The Merger: A Billionaire Fake Marriage Romance (Playboys of New York Book 3)

by JA Low

  My legs wrap tighter around him as he pushes me further and further into the orgasm zone.

  Catching my breath from the surprise furious pounding my husband just gave me, I say, “Wow, that was…” but can’t finish as I watch Anderson tuck himself back into his suit pants before he straightens me up.

  “Now that you’re all…” his eyes dip to my nipples, which are pressing hard against my dress’s material, “… all happy. I have something to tell you.”

  Oh no. Dread sinks in my stomach.

  He’s fucked up.

  He fucked his secretary or something like that.

  Damn! I knew whatever this was between us wouldn’t last.

  I’m so stupid.

  “Hey…” Anderson reaches out and cups my face. “I can see that brain of yours working a million miles in the wrong direction.”

  How did he know that?

  Looking up into his turquoise eyes, I wait for what he has to say.

  “What I wanted to say was I let slip with Logan and Noah today that we are married.”

  Those words have me sitting up. “You did what?”

  He shakes his head as if it’s no big deal. “It just happened. Doesn’t really matter as to why. I’m glad they know, though.” He leans forward and places a tender kiss against my lips. “I’m not ashamed to be married to you.”

  Oh, damn. I wasn’t expecting that.

  “You’re not?”

  “No way in the world. Plus, now we don’t have to creep around.”

  Well, isn’t he just full of surprises today?

  “I want to be able to take you on a date, or hold your hand, or kiss you when I want to.”

  Um, I bite my bottom lip, thinking, He wants to do all those things with me?

  He leans in and captures my mouth in a heated kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck as I let him. He’s grinning when he pulls away from me. “You okay about that?”

  “Yes.” My answer is almost breathless.

  “Good. Because I suspect you’re about to get a call from Chloe because Noah is going to open his big fat mouth and tell her about what happened in our meeting today.”

  My stomach sinks a tiny bit. My friends are going to be upset with me when they find out.

  “Why would Noah tell Chloe?”

  “Because they’re together. They signed some paperwork at work, making it official.” Oh, wow. “I’m going to assume now that they’re together, there isn’t going to be any secrets between the two of them.”

  My cell beeps and then beeps again.

  Anderson raises a brow at me with a smirk. Untangling myself from him, I walk around and grab my cell as the screen lights up.

  Chloe: Urgent girls’ night this Saturday night. My place.

  Ariana: Everything okay?

  Emma: What’s going on?

  I pretend I don’t know what this is about.

  Stella: I’ll be there.

  Lenna: You okay?

  Chloe: I’m all good. Great actually.

  Emma: You got Noah’s D.

  Trying to change the subject, hopefully, everyone will be preoccupied with Chloe and Noah finally hooking up that they won’t worry about the craziness that is Anderson and me.

  Stella: OMG, you and Noah.

  Chloe: Yes. Noah and I are together.

  Ariana: Finally.

  Stella: Yay.

  Emma: Was it good? I mean, you would hope so after all that build-up.

  Lenna: Noah is totally gone for her.

  Ariana: Thought so.

  Chloe: Guys, focus. Saturday night, I’ll tell you all. Now, get back to work, you lazy bitches.

  “Guess you were right. Noah told Chloe, and now she wants to have a girls’ night to chat about it.”

  “You okay about that?” Anderson reaches out and pulls me back into his hard chest. Wrapping myself around the tree trunk of a man, he makes me feel so small, which is rare for someone as tall as me.

  I move my head to the side so I can talk. “Yeah, I feel bad that I’ve kept it from them, but I just…” I let out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t know if we would make it or not,” I confess the truth to him.

  What was the point of telling them if a couple months later it was all over? They would have had questions. They would be checking up on me to see if I was okay. And I would be, but they wouldn’t understand that, and then it would have been a whole thing. That’s not me.

  “You didn’t think I would keep my end of the deal?” He moves away a little to be able to look down on me.

  “Yeah, I didn’t. I thought being stuck with me would be too much, and you would miss your freedom.”

  Anderson’s face softens as he looks at me. “I don’t miss my freedom,” he tells me, his thumb running along my cheek. “I also don’t feel like I’m stuck with you, either.” Why do I have a lump in my throat? “You were a surprise I didn’t see coming.” He leans down and gives me another tender kiss, and all my fears and concerns melt away.

  32

  Emma

  “You sure you don’t need me there?” Anderson asks as I get ready to face the firing squad that is my friends. He’s sitting bare-chested in bed, wearing gray sweatpants which, if I’m honest, is the biggest clit tease, especially when he’s commando underneath, and I can see the outline of his perfect dick under the material. “Stop looking at my dick, Ems, unless you want me to use it against you?” He raises a brow at me.

  “Stop being such a slut and wearing those pants around me, then… if you don’t want me to look.”

  Anderson laughs before he reaches out and pulls me against him. My legs falling either side of him as I straddle the human tree. “I can be quick, and you look stressed.” He pushes himself against my underwear. I should have worn pants instead of a cute dress.

  “You can never be quick.” I grin down at him.

  “Are you challenging me, Mrs. West?”

  Am I? Oh, yes, I certainly am.

  “I don’t know if challenging is the right word.” Biting my lower lip, I look down at his handsome face. Damn, he’s pretty. “More like hurry the fuck up.”

  It takes about two seconds for him to realize what I’ve said, then he’s shoving his fingers inside of me, quickly getting me worked up for him.

  “You’re a fucking little minx, aren’t you, Mrs. West.” Anderson using my married name, even though I haven’t changed it, gets me wet. His fingers move quickly inside of me, coating his skin with my wetness. “Now, I’m going to be quick because you have somewhere to be, but just know…” His fingers disappear from me, and I whimper with need as they do. Next thing I know, he’s filling me with his glorious dick, which is so much better. “I am going to fuck you all night when you get home.” He thrusts hard into me, accentuating his point nicely.

  “I’m going to drag it out all night,” he mumbles into my neck. “You deserve a thorough fucking, Ems,” he tells me.

  Yes. Yes, I certainly do.

  “You don’t deserve a quickie like this, but I’ll give it to you because I can see you need it. And I always want to give my wife what she needs.”

  What in the fuck kind of dirty talk is that? I don’t know what it is, but it’s getting me wetter than anything else before.

  Anderson’s thumb finds my clit as I ride him quickly, finding the perfect spot to fire me off. We lose ourselves in the moment until he does some quickie magic and has us both coming at the same time.

  His fingers dig into my ass as we both come down from our orgasm. “Have fun tonight.” He kisses me slowly. “If you need me, just call, okay?” A tiny bit of concern flashes across his face.

  “Okay.” Unhappily removing myself from his glorious dick, I say, “I better clean up. Then go. Don’t want to make my girls any angrier than they already are by being late.” Kissing him on the cheek, I rush into the bathroom.

  Eventually, I make it out the door, and Anderson’s driver takes me over to Chloe’s brownstone. Walking up the stairs to Chloe’s home, ner
ves tingle down my body. Thank goodness I had an orgasm before I arrived. Otherwise, I would be freaking out even more.

  I press the buzzer and wait for someone to answer the door. Moments later, Stella opens it with a big grin on her face.

  “Hey, sexy.” Stella gives me a kiss on the cheek. “You look like you’re glowing.” Giving me a wink, she looks me up and down. “Did you get some before coming over?”

  “Just a little bit of self-love to de-stress.” Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, she ushers me in.

  “I hear ya,” she agrees as we make our way downstairs to where the others are all waiting. There’s a chef in the kitchen and gorgeous flowers on the dining table. It seems Chloe has gone all out on tonight’s dinner.

  I walk around the room and say hello to all my friends. Chloe gives me the side-eye as she welcomes me with a tight hug. She’s dying to get to the bottom of how Anderson and I ended up married. I can see it in her eyes, the way they narrow and crinkle in my direction.

  We all take our seats as the waitstaff places our first course in front of us. We start the night having a general chit-chat and laughs as if there isn’t the elephant in the room, which surprises me as I thought they would jump headlong into a Spanish Inquisition as soon as they could.

  They must be lulling me into a false sense of security.

  The waitstaff comes and takes away the first course before another round of drinks is poured. It’s driving me crazy waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “How’re things going with Noah?” I ask Chloe, hoping to steer the conversation to about her.

  “It’s only been a week, but it feels like a lifetime already.”

  “Sounds like someone’s in love,” Stella teases.

  “Maybe,” she confesses.

  Wow! I’m really happy for her. She deserves a good man after what Walker did. The table erupts, and congratulations are thrown around with a couple of glasses of champagne consumed.

  “We’re so happy for you.” Ariana smiles.

  “It’s been a tough year… you deserve to be happy.” I raise my glass in Chloe’s direction.

  “Have you told EJ yet?” Stella asks.

  “No. Not yet,” Chloe adds weakly.

  Oh, no, EJ is going to lose his mind.

  Stella doesn’t look impressed. “You know he will be hurt if he knows you’re hiding it from him? He wants to see you happy. You know that?”

  Chloe spins her champagne glass in her hand as she thinks about Stella’s words. “Fine.” Chloe lets out a sigh. “Schedule us for dinner at the restaurant. Maybe that way, he won’t kill Noah.” Stella raises an unconvinced brow. “Speaking of hiding things…” Chloe’s attention is drawn in my direction.

  Oh shit, here it comes.

  “That’s the reason why I called this urgent girls’ night tonight. Someone’s been keeping a secret from all of us.” She tilts her head in my direction as the table falls silent, and everyone stares at me. “Emma…”

  “Noah told you, didn’t he?”

  She nods her head in agreement.

  “What’s going on?” Ariana asks, looking between the two of us.

  “Fine.” Placing my cutlery down, I take a big swig of champagne for some liquid courage, looking around at my friends who are patiently waiting for me to tell them whatever the hell is going on, and say, “Don’t freak out or anything, but Anderson and I are married.”

  Yeah, the table totally freaks out, and my friends have so many questions.

  “Come on, guys, let her explain,” Chloe comes to my aid.

  “It was a prank that went totally wrong. That’s the easiest way to explain it,” I tell the group.

  “Anderson’s sister is Elise Parker,” Chloe clarifies to them.

  The table erupts again, overhearing the superstar’s name.

  “Calm down, guys.” I look at my friends freaking out. “Elise and Anderson like to play pranks on each other. Don’t ask me why they’re weird that way.” Shrugging my shoulders, I continue, “I’ve known Elise for years and had no idea Anderson was her brother ‘cause of the whole different surname thing. Anyway, Elise and I like to party, and Vegas used to be our town. So, when she came, we slipped into our old ways. She found out her brother and I had gotten close. She thought I was perfect for him, and then somehow concocted her evil scheme.”

  “This is the good bit,” Chloe explains to the group.

  I give her a look, but she urges me to continue. I then explain to my friends about the prank and how Elise set it all up.

  “What the?” Lenna gasps.

  “That can’t be legal?” Ariana questions.

  “It is, believe me. We thought about annulling it, except Elise sent photographs of me dressed in a veil with my arms around Anderson along with a copy of the marriage certificate to his parents.”

  “Why the hell would she do that?” Stella asks.

  “Because they love to prank each other, and their parents are used to their craziness.”

  “So, why are you still married?” Lenna asks the million-dollar question.

  “His family made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” I’m hoping my girls will understand. “Plus, they told him they would disinherit him if he divorced me.” The words come out rushed and forced.

  “They can’t blackmail you into staying married to their son,” Ariana angry declares.

  “There’s a loophole, and we are both using it. It’s a marriage of convenience. Everyone in New York does it. Well, the rich ones do, anyway.” I laugh, but there’s no real mirth in it.

  “Loophole?” Lenna asks the burning question.

  “Yeah. His parents will pay me twelve million dollars if I stay married to Anderson for one year, but there must be no scandals or bad press around the marriage.”

  “Shit! That’s a lot of money. Plus, Anderson is hot,” Stella admits. “I’d totally do it.”

  I give Stella a high-five because she’s not wrong.

  “I don’t get the loophole?” Lenna presses.

  “The loophole is publicly we can’t be seen with other people, but privately, we can.” I take a shaky sip of my champagne, not sure if my friends will understand the next portion of the story.

  “You’re sleeping with other people?” Ariana asks.

  “Of course,” I answer her honestly.

  “Are you sleeping with Anderson, too?” Lenna questions.

  “We share a bed, so spooning does lead to fucking sometimes. The man is hung and knows how to use it. I’m not turning that down.”

  The table falls silent.

  “It’s like an episode of The Bold and the Beautiful.” Chloe chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

  The chef comes in with the main course, interrupting the simmering tension between us all before disappearing back to the kitchen.

  “I don’t get how you’re sleeping with other people won’t get out. He’s a public figure,” Lenna tells me. Of course, she understands who Anderson is. She’s known him for years.

  “There are ways.” Moving the food around my plate, I am not sure I’m hungry.

  “Do tell,” Stella pushes.

  “What I am about to say cannot leave this room. Do you hear me?” My voice lowers, indicating how serious what I am about to tell them is. Then I slowly fill them in on The Paradise Club.

  “Have you seen Anderson hook up with other people?” Chloe asks.

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Aren’t you worried you might develop feelings for Anderson if you’re sleeping and living with him?” Chloe pushes.

  “You’re living with him?” Ariana raises her voice.

  “It was part of the deal,” I tell them. “And no, I’m not worried about developing feelings for him. I mean, we’re not wired like you guys. We aren’t searching for our happily ever after. We both want a happy right now.”

  It’s not that I don’t feel something for Anderson because I do. He’s become a massive part of my life. I like coming home to
him. I like snuggling on the couch and talking about our day. I especially like having his dick on call.

  But feelings? No. I don’t think so.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Ariana asks the question I know they’re all wondering.

  “Honestly…” playing with my food again, “… I didn’t want to disappoint you guys. You’re my family,” I confess. “I knew you wouldn’t be on board with our plan.” Feeling my throat constrict with emotion, I take a deep breath.

  “We love you,” Chloe adds, reaching out and grabbing my hand, giving it a light squeeze, the others join in agreeing with her.

  “I understand what you’re getting out of this, but what I don’t get is what’s he?” Lenna questions Emma.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “He’s independently wealthy outside of his family. He could easily give you the money, and it wouldn’t make a dent in his personal wealth. I just don’t get why he would stay married, especially with a woman living with him, in his bed night after night,” Lenna questions.

  “His inheritance,” I add, slightly confused by what she’s asking me.

  “Anderson is worth hundreds of millions of dollars without his inheritance. Do you think he needs more money?”

  Wait! What? He… Wait… No…

  “You had no idea how rich he is, did you?” Lenna smiles as I shake my head. “Did you not google your husband?” Lenna chuckles.

  No. I guess maybe I should have. Not that I care how much Anderson’s worth.

  “Well, least we know you didn’t marry him for his money.” Chloe makes a joke, but the others don’t laugh.

  “Am I an idiot?”

  Fuck.

  “No,” the girls quickly rush to tell me.

  “Do you like being married to him?” Chloe asks.

  Nodding my head, I am a little confused over everything. “It’s nice coming home to someone. I’ve never had that before.”

  “Does he go out a lot?” Lenna asks.

  “No, not really. Anderson’s usually always home when I get in with a glass of red and dinner on the table waiting for me.” I thought he didn’t have time anymore, that he was tired from working too much. “You don’t think he…” There’s no way Anderson’s falling for me or there are feelings there. I mean, we care about each other, I know that. But more?