Page 24 of Finding Redemption

He set his bottle on the counter and leaned forward on his forearms.I watched over the rim of my mug, trying not to drool at how his muscles flexed with each breath he took.But I was enjoying the sound of his voice too.A smooth baritone that caressed over me.It rubbed down my spine, skimmed across my skin like a physical touch.Addictive.

“It was just talk at first, but when I retired, I was bored.Luck and I bought an old warehouse and remodeled it.Starting a gym was easy enough, but it was the security aspect we had to figure out.”His mouth ticked up on one side.“I honestly thought it would just be a one-and-done kind of thing.But now we have thirty, spread out across the country.It’s still primarily for fighters, but we have an extensive athlete clientele.Olympians, footballers, basketball and baseball players, soccer stars.They all have a safe place to work out while they’re traveling.”

“You seem passionate about it,” I observed.“But when you mention traveling, you look upset.”

“That’s not because of work,” he dismissed.

“Then what is it?”

“Maybe I don’t want to leave you.”

Heart pounding, I carefully set the cup of tea on the counter before I dropped it.“Oh,” I whispered, ducking my head.“You don’t have to worry.Bella and I have settled in well together.The two of us will be fine while you’re gone.”

Paxton blew out a harsh breath as he straightened.“I’m not worried about you and Bella.I just don’t want to be away fromyou, kitten.If you didn’t have that doctor’s appointment, I would insist you come with me.”

“But Bella has school,” I muttered.He called me kitten all the time now, but I’d discovered I liked it.It was when anyone else but him tried to call me sweetheart or honey that my skin felt too tight.When he spoke to me, I had no flashbacks of confined spaces or the memory of how badly my body had ached after being beaten until I couldn’t stand on my own.

Laughing, he moved until only a few inches separated us.I could feel the heat coming off his body, and it took every last ounce of willpower I possessed not to lean toward him.“You’re a real pain in the ass, do you know that?”I shrugged, causing him to laugh again.“I don’t want to go.If I could get out of this, I would, but I fucking can’t.”

“Because you’re so worried about what the doctor will say?”I finally tipped my head up enough to see his face.He clenched his jaw, and I took that as a yes.“People suffer from migraines all the time.Many of them have it worse than I do.Mine aren’t nearly as frequent compared to them.”

“I want to be there with you, but that’s not the only reason I don’t want to go.”He lowered his head until his breath brushed over my cheek.“I don’t want to be anywhere you aren’t.”

All the air left my lungs in a rush.My mouth wouldn’t work, even if I could have articulated a full sentence.Four of my five senses failed me, because all I could see was him.His thick, sooty eyelashes.A thin scar just beneath his bottom lip that I’d never noticed before, mostly because if I was close enough to see his mouth, I couldn’t look at anything else, not even the edges of the tattoo that slightly climbed his neck.

“Paxton.”I wasn’t sure what I was going to say, but I hadn’t meant for his name to come out all husky, almost sexy.

Seeing his eyes dilate told me he liked it.“Say it again.”He growled the command.“Say my name, kitten.”

“Paxton,” I breathed, taking an unconscious step closer.

“Fuck,” he groaned, pressing his forehead to mine.“I feel weak when you’re this close.But then you look up at me, and I feel like a motherfucking god.Which is the truth?Who holds the power, kitten?”

“I-I don’t know,” I answered honestly, but I wished I had the answer.Because he was right.One of us had some serious power here, and I wasn’t confident that it was me.

He wrapped his arms around me, tucking me against all his hardness.

Allhis hardness.

A shuddery breath left me.My entire body was trembling.Every inch of me felt like it was wrapped in fire, but I only wanted to get closer.Not even the voice of reason screamingDanger!in the back of my mind could make me move away from him, though.My arms snuck around his waist, my hands flattening against his sticky back.His skin was still slightly sweaty, and I wanted to write my name in it, brand him as mine.

“Kitten,” Paxton rasped.“I need you to turn around and go upstairs.Every part of me is screaming to kiss you, and I know that I won’t stop at just your lips.Ah fuck, baby.I sure as hell won’t be leaving in the morning if that happens.There is no way I can leave this house if I get more than a little taste of you.So, please.I’m begging you.Run.”

ChapterFifteen

Brooke

When my alarm blared,I was tempted to throw it against the wall.I’d tossed and turned, trying to ignore the ache deep between my legs.Twice, I’d gotten out of bed, but I’d stopped myself from going to Paxton’s room before I’d gotten to the door.

One kiss wouldn’t hurt anyone…would it?

He’d been exaggerating when he’d said he wouldn’t be able to stop at my lips…just a little?

There was no way he’d meant it about not wanting to be anywhere I wasn’t…right?

Dawn was breaking when sleep finally took me prisoner, but I couldn’t escape Paxton in dreamland.I was haunted by the feel of his arms around me, the ghost of his mouth brushing over mine.My imagination had run rampant, and I’d dreamed of him kissing me.Everywhere.That was when my alarm went off, and I’d had to open my eyes to the harsh reality of a new day.

Every inch of my body ached, and even after another shower, I felt sticky between my legs.

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