Alpha Geek Ryan

A lioness rescued from an underground ring takes on a whole new opponent: a cute geek she just can't resist.Nikita is struggling to adapt to her new life now that she's started working for Nick's protection agency. She meets her match when she falls for Ryan, a skinny geek with a heart of gold who's trying to find his lost friend. But can she keep things professional before they find his friend?Ryan's friend is in trouble, and he's the only one who can help him! With the help of whoever Nick assigns as his bodyguard, of course. He's instantly attracted to Nikita, and they turn out to be the perfect pair. But what will Nick think when Nikita has to use the secret serum, and Ryan wakes up forever changed?Their adventure at sea will take them to a mysterious island to face a madman, where their strength will be tested. Can this lioness protect her geek turned dragon and save the day with him at her side?

Chapter 1

Nikita

“Some errors occurred while processing the requested tasks? Please review the list of errors below for more details? Like that’s going to do me a damned bit of good,” Nikita said, brandishing her middle finger at the computer’s screen. Things like this made her miss the simplicity of the fighting ring. Mind and body united in one clear purpose: fight, win, survive another day.

Office work required you to rely on a staggering number of outside sources: computers, copiers, internet connections, phones, co-workers, and so many different programs ... each one vexing in its own way. She shifted in her OSHA-approved ergonomic desk chair and suppressed an unhappy growl. Remember, you chose this.

Though she hadn’t asked to be “freed” from the fight ring ... the place where she was raised and had called home ... she reluctantly understood why it had to be shut down. It hadn’t been nearly so good for everyone in the game.

Nick and Meghan meant it when they said she didn’t owe them anything for breaking her away. They hadn’t pushed her into the office. That’s all on me.

In her defense, there weren’t a lot of employment options available for someone with her skill set. Most resumes didn’t have a section for “number of kills.” Bodyguard duty should have been an excellent match for her.

Instead, it had been a total goat rodeo. A clusterfuck. A complete disaster.

Nikita closed her eyes in a futile attempt to shut out the sting of those memories. Feeling like a loser totally sucked. Feeling isolated and alone was even worse.

In her old life, shifting had been routine. It was just another part of her ... like having a certain eye color or being multilingual. And sure, knowing Bjorn had a polar bear form and could take down an opponent in seconds with a claw strike or bite attack wasn’t quite the same as knowing Ashley’s a genius with spreadsheets, but in the end, it’s all about understanding what each team member brought to the table.

In that world, she’d been a prized asset. Death was always one wrong move away, but she knew the score and was comfortable in her place. She missed that weird feeling of security.

Most of all, she missed being seen for both who and what she was.

Here in the world outside, shifting was something to be downplayed and hidden ... a last resort. The agency wanted everything possible to be done in human form, and she’d failed ... time and time again ... to keep both her instincts and a lifetime of learned behaviors in check.

Her last job in the field resulted in so much property damage that the client raged for days. It took two meetings and at least dozen emails before Nick and Meghan got him calmed down. Nikita thought maybe he should be at least a little grateful for not coming down with a nasty case of death, but she felt bad for the trouble she’d caused the agency.

After that, leaving the field to work at the desk seemed best for everyone. Too bad it was soul-crushingly boring. Maybe I’ll get used to it in twenty years or so.

She groaned. That’s a bleak fucking future.

She didn’t mean to sound like an ungrateful bitch. Nick and Meghan had her best interests at heart. And it was her heart that she’d started to fear for. Every day, she felt like a little less and shut down a little more.

Something was going to have to change ... and soon.

Maybe thinking about her bosses brought Nick’s voice to her attention. She could usually tune out office noise without much difficulty, but something about this conversation wouldn’t let her go.

She strained to listen. The second voice didn’t sound like anyone she knew. But it also felt so familiar ... like a word stuck on the tip of her tongue.

Something deeper than instinct pulled her into action. Nikita followed its command and pushed away from her desk. She walked toward Nick’s office without conscious thought.

The door was cracked open only an inch or two ... just enough for her to peek inside. Nick’s client filled her view.

One look at him was enough to dilate her pupils until the colors brightened and details popped. He was kind of underwhelming by her usual standards, to tell the truth. Frail, waif boys had never done it for her.

Guess there’s a first time for everything.

There was no denying her reaction. Her heart pulsed faster, and she gulped in air. The scent ... his scent ... was nothing short of intoxicating. The lifting effervescence of euphoria made her feel lighter than air even as her shaking knees threatened to buckle under her weight.

She lifted a hand to push open the door and pulled back just in time. The first rule of the office is: “Don’t interrupt Nick when he’s with a client unless your ass is literally on fire.” She didn’t think whatever she was going through would be counted as that kind of emergency by anyone not experiencing it.

It took every bit of self-control to not succumb to the need to rush inside the door. She needed to talk to him and figure out what was going on. Her body interpreted her refusal to comply as something close to death.

This isn’t my first dance with that particular devil ... so, not today, Satan.

Nikita held on long enough to break away, holding onto the promise that learning more about the meeting would get her closer to her goal than disrupting it would. She hurried back to her desk and turned to her computer with genuine enthusiasm. She typed and clicked and searched as fast as her trembling fingers could manage.

All that tedious training paid off when she found the correct calendar note. Her skin flushed a little more with every piece of information she found. Hello, there, Dr. Ryan Dunning, mystery man, marine biologist, and expert in underwater seismic activity.

The arresting scent washed over her as Ryan slipped out of Nick’s office, ringing phone in hand. He answered it and kept walking. She knew an opportunity when she saw one.

Nikita ran into the office and planted her hands on Nick’s desk. She looked him straight in the eye and said, “I need you to put me on Ryan’s case.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“You heard me. Assign me to Ryan’s case. Please.” She stood up straight and smoothed her clothing in a belated attempt to look coolly professional.

His mouth twitched in something way too close to a smile for her comfort before he replied. “You’ve got my attention, but I’m going to need an actual argument from you. Give me a thesis and supporting evidence. ‘Do it because I want it’ isn’t particularly compelling ... especially coming from someone who, last I checked, works for me and not the other way around.”

She concentrated on keeping any kind of pleading notes out of her voice and said, “Forget what I want for a second. This is the best decision for the agency and the client. The case is tied up with the ocean, and I’m a shark shifter. I’ve got all the skills to get the job done.”

Nick held her gaze as he tapped his chin in thought. “Ignoring the fact that you shouldn’t know a thing about the case at all, I can’t deny you have a point,” he said.

Excitement tingled up and down her spine as she pressed her case. “We both know I’m not at my best behind a desk. I can protect on land or sea, and I won’t stop until the job is done. I’m not just the best choice for this detail. I’m the only choice,” she said.

Nick leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers on his chest. A slow grin unfurled. “Oh. You’ve got it bad.”

Her mouth went dry, and she stiffened. “I’m not sure what you mean.” She hated the prissy tone in her voice but hated the sudden emotional vulnerability even more.

Nick’s face softened in response to her distress. “I’ve seen this level of heightened, um, enthusiasm before. For some reason or another, fate keeps sending me destined pairings. I know all the signs, and in my expert opinion, you’re experiencing every symptom.”

“You sound like the worst kind of online medical site. Are you going to tell me the alternative diagnosis is either dehydration or cancer?” She narrowed her eyes and gave him a hard stare.

He was unruffled. “Funny. But you don’t need me to tell you he’s your fated mate. I’d put money that you were pulled to him before you consciously registered his presence.”

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

“Look. The bottom line is this: if you’re so eager to get on this job because Ryan is your fated mate, then I’ll assign you to it. Experience has taught us that no one on the planet is a more effective protector than a fated mate,” he said. He flipped through the file on his desk, offering her space.

Warring impulses flared for a few seconds before they resolved into an inevitable conclusion. Nikita took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was time to say goodbye to the desk.

“Calling someone a fated mate is a bit much, but I will admit, I feel there’s something different about him.” She closed her hands into fists as her face heated.

There was something special ... something amazing ... about him. The connection she felt between them was worth exploring. Her life had become so cold and gray.

“I don’t think it matters so much what we call it. This case is meant for me. I trust you to make the best decision, and I want you to trust me,” she said.

“Hey. I do trust you.” Nick let the file flap shut. He leaned forward.

She held up a hand. “We both know I’ve fucked things up before. I’ve been messy. Lax.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. You have been. But you know what? You were the one who pulled out of the field. That kind of thinking shows self-awareness and good judgment. It earns you another chance if you’re willing to make the most of it.”

She held her head high and proud when she replied, “I am. I’m going to keep this man alive, cut this bullshit off, and do anything else you need me to do. You say I don’t owe you for freeing me, but I do owe you my best, and I promise you’ll get it.”

Nick rose and offered his hand. “That’s all I need to hear. Welcome to the case, Nikita.”

She reached her hand out to meet his, and they shook on it to seal the deal. The official paperwork would come later ... as it always did.

Please don’t let me be the one who has to tag it, file it, or fool with it once I’m done signing it.

Both Nick and Nikita noticed Ryan’s return at the same moment. The thin man entered the office after a quick rap on the door. His movement hovered somewhere between being tentative and respectfully casual.

Nick waved him in. “Ryan. I’d like you to meet Nikita. I assigned her to your case, oh, about a minute ago.” He checked his watch with an exaggerated gesture worthy of a street mime’s performance.

At any other time, the thick cheesiness of the moment would have broken any tension beautifully. It looked like it worked for Ryan ... at least a little bit.

She, however, was beyond reach.

He’d captivated her senses when she’d been safely seated at her desk. Up close, he was all she could see, hear, or smell. Her imagination fired with flashes of her mouth on his, her tongue running along the sharp edges of his body, the savor of his taste.

It had been a while, but no dry spell could explain the level of intensity at this moment. She wanted to jump on him right then and there. An echo of Nick’s voice saying fated mates rose from memory.

Destiny was shaped by choices.

Nikita put her brave face on and faced Ryan.