We made it upstairs in record time. There was no way in hell I wanted Ellen Sue to see me like this—naked and covered in Pax’s sperm. Embarrassment washed over me. It was already starting to dry between my legs and rubbed with each step. I was out of control. Then again, whenever Paxton Williams was involved I never seemed to be in charge of my body.

Paxton hadn’t let go of my hand the entire way, and for some reason I didn’t even try to pull away from him. Entering the bedroom, he slammed the door shut, let go of my hand, and punched numbers into the lock. The beeping only reminded me of this messed up situation. I didn’t wait around. Instead, the shower was calling my name.

Turning the water up as high as possible, steam started to billow into the room. The door to the bathroom clicked shut, and I didn’t for once think that Paxton would leave me alone to enjoy my shower in peace and get my head straight. Space would be my chance to build up reserves to resist him, and Pax being the man he was knew this. I wouldn’t have time to clear my head until he decided so.

Not turning to him, I entered the shower having to adjust the temperature quickly, my skin turning red from the heat. It felt wonderful, and I took a brief moment to let the water run over me and clear my head. It was the only time Pax would give me.

The door slid open and hands came to my hips, pulling me back onto hardness. My traitorous body fell into him, feeling his erection. I’d thought getting him off would make us even and hell, I tried to keep my orgasm from coming. But his mouth and lips were something to be cloned for every woman to feel. There was no way to hold it back. Therefore, losing the battle.

I lost my chance at the upper hand.

Paxton shifted behind me, the sound of a liquid coming out of the bottle. A soft, yet mildly scratchy material that I knew instantly was a loofa, moved up and down my back in slow, meticulous stokes. The aroma of coconut from my favorite beach breeze scented soap filled the air between us. I loved the beach and any reminders of it. The winters in Pennsylvania were full of cold and snow. I craved any reminder of warm weather, sand, and water I could get.

He rubbed every single inch of my flesh, and I’d never been more aroused in my life. Paxton was full of firsts for me, this being one. Desire bloomed with each stroke.

“Turn around.” His words were so deep and sexy my stomach clenched.

Slowly I turned, the spray now hitting my back. Paxton dropped down to his knees and stared up at me. He’s been the only one to make me want to give everything to him, just from a look. I was hypnotized and couldn’t stop staring.

He moved up and down my legs sending tingles and sparks everywhere, especially behind my knees. They nearly gave out, and I had to grasp onto Pax’s head to keep steady.

When he got to my inner thigh, he could’ve blown on me and I would’ve shattered into a million pieces. Frustration hit when he cleaned everywhere except my folds, the one place that ached for him. Easily he could relieve the pressure yet he didn’t, reminding me he had all the power between us.

“Love how you move your hips wanting more.”

A groan escaped my lips as I grabbed his head and pushed him to my core. His body shook with laughter, not that I cared. The only thing in that moment that meant anything was my impending orgasm. No one could give them like him.

The loofa went quickly over my pussy, then was gone and Paxton rose.

“Why do you do that?”

He leaned in close, nibbling on my lobe. “Then you stay on fire for me. Imagine what it will feel like with my cock inside of you, stretching and molding to my cock. Imagine me moving in and out, first slowly letting all your nerves wake up. Only then would I grab your hips and make you take every inch of my cock so you feel me in your throat. Over and over again I’d pound into you, getting harder with each thrust.”

I seriously thought I’d faint, right there in the shower to the hard tile. Luckily, Pax’s arm around me kept me upright and not tumbling down to a broken arm.

“You like it. You want it. You crave it.” He reached down and nipped my neck. “You can’t live without it.”

Pax sucked my flesh into his mouth hard, and I pulled away quickly. He knew I hated hickeys on women. My mother would come home late at night with several around her neck. Sometimes I thought she’d gotten in a fight with a vampire or something. It took me a few years to figure out what they were and instantly, I hated them.

It’s one thing to do it where your clothes could cover it up, but as many as my mother would come home with, nothing would cover it. Not even Dermacol.

I yanked away and hit his chest. “Don’t do that!” The screech echoed around the shower, mending into the sound of the water.

Paxton chuckled and moved to one of the bench seats that were in the shower. It was more off to the side and there were no jets of water, therefore cold and not somewhere I wanted to go. He opened his legs wide; his ball sack hung down and his cock rested on his abs.

He took it in his hand and began to stroke, his focus solely on me. It got even hotter in the space, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. His knuckles turned white as he moved up and down. When I touched him earlier, it was nowhere near as rough as this.

My arousal was out of control, and I clenched my legs together willing it to calm down. It didn’t want to listen.

Faster he moved, and his breaths turned shallow. It didn’t take him long and he was spraying all over the shower floor. It was hot. So very fucking hot.

He rose and pushed himself under the spray to rinse off then slapped me on the ass, hard. I jumped and said a few choice words to him, getting his gorgeous smile in return.

“Gotta leave for a bit. I’ll be back.” He stepped out. “Oh and don’t forget to clean my office. Unless you want Ellen Sue to clean it.”

On a chuckle he exited. Only then did I breathe.

I made fast work of showering, drying, and dressing. When I entered the office, the smell hit me first. It was our combined orgasm that hung in the air, intoxicating the space. The towels from upstairs were going to have to do for this task.

Tossing them to the floor, I kneeled and began to clean up the mess we made. Most of it was dry, and I was thankful the towels were a little damp from Pax and I drying off with them. Two birds, one stone.

It didn’t take long to do, and I felt much better that Ellen Sue didn’t do this task. She even told me that she sees herself as a mother figure—seeing this would be just wrong.

Papers, pens, paperclips and other odds and ends office stuff were strewn all over the floor. Silently, I hoped there weren’t any tacks. Quickly, I picked the items up and put them back in their space.

Two things hit me in that moment. The first was he didn’t lock me in the bedroom. The second was he said he had a man on my brother, which didn’t make a lick of sense.

He had me, and it didn’t have anything to do with Riley. There would be no reason to have a man on him. Add that into the fact his number was disconnected, the puzzle wasn’t adding up.

Gathering the papers, unabashedly, I rifled through them searching. Surely, if he had a man on Riley, he’d have something in here to prove it. Like maybe a contract or even contact information.

Right, Laurel. Paxton is going to put it on a Post-It note with the title, Guy watching Riley.

Sometimes I amazed myself at the stupidity. Paxton wasn’t the kind of man who would just leave things laying around. Especially when he knew I’d be in here cleaning up. He’s too cunning and smart for his own damn good.

That bit of information didn’t stop my hunt. After organizing the papers and coming up with nothing as expected, I took to the desk. I’d kick myself in the ass later if I didn’t at least try.

Rummaging through them, there was nothing of any significance. That was until I got to the very bottom drawer. Opening a file folder, there was a picture of a pregnant woman holding her stomach lovingly with a huge smile lighting up her face.

I hated my first instinct which was this woman was carrying Pax’s child. He was a bigger asshole than I originally thought, keeping me locked up here while he had a woman pregnant. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and do laps around the cabin.

Turning the pages and reading, shock filled me.

Paxton Williams. What the hell are you doing?

It was a contract with Darreen listed as the biological mother and Josephine as the mother. The father was Sterling. The papers inside showed the growth of the baby through sonogram pictures and well documented medical reports that for sure had to be done from a doctor.

The last two pages had my mouth dropping to the floor. Money. Lots and lots and lots of money, but it was vague what the money was for. Then the last page was a picture of a baby. Looking at the back of the picture, Josephine and Sterling’s name was on the back.

Was Paxton into some kind of baby making outfit? Or was this just a client he did accounting for. That’s what it had to be. A client. Blowing out a deep breath, I organized the rest of the mess and put everything back in the desk where it was supposed to be.

A small tingle came to the back of my skull. A warning. I’d always known Paxton was dangerous, what exactly did he do. Was he even really an accountant? Or was my mind just trying to find something else to keep him at a distance?

Hell if I knew. It didn’t hurt to ask; no matter what the answer he told me, at least I’d know. That was half the battle.

After finishing the room, I did a bit more exploring. Ellen Sue must’ve been in her room or something, but she was nowhere in sight.

The porch swing was calling my name, but the little flashing lights on the doors told me it was a no go. He had to have spent a lot of money on this system because it blocked me all the time. The living room had a large picture window, so I sat by it and enjoyed the green scenery.

I was still worried about Riley and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

When we were kids, I’d help him with his homework or make him dinner. My mom used to call me the mother hen. Not sure I really wanted that title, but in that he and I built a tight bond. That bond right now was telling me that something was off with him.

I dialed his number once more, holding the phone up to my ear and getting the same damn response. None of his friends’ names or numbers came to mind to call. He’d never had a true steady group of friends, but he always appeared happy to be with anyone. Riley was carefree. Nothing really shook him. He had no enemies so again, I wondered why Pax put a man on him. Was it to keep my brother from me? He wouldn’t do that; plus, no matter what, Riley wouldn’t stand for it.

Now, I wished he had a best friend so I could call them instead. I just wanted some source of information I could trust to know my brother was okay.

Unfortunately, all I could do was sit here, staring out a window, and hoping this was all just a nightmare that I’d wake up from any time now. Except it wasn’t. It was my life. A life I needed to get back in order.

Paxton may have a bit of control over me, but I could fight it. I’d have to fight it, if I wanted to come out on the other end unscathed.

Which, in the end, was probably the most foolish thing I could’ve thought. I’d put up a hell of a fight to keep my heart wrapped in chains. Sometimes though, strong people could break them with ease.

Paxton would. I knew it. He knew it. I needed to come up with a new strategy and had no clue what to do next.