Banks Ink. Series

AMELIA

If I could choose one person in Denver to tattoo anything they  wanted on me it would be Beckett Banks, owner of Banks Ink..  So, when  my best friend and coworker has the in for an appointment, I don’t  hesitate to go and be her emotional support.  Did I have an ulterior  motive?  Yeah, a little, but my friend is still my first priority. 

Beckett may be hotter than any guy I’ve ever met, but he’s kind of a  dick, which is all the more obvious considering how nice everyone else  in the shop is.  Nice and maybe a little flirty.  I may have been  stalking Beckett’s social media for a while, but that doesn’t mean I’ll  allow a guy to be a dick to me.  Not again. 

He may have apologized, but I can hold a grudge and I’m not going to  let my heart get stomped all over.  I learned my lesson and now I know  how to protect myself.  I guess I’ll have to work harder at that now  that his friends are conspiring to get us in the same room together.  If  only he didn’t look so sincere when he apologizes for his behavior, I  would have a better chance of keeping my promise to myself and not give  my heart away to the talented, sexy and tattooed Beckett Banks.
 

BECKETT

The day I meet Amelia started out awful, but when I heard her laugh  outside my shop, I knew in that moment that she’s the one for me.  I  shouldn’t have let my past get the better of me.  My ex may have been a  cheater, but that doesn’t mean that Amelia will be too.  She’s gorgeous  and sweet, kind and thoughtful.  Still, she was flirting with two of my  best friends; well, I think she was flirting and it brought up all  doubts and fears. 

I was a dick to her and there’s no excuse for that.  I tried to make  it right, but she doesn’t owe me anything and she doesn’t have to  accept my apology.  I know I need to work harder to make it right with  her. 

I’m lucky I have some of the best friends a guy can have and they  can’t stand seeing me being a moody, grumpy bastard.  I only need a  chance and I know that I can make it up to her and get her to see how  sorry I am.  Good thing my friends are making sure I get that chance. 

Now I can make her mine because I knew the moment I saw her that she  was always meant to be mine.  She’s perfect for me, she’s perfect for  our rag tag family.  She’s home.  I’ll always protect my home, no matter  what. 

 OLIVIA
 

Being the only woman at Banks Ink. can be tough sometimes.  The  guys look at me like a little sister, which I don’t mind…for the most  part.  The only one who doesn’t treat me like a little sister is Zeke,  thankfully, because I’ve wanted him from the moment I met him two years  ago.  If he treated me like a sister I don’t think I could handle it.   We’re friends, which is great and all, but I want more.  So much more. 

I don’t know how much longer I can keep wanting him and being close  to him without my heart breaking.  I’m losing hope that we will ever be  more.  Can I let my feelings go?  Can I move on?  Will he ever let me  into the past he guards so fiercely?  Will he ever want me the way I  want him? 

I need to figure out a way to keep my heart and our friendship intact.  I just have no idea how to do that.
 

ZEKE
 

If anyone knew about what I did then I’d lose everything that I’ve  built with my family at Banks Ink..  I can’t risk that, not even for  Olivia.  When I met her two years ago there was a moment where I didn’t  feel the weight of my past and I could almost imagine a happy future.   It was fleeting and then reality came crashing down.  I’ll never escape  my past.  I don’t deserve it. 

Beckett got me off the streets and gave me a purpose.  I’ve worked  hard to get to where I am now, but I’ll never deserve love; especially  not from someone as amazing as Olivia.  She’d look at me like a monster  if she ever knew what I did.  I can’t let that happen. 

So, I guess, friends it is.  There’s just one problem:  I don’t know how to let her go.  I need her.  

DEX
 

I’ve never been in love.  I’m okay with that.  I have my Banks Ink.  crew who have my back and that’s a lot more than I had growing up.  I  have a place I belong, and I won’t do anything to ruin that.  I don’t  need more than that. 

Well, I didn’t need more than that before Bailey Danby walks into  the shop.  The moment I saw her, with her long black hair and big blue  eyes, I knew nothing would be the same again.   I just wish I knew that  she was there to surprise her brother, Walsh.
Walsh’s little sister. 

She’s off limits because I’m loyal to my family and bro code says  that I can’t ever have Bailey.  I just wish my heart…and other anatomy  got that memo.
 

BAILEY
 

All I wanted was a summer getting to know my brother and the family  that he created.  My parents made sure that I was never allowed to be a  part of the life Walsh worked so hard for.  Now it’s the last summer  before my senior year of college.  The last summer before real life  takes over.  This might be my last chance to have some fun and get out  from under my parent’s judgmental thumbs.  

It seemed like a great plan, but that was before I walked into Banks  Ink. and my eyes landed on Dex Hardwick.  I knew nothing would be the  same again.
I just wish he’d stop pushing me away.  Does he not feel this thing  between us?  Is he really going to deny it because I’m Walsh’s little  sister?  Is the bro code really a thing?  Maybe he doesn’t really want  me. 

I wish his loyalty to his family wasn’t such a turn on, but it so  is.  I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the summer and then  my senior year with a broken heart.  I could have everything I’ve ever  wanted with Dex.  If only he felt the same way.

ELLIE  
 

I’ve always been that awkward girl, the one who is better behind the  camera than in front of it.  I don’t like big crowds; I like to keep to  myself.  I only have my best friend because he didn’t give me much of a  choice and cut through my awkwardness without even batting an eye.  

The more time I spend around the Banks Ink. family and the more  opportunities they give me to get my photography business off the  ground, the harder it is to keep them at arm's length.  They wormed  their way into my life without me even realizing it.  

Then I met Walsh and Troy and everything they make me feel freaks me  out.  I don’t think they want me to choose and I never could, but I’m  not that girl.  I’m barely able to keep my own life together, how in the  world can I open my life and my heart to two men?  

How could I ever be enough for them?  If I hurt them because I’m  scared, can we ever find the forever that I can picture so clearly?   What happens when that one night we spend together leaves me with more  than just memories?  
 

WALSH  
 

I made fun of all the men in our family who fell to their knees in  front of their women, but that was before I met Ellie.  I knew the  moment I saw her that she was the woman for me, for us.  I didn’t know  why I spent so much time recently focusing on my family, but it all made  sense when I saw her.  Her grey eyes, so full of anxiety, make me want  to wrap her in my arms and never let her go.  

My parents didn’t give me a family to be proud of growing up, but  Troy’s house was my haven from the judgement and disapproval back then.   When his home life imploded, I helped him pick up the pieces; at least  most of them.  I can't solve his commitment issues for him, but I can  push for him to get it together so we can go after our girl.  I can’t do  it alone.  

She keeps running from us, but I have enough faith for the three of us.  I hope.  
 

TROY  
 

Knowing you’ve met the one and being ready for it are two very  different things.  I was used to being the comic relief, the  lighthearted to the serious.  I’m not used to more being expected from  me.  I saw what I thought was a happy marriage burn to ash when I was  old enough to understand.  It left scars, not that I’m proud of them,  but they are what they are.  
She keeps running and I’m not ready.  I know it’s not fair to Walsh,  but I don’t know that I’ll ever be ready to take on the forever that we  all know could be ours.  

How can you grab hold of that future when it scares the hell out of you?  Ellie deserves so much more than me.  

After one night together and it’s up to me to hold it all together, will I be enough?

This book is an MFM menage story, there is no M/M sexual contact.

KALI

I don’t know why I agreed to the stranger photo session when Ellie asked. It must have been that family thing. I’m not looking forward to it, but it’s a step in getting myself back to the person I used to be. Before I lost my mom. Maybe. Meeting a stranger and doing something new is what I need to put some of this grief down.

I’m not expecting to turn around and be greeted with a man like Axel. He’s not the kind of guy I normally go for with his clean- cut appearance and perfectly tailored suit. Does he even have any tattoos? How does he knock me off balance? Why does he look at me like I’m his? 

It’s probably just the stranger session. It’s acting. Doesn’t mean I can’t have a good time with him. It’s only one night.

Just one night…or so I thought.

AXEL

I work too much, but it keeps the loneliness at bay and my head on straight. I almost punched my best friend and business partner when he told Steve that I’d do some stranger photo shoot. All I want to do is get the new club open and cement our new partnership with Steve. I guess part of doing that is making his family happy.

I wasn’t looking forward to it, but when I turn around and see Kali everything else ceases to exist. She has walls around her heart to protect the broken pieces. I’ll show her that I can help heal her. She might not be what I was keeping my eyes open for, but that doesn’t matter. With every moment I’m around her, I find she’s better than I ever dreamed.

I can tell by the look in her eyes that she thinks this is only one night, but I’ll prove one night turns into forever for us.

She’s the woman I’ve been waiting for. 

PENELOPE

No matter how much independence I gain, my parents keep trying to pull me back into their world. I don’t want anything to do with their wealth or their expectations. I’m much happier being my own person. I’ve avoided the hoity toity holiday events for the last few years, but this year it’s unavoidable. My mother’s made sure of it.

I don’t want to be on the arm of someone Mother deems respectable for charity events and family dinners, but I don’t have much choice. At least, not until Maddox steps in and offers to be my date. I don’t know if bringing a fake date is going to do the trick, but it’s better than being arm candy for a snobby douche who doesn’t even like me.

If I can get through this holiday season unscathed, I can go back to my life. If I can ignore how much I wish things between Maddox and I weren’t fake, I might even get through it with my whole heart too.

MADDOX

Work has kept me busy for years, but the rewards have been worth it. Or so I thought. Once Axel, my business partner and best friend, found the love of his life I started to realize that I’ve been missing out. I hate feeling left out of the good stuff, but the right woman hasn’t come along yet.

One Halloween party changes everything. I know Penelope is meant to be mine and if helping her out of a jam with her family is the way to her heart, then so be it. I’ll protect her from anything and everything, including her family. I’ll keep the man-boy with a silver spoon in his mouth away from her too. No other man is going to touch her. She’s mine.

My Penny thinks this is all fake and I’m only helping her out of the kindness of my heart, but there’s nothing fake about us. I have the holiday season to prove it to her. Good thing I’ve always been determined. She thinks after all the events are over that she’ll be able to go back to the way things were. Little does she know, the only life we’re living from now on is one where we’re together. 

AMELIA

After four years of having everything that I’ve ever wanted, including the love of a man I never thought would look at me twice, I still have doubts sometimes. I know Beckett loves me; he shows me every day. Still, how long will it last?

Who will I be if the day comes when he no longer wants me? What happens to the rest of our family if that day arrives? Who will be responsible for everyone then?

A girl’s night out might help some of the stresses and worries fall away. I should have known my husband, my own personal caveman, wasn’t going to simply let me out of his sight. Not in the dress I’m wearing where other men can see me.

It’s a good thing he’s so sexy or I might find him infuriating. Turns out, he knows exactly what I need, and it isn’t a girl’s night out.

BECKETT

My wife is a lot of things, including transparent when it comes to her thoughts and emotions. I can read her as easily as I can love her fiercely. I know she’s been battling her own inner demons, the ones which tell her not to get too comfortable and to prepare for the worst.

She forgets that I will slay her dragons because it wins me the heart of the only woman I want, the only woman who is mine. She’s been stuck in her head lately while giving too much of herself to everyone else. It’s my job to take care of her and I’m damn good at it.

A girl’s night out isn’t what she needs. She needs a little time away from the kids, from the family, from all the things she thinks she is responsible for. I’m not the only one crashing the party, but when I cart off my wife, we’re not going home. I have plans for her which will get her to shut off her brain and kill her doubts.

It’s time she and I had a little heart-to-heart. Being naked during it is only a bonus. 

MICAH

I’ve never been one to be ungrateful. Instead, I’ve made the most of every step and win in life, trying to appreciate it for what it is. The last few years, being included in a family I didn’t know I needed, has given me more than I thought I could have.

They’ve given me a job and supported my art in more ways than one. Becoming an apprentice under a group of tattoo artists I admire and who help support me isn’t something I expected, but I’m embracing it anyway. Even with all I have, there has been something missing. I wonder if the magic of the family is going to rub off on me and I’ll find the other half of my soul like everyone else has.

When I see Ruth, I don’t have to wonder anymore. She’s mired in the pain of her past, but I can show her there is light in this world. There’s so much in this world she was kept in the dark about, but I can’t wait for the chance to explore it all with her.

I’m going to build a home and family with her if she’ll let me. How many of her walls will I have to break down first? She might not understand it, but she’s mine. I’ll gain her trust and prove her past doesn’t define her future.

RUTH

I might not have had a normal upbringing, but I’ve learned a lot in the last two years. Transitioning from being isolated from society and within The Community hasn’t been easy, but I’m finally ready to see what life has to offer me. I hope I don’t have to leave my sisters behind to do it because we’ve been each other’s support for so long.

I envy my older sister, Chloe, she has the life I want to live with love and a family around her. Am I brave enough to have the same? It’s not easy to leave behind the naïve girl who was never given the opportunity for a normal life. I might have left The Community behind, but that doesn’t mean I’m free.

Meeting Micah gives me hope and makes me feel less broken. My sisters need my strength, not my doubt and Micah makes me feel strong. He makes me feel seen and important.

Is two years long enough to leave the past behind you and embrace a future you were raised to believe would always be out of reach? Can I build something with Micah that will help me find the path I should be on? Or will I always be lost in a past that was chosen for me?