The Promise (Neighbor from Hell Book 10)

by R. L. Mathewson

  Deciding that it would probably be in her best interest to stay where she was, she somehow managed to roll over onto her back, reached up and grabbed her blanket and the pillow that she’d been forced to discard earlier. Once she was settled in for the night, she grabbed the book that she’d helped herself to from Reed’s library, sighed, shifted a little to the right and then a little bit to the left until the hallway light streaming into the living room hit her book just right.

  With a satisfied sigh, she found where she left off only to groan when her phone started to vibrate again. Determined to ignore it, she focused on her book only to find herself blinking a few seconds later when it was plucked out of her hands and she found herself staring at a pair of men’s well-polished black leather shoes. Really hoping that this wasn’t going to end badly, she looked up, taking in the dark dress pants, the dark blue shirt and black tie that looked familiar until she found herself looking up at the man that really didn’t look all that happy to see her.

  Not that she could blame him.

  Well, she could, but since she had absolutely no idea what she did to piss him off today, she settled for clearing her throat and going for a smile that she really hoped would appease the large man glaring down at her.

  It didn’t.

  Appease him that is, but it did manage to make that little muscle in his jaw clench. Deciding that it was time to look into other sleeping opportunities, she cleared her throat, shifted to get up only to sigh when the large bastard somehow managed to sit down on the couch above her without stepping on her and put his feet up on the coffee table.

  “So, tell me something, Joey,” Reed drawled while she laid there, grumbling to herself as she turned over and began crawling out from beneath his legs.

  “Yes?” she said, sighing heavily as she resigned herself to sleeping on her bedroom floor with that disturbing sleeping bag after all.

  “Is there a reason why you’re not answering your phone?” he asked as the item in question continued to vibrate its way across the coffee table.

  Nodding, she said, “Because my religion forbids me to.”

  “I see,” he murmured, sounding thoughtful, “and what religion would that be?”

  “The one that allows me to live,” she said only to sigh when her ass proved problematic.

  “So, the fact that your brother just called me to chew me out was…”

  “Unfortunate?” she said with a hopeful smile that he had no chance of seeing since she was still busy trying to wiggle her ass free.

  “So is this,” Reed said, drawing her attention to find him reaching for-

  “Oh, crap,” Joey mumbled helplessly, watching as he picked up her phone and gave her no other choice but to do the unthinkable.

  Chapter 20

  “What the hell just happened?” Reed asked as he sat there, trying to make sense of what just transpired while the woman that had crawled onto his lap and robbed him of the ability to think checked her email.

  “What do you mean?” the woman who he would swear on his life had been close to tears only seconds before asked distractedly as she continued checking her email on her phone while he sat there wondering if he’d imagined the whole thing.

  One minute, he was answering her phone and the next Joey was on his lap, phone in her hand, bottom lip trembling along with a well-placed sniffle here and there that had his best friend, an ex-marine and a man known for having zero tolerance for any bullshit, backtracking, apologizing and begging her not to cry.

  And Joey…

  Was completely fucking oblivious to the fact that she was straddling his lap in nothing more than a pair of black panties and an oversized tee shirt. She was also shifting to get comfortable and humming absently as he sat there, desperately trying to remember that this was his best friend’s sister. When she shifted a little too close to the part of him that didn’t care, he grabbed hold of her hips and held her still.

  “The sniffles, lip trembling, and sad little mumbles that made up the bullshit that you just pulled,” Reed managed to get out instead of the groan of pleasure that was threatening to break free as his hands encountered smooth skin and the generous curve of her bottom that was starting to become his favorite thing about her.

  “Oh, that,” Joey said absently with a little frown that had her eyebrows scrunching up adorably as she continued to read.

  “Yes, that,” he murmured, wondering if he’d ever touched anything so soft before.

  Shaking her head, she gave a little sigh and a shrug, “I’m not proud of it, but sometimes he doesn’t really leave me much of a choice.”

  “Like when he’s threatening to beat the shit out of your boss and wring your neck for not calling him?” Reed said, running his gaze over those small beautiful tan thighs holding him just right.

  “Exactly like that. At least this will buy me a few days before I have to figure out what I’m going to tell him,” Joey said, nodding in agreement as he looked up to find her lips twitching as she swiped to the left, absently caressing her skin with his thumbs, wondering how she’d managed to wrap Jackson around her little finger and terrified that he wouldn’t mind if she did the same thing to him.

  “He’s worried about you,” he said, still wondering how Jackson had managed those first few years after their grandparents passed away without losing his fucking mind.

  It had been a close call a few times there, but somehow Reed had managed to talk him out of going AWOL and doing something that would get his ass thrown in jail. The only thing that kept Jackson sane was the fact that they’d all kept tabs on her and on more than one occasion Reed had jumped in his truck and drove down there to make sure that she was okay.

  “I’m fine,” Joey said with a cute little frown as she shifted to get more comfortable.

  “Yeah, I can’t imagine why he worries,” Reed said dryly, unable to help but smile as she nodded in agreement.

  “I have no idea,” she said, with a pitying shake of her head as she continued to-

  “You’re reading a book, aren’t you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on her.

  “For the past ten minutes,” she said, nodding solemnly only to shut her phone off with a sigh, “I haven’t thanked you yet, have I?”

  “For what?” he asked, reluctantly letting her go and telling himself that it was for the best.

  “For not killing me and burying my body out back in an unmarked grave for starters,” Joey said as she continued sitting there, completely oblivious to just how badly he wanted to put his hands back on her and pull her closer.

  “That did take a lot of restraint,” he murmured, noting the way her lips twitched as she absently shifted on his lap, bringing her a breath closer and forcing him to clench his hands into fists before he did something stupid.

  “I know,” she said, nodding. “But you also gave me a place to stay, a job, and let’s not forget the offer to sleep in your room until my mattress is delivered.”

  “That was really generous of me,” he murmured.

  “It really was,” Joey murmured in agreement as she shifted, frowned, shifted again, moved to climb off his lap only to wince, clear her throat awkwardly and settled back on his lap with a small sigh as she began toying with his tie.

  “Your legs are asleep, aren’t they?”

  Nodding, she said, “Since the moment I sat down.”

  “I see,” he murmured thoughtfully as he glanced down at her legs and-

  “You wouldn’t?” she said, not really sounding all that sure as he sat there, unable to help but smile as he realized that he might just get his revenge after all.

  “You remember that promise that I made you?” he drawled.

  “Maybe we could talk about this?” she said, sounding hopeful as he slowly looked up to meet her beautiful blue eyes, not even bothering to bite back a smile as he reached down and-

  “Oh, my god! You bastard!” she shrieked as he gently ran his fingertips over her legs.

  “What’s wrong, Joe
y?” he asked, chuckling as he lightly ran his fingertips over her thighs, eliciting a startled gasp as the small woman that had made his life a living hell struggled to get off his lap, but unfortunately for her, her legs were still asleep and refused to cooperate.

  “Stop! You’ll wake Matt up!” she somehow managed to choke out as he continued his tickling assault.

  “He went out an hour ago. Looks like you’re on your own, Joey,” he said, breaking the news to her with a sad, pitying shake of his head as she tried to slap his hands away only to end up making things worse.

  “Oh, my god! Stop, you evil bastard!” she gasped, laughing while he continued running his fingertips over her legs as she was forced to grab hold of his shoulders only to give up her hold with a shriek of laughter and wrap her arms around him. She held on as he moved his tickling assault to her feet, paying particular attention to those cute little toes that he liked so much.

  “Reed!” she yelled, gasping on a shriek of laughter as she tightened her hold on him and wiggled and squirmed to get away.

  Chuckling, he ran his fingertips back up her legs only to feel his smile slowly disappear when he realized where all that wiggling and squirming had landed her. For a moment, he sat there watching her lips part on a shaky breath as her body trembled against his. Swallowing hard, he glanced up to find her beautiful blue eyes only inches away from his, watching him.

  “It’s late,” she whispered softly but made no move to leave.

  “Yes, it is,” he murmured.

  Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he continued running his fingertips over her thighs as he watched her lick her lips. When he reached her hips, he smoothed his hands down against her skin and slowly slid his hands around her until he was cupping her bottom and giving it a squeeze that had her releasing a shaky moan and tightening her hold around him. Unable to help himself, he gave her generous ass another squeeze before letting go so that he could run his hands over her legs before he brought his hands back to her hips and over her ass with a groan that was matched by a soft moan as she shifted on his lap and-

  Murmured, “Goodnight,” as she hastily climbed off his lap, stumbled, and promptly fell on her ass with a “That’s definitely going to leave a mark.”

  Chapter 21

  “What the hell just happened?” the man currently sitting on the couch next to her asked, again, but since she didn’t really think that he was looking for an answer and her ass hurt, she decided that it would probably be for the best if she didn’t say anything.

  That, and she didn’t actually have an answer.

  What she did have was a bruised ass, several limbs that were on the verge of falling asleep again, and another reason to avoid making eye contact with the man that she was definitely going to have to avoid in the future. Then again, something, mostly the fact that he kept glancing at her, muttering, “Damn it,” and shaking his head told her that wasn’t going to be a problem.

  It also told her that perhaps she should call it a night, find that lumpy sleeping bag that Matt had generously offered to let her borrow, and drag it into her room so that-

  Well, she didn’t know what she would do once she made it to her room, but for now, this plan seemed like her best bet so she was willing to go with it. Decision made, she shifted, moved to sit up and before she could mutter her first, “Owie,” she found herself in Reed’s arms and being carried toward the stairs.

  “You’re a pain in the ass,” he bit out and since she really couldn’t argue that one, she didn’t.

  “Ten years, Joey. Ten fucking years,” he said, sounding angrier with every passing syllable, letting her know that perhaps this was one of those times when she should probably keep her mouth shut.

  That was only confirmed when he carried her inside his room and headed toward the bathroom, muttering, “Ten fucking years,” again. When he carefully placed her on the bathroom counter, she bit back a wince of pain and even managed a murmured, “Thank you,” that quickly had her deciding to note all the possible exits when his eyes narrowed on her and he muttered, “Ten fucking years,” again.

  Before she could respond, and she really wasn’t sure that responding was in her best interest at the moment, she found herself plucked off the counter, a thick navy-blue terry cloth towel placed on the counter before she was carefully placed on top of it. While he muttered to himself, and even she had to admit that three days to drive the man currently glaring down at the kitten attaching itself to his leg to the point of a psychotic break was impressive, she couldn’t help but wonder what the hell happened downstairs.

  One minute, she was sitting on his lap, trying to catch her breath and escape the devious bastard’s tickling attack and the next…

  The next, she couldn’t get close enough to the man that she’d vowed to make pay for ruining her gravity experiment when she was three. In retrospect, that might have been for the best since she probably wouldn’t have survived the trip off her grandparent’s roof, not during a blizzard at least, she thought absently as she watched him tear through the bathroom closet.

  “You’re driving me crazy, Joey,” he said, shooting her a glare before returning to whatever he was doing with another muttered, “Ten fucking years,” confirming her earlier assumption that he’d snapped.

  “I’m sorry,” she said because she had no idea what else she was supposed to say to him even as she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever seen him this angry before.

  Probably not.

  “In my defense, I seem to drive everyone crazy,” she pointed out, deciding to follow that up with a sheepish smile that quickly disappeared with a murmured, “Right,” and a nod when his eyes narrowed on her and she decided that it might be in her best interest to shut up now. Unfortunately for her, she was too nervous to listen to reason at moment, which of course, she knew wouldn’t end well for her.

  Not. At. All.

  “Sorry,” she murmured as she did her best to avoid making eye contact with the very large and angry man that made her nervous.

  Really nervous, which explained what happened downstairs, she realized as she worried her bottom lip and watched as the man who was most likely regretting his decision to let her live slowly came toward her. She should have run when she had the chance, she realized. Not that she’d really had much of a chance, not with Reed this pissed. One second, he was tickling her and the next, the smile on his face had disappeared and she’d realized just how much she liked being in his arms.

  That’s when she panicked.

  It had been a perfectly normal response, she told herself, swallowing hard as Reed shot her another murderous glare and that’s when she realized that she wasn’t getting out of here alive.

  “You’re sorry?” he said, chuckling without humor and making her rethink her decision to avoid making her escape through second-floor windows. It also made her realize that she couldn’t stay here.

  “That’s great,” he said, nodding as he grabbed a large bag of Epsom salt and slammed the closet door shut. “You’re sorry for making my life a living hell, again.”

  She opened her mouth to apologize, but it was that “again” that had her pausing. Really hoping that she’d misheard him, she asked, “Again?”

  “Again,” he bit out as he angrily dumped half the bag of Epsom salt in the tub.

  “How exactly did I make your life a living hell before?” she asked as she climbed off the counter with a wince when the muscles in her ass protested the move.

  “By moving in next door,” he said coolly while she stood there, digesting that with a murmured, “I see,” and a nod before saying, “There’s just one problem with that.”

  “And what’s that?” he asked, sighing heavily as he reached down and gently pulled the kitten off his leg.

  “You’re the one that made my life a living hell.”

  *-*-*-*

  “And how do you figure that?” Reed asked as he opened her bedroom door, dropped the furry little bastard gently on the floor and prom
ptly shut the door so that he could deal with the little pain in the ass once and for all.

  “Maybe because it’s true?” Joey said, blinking up at him.

  “Bullshit,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the delusional little pain in the ass.

  “Really?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest in a sad attempt to mimic his stance and looking so fucking adorable doing it.

  “Really,” he said, moving closer so that he could glare down at the little brat.

  “Should we talk about the playground?” she asked, moving closer so that she could glare up at him.

  “Let’s,” he said, more than willing to finally have it out with the little pain in the ass.

  “Because of you, none of the other kids would play with me,” Joey bit out.

  “That had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the fact that you were an annoying pain in the ass,” he said, moving even closer so that he could glare down at the little brat that had turned his childhood into a fucking nightmare.

  “Really? Cause I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that you told everyone that I had cooties,” she said, making his lips twitch despite the fact that he was still on edge.

  If she hadn’t climbed off his lap when she had…

  He had to bite back a groan just thinking about all things they could be doing on the couch right now…the things he wanted to do to her. He shouldn’t be thinking about how soft her skin was or wonder how it would have felt to slide his hands inside her panties and cupped her bare ass, or about the incredibly sexy moan she’d made when she’d shifted against his cock. He sure as hell shouldn’t be wondering if she’d moan his name when he fucked her. Standing here wondering just how soft her pussy was or how fucking tight she was, was fucking pointless because he would never find out.

  But the longer that he was near her, the less he cared that he wasn’t supposed to want her. Instead of leaving like any sane man would have, he found himself moving even closer.