The Promise (Neighbor from Hell #10)(43)

At least, until he figured out what he was going to do.

“We weren’t that loud,” he said with a glare pointed at Joey because if anyone had been loud last night it had been her.

“Really? Because I could hear you all the way out in the barn,” Matt said with a glare as he dumped the entire bowl of hash browns on his plate.

“He really was loud,” Joey added with a little sniffle as she turned the page while he sat there, drumming his fingertips against the table as he glared at the little brat.

“Where the hell is she?” Matt asked, frowning as he shifted his attention to the kitchen door.

“She left,” Reed said evenly with a glare that let her know that she’d pay for this later.

“I don’t blame her,” Joey said with a sad shake of her head as she turned another page.

“It did sound like she was faking, didn’t it?” Matt murmured, sounding thoughtful as Reed sat there, narrowing his eyes on his brother, barely aware of the snort of amusement from his right.

“It really did,” Joey said with a sad shake of her head while he sat there deciding that yes, yes, he would be spanking her ass.

Soon.

---

Perhaps she’d pushed him too far? she thought even as she risked a glance up and—

Yup, she’d definitely pushed him too far, she thought as she shifted her focus back to the book that she’d helped herself to from the Bradford family library and couldn’t help but regret her decision not to grab that book on medieval plagues when she had the chance. She could get it now, but that would require her leaving the safety of the table and walking past the man that was sitting less than two feet away from her, glaring.

Since that most likely wouldn’t end well for her, or more to the point, her ass, she decided to wait out the next thirty-two minutes and eighteen seconds left before she had to go to work sitting at this table with absolutely nothing to do except worry about what the very large man glaring at her was going to do to her bruised ass as she did her best not to make matters worse. She really hoped that she didn’t make this worse, but unfortunately for her, he was making her really nervous, which never ended well for anyone. Perhaps she shouldn’t have teased him? she thought as she looked up and realized that they were alone.

“They left five minutes ago,” Reed said on that familiar long-suffering sigh that she was painfully familiar with as he leaned forward and grabbed her chair.

“Oh,” Joey said, unable to help but frown as he pulled her closer because she’d kind of been counting on them to keep the large man that was pulling her closer from-

“Lost you again,” he said, sounding amused as he leaned in and kissed her.

“It happens,” she admitted, reaching up so that she could cup his freshly shaved jaw in her hands as she kissed him back.

“I sensed that,” he said on a groan as she found herself pulled onto his lap.

Smiling, she shifted on his lap so that she was comfortably straddling him as she wrapped her arms around him. Once she was settled, she felt herself relax. There was just something that had to be said about being in Reed Bradford’s arms, she thought even as she had to admit that she could easily become addicted to this.

“Faking it, huh?” he asked as he ran his hands down her back so that he was cupping her bottom.

“I felt that it was prudent to throw them off my trail,” she said, nodding solemnly only to moan when he used his hold to pull her closer.

“And it didn’t bother you to screw me over like that?” he asked, making her breath catch as she felt him harden beneath her.

“It did. It really did,” she said with a nod as she licked her lips and tried to focus.

“You looked really heartbroken about it,” he said on a groan as he used his hold to move her against him.

“I really was,” she said only to tilt her head to the side on a moan when he kissed his way down to her neck.

“You’re going to make my life a living hell, aren’t you, brat?” Reed asked, not really sounding all that upset about it, which was probably for the best since she had a feeling that he was right.





Chapter 26

“So, I’ve decided to forgive you,” Jen said with a heavy sigh as she sat down in her favorite chair and helped herself to the bowl of candy that was starting to run low.

“That’s really generous of you,” Reed murmured absently as he finished saving the changes that he’d made to next week’s newsletter before he checked his email to make sure that there weren’t any last-minute surprises waiting for him before he finally called it a night.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jen said with a sad shake of her head as she popped a piece of candy in her mouth.

“And what’s that?” he asked, scrolling through his emails, making sure that there was nothing that couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

“You’re thinking that I’ve made promises in the past, but this time is different,” Jen said with a shrug and a small sigh.

“I’m sure it is,” he said, glancing up in time to see Joey head out the door and realized just how late it was. He should have left a half hour ago, he thought as he quickly glanced at the clock.

“It is,” she said, nodding. “It really is.”