by Lena Hart
“I’ll pass,” Jackson cut in, taking another sip of his beer. “Where is she from, anyway?”
“Maryland. Why?”
“No, I mean what country is she from? She has a slight accent.”
And it was sexy as hell.
Jackson had been intrigued by it the moment he’d heard it. Though, maybe not as much as he’d been captivated by her sultry dark brown eyes or the dimple on her right cheek.
“Barbados,” Danny said. “But we met at a club in DC, after one of my shows.”
Jackson nodded, glad to have that small mystery uncovered. He wanted to know more about her, but he knew it would only heighten his fixation. And he needed to do everything he could to get over her and that kiss.
“I guess you won’t be fighting off any more groupies,” Jackson teased, “now that you’ll be dragging a wife along.”
They both laughed, though Jackson knew his brother had too much discipline, and too big a moral compass, to let himself get tempted by superficial women.
Suddenly Danny sobered and leaned forward in his seat. “Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
“Okay, guys. I’m ready.”
They both turned as Truth entered the living room. She looked stunning in her slim violet dress and her elegantly made-up face. Try as he might, Jackson couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.
Danny rose to his feet and went to her. “You look beautiful, babe.”
She smiled sweetly, and Jackson felt it in his heart—and in his shaft. He tore his gaze away from the light kiss his brother pressed on her lips and rose to his feet. He would have opted for dinner at home, but Jackson wouldn’t deny his brother a chance to show off his beautiful new bride around their small town.
They all filed toward the door, but were barely outside when Danny’s cell phone rang.
“Hold up,” Danny called out, staring down at the screen. “It’s my manager.” He went back inside the house, leaving him and Truth alone.
What followed was the most uncomfortable silence Jackson had ever experienced. When he glanced over at Truth, she had her hands clasped in front of her, and her profile was rigid. She did everything she could to avoid his gaze.
“If we want to get through tonight, we’re going to have to talk about what happened.”
She finally turned dark, irate eyes at him. “Fine. Talk.”
“You should have told me you were married to my brother.” Jackson hadn’t meant to blurt out that accusation first but there it was.
“No,” she retorted in a harsh whisper. “You shouldn’t have kissed me.”
“You shouldn’t have kissed me back.”
Her eyes rounded in shock. “I did not!”
“For someone named ‘Truth’ you have a bad habit of lying to yourself.”
She glowered at him. “The point is, you crossed the line. You can’t just go around grabbing and kissing women you don’t know.”
“Believe me, I don’t. But you can’t deny that you wanted me to touch you.”
She bit her lip and he instantly thought of their softness and how good they felt against his. Maybe he would have been able to resist temptation earlier if she hadn’t been looking at him the way she had. He couldn’t remember a woman looking at him with such hunger in her eyes.
“Well, it can never happen again.”
She was right about that. Yet that brief sample he’d gotten hadn’t been enough for him. Deal with it, Jackson scolded himself. He may be a lot of things, but he wouldn’t be the guy that screwed his brother’s wife.
“Don’t worry,” he said evenly. “It won’t. Hell, I’ve already forgotten about it.”
She nodded stiffly. “I think we should tell him.”
Jackson tensed. “Tell him what? Nothing happened, remember?”
The last thing he wanted was to hurt his brother. Danny was clearly head over heels for her, and he could see how much Truth loved him. Jackson wasn’t going to be the cause of any strain between them.
Suddenly the door wrenched open and Danny stepped outside. “Sorry about that. Let’s go eat. Jackson, you driving, right?”
“Sure,” he muttered, glancing back at Truth to see what she would say next. To his relief, she simply plastered a stiff smile on her face and took Danny’s hand.
But his relief was short-lived.
Throughout dinner, the guilt Jackson felt earlier only grew until he almost felt sick with it. He had never kept anything from his brother and the longer he pretended the kiss had meant nothing, the heavier that lie weighed inside him. Especially when he knew that deep down, keeping the secret had little to do with sparing his brother’s feelings and a lot to do with protecting the image his brother had of him.
When they finally returned home, Jackson hung back. He watched as Danny led his sleepy bride up the porch steps, his arm looped around her waist. Jackson turned away, forcing the jealousy he had no right to feel aside. He had never been jealous of his brother and wouldn’t start now.
“Jackson, aren’t you coming in?”
He glanced behind him and his eyes instantly locked with Truth’s. She quickly slid her gaze away, and Jackson wondered what was going through her mind right now. If he felt this level of guilt, he could only imagine how she must be feeling. He had forced her into this lie and he felt like shit about it.
“Yeah, in a minute,” he said and dug out his carton of cigarettes. He’d been trying to cut back on his smoking, and had managed to go a few days without one.
But after tonight, he needed another one. Bad.
Jackson leaned against the porch rail and stared out into the darkness. The air was unusually cool for June and he welcomed it, hoping it would be enough to settle his wayward thoughts. As minutes turned into several, he lingered outside a bit longer yet still couldn’t seem to clear his head of that kiss.
“I miss those.”
Jackson turned as Danny stepped out on the porch to join him. He followed his brother’s gaze to his half-smoked cigarette then offered it to him.
Danny shook his head. He jammed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the other end of the rail. “Truth hates it, so I gave them up.”
Jackson arched a brow. “Just like that? She says jump and you dive in head first?”
“It’s not like that. She’s certainly not shy about sharing her opinions on it, but she never asked me to quit. I just did. For her.”
“Well, you are a man in love,” Jackson muttered sardonically.
“Yeah, I am. And one day you’ll find someone that’ll make you want to give them everything. Even if it means giving up something else.”
Jackson stared down at the cigarette, took one long drag before he butted it. Silence fell between them and he glanced over at his brother, who studied him, concern strained across his face.
“You were kind of quiet at dinner tonight,” Danny said. “Is everything okay with you? This doesn’t have anything to do with that trespassing charge last month, does it? Because once those charges are officially dropped—”
“I kissed Truth.”
Danny’s eyes widen with shock before narrowing in disbelief. Jackson wanted to kick himself, but the words had fallen out before he had a chance to think them through. Jackson scrambled to fix his blunder.
“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was your—shit.”
The fist that slammed against his jaw was unexpected and hurt like hell. Jackson whipped his head back around to confront his brother. Danny’s hands were balled into fists and there was fire brewing in his eyes.
“Okay, I deserved that,” Jackson muttered. “But that was your only free one.”
Danny bristled. “You goddamn bastard! Why’d you do it?”
The faint metallic taste of blood coated his tongue and Jackson spat over the rail. He really wasn’t up for a fight tonight.
“It happened when you were out looking for me. I didn’t know she was your wife. I would have never tou
ched her had I known.”
That didn’t seem to lessen his brother’s fury, but at least his hands were no longer balled into fists.
“Did she kiss you back?”
Jackson wiped at his mouth. “She pushed me away.”
It wasn’t the complete truth, but Jackson wasn’t going to give his brother a reason to stay pissed. Especially not at his new bride.
“Good. She should have slapped you.”
“I think she wanted to but by then I was clear across the room.”
The corner of Danny’s lips slightly lifted. “Yeah, she’s pretty strong for her size and could probably kick your ass. But if you try touching her again, I definitely will.”
Jackson rubbed his jaw. “Trust me, I won’t. She’s crazy about you. If it hadn’t been for me talking her out of it, she would have already told you about this.”
Danny’s expression softened, and his smile widened. “I’m really lucky, aren’t I?”
Jackson grunted, absently wondering what it would take for him to find that kind of luck. But he didn’t want just any beautiful woman with a sweet smile and soft lips. He wanted the same pulse-pounding desire, the body-tingling rush he’d felt earlier.
He wanted the one woman he couldn’t have…
He wanted Truth.
Two
“You’re leaving today?”
Truth sat up on the bed and watched as Danny flipped open his suitcase.
“Sorry, babe, but you know I can’t control these things. We were just picked up to do a show in London. It’ll be in front of some pretty big executives. This is too huge to pass up.”
“When were you going to tell me this?”
“I wanted to tell you last night, but you weren’t feeling well, and I didn’t want to make you feel any worse.”
Truth nibbled on her lower lip. It had been her conscious eating away at her that had pained her last night. She may have reluctantly decided to keep Jackson’s secret, but it didn’t stop the guilt from festering inside her.
She didn’t think she could keep it contained any longer.
“Danny, I have something to tell you… But please don’t be mad.”
He glanced back at her then came to sit beside her on the bed. “Is it about the kiss?”
Truth gaped at him. “Jackson told you?”
“Yeah. He did. But it’s okay. I’m not mad. He told me how you pushed him away.” He sounded pleased about that.
Yeah, but only after I kissed him back.
She couldn’t ignore that important detail, which only added to the churning in her belly. Danny had always talked about his older brother as if he were a father figure. But instead of the mature older brother she had expected, she had met with a six-foot plus, muscular built man with alluring dark brown eyes and sensual lips.
Truth shook away the distracting thought. Danny would be leaving soon and she didn’t want him to think there was—or would ever be—anything between her and Jackson.
“I wanted to tell you earlier, but—”
Danny took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I know Jackson bullied you into secrecy. Don’t worry, I had a strong talk with him about it.”
Truth masked her annoyance and returned his reassuring squeeze. If Jackson had planned to tell him everything, why had he forced her into keeping quiet?
“I’m sorry, Danny.”
He pulled her into his arms. “You have nothing to be sorry about, babe. It’s Jackson who can’t keep his hands to himself.”
She looped her arms around him and leaned into his embrace. “I think I should stay at a motel or something until you get back.”
“Nonsense. I spoke to Jackson last night about you staying here until you pass the NCLEX and he’s cool with it.”
Truth drew back and stared at him, surprised. “He is?”
“Of course, he is. I told you it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Yeah, but that was before I met him.” And before she discovered how dangerously appealing his older brother was.
Danny pressed a quick kiss on the bridge of her nose. “My brother may be a lot of things, but deep down he’s a good guy and I trust him. Give it some time. You’ll get to see what kind of man he really is.”
Truth nodded and rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. She was open minded enough to put their awkward encounter behind her and start off with a clean slate.
Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
After Danny’s departure, Truth had seen very little of Jackson. The rare times they happened to be in the same room, he was cordial enough, but any exchange was always brief. He was gone for long hours and only seem to come around long enough to feed and play with Little Monster.
She didn’t know what kept him away for such long hours, but it was probably better this way. Things between them had been strained when Danny had been here. She didn’t imagine it would get any better while they were alone.
So she focused on her studies and spent hours prepping for her nursing exam. To fill in the time, she also secured a part-time position at the local hospital. She did as much as she could to keep busy, which left her little room to miss Danny and even less time to fixate on Jackson’s whereabouts.
But it took only one dinner to break her steady focus.
“Here you go, sweetie.”
Truth placed the bowl of dog food down in front of Little Monster, but the puppy dashed out of the kitchen, barking excitedly. Truth started to call after her until she heard the front door come open.
“There’s my Little Monster.”
Truth ignored the flutter in her belly as Jackson’s affectionate teasing and light chuckle reached her. He was home earlier than usual, but she wouldn’t let that change her routine. She went to the stove, plated her dinner then sat down at the small table.
“I missed you too, girl.”
Truth concentrated on her meal, only looking up when Jackson eventually walked into the small kitchen with Little Monster propped in his arms. She offered him a greeting, and he grunted in response. He went down on his haunches and placed Little Monster down in front of her food bowl. The pup attacked it with enthusiasm as Jackson continued to run his palm along her back.
Truth followed every line of his biceps and shoulders that flexed as a result of the small action. She had never met a man his size move so fluidly and with such arrogant confidence. He carried his bulk with ease, and still managed to handle a small thing like Little Monster with tenderness.
She didn’t know what to make of Jackson Matoa, but one thing was certain. He fascinated her.
When he glanced over at her, Truth quickly dropped her gaze back to her plate. Her hand tightened around her fork as she feigned calm indifference. Yet inside her chest, her heart was racing, and she didn’t know why.
“There’s some more chicken curry on the stove, if you’re hungry,” she offered, wanting to fill in the awkward silence.
“Thanks. You didn’t have to cook for me.”
Truth suppressed an eye-roll and an exasperated sigh. “I didn’t cook for you. I just made enough for two, and I’m offering you some. But you don’t have to have any, if you don’t want.”
Ignoring her last words, Jackson rose to his full height and went to the stove. He lifted the lid from the pot and dipped the serving spoon inside.
With some annoyance, she watched as he scooped out a healthy portion and brought the spoon to his mouth. He stuck the spoon back into the pot and scooped up another large helping.
“Not bad,” he said around a mouth full of food.
“I’m glad you like it. Why don’t you grab a plate and come sit with me?”
His hand stilled above the pot before he laid the serving spoon down and went to the cabinet. As he pulled out a plate, Truth returned her attention to her own. She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips.
Looks like some old dogs can learn new tricks.
When he finally sat down at the table, Truth was surpr
ised to see how high his plate was piled. But within minutes, he had it down to half. She watched with amazement at how quick the food began to disappear—and how much of a mess he was making.
One trick at a time, she reminded herself.
“How was your day?” Truth asked, trying to ignore the spectacle before her.
“Long.” He didn’t even bother looking up from his plate when he responded.
“Were you at work all day?”
Jackson grunted.
She continued to stare down at his bent head, waiting for him to say more. When he didn’t she asked, “What do you do for work?”
“I build things.”
“Like houses?”
“Something like that.”
She assumed it was houses because she had seen the unfinished doghouse in the backyard and had wondered about it.
“So you built that doghouse in the back?”
He grunted, and Truth held on to her annoyance at his mute response.
“Well, you did a nice job. Who’s it for?”
He jerked his head toward Little Monster, who was still voraciously nibbling at her dog chow. Truth cocked her head to the side in confusion.
“Don’t you think it’s a little big for her?”
“No.”
Truth stared at him and clenched her teeth in frustration. He couldn’t be anymore monotonous. Since it was clear he didn’t want to talk about himself or his work, she attempted a more neutral topic.
“I spoke with Danny today.”
“Yeah? How is he?”
“Excited about his next show. After that, he says he might be able to come and spend a few days with us.”
“Cool.”
Suddenly Jackson rose from the table and carried his plate to the sink. Truth followed him up, taken aback by yet another cold response. She would have thought the news would elicit a bit more enthusiasm.
She came up beside him and studied his profile as he turned on the faucet and grabbed for the sponge.
“Jackson, are you all right?”
“Yeah, why?” He lathered and scrubbed his plate, not sparing her a glance.
“Because I’ve been here for over two weeks and you’ve said maybe five words to me.”
