by Melissa Blue
Table of Contents
BLURB
AT A GLANCE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BIO
OTHER TITLES BY MELISSA BLUE
EXCERPT FROM DOWN TO ASH
CAST LIST
COPYRIGHT
BLURB
When they met online they were equals…Then she walks into his classroom.
For four months Eva March shared almost every secret with a handsome stranger. It was easy when she didn’t have to meet his gaze in real life. The online flirtation was fun. She could be a strong, put-together woman without a sordid past. Most importantly, he’d never know the truth.
Grady Addison takes his job as a professor seriously. He doesn’t sleep with co-eds, much less his students. Eva doesn’t even fit his leggy, peppy blonde requirements, but he can’t walk away now. He’s spent too much time fantasizing about her, her smile and the way her eyes darken when she thinks of her past.
And her past is a problem. The secrets she hasn’t yet told him could end his career and for Eva, her life could just come crashing down…again.
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AT A GLANCE
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Other Titles by Melissa Blue
UNDER THE KILT series
Under His Kilt
Her Insatiable Scot
Kilted For Pleasure
Kilt Tease
#DIRTYSEXYGEEKS series
To One Hundred
Down To Ash – Coming Soon
CHAPTER ONE
Grady Addison believed wholeheartedly in three things: Family wasn’t always blood. A house wasn’t a home unless it had a game console. Last, but not least, a single man who owned his home should be able to get some peace and fucking quiet before a virtual first date on Skype without his brother incessantly ringing the bell.
Frustration tightened his scalp and he glared at the front door for a moment. One would think his brother would get the point when Grady hadn’t answered the first ten text messages. Then again, saying Wade was stubborn was an understatement.
Debating his next step, he turned the volume down on his 57-inch flatscreen TV and then put his PlayStation controller next to him on the couch. A single text back saying he wasn’t in the mood would send his brother away.
But what if Wade is having another bipolar episode?
Grady pinched the bridge of his nose, already knowing what he’d decide—peace and quiet vs. making sure his brother was okay. His brother would win that head-to-head battle every time. He groaned as he rose from the couch. He paused another second and then picked up his phone from the coffee table. His digital first date might email him and Wade was nosy. If his phone was just sitting around, his brother would pick it up and go through it. Feeling secure, Grady stalked to the door.
Worried or not, he cracked the door just enough to peer out at his brother. Balmy heat tried to sneak its way in and fought with his air conditioner. Summer was in full swing so that meant Wade had broken out his uniform for the season—white shirt, board shorts and tennis shoes sans socks.
His brother’s brows slashed down into a frown but outside of that it was like looking into a mirror. Sharp jawline, untamed hair the shade of ebony and piercing blue eyes. Some days those irises reflecting back at Grady seemed darker. Those were the days that made him tense. Not tonight though. Some part of him relaxed. Wade’s psyche wasn’t taking him for a ride; his brother was just being a dick.
“What do you want?” Grady muttered, letting the irritation show in his voice.
“Are you masturbating in there?” Wade’s gaze went down then up like he was checking to see if Grady had on clothes.
“Couldn’t if I tried. I always have unwanted visitors. Again, I ask what do you want?”
His brother grinned. “I can give you thirty seconds if you need it.”
Grady swallowed the laugh. That was the problem with his brother. He was a funny asshole and knew it. “All right. I have a date I need to get ready for and I can see you’re not dying…Bye.”
Wade put his hand out and pushed against the door, his smile fading. “We need a night.” His tone was serious now. “We’ve all been a bit…tense.”
“We” meant Grady’s family that wasn’t blood—Victor, Porter and Oliver, all friends since elementary school. The Goon Squad, each of them was fucked up in their own ways.
He sighed and recognized that was why his “last but not least” belief hadn’t been a single man who owned his home should be able to masturbate in the living room whenever he wanted, fuck everyone else. His family, no matter how he defined it, saw him as home. “Needing a night” simply meant, needing a safe place to de-stress. His place. Mainly because life hadn’t thrashed him around like his brother and their three friends. He was relatively normal, the calm in the storm. Grady didn’t mind being everyone’s port. By rights, he was a teacher, kind of part of his DNA now. If the shit ever hit the fan, they’d be a tether for him.
But fuck my life. He had a date. Yeah, one where they’d chat in Skype—but a fucking date. Grady tilted his head back, shook it and then widened his door so his brother could come in.
Wade bumping into him as he stepped in. “Awww, you love us,” he said in a mocking tone.
“No. I’m just thinking about how to subtly mention I need money for game time. Subscriptions are crazy expensive.”
His brother stalled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I thought I got you six month’s worth.”
“You did.” Grady sighed and put a hand to his chest. “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to make the next payment in six months.” He sighed again, this time with a lot more dramatics. “I feed you guys, all the time and that…”
Wade snorted, amusement dancing in his eyes, as he turned toward the living room. “But I’m the loafer?”
“Yeah, because I know you’re heading straight for the kitchen before we play Warfare.”
Wade said, “Aw. Fuck, you’re right. Five minutes and we’ll go a round.”
He laughed and his brother joined him. “Five minutes.”
Soon they were settled in their respective spaces. Grady was on the love seat and his brother on the couch. A game of Warfare played out on the television. The mindless distraction wasn’t enough to ease his nerves. The threat of his family descending didn’t change the fact he still had a virtual date in thirty minutes. He’d just take the call upstairs in his office.
As though that mental reminder wasn’t enough, the opening chords to Firefly played halfway across Grady’s living room. The noise came from where his brother sprawled on the couch, stuffing his face. Normally not something to narrow his eyes over, but that was Grady’s ringtone for email alerts. And the last time he’d checked, his phone was in his back pocket. Immediately he thought back to Wade’s “innocent” bump at the door. The fucker had picked his pocket.
“You asshole,” he said to his brother.
His mouth filled with food, Wade announced, “I think that means your girlfriend just private messaged you on your geek forum.”
If Grady had leveled his disgusted glare at one of his students, the undergrad would have shriveled into the shadows of the universit
y, never to be seen or heard from again. But this was his older brother. Wade gave about zero fucks on the best of days. The stare wouldn’t waylay him. Matter of fact, his brother straightened then stretched his long legs to the coffee table like he still lived there, even though he’d moved out months ago.
That part wasn’t important at the moment. In a low bored tone, he corrected Wade’s assumption. “She’s—”
“Not your girlfriend.” After that statement, his brother finally bothered to gulp down the food he’d been harboring in his cheeks like a chipmunk. Then replaced the chewing with a shit-eating grin.
The smile beat back the shadows in Wade’s blue eyes. Yeah, his brother was fine. No need for gut-clenching worry.
Because of that, Grady used his middle finger to lazily scratch his eyelid. Wade snorted at the silent “fuck you” and then said, “I don’t know why you made your date for tonight. Doesn’t the summer session start tomorrow?”
As an adjunct instructor at Cal State that meant he got handed the shitty schedules, which included classes as early as seven in the morning. “Having you guys over is the better alternative?”
“We’ll be gone by one. Maybe,” Wade said it like that was a pro instead of con.
Of course. “I’m headed upstairs. Call me when the Goon Squad gets here. I’ll be nice and say hi.”
He rose from the love seat and attempted to bypass his brother.
“Oliver will likely get here first.”
“Yeah.” He waited and Wade didn’t add anything else. Another step.
“And then Victor. He’s the one who probably needs to relax more than anyone else. You know how he can get.”
Exactly the words that would stop him in his tracks. “I’m not missing this date.”
“I know. Just thought you’d want to know.”
Grady barely suppressed the urge to shove his brother’s face into the cushions. Wade smiled and offered up the cell phone. He snatched his phone out of his brother’s hand. The stairs were right there. Right fucking there, but his brother was probably waiting to drop a bomb. Partly because it was true and important. And partly to mess with him. Not that Grady could sit on a high horse since he did the same. It probably wasn’t healthy but it worked for them.
Testing the waters, he took two more steps.
“When are you going to tell me about her?” his brother asked. “A name? Astrology sign? Something.”
Grady had to laugh—both at the tactic to waylay him and the question. Although Wade’s bro-dude attitude and appearance fooled many, his brother was an astrophysicist—a certified genius who mocked anyone who read horoscopes.
“Really?” He stopped a stone’s throw away from the stairs. “Astrology?”
“I’ll take anything at this point.”
He narrowed his eyes at the lie. “What do you already know?”
“Nothing,” Wade said with a shrug and shifty eyes, “I swear.”
Lie. “I’ll tell you about her around the same time you grow up,” Grady said.
His brother laughed. “Well, fuck. Guess I’ll never know then.”
He would have kept talking with his brother, but all of his muscles were taut from forcing himself to stand in his living room. Grady wanted to read the private message. Had to know what she’d sent. Had she backed out? Or was she checking to make sure they were still on for tonight?
They had been circling each other, flirting and then more than flirting for the last four months since they’d struck up a private conversation on a Firefly fandom site. He preferred direct and frank when it came to dating. He also liked leggy blondes with hourglass figures. His stomach didn’t flutter when he met a woman for the first time. He could give two shits if she thought he was handsome or not.
All of those expectations had been wiped off the table the moment Aim2Misbehave had PM’d him after a long discussion of the Wild West—one of his favorite subjects, much to his students regret if they ever got him started.
In that time he’d learned her first name was Eva. Like him, she had an affinity for American history. He taught the subject at the university. She’d rather binge-watch documentaries than Housewives of Whatever County. Though she’d gotten sucked into at least one season. No judgment.
Neither of their parents would win any accolades for their parenting skills. They both had siblings who, occasionally, made them want to take vodka shots right out of the bottle. They knew practically everything about each other except for the cadence of each other’s voice, the curve of their lips when they smiled big and wide, just how dark their gazes could go when talking about their past.
And maybe some important identifying details. She was a woman. A vibrant and opinionated woman…online. He didn’t fault her for wanting to feel safe.
So it somehow felt wrong to tell even his brother something as simple as her name. Hence, why the shit-eating grin existed and why it came out whenever Wade teased him. That, and because the only thing better than sibling hazing was inviting your friends to do the same. Maybe there was a real underlying need for his friends to come over, but that didn’t mean his friends wouldn’t take the opportunity to screw with him at the same time. It’s what they all did.
“Last call to fuck with me and then I’m heading up the stairs no matter what you say,” Grady muttered.
Wade laced his fingers behind his head, stretching back on the couch. “You only have yourself to blame. I clear out my browser history and don’t autosave any of my passwords. You make it too easy to be nosy.”
What all had his brother read or seen? No, they didn’t hide much from each other, but still. He really should push Wade’s head into the cushions.
Grady did one better since he still had nightmares about the animated tentacle porn he’d caught Wade watching once. “Well, the difference between us is that I know the Internet is more than just Hentai.”
It was his brother’s turn to flip the bird. Considering them even now, Grady finally left the living room and headed up to the second floor. Edgy turned into an anxious buzz in his ears as he stalked to his office at the end of the long hallway.
Once in his sanctuary, he plopped into the desk’s chair and punched the On button on the laptop. Never had it run so fucking slow. Two agonizing minutes later, he’d signed into the forums and read her message.
4:18 P.M.
New Message from Aim2Misbehave:
Bad news. Sister just dropped by. No-go for tonight. Have you told your friends and family about me? Don’t. They’ll cock block and try to use reason to remind you I could be a serial killer.
Back to my point. I didn’t want to stand you up for our first date, but you know…family. I was going to flirt with you shamelessly and tell dirty jokes that could make even you blush.
Alas.
As a consolation, I recorded…something…late at night a few weeks back. I meant to send it a few weeks back but never got the nerve. I…definitely had you in mind when I made it though.
Anyway, check your email in about ten minutes. I think your disappointment will last about…Seriously, check your email. Lol
Grady pulled back from the computer, disappointment sinking its sharp teeth into his gut. Reason. Hell, his reason told him that Saturday nights shouldn’t be reserved for women he met online. Ever. Even if it was only once in a while.
Okay, maybe two nights a month. He should consider the grainy picture of her girl-next door pretty face as a clear warning sign to run in the other direction. People were catfished with less. But her face was surrounded by big spiral curls, wide-doe eyes and a mouth that made him pant. So that might be skewing his judgment.
Last but not least, the next time his pretty, leggy blonde co-worker suggestively flirted with him, he should take her up on the offer. Big brown eyes, straight, corn silk hair and a full mouth… He should catch that beautiful butterfly she kept throwing at him and move on from Eva.
Another voice, this one deeper than his brother’s, drifted up from downsta
irs. Oliver had arrived. One friend down. Two to go. Porter would show up next and then Victor. If they were lucky, Porter’s sister, Ashley, would grace them with her bubbly personality. A full house of people. Real life people who he liked, despite their sometimes-shitty timing. He should go downstairs and spend time with them.
Grady tapped his fingers on his desk before shaking his head. As always for the past few months, his online flirtation took precedence.
Pulling up his email account, he clicked on her name, opening the missive she’d sent him. An audio file. She hadn’t included any text to go along with it. He hit download then opened the file. Another moment of hesitation, and then he hit play.
“Hey, Grady.” Eva’s voice filled the room.
He closed his eyes and let the sound of her sultry tone wash over him. Sleep had probably made her voice huskier than usual. She had no distinguishable accent so that left her words crisp. His stomach tightened, because even as a recording, Eva sounded sexy as fuck.
“With great insomnia comes great Internet surfing.” She laughed. The short, fluid sound was both self-deprecating and vulnerable. “Anyway, I was on Tumblr…”
He chuckled, relaxing into his chair. Grady started, “And we know how that goes,” at the same time Eva’s said in her recording, in a wry tone, “And we know how that always ends—looking at porn.”
Her tired sigh blasted through the small speakers. “And there was this one page where they had nothing but audio. A few had the same theme or game. It was simple. You count backwards to one hundred. I know we made plans to video chat, but life always gets in our way. But if this, unfortunately, becomes our first meet, I wanted it to be memorable.” She paused. “I probably shouldn’t. I’m exhausted and my filters have already gone to sleep. It’s like three in the morning. I shouldn’t do this…”
Grady frowned, not getting her meaning at all. The audio went quiet. He glanced at the computer screen. It went on for another five minutes, at least. At best the audio was probably recorded on her phone so he turned up the volume.
The rustle of her sheets filled the silence. He lowered the sound again, his frown deepening.
