The Merger: The Ryan Family Books One-Three Read online

  I spend the next six hours growing more and more panicked as I both text and call Madison and Brayden numerous times, with no response from either. By four-thirty, I'm a complete wreck. After racing home, I find Marcy and the staff are the only ones home. When I go to our room to look for a note, Madison's phone still hooked to the charger catches my eye. So, at least I know she's not ignoring my calls and texts. But there's no reason for Brayden not to answer his fucking phone. Max, Bradley, and Annie head out to look everywhere they can think of for them. Since Drew left for California right after our meeting this morning, I don't even bother calling him.

  By the time eight o'clock rolls around, I'm picturing them dead in a ditch somewhere, and panic has set in. I'm praying. I'm begging God. By the Grace of God, they come walking in the door like I haven't spent the last several hours worrying my fucking head off. When I see them, I explode.

  Madison

  As soon as we open the door, I feel like a missile hits me. Lukas' face is bright red, and his eyes are wild. He grabs Brayden and shoves him up against the wall in the entryway. "Where the fuck have you been, and why have you been ignoring all of my calls and texts?"

  He shakes Brayden a few times and drops him on the floor. "I have texted and called you both numerous times all day long, and neither one of you have responded. I blew off two meetings today, and there are three people out looking for you. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

  Lukas turns his furious gaze toward me, and I try to explain, “I didn’t know until we were driving home that I left my phone at home." The tears start running down my face as I continue. "Brayden asked me to go with him to look at his new horse. I didn't know we would be out so late, and I had no idea you would be worried. I'm so sorry."

  Brayden tries to respond, but Lukas grabs him again and slams him against the wall. He holds him with a forearm in his throat, cutting off his response.

  I try to reason with the wild man." Lukas, you're going to have to let him go if you want him to be able to talk to you."

  Once he drops Brayden to the floor, Brayden looks at his brother then coughs out, "Fuck, man, what the hell. You're freaked out for nothing. The whole situation is no big deal. We go for days at a time without talking to each other, so not talking to me for a couple of hours should not drive you mental."

  "It is a big fucking deal, you little shit. Neither of you answered your fucking phone, and I thought something had happened to you. I've been fucking frantic imagining the two of you dead in a ditch somewhere. All I knew was Madison left with you this morning, and neither of you had answered your phones all day long. I'm so pissed at both of you right now, I could explode."

  I start crying and run up and hug Lukas around the neck. I whisper up to him, "I'm so sorry. It never crossed my mind you had no idea where we were. I am so, so, so sorry. Please, don't be mad.” When Lukas wraps his arms around me, I can feel him shaking.

  Lukas looks at Brayden and tells him, "You better stay out of my way until I've had time to cool off. Call Max and tell him you fucking made it home. Then call both Annie and Bradley and tell them the same thing. I had better not see your face for the next several days."

  Before I know it, he's dragging me up the stairs. "Whatever you do, do not ever pull a stunt like this again. I'll forgive you one time, but never again. You are not allowed to scare the holy shit out of me. No matter where you go, what you do, or if you're mad at me, you always take your phone with you! No matter what, no matter how big of a rush you're in, you check and make sure you have your fucking phone with you. That is not a request, that is a demand."

  "I promise, I will always check to make sure I have my phone." I sob into Lukas' shoulder.

  The next thing I know, my shirt is flung all the way across the room, and the front catch on my bra is jerked open. Lukas then puts his hand between my breasts, gives a gentle shove, and I fall back onto the bed. As I'm lying there staring up at the ceiling, I feel him unsnap my jeans and drag them and my underwear off with my shoes. Before I even have time to catch my breath, he’s frantically stripping himself.

  I wait for him to kiss me, but it looks like he has other ideas. After he drags me to the edge of the bed and pulls both of my legs over his shoulders, he starts kissing at the inside of my left knee and makes his way right to the middle of my pussy. When he gets to my clit, he alternates between licking the little bud and stabbing his wet tongue into my soft folds.

  He nibbles on my clit over and over again, and my eyes roll back into my head. When I feel myself leaking fluid onto his face, I cry out, "Lukas, oh my God, what are you doing to me?"

  He ignores my cries and keeps pleasuring me. Finally, he takes a breath and tells me, "Shut up and take it." Then he returns to alternating between gentle bites and licks until I am beyond mindless.

  When I get to the point I want to die, I start begging, "Luke, baby, please, please, please, please." He adds two fingers, shoving them deep and hard while alternating between sucking and biting on my abused clit. As he drags two of his fingernails lightly along the inside wall of my pussy while sucking hard on my clit, an orgasm rips through me. Stars dance in front of my eyes, and my nails dig into the flesh of his shoulders.

  Suddenly, he's dragging me to the top of the bed by my shoulders before he impales me with his hungry dick. He's still angry. He wraps his arms under my shoulders and puts his face close to mine. "Open your eyes and look at me. You make me so fucking crazy. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Now, take it."

  He has both arms wrapped around my shoulders, and he's plunging in and out of me so fast, all I can do is hold on for the ride. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, you are so goddamn tight and wet. I've never felt anything so good in my life. Keep squeezing me. Fuck yeah! I feel you getting there, baby. Come for me, NOW!"

  The look in his eyes goes from frantic to feral, and we both implode together. I feel his dick swell, and then jet after jet of warm liquid is filling me and leaking out around him. He collapses on top of me, kissing me within an inch of my life, and then spins us around. I flop over on top of him. I have just enough energy left to lie limply across his chest.

  As I lay there listening, his heartbeat slowly returns to normal. He gently rubs the sweaty hair back from my temple, and every few seconds, he gives me a light kiss on my forehead. When I have the energy, I lift my head, look into his eyes, and see the frantic, scared look is gone. I hope the look of love shining in his eyes is real.

  10

  Madison

  A couple of weeks after the infamous explosion from Lukas, we are lying in bed one lazy Saturday morning, and I finally get up the nerve to talk to him about something I've been thinking about for quite a while. "Luke, after my mom died and I graduated, I was really bored and needed something to do. Bradley helped me get a job with a friend of his. I have a degree in accounting, and I actually love getting out of the house and working. Right now, I'm so bored, and I can only read so many books."

  I lift my head off his shoulder and look up, and he's got a serious look on his face as he contemplates what I've said. He thinks for a while before he replies. "You know, I would prefer if you stayed home, but I don't want to be selfish. If you really feel like you need to get a job, I can get you a job at Sterling–Ryan or at Steele Co."

  While rubbing circles on his chest with my finger, I respond. “I actually looked into it, and Annie could use help with her books at La Femme. It would be part-time, and I would still be working for someone in our family."

  He lifts his head and looks at me for a minute before laying his head back down to think. "You little sneak, La Femme lacks the security at both Sterling–Ryan and Steele Co., but you’re with family.”

  He rubs his chin and continues thinking, and I start to get excited. “If I agree, I will require you to take Roger for protection. Not negotiable!”

  He points at me with a serious look in his eyes. “We’ve been having problems at Sterling–Ryan that you don’t need to worry about, but you need to
trust me to do what's right for us. I will be a little more overprotective until everything has settled down.”

  As I stare into his gorgeous blue eyes, I realize I’d do anything he asks of me. "Of course, I trust you to do whatever it takes. Thank you so much for letting me take the job with Annie. I know things have been strained between you and Annie lately, but I really am looking so forward to working at La Femme. And, hey, if you're a really good boy, I promise to bring home some things from the naughty section to model especially for you."

  He wiggles his eyebrows at me. "I expect something from the naughty section every time you work. Since your salary is extra money, use all of it to buy things from the naughty section, and I promise to be a very good boy from now on."

  His cock hardens against my side, and after wrapping my hand around the warm flesh and squeezing, I say, “It feels to me like you want to be a bad boy right now."

  As the words leave my mouth, Luke pushes me to my back and shows me a good time.

  The second week of work, I’m in the upstairs office at La Femme, trying to organize these screwed up books. Oh my God, Annie may be a wonderful businesswoman, but she sucks at bookkeeping. It may take me the rest of my life to straighten this horrible mess out. Annie is so lucky I love her or I would've walked out on the first day. She has created the most wonderful boutique in town. It caters to women of all shapes, sizes, and ages. You can buy everything you need from casual, dressy, formal, lingerie, naughty lingerie, swimsuits, shoes, purses, and jewelry, all in one shop; my idea of heaven. I think Lukas has the right idea. All of my salary is definitely going to go to La Femme.

  As I'm downstairs browsing through the racks, trying to decide what naughty piece of lingerie to take home to Lukas, I sense somebody staring at me from behind. I knew everything was going way too smoothly. Fudge my life.

  "Madison, I really think your hips are too wide for a silk teddy. You probably should go to the big girl section to buy something." Marta’s shrill voice rings in my ears as she smugly looks at the teddy I'm holding in my hand.

  I roll my eyes at her and keep looking. I'm not even going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she pisses me off. It almost seems she is too gleeful when she tells me, "I have to find the perfect little outfit for tonight. Lukas and I are having quite the reunion. I hope you're not too comfortable where you are because, after tonight, you’re old news."

  "Marta, if you're trying to imply you are spending tonight with my husband, save your breath because I definitely do not believe you."

  "Believe what you want, but we'll see what happens." She grabs a slinky black teddy and heads to the front to pay.

  I'm so shaken, but I still doubt Lukas would cheat on me now, especially since he and I have become so close. When we first got engaged, the agreement was to have a marriage in name only, and Lukas was free to see other women. But, surely, his feelings have changed. I'm too chicken to talk to him about it because I'm terrified of the answer. My heart tells me Lukas has feelings for me, but my mind tells me our marriage is too good to be true. If I find out my mind is correct, my heart will be destroyed. Because I’m determined to trust Lukas, I refuse to text him and ask him about Marta.

  Roger, my bodyguard, is driving me home later when I get a text from Lukas. He isn't going to be home until late because he has things to take care of at the office. I feel like the bottom drops out of my world. It is too much of a coincidence. Is he really at the office, or is he with Marta? How could she possibly know he wasn't going to come home tonight unless he was planning to be with her? He transferred her out of his division, so she should have no way of knowing his schedule. I text back and tell him to have a good night and let him know I hope to see him before bed. Hopefully, I’m still up when he gets home. I never receive a return text from him, which breaks my heart. I try to wait up for him, but I fall asleep sometime after midnight while reading on my tablet.

  Lukas

  I'm thrilled Madison is enjoying her job at La Femme. At first, I wasn't too excited about her being out of the house, but the fucking situation at Sterling–Ryan has been taking up so much of my time, I'm now glad she's not so bored and lonely. I haven't been around much, and I want to tell her what all is going on. I need to be home, to spend time with my wife and make sure she's taken care of and protected. My goal is still to make her fall in love with me.

  It is impossible to find time to spend with Madison because every time I turn around, we discover more damage caused by Marta. How I lowered myself to stick my dick in her, I'll never know. The thought makes me want to puke. I've had to bring my brothers in full-time to help me.

  Up until now, I have allowed them to dabble at working at Sterling–Ryan, while I’ve run myself ragged trying to control everything. Because I’m stretched too thin, I failed to recognize what Marta was doing to our company.

  Gramps George and I sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk. The time has come for me to stop coddling those overgrown toddlers, and I need to force them to earn their own way. They are all highly intelligent and have business degrees from Ivy League schools. Gramps George and I made sure they pursued their education after my parents were killed. We are going to start putting those degrees to good use.

  Nikolas is at our California headquarters trying to repair some of the damage caused by Marta's deception. Gramps George decided to go to California with Nikolas since the tension around our office right now is overwhelming. It’s also a good excuse to hit all the golf courses out there in California. But, hey, he's earned the right to blow off a little steam on the golf course.

  Aiden has taken the CFO position at Steele Co. to aid Bradley in his transition into control over there. Seeing Kevin Howard every day was causing problems for Aiden, and the change of scene will be good for him. Every time Aiden and Kevin are in the room together, the tension is thick in the air. I want to fire the bastard for his part in hurting my brother, but I know it would be one more HR headache. And, right now, I have way too many of those already. To keep things running smoothly, I have to bring Max back from Steele Co. early.

  Max and I are teaching Brayden the ropes, and he enjoys his new position at the company. We are all stretched pretty thin, but we are a strong family, so I know we can pull through the adversity. All in all, we've lost a few million, but so far, our company has not been irreparably damaged. We have cut off Marta's access to confidential information, and the unscrupulous competitor, Dunbar, no longer has an unfair advantage over us, so we are back to kicking ass in the business world.

  DRS Security has recovered more documents Marta erased from our server, so Max, Thomas, some of the security team, and I will spend another late night at the office trying to wade through and find a repair for all the damage Marta has caused. I feel terrible when I text Madison and let her know I won't be home for dinner and not to wait up for me. She is so sweet. She texts back for me to have a good night and she hopes to see me later. Hopefully, I'll get home before she goes to sleep. Max starts talking to me, and I accidentally forget to send the return text I typed out to her.

  After dragging my dead ass through the door at one o'clock in the morning, I find Madison sound asleep with her Kindle still in her little hands, lying over on her shoulder. My poor baby must have fallen asleep while reading. Before crawling into bed, I take her Kindle and put it on her bedside table. Once I’m settled, I pull Madison into my arms and kiss her lightly on her lips. Soon, I'm sound asleep.

  Madison

  The next morning, I wake up to the sound of the shower running, and I realize Lukas must still be home. I throw off the covers, strip, and hurry to join him in the shower. If he came home last night, surely, he wasn't with Marta, the lying bitch. When I walk around the wall of the open shower, he looks a little shocked to see me.

  He smiles and holds his hand out to me and says, "Good morning, sleepy head. You are a welcome surprise."

  "I hope in a good way." I stare at his wet body, and a shiver goes through me.

/>   "Well, of course, seeing you is always a great surprise. I let you sleep because you looked dead to the world, but now that you're awake, I'm glad you decided to join me." Lukas takes my hand and pulls me into the shower with him.

  I melt into his naked body as Lukas proceeds to lovingly shampoo and condition my hair before he scrubs every inch of my body. He takes his time to kiss me every now and then. Once I return the favor, we dry off and head back to the bedroom, but instead of getting ready, we end up getting dirty again.

  Lukas grabs my towel and his and drops them both on the floor. He kisses me gently before stroking his tongue along mine and sucking forcefully until my eyes roll back in my head. Before I know it, I'm lying flat on the edge of the bed, and his mouth is devouring my pussy. My hands have a death grip on his wet hair, and I hold on for the ride.

  He slowly kisses his way up my body and takes one nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, then bites gently. He then treats the other one the same way. While he is busy, I run my hands down his firm chest until I get to his throbbing cock. I run my thumb around the head over and over again, like he showed me.

  I begin to slowly jerk my hand up and down, spreading the moisture from the tip as I go. He lifts his head and grunts out, "Harder. Tighten your little hand. That's my girl." He goes back to driving me crazy.

  Suddenly, I'm about to lose control, and I start chanting his name. He stands, lifts my back off the edge of the bed, and impales me, so I grab onto the only thing I can, which are his forearms. I hold on, digging my nails in and leaving marks.

  The stretch, burn, and tightness are still there. Wet, smacking sounds fill the room along with his grunts and my screams.

  When I hit the edge, Lukas growls, "Madison, now, fucking now!" The feeling of him growing larger begins, and then we both come, with me screaming and him grunting my name.