows me a kiss and I pretend to catch it, and
put it in my pocket. She throws her hands up, silently asking me
where her kiss is. I rub my chin a little and put a confused look on
my face as she flips me off. I take out my phone to text her.

Me: I want to run up
there and give you a real kiss but I’m afraid my muscles will rebel
and I’ll fall on my face in front of all these guys.

Angel J: A kiss from
me isn’t worth that risk to you?

Me: It is. Hold on a
minute and let me get my legs to work.

AngelJ: Don’t you
dare. I was messing with you.

I look up to see her
practically flying down the stairs to me. I think she’s going to
launch herself into my arms like usual, and I try to brace my tired
muscles for the impact. She stops in front of me, though, and sets
her hands lightly on my arms.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”