Paxton's Promise (Gloves Off #3)(13)

“I did win fair and square,” he pointed out. A mischievous smirk splayed across his face.

“A deal’s a deal. You, Mr. Emerson, get to kiss me.” I said, trying not to look too excited.

His whole body scorched me with every single touch on my bare skin. His hands were tight under my ass, holding me in place. I was on fire and I wanted more. Between his legs, his cock was hard and pushed into me when he backed me into the wall. I throbbed and ached with the need to move against him, to feel him inside me. He hovered by my face, so close I could hear him breathing hard through his nose. Our gazes locked with half-lidded stares. And . . . that was it. He never brought his lips to mine.

I was going to lose it. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to kiss me?”

He looked hurt and frankly, a little angry. Pulling back, he let me go and moved away from me. The ever growing distance between us growing with each second. “Nah. I told you I wouldn’t ask for anything you weren’t willing to give. I have to go,” he said, getting out of the pool. “There’s somewhere I need to be.” Once out, he quickly headed for the door.

“Pax,” I called. He kept going. But I am willing to give it to you. I almost said it out loud, but it was too late. He’d already walked through the patio door.

Slamming the door shut, I watched him disappear up the stairs. Shit. Had I hurt him in some way? Well, I wasn’t going to let him ignore me anymore. Whatever was so important that he had to leave me for, I was going to find out. It might be a little stalkerish, but I wasn’t going to sit by myself another night longer.





I HAD NO clue how I was going to find out where Paxton was going until my saving grace came in the form of a phone call. My bedroom was just across from his and when I heard him talking, I edged toward the door and listened in.

“Fuck yeah, I’m gonna be there. Everything’s all ready,” he said low. What was he talking about? I wish I knew who the other person was and what they were saying.

“Okay, meet me at Delaney’s track in about an hour. I don’t know if I’m going to the club tonight, but I’ll let you know.”

As soon as he hung up the phone, I tiptoed back to my room and gently shut the door. What the hell was Delaney’s track? Searching through my phone, I found an address for it, but not a website. It was only ten miles away. What could he possibly be doing there? He was the one who wanted me to stay here with him and now he was acting like I didn’t exist? I don’t think so. Whatever he was doing, I was going to find out. This shit was ending tonight.

Paxton’s footsteps thundered across the floor on down the steps until they completely went silent once the front door shut. Quickly, I threw on my jeans and tank top and ran my hands through my hair. How the hell did I fall so low as to resort to stalking? Ashleigh would get a kick out of this if she knew what I was doing.

The sound of a revving engine and squealing tires caught my attention, but I didn’t get to the window fast enough to see him leave. I did, however, see the tire tracks on the driveway. Thankfully, the Hummer was still there which meant I had access to a vehicle. Rushing down the stairs, I bounded out of the house and made sure to lock the door. Paxton had a habit of not locking the doors. That had to be a man thing, because Bradley was the same way.

With the address in the GPS, I was ready to go. Apparently, I had to go right by my apartment which was good considering I needed to check my mail anyway. When I got there, I quickly opened my little mailbox, and of course, it was full of junk. Still, if I didn’t get all that crap out, my mailman would just shove more and more in until I couldn’t get any of it out. Since I had about twenty minutes to spare, I parked and raced up the stairs to my apartment to use the bathroom. I was actually nervous, which wasn’t normal for me.

Bolting up the steps, I took two at a time and had my keys ready to unlock the door. I stopped dead in my tracks and choked when I noticed not one, but two black roses by my doorstep. You have got to be kidding me. Hesitantly, I took in my surroundings and didn’t notice anything else amiss. There was a note attached to the roses just like the other day. From the looks of them, they’d been left there for a while. I hadn’t been by in three days.

Gently, I picked them up and unlocked my door, opening it wide. The other black rose was still on my counter, dried out and shriveled with the note I left beside it. I opened up the new note.





This shit was getting beyond weird. Sliding my phone out of my back pocket, I dialed up Ryley’s number. Luckily, he answered on the second ring. The last thing I wanted to do was worry Ashleigh when she needed to stay calm for the babies.

“Hey, what’s up?” he answered.

I threw the roses in the trash and held both notes in my hand. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern etched in his voice.

“I’ve been getting flowers at my apartment. Today is the second time they were left on my doorstep.”

“Oh, is that it? It’s probably your douchebag ex wanting you back. Why don’t you tell him to f*ck off?”

Sitting down on the couch, I sighed and peered down at the two pieces of paper. “Well, it’s probably because it’s not him. Bradley isn’t the type to leave black roses.”

“Black? Who the hell would leave you black flowers? Was there a note?”