Paxton's Promise (Gloves Off #3)(44)

“I wanted to protect you,” I whispered.

Lifting a hand to my face, he brushed his thumb across my lips. “You don’t have to protect me, Gabby. I just wish you would’ve confided in me. We could have figured this out together. I’m not going to let Rage or any other f*cker take you away from me.”

“You promise?” I asked.

Slowly pulling the covers back, he stood and dropped his boxers to the floor, covering me with his body. He spread my legs with his knee and leaned on his elbows, his mouth close to mine. I opened for him and moaned when he went deep, tasting me greedily.

“I promise, Gabriella. Whatever I have to do to keep you safe, I’ll do it. Even if it means killing this guy to keep him away from you. I promise to always be there for you and trust you no matter what. You just have to trust me too.”

“I do,” I whispered.





It was early morning and we were both awake, lying in each other’s arms in silence. We hadn’t let go of each other since we’d made love. Thoughts of the night before still plagued my mind. I had no clue what happened to Cliff, and I had no idea what happened to the guy I fought. If Camden hadn’t stopped me, I probably would’ve killed him.

“I think I almost killed someone last night,” I confessed. “And what’s worse, I don’t know what happened to Cliff. He could be dead right now.”

“Cliff? What does he have to do with all of this?”

Here we go. I licked my dry lips and explained, “When Camden came to get me last night, Cliff saw us out in the parking lot. He knew there was something off with the situation and his cop instinct kicked in, so he followed us. I don’t know if Scar did anything to him. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I tried calling and texting, but nothing yet.”

Paxton held me tighter, his body my safe haven. “Whatever happens, there’s nothing you can do, Gabby. I hate to say it like that, but he shouldn’t have followed, especially when you told him to stay out of it. That was stupid on his part.”

A tear escaped the corner of my eye. “I know, but I still care about what happens to him.”

His jaw tensed. “Well, maybe he’ll call today. Now tell me about the fights.”

“The first fight wasn’t so bad. I pretended to be scared, which really pissed me off because all I wanted to do was beat the shit out of the fat f*ck. He pulled my hair and dragged me around the mat. I had the worst headache after that. When he got me down on the mat and I felt how hard he was over it, I can’t begin to tell you how sick that made me.”

“How did you get up?”

Clearing my throat, I could still remember the way it felt to have his hard cock in my hand as I pulled it as hard as I could. The pain had to be excruciating, but he deserved it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be able to have sex for a very long time.

“Let’s just say I broke his junk, if that’s even possible. Imagine a laffy taffy machine pulling taffy this way and that.”

“Holy f*ck,” Paxton growled. The tension and anger flowed off his body in thick waves. “I can’t believe you had to do that. Where was Camden in all of this?”

“There wasn’t anything he could do. He already threatened to fight Rage for me, but if he kept pushing, he’d get booted out. If he wasn’t there, I don’t think I’d have handled it as well.”

Paxton sighed. “I know, but I’m so goddamned furious at him right now. To be a part of something like that is unforgiveable.”

“You used to be,” I whispered.

“Not like that. I would never have approved of them making women fight men. I was the one who fought f*ckers like Rage, the ones who liked to torment women and children.”

Turning in his arms, I looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“That’s what I did when I fought in the underground. I took on worthless cocksuckers who liked to rape women and children. There were men who would come in and brag about that shit all the goddamned time.”

Tears blurred my vision. “Oh my God. That’s horrible.”

“Needless to say, I challenged them. I didn’t even need weapons to f*ck them up. I was angry to the point I snapped each and every time. There was no holding back.”

I reached up to touch his cheeks but he averted his gaze. He knew what I was about to ask. “Did you kill them?” I asked softly. There was no judgment or accusation in my tone. If he killed them, I wouldn’t think differently of him. Because deep down, I wanted to kill the guy I fought last night. People that liked to hurt, kill, and rape innocent people shouldn’t be allowed to live.

“Paxton?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. After the fights were over, the men were taken away. I never knew their names, so I wouldn’t even know if they showed up on the news. But let’s face it, they didn’t give me the name Reaper for no reason.”

“Paxton, look at me, please,” I begged. Reluctantly, he lifted his gaze and clenched his jaw. Now I knew why he didn’t want to talk about his past. It pained him to think about it. “I’m not going to judge you. I love you. If it makes you feel any better, I wanted to kill the f*cker I had to fight last night. I probably would have if Camden didn’t pull me away.”

Resting his forehead to mine, Paxton breathed me in. “When I saw you covered in blood, I can’t begin to tell you how terrified I was. I didn’t know what was going on.”