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Lessons in Love: Lessons in Love, #0
Lessons in Love: Lessons in Love, #0
Lessons in Love: Lessons in Love, #0
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Lessons in Love: Lessons in Love, #0

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About this ebook

Lessons in Love is a steamy new adult romance series about going away to college and falling in love for the very first time. While there is character overlap, each story in the series is a standalone with its own happily ever after ending and no cliffhangers.

This edition includes all four stories in the series: First to Fall, First to Burn, First to Heal, and First to Dare.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherTove Press
Release dateJul 30, 2018
ISBN9781386241119
Lessons in Love: Lessons in Love, #0

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    Book preview

    Lessons in Love - Olivia Blake

    LESSONS IN LOVE

    FIRST TO FALL, FIRST TO BURN

    FIRST TO HEAL, FIRST TO DARE

    OLIVIA BLAKE

    Lessons in Love

    Copyright © 2015 Olivia Blake

    Published by Pink Parts Press

    All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.

    This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Names, characters, places, businesses, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

    To be notified of new book releases and sales, sign up for Olivia’s mailing list or subscribe to her blog.

    Summary

    Lessons in Love is a steamy new adult romance series about going away to college and falling in love for the very first time. While there is character overlap, each story in the series is a standalone with its own happily ever after ending and no cliffhangers.

    This edition includes all four stories in the series: First to Fall, First to Burn, First to Heal, and First to Dare.

    Contents

    First to Fall

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Chapter Three

    Chapter Four

    Epilogue

    First to Burn

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Chapter Three

    Chapter Four

    Epilogue

    First to Heal

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Chapter Three

    Chapter Four

    Epilogue

    First to Dare

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Chapter Three

    Chapter Four

    Epilogue

    Bonus Material

    Preview: Obsessed

    Dark Bargains

    The Winter Billionaires

    With One Word

    About the Author

    First to Fall

    Chapter One

    The coffee was to die for.

    Maybe literally. While the aroma drifting onto the sidewalk from The Java Bean was heavenly, the place looked like something the Health Department should have condemned ages ago. That just made it fit in with the rest of the buildings along the narrow street, though. Everything in sight was gritty and run-down, but cleverly painted and decorated in an attempt to look quirky rather than decrepit.

    Alyssa took a swig of her sugar and cream laden coffee and uttered a blissful sigh as she followed her roommates back out onto the street. The very first swallow had convinced her that it was well worth the risk of a little food poisoning, because it tasted every bit as good as it smelled. When the other three girls stopped to take stock of their surroundings, it gave her a few more precious seconds to appreciate both the savory brew and this new phase of her life—out on her own and finally free to pursue her dreams, maybe even to create some new ones.

    After they had moved into their room in the dorm the evening before, the four girls had been too worn out from the long drive and lugging their belongings upstairs to want to go out, so this morning they had raced through a quick breakfast in the dining hall then set out to explore the campus. To their disappointment, most of the buildings were still closed since it was only Thursday and classes didn’t start until the following Monday, so once they had figured out the basic layout of the buildings there was little else to do. Out of curiosity they had followed a stream of other students into the off-beat district across the street from the campus where hole-in-the-wall restaurants and dive bars nestled side by side with tattoo parlors, secondhand junk shops, and thrift stores.

    Well, what should we do next? Paige asked.

    Alyssa’s best friend, Kimberly, pointed excitedly towards two hot guys—almost certainly seniors—walking in the opposite direction. We should go that way, she said.

    Alyssa shook her head with a tolerant little smile. Do you ever think about anything but boys?

    "Do you ever think about anything but books?" Lisa, their other roommate, teased back. She had gone Goth early in their sophomore year of high school, and the purple strip in her raven hair glowed like neon in the brilliant morning sunlight.

    Oh, come on. It’s our first day, Alyssa said. "The boys aren’t going anywhere. I want to look around and find some places to hang out so we don’t sit around the dorm playing the ‘I don’t know, what do you want to do?’ game until Christmas break."

    So far Alyssa had spent the morning trailing the others through a long string of clothing stores and eccentric boutiques, but she had quickly grown bored as so little of it was her style. There had to be other things around worth exploring. She nodded her head towards a taller building up the street which had a glittering mobile constructed of CDs hanging above the door. What about that place?

    Paige consulted the pamphlet she had picked up from a stack by the front door of their dorm on their way out. It’s a used music store. The guide says it was a speakeasy during Prohibition, and there’s a back area behind a secret door.

    Now that actually sounds interesting, Alyssa said. Come on, let’s go check it out.

    There was a secret panel behind a swinging bookcase that led to a massive selection of old dance singles and trance albums in what had originally been a bar, and Lisa went hyperactive as she bounced through room after room full of incredible finds. It wasn’t long before her friends were ready to move on, though, and Alyssa practically had to drag her back downstairs.

    "Come on, Lisa, Paige groaned. You can’t stay in here forever."

    Fine, the Goth girl grumbled, although she dragged her booted feet as she went through the door. But I’m going to get a job here before the semester is over.

    Oh, let’s go in there! Kimberly pointed towards yet another shop with an eclectic display of handmade clothing in the window.

    Ugh. Let’s not. Alyssa’s eyes settled on a store across the street. Off the Page. Books. Oh, yeah. How about the used bookstore?

    You go right ahead, Lisa said. I’m sticking with Kimberly. Knowing you, you’ll be in there until classes start on Monday.

    Paige tugged at Alyssa’s arm. Let’s go, ‘lyssa. I’ve seen all the clothes I want to for one day.

    * * *

    When the doorbell jangled Kyle Ross shook his head and sighed. The day before he had picked up a mix of almost a thousand hardback and paperback books at an auction and he was still trying to get them sorted and priced. With all these interruptions he was never going to make any headway. Of course without all the interruptions he’d never make any sales, either, so he couldn’t complain too much. He poked his head out of his office and saw two girls—a slender blonde and a taller brunette—browsing through the racks by the door—newly minted freshmen from the looks of them, young and still not quite comfortable being out all on their own. The bookstore would be full of them for the next couple of months, until they found other distractions. He had started to turn away when the blonde spotted a book and in that instant her face came alive.

    A moment before he would have sworn that she was nothing special, rather pretty in a wholesome sort of way like any of a thousand other girls who stepped into his shop every semester, but he could have walked right past her on the street half an hour later without recognizing her. As the book practically levitated from the shelf to her hands, though, she transformed into something exquisite. Delight sculpted a heart-stopping smile from lips framed by a pair of impish dimples, and her clear green eyes danced like spring leaves drenched in sunlight. He stared entranced as one hand brushed back a stray wisp of long, dark golden hair and she turned to her friend with an excited laugh.

    Kyle had thought himself immune to the young college girls who came into the store, his age a dependable shield against that sort of silliness, but something about this one got to him. When she turned on that smile it was dazzling, like being hit in the eyes with a thousand watt floodlight, and he found himself fighting off an almost irresistible urge to go over and talk to her. He wanted to find out what book it was that sparked that reaction so he could take her to a shelf full of others like it and maybe see that smile again. Then his mind conjured an image of him looking down into her dancing eyes while he tasted those perfect lips, and for an instant he imagined her supple body molded hot against his while his hands explored her soft curves before he drove the thought away with a whispered curse. What was he thinking? She was far too young and absolutely not his type; the girl looked so sweet and innocent that she’d probably be getting carded until she was forty.

    Kyle didn’t do sweet and innocent.

    And yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her until she disappeared into the back of the store. He stood there a moment and let out a long, slow breath while he collected himself. If some little freshman could get to him like that then he was obviously working too hard. It was time to go hit the downtown bars this weekend and find some bad girls closer to his own age to play with. That was sure to get this adorable blonde out of his head.

    I’m in the office, he called out. Just ring the bell on the counter when you’re ready to check out or if you need anything.

    Faint whispers and laughter answered him from the back room, and Kyle went back to his sorting with another shake of his head. He half-hoped they’d leave without buying anything. If she smiled at him like that while he rang them up it was liable to tie his tongue in knots, and making a fool of himself over a teenage girl wasn’t something he particularly cared to do.

    * * *

    Paige’s phone dinged.

    Are you about done? she asked. Lisa says they’re ready to leave.

    Alyssa turned reluctantly away from a nook full of paperbacks she could have spent hours rummaging through. Her hands were already full, though, and she didn’t want to keep her friends waiting. She cast longing glances at all the shelves she hadn’t gotten a chance to browse as she walked up to the counter with Paige, already plotting a solitary trip so she could explore the place from top to bottom at her leisure. As big and utterly jammed with books as the store was, it would easily take her days to see everything. To her it was like getting to go on a field trip to Heaven.

    That feeling didn’t change one bit when she finally got a good look at the man standing behind the register. He was quite older, thirtyish she guessed, but well worth looking at anyway. A navy blue t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and muscled arms then tucked into a pair of faded jeans that emphasized trim hips and a pair of muscular thighs.

    Did you find everything you were looking for?

    The low, melodious drawl sent shivers trickling down her spine. Wow. His slightly shaggy black hair tossed in glossy waves that her fingers itched to touch, and the faint hint of bristle along his jaw softened the lines of a face that otherwise might have been a little too stark and angular. Full, ruddy lips quirked up at one corner in a teasing smile that made her breath catch in her throat while her heart tripped over itself and couldn’t seem to remember how to beat properly. Alyssa had dreamed of being kissed by lips just like those. Without meaning to her eyes met his and she slid straight into their liquid, coffee-colored depths.

    When she opened her mouth to respond nothing would come out, and in desperation she attempted a smile to try to buy time to recover. For just an instant his eyes narrowed and smoldered in a look of primal interest that sent a shiver racing down into her belly and left her tingling down to her toes. No one—no one—had ever looked at her like that before. Like she was a woman. Like she was someone desirable. With trembling fingers she pushed her books across the counter towards him.

    I think I found everything, she stammered out. For now. I really want to come back and spend more time looking, though. There’s so much to see.

    While his lips curved higher in a full smile, those dark eyes never left hers. Always nice to run into a fellow book junkie. Come back anytime. I pick up new stuff every week, so there’s usually something interesting on the shelves.

    Nothing on the shelves was half as interesting as what was behind the counter. Her heart pounding, Alyssa broke eye contact and dropped her gaze to his hands. They were big, like the rest of him, with long fingers like a pianist’s. What would it be like to be touched by those hands, to have those fingers touching her face, her hair? It seemed that someone so large, so strong, would almost have to be rough, but his hands were surprisingly gentle as he poked through the old, delicate books she had picked out. Would they be just as gentle on her? At the thought of just where those fingers might go a furious blush crept onto her cheeks.

    Fourteen sixty-eight, he said.

    Alyssa fumbled in her purse, grateful for an excuse to look away. Even though she had done her best to avoid boys in high school, there had been a few who had flustered her. She couldn’t remember ever having this kind of overwhelming reaction to anyone else, though, and it was unnerving. That look in his eyes had left her quivery and breathless. Had it really happened, or had it just been her imagination playing tricks on her? Sadly, it was probably just her imagination. All she knew for sure was that if he did look at her like that again she was liable to melt into a puddle at his feet, so she was careful not to meet his eyes when she gave him fifteen dollars and he handed back her change.

    As soon as she had the bag of books in her hand she fled, hardly daring to breathe until she stood on the street with her heart pounding and her palms sweating. Kimberly and Lisa were already there waiting and Paige darted up to them.

    "Oh, you two so missed out, she gushed. The guy in the bookstore is smokin’ hot. You should have seen him."

    Lisa shrugged. There are cute guys all over.

    "I didn’t say cute. I said hot. If I was a little older I’d totally have his babies. Right, Alyssa?"

    He was okay.

    Okay? Girl, you need to get your eyes checked. I had to stop to make sure I wasn’t drooling. And you know what? She turned back to the others and cast her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. I think he was checking Alyssa out.

    Checking me out? You’re delusional. It couldn’t have been real. Could it?

    He was! He totally was! He was looking at her like she was the last scoop of ice cream left in the carton.

    Kimberly gave Alyssa a playful nudge. Maybe you should go back in and talk to him while we wait out here.

    Um, no. I don’t think so. He’s nice and everything, but he’s way too old for me.

    That was an outright lie, though. His age didn’t bother her at all. The only thing that bothered her was how she had reacted to him—and for some reason that didn’t bother her nearly as much as she thought it should have. Certainly not enough to keep her from going back for another visit when her friends weren’t around. But that look was going to haunt her dreams. Had it been real, or had she simply seen what she wanted to see? Despite what Paige seemed to think, she wasn’t sure.

    Although she would have loved to go back on Friday, the girls’ dorm was hosting a mixer that night—which meant boys, which meant that her friends were far more excited about it than about a store full of old books. Go without them? She considered it, but she was afraid to face the man in the store alone. Not that she was afraid of him, exactly; she just didn’t want to be there alone if she made a fool of herself. And he made her feel very, very foolish.

    Aren’t you guys ready yet? she growled for the dozenth time.

    Somehow she hadn’t felt compelled to put as much effort into getting ready as the others, and for the last half hour she had alternated between pacing in the living room and flipping through television channels that she didn’t even pretend to watch. Why was she so restless? It wasn’t as though she enjoyed things like this, and she doubted that the college guys they’d meet would be vastly different from the immature high school boys she’d so studiously avoided. Staying in their dorm room and reading sounded far more appealing. She glanced at her watch; it was barely nine o’clock. Was the bookstore still open?

    Lisa poked her head out of her room. Why don’t you go scout it out for us? Maybe latch onto a cute guy or two before they’re all snatched up. She frowned and pointed towards the front door. And before you drive us all crazy, she added, sotto voce.

    Fine. Alyssa grabbed her purse and stalked out. The sooner she got there the sooner it would be over with.

    It was quieter on the side of the dining hall away from the pizza buffet, and Alyssa ducked under a painted paper "Welcome Freshmen!" banner to slip into a recess between two stacks of folded tables, her dark blue dress blending into the shadows and providing her some welcome camouflage. Once free of the crowd of students gyrating on the floor she took a quick peek at her phone and sighed. Her roommates still hadn’t answered her texts.

    Fifteen minutes. She had only been at the dorm mixer for fifteen minutes but already it felt like forever. Why had she let them talk her into coming to this stupid thing, anyway? They had only been on campus for two days—it was far too early in the year to have to deal with being snubbed by every eligible male on campus.

    There you are. I figured we’d find you hiding someplace.

    Lisa trudged over and slumped against the wall beside her, one booted foot pressed flat against the wall as she gazed moodily out over the gaily dressed mob. With her black clothes and Goth makeup she looked like a pale ghost floating in the darkness. Kimberly followed her and took up a position on Alyssa’s other side, drawing her shabby cardigan tightly around her as if to hide her faded, yellow, hand-me-down dress.

    Where’s Paige? Alyssa asked.

    Her mom called just as we were walking out. She said she’d be along in a few minutes.

    Their fourth roommate’s mother had called both nights since they had moved in. Alyssa wasn’t sure if it was due more to loneliness or from fear that her only daughter might actually go out and have fun. This was the first time Paige had ever gotten away from the clutches of her overbearing, overprotective mother and all of her friends were waiting anxiously to see what would happen.

    A knot of girls who lived in one of the rooms down the hall from theirs paused for a moment while one of them bent to adjust a heel. Their dates, tanned and ripped and almost certainly upperclassmen, joked and smirked as they waited. Alyssa and her friends watched in silence, envy burning dark in their eyes, until the group fluttered off towards the restrooms. Those girls made it all look so easy, so natural. Alyssa simply couldn’t imagine being that casual around guys—especially not the ones who looked like that. Whenever she was around cute boys her mind tended to go blank and her tongue refused to work right and she blathered like a total imbecile.

    Just like Homecoming, Lisa sighed.

    And the winter ball, agreed Kimberly.

    Senior party, Alyssa finished glumly.

    None of them had gone to prom.

    Why can’t guys like that ever notice us? Kimberly asked plaintively as the music changed to a slow song and the dance floor filled with gently swaying couples.

    Nice as some of them were, the young men around them made no real impression on Alyssa. They couldn’t compete with the image burned into her mind of that man in the bookstore looking at her with raw longing in his eyes. If that was really what it had been. Had he really looked at her that way?

    One of the girls from their floor drifted back by, arms twined tightly around her date. As they swept past Alyssa’s hiding place, the couple’s lips met in a heated embrace that left the three watchers sighing once more.

    Look at them. It’s like their lips are superglued together, Lisa said.

    Yeah, Kimberly sighed wistfully. Man, how I want that.

    "I would kill for that," Paige said, popping up beside them.

    Kimberly squeaked like a startled mouse. "Ohmygoodness!"

    Sorry, their roommate said. Couldn’t get rid of Mom. You know how she is.

    Alyssa tuned them out. What would it be like to look up into that man’s liquid, puppy dog brown eyes while she swayed in his arms and his lips came closer and closer? What would those full, round lips feel like on hers? She frowned at the couple still kissing on the dance floor. Was that what she wanted, too? All through high school she had shied away from thinking too much about boys and kissing and romance. While it sounded nice enough in theory, the boys in her school had been depressingly immature and she’d had far more important things to worry about. She had always figured there would be time for that stuff later. But now it was later, right? What did she want?

    What she really wanted was for him to look at her that way again, to feel that quivery excitement in her stomach because he had looked at her as though she was far more than the plain, rather drab girl she knew herself to be. Yes, she’d definitely like that. A girl could get quite lightheaded off of looks like that. Assuming that it wasn’t all just a figment of her imagination, of course. For now maybe she’d best keep her dreams of kisses to herself.

    The other girls were still nattering on beside her, and she tried to pick back up the thread of their conversation.

    Well, I do, Paige stated. I want to be touched, and held, and kissed like that. I want to know what it feels like to be a woman.

    So get a vibrator, Lisa suggested.

    It’s not the same.

    Kimberly stifled a giggle. How do you know?

    Do you really think that could compare to being held in some gorgeous guy’s arms while you’re sharing a kiss in the moonlight?

    With a dismissive toss of her head Lisa turned her attention back to the dancers. You read too many romance novels.

    Maybe you don’t read enough.

    Paige is right, Kimberly said. I want the same thing.

    Well so do I, but let’s face it—we’re probably never going to get guys like that. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not into settling.

    None of us is going to settle, Alyssa spoke up. She was tired of feeling left out of the life everyone around her seemed to be enjoying. Tired of wondering what she was missing. It was definitely time to pursue some new dreams. Dreams of kisses.

    So? We all feel the same way, but what do we do about it? We don’t exactly have the boys knocking down our doors here.

    Well, this isn’t high school. We can try new things and help each other out whenever we can. We’ll be like the Knights of the Round Table, but instead of looking for the Holy Grail we’re on a quest for awesome guys.

    Lisa barked a bitter little laugh. We’d probably have better luck with the Grail.

    You’re such a downer, Kimberly said.

    Fine. We can have weekly meetings to sip herbal tea and complain about all the boys we’re not getting until we’ve all turned into crazy old cat ladies who hoard things and talk to ourselves.

    Thanks for your vote of confidence, Kimberly growled. I’m with you, ‘lyssa. But what are we going to do, really?

    I don’t know yet, Alyssa replied, her eyes locked on the dancing girl’s blissful smile, "but I’m for sure going to do something." She hadn’t imagined that look. She just knew she hadn’t.

    When they woke up Saturday morning Kimberly convinced them to spend the day poking around campus and checking out the other dorms, and on Sunday they took care of last minute shopping and tried to prepare themselves for their first classes. Monday was a busy day for all of them, so that they hardly saw each other until it was time to head down to the dining hall for dinner. Although she thought about it a good deal all day, Alyssa had no chance for a return visit to the bookstore. Tuesday morning she only had one class, though, and after that her day was free. She thought of brown eyes simmering with dark heat and shivered in anticipation. What if Paige had been right? If she didn’t care about his age, maybe he didn’t care about hers either.

    But when she got back from class around lunchtime she found the other girls waiting for her.

    We’re heading over to Conrad Park, Lisa told her. I overheard some of the girls in my history class saying that it’s full of hot guys. Lots of them go over there between classes, and the frat houses are on the other side of the park so there’s always a bunch of them jogging and stuff.

    The bookstore—and its brown-eyed proprietor—tugged at her. I don’t know…

    Oh, come on, ‘lyssa, Kimberly begged. It’ll be fun. Besides, if we go out enough some guys are bound to notice us sooner or later.

    That hadn’t worked out particularly well for them during high school, but she hated to disappoint her friends. All right, let’s go.

    Just across the street from the west side of the campus, Conrad Park was an enormous swath of green

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