Designer Genes - The Boyfriend Cut (54 page)

He settled back on a kitchen chair with exaggerated casualness, one leg crossing the knee of the other in a smug posture. His jutted chin and arrogant smirk radiated superiority. He knew me to be too polite to kick him out, although that would be the smart thing.

"I have a confession. I knew Brittany would be late and hoped to find you alone so we could catch up."

"It appears I don't have a choice…again
.
" Hardly two months had passed since the ninety-day freeze ended, formally releasing me from Doug's hold. "Something to drink?" If his hands held something they'd be less likely to reach for me
.

"Tea sounds great."

I programmed the beverage maker and carried the personal items I'd bought to the suitcase lying open on the sofa. He followed, dominating my personal space again.

"Going somewhere?"

I moved a half-step, exposing the contents. "Florida for Thanksgiving. It's also Jordan's birthday this weekend."

Doug reached into my suitcase, retrieving the top to my little black bikini, the bead accented ribbon ties dangling between his fingers. "I can only imagine how hot you look in this. Jordan must go crazy when you wear it." He played with a ribbon streamer while his mind drifted elsewhere. Unfortunately, I knew the memory he walked through. "Reminds me of another bikini—one with ties similar to these. The kind that slip apart easily. Remember Marli?"

My heart pounded as I recalled the same moment. "Yes, I remember," my tone clipped. I hated that he still rattled me. I ripped the swimsuit top from his hand and put it in the suitcase, zipping it and the memory closed. "That was a dangerous afternoon."

Doug caught my arm. "Marli, I think about that day all the time." He pulled me closer, "I remember every detail from the salty taste of your eager lips to the way your body responded to my touch." His arms circled me, his lips at the corner of my mouth.

"Doug, stop—" I didn't finish before his mouth covered mine, the kiss more demanding than expected—my kissing him
back
scaring the hell out of me.

The timer on the beverage maker dinged, recovering my sanity. I wiped his kiss from my mouth. "Damn you Doug!"

He laughed shamelessly. "What are you angry about? My kissing you, or
you
kissing me back? There's still something there, sweetheart."

"Shut up! There's nothing between us, understand? Nothing!"

"
You
kissed
me
, Marli, and if Jan hadn't knocked on the door that afternoon, you'd be with me, not Mason. I know it and so do you."

"I know I love Jordan. Not you."

Angry tears burned hot in my eyes. I didn't need this. I took a deep breath and steadied, reaching for the hot carafe before facing Doug.

"There's never been anything between us other than my overactive hormones and your need to please your father. I was hurt and acting on the rebound. You took advantage of the opportunity."

"That's not true. I wasn't the only one having a good time on the bed that afternoon." The heat on my face felt so intense I was surprised my skin didn't melt off. Doug's tone softened. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. But Marli, you meant more to me than some way to gain my father's approval."

"Did I? Tell me your father doesn't still blame you for my leaving Italy? Deny he wouldn't be thrilled if I was with you?"

Doug boxed me in the tiny kitchen, taking the kettle from my shaking hand. "I can't deny either. But you've got to believe me, I never thought of you as some pawn in a power play. Not in Italy." He drew me into him, ignoring my head shaking in protest.

A hot tear dampened my cheek. "Doug, let me go. I don't belong to you."

"Marli, I know you're not mine. However, for one precious moment, I tasted our future on your lips—"

The front door opened and in walked Brittany
and
Jordan.

"What the hell?" Jordan snapped.

Brittany's expression wavered between confusion and anger, tinged with a bright green streak of jealousy when our eyes met."Doug? Marli? What's going on?"

Jordan and Doug squared off. Déjà vu. Let the chest pounding begin. I rushed to Jordan before things worsened. He turned, really looking at me for the first time since entering our now very small apartment.

"You're crying. Did he hurt you?"

"No, I didn't hurt her!"

"I didn't ask you Peterson," Jordan snarled, still watching my eyes. I knew he looked for the lie behind them. "Marli?"

"I'm okay, honest. Let's go."

"Wait," Brittany interrupted, cocking her head the direction of her bedroom. "Marli, could I talk to you?"

She didn't pause for my answer and I took her cue to follow, leaving Jordan in an alpha-male standoff with Doug. If Doug used the opportunity to brag about what happened moments ago and ruined things with Jordan, Brittany would have to deal with the blood-stained carpet because I'd murder him.

Brittany closed the door and stood guard, trapping me in a direct, probing glare. "Do you get off on guys fawning all over you? I know you and Doug shared something, but you wanted nothing to do with him. Then I walk in and find you tangled up with him and by how swollen your lips are, I'm pretty certain you weren't
talking
about old times."

My fingers immediately flew to my guilty lips. If Brit noticed my mouth, undoubtedly Jordan did too. Doug didn't have to tattle. Jordan surely figured it out on his own. I hated Doug all over again...and myself for letting him get to me. But worse, I despised him for coming between me and my best friend—a friend I thought knew me to be better than some boyfriend stealer. Hurt linked with anger that Brit made such a judgmental assumption. Even more frustrating? She played for Doug's team now.

"How dare you! Of all people, you know how I hate attention and especially how I struggle with affection. Nothing in my life has shown me how to handle all these new feelings, let alone trust that any of them are real. Jordan is the only boy I've ever let get this close, Brit, and I'm frightened every day I'll lose him too." I couldn't stop the tears running over my cheeks. "Brit, I'm sorry for what it looked like when you walked in. There's nothing going on, trust me.
One
kiss happened, but it shouldn't have."

"Doug kissed you, didn't he?"

"Yes, and...I kissed him back. I didn't mean to and I swear it will never happen again."

Brit pushed the back of her hand under her nose the way she always did to keep from crying. "I hate being jealous. It's so 'high school.'" She folded her arms tight about her waist. "He's going to hurt me, isn't he?"

"I hope not. Just swear you'll be smart, okay? Deep down Doug might be a nice guy, but the person he hides behind shouldn't be taken at face value." And I wasn't talking about Doug. I wished I could tell Brit about his father, however, my new life dictated secrecy.

A double pound sounded on the door. "Marli? We need to go."

I hugged Brittany and begged for understanding, not forgiveness. I had to earn that.

Jordan helped me with my coat and grabbed my suitcase. His arm wrapped protectively about my waist. "Peterson, as always, it's never good to see you."

A thick silence loomed on the short drive to Jordan's apartment. We pulled into a spot in the underground parking and Jordan turned off the Porsche, but didn't get out. Music played quietly in the background and I watched him nervously pick at the leather wrapped steering wheel.

"Marli, please tell me I don't have to worry about Doug Peterson."

"What? No! Doug is a stupid blip from my past." I took his hand, pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "You're my future. He'll never be more than a friend, if that."

"His wants more than friendship from you, Marli."

"Then he's alone on a one-way street because I don't."

Jordan smiled for the first time since I saw him this morning. The kiss he placed on my mouth held a gentle frailty as if I'd break if he pressed too hard. His beautiful eyes glistened. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. The thought frightens me."

"I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

His hand cradled the back of my neck the way I liked, holding my lips to his for a long kiss. "I'll grab my bag and be right back so we can get out of here. I won't relax until I have you far away from Douglas Peterson. I don't trust the guy where you're concerned, or me around him."

He wasn't the only one. I decided to keep the news about Doug now living in New Hampshire a secret. The kiss, however, I had to confess or I'd lose Jordan's trust too.

Jordan tossed his bag in the trunk and bounced into the driver's seat. I grinned sheepishly. "I-I need to tell you something."

The dark mood from the apartment returned instantly and I wondered if Doug had already told Jordan what happened. Jordan programmed the car's heater. Obviously, we weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

"What," he demanded in an icy tone.

I inhaled deep as if it might be my last breath. "Doug kissed me." Jordan's head snapped sideways and anger flared in his eyes. "And I kind of reacted."

Jordan angled to face me. "Explain
reacted
."

"I kissed him back."

"You
what
? Why?"

I studied my fingers twisting in my lap, avoiding eye contact. "Honestly, I don't why. "He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "Jordan, it meant nothing, I swear! The kiss caught me off guard and Doug misinterpreted everything. That's why I was crying. We were arguing about it when you and Brit walked in."

"Does Brittany know?"

"Yes. I told her and she's angry with me."

"Seems a bit extreme. They've only interviewed."

"Doug said he's been communicating with her behind his father's back. Brit hasn't said anything because she knows I wouldn't approve, but I'm worried she likes him."

Jordan pressed his head against the steamed window and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn. Their relationship is doomed."

"Please don't say that." I carefully reached for his hand. "What about ours?"

He kissed my knuckles. "We're solid. But the next time Doug touches you, Marli, I have grounds to kill him, understand?"

"I'll help you." A grin slid off the side of his mouth. "There won't be no next time because the only one I want touching me is you."

Jordan's thumb gently stroked my cheek. "Forever?"

"And beyond."

32

THANKSGIVING

T
he elevator ping rivaled a cathedral bell, announcing our arrival at one o'clock in the morning, and separating our fused bodies from the corner. It had been a long nine hours trapped in separate seats and only able to hold hands in our very public setting. We hadn't shared so much as a chaste kiss and now craved each other like addicts needing a fix to survive.

"Maybe we should have stayed at a hotel," I whispered inside our brass box.

"Mom would have had a fit if we did." A wicked grin curled Jordan's mouth. "Alone with you in a hotel room would also guarantee we'd be late for Thanksgiving dinner…if we even showed up at all."

The doors opened washing us in brilliant light. I stepped onto the glossy floor, forgetting all about the rainbow of emotions churning inside me. Deep violet radiated beneath my feet and Jordan eyes checked off mine, my feet, before back to my eyes. A most disarming smile formed on my favorite mouth, reaching eyes holding a familiar glimmer. When I looked at the floor again, two large bright violet puddles merged, but a hot pink tinge also rimmed the edges of Jordan's feet.

"What are you afraid of?" I asked.

His grin screwed sideways. "You know about the colors?"

"Yep."

"Then you also know there's no way we can be alone together tonight. According to the lovely purple shade pulsating under our feet, we'd be in serious moral trouble."

"Aren't we always?"

"Exactly." He took my hand and tugged me toward the entrance. "I'll have to erase the security tapes before anyone sees."

The goodnight kiss pressed to my mouth outside Jordan's bedroom, proved the floor to be right. A slow burn snaked through my body as Jordan's tongue moved languid strokes against the sensitive hollow on the top of my mouth, his hands pinning mine to the wall to the side of my head. His hips rocked with mine in rhythm to the dance happening between our lips until I finally broke the kiss.

Jordan's lips moved to the hollow of my throat. "Stay with me," I whispered.

"Not the best idea given how weak my self-control is at the moment."

We giggled against each other's mouths, taking familiar deep breaths to slow racing hearts in preparation of unwanted goodbyes. When I asked about the pink highlights again, Jordan refused to answer, opening the door and pushing my reluctant body inside. Worry plagued my thoughts as I changed into my pajamas. If Jordan was afraid of something, then I should be terrified.