Page 28 of Paxton

She blinks a couple times as I release her despite wanting to hang on. I know if I hold her too much longer, I’ll ask questions she doesn’t seem ready to answer.

“I’ll go make sure our luggage is in the bedroom,” I say, my voice low and raw, barely containing the need pulsing through me.

I take a step toward the hallway that leads to the primary bedroom, but she stops me with a gentle hand on my wrist.

“Why didn’t you come to my room last night?” she asks, confusion lining the delicate features of her face.

My eyes widen. “Why didn’t you come to mine?”

Her lips part and she shakes her head.

I turn toward her again. “Did you not like what happened between us at the bar?” I finally ask. “Did you not enjoy it?”

“What?” she gasps.

“You’ve been distant the whole trip over here,” I continue with a shrug. “I swore you were into it but now I’m worried?—”

“Of course I was into it,” she cuts me off.

Those words perk up all of my senses. I take a step closer to her. “Then why have you pulled away from me all day?”

“Because,” she says on a loosed breath, emotion lining her eyes. “You’re…you’re Paxton,” she continues. “MyPaxton.”

“And?”

“And I can’t lose you,” she says, her voice soft. “If we continue to cross the lines like we did at the bar, and it doesn’t work out between us? I’ll lose you. You’re my best friend. My safe place. My freaking constant. I don’t want to be selfish and risk all of that because of how badly I want you.”

Her words slide beneath my skin with a warmth that threatens to burn me from the inside out. I close the distance between us, brushing a hand along her cheek. “You want me?”

A shudder goes through her and she nods against my hand. “I’ve wanted you for a very long time,” she admits, and the words ignite a fire in my soul.

“You have me,” I say, heart thumping hard against my chest. “In whatever way you want me.” I lean down, brushing my lips over hers, the contact feeling like a much-needed deep breath. “I won’t let this ruin us,” I continue, kissing the corner of her mouth, then just beneath her jaw, relishing the way she leans into me. “I want you. And I want to give you whatever you need. I want you totakewhatever you need from me. Always.”

“But, Pax,” she says, a little breathy. “You’ve already given me so much. Everything. I want to return it, not ruin things, but I don’t know how.”

“Just you,” I admit. “All I want is you.”

“You’re sure?” she asks, her words a whisper.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything than I am about you, Monroe.”

Something churns in her eyes, a combination of emotions that seem much deeper than a simple need to be satisfied?—

Her lips crush against mine, cutting off all coherent thought as she wraps her arms around my neck, drawing me closer, kissing me harder.

The kiss is unrestrained, her tongue meeting mine in a needy little way that has my cock twitching. Her hands fall from my neck to my chest, gliding down to the hem of my shirt before she tugs it up.

I step back, drawing the shirt over my head quickly before reaching for hers. She raises her arms, and I swear I’m about drop to my knees at that submissive move alone. I drop her shirt to the floor, groaning as she wiggles out of her skirt, leaving her in nothing but a matching set of dark blue lace.

I hurry out of my pants, then she’s in my arms again, our lips clashing, exploring, giving in to the need thrumming between the two of us. My heart threatens to burst right out of my chest despite my brain telling it to calm the fuck down. It’s almost impossible to separate the magnitude of what’s happening from what this needs to be. Because I may have been in love with her for years, but she’s not there yet, and I can’t put something that heavy on her.

So I do my best to submit to the present moment, floating on cloud nine with every kiss, every touch, every piece of her she’s giving me.

And since I have no idea if this will be the only time, I’m going to make damn sure I don’t waste a second.

CHAPTER 8

MONROE

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