Burn For Me: A MFM Romance (The Banks Sisters Book 3)

by Aja Cole

  We both used to model when we were a little younger, and we didn’t like the ideals the industry pushed.

  There’s no one-size-fits-all. There’s no one beautiful type of body. Health is important, taking care of yourself is important, but slim and curvy aren’t the only body types out there.

  We wanted to make sure that not only did we create something that finds ways to flatter all kinds of women, but that we created a company for women.

  To support their growth and their lives and never take away anything.

  From our factories to our hiring to our benefits, I’ve worked damn hard to have my hand in every part of the process and make sure we practice what we preach.

  It’s finally something I can be proud of. That my family can be proud of.

  I have my shit together on all fronts, and I’ve never felt better.

  Or more sexually frustrated.

  “Alright ladies, I’ll re-work things, send over some stuff as it happens and then we can run it by the advisory team at the next meeting.” Leslie closes her laptop and stands, and Sienna and I get up too.

  “I have the utmost faith in you.” I hug her and so does Sienna, then I step back into the heels I’d kicked off. Sienna slides out because she has a brunch meeting to get to.

  “Knock, knock.” I don’t recognize the voice, so I focus on buckling the slim strap on my red pumps.

  “Hawk! I just finished up.” I wonder if this is the man Leslie’s seeing. We asked her about the nice bling on her finger, and she blushed and said it was just a promise ring.

  I didn’t even know people still did that.

  “This is actually just perfect, because I wanted y’all to meet.” I straighten and turn, and immediately wish I hadn’t, as Leslie’s phone rings.

  “Well if it isn’t a little birdie that flew away.” He enters the conference room and I lean against the edge of the table and cross my arms. Partially to hide my nipples because they’re beaming like a lighthouse.

  “Uh,” Leslie looks between us like she has questions, “I have to take this call, but Hawk, introduce yourself please.”

  “Yes ma’am,” He drawls, deep grey eyes twinkling as he walks further into the room. When the door closes behind Leslie, I suddenly wish that I’d gone for glass windows for this space.

  I wouldn’t feel so trapped then.

  Which, I have to tell you, is a very unfamiliar feeling for me.

  “I guess I don’t need to make introductions after all. It’s nice to put a name to the body.” Hawk raises a challenging, dark brow.

  Why does he look so damned good? His deep blue suit is tailored to skim over his body perfectly, and the taut way his crisp shirt lays over his abdomen just reminds me that I know exactly what the body underneath looks like.

  I’ve always known I should’ve moved out of New York. For such a huge place, the circles run entirely too small.

  “That’s the only thing you’ll be putting to the body, so get that look off your face.” I move further away from him under the guise of pouring a glass of water.

  “I do believe I at least deserve an explanation on why you disappeared.” He has the audacity to sit in my chair at the head of the table, as casual as can be. Toned thighs spread and skilled fingers rest on top of them, his jacket falling open to reveal a wide chest framed by broad shoulders.

  His dark hair is longer than before. Now the length is more Matthew McConaughey in How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days, and less Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

  “I’m not a fan of coincidences. How did you find me if you didn’t know my name?” I’m so damn horny that I can’t think straight. I have been so careful, so damn careful to keep a safe distance from situations where I could get myself in trouble.

  Situations that would derail all of the growth I’ve made. I haven’t slept with anyone, I haven’t had weed in months, and I haven’t gone to a single club or party.

  I’ve been good. And things have been thriving because of it since I’ve had the extra energy to give.

  I’ve been hanging out more with my family and getting to know Keyra and Kaija’s boyfriends better and their friends. My life is full of more things now than just things that please me.

  And it looks less frivolous from the outside.

  It feels like this man could undo all of that. I don’t know how I know, but I do.

  “This is pure coincidence, actually. Maybe it’s you who orchestrated this. After all, you did hire my sister.”

  “Who is your sister?” I blink. I haven’t recently hired anyone new besides Leslie.

  “Leslie Rose, whose given name is Leslie Rose James. She’s the woman in the picture you took out of context.” So he already knew why I left. He’s enjoying the fact that he’s ahead of me in something if the slight tilt of his lips is any indication. Or maybe he just wears his arrogance so much that it’s permanent now.

  “That woman had dark hair and smaller lips.” I narrow my eyes, bringing up the picture in my mind.

  “It’d be mighty rude of me to divulge a woman’s secrets.” He winks, and I scowl in reaction to that smooth as butter accent of his. I’ve bounced around to so many places that I don’t have a discernible accent to my voice. “But if you come sit on my lap, I might give it a little bit more thought.”

  All playful charm, and if nothing else, that’s something he and Leslie have in common. I’d never heard so many endearments in my life until I met her.

  “Not happening.” At my refusal, he gets that same look in his eye that he had when he came into the bathroom. The look that says he’s decided to stop playing any games, and whatever happens next is exactly what he wants.

  Lord.

  He rises from the seat and I pull my lip between my teeth, carefully sitting the glass of water down.

  In this room, I’ve always been in control.

  This is one of the rooms where I make the decisions, where I get the last word, and what I want is what people defer to.

  This is fine.

  I can handle this.

  This is my domain.

  And Leslie should be back any second to save me.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were nervous.” He rumbles, and I force a casual stance, crossing one leg over the other and leaning against the wall.

  “What would I be nervous about?”

  “You tell me.” He moves entirely too close to me, and even though no parts of our bodies are touching, I can feel his heat.

  There’s a scar following the line of his jaw that I didn’t notice before. He blinks long, decadent lashes at me, those grey eyes flaring with need and I lose my train of thought.

  “Why didn’t you give me a chance to tell you I wasn’t being a cad?” He places his hands against the wall, on either side of my hips.

  Still, no touching.

  “People lie. All I knew then was that we hadn’t exchanged any information, which was incredibly stupid by the way.”

  “It didn’t seem like it was your first time behaving in such a manner.” He drawls, his head lowering as he looks me up and down slowly, taking his time so that I almost feel his gaze trailing up my legs and over my chest.

  I’m not even wearing anything revealing today, yet I feel completely exposed.

  “My eyes are up here.” I throw out, tipping his chin up with my finger so that he meets my eyes again.

  I made the first contact, and we stare at each other wordlessly, wondering what the next move is going to be and who’s going to make it.

  “That door isn’t locked.” We’re both completely still, there’s no other sound in the room other than our quiet breathing and the very subtle tick of the glass clock on the wall.

  “Thankfully. Maybe that southern upbringing will remind you to behave properly.” I lower my hand, resting it on my thigh.

  “Don’t you know that when you grow up conservative, you learn to love breaking the rules?” He leans closer, his lips mere centimeters from my body, followin
g over all the places he would go but never making contact.

  Over my jaw, down my neck, around my collarbone and to the other side until he stops at my right ear and I just barely keep myself from moaning.

  “I’m not going to touch you until you ask me to.” He murmurs.

  His scent surrounds me, subtle but powerful, just the faintest hint of spice and tobacco. That woodsy, slightly burning smell that just screams heat with a bottom layer of something barely sweet.

  It’s enough to drive a woman mad. To be so close to something, and know that you can’t have it.

  “And if I don’t?” I say.

  “You will.” So close that I can feel his breath coast across my lips, and he moves his hands up the wall until they’re next to my head and bends his arms as he shifts closer…closer…

  I really regret not wearing a bra today.

  My dress fabric is too silky, too tantalizing against my nipples. Every brush when they’re already hard is torture.

  Where the hell is Leslie?

  “I…”

  “Just one word, Michaela. All you have to say is please.”

  “Please…” His hands immediately spear into my hair and his hips come flush against mine, and it’s that final touch that gives me the little strength I need.

  “Don’t. Please don’t.” I whisper.

  He freezes immediately and I swallow hard, looking at the carpet as he releases me and moves back.

  I’ve only ever felt this vulnerable with one other man before, and it makes no sense to me that I’d feel this way with a man I know next to nothing about.

  That’s what makes him more dangerous to me than any other fling, any other one-night or however many night stands.

  The door opens and Leslie walks in, looking down at her phone, so Hawk has time to drop down into a chair and I pick up the water glass again.

  The water ripples slightly because my hand is trembling.

  “Sorry about that, it was one of my project managers. So, what do you think Mickey? Are you on board?”

  3

  Hawk

  1 Month Ago

  The last person I expected to see when I showed up to take my sister to lunch was the woman who’d pushed me out of my bed and locked herself in my bathroom.

  It was the most interesting morning-after experience I’ve had to date, and that’s including the woman who basically moved into my apartment while I was sleeping.

  Michaela…or Mickey, as my sister called her when she was trying to convince me into offering my help on their advisory board, intrigued me from the moment I saw her.

  She’d left the group of people she’d come with and gone to the bar. Something in the way she carried herself, the liquid way she moved that said she was completely comfortable in her body and herself, compelled me to talk to her. That, on top of the way her facial features fit together…I just didn’t want to look away.

  Walking out that morning and finding her gone without a way to contact her, or any information, made me more uncomfortable than I care to admit. I’m not a man that usually feels disappointment. I put things in place to make sure that doesn’t happen, but she slid right past that.

  It’s rare.

  And I want more.

  I told Leslie I didn’t want to formally meet anyone, so she suggested I come by and get a feel of the office before we went to lunch. Meet Mickey, and “fall in love with her and Bold the same way I have.”

  I didn’t expect to be thrown immediately back into lust.

  But she tells me Please don’t, and I feel ice, like someone’s dumped chilled water over my head. There’s an almost desperate tone in her voice that gives me pause and makes me realize she’s not simply playing hard to get.

  I would never force myself on a woman, but more than that, now there’s a puzzle to put together. There’s even more to figure out about this sensual, intelligent woman and I can’t walk away until I know.

  “Sorry about that, it was one of my project managers. So, what do you think Mickey? Are you on board?” I hear Leslie enter behind me speaking, and I cross my arms, waiting to see what Mickey will say.

  She’s obviously flustered, something that probably doesn’t happen to her often. Part of me feels satisfied that I have that effect on her, and a larger part wonders what happened to the confident woman I met that first night.

  What’s changed in these past few months? Whatever it is, whoever, I don’t like it. I like her free.

  This woman in front of me is hiding.

  “On board?” She echoes, naturally husky voice even lower.

  “I’m interested.” I turn my chair to Leslie. “I want to talk to Michaela a bit more over dinner tonight.”

  Leslie claps her hands, golden curls shaking and face lit with excitement. “Amazing. I think Hawk is exactly what you need to round things out on the board, Mickey. I might be just a lil’ biased because he’s family, but he really knows his stuff.”

  “Wh—,” Mickey starts.

  “Have you already made a reservation? Because if not, I love Benjamin’s place for my working dinners.” I can see the wheels turning in Leslie’s head, and I know I have to de-rail her because she’ll have my whole night planned out in her excitement.

  “It’s all handled, Lee. Don’t worry about it.” I give my sister a soft smile because she really is the sweetest thing. Growing up, I was soothing her feelings more often than not because kids are mean and she’s always been happy and considerate.

  “This is great. This is going to be great.” She grabs her bag from the table, all energy. “Mickey, he’s going to change your life, mark my words.” She laughs. “I’m going to work on the new campaign this week, but I hope this all works out and I see you at the board meeting.” She blows a kiss and leaves the room.

  “Has she always been that way?”

  “Like an energizer bunny?” I watch her as she walks around the other side of the table.

  “Mhm.”

  “The doctors said Leslie never seemed like she wanted to sleep in the hospital. She wouldn’t cry, she’d just lay there, eyes wide open and ready.” I stand, meeting her in the middle of the room. “Will you go to dinner with me tonight?”

  “You’re asking?” Her distracting lips part in surprise.

  “I am.” I put my hands in my pockets, surveying the hesitant look on her face. “What happened to the fearless woman I met that night?”

  “She realized she had to grow up a little.”

  “And this growing up means denying yourself things you want?” A piece of hair falls over her shoulder as she looks away from me, and I smooth it gently behind her ear, meeting her green eyes. “You’re running a damn good company here, encouraging women to be whoever they are, but you’re hiding?”

  Her eyes flare and shutter immediately, and she steps away. “No, I can’t go to dinner with you tonight.” She murmurs.

  “And my help? Are you turning that down too?” I challenge.

  “I won’t cut off my nose to spite my face. Bold is my priority, and if you’re as good as Leslie says you are, you can liaise with Sienna. I trust her as much as I trust myself to make decisions for us.” She pulls a pad from the middle of the table and scribbles on it before holding it out to me. “Here’s her information.”

  When I don’t take it, she sets it on the table and walks towards the door.

  “So you’re runnin’?”

  She turns back to me, annoyance on her face. “I’m walking away. It was nice formally meeting you.” She leaves the room, and I shake my head as the door closes behind her.

  If that woman thinks I’m just going to walk away and stop trying, she’s in for a surprise.

  I’ve never once walked away from something I’ve wanted so badly, and I’m sure as hell not starting now.

  4

  Mickey

  Present

  “Distract me, Mickey. How’s expansion? Did you meet with Nordstrom’s?” Keyra asks.

  The fact tha
t we’re sitting on this bathroom floor waiting for her pregnancy test results, and she’s asking me about expansion, is crazy to me. But she’s obviously all over the place emotionally right now and needs something else to focus on.

  Just the thought of our current expansion brings a scowl to my face, especially because there’s one person I immediately think of. “One of my advisory board members is intentionally making my life difficult, and I’m ready to dump him into the Hudson.”

  “Need me to encourage him to play nice?” She looks hopeful, like the thought brings her a little more peace. A true mama bear, my sister.

  “No, he’s just…ugh.” My fists ball on their own and I force myself to relax them. Not only is he really challenging me when it comes to decisions for Bold, he’s still been pursuing me outside of that in the smallest, but most noticeable ways.

  But it’s not something I’m ready to share with my sisters yet.

  They’ll think I’m being ridiculous, and I don’t feel like justifying myself to them at the moment.

  “Ugh, huh?” Kaija asks, looking at me skeptically. Damn little sisters. “He’s hot, isn’t he?”

  The fact is undeniable.

  I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall with a deep sigh. “The ground sizzles when he walks on it.”

  Keyra starts giggling, and then all of us are laughing so hard that real tears are running down our faces.

  God, it fills my soul up being with them this way. I wasn’t always so close to both of them, and I’m grateful that we’re closer now.

  You need family if nothing else.

  Keyra’s timer goes off, and I feel her tense, so I grab her hand.

  “We’ll look together, okay?” I squeeze her fingers in mine, and we all raise up on our knees and shuffle towards the counter with our eyes closed.

  “1…2…3!” I open my eyes and peer at the test with them.

  Holy shit.

  Well, that’s one way to react to your girlfriend telling you she’s pregnant.

  Men. Sometimes, they really aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box.