AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His mouth curved in a kind of surprised delight. “Addison, how are you?”
I smiled. “I’m fine, thanks, Beckett. How’s everything with you?” We’d dated once upon a time. He was a nice guy, but he’d been put off by my trust fund.
“Great,” he replied. “Couldn’t be better.”
A heavy hand rested on the base of my spine and slowly slid upwards until it curved around my nape, making my pulse do a tap dance. I felt Dax’s body heat radiate against my back as he shifted closer, blanketing me in his cologne.
“Beckett,” he smoothly cut in, “it’s been a while.”
My ex’s smile widened. “Dax, good to see you.” He held out his hand, and Dax used his free hand to shake it. Beckett then looked from him to me. “I heard you two were married. Congratulations.”
Dax thanked him and then went on to ask him about his family. He was all charm and ease and amiableness as he spoke. The entire time, his hand remained a warm weight on the back of my neck.
I might have contributed to the conversation if I wasn’t feeling a little rocked by Dax’s hold. With the exception of our wedding day, he hadn’t touched me much in public. Anddefinitelynot like this. Not with pure male possession. It was making my heart pound and my hormones melt.
Finally, he rounded up the conversation.
“It was real good seeing you both again,” Beckett told us. “Take care.” With that, he shrugged past us.
Dax’s hand glided from my nape down to the spot between my shoulder blades, and then he gently urged me forward. I followed the hostess to a table not too far away, and the people there graciously stood with polite smiles.
After greetings and introductions were exchanged, Dax and I took our seats. Several people made a point of congratulating us on our marriage.
A graying male with rugged features pointed at me. “You must be related to Ollie and Dane Davenport. You remind me of them.”
I nodded. “Ollie is my brother; Dane is my father.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of doing business with both in the past,” he told me. “They’re ruthless men.”
I smiled. “Excellent compliment.”
Some soft chuckles drifted around the table.
“When and where did you two meet?” one of the wives asked, her pretty blue gaze dancing from me to Dax.
He replied, “We’ve known each other for many years. Our families are well-acquainted. I’ve done business with Dane myself on a number of occasions.”
How wonderfully he completely dodged her question. She didn’t even seem to have noticed.
Other questions floated our way …
How’s married life?
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Did Dane bless the wedding or does he hate Dax for making the cardinal sin of touching one of his daughters?
On and on it went.
Dax answered for us, working around the questions he didn’t want to fully answer; outright lying at other times.
When the attention finally eased off us, I leaned into him and whispered, “You’re good at that. Bullshitting, I mean. I actually envy just how skilled you are at it.” I noticed one side of his lips quirk.
His thigh bumped mine beneath the table as he placed his mouth near my ear. “Were you ever involved with Beckett?” The words tickled my ear, stirring the little hairs there. It wasn’t really a question, it was a guess.
“Only briefly a few years ago,” I replied. “Why?”
Dax’s only response was a flat hum.
