Dirty
A
poem by Blaire Leon
If
sex is dirty, why would I do it with someone I love?
If
sex is dirty, then didn’t we all come from the dirt?
What
if I like the dirt?
What
if I want to get dirty?
What
if I want to roll in the mud until I’m so fucking filthy that I’ll
never be clean again?
When
twenty-five-year-old graduate assistant Caiden Brenner asked Blaire
Leon how old she was, she said she was a senior. He chose to believe
she meant in college.
They connect over Lord Byron’s Don
Juan and,
as their conversations become increasingly thicker with sexual
innuendo, Caiden finds himself obsessing over a totally off-limits
undergrad who’s bold, beautiful, brilliant, and one of the most
passionate poets he’s ever met.
But
it turns out Blaire hasn't been totally honest. She's the
seventeen-year-old valedictorian of her high school class, taking
courses at Sierra State while awaiting her acceptance to Stanford.
Will
Caiden get too deeply into Blaire to back away before he finds out
the truth? Or will their connection be enough to seduce him into
risking his entire future on Jail Bait?
The idea of a
sixteen year old being with a twenty five year old doesn't offend me
because such a relationship doesn't break any laws where I come from.
So I had to put that fact aside and read this story based on what is
unlawful within the setting of the book, where the age of consent is
eighteen.
Blaire Leon is the
valedictorian of her high school class with ambitions to go to UC
Berkeley after her graduation. She's enrolls at Sierra State to take
additional classes and there she meets graduate assistant Caiden
Brenner.
Caiden Brenner is an
assistant to Professor Duncan whilst he finishes his dissertation to
complete his PhD studies. He is drawn to a young student who seeks
him out at the resource desk at the university library. She is
mesmerizing and way too young considering
he is twenty five and more importantly staff at the university.
The emotion I felt
after reading Getting Dirty was one of sadness. Whilst we leave
Blaire and Caiden in a happy place and together, I felt sorry for the
pain, sacrifice and suffering both had to go through to get where
they are now. I respect there are laws to protect minors from
exploitation, but I never thought that Blaire was being groomed or
manipulated by Caiden, that despite their relationship been
consensual, the “one law fits all” caused far more damage than if
they had been able to openly discuss their feelings for one another
without prejudice and recrimination. Neither come out of their story
blame free as Caiden shouldn't have acted on his impulses whilst
still working to finish his PhD and Blaire showed her immaturity by
actively pursuing someone knowing the
consequences. One of the biggest surprises is the reaction Caiden
and Blaine's relationship has on others. People you would expect to
be at least sympathetic where the biggest critics, and support coming
from the least expected ones.
I've not read a book
in a while that kept my mind questioning the plot as I went along,
which I absolutely loved. For me there is nothing better than
reading a book where the author engages me to think beyond the
boundaries of the storyline. The course of events along the time line
surprised me too. I loved this thought provoking and sexy book –
yes it is very steamy and intrigued to know more about the
Jail Bait series.
5 stars
***arc generously
received in exchange for an honest review***
Mia Storm is a
hopeless romantic who is always searching for her happy ending.
Sometimes she’s forced to make one up. When that happens, she’s
thrilled to be able to share those stories with her readers. She
lives in California and spends much of her time in the sun with a
book in one hand and a mug of black coffee in the other, or hiking
the trails in Yosemite. Connect with her online at
MiaStormAuthor.blogspot.com , on Twitter at @MiaStormAuthor, and on
Facebook at
www.facebook.com/MiaStormAuthor.
Without realizing I’m doing it, I find I’m leaning toward her. I
catch myself and stop. But before I can pull back, she closes the
rest of the distance and presses her lips hard against mine.
Any thought that I shouldn’t be doing this evaporates like fog in a
stiff breeze at the taste of her mouth, moving hungrily on mine.
She’s scotch and fire on my tongue as she devours me. Right or
wrong, I’m powerless to stop her.
Her fingers run down my face to my chest as she opens her mouth
wider, inviting me deeper inside. I take the invitation, tasting as
much of her as she’ll give me. Her hands tug at the hem of my shirt
and my breath catches when cold fingers meet my warm abs.
I press harder against her, drawing her closer, and fire rips through
my veins as our tongues and hands explore the new landscapes of each
other’s mouths and bodies.
But a shard of coherent thought finally manages to pierce the bubble
I’ve constructed to justify what I’m doing. “You’re a
student,” I say against her mouth.
Her lips skim to my ear. “I like you, Caiden,” she whispers, and
her saying my name with that hot breath, that wet mouth, is nearly
enough to break my resolve. “I like you a lot.”
I take her by the shoulders and gently peel her away, my heart
hammering out African drumbeats against my ribcage. “You’re so
damn incredible, but I can’t do this. It’s totally against
university rules. I’m sorry.”
“You’re not my professor,” she says, her expression
wounded. “If we like each other, I don’t see why it should
matter.”
“I’m Dr. Duncan’s graduate assistant. My boss is your
professor. It’s a conflict of interest, since I do most of his
grading.”
are conflicted.” It’s clear from the predatory
shift her expression takes that she hears that I’m trying to
convince myself as much as her.
“So you
I drop my head against the headrest. “I am.”
She leans closer again, her breast pressing against my arm through
the thin cotton of her top. “I’ll never say anything. No one
needs to know,” she whispers, her breath feathering over my neck.
