The Promise (Neighbor from Hell Book 10)

by R. L. Mathewson

  “No,” she said, watching him move as a feeling of foreboding trickled down her spine.

  “I promised to look after you,” he said, trailing his fingers over the back of one chair, “and make sure that you were safe,” and then another, “and happy.”

  “I am happy,” she said, watching as he absently nodded and moved his attention to the bookshelves that Matt had installed at the back of the room for her.

  “I thought I could make you happy, but then I realized that I was fooling myself because I’ll never be able to give you what you deserve. I’m never going to be able to offer you anything more than a low-paying thankless job that you’re over-qualified for in a town that you couldn’t wait to escape,” he said as he made his way back towards the front of the class.

  “You don’t belong here, Joey.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” she asked as she watched him sit down at one the desks in front of her with a sigh.

  “Because I’m in love with you, Joey,” he said, while she sat there, trying to remember how to breathe.

  “I don’t want to play this game anymore. I don’t want to pretend that I’m not thinking about you all day or have to remind myself that I’m not allowed to touch you when we’re not alone. I don’t want to pretend that I’m not in love with you anymore and I don’t want you to go,” he said as he held her gaze.

  Swallowing hard, she reached over and hit Send as she got to her feet and walked around her desk. “You love me?” she asked, never taking her eyes off him as she pulled herself up onto her desk and sat down.

  “More than anything,” he said as he stood up. “Which is why I’m going to break my promise and offer you a low-paying, thankless job in a town that you couldn’t wait to leave so that I don’t have to live without you.”

  “Even though I’m a pain in the ass?” she couldn’t help but wonder as she watched him walk towards her.

  “Especially since you’re a huge pain in the ass,” he said, smiling as he stepped between her legs and leaned down so that he could kiss her forehead.

  “Wait, I didn’t say huge,” she said, frowning even as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “It needed to be said,” he said softly as he kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Do you know what else needs to be said?” she asked as she threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer so that she could kiss him.

  “That you love me?” he asked, brushing his lips against hers as cupped her face in his hands.

  “Maybe,” she said teasingly.

  “Do you love me?” he asked, pulling back so that he could look into her eyes as he waited for the words that she’d never thought she’d say, but as she looked into the emerald eyes that she loved so much she found herself saying, “I love you, Reed.”

  *-*-*-*

  “Let’s go home,” he said only to groan when he felt her small fingers work his tie loose.

  “Okay,” she said as she pulled his tie free and dropped it to the floor.

  “We can’t do this here,” he said, unable to stop kissing her as she slowly worked his shirt buttons free.

  “We really shouldn’t,” she agreed as she pulled his shirt free and ran her hands over his chest and down his stomach where she grabbed hold of his belt.

  “Then what are we doing?” Reed asked, cursing softly as she pulled his zipper down.

  “Making as many bad choices as humanly possible,” Joey said, making his lips twitch only to make him groan when she reached inside his pants and pulled him free.

  “You really are a bad influence,” he said as he placed his hands on her legs and slid them beneath her skirt.

  “I’ve heard that before,” she said as he moved his hands over her soft thighs while she slowly stroked his cock, making him groan with every slide of her hand.

  “I bet you have,” he said softly as he slid his hand over her thighs and down over her ass, giving it a squeeze that had his balls pulling up tight and his cock jerking in her hand.

  “So, there’s this fantasy that I’ve been having,” she said as he used his hold to bring her closer to the edge.

  “Oh, yeah?” he murmured as he leaned down, tightened his hold on her and stood up so that her legs were wrapped around him. “Want to tell me about it?”

  “I’m not sure that would be appropriate with you being my boss and all,” she said, nodding solemnly as he carried her back around her desk and carefully sat down in her chair so that she was straddling him.

  “That may cause a problem,” he said, turning the chair so that it was facing her desk.

  “It’s going to make this difficult,” she said with a sad shake of her head.

  “It really is,” he murmured in agreement as he picked her up and placed her on the desk.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked as he placed his hands on her thighs and pushed her legs apart.

  “I guess we’ll just have to go with my fantasy instead,” he said, pushing her skirt up so that he could press a kiss against one thigh and then the other.

  “What’s your fantasy?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair as he pushed her skirt up, exposing soft baby pink panties.

  “Which one?” he asked as he leaned down and pressed a kiss against the soft panty covered lips between her legs.

  “You have more than one?” she asked, making him chuckle as he pressed another kiss between her legs as he slowly pulled her panties down.

  “You could say that,” he said, sliding his arms beneath her legs and wrapped his arms around her bottom and pulled her closer.

  “And which one is this?” she asked, leaning back on her elbows with a soft moan as he pressed a kiss against her slit.

  “This,” he said, kissing his way down her slit, “is the one I had the first time I saw you sitting here.”

  “And what did you think about?” she asked, following that up with an, “Oh, god, Reed.”

  “About how soft you’d be,” he said, pressing a kiss against her lips.

  “How sweet you’d taste,” he said, following that up by running his tongue between her slit.

  “And how fucking tight you’d be,” he said, running his tongue over her swollen clit, once, twice, before he slid his tongue inside her. For several minutes, he took his time sliding his tongue inside her as she ran her fingers through his hair, moaning his name as he fucked her with his tongue.

  “Do you know what else I’ve fantasized about?” he asked, pulling back after one last lick.

  “No,” she said, licking her lips as he stood up and pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside.

  “I think about you all day,” he said, wrapping his hands around his cock and slowly stroked himself as he moved closer. “I think about how good you feel wrapped around me, how wet you get for me,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her, “and just how much I love you.”

  She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him as he pressed the tip of his cock against her slit as continued stroking himself. He moved the tip between her slit, teasing her as he swallowed her moans. God, he wanted her. He’d never wanted a woman this way and he knew that he would never be satisfied until she was his.

  “Reed,” Joey said on a whimper that had him releasing his cock. For a moment, he considered picking her up and bending her over her desk, something that he thought about at least a hundred times a day, but he wanted more.

  Placing his hands on the desk, he kissed his way back down to her neck, focusing on the spot that drove her crazy as she ran her hands over his shoulders, down his chest, around his back and finally down to his ass where she used her hold to pull him closer so that the tip of his cock was rubbing against her slit, again.

  He picked her up and sat back down, settling her so that she was straddling his lap. As he leaned in to kiss her, he reached down and pulled her skirt out of the way as she placed her hands on his shoulders and managed to raise herself so that when she sat back down, she was taking him inside her. />
  “This is what you fantasized about?” she asked breathlessly as she wrapped her arms around him and shifted her hips.

  “Yes,” he said only to hiss in a breath when she took him all the way to the hilt.

  “You didn’t want to bend me over the desk?” she asked teasingly as her grip on his shoulders tightened as he placed her hands on her hips and helped move her.

  “Next time,” he promised, already deciding that they’d take this to his office next time so that they could live out that fantasy.

  “Will there be a next time?” she asked breathlessly as she licked her lips hungrily as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “Absolutely,” he said as he kissed her, taking his time running his hands over her as she slowly moved on him.

  “And why’s that?” she asked on a moan as she ran her fingers through his hair.

  “Because I’m never letting you go.”

  Chapter 46

  “Any regrets?” the incredibly handsome man lying by her side asked, drawing her attention away from the small fire crackling in the fireplace that had slowly been lulling her into a deep sleep to find Reed watching her with one of those incredibly sexy smiles on his face.

  “Yes, quite a few in fact,” she said, sighing wearily and forcing herself to bite back a smile when his eyes narrowed on her.

  “You regret marrying me?” the man that had spent the past sixteen hours dragging her to New Hampshire and back again, asked.

  “I really can’t say. At least, not until I have all the information,” she said with a helpless shrug.

  “Information?” he asked, sliding his hand beneath the sheet covering them and over her stomach so that she could feel the black wedding band that matched the one on her hand as he slid his hand down her stomach.

  “I like to make informed decisions,” she said, spreading her legs for him as she did her best to look innocent.

  “I see,” he murmured, sounding thoughtful as he slid his hand between her legs. “Do you regret marrying me?”

  “No,” she said softly, unable to help but smile as she reached up and ran traced his jaw lightly with her fingertips. “I could never regret that.”

  “Then what would you like to know?” Reed asked, turning his head so that he could press a kiss against her palm as he rubbed his hand between her legs.

  “Well, I have questions,” Joey said, licking her lips as he slowly caressed her.

  “Of course, you do,” Reed murmured, his lips twitching with amusement as he shifted to get more comfortable while he continued to lazily tease her. “And what are your questions?”

  “Well, I have many,” she felt obligated to tell him.

  “I figured as much,” he said, chuckling as he leaned down and kissed her. “Ask away.”

  “I guess the first question I have is about the need for the kidnapping,” she said, running her fingers through his hair as he kissed her.

  “Because it was necessary,” he said as he pressed a kiss against her chin.

  “Because you were afraid that I’d say no?” Joey asked on a small gasp when he traced her slit with a fingertip because there was no chance that she would have said no.

  Again, not that he’d asked her, because he hadn’t.

  No, what he did was make love to her until she was boneless, carry her to his truck, buckle her in and head home where he’d rummaged through her boxes until he found what he was looking for. Once he had her birth certificate, he threw her back over his shoulder, jumped back in his truck and refused to stop until they’d reached New Hampshire where he’d thrown her over his shoulder and she found herself standing in front of a very nervous Justice of the Peace.

  “No,” he murmured, kissing her jaw, “because it’s tradition.”

  “It’s tradition to kidnap your bride?” she asked, admittedly intrigued.

  “Yes,” he said, kissing his way down her neck as he continued teasing her.

  “Why?”

  “Bradfords don’t propose and we don’t have traditional weddings,” Reed said as he slid his finger between her slit and began lightly teasing her clit as he kissed his way down to her breast.

  “And the terrified Justice of the Peace?” Joey couldn’t help but ask only to groan when he licked her nipple.

  “Will probably take an early retirement,” Reed said, slowly teasing her clit with tiny circles and starting to make it difficult to focus.

  “I’m sensing there’s a story behind this.”

  “There is,” he said, kissing his way back up.

  “Is it the same story as my pretties?” she asked, making him chuckle.

  “Yes, and I’ll tell you that story on our one-year anniversary,” he promised before she could ask so she moved on.

  “And Matt?”

  “Shouldn’t have got in my way,” he said, moving his finger down and slid it inside her.

  “Is he still in the closet?” she asked, groaning as her back arched and her hips shifted to follow each thrust of his finger.

  “No fucking clue,” he said, removing his hand so that he could shift over her and settle between her legs.

  “And the reason that we didn’t stay in New Hampshire?”

  “Didn’t want to jinx this,” he said as she felt that first glide of his cock sliding between her legs.

  “Okay,” she said, making a mental note to ask about that later. “And Jackson?”

  “Knows,” he said, and before she could panic because this was definitely one of those moments where she felt that panicking was appropriate, he was there, kissing her.

  “It’s fine,” he promised her as he continued to slowly grind against her.

  “It’s really not,” she assured him with a frantic shake of her head, wondering why he wasn’t panicking because he should definitely be panicking.

  “Do I seem worried to you?” he asked, groaning as he kissed his way down to her neck.

  Well, now that he mentioned it…

  “Why is that exactly?” she asked, her breath catching as closed her eyes and her head dropped back as he did all the things that she liked.

  “Because you’re mine.”

  “Oh, god,” she choked out as he slid inside her.

  “Do you have anymore questions?” he asked as he lazily rolled his hips.

  “Not at this time,” she said, because she felt that it would be for the best if she focused right now and worry about things, like her brother killing her husband, later.

  “Then why don’t I take this opportunity to get something out of the way?” he offered, punctuating his suggestion with a firm roll of his hips.

  “What’s that?” she asked, smiling up at the handsome man that she loved more than anything.

  “I’m going to love you for the rest of my life, Joey,” he said softly as she reached up and cupped his face in her hands.

  “Even though I’m a pain in the ass?” she asked with a teasing smile.

  “Especially since you’re a pain in the ass,” he swore as she leaned up and brushed her lips against his.

  “Do you promise?” she whispered.

  “I promise.”

  Epilogue

  One Month Later…

  “Little Joey Lawson,” his father said with a rueful shake of his head and a chuckle that had Reed smiling as he added another brownie from one of the many platters of food that had taken over his kitchen.

  “I never saw it coming,” Reed said, chuckling as he went to grab what looked like a butterscotch brownie only to quickly rethink it when he saw the small blue dot on the plate warning him away.

  “I’m pretty sure her grandparents did,” his father said, making him frown as he added cookies to the plate that he was making for his wife with the hopes of enticing her into eating something.

  “What do you mean?” he asked as his father shifted his attention to one the pans of baked macaroni and cheese that his cousin Reese’s wife Kasey had made for the party.

  “I’d always wondered
about something,” his father said only to frown down at the macaroni and cheese that he’d scooped onto the plate and asked, “Does Joey like mac and cheese?”

  “Yes,” Reed said, although he wasn’t sure how well it was gonna go over today.

  He should have canceled the party and dragged her to the emergency room, but his stubborn wife refused to listen, and he had a feeling that it was all because of the large bastard watching his every move.

  “Your grandparents expected them to end up together, didn’t they?” his father asked, shifting his attention to Jackson, who’d showed up in the middle of the night three weeks ago and informed him that he was moving in to keep an eye on his sister, and had been glaring at him ever since.

  “Yes,” Jackson said, taking him by surprise.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Reed asked, adding a few sugar cookies to the plate that was most likely gonna go to waste.

  “That’s why your grandparents didn’t leave Joey to us because they were afraid that we’d adopt her,” his father said, sounding thoughtful as he went to add broccoli to Joey’s plate only to stop when Reed shook his head.

  “Correct,” Jackson said, taking him by surprise.

  “She can’t handle vegetables right now,” Reed said when his father went to add sliced cucumbers to her plate.

  “Why would they think we were going to end up together?” Reed asked Jackson, who simply glared at him, something that he was getting really fucking sick of.

  “Tradition,” his father said, chuckling.

  “But, how would they know about that?” Reed asked because he knew for a fact that his parents never told anyone, not after what they’d gone through and he’d never said anything to them, which left…

  “Matt,” Jackson said, confirming his suspicions that his brother had a big fucking mouth.

  “When?” his father asked, looking amused.

  “After Joey’s eight birthday party when the asshole that knocked up my sister decided to take it upon himself to have a word with our father and they started wondering about his obsession with Joey. For the price of another slice of cake, Matt told us everything,” Jackson explained while Reed glared at him.