Forbidden Attraction [The Callens 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

The skill of the drivers was quite remarkable. Each driver drove two wheels over a mound, which then made the car tilt. One of the vehicles went so fast that it when it landed, the wheel bent. The momentum made the car flip. There was no way the driver could keep control. The truck flipped, and the crowd gasped. The roof of the truck flew off and her heart nearly stopped. He skidded to a stop. The accident looked horrific. No one could survive such a crash.

Maybe it was her medical instincts, but she wanted to rush to help the poor man. She clasped her hand on Jackson’s knee.

He immediately pulled her close. “Don’t worry. He’s not hurt.”

She didn’t believe him and kept her gaze on the truck as about five men rushed toward him. “How can you be sure?”

“The truck is huge. He’s deep inside with a strong roll bar and a lot of safety equipment.”

Her pulse slowed. “Is that something Taylor might have worked on?”

“That’s one of the items. He has to figure out how much torque an axle can take, the size of the tires to go on each truck, and the power of the engine. Each engine runs about fifteen hundred horsepower for quick starts and good maneuverability.”

“I bet it’s a gas-guzzler.”

“You got that right.”

She took her eye off the driver once she saw him wave. “Your roommate must be one smart man.” She’d done okay in physics, but she certainly could never have figured out all of that.

“He is.”

Once they removed that truck, the show continued. Each time the car completed its tricks, her own back hurt. “I bet their chiropractor bills are high.”

Jackson chuckled. “I bet they are. The drivers are required to wear a head and neck collar, but according to Taylor, these men are masochists. They’ve had surgery after surgery to repair the damage to their bodies.”

“I wonder why they do it.”

“It’s the thrill, darlin’.”

“They should take up skydiving. It’s probably easier on their spines.”

He laughed, and the sound went straight to her heart. Even though Jackson wasn’t much more than thirty, he had this all-knowing attitude. He’d told her that the study of human motivations intrigued him. Whenever she’d ask him why someone would do something or act in a certain way, he seemed to have a good explanation.

By the time the two-hour show ended, she believed that with enough ingenuity, a vehicle could learn to fly. She’d seen things she never thought possible.

“Ready to meet the genius behind these flying machines?”

“Absolutely.”

Taylor was probably five foot six, scrawny, and an antisocial. Jackson most likely had painted him to be this godlike creature just to get her there. He probably thought that once she met the brilliant man, she’d overlook his lack of physical prowess. He might be right, but she wasn’t holding her breath. There needed to be chemistry between two people to make it work.

They waited a bit until the crowd thinned before making their way down to the field. Security stopped them until Jackson pulled out two passes. The man nodded and directed them to the back.

“I’m excited to see these big trucks up close and personal.”

He smiled. “The first time I got a look, I couldn’t believe how tall they were. The tires alone are over five feet high and the trucks themselves about twelve feet high.”

“Wow.”

Once they got to the back, separate crews were working on the different trucks.

“Come on. Let’s find Taylor.”

The pounding of metal, the shrill of drills, and the shouts from workers made hearing difficult.

“There he is.” Jackson found his roommate near the east side of the cordoned-off area.

Two men were standing next to each other. One was rather short with slim shoulders and wore blue overalls with a scruffy-looking hard hat. The other man had similar overalls but was tall, broad shouldered, and was a god in the looks department. There was no other way to describe him. He took her breath away. His close-cropped, dark brown hair framed a face with a slightly heavy brow ridge and was complemented by a five-o’clock shadow. To say he looked edgy would be an understatement.

“Jenny?” Jackson squeezed her hand.

“Huh?”

“You left us.”

Shit
. How uncool was that? Spacing out over the man’s beauty wasn’t good. She prayed the taller man was Taylor. When they reached the duo, Jackson introduced them. No way. The godlike man was Jackson’s roommate. She bit her cheek to keep from smiling and held out her hand. “I’m Jenny.” Even to her ears, she sounded breathy, as if being in his mere presence inspired awe.

Taylor held up rather greasy hands. “Sorry.” He stepped back and picked up two hard hats. “You need to wear these.”

She wondered why he wasn’t wearing one, but she decided to keep her opinion to herself.

Jackson put his on, turned, then helped adjust hers to fit her head. When his fingers brushed her skin, her whole body tingled. Between the two men, she couldn’t decide who was more alluring. She felt more comfortable with Jackson, but Taylor possessed a more powerful aura.

“Why don’t you show Jenny what you do?”

Taylor hesitated, acting as if he didn’t want to be bothered. “Sure. Come on over here. I’ll show you my drawings.”

He typed something into his computer and up popped a line drawing of an engine. She couldn’t make heads or tails out of it. “So you design engines?”

“Among other things.”

He looked a lot like someone she’d seen at her school, but she doubted it was the same man. “Did you happen to go the University of Denver? You look familiar.”

Taylor glanced first to Jackson then back at her. “No. I never went to college. What has my roommate been telling you?”

“Nothing.” Her voice trailed off. Here she’d thought this hottie who made her heart race would be such a good match.

His brows furrowed. “From the look on your pretty little face, you’re disappointed.”

I am.
“No. I’m just surprised.” No way would she tell him the truth. That would make her look like a total snob.

Someone called his name. He turned to Jackson. “Take a look around, but don’t let her get in the way.”

Ouch
. Did he think she didn’t know how to keep her hands to herself? Once he walked away, Jackson clasped her shoulders.

“He’s in his focusing mode right now. He doesn’t mean to be standoffish.”

“Sure.” Then why did he look so happy to let her know he’d never gone to college? Was he lying? She found it hard to believe someone so talented would be self taught, but what did she know?

Jackson wrapped an arm around her waist and her blood pressure immediately dropped. “How about we grab some dessert and a cup of coffee?”

The tension in her shoulders relaxed. “I’d like that.”

He unsnapped her headgear as well as his own and placed them back where Taylor had gotten them. The loud noise was giving her a headache anyway. His roommate might be a brilliant man and an exquisite specimen, but he wasn’t right for her. She couldn’t believe she’d just been played.

Too bad her pussy didn’t care how the man had acted.
Damn
.

“What the fuck were you doing with a Callen?”

Jackson hadn’t expected the harsh comment the moment he walked in the door. He’d had a wonderful time with Jenny and didn’t need Taylor’s grief. “I told you she works for me.” Maybe he should have warned him about her. The Callens were the royalty of Intrigue, but damn, that didn’t mean they were untouchable.

“That’s no excuse to bring her on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date exactly.”

Taylor’s lips pressed together. “What was it?”

“A chance for her to meet you.”

His roommate laughed. “Oh, that’s rich.”

“I don’t know why you’re upset. You meet the Callen
rich
requirement.”

Taylor ducked into the kitchen, brought back two beers, and handed him one. “If I recall, you said she’s looking for a degreed man. When I told her I hadn’t gone to school, did you see her expression?”

She’d been disappointed. It tore his heart out. “Yeah.”

“There you go.”

“I saw the way she looked at you, though.”

“Before she learned about me.” Taylor sipped on his beer. “Hell, I saw the way she looked at
you
!”

That was a problem. “When I arrive at the saloon, I’m often wearing a UW T-shirt. I think she figured I went there.”

“You did.”

“Two years only. That won’t count in her mind.”

Taylor walked over to the sofa and dropped down. “You’ll get hurt if you pursue her. Hell, so would I. She’s hot.”

He didn’t like the gleam in his eye. “She’s not some piece of ass.”

“Never said she was, but if she were offering, I’d sink my cock in her ass.” He held up a finger. “For release purposes only.”

Jackson swigged his beer and sat on the chair opposite him. “Sometimes I don’t know why I put up with you. You’re a pig.”

“Hey. It’s my defense mechanism. You know how hard it is to find someone I can relate to.”

That was true. Taylor’s intellectual interests bordered on the esoteric. “Did I tell you she’s applying to med school?”

Taylor put his bottle on the coffee table. “No shit?”

“We talk about everything together, and she not only keeps up with my
way out there
topics, but she’s caused me to have a few paradigm shifts in my own thinking.”

Taylor picked up his beer, finished the contents, and waved the bottle. “She’s not worth it.”

Jackson didn’t like the way the conversation was headed. “Is too. We just need to change her mind about us. What do we have to lose?”

“Our hearts?”

“That’s a given, but think of the reward.”

Taylor dragged a palm down his unshaven chin. “I don’t like the odds.”

“Are you in or out?”

Taylor leaned back and closed his eyes. “She does have a sweet ass. I would like to pork her.”

“Don’t be crass. This is Jenny Callen we’re talking about. She’s driven, sweet, and would be the perfect woman for us.”

Taylor blew out a breath. “Maybe you’re right. I’m not sure how we convince her that her college piece of paper ain’t worth shit. She needs to realize that it’s the man that counts, not the degree.”

“If we think about the end result, we’ll come up with a way to convince her.”

“As long as there’s an escape clause, I’m in.”

* * * *

Jenny had a hard time getting Saturday night out of her mind. She never expected to enjoy the monster truck rally so much. Jackson had been so calming when he explained everything to her, especially when it appeared the driver had been seriously injured. When he’d brought her back to visit his roommate, she had to say, she’d been highly impressed with his accomplishments.

Given his passion for his work, she might not care what his background entailed. Too bad her parents wouldn’t see it that way. It didn’t really matter. Taylor showed no interest in her, so it was a moot point. It was probably best to focus on studying for her MCAT and worry about finding a date in a few years.

Content with her decision, she pulled out her books and went out to the side porch to study. The day was warm, and the sun was showing off. Randy, her brother-in-law and horse guru, was in and out of the barn exercising the herd. He’d studied music at school, played with the Cheyenne Orchestra when they were in town, and only worked at the farm because he loved animals.

She opened her study guide. Today’s topic covered the human digestive system. Usually she enjoyed anything to do with anatomy, but right now her focus seemed to stray to two particular men. By the time her mom came out to announce dinner was ready, she’d only completed about a third of the study questions.

Throughout dinner, all she could think of was Monday night when she’d go back to work. Jackson worked the same three nights she did. Maybe if she spent more time with him, he’d see they’d be perfect together. There were a few occasions when they’d get into discussions on medical ethics, and his points were always well thought out and substantiated. That was one of the reason she found him so attractive.

“Jenny,” her mother said, “I forgot to tell you that my friend, Eleanor, has a son who’s a dermatologist.”

Not again!
“Mom, I have my hands full right now.” She wanted to concentrate on Jackson.

“But he’s perfect. He owns his own practice and his own home.”

He’s probably boring.
“What else?” If she didn’t show some interest, her mom would become even more determined to fix her up.

“He’s thirty-two. True, he’s been married before, but according to Eleanor, they weren’t a good match in the first place.”

All mothers would claim it was the spouse’s fault. “What else? Does he play a sport, like to travel, is funny or what?”