The Phoenix Project, Page 2

  “You’re cold,” he noted with a frown.

  “Always. I’m used to it.” She shrugged.

  “Well, I tend to generate a lot of heat, so anytime you need warming up, you can come by me.”

  She shot him a look, and he instantly groaned as he realized how that had sounded. She couldn’t help but laugh at his woebegone expression.

  “I meant…” he said quickly.

  “I know what you meant. And thanks. It’s a kind offer.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Amara,” she said softly. When she saw the lab doors looming before them, she couldn’t help but lean against the strength and protectiveness of the male who held her. “Yours?” She tried not to sound as panicked as she was becoming, and she knew she failed miserably.

  “Nick. Nick Gregory.”

  “Nick,” she repeated. She stopped long enough to look up into his eyes directly, her hand reaching to cover the one at her waist. “Nick,” she said with gentle sincerity, “I’m sorry I ever met you.”

  Nick understood what she meant instantly.

  “Yeah,” he agreed as he glanced at the lab doors when they opened with a pneumatic hiss. “I’m sorry I met you, too, Amara.”

  Chapter 3

  Nick woke up as if he were dredging himself out of a mire of crude oil and molasses. It was almost impossible to move, or even to breathe. His every muscle hurt as though he’d overdone his circuit training six times, and everything screamed angrily inside of him when he tried to move.

  The last thing he remembered was a pretty little blonde with copper-penny eyes and a lost expression etched behind them. It was clear she had given up all hope, but she had still felt fear and resistance those last instants before they had been torn apart and dragged in to be strapped down onto waiting tables. For the millionth time, Nick cursed himself for being an irresponsible idiot. He should have been more careful. He should have reported in. His manager was always bitching at him for his “cowboy” cop work, warning him it would bite him in his ass one day. Well, one day was here. Now. And it hurt like a fucking implosion.

  Nick tried to open his eyes, feeling ten tons of grit scraping under his lids. He had a savage case of cotton mouth, too. He wondered what they’d done to him. Since he felt like he’d gone a few nasty rounds with the Jinko world champion, it hadn’t been anything fun. Bad enough he’d been bound down and helpless when one of the Asshole Twins had purposely baited him by copping a feel of Amara’s breast. It had all but killed him when she’d simply turned her head aside, bit her lip, and closed her eyes as if she could send herself away from her situation just by the will of her mind.

  It was just one other thing that he could add to his tally of screwups. He should have known not to show any favoritism to her. Not while they were still in the process of teaching him exactly who was in charge. He’d fought them like crazy from the outset, causing mayhem and tearing furrows of havoc for about a month before they’d delivered their ultimatum: Comply or die.

  Realizing more than his own life would be at stake if he let them kill him without examining all possibilities of escape, he had complied. Nick was beginning to wonder if that had been such a good idea.

  The department shrink said he had a “hero complex” and that it was going to get him killed one day, or worse.

  This was definitely bordering on worse.

  His eyes opened the tiniest fraction, and he closed them instantly. Damn. This place was so white it hurt. Everything was white. Monitors, computers, bottles, and tubes. All of it. The only things not in white were the little lab rats in heather gray tees and sweats running around like whipped dogs.

  Except for Amara. She had kept her long blond hair, and whether she knew it or not, it was an act of sheer defiance. He had instantly liked that about her. Of course, in the “not dead yet” category, he’d thought she also had a killer body. He wondered if he could still be considered a “hero” if he had spent a good amount of time thinking the damsel in distress had nice tits. Really nice tits.

  Then he remembered he hadn’t been the only one to notice and a rush of fury balked through him. Oh, he was going to get that miserable fucker who’d touched her if it was the last damn thing he ever did.

  Nothing “complex” about that.

  Well, best to get on with this mess, he thought wryly. He was starting to get hungry, to add to a roaring case of thirst, and the sooner he dealt with the business of getting to his feet, the more likely it would be that they’d feed him. Nick opened his eyes and bore the glaring shock of white as it pounded into his head. He realized immediately that he was back in his room, dumped in his bed facedown and totally naked.

  “Ah, shit.”

  He hated waking up naked without knowing how he’d gotten that way or what’d happened since then. It made him paranoid. Especially when he hurt so bad he couldn’t figure out what kind of damage had been done and where. He felt like they’d taken him out and beaten him with clubs. He rolled over and tried to see if any bruises accompanied the way he felt. That was when he heard the locks on his door snap open. It slid free with a hiss and then, with a shout, the pretty little blonde Amara was shoved into his room and the door was locked after her.

  “Shit!” Nick jolted upright, reaching for his blanket to cover up, but then realized Amara was just as stripped as he was. “You fucking prick bastards!” he shouted out to the powers-that-be he knew watched everything he did.

  They did.

  Despite the agony he was in, Nick forced himself to his feet and reached to wrap the shivering girl in the blanket. She flinched away at first, until she realized he was helping her cover up. Then she was clutching at the thin excuse for a blanket like she would a life preserver after being dumped in rough seas.

  “Did they hurt you?” he asked gently, momentarily ignoring her efforts at resisting and pulling her close after the blanket was snug around her. He immediately began to rub warmth into her, hoping he could at least ease the chattering of her teeth.

  “I don’t know. I just woke up and they grabbed me and threw me in here,” she said in a shivery voice. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what? You didn’t do anything.”

  “But I will. Or you will. Why else would they force us into the same room like this? They are expecting something to happen. They are going to watch while something happens.”

  “Something? Like what kind of something?” he demanded, not liking the things that began to filter into his guessing mind.

  “Maybe you’ll rape me,” she whispered.

  “The hell I will!” he exploded.

  “You won’t be able to help it. They do that. They give drugs that do that. I’ve seen it. God, I am so scared.”

  She was. He realized the chill of the room was nothing compared to the way she was shaking in terror. Frankly, if he was her and had been locked up with a man of his size and strength thinking what she was thinking was going to happen, he’d have probably pissed himself in fear.

  “Hey. Listen to me. If I start getting nasty or anything, you just feel free to bash me in the balls as hard as you can, okay? Consider it a personal favor to me. I would hate myself if I did anything to hurt you.” He drew her over to the bed and sat down with her. He grabbed his pillow and dragged it over his lap. It was the only other cover left in the room, and a quick glance had shown him that the towels in the small bath had been removed. It made him sick to his stomach to think of what it was they must have planned for by throwing them together like this, purposely eliminating all sources of cover except for the single blanket. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like death chilled over,” she sniffed. “And I can’t get warm.”

  Nick immediately moved as close as he could, insanely grateful for his hyper body heat for a change. Apparently he processed energy really well. She could benefit from that. Despite her curves, she was pretty small. Generous breasts, nice round hips, and a killer ass didn’t serve as a large enough percentage of overall bo
dy fat. It might attract the hell out of a man like him, but it wouldn’t keep her warm in these conditions.

  He drew her in tight, and after a moment she threw caution to the wind and snuggled up hard against him. She leaned in to burrow a cold nose against his neck, and after a moment he heard her sniff. It was different than the upset, chilly sniffling she had done. It was slow and soft, accompanied with a little rub of her nose.

  “You smell nice,” she said, actually seeming surprised. It surprised him, too. Usually these tests not only made him feel like hell, but he would smell like it as well. Truth be told, she smelled kind of nice herself. He couldn’t place it as a particular fragrance, but maybe it was her shampoo. Whatever it was, it was rather delicious. He turned his nose into her hair so he could breathe deeply of the aroma.

  “So do you. Are you warming up?” he asked.

  “Actually, I think I am,” she said, rubbing up even closer to him, if that was even possible. Now, not only did she smell good, but he was realizing just how good she felt as well. The abrupt understanding that he was feeling aroused just by the nearness of her made him suddenly jerk away from her. He abandoned her to slide the length of the bed away from her, his fist clutching the pillow tightly against his stirring cock as it began to harden with its interest.

  “Shit,” he hissed, running his free hand through his hair as he looked wildly around the tiny room for some way to put more distance between them.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, those coppery eyes studying his agitation curiously as her grip on the blanket became negligent, allowing it to slide off one of her pale shoulders.

  “Nothing,” he lied quickly. “Just trying to think what I can put on.”

  “I know. They only give you one set of clean clothes every morning. Once you lose them, that’s it until the next day. God, I’m so thirsty right now. And I’m getting really hungry.” She stood up and paced the confined space a little. Every time she came close to him, Nick was overwhelmed with the scent of her and how amazingly sexy he found it to be. It was almost like the lusty smell of sex, only far sweeter and even more alluring, if such a thing were actually possible. His heart began to beat a rapid and worried tattoo. Lately, he hadn’t noticed anything but the aroma of the institutional shampoo they were given; the astringent stuff smelling slightly like coconuts. But this wasn’t anything like that.

  Amara went into the small cubed bathroom and he heard the water running. She made hungry little slurping sounds as she drank water from her hands and, in an instant, Nick was hard as rock.

  Fuck. He was in trouble. They both were. He knew himself well enough to know when something was normal for him and when it wasn’t, and Nick Gregory, the man with the hero complex, would never get off on a situation as fucked up as this one was.

  Was it some kind of aphrodisiacal drug? Had they given them something designed to make them easily aroused? It sure as hell felt that way, Nick acknowledged grimly as he felt the awesome straining of his cock. Regardless, he told himself firmly, so long as he kept control over his mind, he would keep Amara perfectly safe from himself. There was no way he would voluntarily push himself on a woman so long as the moral centers of his brain weren’t chemically screwed with.

  He just had to pray he stayed in control of his mind.

  At the moment, though, the idea of a drink of water was very appealing. His mouth felt glued together and he was very thirsty. He got up cautiously and peered into the bath. He froze in place when he was presented with the complete rear nude of Amara’s shape, the blanket pooled in neglect on the floor as she used both hands to shovel water into her mouth. Bent at the waist as she was, he was given a fine view of those lush hips and the sleek crease of her buttocks that led to the unbelievable sight of her pussy and the brush of golden hairs that guarded it. The ultimate tease, Nick could see the tiniest hints of pure pink and all she would have to do is step out to the side in order to give him a full-spectrum view.

  And he could smell her again. She was steps away in the cramped room and he could smell the sugary, sultry allure of her…. What was more, he could swear he was catching the deeper, sharper tang of womanly arousal.

  Nick moved forward and reached down to retrieve her blanket, meaning to cover her back up. The mistake was in bringing himself so close to her that his cheek brushed her ass and the incredible smell of her sex rocked his senses back hard.

  “Hard” was the key word. He’d never been so hard. He was so agonizingly aroused that he could feel his own pulse working its way down his shaft with every heartbeat.

  Amara felt him make contact with her, and she turned around as he straightened up, giving him a slow tour of her lovely thighs, golden bush, and coral pink nipples at the tips of her outstanding breasts. Her nipples were rigid little points, probably from the cold, but they stuck out at him like tempting little tongues of impertinence.

  “Cover up,” he croaked as he shoved the blanket at her. “Go inside and sit and don’t come in here.”

  Amara looked at him, her appraisal a cross between sly and perplexed. Part of his instincts cried out to him that she was luring him, tempting him on purpose and matching his state of arousal perfectly, but he also knew he couldn’t trust any of his instincts any longer.

  He couldn’t trust anything in this hell he found himself in.

  Amara took her blanket back and, without wrapping up in it, she turned and did exactly as he had asked. As soon as she was gone, he began to think he could breathe just a little easier. He dropped his ridiculous pillow and checked to see if he was ten times his usual size or if it just felt that way.

  “Holy hell.”

  Not ten times, but not normal either. What the hell…? Nick hefted himself in his hand, his heart racing. He had to admit, on the whole he was a good-sized man, but not like this. And while in joking conversation or in fantasy it was nice to imagine what it would be like to have a super-sized cock, it was godawfully unnerving when it actually happened right before your eyes. As a rule, men didn’t like for anything weird to happen to their penis—good, bad, or otherwise.

  “Great. They got me testing out some kind of enhancement drug.”

  Fine. He could play this game. All he needed was a little lotion or soap and he’d take care of this straight away. Taking the edge off would make Amara safer just in case there were any other surprises in store. Of course, he had a pretty decent recovery rate, but he’d worry about that when the time came. Maybe he could figure out a way to stuff up his nose so he couldn’t smell that delightful smell of hers.

  “Nick.”

  Nick jumped in his own skin, a combination of feeling highly strung and more than a little guilty for not having better control of himself. Getting caught with his hand on his dick wasn’t his idea of heroic or even gentlemanly behavior.

  “Damn it, Amara, I asked you to stay inside,” he snapped at her, his nerves starting to run a little raw as he braced himself against the white porcelain sink.

  “I can’t.”

  Can’t?

  Nick looked over his shoulder at her and instantly regretted it.

  Sort of.

  Something was happening to her, too. He could see it in the glow of her skin, where she looked like some kind of angel in iridescent perfection. Her hair gleamed in gold and white coils that were almost blinding. But what he really saw was the way she held her body as she leaned back against the wall, her incredible figure shifting restlessly as she ran desperate hands over her smooth, bare skin as if she couldn’t help herself.

  “Oh, God,” Nick groaned as he tore his eyes off of her and tried to force himself not to sniff after her as if she were some kind of bitch in heat. He wasn’t going to do this. He wasn’t going to let them do this to him. They’d taken away his freedom, his rights to his own body, and every other damn thing that was important to him, but he wouldn’t let them make a rapist out of him. She might seem willing and even eager, but he knew damn well that it was an effect of a drug of some kind, a
nd when she came down from it, she was going to feel violated. Plain and simple.

  “Nick.”

  Nick stiffened when he felt her warm breath speaking against his back. Then he felt the heat of her body, the radiant temperature of it increasing in leaps and bounds. With that came the wild smell of a woman’s sensually aroused scent. He may as well have his face buried between her legs.

  “Goddamn it, Amara! Go inside!”

  “I can’t. Nick, I’m so hungry.” Her hands touched against his sides and then slid around him. Her fingers drew across his chest, up over his nipples briefly enough to torture him, and then began to slide down over his belly. He felt her breasts against his back, the nipples prodding him tauntingly as she rubbed the rest of herself against him wherever she could reach.

  “Hungry?” he asked hoarsely.

  “For you, Nick. For you.”

  Nick was in numb shock, his heart thundering hard as she pushed his hands out of her way and wrapped her fingers around his monstrously over-developed erection. He felt the embrace all the way to his toes, and he jumped in savage pulses between her fingers. His head tipped back as he groaned out from the depths of his soul. Nick knew what she meant by hunger. He ached with appetite. Not only in his empty belly, but everywhere else, too. Even his teeth ached as he thought about all that creamy soft skin he’d seen and how good she promised to taste. As she caressed him rhythmically along his shaft, exploring his amazing girth and length so very thoroughly, he began to ooze pre-cum down over her fingers. The slick wetness made for torturous improvements to the fit and feel of her stroke, and it was all completely out of his control from that moment on.

  Nick turned around to face her, reaching for her face with both hands and cradling her tightly between them as he swooped to seize her mouth in a kiss. He barely tasted her lips before he was probing for the taste of her tongue. Nick knew he could be as aggressive as the next guy, maybe more than average when he got familiar with a certain kind of lady, but it wasn’t at all like him to ravage a woman, a total stranger, with blunt need like he was doing just then. His fingers were clutching her scalp and hair, holding her fast so he could devour her deliciousness and heat. Like the addictive rave of a perfect gastronomical experience, she tasted amazingly appetizing. Better yet, she moaned into his mouth and met him just as eagerly in response.