Genetic Attraction (3 page)

Tara Lain

mismatched living room. She inhaled one deep breath in through the nose, out through the mouth. Then a second deep breath. The doorbell sounded. Goose bumps erupted. This was it. She hadn"t even had time to think of what to say to the boyfriend of the man of her dreams.

Fighting a giggle, she hopped up, wobbled a little, crossed the entry, and yanked open the door.

Jesus. Was this what people meant when they said “your heart stops?” She stared.

The man standing under her porch light almost didn"t seem real. She looked up into clear green eyes so heavily fringed with lashes, they looked like they were lined with kohl. And that mouth? Looking at it had to be a mortal sin in at least three major religions. Like female beauty somehow architecturally carved into a male masterpiece.

He extended his long, slim hand and said simply, “Roan.”

His hand was so warm. “I know.”

He smiled.
Did the sun just come out
? Dimples. And one of those shining white teeth was crooked. Maybe nature could only endure so much perfection and had to fight back with a tiny cosmic joke.

Yikes. She flew off her feet, and breath whooshed from her lungs as he crushed her against the silky fabric of his tux and the hard, slim body beneath. She managed to get her toes back on the ground and looked up at that exquisite face framed by silky black hair.

He beamed. “Hello, darling.” He dropped his head and kissed her, full on the mouth.

Far from a “howdy” kind of peck, the kiss was soft and lingering, with the slightest hint of a warm tongue against her lips. She fought not to whimper.

Gradually, and it felt reluctantly, he pulled back. “I think I"m your date for tonight.”

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15

Only one thing came to mind. “Holy shit.”

From a few steps behind Roan, Jake started to laugh.

* * *

Man, he understood what Jake saw in her: this unconscious sexiness that informed every move she made, plus the amazing brains. She looked at him, and he felt transparent, like there was no secret he could hide, no thought he could guard.

Not many women did it for him, but this one was something special. He saw how the staid professors lining the ballroom dance floor looked at her when they thought no one was watching, with covetousness they would never admit even to themselves. He smiled. Of course, a few of them were looking at
him
that way.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Likely it was Tick Tock, and his assistant never gave up until he found Roan.

He murmured into Em"s ear. “Sorry, need to take this call. Just keep dancing.”

She grinned up at him and rested her head on his chest. Nice.

“Hey, Tick Tock, I"m dancing with a lovely lady. This better be good.”

“Lady? We are branching out.” Even over the music, Roan could hear the high, slightly nasal voice of his ultraefficient friend and employee.

“Yeah. Look, I"m fine. Some people here know who I am, but nobody seems to care much. These are scientists and college professors, man; they"ve got better things to do with their time than take pictures of me. So don"t worry. No bodyguard necessary.”

“Are you sure?”

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Tara Lain

“The press haven"t really figured out the whole Connecticut thing yet, and they"d never expect to find me at a banquet for researchers on Long Island, so I"m good.”

“It just makes me nervous, Roan. I don"t like you going out without Jimmy, at least.”

“You gotta give me a chance at a life, kid.”

“I know, beauty. I"m sorry.”

“I"ll call you when we leave.”

“"kay. Promise?”

“Promise. Talk later.”

He slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked down into chocolate eyes.

She smiled lazily. “Everything okay?”

“My assistant. He freaks when I sneak off for my „other" life with Jake.”

Her expression was compassionate and, he thought, a little horrified. “It must be hard keeping your two lives separate.”

“You have no idea. But the only way I get to have Jake is if I can keep our relationship discreet in what is otherwise a totally public life. He doesn"t want the world to know about us, and I can"t say I blame him. It would be like Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller. Tough to take seriously.”

“That"s so not true. Dear God, who wouldn"t want you?”

“Thank you, love, but I wasn"t fishing for compliments.”

“And I wasn"t giving them. I imagine all these good professors are wondering how in the hell Jake and I got to meet you, since the worlds of science and high fashion clearly don"t collide most of the time.”

If they only knew. “But I think they believe what we said about us being in the same hotel in Los Angeles last year. After all, it"s true.”

“Yes. Everyone knows both Jake and I went to that genetics conference, so we all could have met in the bar like we said.”

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He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “But where were you, darling, when I was sucking Jake"s cock in his hotel room?”

She gave a surprised laugh.

“Sorry, was that too much information?” He winked at her and watched a touch of pink rise up her neck.

“It"s okay. I"ve sucked a cock or two in my time.” She looked at him appraisingly. “But I"ve never seen two men do it, even in pornos. I"ll bet that"s something to see.”

“Any time.”

She snorted, but he saw the pink rise higher, which made him grin.

She reached a hand up and touched his crooked front tooth. “Tell me about this. In your business, I"ll bet you got a lot of pressure to get it fixed.”

“Yeah. When I was first breaking into modeling, a lot of people suggested I fix it. But then the clients started requesting „the boy with the crooked tooth." It became a trademark. Now it"s insured for a bunch of money.”

“You"re kidding.”

“Nope. Actually, between teeth, face, body, etcetera, I"m worth way more dead than alive.”

“Not to Jake.”

A soft warmth suffused his chest. “Thanks, Em.”

“A lot of the people here tonight know who you are.” She ducked her head a little. “Even if I didn"t. Sorry.”

“No reason why you should.”

“World"s greatest supermodel. Please, I live under a rock. That"s my only excuse.”

“You must have been listening to my agent. And I"m only arguably the world"s top
male
supermodel. There"re lots of famous females.”

“Which makes you all the more unique.”

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Tara Lain

“Not all that damned special.”

She touched his cheek. “Did you always want to be a model?”

“Hell, no. I was just looking to survive.”

“Sounds like that"s a story.”

“Let"s just say I wasn"t really at home in a small town in Iowa.” He adopted a little drag-queen swish. “I look so bad in plaid.”

She chuckled.

“Maybe I"ll tell you the rest some other time. Anyway, you and Jake are the special ones. He says you may get nominated for the Nobel Prize.”

She shook her head. “Not likely. Wrong sex, for one thing. And I"m not the best at playing the political games. I just like to do my research and keep a low profile.”

Her dark brown eyes filled with warmth. “But Jake is something, isn"t he?”

It was clear she really cared for her young assistant, and Roan sensed her feelings were not particularly platonic. Once he would have been floored by his jealousy. He still felt a twinge. But Jake loved him. It was real. And this woman could be the icing on the cake.

The music stopped, and the bandleader announced a short break. Roan glanced over and saw Jake"s golden head in the midst of what appeared to be an admiring group of congratulators. “Maybe we should go check on our boy.”

“Actually, I think we can make our good-byes. We"ve endured the evening and done our penance just so we could see him win.”

His cock gave a little leap.
Time to go home? Oh, yeah
. “Fine by me.”

Genetic Attraction

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Chapter Three

Over the heads of the professors crowded around him, Jake could see the faces he loved coming toward him from the dance floor. Cute. They were holding hands.

Good for the masquerade and good for him. They looked comfortable together. More than comfortable—downright sexy. Shit, that was so good.

“Doctor Martin, are you planning something exciting for your prize money?”

He looked at his questioner. Maybe the fiftyish blonde professor, who also happened to be on the Faculty Council, wanted him to spend it on her?

“I"m afraid the money will make a short, one-way trip to my college loans, Doctor Shrinsky.”

She giggled. “Yes, I forget you"re so recently out of graduate school. And so accomplished already.”

He looked up as Em and Roan emerged through the crowd. “Hi, you two.

Enjoying dancing?”

Roan grinned. “You have no idea how much.” He gave Jake a little wink. “But we"re thinking we should hit the road.”

“Great, let"s get the coats…”

Professor Shrinsky grabbed his arm. “You"re not going so soon, Jake. Why don"t the four of us have a drink?” She ran a finger across his tux sleeve. Okay, so it worked. This woman thought Em and Roan were a couple and that Jake was available. Man, did she make a mistake.

“Thanks, professor, but Roan"s got a long trip home, and we, uh, carpooled, so we better take off. Appreciate the invitation.”

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Tara Lain

He shook hands all around and fell in behind Em"s swaying hips. That dress was incredible. Maybe the first time he"d ever seen her try to look sexy. It worked, and he had the half-hard cock to prove it.

They retrieved their coats and got into line at the valet stand. Early fall on Long Island could get chilly, and he watched as Roan cuddled Em in his arms to warm her. That did the rest of the job on his cock. Seeing those two embrace gave him a raging hard-on, and he pulled his trench closed to cover it. Roan"s dark head bowed over Em"s auburn hair, and he gently kissed her temple. Her eyes flicked up in surprise, but she didn"t look like she objected. Funny. She was, what, twelve or thirteen years older than his beautiful boy? But they could easily be a couple. If you could forget for a minute that he was called the most beautiful man in the world and she was a science superstar, they could just be a young couple on their way home to relieve the babysitter. Big “if.”

They moved up to the curb. Their turn.

“Dr. Martin?”

Shit. Not home free yet.

He turned, knowing exactly who was behind him. The tall, thin, gray-haired man looked like an ad for higher education. His tuxedo should have had patches on the elbows.

“Dr. Kovak. I missed you inside.” He didn"t say it had required planning.

“I wanted to add my congratulations to your accolades.” Kovak reminded him of their dessert tonight: Baked Alaska. Pretty on the outside, freezing center. The

“inquisitor” extended his hand, and Jake took it.

“Thank you, sir. I"m honored.”

Kovak turned his head toward Roan and Em, who Jake noticed had moved apart at the professor"s arrival.

The professor smiled. “Ah, Dr. Silvay, please introduce me to your friend.”

When had friend become a four-letter word?

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His beautiful boy flashed the smile that launched a thousand magazine covers.

“I"m Roan Black.”

“Doctor Covington Kovak. And are you also a scientist, Mr. Black?”

Em stepped protectively toward Roan and put her hand on his arm. “Actually, Roan has mastered the science of making people adore him. He"s one of the world"s leading models.”

Kovak"s eyes widened. “Of course, I knew I"d seen you. But I could hardly believe such a celebrity would be at our little gathering.”

Okay, apparently celebrity also had four letters.

“I was honored to be invited, sir.”

Jake saw with relief that their Lexus hybrid had arrived at the curb. And another car crowded behind it.

There was a sudden pop, and he was seeing white.
What the fuck?

“Hey, Roan, over here. Look over here.”

The photographer pushed through the group waiting for their cars. Jake moved to protect his lover, to get between him and the press, but Roan was clearly the pro here.

The model smiled at the photographer as if the guy didn"t look like he"d slept in his clothes. “Why don"t you take a picture of our group? Dr. Kovak is a famous educator, and Dr. Silvay and Dr. Martin are renowned scientists. Actually, Dr.

Martin just won a prestigious award. I"ll be happy to give you details if you"d like.”

Jake hid his smile. Roan was turning this paparazzo into a science reporter.

The photographer looked deflated. “No, that"s okay. Just give me some shots.”

Roan arranged the group with himself beside Kovak, and Jake noticed the good doctor looked a bit smug. Maybe celebrity wasn"t such a bad word after all.

The valet was practically dancing with suppressed irritation at the delay.

Jake peered at the group. “I"m sorry to interrupt, but that"s our car, and they seem to be wanting us to get out of the way.”

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Tara Lain

Kovak slowly turned his head to Jake. “Pity, I would so love to hear the story of your…friendship. The three of you, you know.”