The Promise (Neighbor from Hell Book 10)

by R. L. Mathewson

  “We need to talk.”

  *-*-*-*

  “Don’t you want to catch up with Jackson?” the small woman in his arms asked, sounding hopeful as he tightened his hold around her and picked her up.

  “And why would I do that?” he asked as he threw her over his shoulder and carried her into the bathroom.

  “Because he missed you?” she offered as she shifted to get more comfortable as he continued walking to his bedroom.

  “But I’d rather talk to you,” Reed said as he glanced back at his closed bedroom door and realized this wouldn’t do.

  “Are you mad?” Joey murmured. “You seem mad.”

  “Furious,” he said absently as he considered taking her to his office only to quickly dismiss the idea since he didn’t want any interruptions. It also meant that they couldn’t leave, not unless he wanted to risk Jackson and Matt tagging along.

  That left him with only one choice.

  “Where are we going?” Joey asked as he headed for the fireplace.

  Telling himself every step of the way that he had no choice, he pushed the third brick to the right until he heard a click like his father showed him.

  “What was that?” Joey asked, going still.

  Ignoring her, he pulled the built-in bookshelf that his great grandfather built away from the wall, revealing the cold dark passage that he hadn’t known existed until four years ago. He wasn’t supposed to be doing this, but at the moment, he really didn’t care. He needed to talk to her and he didn’t want to have to worry about being interrupted.

  Right now, he wanted answers.

  With that in mind, he reached inside the stairwell and flicked on the light switch that his father installed years ago for his mother. It was the only thing that had changed since his great-great-great-great-great grandfather built the room and his father only did that because of what happened when Jessie, his best friend and tomboy that grew up across the street, stumbled across the secret passage by accident seconds before she fell down the stairs.

  His father was an easy-going man, always had a smile on his face, but whenever he looked at the small scar that sliced across his wife’s chin you could see the pain in his eyes at the reminder of just how close he came to losing her. His father wanted to seal the passages after that, but by then Reed’s mother had fallen in love with the room and refused to let him do it. Knowing better than to argue with her, his father installed lights in the stairwell and two in the room below to make sure it never happened again.

  Joey didn’t say another word as he stepped into the cold stairwell and pulled the bookshelf closed behind him by the knotted rope. Shifting the quiet woman over his shoulder, he carefully made his way down the steep stairs and through the narrow passage, pausing by the wide opening to flick the lights on before he carried her into the small room below. Without another word, he placed her on her feet and waited, curious to see her reaction.

  For a moment, he watched as she took it all in from the whitewashed walls that had turned a softer cream color over the years to the cast iron lamps giving off a soft glow that his father installed, the dark wainscoting that lined the room, the small settee placed against the wall, the thick carpet laid out in front of the large stone fireplace that hadn’t been lit since he’d bought the house that was bordered by shelves filled with books on every subject. It wasn’t a large room, but it had made his great grandmother Emily and so many of the Bradford wives that followed happy. As he watched Joey look around the room, taking in every detail, he couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to spend his evenings in this room sitting by the fire, holding her in his arms, and he had to admit that it was a tempting picture.

  “Start talking,” he said, walking over to the fireplace and began filling the grate with firewood from the wood box that his father had kept well-stocked for his mother and couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he was doing.

  He should be upstairs talking to Jackson right now, he thought even as he lit a match and started a fire, but instead, he was down here thinking about what Matt said. The little bastard was wrong, but on the off-chance that he wasn’t…

  God, he hoped he was wrong because he couldn’t stomach the idea of making her-

  “This is a first edition,” the little brat that he was worried about whispered reverently, drawing his attention to find her standing on her tip-toes as she struggled to read the titles on the top shelf.

  “Joey-”

  “Look at the binding on the Huckleberry Finn book,” she said with a wistful sigh.

  “Joey, we-”

  “So many pretties,” she mumbled with a whimper that had his lips twitching as he stood up and walked over to her.

  “We need to talk,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

  “About the pretties?” she asked, sounding so damn hopeful.

  “No, baby,” he said, pulling her closer so that he could kiss the back of her neck. “Not about the pretties.”

  “But-”

  “No,” he said, chuckling when he felt her small shoulders slump in defeat.

  “But I love the pretties,” she mumbled sadly, making him smile as he turned his head so that he could press a kiss against the side of her neck.

  “Do you?” Reed asked, closing his eyes on a groan as he breathed her in, taking in the scent of the tea tree and lemon shampoo that she liked to use as he ran his hands over her soft belly.

  “I want to be buried with them,” she said, nodding solemnly only to moan and reach back so that she could slide her hand behind his neck when he kissed her throat.

  “And do you know what I want?” he asked, unable to help but run his hands down to her hips and back again as he kissed her neck even as he couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing to him. When he was away from her, he couldn’t stop thinking about her and when he was with her…

  He couldn’t think straight.

  “What do you want?” she asked, her voice catching on a moan as he slid his hands over her breasts.

  “You.”

  Chapter 32

  “Is this what you wanted to talk about?” Joey asked, tightening her hold on the shelf above her as her head dropped forward on a moan.

  “No,” he said as he continued running his hands up her back and over her shoulders as he used his hold to push her forward so that her bottom was pressed back against-

  “Oh, god,” she managed to get out when she felt how hard he was.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something else,” he said as she felt him press a kiss against the back of her neck, something that she was quickly becoming addicted to as his hands slid down her back and around to her stomach.

  “Was it about the pretties?” she asked, licking her lips while she watched as he slowly unsnapped the jeans that she’d changed into after work.

  Chuckling, he kissed the back of her neck again and said, “No, it wasn’t about the pretties,” as he pushed her jeans down, taking her panties down with them.

  “Was it about Jackson?” she asked, really hoping it wasn’t about Jackson because she wasn’t sure that talking about Jackson would end well right now.

  “I thought we’d agreed not to talk about him at moments like this,” he said, pressing a kiss against the back of her neck as he ran his hands beneath her shirt and slowly pushed it up, running his fingers teasingly over her skin, and leaving a trail of goosebumps behind.

  “We did. We really did,” she readily agreed on a moan, licking her lips when she felt him gently grind against her bottom.

  “Then why don’t we talk about something else?” he suggested as he pushed her shirt up until she was releasing her hold on the shelf so that he could pull it off and toss it aside.

  “Like what?” she asked only to grab hold of the shelf again when he pressed a kiss between her shoulder blades as he reached around and cupped her breasts through her bra.

  “Why don’t we start with your sudden interest in camping?” he murmured as he slid his hands
between her breasts and unsnapped her bra, exposing her breasts to the cool air. “You can explain why you didn’t tell me about your plans and follow that up with why you didn’t want me to go with you.”

  “Is that why you were mad?” she asked, sighing softly when his warm hands cupped her breasts, giving them a gentle squeeze before releasing them so that he could trail his hands back down her body.

  “No,” he said softly, kissing a path down her spine as he went.

  “Then why were you mad?” she asked as she toed off her shoes and kicked them aside, careful not to interrupt the man kissing his way down her back.

  “Are you going to answer my question?” he asked, pressing a kiss against one cheek as he pushed her pants down the rest of the way, taking her socks off with them.

  “Probably,” she murmured, trying to remember what they were talking about, but for some reason thinking right now was a bit of a struggle.

  “Why the sudden interest in camping?” he asked, pressing a kiss against the other cheek.

  “Is there any chance that we could discuss this later?” she asked, hopeful that he’d take pity on her and continue touching her.

  “No,” he said, placing his hands on her hips and slowly turned her around as he kissed his way to her stomach.

  “Then do I get to ask questions, too?” she asked, as she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down onto the floor so that she could climb onto his lap.

  “You have questions?” he asked, placing his hands on her bare hips as he leaned in and brushed his lips teasingly against hers.

  “I always have questions,” she said, making his lips twitch as she reached between them and ran her fingers down his tie.

  “Then I’ll make you a deal,” he said, tightening his hold on her as he toed off his shoes and once he was done, he shifted them back so that they were sitting in front of the fire.

  “What kind of deal?” she asked as he ran his hands over her hips, chasing away the chill of the room better than the fire.

  “For every question that you answer, you get to ask a question,” he murmured as he leaned in and made it really difficult to think again.

  “That sounds fair,” she said, licking her lips on a soft sigh as he kissed her neck.

  “I thought you’d like that,” he said, running his hands over her bottom and gave it a squeeze that had her grabbing onto his shoulders and releasing a moan. “Why the sudden interest in camping?”

  “I’ve never been,” she said, licking her lips as he kissed his way to her chin.

  “Why not?” he asked, kissing her chin softly as his hands continued to caress her bottom.

  “Never had the chance,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

  “What about all those times my parents invited you to go with us?” he asked distractedly as he slid his arms around her and pulled her closer.

  “Should your parents really be mentioned at a time like this?” she asked, even as she had to wonder if they were even capable of having a normal conversation without sex.

  “Probably not,” he murmured as she felt his hand move down her back, over her bottom and-

  “Oh, god,” she whispered on a small groan as her eyes slid closed and her hands fisted in his shirt.

  “Why didn’t you go with us, sweetheart?” he asked as he continued slowly sliding his finger between her legs.

  “Wasn’t fair to Jackson,” she managed to get out, licking her lips as she shifted on his lap to give him better access only to end up pushing down against the large bulge straining against his pants and making them both moan.

  “What about you?” he asked, groaning against her neck as he slid his finger inside her.

  “I was fine,” she promised him as she pushed back on his finger.

  “Were you?” he asked as she buried her face against his neck with a moan.

  “Yes,” Joey said, rolling her hips so that she was moving against him as she rode his finger.

  “Then why did you leave?” Reed asked, kissing the curve of her neck.

  “School,” she said only to frown when he said, “That’s not the reason you left.”

  “Yes, it was,” she said, barely aware that she’d stopped moving or that he’d stopped touching her.

  “Was it?” he asked, not really sounding like he believed her. “Or was I the reason that you left, Joey?”

  Sighing, she sat back on his lap and opened her mouth to point out all the ways that he’d made her life a living hell only to find herself looking into his handsome face and saw just how much it bothered him to think that he was the reason that she’d left. For years, she imagined what it would be like to tell him off for all the crap that he’d put her through while she was sober so that she could actually savor the moment, but as she sat there looking into those incredibly kind eyes that she liked so much, she realized something.

  It didn’t matter.

  None of it did.

  “No,” she said, smiling as she reached up and cupped his face in her hands and leaned in and kissed him. “You weren’t the reason I left.”

  “I made your life a living hell, didn’t I?” he said on a resigned sigh as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

  “Yes, yes you did,” she said, smiling as she kissed him again. “But my leaving had nothing to do with you.”

  “Why do I have a feeling that you’re lying?” he asked, smiling as he leaned in and kissed her.

  “Cause you’re paranoid?” she asked, blinking innocently.

  “That tends to happen when you’re around,” he whispered seductively as he leaned in and kissed her neck.

  “I have that effect on people,” she admitted on a soft groan as he pulled her closer.

  The move caused her nipples to brush against the smooth material of his vest, making them harden even as she had to admit that she loved the way he looked in a suit. It actually surprised her how much she liked seeing him in suit given the fact that she normally preferred men in a pair of well-worn pair of jeans and a tee shirt, but there was just something about the way that Reed filled out a suit that left her licking her lips and imagining all the things that she wanted him to do to her.

  Speaking of things that she wanted him to do with her, she thought as she suddenly found herself laying on the floor only to decide that it was probably time to stop thinking when he pushed her legs apart and-

  It was definitely time to stop thinking.

  Chapter 33

  “I never got to ask my questions,” the small woman curled up in his arms mumbled as she snuggled closer to his side.

  “Was your question about the pretties?” Reed asked as he pulled the blanket that he’d snuck upstairs to get a few minutes ago over her shoulders.

  “Maybe,” she said after a short pause, making his lips twitch.

  “Would it make it easier if I just told you about the room?” he asked, pressing a kiss against her forehead as he watched the fire slowly die down to a soft glow, letting him know just how late it was.

  He should have left a while ago to go see Jackson, but he didn’t want to leave her. Even knowing that he probably wouldn’t see his best friend for another six months couldn’t make him leave her. Well, that and he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say to Jackson, especially since he didn’t know what this was anymore. The only thing that he knew was that he wasn’t ready for this to end.

  Not just yet.

  “It might,” she said, shifting to get closer only to shift again until she gave up trying to get comfortable on the unforgiving hardwood floor with a grumble and decided that he made a better mattress than the carpet.

  “Comfy?” he asked, his lips twitching as he waited for her to settle on top of him.

  “Getting there,” she said as she laid her head on his chest with a satisfied sigh and a-

  “Brat,” he said with a mock glare at the little brat looking up at him through innocent baby blue eyes that didn’t quite match that devio
us smile as she wiggled one last time, causing his poor exhausted cock to twitch.

  “You were saying?” she asked with a soft sigh as she finally settled on top of him.

  “That your grandparents should have spanked your ass,” he growled as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “They threatened to spank my ass many times, but they didn’t have the heart to go through with it,” she said with a heartfelt sigh.

  “You locked yourself in the pantry until they promised not to spank you, didn’t you?” he guessed.

  “Each and every time,” she said, nodding solemnly against his chest.

  “And Jackson?” Reed asked, absently tracing a path down her spine.

  “Was usually the reason that I locked myself in the pantry in the first place,” she said, making him chuckle.

  “I’m pretty sure that you drove him to drink,” he said even as he couldn’t help but notice just how good she felt in his arms.

  “I really did,” she said, sounding proud and for damn good reason.

  She’d been a nightmare from day one and Jackson…

  Jackson had barely been able to keep up with her. Poor bastard, he thought, chuckling as he remembered all the times that Jackson nearly lost his fucking mind over the years. There was the time when she’d decided that it was past time for her to teach herself how to swim by jumping into the fountain at the mall when she was three, leaving Jackson with no other choice but to jump off the escalator to save her. Then there was the time when she’d decided to set a trap for the monster living in her closet, which had resulted in Jackson getting trapped in there for six hours when he’d made the mistake of trying to figure out why there was a trail of cookies leading to her closet. Then there was the time when she was six and decided that the school bus was taking too long and decided to take her grandfather’s old riding lawnmower to school and poor Jackson ended up having to chase her through every neighbor’s backyard for a mile before she finally ran out of gas. She’d kept the poor bastard on his toes.