Just That Easy

Elizabeth
Moore

The Callahan brothers are no
strangers to thrills, in bed or out. Darkly handsome Grant is an adventure
racer and heir to the Callahan empire. His father’s indiscretions force him to
inherit the mess and hypocrisy of his family’s fortune—the last thing he wants.
He flees to a small town, hiding in plain sight as a library assistant. That
is, until author Teryn Michaels walks into his life.

Teryn expects Al, the middle-aged gay
librarian, behind the counter. Instead she finds the hottest guy she’s ever
seen, all chiseled muscle with a mass of unruly black hair.
As she stammers
over her sex books, Grant’s hooked from
the first minute. They delve into a hot affair, falling harder and deeper with
each new sexy adventure, but Grant hasn’t been completely honest about who he
is. He hopes Teryn will fall for the real Grant, the man he’s always wanted to
be, before she finds out his
true identity
and
goes back into her closed-off little world.

A
Romantica®
contemporary erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

“Grant, I’m telling you, I see the signs. You’re going to
fall off one of those damn mountains on purpose, or do something ignorant and
self-destructive like your father.”

Grant bristled at the voice on the other end of the line. It
wasn’t that his uncle, his openly gay, slut of an uncle, called him out on his
behavior, but the flat-out accusation that he was capable of acting like his
father.

“Well?”

“Well what?” The game was rhetorical, but Grant wasn’t ready
to give in just yet.

“Get out. Now. While you are still able.”

Eyes sliding shut, Grant let his head fall back on the hotel
chair. He didn’t bother to try to disguise the heavy, world-weary sigh.

“Because you did it, Jared, doesn’t mean we all can.”

“Shut up. I know what you are going through. I was there.
You’ve taken my brother’s shit long enough. Stop being his victim, step up and
be a man. Live a life. Your brothers are grown men. They can handle themselves
and they do. You can’t protect them anymore and they’ll resent you if you keep
trying.” Jared’s voice was all at once demanding, cajoling and soothing.

“Telling me I’m a jackass isn’t exactly pushing me in the
right direction.”

Jared laughed. “You’ll be glad I kicked your ass into this
once you do it. I already have a job set up for you. Al, remember him? He
always loved you, boy, he wants to help. He runs a library. In Michigan, middle
of nowhere. No one will know who the hell you are, some small hole-in-the-wall
town. Take advantage and go there for the summer. Be someone else for a while.
Just give yourself a break to think about where you want to be. Trust me.”

“How’s that going to help?” Grant pictured himself sitting
in some tiny library, the complete opposite of his life at this moment. The gut
reaction didn’t make him cringe as he expected. Instead of sounding horrible,
he found himself thinking it sounded comfortable. Free.

“Just do it for me, Grant. Let me save someone in this
fucked-up family. I need to know I did something to keep my brother’s evil
filth from wrecking what little family I do have, all right? You’ll be shocked
at how just being somewhere where you don’t have to be who you are will change
things. Just a few months. Give an old man a break, will you?”

Grant snickered. Old man, right. That powerhouse could still
kick his ass at fifty-five. “Fine. I’ll go play average Joe for a few months.
What the hell, I’ve done everything else already.”

“That’s my boy. You’ll never regret it, that I can promise.
Walking away from this bullshit of a family was the best thing I ever did.
Hopefully it will be for you too.”

Teryn glanced up from her list just long enough to push the
door of the town library open, and not crack her head on the slow-moving
monstrosity. Half distracted, she had her lips poised to mouth a quiet hello to
her friend Al; the tall, thin, spectacled, and very gay librarian. Instead, her
mouth fell open before she managed to snap it shut again. An embarrassingly
hot-pink blush crept up her neck toward her face, she knew because she felt it
move over every inch her skin.

Standing behind the counter grinning at her, was definitely
not
Al. A picture of the perfect
anti
-librarian, she found herself taking
stock of tanned skin, a lean, hard physique, thick mass of black hair and
brilliant smile. Her first rush of adrenaline reflected instant attraction. The
second, rapid suspicion at finding someone so…perfect, staring back at her.

“Hello,” he said, mocking a whisper.

“Hi?” Her voice squeaked. She cringed.

A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest and she noticed
intense blue eyes under all that thick dark hair. A vivid indigo that flashed
with eerie brightness.

“There’s no one in here, you don’t have to whisper. We close
in five minutes though.” His voice hit her like a ton of bricks. Masculine,
testosterone-filled, low and rich. It rolled over her skin, making her jump a
little. God, who knew you could feel the vibrations of a voice like that?

“Oh…uh, I know. I’m uh…” Eyes popping wide open, she
remembered what she had come there for. “Where’s Al?”

“Off. Finally took a little vacation. Just a few days.”

“Oh. Okay.”

The devilish grin hadn’t left his face. Neither had the
tremor in her knees. Damn, he was making her nervous. Worse, he clearly knew
that fact.

He pulled his hand out of his jeans pocket and held it out
to her over the counter.

“Grant, sorry. Grant Hadley, Summer Assistant Librarian.”

Librarian. This guy. Right. And she was there to pick up
Dick
and Jane
. Cursing herself for deciding to go out and do errands with no
makeup and her hair in a ponytail, she gritted her teeth and lightly shook his
hand, hoping her palm wasn’t clammy.

“Hi. Teryn. Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting Al to be gone. He
usually tells me if he has big news. For him a vacation is big news. He did say
he had an assistant coming in for the summer, but I expected a kid. Or
something.”

This was no kid.

All man. Self-possessed, casual, knowing but not cocky. He
leaned against the counter with his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans,
riding low on his hips showing off a hint of rippled abs beneath the faded blue
T-shirt. He remained still, smiling at her. Watching her eat him with her eyes.

He licked his lips. She had the sudden urge to do the same,
and made sure her mouth stayed clamped shut instead.

“Hello, Teryn. Al leaving was kind of last minute. I got
into town a few days early and he pretty much had me up and running the next
day. He got an, uh, unexpected offer I guess you could call it. You come here a
lot? You seem pretty familiar.” He spoke casually, easy-going, but with a hint
of something else. It felt like raw power to her, hidden beneath the
average-guy front.

“Yeah, I guess so. Every week at least. An unexpected offer,
huh? So Derrin has arrived fresh from Europe, sounds like. All right, well,
it’s nice to meet you. I’ll probably see you around then.” She smiled, getting
ready to turn and bolt out the door. Next time she came in she was going to
call first and make sure Al was in residence.

She moved back to the end of the counter and he matched her
steps, partially blocking her with his bulk, not in a threatening way but
enough of an obstacle to stop her getting out of there easily. “If you needed
to check the stacks, I don’t mind. I don’t have anywhere to be.”

“No, that’s fine. I was just going to pick up something but
I don’t need it now. Probably take forever to find it.”

“You mean your book on hold? Two, I think, right? I
remembered your name, it’s different. I like it.” A glimmer lit his blue eyes,
impossible to miss.

“Right.” Her stomach flipped.

He turned around and rummaged under the back counter where
the hold books were kept. “Here they are. Let’s see,
Encyclopedia of Sex
,
and
The Dominatrix Handbook
.” Grinning, he held them out to her. It felt
like a dare.
Go ahead, take them. Own that you are checking sex books out of
the library.

“I’m a writer.”

He smiled wider, gave a little shrug. “I’m not judging.
Interesting titles though. Guess that’s why you were looking for Al, huh? No
worries. I noticed this place is a little reserved. Not often I see a library
sharing a building with a senior center. Kind of sets a tone I guess.”

You aren’t kidding
.

She handed over her key tag and he started scanning the
books into the computer.

Teryn sighed. A strange calm gripped her as she watched him,
a penetrating clarity she didn’t often feel. For once the sense of being
overlooked or dismissed didn’t fill her. Standing here in front of the hottest
guy she’d ever laid eyes on, a measure of confidence filled her, a lack of
intimidation. For once. “I’m usually not this flustered. I just, well, people
don’t usually associate me much with the books I write.”

He glanced up at her through thick black lashes, the kind a
woman would pay her eyeteeth to have. “How’s that?”

“Pen name.”

He finished scanning the books, stacked them in front of her
and handed her keys back. Placing his hands palm down on the counter, he leaned
against it, watching her. “You don’t want to take the credit?”

Trying not to fidget under his gaze, she grabbed her keys
and fumbled them back into her purse.

“Well, I do for some of the things I write, but others,
stuff like this…”

That slow, knowing grin curled his lips again. “Stuff like
what exactly?”

“Mostly romance kind of stuff.”

“Sounds pretty normal to me.”

Nothing left to do with her hands, she picked up the books,
hugging them to her. Teryn started into his eyes, confidence again sparking
within her. It came from the way he looked at her. He made her feel
appreciated, not under scrutiny. Gulping some air, she let impulse drive her.

“These are sex romance novels. Anything goes, down and dirty
sex romance novels. A happy-ending love story with all the trimmings, nothing
left out. Men always wonder why women read them, right?”

Looking up at him, she again felt dwarfed by his presence.
Damn, he was tall. At least six-foot-two and every inch lean and hard. Down and
dirty was exactly right.

“Gotcha. You must have people you don’t want to get exposed
to that kind of thing. Family, kids?”

Fishing expedition.
She felt her body temperature
rise at least a degree. All at once.

“Ah, no. I was actually kind of embarrassed when I first
started out and I picked up a pen name to let my guard down, so I’d feel free
to write whatever. Just seemed like a good idea. Then once you’ve done it you
can’t take it back. That’s okay, I write a lot of different stuff, so the pen
name helps me kind of keep things where they belong.” She bit her lip.
Babble
on, idiot.

“Where they belong. Right.” His assessment was clear.
Uptight. The feeling of inadequacy she’d expected finally gripped her.

“Yeah. Everything has its place.” Including her short-lived
feeling of substance, the brief moment where she had felt she could be a
contender with the type of women this guy was probably used to.

“Okay, well, happy reading, eh? Should be an interesting
weekend for you, glad someone has something fun to do. Well besides Al that
is.”

The flash of Al with Derrin, naked and going at it in some
hotel popped into her head. She crinkled her nose. Not that hot man-on-man
action turned her off but the image of Al and Derrin for certain did.

She looked up at him and laughed as he swiped his hand down
over his face, not able to mask the uncomfortable grimace. “Can’t wipe that one
out of your head now, can you?” At least she wasn’t the only one stuck with
that ugly scene in her head.

“Uh, no. Some things just shouldn’t be said out loud. Whew.”

Using the break, she turned to make her escape. “Better go
read some
Dominatrix
, don’t want Al’s naked body swimming in my head too
long. Have a good one.”

“Hey, if you wait a minute, I’ll walk out with you, closing
down anyway.”

His look was slightly hopeful yet confident. In the way that
only a man who was undeniably the alpha in any room could pull off. The stray
strand of hair falling across his forehead and the way his lips curled at the
corner, hugging that damn dimple didn’t hurt either. Her entire body tensed,
the air threatened to turn stale in her lungs and she had to remember to
breathe.

“Um, sure, okay. This is a small town though, not exactly
danger central.” Her stupid girl chatter made her belly clench into a knot, but
she kept the hopefully cool smile on her face. The one that said guys like him
offered to walk her to her car every day. Sure, in her head they did.

“I kind of noticed that when I hit the second stoplight and
the town ran out.” He chuckled that rich, male sandpaper laugh again. “I just
wanted to swing a couple more minutes talking to you. That okay?”

Straight out, no game. I want to spend a few minutes with
you. Wow.

“Yeah. Okay. Sure.” Shit, she still couldn’t shut the hell
up after one answer. Twitching again, she still had a hard time absorbing that
this was happening to her. She felt like a spectator in one of those random
practical joke shows. Like any second one of her friends would pop out and show
her the camera, and they would introduce Grant as some as yet unknown rising
star hired to trick her. Turning her face toward the door and hugging her books
to her chest, she waited while he flipped out the lights and shut down the
computers for the night.

“All set. Hey, nice ink.”

“What? Oh, thanks.” It always took her a second before she
caught on whenever someone noticed the tattoo peeking above the neckline of her
shirt.

“Mean anything or did you just like it?” He held the door
for her and turned to lock it behind him.

“Kind of both, I guess.”

“I’ll have to show you mine sometime. Probably not now, I
don’t think I want to find out how tough the indecency laws are around here my
first week, you know?”

Oh dear god, him, naked, with tattoos.

He took her elbow, steering her out onto the sidewalk. As if
there were any place else to go. The move was both well mannered, and
possessive. So he wasn’t just a pretty face, he had moves to go with it.

A giggle escaped her, the absurd image of him naked,
tattooed, ushering her to her car.
Oh here we go,
she thought,
first
the uncontrollable babbling, now the giggling.

“What, now you picturing Al
and
me naked?”

His ease calmed her again, brought her bravado back.
“Aww…now you ruined it. Why’d you have to throw Al back in there?”

“Oh…” His voice dropped to that deeper tone again, the
sensual tone of a man pleased by something. She threw a sideways glance at him
as they walked down the sidewalk toward her car. The small, knowing grin still
curved his mouth. The sudden pressure of his hand against the small of her back
sent a shiver through her as if he just pushed her
On
button.

“So, am I hot naked?”

Oh, hell yeah, you are.
“I don’t know. You dragged Al
back out there before I could get past wondering what kind of tattoo you have.”
Oh he was hot. Very hot. She was pretty damn sure that the vision in her head
might not even be close to the truth of that statement because he looked
amazing even dressed.

“Six, in all. And I’m glad you wonder what they look like.”
Peering up at him, she was again struck by how he towered over her. His
presence overwhelmed, yet still managed to feel steady and warm. It would have
been intimidating if he didn’t take care to move with a slow, easy grace that
contradicted his powerful stature.

As they reached her car, she clenched her teeth and let out
a slow breath. Now what? Opening the door, she leaned in to put the books on
the opposite seat and put her keys in the ignition. The sound of the hard metal
band on her stereo crashed through the quiet parking lot.

“You know I like it when I know you gotta have it…”

Teryn jerked the knob on the CD player so hard she almost
pulled it off. She’d forgotten she’d been blasting that song when she pulled
in, and here she was stuck, leaning into her Jeep with her ass pointed due
north, the words still echoing in the empty parking lot. Gathering a little
composure, she slid out of the Jeep and turned to look at him.

“Sorry.”

He leaned against the fender. Close. Not keeping his
distance at all, he let his long, hard body shadow her, touching her personal
space with his presence. “For what? You are the most interesting thing I’ve
seen since I got here.”

“I think I could maybe say that about you, too.”

A hint of satisfaction. “Yeah? You just move here recently?”

“No, lived here about ten years.”

That rich, deep laugh again. Every time it rumbled from his
chest she felt it go directly through her. God how she loved a deep, masculine
voice. He had a husky, commanding tone that reminded her of Jack Daniels.
Burned through at the start, settled into nice and warm, then curled up with a
deliciously sweet aftertaste. His voice did that to her, especially his laugh.

“So anywhere decent to get a drink around here? Assuming you
are as interested as I am in not letting this conversation get over with too
soon, that is.”