Training the SECRET (Corrigan & Co #6) (17 page)

“It’s nice to hear
it.”

“I’ll say it as
often as you want.”

“Does that mean you
forgive me?”

“Was there ever any
doubt that I would?”

“Yes.”

It’s time for me to
use Aiden’s advice, because that cocky bastard is right. “I hate
that you know. I’ll readily admit that. I should’ve told you so
you didn’t have to dig. I would still appreciate it if you stopped
now, and wait for me to be ready to tell you anything else.”

“I’ll try my best,
Soldier, as long as you promise that I’ll one day know everything.”

“I promise.”

“Good. Now we can
talk about other things.”

“Such as?”

“You can really fight
now.”

“Not what I was
hoping for, but I see you’ve figured out even more than Aiden let
on.”

“Yes. I realized it
when she said what happened if you lost.”

“I only lost two
matches. It was two too many, but that was it.”

“If she wasn’t
already dead, I’d kill her.”

“I know.”

“We got Alberto his
own apartment, and Reina’s taking care of everyone else, too.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank Reina.”

“But you asked her to
do it. So again, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’d like to hold
you tonight if that’s okay.”

“Are you asking me to
cuddle with you, Nate Anderson?”

“Why yes I am, Jade
Garrett.”

“Do we need to put on
a chick flick?”

“Action movie.
Superheroes blowing up shit. That’s what we’re putting on.”

“Fine.”

“Don’t act like you
don’t love them, too.”

“I love
you
.”

“And superhero
movies. Come on, you can say it.”

“Fine. I love seeing
Chris Evans in his Captain America costume. Oh, and Chris Hemsworth
as Thor. Don’t you just love his hammer?”

“I have a better
hammer.”

“Sure.”

“You are so mean.”

“You’re the one who
wanted to watch a superhero movie.”

“And you’re the one
who I’m about to put over my knee.”

“That is
so
not gonna happen. Other things could, though.”

“You can’t say
things like that to me when I was only planning on cuddling with you
tonight.”

“We can
cuddle…afterthe movie.”

I pick her up and throw
her over my shoulder as I smack her ass. I carry her downstairs and
toss her onto her couch as she squeals. Once the movie is on, I pull
her into my arms, and hold her tight until we both fall asleep. It’s
one of the best nights of my life, because despite my anger, a weight
has been lifted off of me from seeing her treating me the same as she
always has. And I didn’t think that would ever be possible if she
knew.

Jade

Almost everyone we know
has flown in for Nate’s fight. Reina and Matt had some Corrigan
business that had to be taken care of, but they’re going to watch
from home and then come out on the weekend for the party. Since Al is
a friend of his, Nate said we should throw a party regardless of who
wins.

My dad and Heath are
flying out with them, too. They wanted to be at the fight, but the
doctors said that they’d prefer it if he didn’t. Since he’s
being a good patient and listening to them, he compromised and got
permission to attend the party.

The extra security we
hired is coming in handy. Especially when Zack, Kace, Wayne, and
Brett arrive. One football player and a boy band can apparently cause
a frenzy anywhere. Even Miles gets a few cheers, and he only played
in a few MLB games. It’s just insane when you think about it, which
is why I try not to.

Aiden’s in with Nate,
getting him ready. Brent wanted to be in there as well, but he was
told no. Things are still pretty frosty between the guys, and if I’m
being honest, I feel the same way. I’ve been trying to put that
aside because I need the gym to flourish, but the anger I feel
towards him is still there.

I’ve managed to
ignore him for the last week and a half by working on all the repairs
and painting that I wanted to finish. With Ellie and Aiden’s help,
I got everything done while Nate trained. He really didn’t need me;
although, I did run over every once in a while and yell at him to
work his ass harder. That usually resulted in him working me harder
at night when we got home. Which was perfectly fine by me.

He still hasn’t
talked to me about everything I know, but I won’t push him for
that. I thought being kidnapped was bad, but I can’t even imagine
what it must have been like to have lived through what he did. I wish
he could see how strong and brave he is, but I understand a little
better why he doesn’t.

Because I’m trying to
respect his privacy, I told Reina that I don’t want to know
anything about what she learns from the boys and men who were
liberated. I’ve worked on enough missions with girls in similar
situations to be able to guess at some things, but that’s it. I’ll
admit that I was never expecting to find out that there was something
like this involving guys. This has served to show me and my friends
that we need to keep our minds open even wider than they already are.
It’s not only women who are victimized in the sex trade, it’s
men, too. A smaller percentage, but no less of an important one.

“Jade? Nate would
like to see you now,” Aiden tells me, poking his head out of the
door.

I walk down the hall,
and am surprised when he walks out while I walk in. He winks at me,
and then closes the door. It’s fifteen minutes to the fight, and he
should be with Nate.

“Hi Angel, will you
do me a favor?”

“What do you need
that Aiden can’t do?”

“I need you to oil me
up.”

“You don’t have to
go out there like that.”

“I’m not going to.
I’ll have you wipe it off once you’re done, but I-I need you to
do it.”

My heart hurts when I
realize what he’s asking. He wants me to erase his bad memories
before he goes out there. I walk over and take his face in my hands
before kissing him softly. Then he stands as I pick up the bottle of
baby oil, and start to swirl it over his body as I speak to him.

“I love you,” I say
as I run my hands over his arms. “I love you.”

I say those three words
over and over again as I cover every inch of him. His eyes are closed
while I do it, and I can feel him relax with every word. Once I’m
done, he holds my hands for a moment, and then nods before releasing
them. I grab the towel next to him and wipe it off. I say the words
again as I do this, until I feel his muscles completely go lax.

He grabs me then, and
practically throws me on the table. Moving to stand between my knees
at the end. “I need to fuck you, Jade. Hard and rough.”

“Yes.”

The table is a little
too low, but he has a plan for that. “Get on your hands and knees.”

I do as he asks, and
then he pushes my dress up past my hips. I was planning on a t-shirt
and jeans, but Stella had other ideas. I’m in a black tank dress
that has vertical lines of sparkly stuff that look like radio waves,
and a little fringe on the bottom. Nate growled when he saw me in it
earlier. Now he’s rubbing his hands over my ass as I arch my back.

“I want to tear this
thong off of you, but I’ll never be able to concentrate if I know
you’re out there, surrounded by men, and wearing no panties.”

“Push it aside.”

He does, and rubs me
with his fingers for a moment as I hold back a moan. “You’re
already wet and ready for me. Did having your hands on me do that?”

“No.”

He slides into me as
he’s talking, holding my hips tight, and nibbling on my ear. “What
did it then? What turned you on so much that I’m practically
sliding out of you as you soak my cock?”

“Seeing you walk down
the stairs earlier with your hair wet, and your shirt molded to your
damn abs. And knowing it was for me. You were doing this for me.”

“Always, Angel.
Always for you.”

He slides a hand into
the top of my dress so he can play with my tits, and as he’s
pinching my nipple, I can feel myself building. “Nate.”

“I can feel it.
You’re close. Come for me. Come hard and let me feel it.”

I do, and he starts to
thrust harder into me. Seconds after I fall limp, he spills himself
in me with a violent shudder. He wraps his arms around me as he lays
me down, his head resting on my spine and whispering his love for me
over and over again. I want to hold him back, but I can’t while I’m
facing away from him. I’ll need to use my words.

“Are you okay,
Soldier?”

“Better than okay.”

“You’re sure?”

He turns me over then
so he can look me in the eye. “Yes. I’m sure. Thank you.”

I know that he’s
thanking me for erasing more memories, and I kiss him again. “I
would’ve gotten on my knees. I still can.”

“No. You’re better
than that.”

“I do it all the
time, Nate. We both know that.”

“When we’re alone
at home, yes, but not here. Never here.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“We should both clean
up.”

“You’re better than
what I just did to you. I’m sorry,” he says as we use the towel I
wiped him off with.

“Don’t. You have a
fight to win. And I wasn’t complaining at all. I’m still not. I
loved it. I always love it with you. The place doesn’t matter to
me, but it mattered to you tonight. I’m glad I could help you.”

“You always help me.”

“Even when we’re
fighting.”

“Yeah. Even then.”

“You say the best
things sometimes.”

“It’s a gift.”

We both burst out
laughing as he holds me tight. There’s a short knock at the door,
and then Aiden comes in. “It’s almost time.”

“I should go out to
my seat.”

“After you walk out
with me, you can sit down.”

“You want me to walk
out with you?”

“If that’s okay.”

“It’s more than
okay.”

Aiden shakes his head.
“You two are so cute when you’re like this. And scary when you’re
fighting.”

“Get used to it.
Ellie’s just as strong willed as I am.”

“Oh, I know. The
make-up sex is great, though.”

“I could tell her
that, and then you’d get none.”

“You wouldn’t do
that to me.”

“Probably not.”

“Aww come on, J. I
just gave you time alone with Nate when everyone wanted in.”

“Fine. We’re even
then.”

“Deal.”

“I’m really glad
you two have come to an agreement, but can we get out in the tunnel
because I’m pretty sure my music’s about to start?”

“So demanding,
Soldier,” I say as we walk out of the room hand in hand.

“And you love it.”

I just smile at him,
and then I hear the cheers and screams. Turning, I see the women who
have gotten through security and are glaring at me because Nate’s
got a firm grip on my hand. I also see the ones who don’t care that
we’re holding hands and are trying to reach for him. He dodges them
all, until one particularly aggressive woman jumps into his path.

“How much for a suck,
Nate?”

“I will hurt you if
you don’t back the fuck off,” I tell her before he can say
anything.

She can tell that I’m
not kidding, and backs away. I can see that’s it’s affected him,
though. His walk isn’t as cocky, and his hand is squeezing mine
even harder. I can’t do anything about it in here, because there
are too many people, but I need to talk to him before he gets into
that cage.

We make it to the edge
of the tunnel just as his music starts to play. I have to almost run
to keep up with him as he rushes forward. I’m afraid I’ll lose
his hand, but he tugs me forward and puts his arm around my waist,
slowing slightly to make it more comfortable for me. He lets me go at
the cage so he can spin around with his hands in the air. I take that
time to make sure his station is all prepped and ready. I left
specific instructions, and Ellie promised to check on it, but I’m a
little OCD when it comes to Nate’s well-being.

“Everything good,
Angel?” he asks from behind me.

“No,” I say,
turning and pulling him down to me. “Think about now, Soldier. No
one who matters cares about the past.”

He kisses me
passionately, possessing and claiming me in front of the roaring
crowd. “Thank you.”

I see the fire and
swagger come back to him, and I know this fight is his. I’ve only
seen Al fight on tape, but I can’t imagine that he—or anyone
else—could beat Nate when he’s in his zone. It’s crazy hot when
he’s directing that energy to me in a sexual way, but in fighting
mode, he’s fucking scary. The door opens, and he shoots me one last
smile before walking through it.

* * *

Nate

The fight is going a
little too well. After what happened with the woman in the tunnel, I
wasn’t sure I’d be able to fight at all. Jade took care of
that—and me—like she always does. I know I’m in the best shape
of my life, and I know so much more than I did as a teenager. But I
should still not be doing so well against Al. He came up with me, and
knows how I fight, so he should be anticipating everything I do
instead of letting me hit him.

I pull him close,
making it look like we’re still fighting. “Stop letting me win,
asshole.”

“Your friends…what
they did for me.”

“Has nothing to do
with what’s going on in this cage.”

“I owe you.”

“Nothing. You owe me
nothing. I’m the one who got out and left you behind.”

He was a year younger
and couldn’t join the military with me. I know Cecile pulled her
leash tighter around him, and he couldn’t do what I did, even when
he was old enough. She broke him too badly.

“She would’ve
destroyed you, Nate. You were already turning into a shell of who
you’d been, and she was going to try and take even more from you.
If you hadn’t gotten out before she started letting the men have
you, you’d be dead—from your own hand—already. We both know it.
She was never going to stop using her ‘star’ for more and more.”