Hi friends —
Here is a special FREE READ for Valentines Day. It involves the characters from Genetic Attraction, Em, Jake and delicious (literally) Roan. This is a long story, so i’m posting the first half here and the second half on my BOOK BLOG. Or, if you prefer, you can hop over to the website and read the whole thing on my Free Reads page. Enjoy! And tomorrow, we announce the WINNER of the FREE copy of Genetic Attraction over at my Book Blog, Beautiful Boys Books. So if you haven’t commented or followed that blog to enter, DO IT NOW. ‘Kay?
ValenTied by Tara Lain —
(first half)
Em, or as she was known at work which she’d just left, Doctor Emmaline Silvay, leaned over in the car seat and gently caressed the hard-muscled thigh of her lover, Jake Martin. Doctor Jake Martin. He was her husband in all but the legalities, but since she actually had two husbands, the legalities were a bit complex, even in liberal Connecticut. “Tired, love?”
He glanced at her, his beautiful blue eyes crinkling. That gorgeous face. He was so much a part of her she barely noticed the age difference any more, except on those occasions when the three of them played their “boy toy” games.Hello, young man, are you looking for work with this company? Well, you’ll have to convince me of your qualifications. She smiled to herself.
Jake’s focus had returned to the winding road that would soon give way to their long drive and take them home.”I’m a little tired. Dealing with the compliance department is a bitch.”
She laughed. “Yeah. I had the fun this week. The new steps in the gene sequencing should take us where we want to go in terms of a commercial product. Poor baby, you got the fuzzy end of the lollipop having to deal with the lawyers.”
He grinned again. “But I’m not too tired to celebrate. I made reservations at the Bull and Bear so we can go do a Valentines Day dinner. You up for it?”
Was she? She had a Valentine’s gift she wanted to give them, but she knew she ‘d have trouble keeping it secret if they went out to a romantic dinner. “You know what, love? I think we should wait for Roan to get home. He said tomorrow, right? Why don’t we miss the crowds and celebrate Valentine’s Day one day late.”
He looked at her with that special glow she noticed he got whenever he thought about their beautiful lover, Roan Black. Jake and Roan had already been a couple when they asked Em to “be a part of them”.Roan had been Jake’s first serious male lover and the wise, extraordinarily beautiful supermodel, held a special place in both their hearts. “Thanks, Em. I know Roan would love that.”
“Okay. Done. We do our ménage Valentines Day tomorrow. I’ll make something for us tonight.”
“Sounds great.”
“When does he get in?”
“He wasn’t sure. The flight schedules from that part of Indonesia are a little erratic. He said he’d have William pick him up.” She was happy about William. He took good care of their lover. William was Roan’s chauffer, although his self-effacing employer never called him that or even thought of William that way. As the world’s top male supermodel and a hugely successful real estate investor, Roan was filthy rich, but aside from their gorgeous home, no one would ever know.
“Maybe we can plan something really fun to welcome him home?” She smiled when Jake gave her a quick leer.
The ride down the long drive to their home was like a decompression chamber for Em. From the high-stress world of cancer research to their private oasis of love. Of course, most of the people at the company knew about their unique living arrangements. That had been one of the stipulations of Em and Jake moving over to the new firm – no hiding like they’d had at the University. But still, they really got to be themselves at home.
As they pulled into the circular drive that surrounded a modern fountain, Em noticed soft light coming from the house. “Did you leave a light on, love?”
Jake looked up. “No. Maybe it was Marsha. She sometimes does a little extra cleaning when she knows we’re going to be late several days in a row.”
“Yeah, probably so.”
Jake parked the car out front, and came around to help Em out with the briefcases and laptops they seemed to carry everywhere. Wow, she was glad to be home. Maybe they could take part of tomorrow off to really plan a homecoming for Roan.
She hurried up the steps, hunching against the cold. Connecticut was still very much in winter no matter what the groundhog had said. Jake unlocked the door and they both stepped inside where it was warm — and stopped dead. What on earth. She pushed the door closed to keep the cold air out, but couldn’t take her eyes from the tableau in front of them.
The entire entry to the house was aglow with candles – the little votives in glass cups. They formed a pathway around the modern fountain through the hallway. Sprinkled here and there along this path of light were rose petals, and flowers floated in bowls of water strategically placed at intervals on the edge of the path. No other lights were on, just the path of flame.
Jake chuckled. “I think Roan’s home.”
Oh, that was so true. Because this – this amazing, beautiful gesture – was so Roan. “Who else would go to this much effort? That’s our boy.”
They set their bags on the floor beside the entry table and pulled off coats. She passed hers to Jake who hung them in the closet. He held out his hand. “Let’s see what the guy has cooked up, shall we.”
She felt like a kid on Christmas morning. They followed the pathway, holding hands and giggling. The lights led to the wide stairway. On the stairs, vases of flowers were tucked against the wall, highlighting the flickering route. Ah, but route to what?
Up they went, stair by stair. The beautiful landing area was awash with flowers and candles. Soft music played in the background through the house-wide sound system. On the table in front of the hall window was a display of something she could barely make out in the soft light. She pointed. “What is it?”
He laughed. “Not sure, but I’ll bet it’s something to eat.” He pointed toward their bedroom. “The door is closed.”
She giggled. “I noticed. It feels half like my birthday and half like a fun house. I’m not sure what happens next.”
“I doubt it will involve scary goblins.”
As they got closer, she could see two glasses and some fruit and cheese on a plate. “Do you think he’s telling us we should eat because we’re going to need our strength?”
Jake pounced on the fruit. “Oh, I hope so.”
Jake pounced on the fruit. “Oh, I hope so.”
She lifted a glass, already red with a splash of wine. Jake lifted his and they clinked. She smiled over the rim. “To the three of us.” She looked toward the door. “Do you hear that, darling.” Since their doors were extra heavy – they needed the sound-proofing when they had guests – she knew he couldn’t. She set down the wine glass and took a nibble of gouda and apple. “I’m too excited to eat … food, that is.”
“Shall we see what our Valentine Master has in store?”
She really was breathless. “Can’t wait.”
They approached the door. Jeez, she was shaking. Jake reached for the door handle and pulled back. “Look.”
She looked down where he was pointing. A strip of red ribbon lay on the floor and stretched back under the door. Oh my God, what was he doing in there?
Jake pulled the door outward reaching down to grab the ribbon. He motioned Em to walk around him into the room.
She stopped inside the door, vaguely aware that the room was ablaze with candles. Not just the little votives like outside, but beautiful tapers and pillar candles. Some of them must have been scented, because a soft fragrance like lilac filled the room. But her eyes couldn’t take in the details of the room because they were riveted on the big bed in the middle of the far wall. The red ribbon stretched across the wood floors and Persian carpets, snaking up onto the bed where it attached to a huge erect cock that could belong to no one but Roan. There it formed a big red bow.