Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mate, but not Alyssa Barrow. She met Rob at nineteen, and they were set to live happily ever after—until he became ill. In his final days, Rob urged his beautiful, young wife not to abandon happiness—or pleasure. He even left her a special gift, a sexy game plan to help her move on: Thirty cards with instructions for thirty days of passion. You’ll know when the time is right, he’d said. Now it’s two years later, and when Alyssa meets her hot new neighbor, Harrison Kemp, she begins to think the right time is right now…
 
From his sculpted thighs to his devilish grin, Harrison is the kind of man women want. Before she can lose her nerve, Alyssa tells Harrison about her long-ignored cards…and asks him to help her fulfill them. It’s a favor he’s more than happy to, um, perform. With his skillful touch, and the hot press of his lips against her skin, Alyssa finds herself re-awakening to life—and a host of other sensations. But what began as not-so-innocent fun soon grows into true intimacy, and Alyssa realizes she’s opening herself up not just to sex…but to love. When it comes to a future with Harrison, what’s really in the cards?

Favorite Quote: “You need a drink?”

….”No, I do need a cock though,”

This is the first I’ve read of Christine d’Abo and while I was a little hesitant to try it because Alyssa’s late husband left sex instructions for her to do after he passes away – it received pretty good reviews on Goodreads so I gave it a try. Her late husband leaves her a heart-felt note and 30 cards for her and after two years pass, she is ready to try them out. She meets her new next door neighbor and after some brief flirtations, gets up the courage to ask him to participate in the cards with her – meaning he would be performing sex acts for 30 days.

Harrison is adamant that he does not want a relationship but he does want to help her. He comes across as a good guy and it never felt like he was just using her for sex. The cards start slow – day one is masturbating. Day 2 is ?? They don’t have actual intercourse until day 11. Alyssa had only ever been with her late husband, so it takes time for her to get used to Harrison and to not constantly compare the two men.

My two quick complaints about this story are: Alyssa is a tiny bit annoying at times. She can be a little overdramatic and mouthy for my taste. And I think we miss out on really getting to know Harrison. I like him a lot, but we dont’ go too deep with his character. Otherwise though, I liked this book.

There were times it made me giggle:

He should have looked silly standing there naked with his hands on his hips, erection jutting out from behind his boxer briefs, but I wanted nothing more that to continue to touch every inch of him all over again. “Rules. That’s the only way I can do this.”

I’m sure I looked like a gaping fish. “But, you don’t have to. I wasn’t really going to do all the cards. Just some. And then have sex with someone random.”

Harrison shook his head. “No. Tomorrow night. Supper. Cards. Talk.”

I rolled my eyes. “Caveman speak. Woohoo.”

“Alyssa.”

“Okay, okay. I didn’t have plans anyway. I’ll come over.”

“Good. Now I’m going to see you out so I can masturbate in peace.”

There was this moment:

“Come here and let me take those off.”

“I’d been planning on the two of us playing strip poker first, then sex.” He stopped at the foot of the bed. “But I’ve learned to be flexible over the years.”

My hands were steady as I opened his fly and grabbed hold of his cock through his briefs. Unlike before, I knew what he liked, those spots that would drive him nuts. The nerves that I’d half-expected to show up, didn’t. It was odd, but somewhere in my mind Harrison had shifted from friend-with-benefits to lover. It eased my body and mind, and helped me to fully enjoy the moment.

This particular moment involved me sucking his cock.

And I learned that grapefruit isn’t just for breakfast anymore!

I took the grapefruit, eyeing the opening I’d made when I’d removed the core. The width of the hole wasn’t quite big enough to accommodate his girth, so I stuck my thumbs in and pried it apart enough that I thought it would be comfortable for him. Positioning it at his erect cockhead, I carefully slide it down the length of his shaft.

“Fuck!” He bucked his hips up as I went.

I had to use my free hand to push him back down to the blanket. “Am I harming you, sir?”

“No,” he said through gritted teeth. “Continue.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want the acid to get into a cut – ”

“If you stop, I will tan your hide, wench.” There was a sparkle in his eyes and his lips threatened to break into a smile.

So my crazy idea was working. Thank you Internet blow-job lady.

I used the fruit to masturbate him for a few strokes. It took me a few minutes to get the hang of things. This wasn’t like the video, the woman far more experienced at using a dildo. No, this was Harrison and me and the last thing I wanted was for an injury to happen and have t explain this to an emergency room doctor somewhere.

But the more I worked the fruit over his shaft, the more the more juice began to flow. His skin shone in the sunlight, the smell of male arousal, grass, and grapefruit surrounded me. I couldn’t resist any longer. I leaned in and on the next downstroke, took his cock into my mouth.

Harrison’s legs shook as his muscles tightened. I moaned, remembering the sounds on the video, wanting to make this as visceral an experience as I could for both of us. Then I upped the pace. Faster I stroked the fruit up and down his cock, while I swallowed down both the juice and his secretions.

Getting all your vitamin C and pleasure at the same time. It’s healthy fun!

Grade: B-

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