by Aja Cole
Both my sister and Dane are dealing with a lot right now.
I think he can be forgiven, and I think the chances are high that Keyra is level enough to understand that him being confused about them using protection wasn’t a personal shot at her.
It’s a lot to process when the man just found out not too long ago that he has a 4-year-old.
Some dangerous swimmers on that one.
“How do you feel now?” I ask, watching Dane’s face fill with regret after Keyra goes into the house.
“I’m still in shock. Except now it’s shock and I feel like the biggest cad in the world.” He shakes his head, and it warms me a little to see his distress.
He really loves Keyra.
That means he gets to live.
“That’s good. Use that.” I suggest. My phone rings, and just seeing the caller ID darkens my entire mood.
It has been blissfully silent for a week, a week of my sanity and willpower not being thrown into question.
“I have to take this.” I get up and walk away, heading for the stairs. I don’t particularly want anyone to overhear me because I’m definitely going to cuss Hawk out and they don’t need to wonder about it.
I answer my phone as I move along the edge of the water, walking over the rocks.
I need all the imagined peace around me that I can get.
“Did you know that harassment isn’t attractive?” I kick a small rock into the water.
“Is that what I’m doing? I believe this is called communicating, sweetheart.” His smooth drawl flows over the line and annoys me even more.
Everything about this man is tap-dancing on my last nerve.
“I thought I’d finally gotten rid of you when I went a whole week with no stupid voicemails on my phone.”
He’s silent for a second, which makes me suspicious because he’s rarely silent. That’s the whole problem, he’s always had something to say.
“Is that why you’re so prickly? You missed me?”
Immediately, words of denial spring to my lips, but before I can get them out — he keeps talking.
“I thought about you all week while I was away. I’m thinking about you now too, while I’m lying in bed.”
“What a lucky girl I am,” I mutter, knowing I sound like a petulant child. It’s either that or I purr because I want him so much that I can’t think straight.
But I can’t have him. I’ve stayed on track this long, I just have to make it a little longer.
“I’m goin’ to let you be rude until I get back stateside, then we’ll talk about your attitude.”
“It amuses me that you think you have any say on my attitude.”
“When I tell you who I just brought on, I think you’ll feel differently.” His voice is smug and even though I’m battling some heavy denial, my curiosity is peaked.
While he’s been trying to break down my defenses, he’s undoubtedly been more of an asset to Bold than I could’ve ever anticipated.
Yes, he’s been challenging me in the advisory board meetings, but the result has been that I’ve been 100% certain about the decision after having to talk him into it.
If it’s been something I couldn’t articulate and fight for as well, it’s turned out that we came up with a better idea.
Officially, he’s a consultant. A bit of a jack of all trades. He has a lot of connections and his hands in a lot of pots, that’s all I really know.
“Who did you just bring on?”
“I think I’ll let them surprise you when they contact you tomorrow.” He says, and I can hear the rustle of covers as he moves around. He’s really lying in bed.
I blink away the very unprofessional images that come to mind.
“I don’t like being blindsided, Hawk.” I clear my throat.
“Michaela,” His voice sobers, “I’d hoped you’d realize by now that I’m only here to help and watch you grow. Have I done anything to hurt you or your business up to this point?”
I quiet.
“Have I?” He prods, voice deep.
“No.” I sigh. I can make myself believe a lot of things, but that isn’t one of them.
“So when are you going to let me in?” This isn’t the teasing, mischievous man from the past few weeks. I can brush that one off. But I can’t just ignore the sincerity in his voice now.
“Why?” I sink down into the sand and palm a light pink shell, running my fingers lightly over the raised ridges.
It’s a beautiful color, but a piece is chipped off the top.
“You know damn well I haven’t stopped thinking about you, and I don’t want to. But you have to give me something to work with here or I’m really going to start feeling like some kind of stalker.”
“That’s because you are.” My lips lift and I sigh. “I can’t do this, Hawk. I’m trying to be a different person than the one you met that night.”
“Well, that’s too damn bad, because I didn’t see a thing wrong with that woman. One date.”
I hesitate.
I know that my goals only make sense to me. I know that the changes I’ve made to my personal life probably seem easy to everyone else, common sense even.
But the way I was, the way I’ve always been, cost me something I’ve dreamed of for years…
What if I lose even more this time?
5
Hawk
I turn around when the door opens, half surprised she didn’t leave me standing out here.
“I thought yo—,” I see what she’s wearing and words are the last thing on my mind.
“I need to buy ten more of these things if that’s what it does to you.” She smooths a hand down the skirt of the blue and white two-piece thing she’s wearing.
There’s about an inch of her stomach visible and it’s the most tantalizing inch I’ve ever seen.
“You’re stunning.”
“Thank you.” She smiles a little and closes her door behind her. I grab her hand and we walk to the elevator and wait for it to come up.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“What’s the fun in that?” I motion for her to go ahead of me into the elevator and wait for the door to close. Then I pull her to me and kiss her like I’ve been wanting to do since I saw that pink tint on her lips.
I love the way she reacts to me. Like the minute I touch her, she gets weak in the knees and falls into my body and my touch.
A reaction like that does wonders for a man’s ego.
“That’s how I wanted to greet you.” I pull back, but she follows my lips and kisses me again, delving her tongue into my mouth until I have a hand fisted in her hair and her lips are swollen and completely bare of any products.
“Damn.” I murmur, only moving away when the elevator doors open and we need to go into the lobby. She winks and grabs my hand again as we walk out.
I think I might be in love.
“Oh my god.” She breathes as we walk into the small gallery I’ve brought us to. A waiter comes by with glasses of champagne and I pick up two, passing her one. “These are beautiful.”
“I thought you’d enjoy this artist. I came across her stuff a few years ago, and when I found out she was doing a small showing here, I couldn’t pass it up.”
“I love going to random galleries sometimes. I suck at painting, but seeing the different ways people are creative has always filled me up with something.”
“You’ve come up with some of your lingerie designs though.”
“Yeah, but that’s drawing. And I took lessons. Painting eludes me.” We stop in front of a painting of a woman in a bathtub with flowers around her, a peaceful expression on her face. It looks incredibly lifelike until you’re standing close and see the paint strokes.
The next is a couple, wrapped around each other so much that they look like one person. I can’t imagine how long it took to get the details so precise.
“Is it bad that this picture’s making me a little aroused?” She mutters, sip
ping from her glass, and I swat her lightly on the ass.
“Behave.”
“That didn’t help.” Her green eyes sparkle with mischief as she backs away from me and turns on her heel, walking towards the other end of the room.
I watch her and shake my head, wondering how I’m going to last the night and keep my hands off of her.
We make it through meeting the artist, buying a small print of one of the paintings, and talking with other guests about similar artists and modern painting styles.
All bets are off when we get back to Mickey’s place.
There’s just something about elevators.
The minute those doors close, she’s on me this time, digging her hands into my hair and pressing her lips to mine.
We’ve both had a few glasses of champagne and the kisses aren’t neat, but damn they’re still amazing.
We freeze when the doors open, expecting it to be people getting on, but we’ve made it to her floor. I hitch her legs around my hips and she laughs as she holds on, burying her face in my neck.
She passes me her keys and I open the door around her body, pressing up back against it the minute it’s closed.
“I like you too much.” She murmurs, gasping when I press my erection against her.
“No such thing.” We both groan when she moves against me, the thin barriers of her skirt and underwear doing nothing to disguise how hot she is. How heated we both are.
My phone starts to ring and I ignore it because there can’t be anything important that people need me for right now.
She’s breathing hard against my mouth every time we part, moving her hips restlessly against me.
But my damned phone won’t stop ringing.
“Answer it, I’m not going anywhere.”
It’s one of the clients I consult for and when they tell me there’s been a security breach and they need my help with how to go forward, I silently curse.
“I’ll get the team together.” I sigh and end the call, leaning my forehead against hers. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Go do your saving peoples livelihoods thing.” She smiles, kissing me quickly. “I had a really good time tonight. I still don’t know if I’m ready to move forward, but…I’m closer.”
“Good, that’s all I need to hear.” I kiss her one more time before I make myself pull away.
“Bye.” She leans against the doorway and I can’t resist kissing her one more time before I go. I don’t pull back until she’s breathless again.
“Have a good night, Michaela.”
6
Liam
“I’m not doing an underwear shoot,” I repeat again, slowly this time because apparently, Riza didn’t hear me when I refused initially.
“Why not? It’s not like you haven’t done them before.” She has the stubborn look on her face that tells me she’s going to harass me for the next two months.
“That was before.” I stand, grabbing a tootsie roll out of the bowl on her desk and unwrapping it. “This is now.”
“Just because you comment on the field instead of being on the field now, doesn’t mean women want to see you any less.” She points out, pulling the bowl away when I reach to grab another candy.
“That’s rude,” I mumble while I’m chewing.
“Just think about it. It’s a collaboration shoot between Klein and Bold & Co.” She brushes a dark red strand of her from her face and smoothes it back into her bob. “I think you’d be perfect for it.”
“I’m an analyst, not a model. I did enough of that extra shit when I was playing the game.” All the extra bull-shit, the backstabbing, the disgusting coverups- it’s all part of why I left.
Part of why I started spiraling and accepted that depression isn’t a dirty word.
I just wanted to play the game. It’s what I’ve always wanted.
The only reason I’m here in New York and not back down South is for a buddy’s wedding. I stopped in to see Riza because her father was my agent and we became good friends.
She’s always trying to rope me back into appearances and worrying about my image because she thinks I’ll want to go back to the game one day.
I simply don’t give a fuck.
I’m happier now. The entire world of sports has shady aspects, but at least now - it feels fun again. Until I feel myself sliding again, I’m staying right where I am.
And that’s not getting airbrushed and prodded for some damned underwear shoot.
“Just think about it, okay? It won’t be like your usual shoots. I know Michaela and she’s not about things being perfect and fake.”
“Who’s Michaela?” I motion for the candy bowl. I can’t help it, tootsie rolls are so damned good.
“She started Bold, the lingerie company the women will be wearing. Keep up.” She scoffs. “We share the building.”
“Sure. She started a lingerie company and you’re telling me she doesn’t care about the flawless? You watched a VS fashion show lately?” I came across enough women to know that even if they were great people, they still had an image to maintain.
It’s business. It always is.
“You can’t be so cynical all the time.” She relinquishes the bowl, her light brown eyes sympathetic. “Everyone doesn’t have some big bad motive.”
“I appreciate the life lesson. I’ll see you at dinner next week.” I head for the door. “Bring me one of your cute friends who doesn’t like commitment.”
I hear her laughter as I close the door and nod at her assistant.
She better take me seriously. I’ve seen one of her friends, Zandra, in her Instagram pictures. She looks like a woman who doesn’t need feelings to have great sex.
My favorite.
I get on the elevator with a few other people, and while it’s going down, I use the time to check my emails and delete texts from people I don’t know.
“Hold the elevator please!”
“Don’t hold the elevator!”
The door is still open on the level the last woman got off on, and I look up when I hear two different voices.
There’s a woman rushing towards the doors and another rushing behind her, and everyone seems to be laughing. I look up at a frosted panel and see a really intricate logo.
Bold & Co.
That lingerie company.
I hesitate because clearly one of them doesn’t want the other to get on the elevator. But that’s really not my business, all I can do is try not to be the colossal asshole who doesn’t hold the doors.
I press the button to keep them open and move to the corner. The first woman gets on and so does that woman that was rushing behind her.
“I’m not talking about this with you, Kai.” The taller woman says and there’s clear anger in her voice.
“Well, I don’t care because I want to talk about it.” I take the time to actually look at them. I mean, I’m in close quarters with them and neither of them has pressed a button to go down so I can’t help but listen in.
The angry one is slightly taller. She’s got light brown skin and slim curves. I’m behind them so I can’t really see their faces and I didn’t pay enough attention when they were coming towards the doors.
The other, whose name I’m assuming is Kai, is probably average height. Her skin is maybe two shades deeper and her hair is in long braids, and not brushing her shoulders in tousled waves like the tall one.
“I saw him with her, you’re really gonna tell me you didn’t know they were dating?”
“I’m not with Brandon anymore, and I’m certainly not keeping track of who he’s seeing.” From the way the tall one has started tapping her fingers on her leg, I’d say braids better stop asking questions soon.
“But you two were friends for years! Now your ex-fiance is just casually seen with her and you don’t care at all?”
Ouch. Friends with your exes? Usually messy.
My phone vibrates and it’s my boy asking if I intend on showing for my tux fitting. A glance at
the time tells me I don’t have much left, and as much as I want to hear all about Brandon and his nefarious ways, it’s time to get this show on the road.
“I hate to interrupt, but do you two intend on starting the elevator or not?” I keep typing on my phone as I say it, but I look up when the elevator still doesn’t move.
“If you’d just closed the elevator doors when I told you to, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Braids turns around, and she’s pretty cute. Out of habit, my eyes move to her ring finger and see it’s empty.
“She’s not married, but she is taken.” I lift my eyes to the taller one, who I didn’t realize was watching me while I eyed the other.
The second I meet her green eyes, I don’t want to look away. I do, but only to take in the rest of her completely this time.
Her face is unique. Objectively, I’d say that her features on other people might not work. But on her? They fit together perfectly. She’s got a strong jawline, high cheekbones, and lush lips. Her eyes are almond shaped and framed by long lashes, though they could be fake or something.
Doesn’t matter, I could look at her all day.
Hell, I want to.
“And are you taken?” I cross my arms and lean against the wall.
“I’m not really dating right now.”
“But that’s not what I asked. And who said anything about dating?”
“Oh, he’s a live one.” Kai murmurs.
“Are you really propositioning me for sex out of the blue?” She narrows her eyes and it really only makes her more attractive. I’m getting jungle cat vibes.
“I asked a simple question. If you’re thinking about having sex with me, well, I can’t help that.” I wink. Someone else must’ve pressed the elevator button on another floor. I didn’t even realize we’d started moving.
The doors open and I slide past them.
“You’re not even going to give her your number?” The shorter one calls out and I turn around just as the gorgeous one smacks her arm.
“I’ll be in touch.” I nod, and I pull out my phone as I leave the building and hail a cab.