Hoping nobody would follow me, I rushed into the bathroom and shut myself inside.
It had been a long while since I felt so unsettled and out of control. But the combination of thinking of my loving parents' deaths, pulling back from time with my friends and the crazy feelings that slammed into me whenever I looked at Paxton, was all too much.
All of it was eating at my sanity and my throat felt tight as if a Boa Constrictor was wrapped around it, cutting off my oxygen.
I couldn’t stay in the bathroom or the house. I grabbed the handle needing to escape and threw open the door. And ran right into a hard, male chest. The man’s hands lightly gripped my upper arms.
At first, fear struck a chord within me because I’d just been thinking about the deaths of my mother and father. But then, as I looked up at the person I was smashed up against, my hands having gone to his chest in protection, I gazed into the most mesmerizing eyes.
I knew I wasn't in danger of being physically hurt, but a different kind of danger lurked where Paxton was concerned.
Something told me that the man could hurt my heart far more than it was already crushed from the betrayal and loss I’d already endured.
Anxiety clawed at me and my breaths came out in a quick rhythm that mimicked the erratic thumping in my chest. My nails dug into the hard muscles on Paxton’s chest without thought.
Between his mesmerizing eyes, the feel of him against my palms, and the tantalizing scent that seemed unique to Paxton himself, my breathing ramped to epic levels and my eyes blurred.
“Hey, hey, breathe for me, darlin’.” A warm, firm hand touched my cheek and gentle voice washed over me.
It should have calmed the storms inside me but only seemed to ignite something more.
I was losing focus on those piercing blue eyes and sinking fast.
Paxton’s hand left my face and wrapped around my waist. He pulled me closer to him and before I even had a chance to anticipate what was about to happen, his mouth was on mine.
And that was all it took. I forgot everything else that I’d been upset about because the second his lips were on mine, I couldn’t think about anything else.
It was magic.
He didn’t pressure, but somehow he still took. I was a puppet in his show and what he was showing me felt like nothing I’d felt before. He was pulling the strings and I followed.
When his soft, velvety tongue slid across the seam of my mouth, I opened for him. Our tongues dueled, breaths mixed, and the kiss was more than I had imagined it could be.
Months ago when I met Paxton, I may have wondered a few times what it would feel like to be kissed by him. Now I knew exactly how phenomenal it was and I was afraid I’d crave it.
A small moan of protest left my lungs as he gently pulled back, ending the kiss.
“I’m sorry, Capri.” He stared at me with remorse in his eyes. “You were panicking and when I thought you might hyperventilate, I had to do something to distract you.”
Well shit, I didn’t want a pity kiss. Not that I should have been kissing him or anyone else for that matter, but it sucked to think it wasn’t because he wanted it as much as I did.
I dipped my head and stared at the floor, embarrassed.
With one hand still wrapped around my back, he used his free hand and placed a finger under my chin, lifting it to meet his eyes.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve wanted to feel your lips against mine since the second I laid eyes on you, but I should have asked permission or been sure it’s what you wanted.”
All the air left my lungs at his confession. That fluttering in my belly I got when he was around started up again and my heart beat a mile a minute. I opened and closed my mouth a few times trying to get words out.
I must have looked ridiculous and like a fish out of water.
When Paxton smiled at me, the dimples on his cheeks about did me in. They were absolutely adorable, sexy, and undeniably a lady killer.
A sour feeling hit my stomach at the thought of him with a bunch of women but I had no right to think that way.
Paxton wasn’t mine. Men and relationships were off the table for me. I would just have to cherish the one kiss and forget about the gorgeous man in front of me.
I’d told the ladies before that he looked like he could be an underwear model with his dirty blond hair, his style, the killer dimples and deep cobalt-blue eyes. He may not be as big as the other guys fromNo Surrenderwhere he worked part of the time when he wasn’t off saving people with his search and rescue job, but the man had a body to die for.
