Paxton's Promise (Gloves Off #3)(19)

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 f*ck you. It was like I took a whole bottle of f*cking 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.”