Double Dare (Neighbor from Hell #6)(17)

“J-just make it quick,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt her body start to respond to the large erection pressed against her stomach.

He chuckled as he kissed her forehead. “Shhhh, just relax, sweetheart,” he said in that damn soothing tone of his that made it difficult to keep her eyes open.

It didn’t exactly help when he started to run his hands over her back and shoulders. God, it felt so good being in his arms, she thought sleepily as she felt herself start to drift off.

“What did you do to the pizza?” he asked softly, pressing another kiss to her forehead as his hands continued to work their magic, lulling her into a deep sleep.

“Hmmmmm?”

“The pizza that you left in my fridge,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “What did you do to it?”

“The pizza?” she mumbled, trying to focus.

“The pizza that you left in my refrigerator, sweetheart. What did you do to it?” he asked with another kiss that made her very happy.

“Black Jack pizza?” she mumbled with a frown.

“Mmmhmmm,” he murmured, rewarding her with another kiss.

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure?” he asked after a slight hesitation.

“Mmmhmmm,” she murmured, shifting to get more comfortable and so that she could press a kiss against his chest.

“Good,” he whispered with another kiss, sounding relieved.

“I coated the half eaten candy bar that I left on my kitchen table with Ex-Lax though,” she explained around a yawn. He really did make a comfortable mattress, she thought absently as she noted the exact second that her words registered.

“What are you-oh, shit!” he said, gently shoving her off so that he could crawl off the bed with his hand pressed against his stomach and make a run for her bathroom.

“I took all the toilet paper out of the bathroom before I left,” she informed him on a pleased little sigh as she curled up on her side.

“Shit!” he groaned, stumbling towards her bedroom door.

She opened her mouth to tell him that she’d taken it upon herself to remove all his toilet paper from his bathroom as well, but decided against it. He’d figure out the extent of her revenge soon enough, she mused as she blindly reached back and grabbed his pillow so that she could hug it.

Delayed revenge really was the best, she decided with a smile.

Chapter 6

“Rot in hell, you son of a bitch!”

“You had it coming and you know it,” Reese said as he climbed out of his cruiser and joined him on the sidewalk.

“I should have known that you were going to take her side,” he muttered as he reached up and pressed the switch on his collar to turn his microphone on. “Echo 25 and 32 are on scene,” he said before releasing the switch.

“Echo 25 and 32, I have you on scene at 32 Thompson Road at 11:22. Over,” Dispatch said, marking their arrival on scene.

“Don’t try to drag me into your f*cked up relationship,” Reese said as they started up the long walkway.

Darrin snorted at that, because really, of all people Reese had no business talking about f*cked up relationships. Not only was he dating the biggest bitch that Darrin had ever met, but he also planned on marrying her. God, he couldn’t stand Missy. No one in their family could.

On top of being a bitch, she was annoying, vindictive, catty, a liar and incredibly fake. He wasn’t sure what he hated more about her, that fake smile she slapped on her face anytime that she saw someone that she hated or the whole “poor me” bullshit she was constantly spouting.

She worked as an artist. Well, “worked” might be a bit generous considering that she was mooching off Reese. She spent most of her time sleeping, shopping or bitching on Facebook about everyone that refused to see how truly gifted she was. From what he’d heard, she bitched about him a lot.

Not that he cared. He didn’t, because he knew this f*cked up relationship wasn’t going to last much longer. He’d admit that he’d been a little worried there for a while, especially when Reese let her move in. When Reese proposed a few months ago, he’d known that it was only a matter of time before that bitch was out of their lives once and for all because of one simple reason.

Bradford men didn’t propose.

Before a Bradford could take a trip to the altar, he had to lose his f*cking mind. Kidnapping your bride was a Bradford tradition and Reese wasn’t willing to risk a felony to marry Missy. Darrin on the other hand…

Was more than willing.

He’d already attempted to kidnap Marybeth once before when he was ten. If Aidan hadn’t broken the wheels off his old Red Ryder wagon, she would already be his. Now thanks to his brother’s inconsideration, he had to take a different approach with Marybeth. She didn’t want to date, live together, get married or have a family. That made things a bit tricky for him, because he wanted all of those things and more with her.

Not that he was going to let any of that get in his way, because he wasn’t. Sure, he could drag her across state lines and marry her and in time she’d realize that it had been for the best, but he really didn’t want to risk needing a testicular-reattachment surgery to make it happen. Besides, she was already his so he didn’t see any point rushing this.

“What floor are we going to?” Reese asked as they stepped inside the large office building.