Genetic Attraction (4 page)

Shit, they so didn"t want to get into that here in front of a reporter.

Em smiled. “Covington, let"s do lunch, and I"ll tell you about all our adventures at the genetics conference. Riveting. Great seeing you.”

Jake gently nudged Em toward the backseat of the car that the valet held.

“Thank you for taking the time to seek me out, professor. I appreciate your good wishes.”

The photographer tried to ask Roan some questions, but the beauty just smiled, waved his hand royally, and slid in beside Em in the backseat, making the statement that they were “the best of friends.” Shit, that might not be any better than Roan sitting beside Jake. There was no politically correct way to arrange the three of them.

He held out his hand again to Kovak, who took it coolly. “Have a good night.”

Okay, try not to look like you’re running
. Feeling Kovak"s eyes boring into his back, he pushed five dollars into the valet"s hand, slid into the driver"s seat, buckled up, and pulled out at what he hoped was a discreet pace. When they"d cleared the hotel driveway, he let his head fall back against the seat. “Sheee-it.”

“Double sheee-it,” Em echoed.

Jake glanced in the mirror and saw Roan slip a comforting arm around Em.

“Don"t worry about the paparazzi. They pretty much make a game out of seeing who can track me down to the most obscure locations, and that guy wasn"t one of my regular hounds. Probably a stringer for some local paper. He may not even use the picture, since it"s so
Town & Country
looking. That doesn"t sell his kind of paper.”

Em looked relieved. “Good. I"m not really anxious to be in the tabloids.”

“No worries. But that professor is a scary individual. I gather we don"t like Dr.

Kovak?”

Genetic Attraction

23

“Hell, no.” Jake pulled emphatically into the next lane and automatically glanced in the rearview mirror to be sure they weren"t being followed. So far they"d managed to keep Connecticut private, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Em snorted. “Kovak"s an asshole, but he"s got a lot of power. He"s one of the main reasons Jake didn"t want to bring you alone to the event. Prejudiced and mean is a bad combination.”

Jake stared at the road. “Fortunately, Em is very important to the university.

That keeps Kovak off our backs…some.”

She snorted again. “He may have kept his distance a bit, but the man"s a fucking misogynist and would love to bring me down.”

Jake saw Roan looking at him in the rearview mirror. “I"m sorry you guys have to put up with the asshole. Sounds as bad as the fashion industry. Of course, in my business nobody cares if you"re gay.”

“How have you guys managed to keep your relationship out of the papers if the paparazzi follow you around like that?” Em sounded concerned.

Jake glanced at them again. “We keep a low profile and don"t go to big events together.”

Roan smiled, though Jake thought it wasn"t the happiest expression. It was a pain hiding all the time. “We"re homebodies and, so far, the press haven"t identified the house.”

“But how would that guy have known to come to a science dinner?”

“Probably somebody called him or his paper when they recognized me.”

“Jesus. The price of fame is high.”

“Yeah. But at least I don"t have to deal with Dr. Kovak.”

“Forget Kovak.” Em sat back. “He doesn"t get a piece of our weekend. He"ll still be there on Monday.”

Jake tried to smile. “That"s what I"m afraid of.”

24

Tara Lain

He relaxed a little behind the wheel as the bright lights and expressways of the city gave way to winding roads and green trees. Em and Roan murmured idly in the backseat, and he let his mind wander. He had more immediate issues to think about than Kovak. He and Roan had never really decided what to do about Em…exactly. He was excited and scared. Yes, she was a really good friend, but she was still his boss and one of the great scientists of the world in his opinion. God, she was special. And so was his lover, and he didn"t want to screw that up. But they seemed to have hit it off. More than.

He glanced in the mirror. At the moment she was settling quite nicely against Roan"s shoulder, looking like a kitten snuggling in for a nap. Roan smiled down at her, his beautiful face soft. Yeah, but Jake could see that another part of his lover"s anatomy wasn"t in the least soft. Did Em realize her snuggle bunny was sporting a hard-on the size of Delaware? Jake chuckled softly, and Roan looked up. The green eyes twinkled with the best kind of mischief. He got the slow Roan wink. The man seemed ready for the weekend no matter what.
Bring it on.

Genetic Attraction

25

Chapter Four

Hmm. Warm, comfy. Hmm. Better than comfy. More like hot.

Em realized slowly that her body was tingling in all the right places.
Jesus
.

Maybe it had something to do with the soft, wet tongue rimming her ear.
Tongue
?

Oh, yes, and lips. Maybe if she pretended she was still asleep, this would just go on and on.

“Em, we"re home.”

Was that sultry whisper inside her head? She let her eyes flutter open and found herself nose-to-nose with the world"s most beautiful face. Oh yeah, she remembered now. Beautiful
gay
face. But why was gay beauty kissing her ear? Was she still dreaming? She started to sit up, and he slipped an arm around her in support.

“Take it easy there, cowgirl; you were pretty sound asleep.”

She shook the fog from her head. “Was I snoring?”

“Only a few little whimpers.” He kissed her forehead, which made her want to whimper again. What the hell was going on?

As she sat forward, she realized that light was coming into the car from the outside, and Jake was holding the car door open. They seemed to be in a garage.

Roan pulled her toward the door. Jake reached in, slipped his arms around her back and under her legs, and snatched her from the seat in one move, holding her like she weighed five pounds. She squeaked, not knowing whether to be thrilled or embarrassed.

She looked up into those baby blues framed in wire rims. “Hi.”

26

Tara Lain

“Hi. Welcome home.”

“I could walk.”

“Yeah, you could.” He continued to carry her through the big garage that contained at least two other cars to a side door that she guessed must lead into their house. Roan was already holding the door and her bag when they got there. He kissed her forehead again as Jake carried her over the threshold.

Talk about your significant moments.

They passed through a darkened room—a mud room? Lights flashed on. Holy merde. This was a kitchen to make HGTV proud. Huge, with shining chrome, professional-looking appliances, beautiful birch cabinets, and a large, polished granite island.

“Wow.”

Jake chuckled. “This is Roan"s domain. He"s a closet chef.”

She looked at the gorgeous brunet standing beside them. “Jesus, and he cooks too?”

Both men laughed. She wriggled like an anxious puppy, and Jake put her down to explore. Gleaming surfaces everywhere. The enormous, six-burner gas cooktop with griddle and rotisserie baffled her. “I wouldn"t even know how to turn this on.”

Jake came up behind her and slicked his strong hands down her arms. “Don"t worry about turning
that
on. C"mon, let"s get you up to your suite so you can get some sleep.”

“I think that would be
more
sleep.”

He took her hand and led the way into a wide, open room that, even with the spillover of light from the kitchen, was so dark that she couldn"t quite make out the details. The ceilings seemed high, and huge tree shadows swayed outside what appeared to be a wall of glass.

Genetic Attraction

27

He smiled over his shoulder as he led her to a wide staircase. ”We"ll give you the tour tomorrow.”

The landing at the top of the short, wide staircase formed a beautiful sitting area with two modern but comfy chairs and an intricate Persian rug in front of a window that just framed black sky beyond. Several doors opened onto this area and, with Roan"s hands on her shoulders, they guided her into the one at the left.

If the kitchen amazed her, this was a showstopper. Exquisite, like someone had peered into her head and picked out a room she would love if she ever took the time and money to actually decorate something. A big platform bed glowed in a soft, golden spread that looked like silk. The linens gleamed white against Asian-style furnishings mixed with ultramodern pieces. Sliding shoji-style rice paper panels covered a wall. “This is so beautiful.”

Roan beamed. “You really like it?”

“I can"t say how much.”

Jake had moved over to the screen wall and pulled a panel to reveal a wide, hinged door that he pushed open. “Come see.”

She walked to him, Roan still following, and stepped out onto a polished wood deck that overlooked a koi pond about half a story below. She could make out the sinuous bodies of the fish forming patterns in the black water as they slipped in and out of the reflected moonlight. Water splashed from an unseen fountain.

“I just can"t believe this. I"m so happy you get to have such a wonderful place to live.”

Jake pulled her into his arms and hugged her ferociously. “This is for you too.”

“I don"t understand.”

“I just mean when we designed the house, we kept you in our minds. We tried to incorporate things we thought you would like, especially in this suite.”

“But why? Roan hadn"t even met me. You barely told me about the house when you were building it.” Yeah, that still stung.

28

Tara Lain

Roan stepped in behind her, so she was sandwiched in yumminess. “I knew how important you were to Jake, and everything important to Jake is important to me. Besides, it was a forgone conclusion I was going to love you. We wanted you to be comfortable here.”

“Comfortable! This is the stuff of dreams, you guys.”

Jake kissed her cheek. “C"mon, sweetheart, time for bed.”

They led her inside.

After hanging her few clothes in a closet as big as her bedroom at home and washing up in a sybaritic spa called a bathroom, she snuggled between four-million-thread-count sheets, feeling very underdressed in her tank top and bikinis. At home she slept in the nude, but since the boys said they were coming to “tuck her in,” she figured clothing was not optional.

The Asian-style lamp beside her bed had been set to its lowest level, casting a warm, soft glow over the room. If she"d been at home, she"d probably still be working. Some cleansing breaths might help her sleep. She smiled.
A couple
orgasms would be better
. Her work schedule and less-than-stellar relationship with Henry left her wanting, and she"d always loved sex. A shame she didn"t pack the vibrator.

She closed her eyes and took the first deep breath. A soft whisper made her look up.

Both men stood in her doorway, wearing drawstring pajama bottoms and nothing else. Riveting. They walked toward her, but she couldn"t quite drag her eyes to their faces. Jake, the taller by maybe an inch, was also the more heavily muscled, his defined chest lightly covered with a smattering of golden hair. Roan was as smooth as marble. Even the line of hair she would have expected to grow on the belly of a brunet was missing, making her think he must have it removed. He was lean, but each muscle stood out in bas-relief under taut alabaster skin. She could understand why men and women flocked to buy anything associated with this glorious face and body.

Genetic Attraction

29

She finally looked up, her breath uneven. “Isn"t it against the law to be so beautiful?”

Jake smiled and took Roan"s hand. “He is a masterpiece, isn"t he?”

“Not just Roan, darling. You both make my heart stop.”

He sat on the edge of her bed looking down at her, and Roan sat beside him, leaning back against her hip so he could see her face. Jesus, gay or not, this could be more pure masculinity than her poor underexercised heart could stand. Of course, the primary area of response right now was lower than the heart.

Jake curved over her and whispered, “Am I really beautiful to you, sweetheart?”

He was so close. Had to tell the truth. “Infinitely. You always have been.”

His gaze was intense, but she saw uncertainty. His eyes flicked over his shoulder toward Roan and then back to her.

“Em, would you mind if I kissed you?”

Her heart leaped. She"d been dreaming of kissing Jake for the better part of two years. But what the fuck? “Jake, you told me you"re gay. You"re sitting beside the man you love, who also happens to be the most gorgeous human on the planet.

What the fuck do you want to kiss me for?”

“I"ve always wanted to. Since I met you.”

Shit. The man had to make up his mind. She pulled her head to the side but couldn"t move far because Roan was leaning on her covers. “Jake, quit. Every day in the damned lab you torture me. Hugs, back rubs, caresses. Sweetheart this and honey that. And all the time you"re in love, and with a man. I just don"t get it…”

He grabbed her face in his palms, his blue eyes shooting sparks. “You call that torture?”

“Hell, yes!”

“Why?”

30

Tara Lain

She gritted her teeth. “You fucking know why. I want you, dammit, and you know it.” She tried to pull her head from his hands, but though his grip was gentle, he wouldn"t let go.

“Then it"s time to stop the fucking torture.” And his mouth captured hers, his palms pressing just hard enough to separate her lips, and his tongue took charge, deep, hot, and wet.