The Forever Dream (20 page)

"Perhaps it's the sedative," she said, a tiny enigmatic smile on her face. "Maybe tomorrow, when my thinking is clearer, I'll take a more logical view of the situation. Yes, I'm sure I'll be quite sensible tomorrow." She closed her lids, but she could still see him sitting there looking down at her with those puzzled eyes. Such lovely silver eyes. "But I think I'd like you to kiss me good night right now. Will you do that, Jared?"

She heard his sharply indrawn breath, and the sound caused that delicate budding to push out new slips of brilliant life. "My pleasure," he said huskily. Then she felt the warm, sweet cleanness of his breath and the touch of his lips on the curve of her cheek. "Definitely my pleasure, love."

Then he was moving, his weight shifted off the mattress, and she could hear him settle once more in the chair beside the bed.

She smiled contentedly, tucking her palm over her cheek to hold captive that lovely treasure of tenderness. He was wrong, she thought drowsily. It was definitely her pleasure too.

Chapter 9

The man sitting in the chair when she woke up wasn't Jared. The fact registered at once, but it took her a moment to realize just who the stranger was who'd invaded her bedroom and possessed such an air of casual élan as he waited for her to awaken. Sam Corbett.

There wasn't a chance of not recognizing a politician so powerful, a man so famous, especially to the hundreds of thousands of women voters who idolized him. His handsome face, with a cleft in the strong chin, was boyish. The lock of gray-streaked brown hair that was allowed to fall over his forehead was boyish, too—but there was nothing boyish about his hazel eyes. They were more a clear green than brown, and revealed a startling directness and a keen intelligence.

Those eyes were regarding her with an alertness that changed immediately to warmth when he realized she was awake. "I must apologize for barging in on you, Miss Orlinov. I'm Sam Corbett," he said with an apologetic smile that lit his tanned face and caused laugh lines to fan out around his hazel eyes. "And that is, I know, the least of my transgressions against you. You've really been treated outrageously by everyone involved in this project since you entered into the picture."

She tried to sit up and he was instantly at her bedside to help her, arranging the pillows behind her with practiced courtesy. She was still naked beneath the sheet, and while she hadn't felt the least bit awkward about that fact with Jared, she now clutched the sheet to her shoulders as it started to slip.

His gaze ran over her with an expression that was distinctly appreciative without being in the least lascivious. "Lovely as you are, I felt you'd be more comfortable while we talked if you were wearing this." He reached down to the foot of the bed and picked up a pink pleated bed jacket that was fashioned like a cape.

"I can put it on," she said.

He gingerly drew the bed jacket over her shoulders. "Allow me. I'll be very careful not to hurt you."

He glanced up with a quick grin as he fastened the first button. "My last report on the situation here stated that you were a very independent woman, Miss Orlinov, but surely it won't bother you to accept a little help under the circumstances. After all, we're the ones responsible for your being hurt." His deft fingers fastened the last of the tiny pearl buttons down the front of the bed jacket and his expression quickly sobered. "A fact I regret exceedingly, I might add. It was totally unforgivable of Betz to let this happen. I flew here from Washington as soon as I heard you'd regained consciousness, to assure you that I'll personally see nothing like this will occur again while you're at the chateau."

"It was unforgivable," she agreed, her dark eyes steady on his. "But this entire charade falls in that same category. I find it incredible you could be involved in something like this, Senator. From what I've heard, kidnapping and shooting innocent women isn't precisely your cup of tea."

He grimaced. "Believe me, it's not, Miss Orlinov. Betz took matters into his own hands regarding you. He can be a little overenthusiastic about his work at times."

"Overenthusiastic!" she echoed, her eyes flashing. "What a euphemism! We're speaking of criminal acts of violence, Senator."

"I'm fully aware of that, Miss Orlinov," he said soothingly as he stood up and moved the few steps to the bedside table and picked up the thermos carafe of coffee on the tray beside the lamp.

"Let me get you a cup of coffee and I'll try to explain my actions more clearly. You may not be sympathetic or forgive the course we've been forced to follow, but you'll at least understand." He poured the coffee into a delicate hand-painted cup. "You take it with cream, don't you?"

"That's right."

It seemed that the senator was very well informed, and exceptionally retentive of even the smallest detail.

He was quite tall and fit. Tania knew he was in his early fifties, yet he looked at least ten years younger in the casual gray flannel slacks and lemon-yellow crew-necked sweater he wore. He'd finished pouring his own coffee and returned to hold her cup out to her. "I thought it best to dispense with a saucer. It would be difficult to manage with only one good arm, and Jared tells me it will probably be painful for you to move that arm for a few more days."

She accepted the cup of coffee. "Jared knows you're here?"

He sat down on the wing chair and stretched his legs before him. "My dear Miss Orlinov, Jared knows everything that goes on in this sickroom; he watches over you like the proverbial hawk." He smiled. "I understand he didn't leave your side until you were entirely out of danger. I had to use all my powers of persuasion to get him to let me take his place even for this short time it will take for me to apologize."

"I find that a little hard to believe," she said, taking a sip of her hot coffee. "From what I hear, your powers of persuasion are very impressive indeed."

"I'd be overly modest if I didn't admit that was true. Rhetoric is a very useful tool in my profession, and I use it to the limit of my abilities. But don't sell our friend, Ryker, short. He's a very determined man." He raised an inquiring brow. "But perhaps you've found that out?"

"You might say so. He's certainly an unusual one."

"Most geniuses are," Corbett said, and shrugged. "But not all have as strong a will as Jared. However, he probably wouldn't have accomplished what he has without it. A good deal can be forgiven a man who has gifts to give on the scale that Ryker has."

"I've heard that before," she said impatiently. "It's a wonder the man isn't completely impossible, what with everyone afraid of making one false step and offending him."

"Yet you're obviously not finding Jared totally outrageous, despite the trials you've had to undergo because of him. He must be making more progress than I've been led to believe."

She stiffened, and her eyes narrowed intently on his face. "I think my attitude toward Jared Ryker is irrelevant, Senator Corbett. It has nothing whatever to do with the moral issue."

"You're wrong, Miss Orlinov," he said gently. "Nothing concerning Jared Ryker can be considered irrelevant. Everything is of the utmost importance. That's why we've had to be so unreasonable about your release." His gaze dropped to the cup and saucer in his hands. "And that's why I'm going to violate Jared's wishes in this matter and give you an insight into just why I've become a party to this. I think we owe it to you after all the mental and physical pain we've inflicted on you." He glanced up and darted her a quick warm smile. "I'm surprised you've displayed so little curiosity about it to date. You're a very unusual woman in a number of ways."

"My attention was otherwise engaged. I was trying to negotiate an escape from this charming hideaway of yours."

"Oh, yes. And in quite a few refreshingly innovative ways, I hear," he said, his eyes twinkling. He took a sip of his coffee. "I understand that you're studying for your citizenship test, Miss Orlinov. That includes a good deal of American history. How much do you know about Ponce de Leon?"

What on earth did this off-the-wall question have to do with anything? "An explorer," she replied. "Fifteenth century. Florida, I think."

"Very good. But not quite the thorough answer I was looking for. Ponce de Leon explored great tracts of land in Florida, but that wasn't the main purpose of his expedition. He failed totally in his prime objective." He paused. "A quite similar objective to one that Jared has had for a number of years. The only difference is that Jared didn't fail. Old Ponce de Leon would be wild with envy."

"And that objective?" she asked slowly.

"A fountain of youth, of sorts," he said softly. "Jared has developed a method for intervening in the body's aging process . . . and virtually shutting it off. Can you imagine the implications of such a discovery, Miss Orlinov?"

She shook her head dazedly, feeling more stunned than when the bullet had struck her. "I thought he was working on some kind of weapon," she said numbly. "I can't quite take it in."

"We all had the same problem. But I assure you that the breakthrough Jared has made is legitimate; the proof he's given me is quite convincing. His discovery should extend the present life-span to at least four hundred years." He smiled as he saw her eyes widen even more. "And Jared hypothesizes that further refining of his technique in manipulating genetic material may result in extending the life-span even more."

"Eternal life," she whispered.

"Perhaps," he answered, and for an instant there was a flicker of excitement in the depths of his eyes. "Certainly a life-span beyond anything we've ever conceived of. Would you like to live forever, Miss Orlinov? Jared may be able to give you immortality. He can certainly give you, me, all of us, hundreds of years of life of high quality."

"I've never even imagined such a thing," she muttered. Her thoughts were churning wildly. My God, she thought, no wonder security was so tight around Jared! The value of his discovery was beyond price. She stared at the senator. "Jared has done this work under government sponsorship?"

Corbett's lips tightened. "No. Independently. He's even such a maverick that I can't persuade him to let the government control the project now. He won't agree to relinquish key information to anyone," he said tersely. "He tells us he's even destroyed vital parts of his basic research. It's all in that brain of Ryker's. And until we get his knowledge on paper, he's the single most important man on the face of the earth. Even after he shares the method, his ability to continue the research is absolutely necessary if we're to gain the optimum effect." Corbett's voice was emphatic. "He must be protected at all cost."

"I can see that," Tania said faintly. "But I still don't understand from whom you're protecting him. He's done the impossible. He's given every human being a gift so precious it's difficult to imagine. Why should anyone want to hurt him?"

"Why?" His lips curved cynically. "For any number of reasons. It's a gift wrapped in thorns. Think about the

ramifications of Jared's discovery." He sighed wearily. "Hell, I can even sympathize with a few of the fanatics who'd snuff out Ryker without a second thought. In the past few weeks not a day has gone by that I haven't identified yet another host of changes and problems that such radically increased longevity brings with it. Maybe Ryker's discovery ought to be deep-sixed."

"You can't mean that," she whispered.

"No, I don't mean it," he said with a reassuring smile. "The advantages far outweigh the problems involved. I guess I'm just tired of beating my head against the system. Some of those bureaucratic arguments are beginning to sound like gospel to me."

"For instance?"

"Where would you like to start?" he asked dryly. "Perhaps you'd like to consider the question of overpopulation. Our civilization depends on the death cycle to maintain life for the rest of us. How will we produce enough food to feed these millions who'll still be around for the next four hundred years? Think of the problems of famine that exist now in the Third World. What kind of reaction do you think leaders in those countries will have when Ryker's discovery becomes known?"

"Explosive."

"Right," he said. "Now think about the economic effect. Social security, which is already tottering, life insurance, pensions, employment. Our system of government will almost certainly prove ineffective. Most sociologists say that the only form of government control that could possibly survive would be patriarchy." His words were coming out with the rapidity of machine-gun fire. "Education will have to be completely overhauled and extended, not merely to keep the young out of the job market but to prepare them for a more sophisticated and learned society. Attitudes toward families and intimate relationships such as marriage will certainly

change. How do we keep the boredom factor from triggering more violence and increasing the crime rate?" He paused, one brow arched inquiringly. "Shall I go on? I haven't even scratched the surface yet."

She shook her head. "No, you have my head whirling as it is. I think I get the general picture. The ramifications are . . . are overwhelming. One can scarcely think them through."

"Ryker did. That's why he came to me, Miss Orlinov. He thought I'd have enough clout to cut through red tape and get an international forum established to work on these problems and handle the distribution of his knowledge in an equitable way." His lips twisted. "Unfortunately, Ryker's a very impatient man and has given me only twelve weeks to work out such a plan before he takes an alternative course." He ran his hand through his hair. "He has no conception of what a massive can of worms he's opened or perhaps he'd be a little more merciful. I've been working eighteen hours a day since he came to me seven weeks ago, and I haven't made what he'd consider real progress."

"I haven't found him to be all that impatient," she said slowly. "If he knows how hard you're trying, I think he'd allow you the additional time you need."

"He doesn't like to have his personal freedom curtailed," Corbett said. "I can't say that I blame him, but he should have realized such restrictions go along with his special territory."