The Promise (Neighbor from Hell, #10)(55)

“We did. We really did,” she readily agreed on a moan, licking her lips when she felt him gently grind against her bottom.

“Then why don’t we talk about something else?” he suggested as he pushed her shirt up until she was releasing her hold on the shelf so that he could pull it off and toss it aside.

“Like what?” she asked only to grab hold of the shelf again when he pressed a kiss between her shoulder blades as he reached around and cupped her breasts through her bra.

“Why don’t we start with your sudden interest in camping?” he murmured as he slid his hands between her breasts and unsnapped her bra, exposing her breasts to the cool air. “You can explain why you didn’t tell me about your plans and follow that up with why you didn’t want me to go with you.”

“Is that why you were mad?” she asked, sighing softly when his warm hands cupped her breasts, giving them a gentle squeeze before releasing them so that he could trail his hands back down her body.

“No,” he said softly, kissing a path down her spine as he went.

“Then why were you mad?” she asked as she toed off her shoes and kicked them aside, careful not to interrupt the man kissing his way down her back.

“Are you going to answer my question?” he asked, pressing a kiss against one cheek as he pushed her pants down the rest of the way, taking her socks off with them.

“Probably,” she murmured, trying to remember what they were talking about, but for some reason thinking right now was a bit of a struggle.

“Why the sudden interest in camping?” he asked, pressing a kiss against the other cheek.

“Is there any chance that we could discuss this later?” she asked, hopeful that he’d take pity on her and continue touching her.

“No,” he said, placing his hands on her hips and slowly turned her around as he kissed his way to her stomach.

“Then do I get to ask questions, too?” she asked, as she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down onto the floor so that she could climb onto his lap.

“You have questions?” he asked, placing his hands on her bare hips as he leaned in and brushed his lips teasingly against hers.

“I always have questions,” she said, making his lips twitch as she reached between them and ran her fingers down his tie.

“Then I’ll make you a deal,” he said, tightening his hold on her as he toed off his shoes and once he was done, he shifted them back so that they were sitting in front of the fire.

“What kind of deal?” she asked as he ran his hands over her hips, chasing away the chill of the room better than the fire.

“For every question that you answer, you get to ask a question,” he murmured as he leaned in and made it really difficult to think again.

“That sounds fair,” she said, licking her lips on a soft sigh as he kissed her neck.

“I thought you’d like that,” he said, running his hands over her bottom and gave it a squeeze that had her grabbing onto his shoulders and releasing a moan. “Why the sudden interest in camping?”

“I’ve never been,” she said, licking her lips as he kissed his way to her chin.

“Why not?” he asked, kissing her chin softly as his hands continued to caress her bottom.

“Never had the chance,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

“What about all those times my parents invited you to go with us?” he asked distractedly as he slid his arms around her and pulled her closer.

“Should your parents really be mentioned at a time like this?” she asked, even as she had to wonder if they were even capable of having a normal conversation without sex.

“Probably not,” he murmured as she felt his hand move down her back, over her bottom and-

“Oh, god,” she whispered on a small groan as her eyes slid closed and her hands fisted in his shirt.

“Why didn’t you go with us, sweetheart?” he asked as he continued slowly sliding his finger between her legs.

“Wasn’t fair to Jackson,” she managed to get out, licking her lips as she shifted on his lap to give him better access only to end up pushing down against the large bulge straining against his pants and making them both moan.

“What about you?” he asked, groaning against her neck as he slid his finger inside her.

“I was fine,” she promised him as she pushed back on his finger.

“Were you?” he asked as she buried her face against his neck with a moan.

“Yes,” Joey said, rolling her hips so that she was moving against him as she rode his finger.

“Then why did you leave?” Reed asked, kissing the curve of her neck.

“School,” she said only to frown when he said, “That’s not the reason you left.”

“Yes, it was,” she said, barely aware that she’d stopped moving or that he’d stopped touching her.

“Was it?” he asked, not really sounding like he believed her. “Or was I the reason that you left, Joey?”

Sighing, she sat back on his lap and opened her mouth to point out all the ways that he’d made her life a living hell only to find herself looking into his handsome face and saw just how much it bothered him to think that he was the reason that she’d left. For years, she imagined what it would be like to tell him off for all the crap that he’d put her through while she was sober so that she could actually savor the moment, but as she sat there looking into those incredibly kind eyes that she liked so much, she realized something.