#Blessed by Malakai (To Marry a Madden #1), page 1
Blessed By Malakai
To Marry A Madden Series
Sherelle Green
Copyright © 2018 Sherelle Green
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, incidents and characters are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to business establishments and events is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, no part of this book may be reproduced or copied without written permission of the author Sherelle Green.
Editor: There for You Editing
Cover Design: Sherelle Green
Manufactured and Printed in the United States of America
To my readers who fiercely love the Madden men.
This series is for you!
Contents
Dear Reader
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Would Love To Hear From You!
Once Upon a Bridesmaid Series
Excerpt: Yours Forever
High Class Society Series
Meet Logan “Lo” and Tristan
Excerpt: Blue Sapphire Temptation
About the Author
Also by Sherelle Green
Dear Reader
The outpouring of love and support for Micah Madden (hero in Red Velvet Kisses) and Malik Madden (hero in Beautiful Surrender) from my Elite Events series was amazing!
After a long wait, I’m excited to share Malakai Madden’s story and introduce you to this new spin-off series, To Marry A Madden!
I had so much fun writing Malakai’s story, so I hope you enjoy this one :).
One
MALAKAI
I’m no gentleman. Never have been. Granted, if you asked the people who know me best, they would say that I hold open doors for women, I respect my elders, I donate to several charities, and I’m always there for the people I love. But make no mistake. I’m no gentleman. At least not in the bedroom.
I’d never apologize for my desire to fulfill a woman’s needs and fantasies by making every intimate moment we share better than the last. And until today, I’d never questioned my sexual escapades. Up until today, I’d never thought twice about leaving a woman so satisfied, she couldn’t help but boast about me to her friends. Up until today, I would have sworn that there was nothing wrong with a woman feeling like a night with me meant unlimited orgasms guaranteed.
Too bad that today, the unthinkable happened. Today, with each passing minute, I was regretting the fact that I was so good at what I do. I loved women. I appreciated women. But in this moment, I’d do anything to change my past actions and re-evaluate the steps I took that landed me in my current predicament.
Run faster, I thought to myself, taking longer strides and trying my best to block out all of the voices yelling behind me.
“Malakai Madden, you’re a sex god!”
“Malakai Madden, I want to have your babies.”
“Oh my God, Malakai, I want to be blessed by you.”
The last comment made me turn around and face the mob of women who were currently chasing after me on one of the busiest streets in downtown Chicago.
“Ladies, this is a bit much. Don’t you think?” I yelled behind me. In the wave of “no’s” that echoed through the crowd, I heard a voice I recognized. The voice of the woman who started this crazy mess in the first place.
“Malakai, choose me,” Roxanne yelled over the women. “Marry me. Love me. You know we’re perfect together.”
I shook my head as I picked up speed and prayed that Bare Sophistication, the lingerie boutique my cousin’s owned, was open considering it was so early in the morning. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught two police officers on a side street directing morning traffic.
“I’m so glad to see you fellas,” I called, approaching the police officers. “A crazy mob of women has been chasing me for several blocks. Is there anything you can do to make them stop?”
“I know you,” one of the police officers said. “You’re that guy who is all over the internet right now.”
“That’s right,” the other cop interjected. “They were talking about you on the news.”
“Right.” I glanced over my shoulder at the women growing nearer. Not only was I out of breath, but the tailored, one-of-a-kind suit that I was wearing for an important meeting I had was constricting, which meant I couldn’t run as fast as I needed to run.
“Here’s the thing,” I said, slightly breathless. “Because of that internet mishap, I had random women knocking on the door of my hotel room all night. At first, I was pissed that the hotel had given out my room number, until I realized the women knocking all worked for the hotel. Then, my iPhone was constantly ringing off the hook to the point that I cut the damn thing off even though I need my phone to do business. I thought the hype would die down by the morning, but the moment I stepped into the lobby of my hotel, I was approached by the women you see running toward us right now and they have been chasing me ever since.”
The police officers laughed, and the sound made me grind my teeth together. “Doesn’t seem like a bad problem to have to me. Not sure what you want us to do.”
My gaze bounced from one to the other. “Isn’t it disturbing the peace by having a group of people running through intersections and cutting off the traffic flow?”
The skinny officer shrugged.
“What about giving them jaywalking tickets?”
“Then we’d have to give you one, too, according to what you’ve told us,” the officer replied.
“Fine by me,” I stated as calmly as possible. “Anything to end this morning from hell.”
A squeal from a separate group of women to my left caught all our attention. “Not again,” I whispered, noticing that look of recognition on a couple of the women’s faces who’d just walked out of their office building.
The heftier police officer peered over his shoulder. “On second thought, we don’t see anything wrong. It looks to me as if this is one of the most exciting things to happen downtown in a while.”
What the hell? “What about my well-being? I could be running for miles before they stop.”
Instead of responding, each of the officers laughed. Concluding that neither of them were willing to help me, I took off running just as one officer asked if we could take a selfie together.
“I really worry about America right now,” I huffed as I took a shortcut through an alley, almost running over a man taking out his garbage.
“Hey, watch yourself,” the older gentleman yelled.
“Sorry,” I called back. I glanced over my shoulder in time to see the herd of women knock him over, a few tumbling to the ground as they did so. A part of me thought this collision would make them stop, yet, the few who had fallen simply brushed off their knees, jumped right back up, and continued after me.
“This can’t be real life.” When I reached another busy road, I was slightly disoriented. It took a minute to realize that I’d walked into an area that was in the process of being set up for a food and wine festival occurring in a few days.
Glancing down at my cap toe Stacy Adams shoes, I cursed at the unfortunate events that had transpired in thirty-six hours. Now that I’d taken a detour, my cousins’ lingerie boutique wasn’t close anymore, but as luck would have it, I noticed that my brother’s security firm was only a couple blocks away.
I need a distraction, I thought as I dodged in between two large semi-trucks that were being unloaded.
“Hey, man,” I said to this young cat who couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty-one years old.
His eyes widened as if he recognized me, but to his credit, he didn’t mention how. “Hello, sir.”
“Hey.” I pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. “I know you’re working, but is there any way you could do me a solid and let me hide in this truck until the herd of women following me passes by?”
He looked skeptical at first, but he agreed. The feeling of relief that overwhelmed me was the best I’d felt all morning.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Will,” he replied.
I nodded in thanks. “Thank you, Will.”
“No problem. I’ll give you a holla when the coast is clear.”
I almost wanted to hug him, but I knew it was just my adrenaline talking. Wasting no time, I passed him the hundred and climbed into the truck, hiding behind items that were waiting to be unloaded.
I loosened my tie, my heart beating out of my chest as I heard the voices of the women grow nearer. This is a damn shame. Who would have ever thought they’d see the day when Malakai Madden was hiding from a group of women?
I should have stayed my ass in New York. Business had brought me to Chicago, and since I had family in the area, it seemed like a great idea to stay for a little while and visit my siblings and cousins. Had I known that shit would hit the fan and I’d be dodging women left and right, I would have skipped this project and found myself a nice secluded bungalow in
the Caribbean.
“Have you seen Malakai?”
I ducked deeper into the semi as I heard a woman ask Will where I was.
“Nah, I didn’t see him,” Will lied.
“Are you sure?” another woman asked. “He had to have come right past you.”
“Maybe he’s in the truck,” a third woman chimed in.
Shit. In the midst of all the commotion, it dawned on me that I hadn’t created an exit strategy when I’d gotten into this truck. There was only one way in and one way out, so if the women decided to search it, I couldn’t escape.
“On second thought,” Will began, “I think I saw him run that way.”
I had no idea which way Will pointed, but I couldn’t care less if it got them off my back.
“Let’s go, ladies,” one of them yelled. Soon, I heard the noise grow fainter as they left the semi.
I still felt as though I was on the brink of a heart attack as I waited for any indication that it was okay to leave. After a couple minutes, I assumed that Will had forgotten to give me the okay, so I proceeded to exit the truck.
It only took me a few seconds to assess the situation and realize that Will had still been looking out for me and my ass should have stayed in the back of the semi.
“There he is,” a reporter yelled, turning from Will to me as I hopped out of the truck. “There’s Malakai Madden.”
The next thirty seconds seemed to happen in slow motion as I watched a group of reporters stumble over one another to get close to me.
“Mr. Madden, how does it feel to be the latest internet sensation?”
“Malakai, do you consider yourself a player or a one-woman man?”
“Malakai, you’re a prominent artist and your clientele include a lot of celebrities and high-profiles politicians. But how do you think the release of this news will affect the churches and schools you do business with?”
I stood speechless as cameras flashed in my face and microphones were thrust in front of me. My mind could barely comprehend the questions being asked. I couldn’t move as I thought about how much my life had been flipped upside down in thirty-six hours.
The lump in my throat made it hard for me to swallow as I contemplated the implications the internet madness would have on the personal goals I’d recently set for myself. Even worse, I couldn’t begin to wrap my head around how this would affect my career.
I glanced over at Will who shrugged his shoulders in pity. I’d barely spoken with the dude, but today, he’d seen me at my worse. This can’t be happening. I refused to think my life could change so much from a few tweets, but as I looked out over the crowd gathering to see what all of the fuss was about, I knew that was exactly what had happened.
Most men would love to have the media interested in interviewing them for such a spicy story. Most men would welcome a herd of women flocking behind him every second of the day. Most men would enjoy hearing women yell things that were better suited for bedroom banter, rather than in public.
“Malakai Madden, do you have anything to say?”
Too bad I wasn’t most men.
Two
36 hours prior …
MALAKAI
“Fellas, it’s official. This year, I’m finally going to settle down and shower one woman with my love.”
The poker table grew quiet the moment the words left my lips. Although I lived in New York, I was often in Chicago on business. My two older brothers, Malik and Micah, had both made the city their home after falling in love with two of the four co-founders and owners of Elite Events Incorporated.
The three of us used to all be on the same page, but after they’d both gotten married, our conversations changed from discussing getting ass and the latest news in sports to the best daycares in the area and the quickest way to organize your garage.
Okay, maybe I was exaggerating slightly, but it was true that they weren’t the same men they were years ago. They were even better. Tonight, the game was being held at our friend Shawn’s place. Shawn was also married to one of the Elite Events co-founders and Daman—although he hadn’t arrived yet—rounded off as the fourth Elite Events husband.
“Dude, quit playin’,” my brother Micah said, shaking his head.
I shrugged. “I’m not. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and I really think it’s time for me to settle down.”
Seemingly realizing the seriousness in my tone, Malik and Shawn placed their cards facedown on the table.
I placed my cards down as well. “I’m serious, fellas. I’m thirty-four and I’m not getting any younger. It’s time for me to find the one.”
“One what?” Malik asked. “Because last time Mom mentioned you finding a wife, you told her the day you marry will be the day hell freezes over.”
“Yeah, well, in case ya’ll haven’t been paying attention to politics lately, number forty-five being chosen to run our country proves that hell has frozen over.”
Malik nodded his head. “Point taken.”
We all grew quiet at the table.
“So you’re serious?” Shawn asked, breaking the silence. “You’re ready to stop playing the field?” Although I’d met Shawn through my brothers, we’d grown close over the years. It was safe to say that he knew me almost as well as they did.
“I’m serious,” I replied. “I plan to be married within the next year.” It was no secret that although I liked to call myself carefree, the truth was, I lived life more calculated than most. It wasn’t unusual for me to have a timeline for when I needed to accomplish certain goals I’d set for myself.
“I’ll get us a few more beers while ya’ll talk some sense into him,” Shawn said, standing from his seat and directing his attention to Malik and Micah. “Although I understand him wanting to settle down, buddy ass is trippin’ if he thinks he can rush falling in love based off his timeline.”
Malik stroked his hand down his face. “Malakai, you do know what settling down means, right?”
“Man, yeah. I know what it means. And I’m serious. I’m tired of playing the field. It’s time for me to follow in my big brothers’ footsteps and find me a wife.”
Micah snorted. “I’m not buying it. Why now?”
Just as I was going to answer, I received a FaceTime call. “Shit, it’s Roxanne.”
“Your crazy ex who stood outside your place in New York and serenaded you all night?” Shawn asked, returning with the beers.
“The one and only,” I replied, all humor gone from my voice. “Calling Roxanne an ex is putting it nicely.”
“You damn right.” Micah shook his head. “Roxanne is more like a crazy stalker who Malakai made the mistake of sleeping with. Repeatedly.”
“I didn’t know she would turn out to be crazy,” I said, looking from my brothers to Shawn.
“Yes, you did.” Malik laughed before glancing at Shawn. “This is the woman we told you about who Malakai met a couple years ago at a lounge here in Chicago right after he created that sculpture for rap artist and actor, Common. We were out celebrating and she popped up in the VIP section claiming to be a fan. Micah and I could tell she was one of the stalker fans, but Malaki didn’t listen. Not only did he hook up with her that night, but she followed him to Chicago. And now, she pops up all the time at different locations he’s at and they have an on-again off-again relationship.”
I raised one of my hands in defense as my phone finally stopped ringing. “I wouldn’t say relationship.”
“Well, a fuckship then,” Micah added. “Or friends with benefits. Heavy on the benefits. Malik was trying to save face for you, but I give it to you straight.”
Malakai frowned. “No friends. Just benefits.”
Shawn shook his head. “Regardless, why the hell did you continue to mess with her if she had all the signs of a stalker?”
