Genetic Attraction (11 page)

“I"m well, my dear, and so impressed that each time I see you these days, it seems to be in the company of handsome young men.”

And why exactly did he notice? Praying for patience, she gestured to Isaac.

“Have you already met Dr. Webster?”

“Ah yes, Dr. Winton introduced me to his nephew, but I had no idea you two were such good friends already.”

Isaac smiled, but she could tell he was confused by Kovak"s heavy-handed innuendo. “Oh, just recent friends actually. My uncle and I met her entirely by chance at an Asian antique store in Connecticut. Em, uh, Dr. Silvay was buying a gift for her friends.”

“Her friends? Oh yes, of course.” He smirked. “Dr. Silvay, I hope you"ll have time to meet with me soon. I"m very anxious to catch up on your research and all your new findings and interests.”

She hoped her cringe wasn"t visible. “Of course, Dr. Kovak, I"m always happy to talk about my research.”

“Good, my dear. Very soon then.” He smiled (was it childish of her to think of it as snaky?) and moved off into the crowd.

Isaac shook his head. “What was that about?”

“I don"t know exactly, but Dr. Kovak seems to have developed an unusual interest in my social life.”

“I gather he"s met the two men you were with in Connecticut?”

“Yes, at the award dinner last Friday. Jake, my research associate Dr. Martin, won the Outstanding New Scientist Award.”

“Was Roan Black there too?”

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He sure seemed to know about Roan. “Yes, Roan is a friend of both mine and Jake"s.”

He gave a small smile. “Not one likely to go unnoticed, however.”

“I suppose not. I hadn"t m—I mean I hadn"t thought about how ostentatious Roan was likely to be.” She sat on a stool near the wall. “Jesus, Kovak even knew some of the fashion magazines Roan had appeared in. How can you explain that?”

Isaac chuckled. “Actually, for anyone who watches entertainment news or reads a gossip magazine, he"s a pretty famous boy.”

She sighed. “I know. I live under a rock.”

“Maybe a small seashell, but I actually know more than the average person, since my admin at Princeton was the head of his local fan club. I got blow-by-blows of his complicated childhood, his meteoric rise to the top of the modeling world, his engagement…”

“Oh yes, to Alexandra something-or-other.”

“Right. See, you"re not so hopeless. She"s an indie actress…”

“Indie?”

“Okay, I"m going back to the rock idea. Indie is independent films. He had some hot and heavy affair with her, but I think they broke it off. The whole thing was a bit surprising since most people think he"s gay, but of course, my admin was enthralled.”

“Really.”

“But since you"re friends, I guess you know all about that.”

She suppressed a cough. “We don"t see each other too often, so you probably know more than I do.”

“Well, little rock dweller, can I get you another glass of wine?”

“Maybe in a minute; right now I need a rest room.”

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Tara Lain

“Actually, I noticed a pretty long line outside the one in the hall.” He made a discreet point skyward. “But we VIPs happen to know there"s a little-known bathroom up in Howard"s bedroom.”

“Oh great.” She hopped off the stool, only feeling a little hit from the glass of chardonnay, and turned toward the stairs.

He gestured to the upper floor. “Want a guide?”

“No need. This house has a similar floor plan to mine. I"ll be back in a minute.”

Up the carpeted stairs lined with old historical photos, the noise died down and the lights were dim. She sagged against the wall for a minute to catch her breath. Jesus, Kovak; just what she needed. And then there was Isaac. He was an attractive man, very attractive actually, and single, and her age, and appropriate.

Under ordinary circumstances, she"d be interested.

“Daydreaming about the new boyfriend?”

Guilt made her face heat.
Shit. Jake.

“What are you doing here?” She turned and looked into his angry but still oh-so-beautiful face.

“This is a faculty party. Last time I checked, I was a member of the faculty.”

“You know what I mean. You haven"t been anywhere near this campus after five o"clock all week. Why the sudden social bent?”

Six-foot-two of upset man loomed over her. “Not happy to see me, Em? Afraid I"ll cramp your style with Dr. Loverboy down there?”

Okay, too much. Tears started running down her face. Shit, she was crying.

“Stop it, Jake. There"s never anyone I want to see more than you.”

He stared at her, torn it seemed between anger and some other softer emotion.

His hand shot out, grabbed her behind the head, and pulled her into his arms. And there was that ravenous mouth. Consuming. For a moment, words like Kovak and Isaac and Dr. Winton flashed in her mind. Oh, but this was Jake. She opened her mouth and accepted all of that questing tongue. The frustration, anger, hurt, and Genetic Attraction

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longing of the whole week flashed into passion, heat. Her body pressed against his, writhing on the huge erection that pressed into her abdomen. Oh God, somehow she had to get that where it belonged. She tried to climb him, thrusting her hips against his body, but the height difference was just too much. He pushed her back against the wall behind her, bent his knees, and came up with that rock-hard bulge pushing against her clit.
Oh, shit, yes.

Still thrusting, he pulled his mouth from hers and gasped, “We can"t stay here.

Where can we go?”

She grabbed his hand, slid herself out from under him on the wall, and led him into Howard"s bedroom two doors down the hall. There were some coats and purses on the bed, so guests might come in. She located the bathroom and pulled him into it. It was a smallish room—nothing like he was used to in Connecticut—just a shower stall, sink, and toilet with a cabinet above. Right now it looked like the Taj Mahal to her.

He pulled her into a heated kiss again, thrusting that tongue deep like she loved. She sucked on his tongue, her hands pawing at his fly, trying to open it.

Never breaking the kiss, he took over the effort. He opened his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and pulled down his fly. She slipped her hand in and wrapped her fingers around that beautiful cock. She started to kneel, but he pulled her back.

“No,” he panted. “May not have much time. Want to fuck you.”

He looked around at the sink, but seemed to decide against it. He pulled his trousers down around his knees and sat down on the toilet seat with his big, wet cock pointing up at the ceiling.

Oh, wow
. Mindless. The only goal in her universe was to mount and ride that big dick. Stripping off her thong, she straddled him and lowered herself to the one place on earth she wanted to be.
Oh, sweet, sweet—

His head fell back. Eyes tightly shut, he moaned, “Em, oh, Em, please.”

She began to ride. Her hands planted on the wall behind the toilet, she pressed forward and rode up and down and up and down, her body shaking with pure lust.

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Tara Lain

How had she lived a week without this? Vaguely, she heard some voices in the bedroom outside, but she simply didn"t care. This was too wonderful.

Both of them were shaking and panting—neither could last long. She planted her lips beside his ear and whispered every obscenely loving thing she could think of while he gasped and moaned. Harder and harder she rode, pushing her clit against his pubic bone until she was light-headed, her body like liquid fire. And then the fire exploded. “Jake, oh God!” Her body bucked and bucked on top of this dearest of men as she came—as hard as she could ever remember.

He moaned, his eyes flashing open but still sightless, and he came, trembling, pushing his cock as far into her as her body would allow. The heat filling her clearly announced what she hadn"t considered. Her vagina was now awash with his sperm.

Jake—unprotected. A moment"s chill was overcome by pure ecstasy. Oh yes, she was full, full of Jake.

Still panting a little, she looked down into that boyish face. He didn"t just
look
boyish, he
was
scarcely more than a boy. So young, so inappropriate—why couldn"t she walk away from him like she should?

But it wasn"t love or bliss shining from those pure, blue eyes. It was confusion.

Hurt.
Shit
! She watched him shake his head and wipe a hand over his face.

“So, did you get what you wanted?”

Her heart contracted. “What do you mean?”

“Sex. Seems like I was right about you never getting enough.”

The little shit! She pulled herself off his softening cock and backed away from the viper. “Dammit, Jake, I didn"t come to this fucking party looking for
you
. I didn"t accost
you
in the hall.”

“No, you came here looking for him, Mr. History Department. Maybe he should be in this bathroom with you instead of me.”

The bastard! She grabbed a handful of toilet paper, wiped the semen running down her thighs, and threw the paper in his face. His eyes widened in shock. Good.

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She grabbed her panties, opened the door, and rushed out of the bathroom. In the quiet bedroom, she stopped, panting. She could have run straight into Kovak. She shivered at the thought. Oh God, she so wished she didn"t give a damn.

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Tara Lain

Chapter Fourteen

Curled in a little ball, she lay on her bed with early morning light seeping around her window shades. It had been a long night, starting at that fucking party.

Kovak hadn"t been outside the door when she"d run out, but he had been downstairs. She walked back into the party trying to smile and look like she hadn"t been fucked over by her best friend—literally. Kovak gave her a snarky smile, but Isaac rescued her and took her aside.

“Are you all right? I was just about to come looking for you.”

“No problems. Just a few other people found the VIP bathroom, so I had to wait.”

“Yes, I thought it might be something like that.” He"d given her a little smile that made her wonder if maybe he
had
come looking for her. But Isaac was so the least of her worries. She couldn"t escape fast enough. After a “thank you” to Howard and a promise to Isaac to join him for coffee sometime soon, she"d practically run out of the townhouse and walked home, freezing by the time she got there.

Now she was alone with her misery, and misery it was. She had tried to sleep, but every cell was full of Jake. Could she live without him? Damn, now she sounded like Jake. But, oh God, she wasn"t sure if she could. Yeah, the bathroom scene had been steamy and maybe even sordid, but they still had that connection. They mated as if a single being, a single soul.

This thing was way beyond sex. But could she give up everything she"d worked for and built her life around to have him? And Roan, of course—they were a package. How could she? It wasn"t even right of him to ask. Of course, he was risking his career too, and she knew his work meant a lot to him. But, dammit, he Genetic Attraction

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was a man, and the world forgave men a lot more than it was likely to forgive a woman. A Nobel Prize wasn"t completely out of the question. But who would give prizes to a woman who slept in the same bed as her much younger research associate and his gay lover—she smiled a little—and enjoyed the hell out of it?

She dragged herself out of bed. Okay, how professional could she look on forty-five minutes of sleep? A shower, ponytail, and swipe of lipstick seemed harder than mountain climbing, so that was the best she could do. She licked the last bit of yogurt from its container, pointed her Prius down the expressway, stopped for coffee, and then headed toward the lab. Outside the office door, she took a deep breath. What could she say to Jake? She had no fucking idea. Automatically, she grabbed the door handle and walked inside.

Mary looked up from her desk, a crease of concern between her pretty brows.

“Em, Jake called in sick.”

They just stared at each other. In two years, he"d never had a sick day.

Em tried to smile. “Well, I guess he"s entitled to one.”

Mary shook her head, her flaxen braid bouncing down her back. “We both know something"s wrong with Jake. He"s been like a different person for more than a week now. I don"t get it. He gets passionate on subjects, but I"ve never seen him moody. What"s up?”

Good question. She knew Mary felt the tension between her and Jake and was asking for an explanation, but she wasn"t going there. She shrugged. “I hope he"s okay.” She headed back to her office feeling like someone had punched her in the stomach—or the heart. She closed her office door and leaned against it. Shit, shit, shit, as Jake would say. Her cell phone buzzed with a text message. She grabbed it.

Em darling—I’m working in the city this weekend. Please, please come and see
me. We need to talk. Saturday afternoon. We’ll have dinner. I love you—Roan
Below the message was listed an address on the upper West Side, a photographer"s studio.

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Tara Lain

An intelligent, sensible woman would have a moment"s hesitation. She would consider the consequences of deeper involvement when she knew what they wanted was impossible. Her fingers flew over the keys.

I’ll be there. I love you too—Em

* * *

“Yes. She texted me right back.” He smiled. “She said she loved me.”

He watched Jake pace to the door of their bedroom and then turned back to his packing, his garment bag laid out on the big bed. He was headed for a hotel in the city while his New York apartment was being painted. And it was probably a good thing he was going away, since he got pissed looking at his lover.