The similarities in his two sons were obvious, but not having known until now, I'd never have made the connection. There was no mistaking the handsome man to be Jordan and Jesse's father. I smiled inside knowing Jordan would be every bit as good looking when he grew older. I also fully understood the necessity for all the secrecy. The thousands of questions I had were answered, as well as a couple of new ones coming to mind.
Jordan walked behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. "Um, Marli, this is my father—John Banks."
I stared into the chocolate brown eyes of the legendary man standing in front of me, and my hand shook when I held it out to him. "Nice to meet you, Mr. President."
27
REVELATIONS
The water crept closer, capturing a little more of me in its foamy edges with each wave. I watched the gulls circling overhead playfully duck from the warm summer sky into the sparkling peaks of the waves, their webbed feet skimming the surface until their downy bellies rested on the water.
I'd grabbed an apple and a couple of towels, slipping out of the house when Jordan and Jesse were loudly summoned for a private meeting with their father. With all the confusion inside, I welcomed the solitude of my private spot on the beach.
Most of the night, Eva, Jordan, and I sat in the living room with Jordan's father politely answering my barrage of questions. Before the morning sun fully ascended on the eastern horizon, however, nature's morning chatter was interrupted by the loud pounding of an ominous black helicopter. The 'Eagle' returned to the nest.
Immediately dismissed to our rooms when four large men walked through the door, President Banks's private entourage of bodyguards and Secret Service detail had a few questions of their own. They were less than happy to wake and find the President of the United States missing. I wondered what security protected Mike for participating in the covert abduction.
A wave smacked a nearby rock, sprinkling me. I adjusted the rolled up towel under my injured foot, moving farther back from the teasing fingers of water. The gulls swarmed to make breakfast off the apple core I threw their direction. I closed my eyelids, concentrated on the sound of the waves breaking in the distance and not my tumultuous thoughts.
"There you are. I've been looking all over for you." Jordon plopped onto the sand next to me, leaning on a raised knee. "I see you're obeying doctor's orders and keeping the foot up, but why all the way down here?" He raised the bill of the baseball cap shading my face from the bright sun. "Marli?"
I remained hidden under my hat, while Jordan played with my fingers. "It's a lot to absorb," I answered. "Your father is the President of the United States, but no one can know. You go by a different last name and your father can't publicly acknowledge you. I'm having a hard time understanding, that's all."
"Babe, take off the hat and look at me, please?"
"No. I like hiding from a world that's very confusing right now."
"Fine have it your way." Jordan stretched out beside me on the beach towel, taking my hand. "Marli, you don't need to hide to feel safe. Nothing's changed."
"Are you serious?" I yelled through my fabric mask. "Everything's changed! I don't even know if you're Jordan Mason or Banks? I can no longer 'fly under the radar.' From now on, I have a personal bodyguard. How am I going to explain that little detail to Rick? Oh, that's right. I can't tell him. He's just going to believe I'm being stalked!"
Jordan yanked the hat off my face and threw it into the ocean before I could blink. He held my face so I couldn't look away. "I'm still Jordan Mason and for your information, you've had a bodyguard since you returned from California. My father insisted on it when he found out you interviewed for Douglas Peterson. You've just never seen the guy. The only time he couldn't watch you was when you were in Italy. We don't have jurisdiction internationally."
"Even when you weren't speaking to me?"
Jordan's brow arched. "It was you not speaking to me, if I remember correctly, and yes, even then."
I pried Jordan's hand from my face before a permanent mark formed. "Why? What's the big deep dark secret about Doug? I deserve to know everything."
"Actually, the less you know, Marli, the safer you are. I'll tell you this much. Doug Peterson's father is a powerful man, but not in a good way. I don't think Doug even knows much about his father's life. He's the one who had the pictures taken. They were meant to tear us apart so he could have you re-assigned to Doug."
"I know." Jordan looked surprised. "I overheard a conversation in Italy."
"Damn, I wish you hadn't. If Peterson knew…he's dangerous, babe. If there's such a thing as an 'arch enemy,' Tony Peterson qualifies in my dad's eyes."
I leaned up on my elbow. "Tony Peterson knows about your family? What if he told someone?"
Jordan twisted a lock of my hair around his finger. "If our family secret gets out, so does his—something Tony Peterson doesn't want. There are several skeletons hidden in the Peterson closet. Doug himself is harmless. He's like me—the son of a prominent man. The difference is I know most of my father's business dealings. I'm pretty sure Doug can't make the same claim."
"So that's why you're obsessed with Doug? I thought you were just worried I'd be taken in by his dashing good looks and smoldering kisses." Jordan's jaded expression proved I'd pushed the limit. I feathered the side of his handsome face. "Hey, I'm joking."
His ran his thumb across my bottom lip, "The thought of him kissing you, holding you…" A bubble rolled down his throat. "The nightmare kept me awake every night you were gone. It drove me nuts." He suddenly pulled away. "Well there's an epiphany I didn't expect. It must be the same for Jess when I'm with you."
I gently touched the swollen corner of his lip. "Your lip looks sore. I don't dare kiss you for fear it will hurt."
"I don't care if it hurts like hell." Without warning, he hovered over me. "Not kissing you is never an option." He leaned down softly touching his lips to mine. "Have I told you I love you today?"
"No, as a matter of fact, but it's been a little crazy." I raised my head up enough to plant another tender kiss on his mouth, catching a slight flinch when I did so. "But you can tell me now."
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 a
s 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 gua
rded 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."
Designer Genes - The Boyfriend Cut Page 31