Designer Genes - The Boyfriend Cut (40 page)

My hands? Probably not where they shouldn't be. Marli would have had slapped me several times by now.

Marli.
My
Marli.

The seductress was good.
Too
good. She straddled me, pushing the seat back, her tongue searching for my internal organs.

Marli.

My brain wanted Marli. My body desired whatever "flavor" I currently sampled, especially when she stroked over the swelling in the front of my jeans. Even through denim, the touch seared and my will-power slipped dangerously fast.

You love Marli!
The voice in my head screamed louder, catching my attention when my belt buckle tugged apart and the top snap of my jeans clicked open.

She'll never be with you if you do this…and you know she'll find out.

I clutched the siren's fingers tugging down the zipper on my jeans, and forced her into the passenger seat.

"No." One word. Two letters, wielding a lot of power. She reached for me again and I caught her arm. "I said 'no.' Game's over…I'm taken."

"You're sure don't act like you're
taken,
" she spat, readjusting her top. I felt sick to my stomach knowing my hands had trespassed under there. I zipped my pants, cursing my lack of self-control.

"I'm also a fucking jackass. Doesn't change anything." I reached across her and opened the door. "Get out." I ordered. She called me a vile name and slammed the door. I wish she had hit me. Punched me hard. Better yet, slit my throat and left me to die.

I opened my door and puked fifty bucks of ale into the gutter. Disgust laced with a heavy dose of guilt churned my stomach. I felt woozy and angry. No way could I drive, so locked the Porsche and walked home.

By the time I reached my apartment my senses semi-returned. I dropped into the chair by the fireplace and flipped the switch, igniting a small flame. July. Who burned fires in July? Marli. She liked them all year. I stared at the deep, furry black rug spread at the hearth and imagined myself lying there making out with her until every inch of my body ached.

What had I done?

I closed my eyes, willing the room to stop moving while I synchronized my breathing.
One Mississippi…Two…

My cell receptor buzzed and I pressed the speaker without looking.

"Jordan Mason."
Three Mississippi…

"You sound pissed."

Jesse.

"What's it to you?"

"You tell me. Your buddy from the bar called and said you left your car. I'm checking to make sure you aren't lying dead in some ditch. Get a bit ripped tonight? Does this have anything to do with a certain blue-eyed beauty in Italy?"

I pounded the armrest, my knuckle catching a decorative rivet. "Shut up," I snarled, sucking the torn skin to ease the sting.

"That's what I thought." Jesse grew quiet. "Talk to me, bro."

"Why should I? If you hadn't taken her to your damn concert, none of this would have happened. And we're still not square on the photos." For payback, I belched into the phone.

"Nice one. And I already explained the pictures. Marli was innocent and we both know who took them…and
why.
Accept that you won and let the rest go."

Bolting from the chair too quickly, I grabbed the fireplace mantel for support. "I've won nothing! I blew it and now I've lost her." My knees folded and I dropped to the rug holding my earlier daydream. The squishy surface gave under my weight and I half-flopped, half-rolled onto my back. "Jess," I sighed, "she won't even take my calls."

"Sounds like you're giving up. Guess Peterson gets her by default." He tsked-tsked in my ear and I wished I could rip out his tongue to stop the annoying hiss. "Hardly worth all the trouble his dad put into getting you out of the way."

True. All Tony Peterson needed to do was wait for my self-loathing pity party. If he offered enough bribes, Marli could possibly be reassigned to Doug before her plane touched down in New York. I doubted even my "ace in the hole" could save her.

I pinched the tender skin between my eyes in a futile effort to halt the pressure building. "She doesn't want me. My hands are tied."

"So that's it? You're not even going to try?

My jaw screwed tight. "Dammit Jess! What do you expect me to do? Go to Italy and drag Marli back by her hair?"

"If that's what it takes, hell yeah!"

It would be a repeat of Alaska. Me, crashing through airport security waving my dumbass band to bump me to the front, something I didn't believe in, but then I'd never been in love before and out of my mind with jealousy. When I found out Marli would interview with another guy who could claim her, I went bat-shit crazy. I had all the hotels in Juneau mapped out, but no plan. When she called to tell me she'd flown to California, I walked right back through the doors I'd exited and bought a ticket to Los Angeles.

"I couldn't find Peterson's place in Alaska with the security blocks he has set up, so I know Italy will be impossible. Plus we have no access rights internationally."

"Alaska? You hunted Mars down in Alaska?" I shuddered when Jesse trilled a familiar chuckle. "Man, you're
whipped
."

"Right now, I'm broken hearted, drunk, and queasy. Even if Wizard could figure out where Peterson has Marli, I'd never get within a hundred miles of her." I turned off the fireplace, fearing my toes would combust any second. Tears swirled the edges of my eyes. "God, I love her, Jess, but she won't even talk to me. Maybe I've got to let her find her own way instead of pushing all the time."

Jesse's patience wore thin and I could hear the tension in his tone, which seemed beyond loud when he yelled in my ear. I held the receptor away, still able to hear every chastising word.

"Are you listening to yourself? Try this on. Marli
Peterson.
Has a certain ring to it, don't you think? Where do you think Doug will take her for their honeymoon? Someplace special. You know how Mars is. Now picture this…she'll want her 'first time' to be like a fairytale. I guess Doug could pull it off, or at least her clothes. Wonder if she'll wear black lace…
sheer
lace—"

"Shut. Up. One more word and I'll kill you!"

"About time you got in the game! You love Marli, so fight for her!
Make
her talk to you. Fix this, Jordan, before it is too late. She loves you
.
Don't let Peterson change her mind."

Sunlight burned my eyelids. My throat felt rough as sandpaper and my back ached from trying to cram my six foot three inch body onto a five foot span of wood, not to mention fighting to keep from falling onto concrete.

The screen door squeaked. "Jordan?"

The image of Rick Davis standing over me wearing a bathrobe open enough to answer the question "boxers or briefs," left an indelible picture in my brain. He rubbed his stubbly chin and ran his fingers through hair poking every direction.

I groaned, straightening out my painfully folded body from the porch swing.

"Rick, I need your help."

23

PUPPY LOVE

W
hile I beat myself up for my part in the disaster called "my life" and blamed Jordan for the rest—
most
of it, time ticked away. The shadows in the room had changed from bright to soft gold with the afternoon sun slipping away.

I washed my face with cold water and poured a gallon of eye drops into my eyes to shrink the swelling. Marah jumped into the chaos, styling her hair and wriggling into a champagne colored formal that made her appear ten years older. It wouldn't surprise me if her father sent her back to change into something more age appropriate.

I ran around in my black lace corset trying to find one of my shoes, which somehow became separated from the other.

"Doug would love to see you in that
,
" Marah teased.

"If I don't hurry, that's precisely what's going to happen."

Voices echoed from the patio below, announcing the first guests. I slithered into my dress, checking to make sure the mended tear blended into the sequined trim. Taking a gander in the mirror, I adjusted the corset, trying to hide my accentuated cleavage. Damn! Doug's father would send me back to the room, if Doug didn't ravage me first. Correction
.
If I didn't
let
Doug ravage me.

Prom night from hell all over again.

Tugging at the zipper, I remembered I could only close it so far on my own. Marah was momentarily indisposed so I explored under the bed for my lost shoe. Bingo! One silver stiletto looking for a mate. When I reached under the bed, Marah slipped out, leaving the door open.

"Marah!" I called out, but she was already out of earshot. I strapped on the stray heel and attempted to finish zipping the dress myself. My arms were in a position a contortionist would envy, but I still couldn't get the last couple of inches.

"Damn dress," I snarled.

"May I?"

The voice that made my knees quiver came attached to two warm hands, replacing mine, now cold and numb from lack of blood flow. Doug's fingers lightly brushed the length of my naked back.

"Doug," I whimpered. "Please...don't."
Stop.

He zipped my dress, pressing his lips to my neck. "You're breathtaking, Marli." His eyes dropped to my
enhancements.
"Actually, you're indescribable."

"Douglas Peterson," I warned, feeling the blush on my chest under his gaze.

"Sorry, but it's kind of hard not to stare."

I pushed Doug to arm's length, taking him into full view for the first time. He looked deliciously handsome in his black tuxedo, his hair slicked back, emphasizing his dark, indigo blue eyes. My insides melted when his gaze slowly traveled over my body, and my voice sounded way too breathy when I commented on how dangerously sexy he looked. He leaned in to kiss me, but a rap against the door frame kept our lips from touching.

Jan stood in the doorway, dressed in an amazing teal green formal that shimmered from tiny matching sequins covering every inch. "Marli, may I talk with you privately? Doug drew me close. "Don't worry baby brother, I'm not going to bite her. "

I brushed his arm. "It's okay."

He paused in the doorway, flashing a warning look at his sister. Jan gave him a wry smirk in return. "She'll be fine. If she's not out in fifteen minutes, you can come in and search for her body." Doug snorted and walked out, shutting the door hard enough to rattle the window panes.

Jan gracefully sat in the rocker, watching me nervously fuss with the strand of pearls my mother gave me.

"Marli, I need to know what your intentions are where Doug's concerned. He's very important to this family and I don't want someone taking advantage of him.

"Why do you think I'd do something so cold and calculated? All I want from Doug is his friendship." The minute I said it I wished I could take it back. "Oh my. I didn't mean for it to come out like that." I moved to the edge of Marah's bed and faced Jan.

"I don't want to hurt him, but what Doug wants from this relationship I can't give him." I had no clue why I felt compelled to confess to her and the shock on her face made me feel horrible. Shock turned to bewilderment.

"You honestly don't know, do you?" Her whisper sounded more like a thought than a statement. "My gosh, you're sincerely genuine
.
" She parked beside me on the bed. "Marli, forgive me, please
.
I misjudged you. The only thing you could be guilty of is, like you said, innocently breaking my brother's heart. I can't believe I was so wrong."

"Wrong about what? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Jan sighed, considering. "Marli, if your feelings aren't what Doug believes them to be, you need to tell him, regardless if it hurts. Do it for both your sakes. You can't be true to anyone, if you can't be honest with yourself." She opened the door to Doug leaning against the railing across the way.

"That was close, sis. You had two minutes left."

"Quit being a brute. Focus some of that testosterone positively and be a gentleman to your date. She really is lovely. I'll see you both downstairs."