Page 71 of Coerced

Continuing to offer her scratches and rubs to make up for my absence lately, I took a sip of my tea and continued to stare out the window with my thoughts running wild.

It was Saturday, mid-morning, and it was my first full day off since last Sunday. I intended to enjoy it fully, and that started off by sleeping in this morning. Given the late hour when I returned home last night, it was reasonable to assume I wouldn’t be hopping out of bed at six this morning. But I certainly slept in even later than I would have anticipated, and that was all likely due to me not being able to just close my eyes and drift off when I got home.

How could I have done that when I couldn’t stop replaying my conversation with Paxton and the kisses we’d shared over and over in my mind?

When I finally woke up this morning, I could still feel his kiss lingering on my lips. Everything from the possessiveness in his kiss and how he held me close to the softness of his lips and the taste of his tongue.

Though I’d gotten a lot from having his lips on mine, it still wasn’t nearly enough of him. It was like I’d been branded by the hot kisses we’d shared.

I loved it.

And I spent some time in bed both last night and this morning, allowing myself to soak up the feeling it gave me. Eventually, I got myself up and made breakfast. I’d just finished that, and now I was here with Sasha continuing to think about Paxton while I looked out my window.

He was out there with his dogs and some kids from the neighborhood, and I was trying to keep myself right where I was. As long as I was thinking about the night I had ahead of me, the likelihood of me walking outside to join Paxton uninvited was slim.

A date.

We were going on our second date—though it was the first official one as two people who had admitted through mostly nonverbal contact that there was a desire for something more than friendship between us—and I was both nervous and excited about it.

Paxton had said so much to me last night that I hadn’t realized I needed to hear, and it was only just the beginning. There was bound to be more of that in store for me this evening.

On the thought of what might have been ahead for metonight, a shiver ran along my spine. After Paxton had shown me the kind of man he was, I didn’t know how I was expected not to feel some desire for him. The kindness and compassion he showed for animals or even the kids in the neighborhood were enough to make him appealing. But that wasn’t all that made up Paxton.

He was the kind of man who’d get involved in a situation in the middle of the night to protect me from someone who wanted to cause me harm. He’d followed that up with coming to the place where I worked the next evening just so he could offer me the comfort and reassurance he thought I needed after that experience.

Was I expected to hold myself back from him when he had it in him to be that kind of man for me? Kissing him had been incredible, but I wanted more. And I was at the point now where I was convinced that if Paxton attempted to take things to another level, I wasn’t going to turn him down.

The group of children outside had all just doubled over with laughter at something Paxton had said to them. There wasn’t anything bad about this guy. He was as honest and genuine and good of a man as I could have ever hoped to meet, let alone move in next door to.

“Maybe we should call Britney for some advice,” I murmured, not taking my eyes off of the sight in front of me. “I think she could offer some guidance or suggestions how I can get through tonight without making a fool of myself.”

Sasha meowed her agreement.

So, I reached out to set my mug on the end table and lifted my phone in my hand. A moment later, Britney’s voice came through the line. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“I kissed Paxton.”

“What?!”

“He’s taking me out to dinner tonight.”

“Oh my God.”

“He might be the best man I’ve ever known in my whole life.”

There was barely a moment of hesitation before Britney demanded, “Tell me what’s going on.”

I couldn’t stop myself from grinning stupidly. Then, I dove in and told Britney everything that had happened. Of course, she was horrified to learn someone had followed me home from the bar, but she got over that quickly once I told her everything Paxton had done to save me and how he’d threatened the guy on my behalf.

In the end, she didn’t have any real advice as to what I needed to do going into tonight. The way she saw it, Paxton liked me as I was. There was no need for me to change anything to try to impress him more than he already seemed to be.

After my call with Britney, I decided it was time to get up and walk away from the window. I busied myself with household chores for a few hours until I needed to stop and get myself ready for my date with Paxton.

I took my time primping, wanting to make sure I looked good for him, and much to my delight, the moment I opened the door to him, Paxton didn’t hesitate to share his approval.

“Holy fuck. You look amazing, Aria.”

I blushed and smiled coyly. “Thank you. You look great, too.”