Page 4 of Dax (Big Hot Alphas 1)

When Dax and I talked that night out by the fire, he told me a lot about his woodworking. I could hear the passion in his voice as he talked about his process, and when he described his tables to me, I was easily able to imagine his beautiful creations.

But now, seeing one of his tables in real life…my God. It’s so much more stunning than I expected. The wood has a beautiful dark grain, and the craftsmanship of the table is impeccable.

“Hey, uh…what do you guys have to drink?” I say, my mouth suddenly feeling dry.

“A little of everything, as usual,” my mom says with a laugh.

My stress wanes as we walk out of the dining room and head into the kitchen. My mom opens up the refrigerator door and I grab the first thing I see, a container of juice. I pour myself a glass and practically down it in one go.

“How’s work been?” my dad asks as he pours a glass for himself.

I shrug. “Not bad. Same as always.”

Waitressing at the café certainly isn’t the worst job in the world. It’s not like I dreamed of growing up and becoming a waitress, though. While I work hard, it’s also just a job. I’dreallylove to do something more creative for work, but I’m not sure what yet.

A timer beeps and my mom crosses the kitchen to check on her slow cooker, which I’m assuming is working on tonight’s dinner. She grabs a spoon, opens up the lid, and takes a taste.

“I think it needs a little more salt,” says my mom. She pulls out a fresh spoon and holds it out to me. “What do you think, Bailey?”

I take the spoon from her and peer into the slow cooker to see a delicious-looking stew.

Alotof stew.

“You’re not going to have to cook for a week, Mom,” I say, dipping the spoon in. “It’s practically filled to the top.”

“Well, when you’re having company over…” she says.

“You made all of this because of me?” I raise the spoon to my lips. The stew smells divine, and the layered flavors spoil my tastebuds.

“Not just you, sweetie.” My mom smiles. “We invited Dax over for dinner tonight, too.”

I almost choke on the stew.

“Oh, gosh. Are you all right, Bailey?” my mom asks, patting me on the back. I cough and nod and regain my composure.

“Just went down the wrong pipe,” I squeak out.

Chapter Two

Dax

When I drive by the Cohens’ place and see the second car parked in their driveway, I immediately know it’s Bailey’s.

“Yeah, I know,” I say to Bear, who’s sitting beside me in the front seat of the truck. “I’m so fucking hopelessly in love with her.”

Bear nudges my shoulder with his snout, as if telling me it’ll all be okay.

I breathe out a laugh. “Thanks for the reassurance, boy.”

I’ve been tortured by thoughts of Bailey for the last month. It’s not just a carnal desire, either. I mean, yeah, ofcourseI fucking want to pin those curves down on my bed and make her come so hard she can’t remember her own name.

But it’s more than that, too.

The girl’s got the most incredible soul.

After our incredible conversation that night, I tried my damn hardest to forget about her. I knew it was no good, falling for a girl I couldn’t have.

But not thinking about Bailey was impossible.

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