Page 29 of Revealing Mark

“Do I have to remind you that I can tell when you’re not being truthful?” He cocked his head to the side with a knowing smile.

“What do you want from me?” I felt my tight temper snap and everything I had been struggling with came rushing to the surface unchecked.

“Talk to me,” he suggested, his tone encouraging.

“Okay. Fine. You want to talk. Fine. Let’s talk,” I yelled. My tiredness fueled my anger.

“How about you tell me why you stopped?” My voice trembled, revealing the emotion behind the question.

He studied me for a while but didn’t say a word. I wondered if he was going to answer me at all.

“There’s an unwritten rule that you don’t fool around with your friend’s sisters.” There was a seriousness in his voice that implied the importance.

I frowned. So this was about overstepping with Matthew, or was it a convenient out for him? I understood his reasons even if I didn’t agree with them. I admired and hated the loyalty he had for my brother.

“You’re not the type of girl guys fool around with.”

What did that mean?

“What type of girl am I?” I asked nervously, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

“You’re the girl they take home to meet their parents.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or an insult.

“I’m not that type of guy,” he admitted seriously.

“What type of guy are you?” I ventured. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly uncomfortable with my direct question.

“Not the type you should be messing with.” The dark look in his eyes sent a flutter of awareness thought me.

It wasn’t a shock but his admission still hit me square in the chest, worsening the ache. Over the years, he had never been with a girl long enough for any of us to meet them. At school, I had rarely seen him with the same girl more than twice.

In some deep daydreaming part of me, I had wanted to believe with the right girl he would change. Maybe it just wasn’t me.

“Isn’t that decision up to me, who I want to mess with?” I asked, swallowing nervously.

He shook his head. “I love Matthew like a brother. This would step over a line, there would be no going back.” He pressed his lips together. “It won’t last and what happens afterward when we have to see each other? Someone might be hurt and things could get awkward.”

I wanted to deny that would happen but there was no way I could do that. In that scenario, I knew I was the one he was referring to.

Taking a risk only made sense if there was a chance of something worth it. If from the onset there was no hope, then was there any point in taking the plunge into the unknown? The logical answer was no but there was nothing logical about how I felt about him or how my body responded to his touch. The chemical reaction between us scrambled all the good intentions and reasoning.

“And what would you tell Matthew if he discovered I was staying here?” I raised an eyebrow. They were so close, I bet there wasn’t a lot they didn’t share with each other.

“I’d have to come clean about Jack,” he admitted. “The only reason I’m not telling Matt about this is so I can use it as leverage over you.”

My shoulders slumped and I felt all hope that this thing between us might actually develop into something disappear. Icouldn’t mistake his motives for anything but what they were: his need to protect me. It was who he was, protecting the people who he deemed needed it. And despite all my best attempts to clarify, he believed I needed protecting.

“So how long are you going to play protective bodyguard?” I asked, needing to soothe over my hurt. “A week or two, or maybe a month?”

“As long as it takes,” he replied, rolling his shoulders.

“There is really no need for any of this,” I tried reasoning with him. “Jack is harmless. He’ll move on and you’ll see there was never really a threat.”

“I’d rather take too many precautions than not enough.” He shrugged.

I thoughtfully chewed my lip as I considered my options. The only way out of this situation with Mark was to tell Matthew about Jack, and that was something I was still hesitant to do, so for the time being I would do as Mark wanted but I didn’t know for how long I could do it. It was becoming more and more difficult to be around him with this thing hanging in the air between us.