Paxton's Promise Read Online Free PDF Page B

shoes on, I was ready to go. Paxton had two garages, one connected to his house, while the other was off to the side. It was much larger and had a second floor. From the music blaring, it had to be in that one.
    The door was open, so I made my way in and walked past the covered cars toward the stairs. It smelled like oil and lubrication sprays. There were black stains all over the floor where Paxton must have been working. I had no idea he could work on vehicles. Sometimes it was hard to picture fighters doing anything other than fighting. Our schedules were always so demanding and there wasn’t ever time to do much of anything other than eat, sleep, train, and fight.
    Heading up the stairs, I could see Paxton through the crack in the door, lifting his weights. He’s changed into a pair of shorts and his skin was shiny with sweat. Was it bad I wanted to lick him? What the hell. Get your shit together, woman. No, I didn’t want to lick him or do anything else that involved touching his body with mine. Fighters were off limits, especially him.
    Standing up straight, I opened the door and waltzed in, getting the full view of the room. He had everything you could ever need to train, with one exception—a practice ring. He did, however, have a large mat that could suffice. I sat down on the mat and began to stretch, feeling the pull as the muscles lengthened.
    “Have you told anyone you are here?” he asked, coming to the mat.
    He joined me on the floor and started stretching too. “Ashleigh. I called and told her the day you came over. I haven’t talked to her since then though.”
    “What about your brother?”
    “Oh God, no. He’d kill me if he knew I was here. He refuses to let me get involved with you guys. Why do you think Tyler and I kept our affair a secret?”
    “Yeah, but if nothing’s going on, what do you have to hide?”
    “Seriously?” I said, glaring at him. “The last thing you need is for me to have to explain the real reason why I’m here. We’d both get in trouble if anyone found out.”
    “So basically you’re saying you’d care if Scar came after me? I’m a little shocked, considering how you loathe me.”
    Getting to my feet, he did the same and stared down at me, waiting. “I don’t hate you, Paxton. I just don’t care for you. I appreciate what you did for Ryley and Ashleigh and I’m paying my debt. That’s all this is.”
    He stepped closer. “Is it? Because I don’t think you know what you want. Or maybe you do and you’re just too afraid to admit it.”
    When I moved back, he countered. “You’re wrong,” I whispered, feeling the chills fan across my skin. He was about to attack and I knew it, I could feel it. Practicing with my brother and Ryley was one thing, but with Paxton it was a whole different story.
    “What are you doing?” I demanded.
    With a wolfish grin, he circled around me like a lion hunting its prey. “You said your brother wanted you to train, right? Well, I’m going to help you. We all fight differently and I think you could benefit from my style.”
    “I’m quite happy with my own,” I said, slowly getting into stance. My body tingled in anticipation.
    “Yeah, but if my moves could help you win the title, it’s a win-win.”
    My chest rose and fell as my body went on hyper alert. Paxton was good at his floor game and if he took me down to the mat I didn’t know if I’d have the strength to fight him. Deep down I’ve wanted to get back in the ring with him. Now I had my wish. Instead of waiting, I swung and he blocked me, smiling as he deflected each and every jab. Paxton was the Light Heavyweight champion and outweighed me by about fifty pounds. There was no way I could fight someone like him and actually win.
    The muscles in his thighs twitched and I knew he was about to charge. Luckily, I jumped out of the way in time. I’d watched him train plenty of times, studying his moves. That was what a good fighter did, they studied their opponents