The Promise (Neighbor from Hell #10)(66)

“You smell so damn good,” he whispered, groaning when he caught the scent of her favorite shampoo.

“Jackson found out where the showers were for me,” she said as she shifted on his lap.

“You had enough quarters?” he asked, not bothering to point out that he’d actually been the one to find it and that he’d texted the information to Jackson so that he could bring her, knowing that she would probably want a hot shower after that unexpected dip in the lake. He’d picked up some quarters while he was out just in case she didn’t have any.

“Just about,” she said, running her fingers through his hair.

“How many did you bring?” he asked, kissing his way back to her mouth.

There was a slight pause and then, “Twenty dollars.”

He pressed a kiss against her jaw as he did the math and realized that she’d spent nearly two hours in the shower. Releasing his hold on her bottom, he ran his fingers through her hair, noting that it was still damp.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, knowing exactly what this meant.

“Everything’s fine,” she promised him with the saddest fucking smile that he’d ever seen.

“Joey, what’s-”

“I missed you,” she whispered against his lips, driving his need for her to a dangerous degree.

He liked knowing that she missed him. He shouldn’t, but then again, there were so many things that he probably shouldn’t be doing when it came to her. He shouldn’t be thinking about her all the time. He shouldn’t want her, shouldn’t need her like this, shouldn’t be touching her with his best friend only ten feet away, shouldn’t get sick to his stomach thinking about her leaving, and he sure as hell shouldn’t be falling in love with her.

---

“Lay back,” Reed whispered softly as he picked up the flashlight and turned it off, leaving them in total darkness.

Knowing that he would never let anything happen to her, she did what he told her and closed her eyes. She listened as the wind gently blew the leaves around their tent, the crackling of the campfire, and the sounds of their breathing. She trembled as she laid there, and it had nothing to do with the cold air enveloping her and everything to do with Reed.

“You missed me?” he asked as he ran his fingertips teasingly over her legs.

“Maybe,” she whispered because she felt that it was imperative that she didn’t tell him just how much she missed him.

Or just how much she was going to miss him.

“Maybe?” he asked in a seductive whisper as he trailed his fingertips over her knees and thighs.

“Did you miss me?” she countered, licking her lips as she felt his fingers move higher.

Chuckling, he pressed a kiss against her stomach as those trailing fingers found her panties and slowly began pulling them down. “Every single minute,” Reed said, making her sigh only to make her breath catch when she felt his mouth kiss a trail down her stomach and-

“Oh, god,” she whispered when he pressed a kiss against her slit.

“Did you miss me, Joey?” he whispered, pressing another kiss against her slit.

“Yes,” she admitted softly, arching her back on a soft sigh as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“How much did you miss me?” he asked and before she could answer, he was running his tongue between her pussy.

“Too much,” she admitted on a soft moan that turned into a startled gasp when she felt his tongue slide inside her.

He felt so damn good, she thought as he ran his hands over her body as he continued to lick her, sliding his tongue in and out of her as she laid there, helpless to do anything more than run her fingers through his hair and bite her bottom lip as she struggled not to moan. She’d never been with a man who knew her body like Reed did. He’d taken his time to learn what she liked, what she didn’t, and knew exactly what it would take to drive her out of her mind. He also knew how to make everything better with a simple touch. Sometimes all it took was one look at Reed to make everything better.

She was going to miss him, she thought sadly, running her hands down his back as he kissed his way up her body. She was going to miss falling asleep in his arms every night, the way he smiled, and-Realizing how close she was to crying again, she reminded herself of the promise that she’d made herself a few hours ago and focused on enjoying the time they had left with him and pray that it didn’t kill her when it came time to say goodbye.





Chapter 39

Back in Bridgewater, MA…

“Well, this is fun,” Garrett said, sighing heavily as he looked around him, taking in the reason that he was here on his only day off in a month.

He took in the dirt driveway that consisted of rocks, holes, and broken roots, which eventually bled into the lawn that consisted of rocks, weeds, and briars that went around most of the property before coming to a dwindling end around one side of the driveway where his uncle and cousin were still arguing and couldn’t help but wonder why they were here. Then again, that probably had something to do with the fact that he was the only sane person in the family. While any sane person would have removed the historical designation on the house and tore it down so that they could build something that wouldn’t give you tetanus just by looking at it.

“You’re fired,” Uncle Jared said, getting in his cousin Trevor’s face.