Review: Adult Education by Katalina Leon

Title: Adult Education

           Ellora’s Cave QUICKIES Series

Author: Katalina Leon

Release Date: November 9, 2009

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

Category: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Type: Kindle

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Book Blurb:

Miranda has always had a thing for leather and a burning desire for her favorite professor and ideal man, Stefan Hewson. The sumptuous temptations of leather strike hard when she finds herself on a dreary job assignment at her old college, locked in a coat closet with a man’s luscious leather coat. Her fantasies run even hotter when the sexy owner shows up and catches her fondling his leather.

It turns out Professor Hewson has been carrying a torch for her and he’s more than willing to show her who’s in charge of the class. Miranda’s not the only one who’s love-struck and harboring scorching-hot bondage and leather fantasies. The handsome professor is ready to add a few creative footnotes of his own…

Book Excerpt:

Like a salmon swimming upstream, Miranda returned to her old college campus for the first time in five years. She arrived on campus at the crack of dawn for her temporary job. She had done this deliberately because as a student she had loved watching the campus wake up and seeing the deep blue shadows between the stone buildings brighten. Being on campus at sunrise reminded her of a happier time when she still had outrageous plans for her life and was naïve enough to believe those dreams might actually come true.

She entered her favorite ivy-shrouded coffee shop and ordered a large chocolate latte. As a student, she had loved coming here and enjoyed reenacting this once extravagant little morning ritual.

The latte arrived so hot and steamy she wrapped her red scarf around the paper cup to protect her hands.

The sun rose above the buildings, illuminating a clear spring day. The coffee shop was overheated and filled with loud, bleary-eyed students. She glanced at her watch and saw she was far too early for her job interview. Her eyes traveled to the outdoor balcony she had once claimed as her private study. The morning was brisk but not so cold that it wouldn’t be enjoyable to stray outdoors. She decided to revisit her old haunt. She opened the side door and slipped unnoticed onto the balcony. It was bracingly cool on this ivy-covered garden of privacy. Her cheeks instantly reacted to the snap in the air. She had always loved this forgotten balcony. This peaceful, undiscovered spot on campus had once been her sanctuary where she gave in to lavish daydreams of her beloved Professor Hewson, and as usual, this morning she had it all to herself.

Stefan Hewson was the youngest, most brilliant professor she had ever known. His great love of Shakespeare became hers. She had fallen madly in love with him as a student and he never left her heart. Mr. Hewson was too decent a man to take advantage of a young student—though she had given him every hint that he could. She even thought he might have returned her affection had their situation been different but she’d never know for sure. Fate separated them. At graduation he accepted a sabbatical in Europe and she hoped to make something of her life before reconnecting with him. Predictably, her professional life went nowhere, so that call was never made.

The latte steamed in her hands as she looked over the edge of the balcony. There was a sunken stairwell about twenty feet below that ended in a cement flowerbed filled with yellow crocus. She took the plastic top off her steaming coffee and tried to take the first sip but the latte was too hot to even touch her lips.

She heard giggling in the stairwell and looked down. She saw a punk-rocker guy and a pretty young woman with blonde hair stagger into the stairwell. The couple’s arms twined around each other as they leaned against a cement wall.

The young man looked like he was in his mid-twenties. His large dark eyes were wise beyond his years. There was a maturity about his handsome face that was at odds with his punkish exterior. He had shiny black hair and wore a pair of silver-studded motorcycle boots. His face was lean and his clothes were tattered. He looked like the kind of streetwise bad boy who was reared in the city in a tiny apartment and was accustomed to going without.

The young woman was lovely with silky hair that tumbled past her shoulders and a patrician profile. She dressed more like a socialite than a graduate student. Her pale blue sweater had tiny pearl buttons. Her rosy complexion looked as if she were reared on sunshine and rode horses on Sundays. This attractive couple definitely looked like a pair of opposites.

“Olivia.” The young man gently kissed the blonde woman and slowly pulled a blue bandana from his back pocket.

The young woman stared at the bandana with wide gray eyes. “You’re crazy, Toby.” She leaned against the wall, giggling. “Are you trying to make me late for class?”

“We have time.” He pressed his body against her and kissed her lips.

Olivia had a mouth like a delicate rosebud. She leaned against the wall and surrendered to his kiss, letting her hands glide through his long hair. Her slender leg wrapped around his narrow hip and pulled him closer. She arched against him and casually dropped her backpack to the ground with a heavy thud. “Toby, we have to hurry.”

Miranda clearly heard what was going on below. Her face warmed with an odd sense of embarrassment. Her first impulse was to pull back from the edge of the balcony and look away, but then she realized the couple couldn’t see her from their vantage point. She was perfectly hidden behind the stonework and the ivy. When she realized she was completely invisible to them, a powerful tingle of excitement spread though her. She had never done anything like this before and the temptation to watch was too enticing. She took a deep breath and admitted in her heart of hearts that she did want to watch these two attractive people. This was so unlike her. It was borderline seedy and usually not her thing, but she was dying to see what the cute guy was going to do with the blue bandana.

Toby took Olivia’s wrists in his hands and pulled her arms above her head. He pressed her body to the wall and kissed her lips with a mouth that demanded she submit. “Don’t rush me.”

Olivia seemed to melt. Her cheeks blushed pink. “You’re tempting me to skip class.” Her words echoed softly through the stairwell.

Without letting go of her wrists he pulled her arms behind her back and wound the bandana snugly around her wrists, tying it off. Olivia’s shoulders were pulled back and her small breasts pushed forward. Her breathing sped up as his fingertips brushed across her pert nipples, making them stand up in sharp points that poked against her sweater.

“Why would I want to hurry?” His fingers slowly unbuttoned her sweater, exposing her perfect little breasts. He stepped back to admire her with both his hands and his eyes. He bent his head to her breast and ran his tongue around her pink nipple until it glistened before sucking it deeper into his mouth.

Olivia moaned and tipped her head back against the wall. Her eyes squeezed shut with a look of ecstasy on her face as he kissed her breasts. She gently wriggled her shoulders and let her sweater slide down her arms. Her pale skin pebbled in the cool morning air.

He unzipped his leather jacket, spreading it wide like a pair of black wings. He partially covered her with his jacket to keep her warm.

Miranda’s view was obscured but there was little doubt the young woman was immensely enjoying the touch of the man’s warm mouth on her breasts.

Dialogue Highlight:

His gaze focused on her with laser clarity. “Miranda, it’s so good to see you again. I can’t believe I’m standing here with you.” His eyes traveled over her. “You look great.” He moved closer. “I can’t help staring.” A smile spread across his face. “I’m sorry, but I’ve just got to do this.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her lips in a single firm, crushing kiss that left them both breathless. He slowly pulled away from her to study her stunned reaction. “I’ve wanted to do that for ages. I hope this won’t cause a problem. I’d always thought there was something special between us.”

Miranda mutely nodded her head. Her legs swayed uncontrollably. “You just want me to type your ridiculous paper.”

“Not at all. You’re a smart woman. I want you to help me with everything. If you have dinner plans tonight—cancel them. I want to talk this over with you in greater detail. I could use a partner with a strong knowledge of Shakespeare.”

Her voice trembled. “Of course, Sir…”

He grinned. “You still call me Sir. I love it. I hope you won’t be calling me bastard by the end of the week. I have to run now, but I’ll check back later.” He winked at her and closed the closet door behind him as he left.

She exhaled as she heard him marching down the corridor. Her eyes stared at the stack of papers beside her. Did that really just happen? Did Professor Hewson really just walk in here and catch her fondling his coat? Was he actually happy to see her, and did he really just kiss her? Her fingertips brushed against her lips, which still tingled from his touch. Maybe all this was a weird, wonderful dream just waiting to be snatched from her eager grasp by the alarm clock? How the hell was she going to focus on this stack of stupid papers after all this?

There was a sharp knock on the door. Professor Hewson nosed his way back into the closet. “I forgot something…”

She sat breathless, assuming he had returned for his coat. A warm blush crept across her cheeks and traveled toward the tips of her ears.

He walked up to her and pulled her from her chair.

She staggered upright.

“I have to do this or else I’ll never get anything done today.” His fingers tangled in her long hair as he looked into her guileless brown eyes. He was nervous.

She could tell he was not taking this lightly.

His hand slid behind her neck and gently cupped her head. His lips covered her mouth and took possession of her senses, flooding her with his gentle touch and warm breath.

She felt dizzy and forgot to breathe when he pressed his solid body against her.

His mouth glided across hers, urging her to part her lips. “Miranda…” He let her choose the moment the kiss would deepen.

It was almost too sensual and too seductive to endure. She had always dreamed of him but the reality of a warm-blooded man kissing her lips and stroking her face was far better than any dream.

He pulled away from her. His eyes shone with concern. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that before asking if you had a boyfriend or a husband.”

“It’s all right,” she swished a dismissive hand through the air, “there’s no one.”

His eyes blazed with satisfaction. “I’m glad to hear that. I better leave you alone so you can get some work done.” He stared at her longingly as he backed out of the closet. “It’s going to be nice getting to know each other again. I mean, we only knew each other in the classroom, which is great when you’re student and teacher, but things are different now, really different, the rules have changed.” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe some of the fantasies I’ve had about you.” His face flushed. “God, I shouldn’t have said that! I better leave before I say too much.” He stepped out of the closet and closed the door behind him.

Her heart pounded. He fantasized about her? She couldn’t believe what he just said to her. If he only knew how many hours she had spent fantasizing about him. It had always been him. She pressed her palm against her forehead. Maybe she was hallucinating with a fever? Her forehead felt fine. If this was a fevered hallucination, it was the best, most-overheated hallucination ever.

He burst back into the closet and slammed the door behind him, but this time the door bounced open again. He rushed toward her. “Who am I kidding? I’m not going to get any work done today.”

Review:

ADULT EDUCATION has an interesting premise. I mean I don’t remember ever lusting after any of my college professors, but I am sure there are some fine looking ones somewhere out there. Just not any that I ever came across. Still, the idea of being infatuated with your professor and fantasizing about allowing something to happen is viable. More so because nothing ever happened and now Miranda finds herself back on the very same campus about five years later. Her memories of Stefan remain fresh in her mind as the one that got away. Even though he never did … get away, that is. Consequently she finds herself wandering around campus, having arrived to her new temp job too early.

Miranda finds herself in a position to observe a college couple in the midst of a passionate encounter and a teeny bit of bondage. Of course, the entire time she is secretly watching the couple, she is wishing she was experiencing the same things. Apparently Miranda has a propensity toward submission and wants a strong partner to master her. But her fantasy doesn’t seem to have any potential takers and remains something she craves, but never speaks of.  (Hence the reason I included the excerpt above.)

The dialogue highlight is the initial reactions of Stefan and Miranda when reunited. Apparently the professor had a little somethin’ somethin’ for his star student a few years back and darn near came close to making her dreams become reality. But he stayed the course (pun intended) and refrained from indulging in temptation. Instead, he has found Miranda and employed her to transcribe his notes. He has a few plans of his own, but doesn’t mention them immediately. After all, seducing his former student and object of his desire is far more important. You would agree, no?

ADULT EDUCATION is a fast read at around 40 pages. It will satisfy the reader who likes the characters to get down and dirty in a hurry. I have down and dirty in 30 going through my head. ACK! Neither has much substance and there is no character depth to speak of. The reader is provided with enough back ground to know basically everything I explained about their past. They then waste no time in jumping on the sex train and picking up where they … ummm … never left off from, except in their minds.

I think my biggest problem with this story is that the roles should have been reversed making Miranda the aggressor and Stefan the submissive. With Stefan as the aggressor and the talk of mastering Miranda, I was not able to separate the teacher/student component and that somewhat soured the story for me. I don’t want to think about a teacher mastering his student sexually. But Miranda showing the master some new tricks? Well, that would have been easier for me to read and far more enjoyable. Paired with the fact that 40 pages is really hard to pull off effectively, this story just didn’t do it for me. And some of you may wonder why I bother writing reviews like this. To those who wonder, I say ~ I know from personal experience that being honest in a review, even though I did not care for it, has brought new readers to an author. Maybe I didn’t care for a component to a story, but there are others out there who would like to read a story based on what I disliked because it is a like for them.

But like I said, as a quick read to pass a bit of time? It does the job. I would recommend this story for a reader who does not have a lot of time ~ maybe waiting for a flight to take off at the airport ~ and doesn’t want to invest a lot in the story. Basically, you want to read a quick story with some hot sex and then move on. This is that story. And for a lot of you … hey, you know who you are … don’t act like you don’t like skipping ahead to the smokin’ sex scenes … yeah … YOU! Think of this story as THE sex scene. No skipping required.

(eBook copy provided by publisher for review.)