Day #8: 12 Days of Free Alien Romance 🎄
Dec 21, 2022 1:46 pm
Hi !
The 12 Days of Free Alien Romance Giveaway is here!
What's in this email? Keep reading for...
- At least one totally free book from a fabulous sci-fi romance author
- A chance to win a cute custom sticker from yours truly
- The latest episode of my holiday alien romance, All I Want for Christmas is Everything about an alien biker and his human crush
To celebrate DAY 8 of our giveaway, I'm thrilled to share a free book from Kate Rudolph, Crux!
Prince Crux is in a bind. When the Dragon King commands Crux find a mate, his days of carefree bachelorhood are over. One trip to a psychic matchmaker and he's on the path to his destiny. But it all comes screeching to a halt when he meets a human woman who lights his inner fire and makes him yearn.
WANT TO WIN A CUTE STICKER?
You'll be automatically entered to win a sticker featuring the couple from Stolen by Starlight if you click the free book link above! You don't have to download the book to be eligible. You'll be notified at this email address if you're a winner!
And now for the story...
🎄 All I Want for Christmas is Everything🎄
Content warnings: Catching a cheater, respectful stalking, alien NSFW scenes
Missed an episode? The entire story will be available to download as an ebook in my Facebook Reader Group on December 25.
EPISODE #
8
Tairon stole one more sly lick before they bid a temporary goodbye, and Ivy watched his bike roar off into the sparkling morning.
She parked herself at the kitchen table, munching a toasted bagel with hazelnut butter and fig jam. No property managers would be answering their phones over the holiday, but she could at least submit some rental applications to get the ball rolling on finding a new place. With sticky fingers, she scrolled the reviews of apartment complexes on her phone, checking out pictures of the kitchens on their web sites.
Her heart sank when she saw the price tags, though. Even the least-expensive one-bedroom places would stretch her budget past the breaking point. She searched for studios instead and quickly realized that the only places she could afford were ones with kitchenettes. Could she live without an oven?
Not happily. She reluctantly submitted several applications and then browsed listings for roommate shares. A few possibilities popped up, mostly in large houses that catered to college students. Not ideal, but the kitchens were bigger than the efficiency apartments. She sent some emails for those, too.
She put her phone aside, feeling discouraged. Even at the lower rents, she’d have to work on her budget. Cut back on her data limit, maybe do without streaming services. Pick up a weekend shift.
A vision of her new life came into focus, of spending long hours at work and then coming home to a lonely, cramped room without the ability to work on recipes or watch the latest season of The Great British Bake-Off to relax. Anger at James bubbled and rose like double-yeasted dough. He’d really ruined everything. It was so unfair that he got to—
She stopped herself. Took a deep breath and tried to let go of the resentment. She didn’t want to be that person, nor did she want things to go back to the way they were with him. Already, she had hints of how amazing her life could be. She’d had more fun in the last twenty-four hours than in the last twenty-four months put together! What did she have to mourn, anyway? A relationship with a man who didn’t want her? A comfortable routine that prioritized his needs over hers?
Change was scary, but it didn’t have to be bad, Ivy reminded herself. She’d get through the uncomfortable transition period somehow. She’d decorate her whatever new tiny apartment she rented and make it a cozy nest to incubate her dreams. She’d scrape together money for a countertop oven and bake her little heart out. And maybe her new fun friend would visit and keep her company on lonely nights. She had a feeling he’d never leave her on read.
The thought of booty-calling Tairon made her smile, and a weight lifted from her shoulders. She was not going to spend this weekend moping around and feeling sorry for herself, damn it! So she spent the next few hours doing anything but think about the future.
She called her parents to wish them a Merry Christmas and broke the news about the breakup with James. They were surprisingly blasé about it.
“I never liked him much, anyway,” her father said, surprising her with his gruff tone. When she asked why not, he explained, “He’s suspiciously lukewarm, like leftovers that have been sitting out too long. You don’t want to waste them, but you know they’re going to spoil any minute, so you don’t dare eat them either. So you end up just waiting for them to go bad so you can throw them out.”
Ivy couldn’t have put it better. “He’s officially gone rotten. Feel free to return any gifts you bought him.”
“That seems very prudent,” her mother agreed.
Freed from obligations, Ivy then hot tubbed until she got too warm, took advantage of the fancy massaging showerhead in the cabin’s bathroom, put together a Christmassy outfit from the random assortment of clothes she’d packed from the dryer, and then curled up on the sofa with a fleece blanket and one of the paperback novels that lined the shelves by the fireplace. It was a historical romance about a grumpy duke and a sunshiney shepherdess getting snowed in at a Scottish castle, and she was here for it.
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT EPISODE...TOMORROW!
Lots of love,
