The Promise (Neighbor from Hell, #10)(34)

“Yes?” she said, sighing heavily as she resigned herself to sleeping on her bedroom floor with that disturbing sleeping bag after all.

“Is there a reason why you’re not answering your phone?” he asked as the item in question continued to vibrate its way across the coffee table.

Nodding, she said, “Because my religion forbids me to.”

“I see,” he murmured, sounding thoughtful, “and what religion would that be?”

“The one that allows me to live,” she said only to sigh when her ass proved problematic.

“So, the fact that your brother just called me to chew me out was…”

“Unfortunate?” she said with a hopeful smile that he had no chance of seeing since she was still busy trying to wiggle her ass free.

“So is this,” Reed said, drawing her attention to find him reaching for-

“Oh, crap,” Joey mumbled helplessly, watching as he picked up her phone and gave her no other choice but to do the unthinkable.





Chapter 20

“What the hell just happened?” Reed asked as he sat there, trying to make sense of what just transpired while the woman that had crawled onto his lap and robbed him of the ability to think checked her email.

“What do you mean?” the woman who he would swear on his life had been close to tears only seconds before asked distractedly as she continued checking her email on her phone while he sat there wondering if he’d imagined the whole thing.

One minute, he was answering her phone and the next Joey was on his lap, phone in her hand, bottom lip trembling along with a well-placed sniffle here and there that had his best friend, an ex-marine and a man known for having zero tolerance for any bullshit, backtracking, apologizing and begging her not to cry.

And Joey…

Was completely fucking oblivious to the fact that she was straddling his lap in nothing more than a pair of black panties and an oversized tee shirt. She was also shifting to get comfortable and humming absently as he sat there, desperately trying to remember that this was his best friend’s sister. When she shifted a little too close to the part of him that didn’t care, he grabbed hold of her hips and held her still.

“The sniffles, lip trembling, and sad little mumbles that made up the bullshit that you just pulled,” Reed managed to get out instead of the groan of pleasure that was threatening to break free as his hands encountered smooth skin and the generous curve of her bottom that was starting to become his favorite thing about her.

“Oh, that,” Joey said absently with a little frown that had her eyebrows scrunching up adorably as she continued to read.

“Yes, that,” he murmured, wondering if he’d ever touched anything so soft before.

Shaking her head, she gave a little sigh and a shrug, “I’m not proud of it, but sometimes he doesn’t really leave me much of a choice.”

“Like when he’s threatening to beat the shit out of your boss and wring your neck for not calling him?” Reed said, running his gaze over those small beautiful tan thighs holding him just right.

“Exactly like that. At least this will buy me a few days before I have to figure out what I’m going to tell him,” Joey said, nodding in agreement as he looked up to find her lips twitching as she swiped to the left, absently caressing her skin with his thumbs, wondering how she’d managed to wrap Jackson around her little finger and terrified that he wouldn’t mind if she did the same thing to him.

“He’s worried about you,” he said, still wondering how Jackson had managed those first few years after their grandparents passed away without losing his fucking mind.

It had been a close call a few times there, but somehow Reed had managed to talk him out of going AWOL and doing something that would get his ass thrown in jail. The only thing that kept Jackson sane was the fact that they’d all kept tabs on her and on more than one occasion Reed had jumped in his truck and drove down there to make sure that she was okay.

“I’m fine,” Joey said with a cute little frown as she shifted to get more comfortable.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine why he worries,” Reed said dryly, unable to help but smile as she nodded in agreement.

“I have no idea,” she said, with a pitying shake of her head as she continued to-

“You’re reading a book, aren’t you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on her.

“For the past ten minutes,” she said, nodding solemnly only to shut her phone off with a sigh, “I haven’t thanked you yet, have I?”

“For what?” he asked, reluctantly letting her go and telling himself that it was for the best.

“For not killing me and burying my body out back in an unmarked grave for starters,” Joey said as she continued sitting there, completely oblivious to just how badly he wanted to put his hands back on her and pull her closer.

“That did take a lot of restraint,” he murmured, noting the way her lips twitched as she absently shifted on his lap, bringing her a breath closer and forcing him to clench his hands into fists before he did something stupid.

“I know,” she said, nodding. “But you also gave me a place to stay, a job, and let’s not forget the offer to sleep in your room until my mattress is delivered.”

“That was really generous of me,” he murmured.