Designer Genes - The Boyfriend Cut (48 page)

Jordan eased his body over mine, settling a leg between my thighs. A harder, eager kiss met my lips, followed by a soft moan, either mine or his...or both.

Without warning, cold water enveloped our legs. I gasped, my open mouth only inviting a deeper kiss. I folded my arms around Jordan's neck, his hands sliding under me and clenching me tighter to him when a second wave rolled in. He lifted me in his arms before the third wave wrapped his knees, sucking both towels away.

"The towels!" I rolled sideways in his arms, but only retrieved one before Jordan lost his balance, sending both of us crashing into the ocean.

Jordan hauled me onto the lawn and fell beside me, both of us struggling to catch our breath from laughing. He took the towel I managed to grab and twisted it, wringing cold water across my chest and down my neck.

"Aack! Jordan!

His gaze slowly moved over my drenched body. "Purple. Very sexy."

"Huh?"

He knelt to my side, his arm stretched across my hips. "Your soaked sundress is delightfully revealing," he answered brazenly.

I smacked his chest. "You're unbelievable."

"I'm a guy. I can't help myself." He scooped me up before I could put any weight on my bad foot, indulging in another shameless glance. "Nor do I want to."

Jordan carried me to my room, placing me on the edge of my bed and carefully removing the wet bandage. He gathered the bedspread around me and leaned me back onto the bed. "I like the purple almost as much as the pink," he grinned, pecking my nose.

"Pink?" A fuzzy recollection answered my own question. "
You
dressed me in my pajamas last night?" Heat instantly wrapped my face.

"You'd puked on your clothes and I didn't want you sleeping in them. Mom was in the shower and Meg had already gone to bed. I had no choice." His cheeks burned scarlet. "I kept my eyes closed as much as possible, I promise."

I scrunched my eyes shut. "I can't believe you saw me in my underwear. I'm so embarrassed."

"Trust me, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Plus, I now have a sweet memory that will probably keep me awake at night the rest of my life."

"Good."

Jordan kissed me. "No,
fantastic.
" His mouth pushed on mine to stifle any more snarky replies. He wrapped my foot while I remained in my fabric cocoon. "Marli, tell me about this other gnarly scar."

Jesse appeared in the doorway, saving me from answering. "Sorry to interrupt, but Dad needs you downstairs."

Jordan kissed my big toe. "We'll pick this up later."

Not if I can help it.
The skeletons in my closet needed to remain locked away.

President Banks decided to stay the night, along with his security detail. Resting my foot on a chair, I sat at the kitchen table putting together a tossed salad, watching the men grill steaks on the back patio. Eva Mason never left her husband's side. Their loving glances and tender kisses warmed my heart.

"It's hard on her having him gone so much." Jesse's voice shocked me. He pulled out the chair across from me, taking a handful of snap peas.

"Are you okay?" I asked carefully. "I'm sorry for causing all this trouble."

He shook his head, "Marli,
you're
not responsible for any of this."

"I could have answered your question and avoided this whole mess. Just so you know, Jordan doesn't spend every night with me, and if
I
ask him to stay, we sleep. That's all. Sleep, okay?"

"You don't owe me any explanations. I should keep my nose in my own damn business, so when it comes to being stubborn, you have competition. Jordan and I were doomed to fight over you at some point." He reached over and gingerly touched my bandaged foot. "Does it hurt?"

"Not as much tonight." I playfully threw a crouton at him, hitting his forehead. "
So
...you and Jordan?" He tossed it into the air and caught it in his open mouth.

"Like I said, this isn't easy for me."

I took his hand. "Jesse, I need you guys to fix this."

His hand slithered away. "I'm working on it, Mars." He glanced out the window. "I should get away from you before there's more trouble."

Following his gaze I saw Jordan glowering, his father's hand on his shoulder holding him back. "You're not the only one having trouble, Jess. Jordan's struggling too."

"Pardon me if I don't exactly feel compassion for my brother. After all, he has you, doesn't he?

"Nobody
has
me. I'm assigned to Jordan, remember?"

"The only memory I have is of one steamy night. Now I can spend the rest of my life knowing my brother is creating more of them with you. Shit! I can't do this." He pushed away from the table and disappeared out the front door.

Jordan marched in from the patio. "What's going on?"

"Jesse's still upset." He opened his mouth to speak. "Uh-uh. Don't say a word unless it's to apologize to
him.
"

"Why? What did I do?"

"You 'got the girl,' Jordan."

"What am I supposed to do, Marli?
Share
you?" Jordan looked so intense, fists pushing his hips, his cowlick twisting a curl forward over his scrunched brow.

"We could alternate weekends."

His head cocked sideways, an expression of disbelief covering his face. I couldn't hold back the laugh.

"You're impossible, girl, you know that?" Scratching at the back of his neck, he exhaled a large breath. "So where is he?"

"Somewhere out front."

Jordan kissed my head. "Finish the salad, I'll be right back."

No way. The salad could wait. I quietly hobbled to the front door, spying Jordan leaning against the porch post and Jesse on the step, shredding a long blade of grass. I tucked out of sight and listened.

"Jess, I get it and I'm sorry. What can I do to make things right?"

"Guess you wouldn't consider giving Mars up?"

"Sorry, can't do that one."

"Didn't think so. Just don't hurt her, Jordan. Watching you love her is one thing, but watching you hurt her isn't something I couldn't stand by and let happen."

"I hope I never do," Jordan replied. "Who knew, huh? The government decided who I'd share my life with, but they never factored in my heart. How lucky am I to have been assigned Marli?"

"Jordan, could you really have spent your life with some girl you didn't care for? Maybe that's why I didn't fight to get my blue band back. I couldn't live with someone I didn't love."

Jordan's knee knocked Jesse's shoulder. "Even if she was drop-dead gorgeous and her body rocked?"

"Like Mars?"

"Yeah…like Marli."

Heat instantly leaped onto my cheeks.

"Meaningless sex for a night is one thing, but for a lifetime? And for what?
Kids
the government can turn into mindless minions? How do you teach a kid about love if you don't feel it yourself?"

"Whoa, going deep, Jess. I guess I assumed the relationship would eventually turn into more. Don't ever tell Dad, but that's why I delved into my medical studies. Deep down, I hoped he let me be and not push it. Then Mom announced she'd be interviewing
two
candidates and I blew up."

"I remember that night. I heard you guys arguing and thought 'geesh, Jordan's got a set' if he's threatening to cause a worse scandal than my fiasco did."

"You were set-up, Jess. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Would you really have dropped out?"

My lungs seized.
Jordan
threatened to drop out of The Program?

"You know I couldn't. Not after Kate. And when I think about who Marli would have been assigned to, I get sick."

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't. She deserves someone like you, seeing how she can't have
me.
" Jesse chuckled, glancing toward the door. I shrunk tighter to the wall.

"Are we good, Jess?"

"Better, but this isn't going away overnight."

"I know." Feet shuffled closer. "So tell me about this meaningless sex."

Jesse laughed. "Dude, what are we?
Girls
?" Feet stopped again. "But I suggest we can the sex talk. I smell someone burning she's blushing so hard."

"Marli? She's in the kitchen."

"Seriously, Jordan? You have so much to learn about your little 'assignee.'" Jesse pressed his face to the screen, bending the mesh. "Doesn't he, Mars?" He pulled the door open and Jordan poked his head around the corner.

Our noses touched.

One by one, everyone drifted indoors, leaving Jordan and me alone by the fire. He added another log to the burning blaze, sending a cloud of fiery embers into the black sky. In the distance, the hollow sound of waves lapping against the wooden pylons of the pier echoed.

Jordan straddled the lounge behind me, his long legs crossing over and holding mine. "Are you warm enough?"

I patted his arms crossed over my chest, "I'm perfect. It's a beautiful night and I'm with the most sexy boy I know. What could be more perfect?"

"I can think of a couple of things." When his lips moved below my ear, I lengthened my neck for him to nibble. "We're back to pink, I see. I feel a restless night coming on."

"Are you looking down my shirt?"

Tiny puffs of air exited his nose with his quiet laugh, tickling my collarbone. "Possibly."

I twisted, capturing his smirk with my mouth. "You're hopeless."

"Hopelessly in love with you." He pulled me back against him, his head resting to the side of mine. After a couple of quiet seconds passed, he brought up his earlier question, dissolving my peaceful world. "Marli, how did you hurt your foot before? That's a gnarly scar."

"Nothing much to tell."

"Uh-huh. Try again." His teeth grazed my ear releasing a heated ripple to race through me. "Come on. It's only fair. You know my secret."

Jordan's intent on solving my puzzle scared me. What if he hated me for keeping the truth from him? He'd never trust me again. Worst of all, what if…he wouldn't want me anymore?

There were also new reasons to proceed with caution in unveiling my guarded past. Up to this point, Jordan's father remained a mystery. But with the truth revealed, I knew anything remotely questionable in Jordan's life could cause a scandal. His father held a position of power—one others wanted and would stop at nothing to get, including causing his family public disgrace. Nor would the embarrassment be mine to privately endure. My family and friends would suffer, not to mention the media blitz this could cause.

My own epiphany slapped. Only one option remained for me now. I had to leave Jordan before something happened that couldn't be undone. But first, he deserved the truth.

"You may not like me after I tell you," I replied quietly, my voice fracturing as my emotions chased the fear building inside me.

His arms hugged me tighter. "Marli, trust me, that's impossible."

Warily, I divulged the guarded story surrounding my entrance into the high profile Program, airing my family's dirty laundry before the son of the President of our nation. When I finished the story about the slice to the bottom of my foot and the one to my heart by my own mother, I was bawling and Jordan had grown silent.

He lifted my face and swiped the tears from my cheeks. His face glowed in the firelight, his eyes warm and compassionate, with no sign of judgment hidden in the flecks of gold edging his pupils. A single tear drew a shimmery trail over his cheek.

"Babe, I'm so sorry." His soft voice rang with sincerity. "How did you survive and stay so sweet? I'd be madder than hell. I
am
actually. I hate that someone hurt you like that. You were a child."

"I've learned to keep the anger buried." I twisted to look him in the eyes. No more hiding.

"Jordan, I came into The Program illegally. Chuck and Rick have worked hard to keep this confidential, but knowing your real identity and your father coming into an election year, if this information got out, it could ruin everything. Face it. I can't be your assigned candidate anymore. I'll call Mike in the morning to make arrangements to return home before this becomes public."

I touched the face mirroring my pain. "I'll always love you—to the moon and back."