Being Neighborly Read online

  Chapter Three

  Jess

  Jess removed the plastic cap from her head and her mass of black curls tumbled free. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. The cold shower she’d just taken had less to do with her still nonworking AC and more about her unbelievably hot neighbor. With rapid shakes of her head, she erupted into a fit of giggles. Had she really done that? She had, and even more surprising, she’d not overthought it, and just did it.

  “Ryan...” she said, after getting herself under control.

  If ever there was a time to say someone had the body of a Greek god, it was when talking about him. He’d been impressive to look at from across the way, but up close... Hot. Fucking. Damn. He had the most defined cheekbones of any man she’d ever seen. Full lips that she hoped he knew how to use properly. A strong, prominent nose sat between smoky gray eyes. Man, those eyes. The way he’d looked at her.

  She let out a groan, her body temperature on the rise again, with most of the heat collecting between her legs. As soon as she started to unwrap the towel from around her body, the doorbell rang. Her brows drew into a tight V. She sure as hell wasn’t expecting guests, mainly because she’d yet to meet anyone worth inviting over since moving here. On her way out of the bathroom, she grabbed her satin robe from the hook behind the door, and slipped it on as she made her way down the steps.

  The doorbell rang again when her feet hit the cool tile at the landing.

  “I’m coming. I’m coming.” She unlatched the door and yanked it open.

  “You certainly were.” The comment came attached to a devastatingly sexy, crooked smile.

  Being unprepared to see him up close and personal had her at a momentary loss for words. His well-tanned arms were folded across his chest as he stood with a wide legged stance on her front stoop.

  “Um...how...why...what are you doing here?” She sucked in a breath, annoyed at her inability to form a cohesive sentence. What was it about him that had her tripping over her own tongue?

  A tongue she’d love to use to trace along every....she shook her head to stop her wayward thoughts.

  He reached behind him, still wearing that damned sexy grin, and pulled a folded, pink card from his back pocket. “You dropped this, Cinderella, in your mad dash to flee the scene. Figured I’d do the neighborly thing and return it to you.” He held it out toward her, but yanked it back as she reached for it. “I like it, by the way.”

  A tilt of her head followed by shifting her weight to cock out a hip. “Like what?”

  He handed her the offending piece of mail. “Your name. Jesslyn. Jesslyn Watson. I like it, and it’s a lot less awkward to use in public than the aliases you gave me earlier.” He winked before laughing quietly to himself.

  “Thank you. And it’s just Jess. The only person that calls me Jesslyn is my mother. It was my parents’ failed attempt at giving me a unique name by combining theirs. Jessie and Lynn.” She closed her eyes and took a breath to get her serious case of diarrhea mouth under control. “Sorry, you probably don’t care about any of that.”

  Beads of sweat trickled down her back. She reached behind her to rub the area, causing a gap in her robe. It wasn’t missed on her that his attention was immediately drawn to her large breasts, barely contained behind the towel. A slant of his head came accompanied with the licking of his lips. She rolled her eyes and adjusted her robe to close the opening.

  “So, neighbor, do I get an invite in? Sorry for not bringing over some baked goods to welcome you to the neighborhood, but you really don’t want me cooking.” The request came complete with another megawatt smile.

  She folded her arms across her chest, trying her damnedest to ignore her body’s eager agreement to have him closer. “I’m really not in the habit of inviting strange men into my house.”

  Unfazed, he leaned against the doorframe, his entire essence commanding the space and her attention. “Aw, Jess, after what we’ve shared, we, at the very least, need an upgrade to acquaintances.”

  She ran her tongue along the front of her teeth before breaking out into a large grin. He had a point.

  “Well, it’s a little hot in here. AC’s out.” She stepped to the side and extended her arm. “But sure, come on in.”

  He popped his shirt back and forth a few times. “Whew, you weren’t kidding.”

  She headed to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Here ya go. And yeah. Landlord is on it.” She made air quotes with her fingers. “But it’s been four days now. Anyway, stand in front of a fan.” She pointed to the three various stand fans around the room. “I’ll be right back.”

  Jess made a quick exit, and bounded up the stairs. When she got to her room, she closed and locked the door before leaning against it. She fanned her face still in disbelief he was downstairs, in her house. Every interaction with him had by far been the strangest she’d ever had.

  She’d taken the relocation assignment as a way to spice up her life. To branch out and stop always playing it safe. Boring. Predictable. Just a couple of the words that had always been associated with her. Hell, her older sisters had a bet going on how quickly she’d cave and end up back at home. Covering her mouth to muffle her laugh, she wondered what they’d say if they knew she’d masturbated for show with a stranger. Acquaintance, she quickly reminded herself of their “upgraded” status.

  An acquaintance that was currently downstairs roaming around her place, unattended. The thought made her push off the door, shed her robe and the towel. She tossed both on the bed, and she made quick work of rubbing on some lotion. After donning a simple tank and shorts, she piled her hair on top of her head and secured it with an elastic band. With her hand on the knob, she took a calming breath before exiting her room in search of Ryan.

  Even from the back he was sexy. The dark blue tank he wore showed off his muscled arms. Jess had a thing for strong arms. She loved being enclosed in them and feeling secure. And that ass. It was hot as hades outside and the man had on jeans, but damn he filled out the back of them nicely.

  “Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

  He turned and flashed her that heart stopping grin. There needed to be some law about how many times he could disarm a person with that thing.

  “It’s all good. I rifled through your mail. Looked in your cupboards...you know, typical nosy neighbor stuff.”

  Jess took half a second to process if he was joking or not before she let out a small laugh. “Sorry to say, you wouldn’t have found anything interesting.”

  Ryan gave her a long look and she had to mentally tell herself not to clench her legs together. She couldn’t be sure what he was thinking, though she desperately hoped it was him fucking her twenty ways to Sunday.

  “I can help you out, ya know?”

  Jess’ eyes went wide. Was he reading her mind or could he easily pick up on her arousal? “He...help me out with what?”

  In one stride, he closed the space between them, and again gave her body a once over, lingering a little too long on her breasts. Jess didn’t need to look to know her nipples were hard as pebbles and most likely protruding prominently through her bra and shirt.

  His teeth sank into his bottom lip and he released it with a low pop. “Your problem.”

  Jess swallowed hard. “Which problem would that be?”

  A beautiful set of pearly whites were put on display as a wide smile graced his face. “Your heat problem. For now. Later your other...issues could be up for discussion, if you like.”

  My heat? What? Oh, the AC.

  “Oh, that’s nice of you, but really I think a professional should do it. Last thing I need is the landlord having any excuse that this was somehow my fault.”

  He nodded. “I’m good with my hands. And it’s kinda what I do. But I understand. So, plan B.”

  Jess frowned. Hell, what was plan A? “And that would be?”


  Just when Jess thought it was impossible for that damned sexy smile to get any sexier, she was proven wrong.

  “Hanging out at my place.”

  Chapter Four

  Ryan

  The wrinkle in her brow was downright adorable. “Why am I goin’ to your place?”

  Ryan crossed his arms, and rubbed his chin with one hand. “Well, two reasons. One, I’d like to hang out with you, if you’re willing. And two, I’d like to do it in a place that doesn’t make my balls sweat.”

  A frown tugged at her lips and she tapped her fingers on the granite countertop. He reached for his wallet, removed his ID and slid it toward her. It wasn’t much, but he hoped it would be enough to help her feel more comfortable.

  “Take a picture.”

  “What?”

  “With your phone, take a picture and send it to a friend, or family member. That way someone knows where you are and who you’re with.”

  She twisted her lips to the side before pressing them together. They stared at each other, and Ryan knew he could get lost in the deep, dark brown pools of her eyes all damn day. Hang out was an understatement; he really wanted to experience every inch of her curvy body with his mouth and bury his dick within her. His mind easily pictured her thick thighs wrapped around him... Fuck, his cock got hard at the idea alone.

  “Okay.”

  Her voice pulled him from the daydream. He’d almost asked “okay what,” but she’d moved to grab her keys and phone from the counter. After snapping a picture and presumably sending a text, she slipped her feet into a pair of flip-flops that were by the front door. He grabbed up his license and put it back.

  “Can we exit out the back?” he asked, pointing to the patio door.

  “How am I supposed to lock up then?”

  He shrugged. “It’ll be fine. It’s not like we can’t see across, plus no one is ever out back, so, I think you’re good.”

  Like before, he could tell she was working it out in her head before agreeing. Ryan stepped to the side to let her walk in front of him, giving him time to enjoy the view from the back. Damn, she had the best ass.

  When they reached his place, he reached around her to open the sliding glass patio door. The most seductive sigh passed her lips as she stepped inside the cool space. It made him want to know what other noises she made. Was she a quiet one or screamer? If he was reading the situation right, he might just be about to find out. He smiled at the thought.

  Jess covered her mouth and giggled when she looked at his couch. “Is it safe to sit on?” she asked. Her jovial expression had her dimples on full display again.

  He returned her grin. “You should know.”

  She sat on the middle cushion, slipped off her flip-flops and tucked her feet under her.

  “You drink beer? Or would you rather something else?” he asked, on his way into the kitchen.

  “Beer’s fine.”

  Ryan grabbed two bottles, and popped the tops before he joined her on the couch.

  “Thanks,” she said as she took the beer. “So, Ryan Branson, what do you do?”

  He took a swig. “You trying to decide if I’m worth the time?”

  Her eyes got wide. “No. What? I was...”

  He held up his hand. “I’m just fucking with you. If you couldn’t tell from earlier, I’m in construction. It’s—” After learning the hard way how quickly some chicks saw dollar signs, he was skeptical on sharing too much. “Hot, hard work, but I like it. How about you? With that accent, you’re not from around here.” The subtle drawl to her speech thickened on certain words, especially when she got flustered. Yet another intriguing factor.

  When she wrapped her lips around the head of the bottle to take a drink, it was all Ryan could do to not stroke himself. After his last hookup had taken a turn down what-the-fuck lane, he’d needed a break from sex involving other people. It’d been just him, his hand, and his imagination, sometimes some porn, for like the last couple of weeks. He and his cock were ready to get back on the horse so to speak.

  She dabbed her mouth with the back of her hand. “You’d be right, I’m from Georgia. Born and raised. This is actually the first time I’ve ever left the state. Shit! Probably shouldn’t have said all that. My stranger danger meter is hella broken or something.”

  Ryan choked on the drink he’d just taken. The liquid sputtered through his lips and some shot out his nose. “Fuck! That hurt.” He slammed his bottle down on his table and held his nose, still stuck between choking, coughing, and laughing over her words.

  “Oh, shit.” Jess scrambled off the couch and returned later with a paper towel for him and patted his back like he was a damn child.

  “You all right?”

  He nodded while trying to recover. When he glanced in her direction, Ryan was met with a worried frown. “If anyone needs to be concerned about their safety, it should be me. Death by beer.”

  She gave a decisive nod and straightened her back, which made her tits perk up. Their close proximity was doing serious things to his head, and he had to fight the urge to bury his face in her neck for a nibble.

  “Ya just remember that. Don’t go tryin’ no funny business.” She added an extra Southern twang to her words and the faux serious look on her face lasted like two point five seconds before she broke out into a grin.

  Ryan arched a brow at her. “What constitutes funny business?”

  She swallowed and her tongue darted out to moisten her bottom lip. A lip he wanted to capture between his teeth before thrusting his own tongue into her mouth to discover if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

  When she inched forward, her leg made contact with his. A strong urge to run his fingers up the inside of her thigh and explore the wonders of her body prickled through him, but he ignored it. As much as he wanted that, he also didn’t want to come on too strong, so Ryan leaned closer to her face and planted a simple feather light kiss just below her ear.

  “Would this be funny business?”

  She turned so that their faces were mere inches apart and shook her head.

  He kissed the side of her neck. “What about this?”

  Again, she shook her head. He straightened and held her chin. Ryan focused on her eyes as he moved closer to her mouth. It seemed to open in anticipation of what was to come.

  “And this?” he whispered, with his lips hovering over hers.

  Her answer came when she leaned forward and completed the kiss. Ryan slipped his hand around to the back of her neck and thrust his tongue forward. She moaned into him, her soft lips ever so welcoming. Warm hands were on his face, pulling him closer and giving as good as she got. Their tongues played chase, darting and swirling around each other.

  The idea of bending her over his couch and pounding her hard had his cock straining against his jeans. Better yet, her riding him with those large titties bouncing in his face, while he palmed as much as he could. With that thought in mind, Ryan reached under her shirt until he found his prize. He gave a hard squeeze to her left tit, letting his thumb graze across her erect nipple. She pulled back. Ryan didn’t have time to curse himself for moving too fast, because in one quick motion, Jess slipped the light pink tank over her head and dropped it to the floor.

  A large grin spread across his face at the sight of her breasts playing peek-a-boo behind her black lace bra. He slid back as she moved to straddle him.

  With a coy smile tugging at those full lips she said, “This probably is funny business.”

  He placed his hands on her waist and let out a groan as she did a slow rock to slide herself along his cock.

  Leaning up, he placed a kiss to the top of her exposed chest. “Is it now?” He let his nose run along her skin until he kissed the other side.

  “Uh-huh.” Maneuvering her arms behind her, Jess released the clasp of her bra, and dropped it on top o
f her discarded shirt. “But... I guess a little bit would be okay.”

  His gaze left her face and settled on her breasts. They were even better up close and personal.

  Chapter Five

  Jess

  The scratch of his calloused hands on her skin made Jess shiver. They inched up until both of her heavy breasts were held firmly within his grasp. This was crazy. Completely crazy, but damn she wanted it. Wanted him. The solid rod pressed between her legs told her he wanted the same. That and the damn near mouthwatering stare he held on her chest.

  When his thumbs brushed against her hardened nipples, she arched her back into his touch. A low moan sounded after his mouth closed around one of the erect peaks. He held it lightly between his teeth and she gripped his shoulders in response. Jess couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten this wet for a guy, but damned if her panties weren’t drenched.

  He released the sensitive bud, but used his thumb to continue making circles around it. With his chiseled body hidden beneath his shirt, Jess reached for the hem. Ryan lifted his arms and allowed her to remove the garment.

  She did a catcall whistle. “Construction work does a body good.”

  A smirk and a shrug matched his special brand of cocky. “No gym membership needed.”

  He rested his hands on her waist, and allowed her open access to run her fingers across his hard pecs. When she grazed his pebbled nipples his body caved in from the action, and he let out a surprised grunt.

  Tilting her head, she frowned, did it again, got the same reaction. “Your nipples are ticklish?”

  “The hell if I know, can’t recall anyone taking much interest in them before.”

  A slow smile spread across her face and she went to flick them again, only this time he caught her wrist.

  Humor danced in his gray eyes and a sexy lopsided smirk took up its rightful place. “Keep it up, and there will be retaliation.”