Don't Lie to Me by Stacey Lynn

smile, showing him I wasn’t bothered by the word. In actuality, it turned me on, and I wanted nothing more than to climb into his bed and have his arms wrapped around me and simply enjoy being his for however long it lasted.
    Without saying a word, but not removing my eyes from his, I took my toothbrush and began brushing my teeth. He stayed silent and still the entire time; only starting to do the same thing once I finished.
    I smiled when he joined me in bed and pulled me to him softly. This wasn’t the hard and fast move he gave me earlier on the terrace. My cheeks heated just thinking about how good that had felt and my body instantly wanted more.
    “What are you thinking about?” Jack asked me quietly.
    Too embarrassed to tell him how good it had felt to be taken so roughly in a public setting, I shared a half-truth with a small smile. “Dinner. It was really delicious.”
    His slight smile and softened eyes told he knew what I was really trying to say. He leaned in to kiss me. His lips were warm and soft as they gently teased mine. This kiss was different than any previous kiss. It was tender, and slow, and made my entire body slowly begin to increase in warmth.
    Just as he began to deepen the kiss, and pull me closer to him, a shrill, angry scream started. Jack’s hand on my waist tightened instantly and I knew he was not happy hearing whatever made that sound. I wasn’t either.
    He spit out a curse word and let me go immediately before reaching for his phone in his suit coat pocket. The angry screaming, which I now recognized as a Linkin Park song, grew louder when Jack removed it from his pocket and answered.
    “What?” He growled into the phone and then turned from me and walked to the bathroom. With one hand roughly gripping the back of his neck, every muscle on his back tightened in anger. I had no idea who was on the other end of his phone, but whoever it was, clearly pissed Jack off.
    I listened as he spoke in angry hushed tones to whoever was on the other end. He cursed and I jumped when he kicked the cabinets in his bathroom. I had never seen Jack like this. The man who controlled every motion was clearly rattled and all I could think was maybe his impenetrable wall wasn’t as thick as I originally thought it was.
    “Fine. But this is the last time…..I mean it, B.” With that, he slammed his phone down on the counter and I watched from the bedroom as his hands tightened into fists on the bathroom counter. Jack bowed his head and I saw him taking deep breaths, his arms shaking in anger.
    He turned to me, stomped out of the bathroom without speaking, and began throwing on his discarded suit. I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to like whatever he was going to say.
    “I have to go.” He spit the words out like he was angry with me, and I flinched from his tone.
    “Are you okay?” I asked quietly.
    He calmed down, minutely, at my words and placed his hands on his hips. He had just gotten his pants on, but they were still unzipped and his chest was still bare. I scolded myself for taking the second to check out his perfectly chiseled chest and abs when he was so angry, but I couldn’t stop myself.
    “No. That was my brother. I have to go.”
    “You have a brother?” I didn’t bother trying to hide my shock with my gasp or my widened eyes. In the five years I had known Jack, I had no clue and had never heard a single word mentioned about him having a brother.
    His face morphed into a look of disgust. Whether it was from disdain about revealing personal information, or anger at his brother who he clearly hated, I didn’t know.
    I watched his hands tighten on his hips, as he walked towards me and sat down on his bed next to me. “I don’t talk about him. Ever.”
    That gave me absolutely no information, but I didn’t want to press. Instead, I moved to get off the bed to get dressed to go home.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” He asked roughly as I moved to get of the