by D J Small
Dax released a deep sigh as they turned a corner and stopped outside of the boat’s dining room. The huge room was lit entirely by strategically placed candles and decorated with ornate flowers and greenery.
It looked so amazing that Eliza forgot what they had been talking about, and tears started to fill her eyes. “Dax...”
He gently squeezed the hand she had resting on his bicep, then moved it to go and open the door for her. The warmth of the dining room was an instant respite from the cold, and Dax helped Eliza remove her coat once he had closed the door.
“Everything to your liking?” he asked as one of the boat’s crewmembers took Eliza’s coat from him.
Eliza turned in a slow circle, taking in the dining room. There was so much for her to absorb that she didn’t know where to start. Her eyes landed on Dax, and a smile filled her face. She walked closer to him and took his face in her hands, then gave him a soft, lingering kiss.
“It’s perfect,” she said quietly as her lips hovered over Dax’s.
He gave her another kiss. “I’m glad you like it.”
Eliza wrapped him up in a hug, and the two of them stood there for a moment before she kissed his cheek and pulled back. “I’m still not happy about the amount of money you spent on all this.”
Dax waved at the string quartet that was set up in a corner of the dining room, and as they began to play a slow, melodic song, he took hold of Eliza’s hand and led her to a small empty area of the room.
“If you’re going to harp about me spending money on you, then we’re going to dance while you do so,” Dax said as he placed one hand on her waist, while the other took hold of hers.
The thought of dancing caused Eliza to panic, and she tensed.
Dax chuckled and whispered, “Relax, I’ve got you. Just follow my lead.”
They began to move, and Eliza remained stiff as a board. After a few minutes she felt confident enough to relax, but then she stepped on Dax’s foot.
Horrified, she began to apologize. “I am so, so sorry.”
Dax gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” He smirked. “For someone who spends all day stomping around the city in heavy boots, you sure have a light step.”
Eliza pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, would you like a kiss?” he chuckled, stretching up and giving her a quick peck.
“You’re not funny, Mr. Collins,” Eliza said as he pulled back.
Dax grinned. “I am downright hilarious, Detective, and you know it.”
“Then explain to me how you can afford such an extravagant first date,” Eliza countered. The annoyance that flashed in Dax’s eyes caused her to feel smug.
Dax drew in a breath and silently released it. “I do have investments. A former client of mine is an investment banker, and during one of our appointments after the laws had changed, she asked me what I was doing about my income. I told her it was sitting in the bank, and she laughed.” Dax chuckled. “She told me to give her a part of my savings, and I trust her, so I did. I gave her twenty grand, and she made stuff happen with it. I now deal with a lovely gentleman by the name of Francis, and he’s the one doing stuff with my money.” He let out a begrudging sigh. “Since we’re on this dreadful topic, I’m starting my own firm.”
Eliza stopped moving with him. “Your own firm? As in your own sex firm?”
Dax nodded.
She stared at him, completely stunned. The idea of him owning his own firm had come a little out of nowhere. She knew he had wanted to open one with Simon and Angelique, and she remembered him saying that he wanted to continue with the idea after their deaths, but he hadn’t said anything about in a while. She didn’t know he had still been considering it. “Why?”
“I’ll explain if you’ll continue to dance with me,” Dax said with a smile.
Eliza easily fell back into step with his guidance.
“The simple answer is to honor Angelique. She wanted to do this, and I thought I would finish the dream for her.”
The simple answer was sweet, but knowing there was more to it made Eliza ask, “Long answer?”
“Sex workers should be at the forefront of this industry,” Dax stated. “Not people that have no idea what we do or the dangers we come up against. I mean, the whole thing with Veronica proves that the wrong people are involved.”
Eliza nodded in agreement. She couldn’t imagine how other sex firms were run after the Veronica incident. Because of the woman’s ridiculous beliefs and personal issues, Dax had lost several people who were close to him, and one of them had been murdered just because of his association to Dax.
She took a moment to study Dax’s eyes, looking for any sign of sadness in them. She knew the pain of Andre’s death continued to hurt him.
“Do you even have enough money to start your own firm?” she asked when she didn’t find any trace of grief in his brown eyes. “The legalities and licensing alone have to be expensive, and I can only imagine the hoops you have to jump through.”
Dax smiled at her. “I’m not going to do this by myself, I’m going to reach out to a few people I know and see if they’re interested in joining me in this venture. And I don’t have to worry about legalities. That’s what Claire is for.”
“Claire?” Eliza asked just before Dax dipped her. The sudden move caused her to grasp his arm tightly, and she glowered at him. “Put me back up.”
“Certainly, Detective,” Dax said with a chuckle. He pulled her upright, then answered her question. “Claire would be the intense woman who is handling all the legal aspects. I am paying her an exorbitant amount of money to do so. We’re taking over the space Pleasure Inc. used to occupy.”
Eliza’s gaze softened, and she asked, “Are you sure you want have your firm there?”
“Yeah,” Dax said with a slight shrug. “It’s like closure. Plus, Veronica’s family didn’t want to be associated with a sex firm and a murderess, so they were eager to unload it.”
Eliza smiled. She may have had her concerns, but it seemed like Dax was certain. “Okay, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.”
They fell silent as the soft music coming from the string quartet provided them with the perfect soundtrack for their setting. Eliza rested her head on Dax’s shoulder as they swayed slowly, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a soft kiss on her neck. Time faded as they lost themselves in each other and the ambiance of the dining room.
Dax eventually broke the silence. “How do you feel about me opening my own firm?”
Eliza kept her head on his shoulder as she figured out her thoughts on the matter. As much as she wanted to believe that the opportunity would cause him to stop seeing clients, she wasn’t foolish enough to buy that. Dax loved his job.
She drew in a breath and lifted her head. “I’m still adjusting, you know that, but if it’s what you want to do, then I’m not going to stop you. I would be lying if I said I didn’t hope you’d stop seeing clients, but I know how important your work is to you, and I’m not going to keep you from it. That would be unfair. You wouldn’t ask me to stop being a cop, so who am I to do the reverse?”
Dax smiled and reached up to cup her cheek. “You are truly amazing, Detective Miller.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “How did I get so lucky?”
Eliza chuckled and returned the smile. “I think we both got lucky here.”
The held each other’s gaze, and a swell of emotion filled Eliza as she looked at Dax. She truly believed she had gotten lucky with him. Dax didn’t put up with any of her crap, argued with her when it was all she wanted to do, and let her stubbornness roll off his back. In fact, he adored her when she was stubborn. At the same time, he made her laugh, listened when she went on her neurotic rants, and made her feel special.
They had been through a lot in a short amount of time, and they still had a lot of things they needed to work on, but Eliza honestly believed that there wasn’t anything they couldn�
��t work their way through. Communication was key, and she knew they would maintain it because she was invested in this as much as Dax was—which was surprising considering how much she had originally fought against her feelings.
“Dax...”
He hummed in acknowledgement, “Hmm?”
“I...I think I love you,” she said softly. The lack of conviction in her voice made her roll her eyes. That could have gone better.
Dax stared at her, and they stopped dancing. His left eyebrow cocked as uncertainty began to shine in his eyes. “Having a David Cassidy moment, Detective?”
Eliza watched him carefully, picking up on the subtle tells that told her she needed to frame her next words carefully, or he would run. “Eliza, and no. I’m in love with you, Dax.”
He blinked several times, then took several steps back from her. “You don’t mean that. At least, not yet. How could you? We haven’t even started dating, dating yet.” Dax shook his head. “Nope. Not going to accept that. I’m going to erase it from my mind. I think we should eat or something.”
Taking a moment to keep herself from laughing or smiling, Eliza stared at him, not saying a word. A skittish Dax was cute, but it also made her wonder why he was denying the obvious between them, especially when his argument was hardly a strong one.
When she felt like her reaction was under control, Eliza said, “Dax, what are you talking about? We’ve been dating but have been calling it something else. For the last month, we’ve been seeing each other on a pretty frequent basis, and have had dinners, lunches, and sometimes breakfast together. We’ve gotten to know each other so well that I’m pretty certain you can give me a breakdown of my entire family.” Unable to stop herself, Eliza chuckled in disbelief. “Why are you freaking out?”
Dax held up his hand and shook his head. “I’m not there yet, Eliza.” He ran his hand over his head and released an exasperated breath.
The anxious look on his face made the situation less amusing to Eliza, and she took a step to comfort him, but he took one back and shook his head. “Give me a moment.”
Eliza folded her arms and gave Dax his moment, but the longer it dragged on, the more her concern turned into irritation. His reaction didn’t make any sense to her. “Dax, I need something here, or I’m going to start thinking the worst.”
Dax drew in a deep breath and walked over to the table situated by the windows that gave a perfect view of the harbor. He picked up a glass of water from it and took a long drink.
“Relationships are hard for me,” he said after putting the glass down. “I can woo women, flirt with them, and get to know them, but relationships themselves are hard. Most of the time they end abruptly, usually because I’m too much for the other person, or in layman’s terms, I’m not man enough.”
He took another drink of water, and Eliza’s heart ached for him. Anyone who thought Dax wasn’t man enough was an idiot, and it pissed her off.
“Maybe because of it, I’m a little gun-shy. It’s not that I don’t care or feel for you, Eliza—I do, tremendously—but it’s because I’m afraid. Can you give me time on this?”
Eliza closed the distance between them, and as soon as she was close enough, she took the glass from Dax’s hand and placed it on the table to take hold of both of his hands. “If you give me names, I can have those assholes arrested for thinking so little of you, and you can watch the body cam footage.”
Dax gave her a subtle smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. The sight made Eliza hurt for him even more.
She slipped his arms around her waist and rested hers on his shoulders. “I can give you time, but don’t forget, I’m also me, and I’m as hardheaded as you are.”
This time, Dax’s grin reached his eyes.
“However, when I’m not being completely emotional, I’ll remember that you do want to be with me. Dax, I like who you are, even when you’re an annoying pain in the ass. You get me, let me be me, and when I’m being a raving bitch you still tell me I’m beautiful. I know where your heart lies, even though it scares you at the moment. I just hope that one day you’ll stop being afraid of your true feelings.”
She rested her forehead against his and quietly said, “The best thing I ever did was stop fighting my feelings for you. Not only did I gain someone who means a lot to me, I also learned a thing or two about myself. I love you, Dax.”
Dax placed his hand on her cheek and pressed his lips to hers. The tender kiss that followed was perfect for the moment, and Eliza almost didn’t want it to end.
When it finally broke, Dax sighed and whispered, “Same.”
It wasn’t ‘I love you’, but it was close enough. Eliza gave him another kiss then moved back.
Dax chuckled. “I was going to save the emotional declarations for after dinner, but clearly someone has other ideas.” Adoration filled his eyes. “You mean a lot to me too, Eliza.”
They stood there for a moment, smiling at one another. Eliza knew Dax would share his true feelings with her someday, and she hoped it was soon, but until then she would be patient.
She stepped away from him and said, “You mentioned something about dinner?”
“I certainly did, Detective Miller,” Dax said with a grin.
He walked over to one of the dining chairs and pulled it out for Eliza, pushing it in once she had sat down on it. He then walked over to a phone that was mounted on the wall, and after a brief conversation, he joined her at the table.
“Dinner will be served in a moment. I was thinking once we were finished with dinner and I’ve dismissed the string players, we could set sail and take a dip in the hot tub?”
The hopeful glint in his eyes told Eliza they would be doing more than just taking a dip. She let out a soft laugh. “Oh, you can keep dreaming, Mr. Collins.”
“With you, Detective, that’s all I can do.”
As they laughed, Eliza realized she could not have thought of a better first date for the two of them. She had enjoyed every aspect of it so far, and while she hoped their relationship would resemble their more subdued moments, she also knew that Dax couldn’t be low-key for too long. At some point, the over-the-top side of him would eventually take over, and though she would be eager to go along with whatever he wanted to do, she also planned to complain—she couldn’t give in to him that easy.
Dax wasn’t the kind of person Eliza had thought she would ever be with, but now that he was in her life, she couldn’t fathom him not being in it. He challenged her, taught her new things, and more importantly, made her a better person.
Eliza didn’t know what she gave him in return, but whatever it was, it had to be something great, considering the way he looked at her. Falling in love with a sex worker still surprised her at times, but Eliza couldn’t have been happier. Dax had been an unexpected curveball that life had thrown at her, but a good one, and she planned to enjoy every moment that she shared with him.
About The Author
There’s probably a lot that could be said about DJ, but sticking to the basics is probably for the best. DJ is a small town guy located in Richmond, VA. He spends his time thinking about situations he would like to put his various characters in. Sometimes he regrets those situations.
Other than that, DJ is a normal human who is looking to share his gift of storytelling, and is humbled by the folks who read his work.
Be sure to follow him on Twitter and don’t forget to check out his other books on Amazon.