The Education

Chapter 1

Reading changed her life. Not on the surface, but where it counted. While Eden had always lived the role she'd been assigned, dutifully playing the part of the pastor's daughter, in her spare time she lived the lives of many. It started with princes and princesses, then wizards and half-bloods, and through her teens her fondness for vampires and werewolves dominated her life. At twenty-four years old, though, her tastes had evolved dramatically.

Eden loved erotica.

She couldn't even tell you how her obsession began because it wasn't a conscious decision. Falling in love never is. And that's exactly what it was. Each book pricked her heart, tattooing a signature of itself that would last forever. In the literary heroes, she explored desires she'd been taught to bury, fantasized about a breed of man she'd yet to meet. In the heroines, she found alter egos she never thought she'd have the courage to be, lives she knew it would be impossible to replicate. And while she couldn't physically follow in their stiletto-clad footsteps, she could at least imagine the freedom of the walk.

Over the years her passion had surpassed the privacy of her bedroom, reaching out to other likeminded readers over the internet. She'd made friends, joined groups, and eventually founded her own blog: The Three R's – Reading, Writing and Red Rooms. The objective of the blog was to support romance and erotica authors, educate readers, and most importantly, to have fun. Her alias, Cherry, had started with just a handful of followers, but over the course of three years had grown in popularity, reaching thousands across multiple social media sites as well as her primary website.

It was all for fun, sure, but she treated it like a job.

Which was why, on a Friday night, she was where she was.

With both hands on her steering wheel, the car stationary and parked far from where she needed to be, Eden sought strength. She was tired of admiring the BDSM scene through pages, tired of the safety glass that was literature. She was sick of imagining a partner, a master, rather than feeling him. She was annoyed with reviewing and critiquing and obsessing over a lifestyle she only knew about in third person. But most of all, she was tired of being a virgin.

She had not planned on reaching her twenties with her V card firmly wedged in her pocket. She had not welcomed the events that had taught her to protect it. Life had led her down this path but now she was looking to detour. With the help of her blogger friend—a friend who knew of her inexperience but not the depth of it—she would be opening her eyes to a world of sexual potential.

There was an excited knock on her window followed by a sharp, "Eeeeeeeeeee!" Eden startled before smiling up at Maria. The door was barely opened before she was pulled into a tight hug.

"Hi, Maria," Eden said into a cloud of perfumed hair.

"Mami, it's so good to see you again!" She pulled back, looking her friend up and down. "I thought I'd be seeing a little more of you, though. You do remember where we're going, right?"

Eden smoothed down her dress—a wool number that clung from her knees to her jaw. "What's wrong with it? It's pretty tight. It's the most provocative thing I own."

"It's...lovely. Next time, though, we'll raid my wardrobe."

Eden wasn't sure there'd be a next time. Her earlier nerves had quadrupled in the realization that she'd be sticking out like a sore thumb. Maria wore a red, skin-tight dress that broadcast her Latina curves, and stilettos with string that crisscrossed to her knees. She looked like sin. In comparison, Eden looked like her mother.

"I'm so nervous," she admitted as Maria looped her arm with hers and they walked.

"Don't be. It's a little scary when you first step in, but really, Duel is just like any other club on the surface. Just hotter. Way, way hotter. And with open minds to those that like to explore that...hotness."