The Siren Song Series

I didn't see Dax on Friday or even know if he'd come to see Julie. In fact, I didn't see him again, at all. I hadn't seen him for weeks, which had somehow set me on edge, putting me on high alert. I cursed myself every time I glanced at the door, expecting him, and he didn't pass through it. I'd done this to myself; I'd discarded his advances as though he wasn't worth the time of day. In an attempt to let go of the unreasonable anxiety I felt toward missing a man I didn't know, I decided to go out with my girlfriends. The bar sat on a side road off Main Street running through downtown, and I spent fifteen minutes looking for a place to park. Friday nights were usually pretty busy, but when we closed the bar down, the streets were empty by the time we left. The bartender had cashed out our tabs, and my friends headed out when I called a cab. With them all living in the vicinity of the pub, they hadn't had a need for a designated driver, but I was out in the suburbs and would never ch

"Kitten, I need you to wake up. Come on, I know you're tired, but the doctor's here to see you to take the tube out." I opened my eyes wider than it seemed I had in years. The swelling had dissipated enough to allow the light to flood through the larger slits between my lids and blind me. But cords connected from my body to God knew what stopped me from shielding my eyes with my arm or hands. I wondered briefly how many machines monitored some aspect of my bodily function. I'd never felt discomfort like what I experienced trying to adjust to the sunshine filling the room. As my pupils contracted, I would have sworn I felt their actual movement and the way they narrowed until I was able to focus. It was surreal and would have been a sensation I wanted to hold on to-the way the world came back into view after days of lost perception-but the migraine surpassed the beauty, and turning my head resulted in agony. When the searing spikes through my skull subsided, I was able to recogniz

Dax lived in an old farmhouse on fifty acres of land about ten miles from my house. I hadn't realized solitude could be obtained so nearby-there wasn't a neighbor in sight. It was nothing like I expected from him. Scarlett O'Hara, yes...Dax Cooper, no. The plantation-style home was straight out of a storybook or Southern Living. A huge two-story, pale-yellow house with a dream porch wrapping around the entire perimeter of the lower level didn't fit his personality. But neither did the rocking chairs near the front door, or the huge fans with blades shaped like leaves. There was no denying someone spent an exorbitant amount of time caring for the landscaping out front-stunning flowers in every color, shape, and size imaginable lined the circular drive. Their smell permeated the air sweetly in a way only found in the South. His front yard could have been on the cover of Landscaper's Paradise it was that lush. But the fountain that stood between the driveway and the street drew my atte

Dax woke me the next morning, clearly having been up for some time. Breakfast was made and waiting for me on the table. "Once you're done eating, you need to get dressed so we can head into town for your appointment."Pulling the covers over my head, I wished the day away. But he just laughed and pulled them back, exposing me to the light and the dawning of reality. "Ugh, Dax, can't we do this another day?""No, baby, we can't. I know you aren't looking forward to it, but it's a necessary evil."An hour later, we were in his truck, driving down the interstate into downtown. The office building and parking garage were nondescript, and I silently followed Dax to the elevator and up to the third floor. His hand was warm in mine but felt like it kept me grounded, refusing to let me float away. I was barely cognizant of going through the motions checking in and taking a seat to wait. The gentle squeeze he offered was an attempt to reassure my racing heart and anxious mind. Hearing

I hadn't dated in a long time, minimum three years. When I had landed the promotion at Regional Bank, I dove into my work, determined no one would regret giving me the opportunity of CEO at such a young age. I'd been with them since I graduated from the University of North Carolina and then completed my MBA at the University of South Carolina while working. Needless to say, I had spent over fifteen years of my life invested in the company. Men, other than those who held clout in the banking industry, hadn't been on my radar-they were just a distraction I wasn't interested in entertaining. I had never longed for the white picket fence or the family with a dog-certainly not the two point three kids and the minivan. My goals had always centered on my career. My head was all over the place these days. I needed to be at work-I was good at it. That was what I was programmed to do. But for the first time in my life, I wondered what I was missing by living and breathing the business world.