Paxton's Promise Read online

  Clenching his jaw, he sneered at Paxton over my shoulder before turning back to me. “Well, if that’s what you have to do, I can’t stop you. Just be careful.”

  “I’ll be okay. I promise. Besides, I can handle myself.”

  A gleam twinkled in his eye. “So I can tell. I’ll keep in touch.” Turning on his heel, he looked back at me once and smiled before getting into his truck. I didn’t even bother looking at Paxton when I got in his Hummer because I knew he was fuming. Quickly, I started up the car and headed on my way to his house with him close behind.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. His open jealousy had shown me a glimpse of how he really feels. And my flimsy excuses were no longer enough to hide behind. My brother would be disappointed in me, but what else could I do?

  AS SOON AS I pulled into his driveway, I quickly jumped out of his car and headed into the house. I couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Gabriella,” he shouted, racing to catch up. “She’s my cousin,” he yelled. “Do you remember my Aunt Jackie? April’s her daughter. My uncle owns the track. Gabby, wait up.”

  He thought I was mad. I had been jealous, but it didn’t matter right now. He didn’t know what was coming next, but it was inevitable—like the tide, or the sunrise.

  I leapt up the steps two at a time; Pax hot on my heels. Walking right through the door, I stopped a few feet into the room, threw my purse on the floor and turned to watch him enter.

  “Look, I’m sorry,” he began, but stopped when he saw me just standing there, arms at my sides, breathing heavy.

  Our eyes locked and just as he was about to continue talking, I closed the distance between us, shoving him against the wall. Pushing my tongue inside his mouth, I felt the fire instantly blaze between us. It took him a split second to catch up to the moment, but then his hands snaked around my waist, pulling me in tight—his grip almost bruising.

  “Fuck,” he growled into my mouth.

  Nothing in that moment mattered other than the feel of his warm, large hands caressing me feverishly. It was almost as if we were starved for each other and not able to get enough. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever quench my thirst for him. I’d fought it for so long, I almost felt like a ravenous beast.

  Paxton turned us, slamming my back into the wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist and began moving against him, his cock growing rapidly against my core. I grabbed my shirt and ripped it over my head. Groaning, he sucked and nipped the top of my breast before he stopped and looked up at me. I bit my lip and smiled.

  He shook his head and smirked, leaning in to devour my mouth. Grabbing my ass, he held me in place as he stood up straight and made his way up the stairs, never breaking his lips from mine. Bumping into a few walls, we finally made it to our destination.

  We fell onto his bed. It smelled just like him. “I want you so bad,” I mumbled against his mouth, moving my hips in circles under his weight.

  He unclasped my bra with one hand. Once I was free, he closed his lips over a nipple and sucked, pulling and biting it until I screamed out. I cried in pleasure as he massaged and kissed every square inch of my breasts, fondling my nipples with his tongue. My underwear was soaked and even more so when he bit my tender flesh. The pain of it felt so damn good.

  Sliding his lips up my neck to my cheek, he closed them over my lips. “And I’ve wanted you,” he murmured low. “Fuck, you have no idea how bad.”

  I grabbed his hand and slid it down under the waistband of my jeans. Using my hand to push his against my wet heat, I moaned. “Oh, I think I have an idea of how bad.”

  “Fuck me. I can’t wait anymore.” He pulled his hand out and worked on unbuttoning my jeans. As soon as he was done, we worked together to push them down enough to where I could kick them off.

  Crawling backward, he caressed his fingers down my legs until he was completely off the bed. Never taking his gaze off of mine, he lifted his shirt over his head and unbuttoned his jeans, letting them fall to the floor. His cock bulged behind his boxers and I bit my lip as he rubbed his arousal through the material. Slowly, he slid his boxers down and smirked as he gave himself a few pumps up and down this length. He watched me watch him and it was the single most erotic thing I’d ever seen.

  “Come here.” I touched myself over my wet panties, needing him now.

  Pax wasted no time and crawled on the bed. I slid my underwear off and threw it across the room, opening wide for him. His tongue trailed up my inner thigh and passed over my clit with one quick flick. My body jerked and the feel of his breath as he chuckled, made my toes curl. It was so hot hearing his satisfaction.

  Delving deep, he buried his tongue inside me and swirled it around, fucking me. His tongue was so warm and needy as he tasted me, driving me to the edge. My clit ached for release and when he pulled his tongue out and started sucking on it, my body exploded. Fisting my hands in his dark hair, I screamed out my pleasure. He slowly lowered his pace and licked me as my body shook, tasting my desire for him.

  When I looked down, his green eyes blazed with an intensity that made me tremble. I’d never seen anyone stare at me like that. It was kind of scary, but in a good, primal way . . . almost possessively. Covering me with his body, I could feel the tip of him at my opening. I wanted him to push in so fucking bad. Instead, he closed his lips over mine and grabbed a hold of my face, kissing me deeply. I tasted myself on his lips.

  His tip pushed in a little and I moaned, biting his bottom lip. “Just do it. I want you. I want to feel all of you.”

  Growling deep in his chest, he plunged in as far as he could go. I screamed and dug my nails into his back as he rocked me back and forth, hard. My core stretched to fit all of him, but the pain of it made my eyes water. It hurt, but it felt so fucking good.

  Pax found a spot behind my ear and bit down, sending chills cascading down my body. What made it even better was that he didn’t stop there. Down my neck and across my collarbone, he nipped and sucked his way until he reached my nipples. As hard as he could, he took my nipple in his mouth and pulled with his lips, flicking his tongue across my swollen peaks.

  Another orgasm built between my legs and judging by his strangled groan he knew I was about to come. Instead of leaving me on my back, he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up on his lap. We were sitting up on his bed with me on top of him. He was in so deep.

  “Ride me,” he commanded, never taking his mouth away from my nipple.

  Lifting my hips, I sat down on him until I got a good rhythm. My body clenched and I was so close. Paxton was too by the way his cock pulsated inside me. “I’m going to come,” I warned.

  “Keep going, baby. I want to come inside you.”

  My eyes rolled into the back of my head and my insides tightened. Just the thought of him releasing inside me sent me over the edge. “Yes,” I cried breathlessly. His fingers dug into my hips and he held me down on his cock as we both reached our climax, our bodies melding together. I could feel his release as he came inside me, all hot and primal as he yelled out, his body jerking in spasms. Laying my head on his shoulder, my heart beat out of control.

  Paxton lowered me to the bed and gently pulled out before resting behind me with his arm across my stomach. “No regrets?” he asked.

  I shook my head and nuzzled closer to him. “None,” I answered softly.

  “So tomorrow morning, you’re not going to sneak away?”

  Laughing, I turned my face to the side so I could see him. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

  Taking my chin, he held me firm and kissed me. “Good, because I’m not letting you go. That’s a promise.”

  Hopefully, it was a promise he could keep.

  WHEN HE ASKED me if I was going to sneak away, I should’ve asked him the same question. I was expecting him to be in bed with me when the sun rose, but needless to say¸ he wasn’t. It was seven o’clock in the morning. Where was he?

  Climbing out of bed, I grabbed my clothes up off the floor and rushed acr
oss the hall to my room so I could grab a quick shower and get a change of clothes. After sliding on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top, I heard a noise outside and peered out the window; the light to Paxton’s garage was on.

  He didn’t regret last night, did he? Before getting the courage to go out there, I trudged into the kitchen and brewed a cup of coffee. If anything were to go downhill, I could count on my coffee to keep me sane. Once it was done, I carried the mug outside and slowly made my way to his garage. He had the music on, but it wasn’t loud enough to hear clearly outside the building walls.

  One of the doors was open, so I peeked inside and watched him as he worked on one of the old cars. Dressed in a pair of holey jeans with no shirt on, my whole body tingled in anticipation. Even though I was a little sore, I wanted him again. He could be sweaty and covered in grease and I wouldn’t care. Everything inside me craved him. I’d denied myself for so long, it felt like I’d never be able to catch up. It was exciting.

  I had to tighten my legs together to help subdue the ache between my thighs. The way he stared at his work with such pride and contentment helped me see a whole new side of him I’d never seen before. How could I not see that there was more to him than he led on? It’s because I didn’t want to see it.

  “I know you’re there, sunshine,” he quipped. “I’m sure you can admire me much better from in here.”

  Rolling my eyes, I chuckled and walked through the door. “How did you know I was there? There’s no way you could’ve seen me.”

  Wiping his hands on a towel, he finally looked over at me and smiled. “I don’t know, I can just tell when you’re near. It used to drive me crazy at the gym.”

  I walked past him to a desk in the corner and sat down. “Trust me, it used to do the same thing to me.” Paxton went back to working on his car while I looked around his garage. Across the whole back wall there were frames with before and after pictures in them, of cars that were junk before and then completely restored. They didn’t even look like the same vehicles.

  “Did you do all of these?” I asked incredulously.

  Over my shoulder, he kept his attention on the car motor and grinned. “Does that surprise you? I told you there was more to me than just fighting. I do enjoy other things in life. Which I’m sure you happened to have witnessed last night.”

  Smiling, I turned back to the photos. “Well . . . I might have forgotten. Do you care to refresh my memory?”

  All too soon, he came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. His breath tickled my neck as he leaned down and kissed me, his cock hard against my back. “I’d be more than happy to. I’m sorry I wasn’t in bed this morning. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Why not?”

  His hands lifted to my breasts and he squeezed, massaging them. “Because I couldn’t be beside you without wanting to fuck you. It was like I took a whole bottle of fucking Viagra.”

  “Oh my God, why didn’t you wake me up?”

  His lips touched my shoulder and worked their way up to my cheek. “You needed your rest. Besides, I know you were sore last night after we got done. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  “Pax, you have nothing to—” Something on his wall caught my undivided attention. It was the last frame and there inside was a picture of my brother’s old Ford Bronco. The first picture was of it with the faded blue paint, busted wheels, and raggedy convertible top. Matt drove that thing until it was falling apart.

  However, the second picture was of it fully restored to what it was today. The metallic blue paint was shiny, not dull. The top was a crisp white, instead of dingy yellow, and the wheels were a lot larger now with a set of bad ass custom made chrome rims. How is this possible?

  Furrowing my brows, I turned around in his arms. “Why do you have pictures of my brother’s car? I rode around in that thing for years. He had it fixed up years ago. I’d know it from anywhere.”

  “Yes, I know. For the longest time, I thought you would remember me when I started going to Carter’s gym, but you never did.”

  “I don’t understand. What are you talking about? I thought you hated my brother?” Paxton was a part of Kyle’s crowd and everyone in that group hated my brother, Tyler, and all of their friends. It was just the way it was.

  Taking my hand, Paxton walked me back to the desk and I sat down while he finished up with what he was doing. “Gabby, I’ve never hated your brother. Every time I tried to tell you the truth you basically slammed a door in my face. You automatically assumed I was just like Kyle.”

  “But you were,” I blurted out. “You’ve gotten in so much trouble over the years, Pax. You had a reputation and it wasn’t a good one.”

  He sighed. “Yes, I know, but it was never for things like Kyle did. A few drunken brawls and whatnot, yes, but never the stuff that bastard did. I met your brother before all of that happened. It was before I really got into the whole fighting scene.”

  “Was that when you were dating Kacey?”

  “No, we had already split ways at that time. I remember you though. You were in high school. I came by your house to talk to Matt about ideas I had for his car, when I saw you on the track, racing your go kart. Your brother and I talked the whole time you were out there and I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. If you weren’t still in high school I would’ve asked you out.”

  I tried to think back to those days but I couldn’t place him at all. “Damn, grandpa. How much older than me are you?” I was only twenty-three, but my birthday was in December, a little over three months away.

  “I’m twenty-eight,” he replied, lifting a brow daring me to comment.

  “How come I don’t remember you? Did we meet?”

  He snorted. “Yes. You were with a group of your friends so it doesn’t surprise me you didn’t notice me. Judging by the guys you were around, I wasn’t your type.”

  To be honest, it wasn’t the type of guys I would’ve chosen for myself, but I wanted to be a part of the crowd and those were the people I needed to be around. The girls were stuck up bitches, but I tolerated them just to be part of the group.

  “Besides,” Paxton continued, “I didn’t exactly look like I do now. Back then, I had blond hair and I wasn’t as built. I guess the muscles and the tattoos got your attention.”

  There was a greasy rag on his desk so I picked it up and threw it at him. “Actually, smart ass, it was your sexy green eyes that got me. The tattoos and muscles were only a bonus.”

  He looked back at me and winked. “So anyway, back to the main part of the story. Your brother came into the garage wanting someone to restore his car. Since it was my area of expertise, I took on the project.”

  “How did you get the knowledge to do that? Was it from your uncle who owns the race track?”

  His lip titled up in a sad smile, but kept his focus on the engine as he worked. “Yeah, I kind of grew up around cars and racing. The whole fighting thing came later. So with that being said, at this point in time I was friends with Kyle, but it was before I got into all my trouble. That all came later, and even then I never did anything to your brother. He knows this. I was out of Kyle’s group before all of that took place.”

  Mouth gaping open, I stared at him in horror. I’d never asked my brother about Paxton because I always assumed he was one of the bad guys. I didn’t have a reason to think otherwise. All this time, I treated Paxton like shit when he had nothing to do with Kyle’s deceitful attempts to fuck over my brother.

  “And you tried to tell me numerous times,” I stated sadly.

  Paxton shrugged and backed away from the car, wiping his hands on his towel. “It’s not like it mattered anyway. You were too busy with college and your dickwad boyfriend to notice me.”

  “Oh, let’s be clear. I noticed you,” I confessed. “I hated myself for it, but I wanted you bad. I just assumed you were part of the plot to sabotage my brother, so I had to hate you. I felt like a traitor being attracted to you.”

  “And now?” he asked, peer
ing over at me.

  Getting to my feet, I slowly walked over to him and put my arms around his shoulders. “Now I just feel like a coldhearted bitch. I thought you pursued me just to get a rise out of my brother. That’s why Tyler came after you so hard because I told him that’s probably what you were doing.”

  He put his arms around my waist and chuckled. “Yeah, Tyler and I are never going to be besties—there’s too much history. And, your brother might not like us together, but I know he doesn’t hate me. We actually talked that night while you were helping Kacey bind up her wrists.”

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured. “Ashleigh told me to stop pushing you away and when you basically stopped caring if I came or went, I thought I was too late.”

  A sly smile spread across his face. “I had to do something to get your attention. Besides, I needed you to come to me. I wasn’t going to ask for anything you didn’t want to give.”

  Smacking him in the arm, I narrowed my eyes. “So it was just to pay me back? Well I gotta tell you, it worked. I was so pissed at you, especially when you left me in the pool.” And we still hadn’t talked about what happened with Cliff. He hadn’t brought it up, but he needed to know that nothing was going on other than wanting his help.

  Paxton leaned down and kissed me, holding me close to his body. I didn’t want to break the contact, but I had no choice. “Pax,” I whispered, breaking the trance. “I need to talk to you about last night. About Cliff.”

  Clenching his teeth, he huffed and tilted his head back. “Why do we have to talk about that barnacle now? It’s obvious the dude’s hard up for you. And what’s worse, he’s your fucking neighbor.”

  “A barnacle?”

  “He’s one of those guys who’s going to attach himself to you. Wait and see. He’s a creep, I know it.”

  Laughing, I rolled my eyes. “Not to give you a guilt trip, but he’s kind of helping me out with something. I wanted to talk to you about it, but we weren’t necessarily talking at the time. I didn’t know what else to do.”