The Promise (Neighbor from Hell, #10)(45)

“And what did you learn?” he asked, leaning in to press a kiss against the side of her neck as he cupped her breasts.

“Probably a lot more than I should have,” she admitted with a sigh as she wrapped her arms around him.

Chuckling, he brushed his thumbs over her nipples. “Then you know that we’re not out here to admire the lake, right?” he asked, pressing another kiss against her neck as he gave her breasts a squeeze, earning a soft moan.

“I was afraid of that,” she said with a disappointed sigh as she ran her fingers through his hair. “Are we at least going to study?”

Lips twitching, he pressed one last kiss against her neck before he kissed his way back up to her mouth. “I didn’t bring my books with me.”

“I see,” she murmured sadly, even as she reached between them and began working his belt loose. “Will you promise that you’ll only put the tip inside?” she asked, innocently making him groan because she was definitely going to be the death of him.





Chapter 27

“Joey, are you okay?” Matt asked as Joey paused mid-shift in her chair.

“Fine,” she said, blinking as she forced herself to sit still when all she wanted to do was kick the large bastard responsible.

“Are you sure?” Matt asked as he got up to grab another pizza off the kitchen island.

“I’m sure,” she said, although she’d never been more unsure about anything in her life. God, her ass hurt, she thought, biting back a wince as she reluctantly accepted the fact that the steering wheel was not her friend. At the very least, it probably shouldn’t be utilized during sex.

It definitely shouldn’t be utilized during sex, she amended a moment later when the bruise that she was afraid was forming across her ass had her biting back a wince when she shifted again. Narrowing her eyes, she turned her head to shoot the man that had thoroughly demonstrated the benefits of parking earlier a glare only to find his chair empty.

“He went upstairs a few minutes ago,” Julie, who’d showed up a little while ago with a stack of pizzas and a murmured, “I didn’t want to miss the show,” said as she reached for a slice of mushroom pizza only to end up sighing when Matt beat her to it.

“Oh,” Joey said, frowning as she sat there wondering how she’d missed that.

“I wouldn’t take it personally,” Matt said with a shrug as he went to take a drink of his soda only to find it empty and-

“I give up,” Julie said when Matt plucked the soda out of her hand and finished it.

“That’s probably for the best,” Matt said, deciding to take that as an invitation to help himself to the abandoned pizza crusts on Julie’s plate.

“What shouldn’t I take personally?” Joey asked, taking a sip of her soda as she slapped the large tan hand reaching for her plate.

“Reed,” Matt said, pulling back his hand with a pout that probably worked on most women, but unfortunately for him, she’d grown up sharing a dinner table most nights with Reed, so she was used to dealing with food thieves.

“What about him?” Joey asked, trying to remember if she’d packed her bottle of Advil.

“He’s always working,” Julie answered with a shrug as she grabbed her empty plate and headed toward the sink.

“Pretty much,” Matt said, nodding in agreement as he searched the boxes on the table for more pizza.

“Except for some reason I don’t think that will be a problem anymore,” Julie said, shooting her a wink that had her glancing at Matt to find him glaring down at the empty boxes in front of him.

“I don’t remember the last time he took a day off,” Matt said, sounding thoughtful as he reached over and-

“Damn it!” he said with a wince as he pulled his hand back while Joey sat there, wondering why she’d never taking a day off.

Probably because she was pathetic, she thought, biting back a sigh.

“He works nights, weekends, summers, and holidays,” Julie said as she paused by the stack of pizza boxes on the kitchen island and helped herself to a slice of Hawaiian pizza while Joey had to admit that sounded a lot like her.

“He needs a vacation,” Matt said with a heavy sigh as he reluctantly grabbed his plate and headed toward the sink that had her nodding in agreement because she could probably use a vacation as well.

“He really does,” Julie said with a pointed look in her direction as she went to take a bite of her pizza only to sigh when Matt managed to pluck it out of her hands.

“The most that he would do is a weekend camping trip, but even that might be asking too much,” Matt said before adding with a heavy sigh, “God, I miss camping,” that had Joey frowning because she’d never been camping.

She’d never done a lot of things now that she really thought about it.

She’d never taken a sick day, taken a vacation, gone on a road trip, gone to Disney World even though she’d promised herself a million times that she’d go one day, or even been on a plane for that matter, she realized, feeling her shoulders drop at the realization that she’d-

“I think your phone’s ringing,” Matt said, making her frown, because yes, yes, that did sound like her phone.

“It’s probably work,” Joey said, unable to help but hope that it was a telemarketer because she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that phone call just yet.