Broken (Manhattan Ruthless Book 1)

She pours us each a mug of coffee and sets it on the kitchen island, bumping her hip against mine and giving me a huge smile that makes my heart skip a beat.

Jesus, who the fuck am I? Having this woman in my life has turned me into a goddamn Teddy bear, but I’m fucking here for it.

“Are you looking forward to going back to work today, corazón?”

She nods, her eyes shining with delight. “I am. They’ve all messaged me this morning being super sweet and supportive. We’re getting jelly donuts for breakfast to celebrate my return.” She bounces on her toes.

I rest my lips on the top of her head. “You and your jelly donut addiction.”

She giggles. “I know. It’s my one vice.”

“Remember you need to leave early today. I already squared it with your boss.” She sighs, and I put down my coffee and wrap my arms around her. “You don’t have to be there if you don’t want to be, corazón.”

She looks up at me, her green eyes so full of trust and love. “But you think I should be, right?”

“I think it’s probably good for you to get some closure. You have nothing to fear. If he even looks at you in a way that makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable, I’ll break his jaw, then whatever other bone you’d like me to.” I hate her brother, but I will always be grateful for the fact that he brought her into my life. So I will respect her wishes not to kill the piece of shit, even if I’m hopeful she’ll change her mind someday.

“I’m not afraid of him anymore.”

“No, because he’s a fucking coward. And he’ll get more than a letter opener through his hand if he ever lays a finger on you again.”

She gasps, and I remember she doesn’t know about that. Shit. “What do you mean? Did you … Nathan.” She admonishes me with a firm look.

I snarl at the memory. “Elijah told me what he did to you, Mel. He’s lucky he’s still able to walk.”

She blinks. “But you and I … we weren’t even … You did that for me?”

I brush back her hair and press a soft kiss on her lips. “I would die for you, corazón, so I’d sure as fuck kill and maim for you.”

A giggle bubbles out of her and makes me smile. “I really shouldn’t laugh at you stabbing my brother, but …” She presses her lips together. “It’s no less than he deserves.”

I hum my agreement, dusting my lips over her jaw and down to her neck. She purrs contentedly, throwing her head back and allowing me full access to her throat. My dick stiffens in my pants, and she rubs herself against me. I growl with need. It’s been three days since I asked her to stay, and I’ve barely been able to keep my hands or my mouth off her for a single second of them.

“I have to go to work,” she moans.

I check my watch. “We have a little time. You’ll be thirty minutes late at most.” I trail my teeth over the sensitive skin of her neck and she shivers.

“I can’t.” She plants her hands on my chest like she wants to push me away, but she also grinds her hips over my aching cock. “It’s my first day back.”

“Maybe you should give up your job and become my twenty-four-hour fuck-toy. Always on call whenever I need you.”

She laughs. “Or maybe you should be mine.”

I nip at her skin. “If that’s what you want, corazón.”

“Mmm, tempting,” she purrs.

With a deep sigh, I stop kissing her neck, give her a hard slap on the ass, and go back to my coffee. She grins at me in triumph, and I narrow my eyes. “Wait ’til I get you alone later, Mrs. James.”

She flutters her eyelashes. “I can’t wait.”

My secretary pops her head through the open door of my office. “Your guests are waiting in the boardroom, sir.”

I dismiss her with a nod and take hold of Mel’s hand, squeezing gently as she perches on the edge of my desk. “You ready, corazón?”

Her eyes shutter closed, but she offers a faint nod.

“I’m right here with you.”

She opens her eyes and gives me a tremulous smile. “I know. I just hate being in the same room as them. Especially him.”

“This is the last time you’ll ever have to share the same air as either of them.”

“You promise?”

I pull her into my arms and band them tightly around her. “I promise. We’re going to have an incredible life, Mel, and they won’t have any part in it.”

She nestles her cheek against my chest. “I love you, Nate.”

I rest my lips against her hair, and I’m cocooned by the smell of her coconut shampoo. The scent always takes my mind to our morning routine, when she showers and I put on a pot of coffee. It’s one of the many simple daily routines that has become such an integral and gratifying part of my life. “I love you too, corazón.”

She draws a deep, shuddering breath. “I guess we’d better do this.”

We enter the boardroom together and, without saying a word to anyone, take our seats beside each other. Miranda sits across from us with her hands clasped in her lap and the faint hint of a smile on her face. To anyone who doesn’t know about the cruel, spiteful woman beneath the mask, she’d appear demure and elegant. Bryce, on the other hand, bristles with impotent rage. His clenched fists rest on the boardroom table, the shiny scar on the back of his right hand making me smirk, but he keeps his gaze lowered, not daring to look at me or his sister. He no doubt recognizes how little provocation it would take for me to lean across the table and punch him in the mouth. And that would be the least he deserves.

Melanie rolls her shoulders back and defiantly tilts her jaw, but I know my wife well enough to feel the nervous energy radiating from her.

It’s Miranda who breaks the silence. “May I ask why you’ve requested our presence here today, Mr. James?” She doesn’t even bother to glance at her daughter.

I lean back in my chair, placing my hand on Mel’s thigh beneath the table and giving her a discreet squeeze. “I think you’d be better off asking my wife that question, Mrs. Edison.”

Miranda’s lip curls, hinting at a sneer, before she regains her composure and angles her body toward Melanie. “Why are we here?”

Mel clears her throat. “There are going to be some changes at Edison Holdings.”

Bryce speaks for the first time. “What changes?” He snarls. “The business is in a trust, and we’re the trustees. You can’t make changes without our consent.”

Mel looks at me, her tongue darting out over her bottom lip. I nod, letting her know she’s got this. I went over everything with her in detail.

“New trustees are being appointed. Elijah and Mason James,” she says assertively.

“The fuck they are,” Bryce snaps.

“Yes, the fuck they are, Bryce,” she snaps right back. “Dad set up that trust to protect us all, but did you know there’s a clause that allows the trustees to be removed or the trust dissolved if the trustees misappropriate funds?”

Bryce’s brow furrows, but it’s his mother who speaks. “You can’t prove misappropriation of funds.” Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Mel plants her hands on the table. “Oh yes I can. Seventeen years of business trips to Vegas. All the brand-new, top-of-the-line cars that were purchased to transport Ash and me. When was the last time Ashley or I needed either of you to give us a ride anywhere?

“Both of you have proven that you’re not fit to run Edison Holdings, and let’s face it, there’s nothing left in the trust fund to manage except the business, which is failing horribly. Paperwork has already been filed.”

Bryce snarls. “We’ll contest it.”

A deep laugh rumbles out of me, and Bryce makes eye contact for the first time since I walked into the room. “You can try, dipshit. But the contract is very clear, and even if you had grounds to refute Melanie and Ashley’s request to appoint new trustees, I would tie you up in court for the rest of your miserable life. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be sitting on a street corner, begging for nickels and dimes.” His scowl deepens. “Alternatively, we could file criminal charges and have your ass tossed in jail for the rest of your life. Either of those options are fine with me.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Miranda says, before her jackass son can dig himself into an even deeper hole. “What does this mean for Bryce and me? For the business?”

I lean back in my chair and allow Mel to deliver the wonderful news. “As you know, the business has operated at a loss for the past six years, but Nathan and I have looked at the books, and there’s no reason it can’t be turned around with a little hard work and common sense.”

Bryce snorts, and I shoot him a warning glare that makes him clamp his lips together.

“A new independent CEO has been appointed. She’s very experienced, and she’s eager to explore some new ideas as well as—”

“So you just bring someone new into our family business and—”

I slam my fist onto the table, and Bryce flinches. “If you ever interrupt my wife again while she’s speaking, I will punch your teeth down your throat. Do you understand me?”

His face turns an unusual shade of pale, and he nods. I offer Mel a smile. “Go on, corazón.”

She smiles sweetly at me before turning her attention back to her mother and brother. “She has a lot of great ideas, and we believe she can turn the company around. Early projections suggest Edison Holdings could turn a profit again within two years.”

“So your husband’s brothers are the new trustees, and they ensure that you’re the only one who benefits from the trust?” her mother asks, her tone dripping with disdain.

Mel leans forward, keeping her voice clipped and assertive. “That is not how trusts work, Mother. Managed properly, they benefit the people they were supposed to. Elijah and Mason have no need of anything from the trust. I don’t need the trust either.”

“Not now that you have your rich husband,” Miranda taunts.

Mel’s back straightens and her jaw tenses. “I haven’t taken a cent from either of you in eleven years. I don’t care about the money, Mom. But Ashley deserves it. She deserves to finish college and concentrate on her studies without having to take two jobs to make rent. She will be the beneficiary of the trust. Which is exactly how it should be.”

“And what about us?” Bryce whines, like the pathetic man-child he is.

“Mother, you will be given a monthly allowance that will allow you to keep the house and maintain a certain lifestyle, although maybe a little more modest than you’re used to, but certainly enough to be comfortable.”

“And me?” Bryce says, his face turning almost purple and spittle flying from his mouth.

“You, my dear brother, will get exactly what you deserve.” Melanie offers him a sweet smile, her hands clasped in front of her as she stares him dead in the eye. “Nothing.”

Oh, I fucking love this woman.

Bryce opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water.

“Relax, it’s not like you’ll be homeless,” I offer with a shrug.

He pushes back his chair, looking like he’s about to throw an almighty temper tantrum. “You can’t do this. I’m a beneficiary of Dad’s trust too.”

“Well we can always go with the other option, and you can enjoy free room and board for the rest of your life, courtesy of the United States government,” I remind him with a grin. I fucking love watching him squirm.

Bryce is practically foaming at the mouth. He jumps to his feet, and his chair falls to the ground. My muscles tense. I am ready and willing to drop this piece of shit the minute he takes a step toward Mel. But Miranda stands too and puts a hand on his arm. “We’re leaving,” she says coolly. She’s a shrewd woman, which means she knows they don’t have a chance in hell of fighting this and that she’s being afforded much more grace than she deserves.

I get to my feet, fastening the buttons of my jacket. “Before you go, there’s one more thing.”

Both Miranda and Bryce turn and glare at me. “Melanie is signing over her stake in the company to Ashley. You will no longer be a part of her life. Not ever. You hear something about our life that intrigues you, you fucking ignore it. You feel like reaching out to her and seeing how she is or if she can help you out of a bind, you fucking don’t. You hear she has our child and you decide you want to play the doting grandma or uncle, you fucking forget about it. And if she ever has to hear from either of you again, I will destroy you both, and I won’t lose a single second of sleep over it.”

Mel stands by my side, exactly where she belongs, and laces her fingers through mine. With a final look of contempt, Bryce and Miranda walk out of the boardroom. As soon as they’re gone, my wife lets out a long breath and leans against me. I wrap a steadying arm around her. “You were incredible, corazón.”

“My legs were shaking the entire time.”

“Nobody could tell. I’m glad I’ll never have to go up against you in a courtroom, Goose.”

She laughs, and the musical sound makes my pulse quicken and my dick twitch. I trail my fingertips down her spine and over her hipbone. She shivers at my touch. “Have you ever had sex in this boardroom?” she asks with a soft purr, catching me completely off guard. That twitch in my pants turns into something much more dangerous.

Never a man to mix business with pleasure, I have never in the seven years I’ve owned this building even considered fucking anyone in my boardroom. Now it’s all I can fucking think about. “Not yet. Why, you have something in mind?”

She backs away from me, catching her luscious lower lip between her teeth. “Maybe.” She keeps walking backward until she reaches the chair at the head of the table. Pulling it out, she takes a seat, a devious smile on her face and a wicked glint in her eyes. Her tongue darts out, moistening her full lips. “Crawl to me.”

I cock my head, sure I misheard. “What?”

“Oh, you heard me, Ice. Crawl. To. Me.”

I shake my head and suppress a laugh. “Oh no, corazón. That is not how this works.”

She purses her lips, her eyes raking over my body. Then she stands and slowly peels off her pants and panties, kicking them off with her socks and sneakers. When she sits back down, she spreads her legs wide, putting her perfect pink pussy on display for me. Already glistening with her juices and begging to be eaten and fucked. “I said crawl to me,” she repeats.

I blow out a breath, my eyes bouncing between hers and the space between her thighs—my nirvana. Running my tongue over my teeth, I will my dick to stop throbbing and clouding my senses, because I can’t think straight. And surely that is the only logical explanation for why I drop to my knees in my own fucking boardroom and crawl across the room to her. The wicked smile on her face grows, and as I get closer, the scent of her arousal gets stronger, making my mouth water.

She practically purrs with delight when I reach her. I place my hands on the tops of her legs and skim my nose along the inside of her thigh. A deep growl rolls in my throat.

“Good boy,” she says, and I nip at her soft flesh, making her yelp.

“Don’t push me, corazón.”

She threads her fingers in my hair and tilts my head up. “You look so good on your knees for me, Ice.”

“I would spend every fucking day on my knees for you if you wanted me to,” I tell her honestly. “Especially if it leads to eating this delicious pussy.” I dip my head and lick the length of her wet slit, making her moan out my name. Flicking my tongue over her skin has her squirming and dripping onto the leather chair. I wrap my hands around the back of her thighs and pull her forward so her ass is perched on the edge of the seat, and then I eat her like I might never get the chance to again, sucking and licking and biting until she’s begging me to let her come.

“Nate, please,” she cries.

“Who owns this pussy, corazón?”

“You. Always,” she whines, needy and desperate.

I look up, locking my gaze on hers as she fights to keep her eyes open. “You look so good when you beg for me.”

She groans loudly, all frustration and desire. “Please!”

I chuckle, enjoying her pleading moans and whimpers as I remind her who’s really in control here. And only when her legs are shaking and tears are rolling down her cheeks do I give her what she needs, flicking my tongue over her swollen clit until she squirts all over my face and my suit.

I sit back on my heels, wiping my mouth and taking a deep breath as I look at her, practically boneless, sagging against the chair. God, she’s fucking perfect.

Leaning forward, I press my lips to her ear. She clings to me, fingertips grasping at the lapels of my suit jacket. “Catch your breath, corazón, because I’m gonna bend you over this table and fuck you so hard that you might just regret making me crawl to you.”

A smile spreads across her face. “Bring it, Ice.”

Jesus, fuck! I love this woman more than life.