Paxton's Promise

by L. P. Dover

I chuckled as my tears finally fell. “Same here. Especially our fights. You sure knew how to push my buttons.”

  “It’s just part of my charm, babe. Maybe I’ll give you a call sometime and we can fight.”

  After he let me go, I lifted up on my tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips and brushed my hands through his hair. It was the last time we’d ever share an embrace. “I look forward to it. Just don’t forget me when you’re all big and bad in New York.”

  “What about you? I bet next season you’ll have a title. You’ll be the one forgetting me.”

  “That’s never going to happen,” I said, taking a step back.

  Opening his truck door, he got in and smiled down at me. “I’ll talk to you soon, Gabby. Don’t get into any trouble.”

  With a sly smile, I winked up at him. “Can’t promise you that. Be careful in New York.”

  Even though I was smiling and I was glad it ended on good terms, I could feel the hole in my heart growing. His truck roared to life and he glanced down at me, mouthing the word ‘goodbye’ before driving out of the parking lot. As soon as his truck disappeared, I turned on my heel and headed for the stairs in a fog, keeping my gaze on the ground as I walked.

  Eyes blurry, I ran smack dab into a wall and almost fell over, but a set of hands grabbed onto my arms, keeping me in place. Once stable, the guy let me go and I quickly rubbed my eyes and looked up at him. It definitely wasn’t a wall I ran into. On the contrary, it was a tall, young man—a few years older than me—with ash blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was shirtless and sweaty, with blue running shorts hanging low on his hips.

  “I am so sorry,” I apologized. “I should’ve watched where I was going.”

  “No problem. I’m glad I could help. My name’s Cliff,” he replied, holding out his hand. “I just moved in upstairs a couple of days ago.”

  Taking his warm hand, I shook it and let go. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Gabriella. I live upstairs too.” I started up the steps and he followed alongside me.

  “Not that it’s any of my business, but are you okay?” he asked. “You look upset.”

  “It’s never easy when you end a relationship.”

  We were already to the second floor and he kept going to the third. He must be my neighbor. “Trust me, I know how that goes. I just got back from a tour in Iraq and came home to find my fiancé fucking another man—in our bed.”

  “Ouch,” I muttered. That had to suck ass. My situation was nowhere near as bad as his. “So you’re in the military?” My eyes couldn’t help but roam over his perfectly toned muscles. He was definitely built to be a fighter.

  “I was,” he answered, grinning over at me. “I decided not to reenlist. Once I got home and realized everyone’s lives had moved on while I was away, I decided to pack my shit up and move. I like it better here anyway.”

  We finally got to my door and I stopped. “Well, this is me,” I said.

  “And that’s me,” he countered, pointing to the door diagonal to mine. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear me moving in this week.”

  “I wasn’t here. I was visiting my friends at their cabin.”

  “Ah, I see. Well, Gabriella, it was nice meeting you. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” He turned to walk off, looking over his shoulder and smiling before opening the door to his apartment.

  I had a freaking hottie for a neighbor. Too bad he did nothing for me. My traitorous body wanted what I didn’t want it to have. And I definitely wasn’t going to give in.

  IT WAS ALREADY Sunday, and I had no clue what time he would be at my place. I resolved myself to face the facts . . . I needed to get ready. What would’ve been a twenty minute packing job took me almost three hours. I wanted to kick myself in the ass when I questioned every single thing I put in my suitcase. I shouldn’t care what I looked like in front of Paxton, but I did. I hated myself for it.

  My phone buzzed and I couldn’t help feel it was fate texting.

  Paxton: Be there in ten.

  Me: Yippee…

  Me: Why can’t I just drive to your house?

  Paxton: This way I know you can’t run.

  The more I convinced myself I didn’t want to go, the more I’d believe it. If I kept pounding that idea in my head, I would eventually have to think it was true, right?

  Opening the refrigerator, I opened a bottle of wine and chugged it. I only got in a few gulps before Paxton knocked on the door. I strolled over to the door and opened it wide, bringing the bottle to my lips. His eyes went wide and he let out a deep belly laugh. I didn’t see what was so funny.

  “I’m turning into an alcoholic over this shit. You might want to rethink your terms,” I grumbled.

  Coming inside, Paxton took the bottle from my hands and placed it on the counter. He was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a neon green T-shirt that looked amazingly hot on his tanned skin. Fuck, I need more wine.

  “Not going to happen, sunshine. If you resort to binge drinking I know just how to sober you up. Or better yet, drink more and maybe it’ll loosen you up. I’m sure we could have a little bit of fun. Your boyfriend would hate it though.” By the smirk and the lustful look in his eyes, I knew what he had in mind. No more alcohol for me . . . unfortunately. “I trust you handled that situation already?”

  Gritting my teeth, I rolled my eyes and nodded. “You have nothing to worry about. He’s gone.”

  “For good?” he asked, wide-eyed.

  “Can we not talk about it?” I snapped. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the smug bastard smile.

  “Sure thing, sunshine. I would be more than happy to not talk about your douchebag ex, it leaves room to do other things. In fact, I think I know what’ll help. Is that what you’re bringing to my house?” he asked, nodding toward my three suitcases sitting on the floor.

  I waltzed over and lifted the handle to one of them. “Yes, this is it. And how exactly do you think you’re going to help?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “The only way you could make me happy is to let me stay home. Trust me, you’ll probably hate me once this month is over.”

  Before I could get out the door, he blocked it with his arm and leaned over, his warm breath fanning across my neck. “Fighting this will only make it worse, Gabby. You can lie all you want, but I can always tell when you’re not giving me the truth.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” I scoffed, tucking my hair behind my ear. “I’m not lying.”

  “Then you should get rid of that nervous tick of yours.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I brought my hand up to my ear and tucked my hair behind it . . . . Quickly, I dropped my hand to my side and cleared my throat. Standing up straighter, I held my head high. “Can we go already?”

  His deep chuckle made me shiver. “Sure thing, doll.” He bopped me on the bottom of my chin with his finger. “You might want to put on tennis shoes though.”

  Furrowing my brows, I looked down at my sandals. “Why?” My tennis shoes were in my suitcase, so I opened it up and switched them out.

  “Because we’re going to go out and have some fun. You look like you could use it.” He winked and nudged me out the door. After I had it locked, I followed him down the stairs to his Hummer.

  “I hope you know this isn’t a date,” I stated adamantly.

  Opening the back door, he slid my suitcases in and chuckled. “Get in.”

  After he shut his door, we were on our way. I had no clue where we were going, or where he even lived. There was no turning back, only going forward. To be honest, it scared the shit out of me.

  Ever since Paxton and I had kissed a couple of weeks ago, things had been awkward and tense between us. It wasn’t so bad when we were around other people, but as soon as we were alone, my mind would wander. The day it happened I was training late at Carter’s gym. It just so happened it was a night Paxton stayed past closing too. He wasn’t comfortable with me being there by myself, and to be honest, I wanted him t
here. I was up in the ring, pounding one of the dummy punching bags when he decided to glove up and help me.

  When he took me down to the mat, I had been at his mercy, bound with his hands holding my wrists and his body close between my legs. The closer he moved, the harder my heart pounded in my chest. I let him kiss me and probably would’ve gone further if my phone hadn’t interrupted us. I took it as a sign that I’d be making a horrible mistake if I let him fuck me. Not only would it have pissed my brother off, but just the thought of sleeping with the enemy weighed me down with guilt.

  “What are you thinking about over there?” Paxton asked.

  We had been in the car for about an hour and I refused to look at him. My traitorous body reacted to him like a dog in heat. What the fuck was wrong with me? I wanted to fight him, yet I yearned to submit to him.

  His voice broke through my inner monologue. “Are you not going to talk to me?”

  This time, I turned my attention to him. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking. Where exactly are we going? I didn’t realize you lived so far out.”

  His smile made me shiver. “I don’t, but I told you there was somewhere I wanted to take you. We’re almost there, and then afterward we’ll go to my place. I have a house in Manhattan Beach.”

  “Must be nice,” I mumbled to myself.

  I didn’t have the money like my brother and all of his friends did. He’d even paid for my schooling, which I’d always be forever grateful for. And now that my mother owned her own salon, she had a decent wage coming in.

  I’d won a few fights now, which brought in a decent amount of cash, but in order to get more, I had to fight. Being in the UFC, you never knew exactly when your fights would be. It was always last minute, which meant I needed to be ready. Taking the next six weeks off wouldn’t be doable if I had a fight, but I really felt like my body needed it.

  “I have a question,” I started. Paxton looked at me and lifted his brows. “Did you make more money fighting in the UFC, or when you were fighting illegally?”

  Sighing, he turned his attention back to the road. “Illegally. There were nights I’d bring in a hundred grand or more. Don’t get me wrong, it was fucking awesome, but I wouldn’t go back to it. It was a dark time in my past.”

  “What made you decide to get out?”

  His jaw clenched and his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. “It’s not something I like to talk about.”

  I’d seen the brutality of the fights in the underground world. I watched a man get his arm sliced off by a sword for Christ’s sake. It was almost like watching a horror movie, yet real. If Paxton had to do shit like that it made me wonder what kind of man he was on the inside. He didn’t get the nickname Reaper for no reason. The thought made me shiver.

  “Are you cold?” He glanced down at my arms and trailed a finger up my bare skin making my skin break out in chills.

  Moving my arm, I rubbed the skin he touched, willing the bumps away. “No, I’m fine. I was just thinking about the nickname they gave you. I can only imagine what you had to do to earn that.”

  He pulled us into a parking lot and parked, turning his concerned gaze my way. “Does that scare you? Not knowing what I’ve done?”

  Did it scare me? Hell yeah. “Kind of,” I admitted truthfully. “Our actions make us who we are. You were friends with Kyle, so obviously you had to be okay with the bad shit he did to people, including my brother.”

  Jaw firm, he took a deep breath, his stare never wavering. “You know, I’m glad we’re talking about this because now you have no choice but to listen. I was only friends with Kyle for Kacey’s sake. And speaking of which, I’d like to know how you see her? She’s Kyle’s sister which obviously makes her bad too, right?”

  Actually, she wasn’t bad at all. I liked her. Paxton waited on my comeback but I didn’t have one. “Okay, you have a point,” I gave in. “We aren’t always like the friends we hang out with. But even if you weren’t one of Kyle’s friends, it still doesn’t change who you are. You’re just like the rest of the fighters. Any piece of ass that comes your way, you’re gonna want it. I’ve been around you guys for a long time now.”

  Paxton snorted and opened his door. “Well, I guess your brother is a real dick to his wife then. Why don’t you stop now, you’re not making any valid points.”

  Pursing my lips, I watched him get out of the car with a smug smile on his face. He got me and he knew it. What a pain in the ass. When I got out of the car, I slammed the door and looked around. I had no clue where we were. There were shopping centers all around, but he parked us at a huge warehouse off to the side. I’d never been in this area before.

  “What is this place?” I asked.

  His smile widened. “Come and find out.”

  Starting toward the warehouse, I walked beside him through the parking lot until we got to the door. When I looked inside, my eyes widened. “Oh my God, you can’t be serious.” Inside was a race track, with professional go karts. Ones that actually had speed. I hadn’t been on one in years.

  “Are you ready to race? I have to say I’m kind of good.”

  Little did he know I had experience with racing machines. When my brother started earning money in the ring, he moved us all to a better house and surprised me with my very own go kart. We could never afford to do things when we were younger, so he made sure to bring back my childhood. He even had a race track made in our backyard so I could race against the boys in school. It was so much fun.

  Paxton opened the door and I grinned from ear to ear. “Better watch out. I’m pretty good myself.”

  “Really?” he replied. “How about we make a wager on it if you think you’re so good?”

  “Okay, how about if I win, you lower the terms from one month to two weeks?” I held out my hand and dared him to take the challenge. There was no way he could beat me. I had this shit on lock.

  “Agreed,” he said, shaking my hand. “Let’s see what you got.”

  GABRIELLA THOUGHT SHE could fool me, but I knew she had experience in racing. In fact, she’d be absolutely stunned to know who I had in my back pocket. There were more people rooting for us to get together than just me.

  After putting on our jumpsuits and helmets, the guys at the track gave me and Gabriella full access to the track so we could race by ourselves. Side by side, we sat in our karts, revving our engines at the start line. I was focused and kept my attention on the red lights. As soon as the green lights lit, we were both off, squealing our tires.

  I was good at racing, but not so much with little go karts. No one really knew what I did in my spare time. I hoped to show Gabby soon, as I had a race coming up and I wanted her to be there. Even if I had to cut our time down to two weeks, it was still more than enough to wear her down. She needed to know there was more to me than just fighting.

  Turn after turn, we kept up with each other’s pace, neither one of us taking the lead. She rammed into me a few times, but I corrected myself and kept up with her. I honestly thought I was going to have to slow it down for her, but she was doing better than anyone I’d ever seen, including myself. Her lines were perfect and she sailed through the track like it was nothing. I had to say I was impressed.

  Two laps down and one more to go. Tension ran high, but I could see the light in her eyes when she peered over at me. We had two more turns and then it was the straight away to the finish line. With my foot all the way down on the gas, I floored it forward, but Gabriella never left my side. Once the line was crossed, we both slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching stop.

  Gabriella unstrapped her helmet and laughed. “I so beat you, Pax.”

  Getting out of the kart, I lifted up my helmet and shook my head. “Sorry, sunshine, but you’re wrong. Let’s see what the guys have to say.”

  All three workers were standing by the monitor looking at the video. By the looks on their faces, I’d say they didn’t know who won. It was too close to call.

  “What’s the verdict,
guys?” Gabriella asked them.

  They were young, probably in their early twenties and they didn’t know what to say. Even when Gabriella looked at the screen, her brows furrowed. “Hmm . . . it kind of looks like a tie.”

  “That’s what I said,” one of the guys said. “I guess it’s up to you two.”

  All three of them walked off and left us at the screen. It really did look like it was a tie. “You surprised me. I didn’t think you had it in you,” I teased.

  Holding her helmet in her hand, she smiled up at me. It was the first time I’d seen a genuine smile on her face since she’d been with me. “What can I say? I’m a natural.”

  “So what do you want to do about the terms? If you want to take the two weeks off of the month, you can. You totally kicked ass out there.”

  We started toward the prep room to return our gear, but she stopped me with a hand on my arm. “You would do that even if I didn’t clearly win?”

  Smirking, I opened the door to the prep room and placed my helmet back on the shelf and my jumpsuit in the basket. “You earned the two weeks off. To be fair, however, you should know that if you cut out those weeks, you’ll be making it up by doubling the amount of time we spend together. It’s your choice though.”

  She groaned and took off her jumpsuit. “I swear I knew there had to be a reason you agreed to the bet. Fine, I’ll take the two weeks. I might as well get them over with instead of prolonging it.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?” I asked, holding open the front door.

  With her head held high, she threw her jumpsuit in the basket and sauntered past me. “Yep. I’m positive the more time you spend with me, the more you’re going to want me to leave.”

  Well, that wasn’t going to happen.

  I THOUGHT FOR sure I would win the race, but Paxton was pretty damn good. The whole way to his house he kept a smug smile on his face as if he knew something I didn’t. Did I make a mistake compacting our month into two weeks? I was starting to think I did.