Paxton's Promise (Gloves Off #3)(34)

I opened the door and stopped. “Why do you even care what happens to me?” I asked, turning to face him. “You obviously didn’t care what happened to your brother.”

“Ryley and I are a completely different story. I’ve never had a problem with you.”

He wouldn’t face me head on and I knew it was because he wanted to keep his scarred cheek away. He was clearly ashamed of it. Was he possibly ashamed of what he’d done?

“You can always come back to us, Camden. You and Ryley can work this out. If I can see the good in you after what you did to my best friend, then that has to be something.”

And just like that, he closed up on me, his gaze hard. “Don’t call me Camden anymore. It’s Striker. I’ll do everything I can to keep you out of trouble, but after that, I’m done. Now go.”

Camden had my bag in the back seat, so I grabbed it and got out. Once I got into the Hummer, I found my phone and checked for messages. I had only been gone for four hours, which was perfect. That was enough time to make him think I ate dinner and went to a movie. I had to face Paxton and pretend everything was okay when everything was far from it. It would be my biggest acting role to date.

Luckily, when I got back to his house, he hadn’t made it back yet. I had enough time to take a shower and crawl into his bed when I heard his car pull into the driveway. Don’t be nervous. Paxton’s footsteps sounded lightly on the stairs and when he opened the bedroom door the room illuminated from the hall light.

Quietly, he walked over to me and sat down, brushing a strand of hair off my face. “I know you’re awake, sunshine. I can see your eyes fluttering.”

A small smile splayed across my face. “I could be in REM sleep. Did you win?” I asked, opening my eyes.

He smirked. “Do you even have to ask? I kicked ass out there. Did you have fun with your mom?”

I answered while stretching and yawning, to help mask my lying. “Yes, we did. We’re going to do it again next week.”

“That’s good,” he murmured. “I’d do anything to be able to spend time with my parents again.”

A tear escaped the corner of my eye and it fell onto the pillow. I hated lying to him. “Will you hold me?” I whispered.

Paxton stood and lifted his shirt over his head and climbed onto the bed. “Gabby, what’s wrong?”

When he laid down beside me, I faced him so he could hold me tight against him. He smelled like exhaust from the race track, but I didn’t care. I needed to be close to him, to feel safe. “Nothing’s wrong,” I assured him. “I just wanted you to hold me. I missed you.”

Chuckling, he kissed the top of my head. “I missed you too, sunshine.”

“Did you lock the door on your way in?”

“Yes, and I turned on the alarm. Are you scared someone’s going to come here? You didn’t get any more messages today, did you?”

“No, I just want to make sure the door is locked. You can never be too careful.”

He held me tighter. “Trust me, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

It wasn’t just me I was worried about.





THE PARKING LOT was packed when we pulled up and everyone waved at us as we drove past. The moment he got out of the car, his fans flocked to him and asked for pictures. Some people in the spotlight snubbed their noses at their fans, but Paxton didn’t. He smiled and let them put their arms around him as he posed for picture after picture.

“You’re actually good at this,” I commended.

Grinning, he put his arm around me and turned me to face him. “Who would I be without them? Just some weirdo driving around fast in his backyard.” Pressing his lips to mine, he held me close and didn’t stop, even when people walked by and whistled.

“Get a room you two,” a voice called out.

Paxton guffawed and let me go, keeping his arm around my shoulders. The voice came from the blonde haired woman I saw hugging him the other night; his cousin, April. She had a smile on her face, holding the hand of a little boy, probably around six years old, with the same blond hair and blue eyes.

“So this is her?” she asked, smirking at Paxton.

“Yes, it is. She finally wants to be with me.”

I smacked him on the arm and bumped him with my hip. “Hey, it was a hard decision with you acting all hot and cold, you big pain in the butt.”

April held her hand out. “Yeah, well, that’s Paxton for you. He’ll do anything to get what he wants. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Same to you,” I replied, shaking her hand. The little boy smiled shyly at me and moved behind her leg. “And who might you be?” I asked, bending down to his level.

April bent down and moved him forward. “Go ahead, tell her your name. Say, Adam.”

His little voice was just above a whisper. “Adam.”

He was the cutest little boy I’d ever seen. I didn’t want to have kids any time soon, but I sure loved to talk to them. Ashleigh was going to have two kids in a few months and I was probably more excited about that than I was at my first fight.

“Well, Adam, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Gabriella.”

“Are you Uncle Pax’s girlfriend?” he asked.

We hadn’t exactly discussed it, but I assumed I was. I looked up at Pax, lifting my brows. “Do you have the answer to that one, Uncle Pax?”