Genetic Attraction (2 page)

“Jesus, Jake, I know I can be self-absorbed, but I didn"t know I was blind.”

Okay, she had to get a grip. People were looking their way. She lowered her voice.

“How could it never have crossed my mind that you"re gay? How could I have missed it so completely in almost two years of working together?”

“Em, I"m really sorry.”

He was sorry. Shit! “You didn"t think you could tell me? Did you imagine it would matter to me?”

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He grabbed her hands and squeezed them. “No! Of course I didn"t think you"d care. I didn"t tell you I"m gay because, well, I"m not. Or wasn"t. I"ve mostly been with women. You know; you"ve seen me with enough of them. I"d only been with one other man in my life when I met Roan. We met less than a year ago at the genetics conference I attended with you.”

“That"s why you were acting so strangely at the conference?” She remembered how edgy and distracted he"d been.

“Yeah. I was face-to-face with my sexuality and with the best thing I"d ever seen.”

That put a little rip in her heart.

Releasing her hands, he gripped his own together. “But it was such an unlikely match, and the chances we"d stay together were so small, I didn"t want to tell you and then split up with him.” He sighed and shrugged at the same time. “But the truth is, I fell in love with the guy, and even though it amazes me every day, he loves me back. So I"m gay.” Grin. “At least operationally.”

Trying to get a grip here
. “Roan?”

“Yeah, that"s his name. And I really do want you to meet him; planned on it in fact.” He touched her hand, gently stroking his fingers over her palm, and she just couldn"t pull away. “You both mean so much to me. I want you to love each other too.”

Maybe it would be easier to like a man Jake loved more than it would a woman. Maybe she could beat back the jealousy, knowing he was more interested in men. Fuck, she"d have to.

He sat back. “But I don"t think the faculty award dinner is the place. I don"t want to hide my relationship exactly. My family knows, and they"re great about it, but hell, you know the faculty council and the administration, especially Kovak.”

“Our own private Inquisitor?”

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“Yeah. The faculty council will never say they"re firing me because I"m gay.

They"ll make up another reason. I just don"t want to rub their faces in it. If they find out some other way, fine.”

She took another deep breath, just trying to cope. “You know, there are several gay men on the faculty. Professor Montag makes jelly beans look colorless, and some others probably cross-dress in their spare time.”

“Yeah, but they stay in the closet. Don"t ask; don"t tell. Plus, they were here before Kovak, so he kind of ignores them.”

“So just bring your, uh…Roan and let them guess. Maybe he"s just a friend or something.”

“He"s a little too noticeable.”

“What? A drag queen?”

He grinned. “No, you"ll see when you meet him.”

One thing was clear. “You have to come to the banquet. Do you get that? And if this man is the one you love, I think he should be there too. Am I making myself clear?”

He laughed. “Yes, Mother.”

“Hey, why don"t you and Roan escort me to the bloody banquet? Then no one will know who"s with whom. We can say he"s a friend of both of ours. You"ll both be my dates. I get to meet him, and he gets to be there for you.”

“I thought you were coming with Henry.”

“Not nearly often enough.” He snorted Chianti. Okay, bad joke, but then Henry was a pretty bad lover. “Anyway, as chance would have it, I haven"t invited him yet, so I"m free to be your diversion.”

“You"re a diversion only in the best possible way.” His face lit up with enthusiasm. “But actually it"s perfect. You"ll come home with us after the banquet and spend the weekend. I"ve been planning to invite you out for weeks, but we"ve been so busy at the lab. So come this weekend. Then you can get to know Roan and 8

Tara Lain

see the new house at the same time. You get me where you want me, and”—he chuckled—“I get you where I want you.”

She gazed at the beautiful face. He"d taken off his glasses so nothing distracted from those crystal blue eyes. How often had she fantasized about spending time with him? Sadly, those fantasies had never involved a gay lover. But bottom line, he had to come to the banquet, and a weekend in Connecticut sounded like fun even in the company of two gay men. Of course, the faculty council sure as hell wouldn"t agree with her. They would puke if they knew Doctor Emmaline Silvay, lead researcher and hope for all great international genetics prizes, was consorting with her twenty-six-year-old assistant. Gay assistant. She felt her mom"s rebel blood rise in her veins.

“What time will you pick me up, and what kind of clothes should I pack?”

* * *

Finally Em was coming to their house. Should he be thrilled or scared shitless?

He"d wanted her to visit much sooner but he"d always chickened out. Of course, chickening was still an option. They could play the charming hosts, wine and dine her, and nothing else. A lot depended on Roan"s reaction and Jake"s own courage.

Even more depended on Em. He hit the speed dial on his cell phone.

The sleepy, silky voice he loved answered. “Are you hurrying home to me, love?

"Cause man have I got a big thing waiting for you.”

Shit, big was no joke. Blood rushed to Jake"s groin, and he was instantly hard.

The man was sex on a stick. He still couldn"t believe he"d walked into that hotel bar just when Roan had been hiding out from his hounds. “Hi, darling. Don"t let that big thing go to sleep before I get there. I"m about twenty minutes away.”

He heard a lascivious chuckle. “No chance of sleep. I"m keeping it warm for you.”

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Jake moaned on purpose while Roan laughed.

“Before I have to pull over and jerk off, let me tell you what just happened.”

“What? Something sexy, I hope.”

“One-track mind. Yes, potentially sexy. Emmaline is taking you and me to the Belden Award dinner on Friday and…wait for it…she"s coming home to spend the weekend with us.”

“No shit! Does she know who „us" is?”

“Well, she knows you"re a man, if that"s what you mean.”

“Jesus, finally. How did this all happen?”

“I"ll tell you all the details when I get home.”

“No, baby, you"re not going to be doing any talking when you get home, "cause your mouth will be full. So tell me now.”

Jake laughed. “Yeah, you"re right. Well, short version, she started insisting that I had to come to the awards dinner and bring my girlfriend.”

“Just call me Angelina.”

“So I figured, what the hell? I might as well tell her.”

“About time, love.”

“I know.” It had been a huge deal between him and Roan, but he just hadn"t been able to get up the nerve to introduce his lover to his boss. For him it had been the final statement. Tell her, and he"d have to admit he was gay. It was easy to do with everyone else. His parents had said they"d already known he was bisexual, and women hadn"t really done it for him for a couple of years when he met Roan. It had been easy giving up women. All women but one.

Roan"s purr broke into his reverie. “Awfully quiet, love.”

“Sorry. Just thinking. Is it my wishful imagination that she might want more than a professional partnership with me?”

“Can"t say for sure, love. But when I meet her I should get some insight.”

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“You know it"s up to you, right, baby? Just because I think you"ll love her doesn"t mean it"s true. I know not many women do it for you.”

“Well, it"s some up to me and more up to her.”

“I can"t tell you what it means to me that you"re open to this. I was pretty shitty about Alexandra.”

Roan chuckled, and the sound shivered right up Jake"s spine. “I loved that my fucking Alex made you green, baby, but I didn"t love her. I want you to have what you love.”

“But I feel the same way about you. Nothing gets in the way of us no matter what.”

Roan was quiet.

“Baby?”

Jake heard the tightness in his lover"s voice. “That means everything to me, Jake.” There was a sigh. “But she still turns you on, right?”

Jake laughed. “Like a raging horndog.”

“Then the chances are damned good I"ll feel the same way. Now, get home here, baby, and let me show you where you can put that horn.”

Oh Jesus, his cock was pressing out of his jeans as his foot slammed the accelerator.

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Chapter Two

Jeez, she was not good with mascara. All thumbs. She wiped a little from her eyelid and considered the effect in the bathroom mirror. Okay, worth it. Her eyes looked huge. Pretty nice cleavage on the new dress too. She laughed, and it sounded suspiciously like a giggle. There were a few colleagues who might be surprised she had breasts, and she kind of hoped Jake was a little surprised too. She took a deep, cleansing breath. Had to quit thinking like that. Gay was gay.

She turned off the bathroom light, grabbed up her weekend bag, and headed downstairs carrying her daring-for-her three-inch heels.

Halfway down, the phone rang, and she rushed the last few steps to glance at the display. With a laugh, she grabbed the cordless. “Hi, Mom.”

Her mother"s husky voice rumbled in her ear. “Jeez, I never get used to that caller ID thing you have. Makes you seem clairvoyant.”

“How are you? What"s up?”

“Called to ask you that. You okay?”

“Yeah, I"m okay.”

“How"s the saving-the-world thing going this week?”

“The research is great. We completed some additional steps in the gene sequencing. And our use of the tests on patients in the clinic is coming out accurately. I think this will save lives.”

“I don"t doubt it for a minute, honey. You said „we"? You and that adorable boy toy of yours?”

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“His name is Jake.” But she still laughed. Funny, she"d never told her mom how she felt about Jake. Too embarrassed. But Shakti was a good guesser.

“His name is sexy. I looked him up on the university"s Web site. Yum.”

“C"mon. I"m supposed to be a mature, responsible professor and researcher with no lustful thoughts.”

Her mother made a rude noise. “That"ll be the day.”

“Let"s pretend.”

“Honey, you know nobody on the planet is more proud of you than I am.” Here came the lecture. Her mother, the hippie, loved all living things vociferously. God knows, Em had marched on Washington with her. But Shakti Silvay had other priorities, and Em always got to hear about them. She settled into her phone chair and fiddled with the fringe hanging from the old lampshade as her mom warmed to her subject.

“When I was your age, you were almost twenty, baby. Now, I"m not suggesting you should stop researching and have kids, but I do want you to find a good man, have great sex, and be happy.”

Were they really going to have this conversation now? Again? “I have sex.”

“Oh yeah? Last I heard you were hanging out with some tight-assed professor that doesn"t know his dick from a laser pointer.”

Had her there. “Henry"s okay. Besides, you never settled with one man.”

“I"m me, baby. I like a lot of variety. You need more structure and steadiness.

I"m sure some psycho-shrink would say it"s in reaction to your crazy old mom.”

“I love my crazy mom, my life is great, and I"m happy. The research fills me up; you know that.”

There was a pause. Her mom was scarily perceptive. “Really, baby? Are you happy? Is all that work really enough?”

She sighed. “Yes, Mommy, and when it"s not I"ll change it. I"ll look for more.”

“Don"t wait too long, baby. Shit happens, and some choices go away.”

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Em felt that one right in her heart. Jake. Yeah, that one was gone. “I know.”

“Okay, well I sure as hell didn"t call to lecture you.”

Em switched the lamp on and off. “Now you tell me.”

“What"s up this weekend? More work?”

“No, in fact I"m spending this weekend in Connecticut with Jake and his, uh, lover.”

“His lover?”

“Remember I told you he lived with someone?” She was glad she"d never told her mom about her feelings for Jake, so now she didn"t have to endure the sympathy. “Anyway, I expect them any minute. I"m all dressed up for a faculty party. You should see me. Positively Diane Lane.”

“Always said you look like her if she had red hair, honey.”

“So I gotta go.”

“Okay, baby. Just wanted to hear your voice. Try to have way too much fun this weekend.”

“You"re bad.”

“Always.”

“Call you soon. Love you, Mom.”

“Me too.”

Em stared at the phone as she strapped on her heels. Her mom never let her get away with much, but she was an equal opportunity confronter. No one escaped.

Like the time Shakti had driven from the ashram in her old minivan up to Stanford and informed Em"s PhD advisor that her daughter was brilliant but “no pansy-assed intellectual.” Em, she"d said, was going to make a difference in the world, and no one who really counted ever followed the rules. God, Em loved her, but it was hard not to feel like a disappointment.

Okay, enough. She balanced on her heels. Yeah, this would work. Carefully, she walked to the closet and grabbed her coat, then sat on her couch in the comfy, 14