Page 3 of Dax (Big Hot Alphas 1)

He stood up from his chair, his incredible size unfolding. I gaped at him, speechless, the sensation of his kiss lingering on my lips.

“You’re leaving?” I said.

“Yes,” he said. “And you’re going to go inside.”

I smirked. “What if I don’t want to go inside yet?”

Dax’s jaw tightened. “We can’t do this, Bailey.”

“Why not?”

“If I kiss you again, I won’t be able to stop.”

And then he clicked his tongue to rouse Bear from his slumber, and that was that. Dax glanced over at me just once more to say goodnight, and then he and Bear were disappearing into the darkness.

I didn’t see Dax again that weekend. And I didn’t breathe a word to my parents about what had happened. But the memory of Dax’s kiss stayed with me; even as I drove home that Sunday night, I could still feel his kiss on my lips, as if it had just happened.

I’d never had a kiss like that in my life.

It was the stuff fairy tales were made of.

When I got home, I had to tellsomeoneabout it, and naturally, I turned to Madison. Madison and I met four years ago when we both started waitressing at the café; we’d been best friends ever since.

“That’samazing, babe,” said Madison, grinning from ear to ear. “You totally just met your soulmate.”

I scoffed. Told her she was crazy. But deep down, I had to admit—I’d been thinking the same thing. And not just because of the kiss. My conversation with Dax had been incredible. I’d felt so deeply connected to him.

There was no way that Dax was actually my soulmate, though. He was too old for me. He was my parents’ friend. And he lived on a freakin’ mountain over three hours away—how wasthatgoing to work?

Nah. Our connection didn’t mean we were meant to end up together or anything.

It was just one of those crazy one-time things.

My mom is kneelingin front of a patch of bare soil planting flowers when I pull up to the house. As I get out of the car, she stands up and calls out hello. She looks so cute in her gardening hat and floral-print gloves. When I give her a hug, she smells like sunshine and earth.

“So good to see you, honey,” she says.

“You, too, Mom,” I say. I draw in a deep breath of fresh air and look around at my surroundings. “This place really suits you, you know?”

She smiles. “I agree. I’m really happy we found this place.”

“Where’s Dad?”

“Cleaning out the gutters around back.”

I nod. “Okay. I’ll wait until he’s done to say hi, then. Can I help you plant the rest of these flowers?”

“I’d love that,” says my mom.

I roll up my sleeves and use a trowel to dig out more holes in the soil; once my mom and I plant the rest of the flowers, we pack the dirt back in and give the area a good watering. Then I help her tidy up and we head into the house. My dad comes in soon after, and he gives me a big hug hello.

After talking for a little bit about how the drive up was, they show me the changes they’ve made around the house in the weeks since I first visited. They’ve repainted a few of the rooms, hung up some art, and they have a new, huge, gorgeous table in the dining room.

Before the words come out of my mom’s mouth, I already know what she’s going to tell me.

“It’s one of Dax’s pieces,” my mom says.

“Oh, yeah?” I say, trying my hardest to sound unaffected. “Huh. Looks great.”

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