The 30 series #2
by Christine d’Abo
now available at
Baring your body is simple—but baring your soul might just change everything…
The last
thing Glenna O'Donald expected to stumble upon in a cemetery was a pack of
index cards. And not just any cards--each one contains instructions for a
seriously kinky, no-holds-barred sexual encounter. Glenna, an over-analytical
research assistant by day, is suddenly tempted to conduct some nocturnal
experiments of her own. Especially when gorgeous university professor Eric Morris
offers to be her lab partner.
Soon
Glenna begins meeting with Eric once a week to try out the suggestions that
intrigue her most. In between those daring nights of sensual exploration are
work days filled with laughter and flirting…until Glenna fears she's getting in
too deep. For all the pleasure she's giving and receiving, Glenna wants more
than skin-on-skin interaction--and Eric realizes he's about to lose the
intimate connection he didn't know he needed. Can they find the courage to take
this game to the next level?
As hot as it is heartwarming, Christine d'Abo's
fresh, witty novel proves that practice makes perfect, and that some games are
worth playing…
MY REVIEW:
Having found a set of sex cards, Glenna
O’Donald is tempted but too hesitant to suggest them to her fantasy dream man,
Professor Eric Morris. Even though he’s the man, she can’t go a day without
seeing so she takes the long way through the building so she can pass his
office, and she uses his handsome face as fantasy fuel to masturbate by, she still
can’t bring herself to say two words to him…after all…he probably doesn’t even
know who she is. Or so she thought. When he stops by her office one day and
mentions overhearing her discussion with her friend, Jasmine about him and the
cards, he shows he is curious about them, and her. He does know who she is, he
does know her name, and he’s interested in playing out the suggestions on the
cards. Can her life get any better? No, she thought…but then they started their
little experiment and her fantasies came to life…until real life began to
interfere.
I liked Glenna, Eric, and Jasmine
immediately. I loved the setting because it brought back fond memories of my
college days and hanging around members of academia that provided wonderful and
intelligent conversations. I never had a professor who was as sexy as Eric was,
but then I couldn’t have it all. Darn it!
The story started out a little slow and I
wondered if I was going to like it since I didn’t know what to expect and was
beginning to wonder if it was much tamer than I had hoped but then Eric and
Jasmine went to dinner, and the experiment began. I understood the protocol
that the two had set up but wanted more for both of them and was glad when
things started coming together.
30 NIGHTS by Christine d’Abo is a fun,
delightful, steamy as all get out, sexually inspiring story about a woman who
needs a little fun in her life, and a man who needs to know that he can still
be the kind of man a woman would want in her life. I highly recommend 30 NIGHTS
to everyone who loves a girl gets guy
when she least expected to romance. I know what it’s like to work too much
and play too little so I connected with Glenna immediately and Eric can be my
knight in shining armor any time he wants. He’s romantic and sexy, eager to
please, and adventurous…just my kind of man. I have to admit, it would be fun
to come across my own set of 30 sex cards…even if I found them in a cemetery. You
have to read 30 DAYS by Christine d’Abo to understand the origins of the cards.
It’s a truly sweet story too.
Happy Reading Everyone!
***galley provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unscripted review
***galley provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unscripted review
EXCERPT:
“I’m telling you, the staff barbecue is the perfect place
for you to talk to him.” She opened her lunch and the smell of kimchi rice
filled the room.
The him she was
referring to was Professor Eric Morris. The tall, dark-haired, super-fit
sociology professor had a voice that could melt hearts and drop panties with a
simple hello. Professor Eric Morris,
who had more female students in his class than anyone else on campus. A man who
rarely smiled, but when he looked at you there was no doubt he not only saw
you, but every thought and feeling that flitted through your head. He starred
in far too many of my nightly fantasies for me to admit without sounding like a
crazy, obsessed stalker.
The man, who in the year and a bit that he’d been teaching at the
college, I’d barely managed to say two words to, because I was, as Jasmine put
it, a coward.
“I love you like a sister, Jaz. But there is no way I’m going to
say anything to him. Ever.”
It was the Friday before the Labor Day weekend, the last workday
before the start of the school year. Most of the professors from the college
were gone, taking their last bit of vacation to play golf, read, or do whatever
their passions happened to be. I loved working this time of year. The school
was quiet. It always felt as though someone had taken a deep breath and were
waiting to exhale. A collective pause before the chaos to come.
This year was going to be especially awesome. Professor
Mickelson, my boss, had already been away for three months on his semester-long
sabbatical. I still had four more months of only communicating with him via
e-mail. Heaven!
“Are you insane?” Jasmine threw her napkin at me. “This is the
perfect time for you to do it. He’ll be there. You’ll be there. Your crazy boss
won’t be there. You might even be
able to relax and have fun for once.”
She was my best friend in the whole wide world, but there were
times when Jasmine scared the shit out of me. I looked down at my hands and
picked at the dry skin around my nail. “I just can’t.”
“What’s the worst that can happen? He’ll say no. At the very
least you’ll have an answer and you can move on to someone else.”
A grad student chose that moment to come into the kitchen. He
didn’t even look at us as he made his way to the coffee machine. I leaned
forward to close the distance between me and Jasmine. “I’m quite happy with my
fantasies, thank you.”
“I bet you are. I bet you dream about climbing up his body and
licking every inch of his skin.”
The grad student looked at us wide-eyed before he spun away
quickly. I got the impression he was still listening, no doubt wanting to get
some dirt that could be passed around the student lounge. Great, like I needed that kind of attention.
I nodded my head in the direction of our friend. “Can you keep
your voice down a bit?”
“Not if you’re not going to listen to my advice.” She leaned back
and crossed her arms, her eyes locked onto mine. “You need to make a move
before someone else snatches him up.”
Now the grad student wasn’t even pretending that he wasn’t paying
attention. Jasmine must have picked up on it too, because in the next instant
she turned around and glared at him. “Don’t you have someplace to be, Stuart?
Like running your tutorial?”
“Ah, yeah. Yes.” For a moment, I thought his eyes were going to
bug out of his head.
“Then move your ass.” Jasmine pointed at the door and narrowed
her gaze.
I’d never seen a person move that quickly before in my life.
When she turned her glare back on me, I knew I wasn’t going to be
spared anything. “Glenna, I know you don’t believe me, but this is the truth.
You are not meant to be alone. You and Eric would be cute together. He’s
serious, you’re serious. Just think about what sex would be like with him.
Jesus, if I weren’t gay even I’d be tempted to take him for a ride my-self.”
And there was a mental picture I so didn’t want—my best friend
and my crush fucking.
“I hate you.” I pulled my tuna sandwich out of my container and
took a giant bite. “He doesn’t even know I’m alive. Saying hello to him at the
barbecue isn’t going to do anything to help get him into my bed.”
“Well, you can’t expect him to fuck you if you can’t at least
have a simple conversation.” She took a big bite of her kimchi and waved her
fork around. “Maybe you can get drunk and then grope his ass. Then you’d have
to go apologize. There might be groveling. ‘Oh, please Eric, how can I ever
make it up to you?’” She batted her eyelashes at me before laughing. “You
should see your face.”
“You’re an asshole. Why are we even friends?”
“Because I showed you how to shotgun a beer our first week of
college.”
“Only after I saved your ass with that essay.”
But as she knew, my brain does this thing that as soon as someone
puts a thought out there I can’t help but picture how things will work out, all
the way to their natural conclusion. In my head, I saw myself at the party.
Eric would walk by on his way to the food table or something. I’d
“accidentally” bump into him as he passed me and look into his eyes all
surprised. Maybe I’d even spill a drink on myself. He’d think he’d done it and
would help me clean myself.
I’m sorry, Glenna. How can
I make up for this?
Oh nothing. It was
an accident.
I can’t stand by while I’ve
done you wrong. At least let me give you a clean shirt.
I’d blush, of course, because who wouldn’t. Thank you.
Why don’t you take mine?
His voice would be that low rumble that always seemed to turn me on. His eyes
would be locked onto me, as he’d slowly unbutton his shirt.
Wow, Eric. Your chest is so
firm.
Would you like to
see the rest of me?
And bam, crazy-monkey sex!
If only.
I cleared my throat and quickly took another bite of my sandwich.
“I don’t think Eric likes anyone. Or has sex. Or anything. He’s always on his own.”
“Baby, I’ve seen that man. He’s having sex. As much as he wants,
with whomever he wants to do it with. I keep telling you all you need to do is
go after him.”
“He doesn’t know I’m alive,” I said again. And I was essentially
a coworker. That went against so many things on my mental “don’t touch” list I
couldn’t fathom it.
“Whose fault is that? Not his. If you want someone then you need
to do something about it. Life doesn’t reward the cautious.”
“Sometimes it does.”
“You don’t believe that.”
I hated when she was right. “Maybe.”
“You’re a research assistant who lives in the world of studies
and observations. Talk to him—hell, I was serious about the groping. I’m sure
you could chalk this up to some exception-ally hands-on research project.”
“God, you’re a child sometimes. I don’t need a man to fulfill me
when I have a perfectly good vibrator at home to help—”
“Baby, all you do is masturbate.”
“—live out my fantasies.
I’d be scared that the reality would never live up to the imaginary Eric that
I’ve created in my head.”
It was in that moment that my skin began to tingle. We were still
alone in the kitchen, but I could have sworn someone was there. It was probably
Stuart standing outside in the hall trying to get some more dirt. Well, he was
out of luck because I was done being browbeaten by Jasmine.
“I need to get back soon. Professor Mickelson left me a pile of
books to pull and outline for him. He’ll be chasing me through e-mails if I’m
not done soon.”
Thankfully, she sighed, signaling the end of her teasing. “When
does the old goat get back?”
“He’s off all term, but he’s threatened to come back around the
end of October for a check-in. Then I’m sure he’ll have me buried in another
bunch of new projects before the next term starts.”
“I’d better head out too. I have a one-thirty meeting. Apparently,
the CS profs want to do a study on online learning again. I have to pull some
old case studies so they don’t rehash an old thesis.”
“Blah.”
The echo of our chairs scraping as we stood filled the room. One
second I was picking up my garbage and taking it to the garbage can, and in the
next, I was face-to-face with the object of my lust.
Professor Eric Morris stood in the doorway, coffee mug in hand.
Well, stood isn’t quite the right description. It’s more like he loomed. He’s
probably only a smidgen over six feet tall, but being only five foot four
myself, it makes for a huge difference from my perspective. Mind you, being eye
level with his chest was no hardship. His dress shirts fit him perfectly, but
they couldn’t hide the muscles beneath. As usual, I was paying more attention
to his pecs—Were they really as firm as they looked?— rather than his face.
That was why I didn’t immediately notice him staring at me. Which he totally
was.
And there was my blush.
“Umm, hi, Professor Morris.”
Woot, go me! I finally
spoke to him.
“Glenna.”
God, his voice! It was a
lot lower than any other man’s voice that I knew and had a way of seeping into
my body when he spoke. Could the sound of a voice be an aphrodisiac? If so,
then I could listen to him read the phone book and probably have an orgasm.
Jasmine cleared her throat and I realized that we’d been standing
staring at each other for longer than was normal. I looked at the garbage in my
hand and then at the garbage can directly behind him. “Umm, sorry. I just need
to . . .”
I’d half-expected him to move to the side so I could reach it.
Instead, he stayed put, forcing me to step awkwardly around him. I clamped my
mouth closed as I moved so he wouldn’t be subjected to the stench of my tuna
breath. As I brushed past him, I got a nose full of his aftershave. It wasn’t a
brand that I knew, but he smelled awesome and it always made me a bit giddy
when he was nearby. I could always tell when he’d been in a room, my nose
keenly aware of his lingering scent.
It was only after I finally dropped my garbage into the bin that
Eric moved over to the coffee machines. I wasn’t a close colleague to him and
hadn’t worked on any of his projects since he’d come to the school, so I didn’t
have much I could say to him. Not that he was particularly easy to speak to
with his back to us. I scampered over to the table and grabbed my things. “I
need to stop and get some paper for my printer.”
“Cool.” Jasmine was clearly trying to fight off a laughing fit.
“Want to grab a coffee before we go? You look like you could use one.”
I’m going to kill her.
“No, I’m good for now.”
Just before we left the kitchen, Jasmine piped up. “Have a great
day, Professor Morris.”
“You as well, Ms. Houng, Glenna.”
Yes, she was going to die in the most painful way possible.
Somehow I managed to keep my mouth shut until we were out of
earshot. “I hate you.”
“Are you kidding me? For a second I thought he was going to throw
you over the table and fuck you in front of me.”
“You’re high. He doesn’t know me.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. He knew your name, which means he knows
who you are. And you couldn’t see his face the way I did. Not only does that
boy know you’re alive, but he’s interested.”
“Whatever.” She was just trying to get me going. He couldn’t be
interested.
As we were about to turn the corner, I looked back down the hall
toward the kitchen. Eric was standing there, coffee cup in his hand, staring
back at me.
He wasn’t interested, was he?
Until today I didn’t even think he remembered my name.
We were almost back to the office when I heard my cell phone
ringing. I missed it, but when I finally got to my desk and checked, I saw that
there were four missed calls from my mom. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Jasmine turned her seat to face me.
“Not sure yet. Sec. Hey, Mom. Sorry, I was at lunch.”
“Glenna, hon.” It took no time to realize that she’d been crying.
“What’s wrong? Is it Dad?”
“No, your father’s fine. It’s Great Glenna.”
I closed my eyes and felt the blood drain from my face. “Oh no.”
“She’s in the hospital,
but the doctors aren’t sure she’s going to make it through the night. Can you
come?”
“Where are you?”
“They took her to St. Joseph’s.”
“I’m on my way.”
Jasmine was on her feet standing in front of me when I hung up.
“Hon, what’s wrong?”
“It’s my great-grandmother. She’s dying.”
—30 NIGHTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Christine
d’Abo is a romance novelist and short story writer, with over thirty
publications to her name. She loves to exercise and stops writing just long
enough to keep her body in motion too. When she’s not pretending to be a ninja
in her basement, she’s most likely spending time with her husband, daughters,
and her two dogs.
TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY
