Finally (Neighbor from Hell 12)

“Aw, did you miss me?” she asked in a syrupy sweet voice.

“No, I’m mad at you,” he said with a sniffle.

“Would it make you feel better if I said that I was sorry again?”

“No.”

“What if I told you that I missed you?” she said, which had him turning his head so that he could glare at her.

“Don’t lie to me, woman,” he bit out with a glare that told her how he felt about her trying to patronize him.

“Or that I thought about you all day?” Charlie offered with the sweetest fucking smile.

“I don’t need your pity,” Devin said, once again turning his head away from the cruel woman that was playing with his emotions.

There was a pause and then a long-drawn-out sigh that had him turning his head and…

“What are you doing?” he found himself asking as he watched her slowly unsnap her pants as she toed off her shoes.

“Relaxing after a long day,” Charlie said, wiggling out of her jeans as he laid there, forced to bite back a groan as he watched her slowly reveal a pair of soft white cotton panties and short golden legs.

He watched as she grabbed the large blanket that she liked to keep on the couch for snuggling, pulled it around her shoulders seconds before she fucking destroyed him by climbing onto the couch and laying on top of him with a satisfied sigh as she grabbed the television remote off the coffee table and-

Promptly ignored him.

Chapter 27

“Do you not care that I’m no longer speaking to you?” the man that she was using as a mattress demanded as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss against the top of her head as she debated between starting another Harry Potter marathon or watching something that would probably give her nightmares.

“I do. I really do, but watching movies helps dull the pain,” she murmured absently as she scrolled through the horror movie options on Amazon only to end up turning her head so that she could glare at the man that had plucked the remote out of her hand.

“I demand a do-over,” Devin said, making her frown as he tossed the remote aside.

“What are you talking about?” Charlie asked, unable to help but notice just how good he felt as she shifted to get more comfortable.

“I want another chance to make this right,” he said, pushing a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear.

“You’ve lost me,” she said, frowning at the incredibly handsome man that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about all day.

“Our first date,” he said softly as he wrapped his arm back around her.

“What about it?”

“I want a do-over.”

“But we’ve already moved onto the second date?” Charlie pointed out.

“We have?” he asked, looking adorably confused.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Five minutes ago,” Charlie said with a sad shake of her head and a mumbled, “I’m really going to need you to keep up here.”

“Isn’t it a little too soon for a second date?”

“It’s never too soon for a second date,” she said, only to ask, “How long has it been since you went on a date?”

“A little over seven years,” Devin admitted with a rueful smile.

“That explains it,” she said with a sympathetic wince.

“That explains what?”

Sighing sadly, she said, “Things have changed.”

“Have they?” he murmured as he ran his hands over her back.

“They really have,” she promised him.

“Then I guess you’re going to have to catch me up,” Devin said as one his hands snaked beneath her shirt and ran over her back.

“I suppose I could do that,” Charlie said, placing her hands on the armrest so that she was leaning over him.

“What am I supposed to do now?” he asked, looking up at her as his other hand found its way beneath her shirt.

“You’re supposed to kiss me.”

“Is that what I’m supposed to do?” he murmured as his gaze moved to her mouth.

“According to the new guidelines,” she said, leaning down closer as the blanket slid down her back to pool around her waist.

“And we don’t want to ignore the new guidelines,” Devin said as he ran his hands higher so that he could pull her closer.

“We really don’t,” she whispered as her lips brushed against his.

He took his time kissing her, brushing his lips against hers as his hands continued to run over her back, encouraging her to move even closer. This was what she’d thought about all day. It was the way that he made her feel when she was in his arms that had her struggling to focus. When she should have been paying attention and trying to figure out how she was going to get Dabbi up and running within the year, she’d been thinking about Devin. She thought about how much she missed him, how much she liked the way that he touched her, the way that he kissed her, and just how badly she wanted to be back in his arms.

That was the problem.

She loved her job and could happily work for Bradford Creations for the rest of her life, but she wanted more. She wanted another challenge. When Devin hired her, Bradford Creations had been gaining attention through his Uncle’s website, but that was it. The Facebook page had been created a year earlier and abandoned almost immediately. The website had been nothing more than a notice that the site was under construction and that had been pretty much it.

At that point Bradford Creations had relied heavily on word of mouth around town and with Bradford Furniture customers. He’d been able to sell enough furniture to pay the bills and hire a few part-time employees, but that had been it. The night before her interview, she’d done her research, scoped out the competition, checked out Bradford Creations’ reviews online, and made a plan. She’d stayed up all night creating a marketing plan, excited to see if she could pull it off and when he told her the job was hers, she’d set to work.

It had taken her a year to really get Bradford Creations established, but it had been worth it and now…

Now she wanted to do it again.

She loved the excitement that came from building something out of nothing and the challenge of making another company go viral. She wanted to do more and the problem was that there really wasn’t a lot more that she could do for Bradford Creations. All it required now was to stay relevant, post eye catching pictures, create irresistible products, provide fresh blog content, and continue interacting with Bradford Creations followers.

She needed more, but…

She also needed this, Charlie thought, realizing that she was going to have to figure out a way to make this work. Definitely going to have to figure out a way to make this work, she decided as she settled more comfortably on top of him only to moan when the move caused the large bulge between his legs to rub against her.

“How slow do you want to go?” Devin whispered against her lips as his hands slowly slid down her back and over her bottom.

“Did I not mention that I like to be worshipped?” she whispered back as she slid back, rubbing against the bulge that felt so damn good.

“I believe that was mentioned,” Devin murmured as his hands gently grabbed hold of her bottom and encouraged her to keep moving. “Is this okay?”

“More than okay,” Charlie said, moaning softly as she took her time moving on him, savoring every hard inch pressed against her.

“Why don’t we take this to your bedroom?” Devin asked, already moving to sit up.